Our Glamorous Time Episode 44 Recap
> Our Glamorous Time Recap
Chen Zheng instructed Lao Ji, a technical consultant, to implement a pop-up ad that would cover the shopping cart on DP's sales website, making it difficult for customers to add items. Lao Ji expressed concern about creating a bad user experience and the potential consequences.
Chen Zheng reminded Lao Ji of their nine-year working relationship, promising him the Chief Technology Officer position and stock options once Simeiqi was back in his hands, confidently stating that DP was about to be kicked out. Reassured, Lao Ji agreed to keep the plan confidential. Meanwhile, Peter's assistant informed him that the courts would not process their lawsuit against the Italian brands.
The lawyers explained that while these companies might be copying DP's designs and ideas, some of the smaller Italian brands were even older than DP. They also noted that common creative themes, like comparing Cinderella to Snow White, were difficult to claim as infringement, much to Peter's extreme frustration. Li Zhicheng, Ning Weikai, and Chen Zheng celebrated their initial victory against DP.
Li Zhicheng acknowledged it as only a small win, emphasizing that they hadn't truly defeated DP and would need a much larger strategy for an absolute victory. Away from the celebration, Peter’s distress caused his old illness to flare up. After taking several pills, he frantically exercised on a treadmill, shirtless, revealing his back covered in intricate knife scars. Someone covertly filmed this scene.
Li Zhicheng later received the video, puzzled by the origin of Peter's scars and noting that Peter appeared to be a man with a past. Soon after, Peter received an ultimatum from DP's headquarters by phone, demanding that he increase sales within three months. Moments after he hung up, Lisa rushed in, agitated, urging Peter to settle the overdue advertising fees.
Peter, with a sinister look, assured her he had a plan to defeat Linhai's apparel companies using DP's high-end "Royal" brand, which had never before left Italy. Lisa was skeptical, but Peter hinted at leveraging "mistakes" made by DP's top management to bring Royal to China, promising it would revive Domani di Pioggia and other DP brands. He instructed Lisa to continue stalling the advertisers, proclaiming that unlike her, he would never be out of tricks.
Li Zhicheng presented a bold proposal to Lin Qian: to authorize Xinbaorui and Simeiqi to use Snowy Smoke silk for free. He explained that this collaboration would significantly reduce costs, similar to their previous partnership with Fancy. Lin Qian supported the idea of cost reduction but questioned if the market could absorb the large quantity of products from mass production.
Li Zhicheng showed her a feasibility study for Qingcheng's potential mass production, highlighting Snowy Smoke silk's ability to lower body temperature by 2 degrees Celsius, drawing a comparison to the once-popular Dacron. He was confident that with Lin Qian's trendy designs, effective marketing, and market demand, word-of-mouth would quickly establish the product's reputation. He believed that mutual profit would strengthen their collective capabilities and products, enabling them to decisively defeat DP.
After discussing work, Li Zhicheng asked Lin Qian when her older brother, Lin Mochen, would be back in the country, as he intended to arrange a meeting between their parents the following evening to discuss their marriage. Lin Qian confirmed her brother was in China. Ning Weikai visited Li Zhiqian's grave, where Grace also happened to be.
Ning Weikai tearfully confessed to Li Zhiqian that he had hidden the wedding gown and letter from Grace because he was afraid of making Li Zhiqian the deepest regret in her life. He admitted his initial motives with Grace were not pure and that he had lost the most important person in the world. He believed his struggles were retribution for his past manipulative actions. Grace, having overheard everything, approached him, crying. They embraced, putting their past misunderstandings behind them.
Li Zhicheng then met with Ning Weikai and Chen Zheng to formalize their collaboration. He proposed that instead of competing, they should collectively profit from joint projects to revive the national fashion industry, regardless of DP's future or new competitors. Ning Weikai and Chen Zheng agreed to the alliance. Li Zhicheng outlined his plan for mass-producing Snowy Smoke silk t-shirts, allowing Simeiqi and Xinbaorui to use the fabric royalty-free. Xinbaorui would handle production, and Simeiqi would manage sales.
Both Ning Weikai and Chen Zheng expressed concerns about the financial investment required, given Simeiqi's vulnerable state and Xinbaorui's limited working capital after Chen Zheng sold his shares. Li Zhicheng assured them that he would personally handle the funding. The three men raised their glasses, cementing their true collaboration. Lin Qian persistently persuaded Lin Mochen to meet Li Zhicheng's parents, even resorting to sitting on the floor in protest.
Lin Mochen reluctantly agreed, but told Lin Qian to remain silent during the dinner and requested that she not ask him to smile. Upon their arrival at Li Zhicheng’s home, Li Zhicheng warmly introduced Lin Qian and Lin Mochen to his father, Li Zhongming. Lin Mochen politely greeted Li Zhongming and offered gifts, but Li Zhongming's cold reception displeased him.
