The rehearsal that night ran more than three hours.

They changed one small detail after another and tried it again and again. After the last full run-through, Xu Ye finally started the applause. Only once they saw him clapping did the crew around him join in, cheering.

October 2nd. Sunny, with a low of 18 degrees Celsius and a high of 23.

Xu Ye got to the venue early. The show's director was Zhu Li, but as Youwei's largest shareholder, hardly anyone wanted it to be a hit more than he did.

If the YW sub-brand made a splash right out of the gate, then in time, taking the company public wouldn't be a problem either.

At seven thirty that evening, the guests started arriving.

Unlike last time, many of the guests were big names, and there were even a few foreign faces. The media had turned out in force, too: staff from Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, ELLE and a whole string of other fashion magazines, plus plenty of fashion influencers.

Zhu Li had the floor covered. Xu Ye made a lap of the venue, then headed backstage. The models were in makeup, and nearly everyone in sight was a girl. Xu Ye went on to the VIP lounge, where he found Angelababy and three other A-list Chinese actresses. He chatted with them for a minute, then quickly made himself scarce.

He was the one who'd invited them, after all, so it was only right to stop by and say hello in person. Knowing how to handle people matters at every level of society.

At eight, a lilting melody rose over the venue.

The lights shifted, and the opening act, the band Juneday, took the stage. When their upbeat song ended, the new-collection show finally got underway.

The models had been chosen by the standards Xu Ye had laid out last time.

Every piece they wore was designed by Yang Lin herself.

Half a year of preparation.

The hard work of more than a hundred people at the company.

From the very start, the show had the whole audience sitting up.