Xia Xiaolan was unaware that even her son disapproved of Ji Ya’s intentions.

The next day, Liu Fen paid attention and indeed discovered that the storefronts under renovation in Xiushui Street and Xidan shared the same style as the one in Gulou.

“Don’t worry, Mom, proceed at your own pace. Don’t let Ji Ya’s actions throw you off. We’ll ignore her.”

Whatever Ji Ya was planning, hints would eventually leak out.

Before Xia Xiaolan could investigate further, she received news from Chief Editor Cui at “Fashion” magazine, who mentioned receiving an interesting article.

“‘Real Fashion Has Arrived in China’?”

Chief Editor Cui’s voice wavered over the phone, “Isn’t this your old strategy being imitated? I’m just giving you a heads-up. I see they’re specifically targeting Luna, and they’re planning a fashion show on the 24th of this month on Wangfujing Street. From what I know, they’ve invited many newspapers and television stations to attend.”

Luna was Chief Editor Cui’s “discovery,” and both Xia Xiaolan and Chen Xiliang had always maintained a humble attitude. Cui had enjoyed writing promotional articles for Luna. This fashion show targeting Luna seemed discourteous – Cui didn’t even know who was organizing it, yet they’d sent a promotional article through connections as if he should simply bow down and flatter this mysterious person with connections!

This treatment irritated Chief Editor Cui. “Fashion” magazine had considerable influence, and Cui considered himself someone of importance. It had been a long time since anyone had shown him such disrespect.

He wasn’t wrong about them targeting Luna – the promotional style was identical, and the article was imitative.

Moreover, being able to organize a fashion show on Wangfujing Street indicated significant backing and more financial resources than Luna!

A fashion show?

This stroke of genius matched Ji Ya’s style.

Always making big moves – what was there to say? Money talks.

Xia Xiaolan held the phone receiver and smiled, “Thank you for the warning. Pioneers are always imitated, but to truly surpass the pioneer, they’ll need to show real capability. A fashion show is a good publicity stunt, and newspapers will certainly cover it… This is an overwhelming force, attempting to crush Luna through publicity. Their intentions aren’t friendly, so I can’t take this lightly.”

Chief Editor Cui didn’t say much more; it was enough that Xia Xiaolan understood.

“Just be careful. Luna is a good brand, and you’ve been steady in your approach this past year. I’ve noticed all your new seasonal releases, and while you draw inspiration from foreign styles, you maintain your elements. I still have high hopes for you. I have to publish this article though – the favor being called in is one I can’t refuse. Think about it: if even I have to publish it, other magazines and newspapers will likely follow suit.”

The scale of this publicity campaign was enormous.

Ji Ya was truly bold in both thought and action – was she aiming to dominate China’s emerging fashion scene in one fell swoop?

If Ji Ya’s fashion show proved hugely successful, launching her brand afterward would be unstoppable. What Xia Xiaolan wanted to know now was Ji Ya’s market positioning.

The point remained: targeting the high-end market in the 1980s China would surely fail.

Only by following a mass-market approach could one develop quickly.

Although Xia Xiaolan viewed China’s current fashion scene as a wasteland, she wouldn’t allow Ji Ya to gain complete control over it. Having one or two newspapers and magazines praise Ji Ya’s brand wasn’t a problem, but with twenty or more, they could easily brainwash consumers.

The worst fear was that they wouldn’t just promote their brand but also disparage Luna… If all the magazines and newspapers started calling Luna’s clothing brand garbage, even customers who originally liked Luna’s clothes might stop choosing Luna.

If this was secondary, the more crucial point was that Luna needed to pursue a franchise model, which required continuous success. Potential franchisees needed to see profit potential to invest!

Without brand reputation and consumer approval, franchisees weren’t foolish enough to invest.

Ji Ya’s actions could indeed threaten Xia Xiaolan. The fashion show wasn’t the weapon – it was merely the catalyst to see how many magazines and newspapers would attend, and how many of those media outlets would speak in Ji Ya’s favor.

Public opinion was the deadliest weapon, and this time Ji Ya hadn’t made a reckless move but had struck at a crucial point.

Xia Xiaolan put down the phone, “No wonder Chief Editor Cui warned me. This shameless strategy does resemble my style, but I never step on others to promote myself. No matter how crazy Ji Ya gets, seeing the Zhou family and Uncle Tang behind me, she wouldn’t dare directly instruct magazines and newspapers to attack Luna. At most, she can only hint at it, so her fashion show must be spectacular enough to control the narrative with the media!”

Xia Xiaolan envies Ji Ya’s ability to organize a fashion show in Wangfujing.

She envied both Ji Ya’s wealth and her freedom to use family connections without restraint.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t do the same. The more the Zhou family and Tang Hongen cared for her, the more cautious she had to be in using their connections. While securing venues was possible, hosting fashion shows would invite endless gossip – how unfavorable would that impact be?

Ji Ya was unrestricted – Ji Huaixin had left the Ji family with connections, and Ji Lin didn’t seem capable of great achievements, so why not use that influence before it expired?

Liu Fen hadn’t expected this either.

She couldn’t even imagine someone organizing a fashion show domestically – it was something only mentioned in magazines. Could Ji Ya bring it to China?

“Will this work?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “The news came from Chief Editor Cui, so it must be true. But the results will depend on her execution.”

The 24th wasn’t far away.

Judging by the renovation progress of those stores, Ji Ya probably planned to open them after the fashion show created a sensation.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help calling Chen Xiliang to ask about the advertisement filming. Chen Xiliang responded energetically, “Comrade Zhang Xiao was very cooperative, everything went smoothly on our end!”

The frustration over Wang Mingming’s absence had disappeared – it seemed the filming in Guangzhou was truly going well.

Xia Xiaolan had wanted to modify the advertisement content, but hearing it was already completed, she held her tongue. She shouldn’t let Ji Ya disturb her strategy. If Ji Ya took the high-end route, Luna should maintain its Chinese-style “fashion.” Even Luna’s first television advertisement could be a bit unsophisticated – being simple and direct in delivering information to viewers was the primary goal!

Xia Xiaolan mentioned Ji Ya’s recent actions with a slight apology:

“This is completely directed at me. She’s targeting Luna because she grudges me.”

Chen Xiliang remained optimistic, “If not her, it would be someone else. Sister Xia, I understand – we’re on the same side, both wanting to build a successful brand!”

Initially, Xia Xiaolan didn’t even want to create a clothing brand. Looking at “Blue Phoenix’s” approach, she had preferred focusing on retail terminals.

It was he who had insisted on creating a brand. Now Xia Xiaolan was even developing residential properties, yet still devoted energy to Luna. Comparing Luna with real estate, they weren’t even in the same league of business, and Chen Xiliang knew his place.

Without Luna, Xia Xiaolan would still be Xia Xiaolan, and her business would continue to thrive.

Without Luna, Chen Xiliang’s efforts would be wasted, reverting him to a small-time clothing wholesaler.

Ji Ya wasn’t just fighting with Xiaolan – she was threatening Chen Xiliang’s livelihood!

Chen Xiliang’s voice turned fierce, “Sister Xia, tell me what to do. I’ll follow your lead!”