Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 311 - 306 Reopening (1)

After finishing his speech, Qi Yi’s father still felt a bit unsatisfied, "Your mother is just stubborn. She believes I left Wenzhou because I was struggling to make ends meet. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have left the marriage without taking a dime.

I, your father, could only give you half of my assets at that time, not realizing you and your mother both view money as dirt.

A few years ago, when I heard you bought a house in Wenzhou, I thought you had finally come around and would tell your mother the money for the house was earned by yourself. I didn’t expect my son to be so successful.

Your mother raised you well."

Qi Yi looked at his father without saying another word.

The father and son’s encounter four years ago was on New Year’s Eve, the day his parents, in front of him, bitterly fought their divorce.

Neither of them had kind words to say, and it was nothing short of heart-wrenching.

His mother’s hysteria and his father’s cold indifference were vivid in Qi Yi’s memory.

This time, however, when mother met father, it didn’t start with an argument as Qi Yi had imagined.

Had it not been for his father’s intentional provocation, his mother and father might have been able to chat like friends.

The key detail was, Qi Yi noticed that since this meeting, his father seemed to be speaking well of his mother.

"If you think my mother raised me well, are you thinking of coming back home? I went to Peking University and found a job myself. If you want to come back, I certainly won’t object," Qi Yi said, half serious, half mocking.

Qi Yi stayed in Yiwu for two days, and he found his real father to be nothing like the father he remembered.

After asking the question, Qi Yi shook his head.

Qi Yi laughed at himself a bit; how had he started talking to his father this way, wasn’t it only their family’s Waiwai who spoke so irreverently?

Could interaction with family members be contagious?

Qi Yi’s alternating gestures of shaking his head and self-mocking expressions left his father rather confused about the true meaning of Qi Yi’s previous statement.

"Do you not want your dad to remarry?" his father asked, his first reaction different from what Qi Yi had anticipated.

"I neither hope for nor against it. You and mom are divorced, and I don’t want mom meddling in my freedom, so surely I have no reason to meddle in your personal matters," Qi Yi could tell from his father’s tone that he deeply cared about his son’s opinion regarding remarriage.

After hearing Qi Yi’s response, his father still had an uncertain look in his eyes, "Then why did you just ask if I wanted to come home?"

"I just said it offhandedly. These past few days, all I’ve heard you talk about is how tough mom has it. When you used to come back for the New Year, I never heard you say anything like that about mom." Qi Yi didn’t beat around the bush and spoke his mind directly to his father.

"Marriage has been dissolved, what’s past is past, and it should be let go.

Always focusing on our past conflicts only ends up hurting oneself.

We didn’t come together out of mutual dislike.

The later disagreements were also a matter of differing personalities.

I’m now being objective and factual," his father explained, resolving Qi Yi’s doubts.

From his father’s words, Qi Yi sensed a sense of liberation that came with letting go.

It wasn’t until now that Qi Yi truly understood the real meaning behind his father’s earlier comment about his mother ruining their marriage.

When had his mother become so stubborn?

Persisting unwaveringly, to the point where it only hurt herself in the end.

How wonderful would it be if mom could also let go and start anew?

.........

After Yan Yan arrived in the United States, her schedule was packed.

The Haute Couture show on July 7th was followed by Y·Y’s grandest "reopening" on July 16th.

During the past week, the teams at Maison Yan II and Y·Y dominated the fashion scene.

Such heat and promotional efforts were quite sufficient.

However, Yan Yan couldn’t relax until she saw the actual sales numbers on the day.

During the Haute Couture show in Paris, Yan Yan started with only two standard colors, black and white, for Y·Y’s trendsetting sneakers, feeling they lacked sufficient sparkle and talking points.

Yan Yan thought it over and emphasized from the start that Y·Y’s limited-edition should begin with exclusive colors.

Black and white were versatile, but if they were available anytime, anywhere, Y·Y’s culture of lining up might not continue in the sneaker category.

As such, the media might report Y·Y’s brand fans decreased dramatically during the launch, an event as large as this one no longer attracting the usual fervor seen in previous "reopenings".

Originally, Yan Yan planned to first observe the sales of Y·Y’s sneakers, then gradually introduce exclusive colors once the initial promotions subsided to attract those who had purchased the standard black and white shoes.

Yan Yan had considered that her visibility as the creative director might create attention similar to what her cousin experienced in the United States, but the attention she received now far exceeded that of Yan Ling.

If she became famous, but the queue at Y·Y’s door during the shoe launch remained as before, or even less than during previous reopenings, the media might criticize that Y·Y’s fans did not accept Yan Yan as the creative director.

Thus, personal attention increased, meaning the brand’s visibility must be even higher to show that there is confidence in Y·Y’s future.

Yan Yan had invested much effort and half of her fortune into Y·Y’s sneakers.

Yan Ling had not intended to invest much effort into Y·Y’s sneakers.

His focus was still on Maison Yan II’s attire and leather shoes; it was Yan Yan alone who persisted in investing half her fortune into Y·Y’s sneakers.

If it had been about clothes and accessories, Yan Yan was clear about the kind of attention a reopening would bring, but shoes were a different story.

This reopening was too significant for both Y·Y as a trend label and for Yan Yan personally.

Yan Yan decided on opening day to start off strong by introducing a limited edition in red, with only one pair per size available in each store.

When Yan Yan thought about directly introducing exclusive colors, there were only nine days left until the "reopening."