As soon as Natalie entered the office, Lina had beamed at her with all the amicability in the world. Thus,
she was more than happy to make friends with such a person.
“I know of you.” Lina then withdrew her hand. “You’re also a renowned costume designer among the
younger generation in the country.”
Such a compliment rendered Natalie a tad embarrassed. Chuckling, she countered, “You flatter me, Ms.
Cohen. At the moment, I’m not a renowned designer yet.”
Rubbing her chin, Lina pondered for a moment. “It’s indeed not quite the case if you’re using the name
you gave me earlier, but in concert with the identity of Mina, you’re considered one of the top-notch
costume designers among the younger generation in the country.”
All at once, Natalie’s eyes widened in astonishment. “How…”
“You’re surprised, and you wonder how I knew that you’re Mina, yes?” Lina said with a smile.
At that, Natalie merely nodded dazedly.
Lina then draped a friendly hand over her shoulder. “Actually, I’ve seen you before. I attended one of
your shows abroad, and you used the identity of Mina during the curtain call.”
“Ah, no wonder you knew, then.” Natalie finally understood why she was aware of her identity as Mina.
Dropping her hand, Lina admitted, “I came here to look for you specifically.”
“Is something the matter?” Natalie looked at her curiously.
At this time, Lina’s expression turned serious. “Actually, it’s nothing major. It’s just that I recently got a
huge project. A princess from a particular country is having a coming-of-age ceremony soon, so her
father—the king of that country—put up a few priceless gems to be designed into jewelry for the
princess.”
“And?” Natalie inquired while rubbing her chin.
“And I bagged this huge project through my connections with a senior, but the princess is simply too
fussy. She complained that the jewelry must be paired with a complementary dress, so…”
“So, you’re looking for a costume designer to design the complementary dress?” Natalie quirked an
eyebrow as she grasped her intention.
“Yes, exactly!” Lina nodded fervently. “That’s precisely what I’m doing! So, I came to look for you!”
Natalie’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged. Instead, she inquired
inquisitively, “Why me? While local designers are no match for those abroad, there are still quite a few
outstanding ones.”
“Yes, but those outstanding ones tend to be up in years. I think I’ll be very miserable working with those
seniors without any common topic. However, costume designers who are of my age don’t really have
much talent yet. I only knew that you had returned when I attended Radiance two days ago.”
Smiling, Natalie asked, “And so, you came to seek me out?”
“Yup! I knew that you’re very talented when I attended your show abroad. I don’t want to work with
someone up in years, but the young ones aren’t qualified. As such, you’re my only option. For that
reason, I came to Design Association and asked Mr. Horner to call you over. So, what do you think? Are
you interested in a collaboration?” Lina gazed at her with bright eyes that were filled with expectation.
Surprisingly, Natalie went silent.
In all honesty, she was indeed tempted since it was a great honor to design a dress for a princess.
Well, if the princess likes my design, my reputation in the country will be on par with my identity as Mina
abroad. But on the flip side, if she doesn’t like my design, not only will I be offending the royal family, but I
might even be inviting other problems such as the ruination of my career in the design industry.
Lina could see the worry in her eyes, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was about exactly. Thus, she
patted her on the shoulder in consolation. “Don’t worry. We’ll split the money, okay?”
Hearing that, Natalie was bemused. “Money isn’t the issue here, but…”
She then laid out her concern.
Lina chortled after listening to her. “Ah, that’s not a worry. Rest assured that things aren’t as scary as you
make them out to be. Before I sought you out, I contacted the princess and showed her your designs for
Project Rebirth and Radiance. She loved them.”
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