During dinner, Li Zhongming questioned Lin Mochen about his finance work in the United States, then criticized him for not investing in Chinese businesses, stating that forgetting one's roots never leads to a good outcome. Li Zhicheng attempted to steer the conversation, but Li Zhongming then asked Lin Qian why she hadn't joined her brother in the US.
Lin Qian explained her passion for traditional Chinese clothing and her desire to build her own brand in China, with Li Zhicheng's help. Li Zhicheng praised Lin Qian's outstanding design abilities. However, Li Zhongming abruptly shifted the topic, asking Lin Qian when she planned to have children, suggesting "the more the merrier" and even offering a beach house for her pregnancy, clearly implying she should stop working to focus on having children for the Li family.
Lin Mochen's expression darkened significantly. Lin Mochen angrily left the Li family home, with Lin Qian rushing after him. She tried to explain that Li Zhicheng’s father’s health had deteriorated after his older brother’s death, causing his erratic behavior. However, Lin Mochen dismissed this, telling her to stay and "have babies for their family." Li Zhicheng emerged, apologizing for his father’s behavior, but firmly declared that he would never separate from Lin Qian.
He passionately recounted their shared journey, from the uniform project and Fancy collaboration to protecting the Snowy Smoke silk patent, facing conflicts and building Qingcheng together, emphasizing their deep, "inseparable" bond. Lin Mochen scoffed, dismissing these as common struggles for any entrepreneur. Lin Qian then revealed that Li Zhicheng had saved her life multiple times, including rescuing her from kidnappers in Yunnan and shielding her from a knife with his own body.
She declared that their love had been forged through life and death. Lin Mochen was stunned by this revelation. After a long pause, Lin Mochen requested to speak with Li Zhicheng alone. He thanked Li Zhicheng for saving Lin Qian's life but criticized his past impulsiveness, recalling how he nearly ruined Wenda over plagiarism. He questioned if Li Zhicheng could truly make Lin Qian happy.
Li Zhicheng then detailed his "Million Shirts of Qingcheng" plan, including the three-company alliance, aiming to make Qingcheng number one in Linhai within a year and nationwide within three years, vowing to overcome all obstacles. Lin Mochen scoffed, stating that Li Zhicheng's biggest obstacle was money. He offered Li Zhicheng a substantial sum to leave Lin Qian. Unmoved, Li Zhicheng refused. Lin Mochen then proposed a bet: he would give Li Zhicheng 200 million yuan to develop Wenda and Qingcheng.
If Li Zhicheng succeeded in making Qingcheng a success, Lin Mochen would approve their relationship; otherwise, they must break up. As they spoke, Li Zhongming appeared, momentarily confused about Lin Qian's identity before recognizing her as "Zhicheng's girlfriend." After Li Zhongming was led away, Lin Mochen left. Lin Qian asked her brother about their private conversation. Lin Mochen praised Li Zhicheng's extraordinary ability to unite former competitors but revealed he had given him a new test.
He then presented Lin Qian with an admission ticket to Paris Fashion Week 2018, calling it the best channel to introduce Qingcheng to the world, suggesting she discuss it with Li Zhicheng as a true lover would not hold her back from this opportunity, even if it meant delaying their wedding. Meanwhile, Gu Yanzhi prepared a meal for Li Jinyuan at her home.
Li Jinyuan, touched by his thoughtfulness, tried to help in the kitchen but was gently told to let him handle the cooking. Gu Yanzhi shared good news: her fashion trading app was on schedule, with investors and IT support secured. Later, Gu Yanzhi gave Chen Zheng a bank card to fund Li Jinyuan’s app, revealing he had mortgaged his house for the money.
Chen Zheng, shocked, initially thought Gu Yanzhi was crazy for such extravagance but eventually recognized it as true love for Li Jinyuan. Gu Yanzhi insisted Chen Zheng hide his involvement, asking him to tell Li Jinyuan that an old business partner, feeling indebted from a past collaboration, was providing the support for free. Chen Zheng agreed and later conveyed this to a delighted Li Jinyuan, who praised the proposed app name, "Fashionable," and enthusiastically prayed for its success.
Soon after, Qingcheng's Snowy Smoke silk shirts launched, quickly becoming a huge sales hit. Peter, observing the impressive sales report for Qingcheng shirts, was visibly displeased. Elsewhere, Li Zhicheng hurried to a processing factory, anxiously asking the supervisor if defective buttons could be separated from the genuine ones. The supervisor reluctantly explained that it was incredibly difficult to distinguish them by eye alone, as they were "good knockoffs," making the task of sorting millions of buttons nearly impossible. Li Zhicheng questioned the factory's supervision process.
