Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 373 YN is the abbreviation for Yongning, take action! [1 update]

Chapter 373: 373 YN is the abbreviation for Yongning, take action! [1 update]

The clothes were admitted in advance, and that has always been the rule at the Global Center’s fashion extravaganza.

After all, the annual fashion show attracts various brands from different countries and regions, among whom there might be individuals with ulterior motives.

Therefore, all participants and their items must pass the organizers’ inspection to be part of the fashion show.

However, in the many years the fashion show had been held, there had never been an incident like a fire.

With the technological development level of the Global Center, even if there were a fire, there should have been corresponding prevention equipment inside, and it should have been impossible to let the fire grow and destroy the clothes.

"Yeah, okay, I got it," Ye Wanlan responded after listening, her expression extremely calm, "Is our team alright?"

"The models are staying at the hotel; they’re not injured," Fang Qingli gasped, continuing, "but our clothes..."

At this point, she ground her teeth in anger.

She utterly rejected the bullshit excuse of a "fire"; it must have been sabotage!

"As long as no one is hurt, that’s what matters," Ye Wanlan consoled Fang Qingli, "Has the organizer mentioned anything about compensation?"

"No," Fang Qingli laughed coldly, "they called me, expressing regret and apologies, not a word about financial compensation."

Plainly put, the organizer’s perfunctory attitude stemmed from Pulling the Sky Company’s lack of international fame and it being their first time at the fashion show, not to mention lacking endorsement from any renowned fashion experts.

"I understand," Ye Wanlan smiled lightly, speaking casually, "Prepare everything as usual; we’ll still participate in the fashion show. The only new task is to make sure they pay the compensation."

Fang Qingli suddenly had an epiphany and couldn’t help but gasp, "Sister Lan, you didn’t foresee even this, did you?"

But the three outfits made with Kesi Silk technique were genuinely ruined.

"No, I don’t have clairvoyance," Ye Wanlan slightly scoffed, "I’ve told you before, I like to prepare for multiple contingencies when doing things. Although I didn’t predict that destruction of the clothes would necessarily be due to a fire, I did consider similar incidents."

She indeed had a premonition that the show would not go smoothly, with sudden emergencies like outfit destruction or models falling ill unexpectedly, all within her calculations.

However, she hadn’t expected that on her very first day at the Global Center, someone was already failing to hold themselves back.

In a game of chess, unless someone is absolutely confident in their strength, making the first move could lead to a complete loss across the board.

"Sister Lan, I’ve kept Jiang Xulin under control," Fang Qingli sighed, "He was close to rushing out and beating up the organizers’ people."

"His skills don’t impress me much; Zheng Xue would be a better choice," Ye Wanlan stated indifferently, "Tell him not to make too much of a scene. Now that we’ve arrived at the Global Center, his life is not as well-protected as it was in Shenzhou."

During this period, every event seemed disconnected from the others yet could be linked together.

Ye Wanlan slowly closed her eyes.

"What’s wrong?" Kristin frowned, "The fashion show destroyed your clothes?"

"Yes, it was definitely a deliberate act," Ye Wanlan’s voice remained faint, "For now, we don’t know which party did it, but the organizers are covering for them."

"These worthless freeloaders," Kristin remarked coldly, "I invest a lot in the fashion show every year, and they use my money to bully my friend?"

The quips of her pals in the group chat weren’t wrong; the fashion show was her platform for choosing clothes every year.

If she saw any outfit that caught her fancy from the audience, the organizers would even stop the show during a live stream.

After all, Kristin invested in many of the Global Center’s enterprises.

If she withdrew her investments, that industry would go bankrupt in an instant.

Starting a financial storm at the Global Center within minutes wasn’t just a joking remark the netizens made about the World’s Richest.

Because Kristin Constans could actually make it happen.

"Let’s not talk about this for now," Ye Wanlan stood up, opening the motorcycle’s trunk, "Come and see the gift I brought for you."

It was an exquisitely crafted box, inside of which was a set of jewelry—a necklace, earrings, a ring, a bracelet... and a crown.

Even though major brands delivered various fashion items to her estate daily, she had never come across a jewelry set crafted so in line with her aesthetic preferences.

Kristin, although young and already holding significant power, was in the end a young woman and naturally loved such antique jewelry from the bottom of her heart.

