Chapter 5 — After my engagement was canceled, I went to Shenzhen and lived the most brilliant version

Chu Vi stood outside waiting for me: "What did Mr. Trinh say?"

“Tell me to be in charge of a new branding project.”

“Which brand?”

"Son Hai. Invested by Loc Minh."

She took a breath: "So won't you work directly with Co Dien?"

“Probably.”

"Take it! What's there to think about?"

“Because…” I paused for a moment, “The level of public exposure is too high.”

She didn't understand what I was worried about. When I got home that night, I opened the personal page of "Nien Bach". Three hundred and twenty thousand followers, the latest post is the finished version of the collaborative series posted last week, with twenty-eight thousand likes. If I were the image director for "Son Hai", with my drawing style, people in the industry would sooner or later recognize it. The identity of "Niem Bach" was hidden for four years. During those four years, no one knew who I was. That's my comfort zone. I raised my head and looked at the ceiling in the rented room. The water stains were yellow, the lights were flickering. The comfort zone is also a trap. On the third day, I answered Mr. Trinh: "I accept." On the first day of joining the "Son Hai" project team, Co Dien sent me an email. Very short, only three lines:

"Welcome to join. Project kick-off meeting at 3 o'clock on Thursday afternoon, location on the eighteenth floor, Luming headquarters in Shenzhen. Please preview the brand positioning document in the attached file."

There were no greetings, no polite words. I opened the attachment, looked at it for ten minutes. Then close the computer. This document is very well written. Clear brand positioning, precise target customer group, brief but powerful style description. It doesn't look like it was written by the marketing department, but more like... It was written by the founder himself. On Thursday afternoon, I arrived at Loc Minh headquarters on time. The elevator stopped on the eighteenth floor, and the receptionist led me to a four-sided glass conference room. There were six people inside. Co Dien sat in the innermost position of the long table, with a stack of printed documents in front of him. I walked in and sat down. He raised his head and looked at me, his expression unchanged.

"Everyone has arrived. Let's begin."

The kickoff meeting lasted two hours. The product team, marketing team and supply chain team report in turn. I sat and listened from beginning to end, occasionally taking notes. Finally it was my turn.

“As for the image, do you have an initial idea yet?” Co Dien asked.

“Yes. But I need a week to finalize the plan.”

“Send it to me before next Friday.”

After the meeting ended, the others left one by one. When I packed my things, Co Dien still hadn't left.

“Stay a bit.”

I sat down again. He pushed a file over.

"This is the design request for the first batch of products of 'Son Hai'. Creative culture handbooks, bookmarks, fragrance products and silk scarves. Four product lines, each line has three to five models. See if this schedule can handle it."

I flipped through it.

“Within a month, must the entire initial design be completed?”

“Too urgent?”

"It's not urgent. But I have one condition."

He looked up at me.

"The design direction must be decided by me. If everyone's marketing team wants to change it, I can't do it."

The meeting room was silent for two seconds.

"Okay." He said, “In terms of design, you have the right to decide Final. But with business-related judgments, I still retain the right to veto.”

I stood up and prepared to leave. I stopped walking.

"In the previous set of plans you made for Thanh Tu, was the color scheme created by you?"

I turned my head to look at him. His expression was very calm, but his eyes were extremely attentive.

“It can be considered that way. I consulted a few things.”

“Consult who?”

“A lot of people.” I replied. “There is no fixed teacher.”

He looked at me for two seconds then nodded.

“See you next Friday.”

When I walked out of the Loc Minh building, it was already dark. The Shenzhen night is both humid and hot, the streetlights draw long shadows from the trees along the roadside. He's testing me. The question "Is the color scheme created by you?" Absolutely not an idle question. He realized something. Returning to the motel room, I opened the management page of "Niem Bach". The invitation to cooperate with that fashion magazine is still there, I have not responded. There are also three new partnership invitations from brands. An invitation to cooperate came from the brand department of "Son Hai". Sending time: Two weeks ago. That means, like Thanh Tu, from the beginning "Son Hai" wanted to cooperate with "Niem Bach". It was only because I couldn't contact him that he came to me through Mr. Trinh. As for Co Dien... Does he know or not? If he had guessed that "Niem Bach" was me, then it was no coincidence that I was the director of photography from the beginning. I turned off the computer, lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It's been five months since I came to Shenzhen. At first, I just wanted to escape a failed relationship and live my life peacefully.