Chapter 7 — After my engagement was canceled, I went to Shenzhen and lived the most brilliant version

"There are three reasons. First, 'Niem Bach's' creative time and her working time match perfectly. She only posts works at night or on weekends. Second, two weeks ago 'Son Hai''s brand department sent a cooperation invitation to 'Niem Bach', but it was rejected. Three days later, she accepted this project, and the plan she proposed was even more complete than her commercial works. 'Nien Bach'. Third..."

He flipped the plan back to the first page.

“Your handwritten signature and the handwriting in the watermark of ‘Niem Bach’ are written by the same person.”

I bowed my head and looked. In the lower right corner of the plan is my signature. The two words "To Niem". Pen strokes have become a habit. It's also the most fatal loophole.

“So…” He closed the file, “Am I right?”

I raised my head to look at him. There was no smugness on that face, nor was there the excitement of someone who had just caught someone else's secret. Just calmly stated a truth that he had already confirmed.

“What if I guess right?”

"No problem." He said, "'Niem Bach' is your personal brand, I have no interest in making this public. But 'Son Hai' needs someone with abilities at your level. If you are willing to participate in the collaboration launch of 'Son Hai' with your official identity as 'Nem Bach', it will be a win-win situation."

“I don't want to make it public.”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

He looked at me for two seconds then nodded.

"Okay. Not making it public. But I'm very satisfied with this plan. Continue implementing it."

Is that all? I thought he would pressure me, offer conditions, or take advantage of this secret to force me to cooperate. Nothing.

“Aren't you curious why I always hide my identity?” I asked.

“Everyone has a part of themselves that they don't want others to see.” He stood up to collect his documents, "But this plan of yours deserves to be seen by everyone."

I didn't reply. When I stepped out of the Luming building, it was raining in Shenzhen. The typical drizzle of the South, no need to open an umbrella, but just five minutes is enough to make people soaked. Co Dien already knew that I was "Nien Bach". But he chose not to expose it, nor to take advantage of it. That made me more insecure than being discovered. I don't know how to respond to the kindness. The past four years... The past twenty-eight years. Every favor I have ever received has come with conditions. Tran Duy's sentence "I will raise you" is conditional. The parents' statement "Girls should settle down a bit" is also conditional. As for Co Dien's style...

“I know, but I won't force you.”

What is the end result? I thought about it and still didn't understand. After the "Son Hai" project officially started, my working rhythm completely changed. During the day, the focus of work shifts from Quan Chi to "Son Hai". Mr. Trinh was very open and agreed to let me only play the role of consultant at Quan Chi, and all the work in hand would be handed over to new employees guided by Chu Vi. On the surface, Chu Vi scolded me for "going over the bridge and getting out of trouble", but secretly whispered: "Go, go. After you succeed, remember to take me with you." The team of "Son Hai" is not large. Including me, there are only eight people. Two product managers, two marketing people, two operations people. As for the image department... It's just me I. Product manager named Trieu Minh, about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, has worked for quite a few consumer brands so his experience is very rich. But he has a problem. He doesn't trust me. Even in the first week's selection meeting, he spoke frankly.

"General Manager Co, I respect your eye for people. But is it too risky for the position of image director to only be assigned to one person? I suggest at least recruiting one more senior designer."

"No need." Co Dien replied.

“If progress doesn't keep up, then…”

“It's time to lose track of it.”

Trieu Minh looked at me and didn't say any more. But I understand that look.

“You better not slow down the group.”

My first batch of designs took just two weeks to complete. Four product lines. Sixteen samples. Each model has three color schemes. After watching, Trieu Minh did not say anything. On the contrary, the girl in the marketing department was extremely excited.

"It's so beautiful. I want to buy every model."

Co Dien answered in the group with exactly one word. Trieu Minh sent another message.

“I need to check the cost of packaging production.”

“Just check.” Co Dien replied.

That night, Trieu Minh added me as a WeChat friend and texted:

"Some models have too complicated processing processes, the cost will exceed the budget. Let's meet tomorrow morning to discuss?"

“Okay. What time?”

“Nine in the morning.”

After the discussion the next day, I adjusted the machining process of the three samples.