"So that’s it, Pulling the Sky Company is actually founded by you; then everything makes much more sense," Kristin pondered for a moment, "No wonder you were able to acquire so many antique pieces of jewelry for me; I was wondering when Shenzhou produced such a savvy businessperson."

"I am not really good at business," Ye Wanlan said with a light smile, "but the business world is like a battlefield, and it’s all interconnected."

Kristin happily picked up the earrings and put them on immediately, "Does this set of jewelry signify something?"

"Yes," Ye Wanlan nodded, "Actually, this set is designed with inspiration from Yongning Palace. Last time you said you wanted to visit Yongning Palace, so I had someone design this set of jewelry."

"Wait! Are you a zealous history fan of Princess Yongning?" Kristin suddenly asked, "That’s why you picked ’YN’ as your online handle?"

YN, wasn’t it an abbreviation for "Yongning"?

Ye Wanlan’s eyebrows lifted: "Rich Sister’s Mandarin is better than you think it is."

"For normal conversations, I naturally have no problems," Kristin shook her head, "If you tested me on classical Chinese, I would definitely fail. But now that the clothes are destroyed, what will we do for tomorrow’s show?"

"No—" Ye Wanlan’s eyes narrowed slightly, "They say it was a fire, that the clothes were destroyed, but that’s just the organizers’ statement, and this is Kesi Silk technique."

Kristin’s gaze sharpened, "So, someone used the fire as a pretext to brazenly steal these three outfits?"

"Most likely," Ye Wanlan chuckled, "Kesi Silk is even more expensive than Cloud Brocade, a luxury good of Shenzhou; an inch of Kesi Silk is worth an inch of gold, more valuable than gold and jade—who would resist?"

Kesi Silk, painting with silk threads instead of a brush, has a history of a thousand years in Shenzhou.

"Seen from a distance, it appears carved and engraved.[note 1]" Kristin agreed emphatically, "When I was studying ancient Shenzhou art at Shenzhou University, this quote from the professor made a deep impression on me."

"So, the fire is a lie, theft is the truth, and preventing us from attending the show is also true," Ye Wanlan put her helmet back on, "Rich Sister, are you interested in helping me catch the thief?"

Kristin silently regarded the flashy motorcycle, donning her helmet with a resigned expression, "Let’s go."

**

The sudden fire at the fashion show was a major incident, quickly climbing to the top of the news reports worldwide.

Some people at the scene captured videos and uploaded them online.

Since it was the first time a company from Shenzhou had been invited to the Global Center, many People of Shenzhou were paying attention to the fashion show.

[Breaking—! Fire at the Global Center’s runway, some of Pulling the Sky’s clothes have burned!]

[What, what, what?]

[How could there be a sudden fire, could it be arson?]

[Ah, the heavens! The clothes are ruined, how can our Pulling the Sky participate in the show?]

[It’s definitely intentional, they’re so scared of Pulling the Sky becoming famous?]

[I know you all work hard to promote national goods, but don’t be too hilarious, how long have the top three luxury brands been revered internationally? Would they need to suppress a newly established brand?]

The internet bustled with heated discussions, and at that moment, in a warehouse at the Global Center.

Three garments were hung on the wall, two for women, one for men.

Below them, four people were engrossed, staring at the three pieces of clothing and gently touching them.

"Kesi Silk, it really is Kesi Silk," one of them exclaimed in amazement, "Without such a close observation, it’s hard to imagine such a weaving technology exists."

"I’ve heard this is the Kesi technique passed down after much of Shenzhou’s civilization was destroyed," another spoke up, "I wonder what the true Kesi Silk looked like hundreds of years ago."

Kesi Silk was too precious, long listed in the World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage registry.

Of course, they would never let a fire destroy something so valuable.

To cover up their true motives with a fire—

They aimed to decode Shenzhou’s Kesi Silk technique, then produce it themselves.

That way, Pulling the Sky Company would only suffer in silence.

"It’s truly not possible to replicate this technique in the short term," a brown-haired, blue-eyed woman slowly shook her head, "If Pulling the Sky actually presented these three pieces at the fashion show, they really would break into the international market."

That was something they simply couldn’t allow.

"Too bad they’re out of options now," another laughed, "They’ve just arrived at the Global Center, what can they possibly do?"

"Clap, clap, clap—"

Suddenly, the sound of clapping arose, careless yet carrying a tinge of authority.

"Finished with the analysis?" someone asked from behind with a smile, "Have you learned about our Shenzhou Kesi Silk technique yet?"