Chapter 367: Designs in the Making

In the afternoon class, Xu Chen received a meeting invitation from Jiang Yuze.

Tonight’s the online meeting with London’s Pearl Cat.

It’s the first discussion for the Ran Bing 001 design proposal.

Beyond the excitement, Xu Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.

After all, this was their first real look at what Pearl Cat had to offer, and he feared it might not hold up.

The prep time for Ran Bing 001 was tight, mainly to ride the wave of the Asian Games hype.

If the designs fell short, it could delay the planned teaser reveal on December 10th.

…

Xu Chen glanced at the meeting invite list again; Jiang Yuze had CC’d Wu Feifei and Su Rong, the key young ladies.

It was essential to involve them in the project to keep relationships and networks strong.

Too bad Wu Feifei acted like she didn’t need money and Su Rong didn’t care about it; otherwise, Xu Chen might have offered them internship pay.

Luckily, diving into Ran Bing Sports projects and befriending Nie Fei and the crew seemed to give the two girls some emotional rewards—that counted as payback.

…

After evening classes, Xu Chen stepped out of the classroom and spotted Su Rong waiting in the hallway.

I’ll grab some food from the cafeteria; Sun Lingfeng will meet me to help carry it.

Why don’t you head to the company first?

Su Rong smiled sweetly: “I’ll just go with you!”

Xu Chen nodded and walked with Su Rong toward the cafeteria.

Their stroll together naturally caught their classmates’ attention.

But Xu Chen had already laid the groundwork with the guys, mentioning his company’s project that happened to collaborate with Su Rong’s family business, so they’d have meetings together.

It still drew some teasing, but it was all in good fun.

Xu Chen even made a point to chat with Chen Wenyi, clearly stating his straightforward relationship with Su Rong.

…

Su Rong said: “Tomorrow’s the Asian Games opening ceremony!”

It was December 1st, the official start of the Doha Asian Games.

With Bai Miao competing, the school was buzzing with interest.

The official BBS forum had a dedicated Asian Games section and online cheer events for Bai Miao.

In our department, they’re screening the opening ceremony live in the Little Yellow Building’s lecture hall tomorrow night.

But due to the time difference, it actually starts in the early hours.

Xu Chen smiled and said:

“Fei Jie has organized a watch party for the opening ceremony at the company—if you’re free, come join us.”

Su Rong: “Will Bing Ge show up?”

She meant during tomorrow’s ceremony.

Xu Chen: “He’ll be in the athlete procession with the delegation…”

“But with so many people, it’s hard to say if the cameras will catch him.”

Su Rong beamed: “Then I have to go watch!”

She looked a bit shy and added softly:

“The girls in my dorm aren’t really into it…”

“Plus, hanging out with Fei Jie and Aimi sounds like fun!”

Xu Chen smiled and said:

“Feel free to drop by the company anytime—you even have your own workstation there!”

Su Rong lit up: “Great! Thanks, little Xu!”

University life looks vibrant, but after a couple of months, it loses its spark.

Even student council and clubs feel a bit childish.

For the young woman, Xu Chen’s company stuff was fresh and exciting.

Whether it’s Fei Jie, Aimi, or Vice President Zhou, Jiang Yuze…

Everyone at the company is talented and fun, mature professionals who outshine the typical college crowd.

More than that, the company’s vibe is relaxed and lively.

It stems from Xu Chen’s style as the boss and the people he hires.

No wonder Wu Feifei and Su Rong are eager to join in.

Su Rong seemed thrilled and smiled again:

“I really love how everyone at your company discusses things together and works as a team.”

Xu Chen: “Isn’t it the same at your dad’s company?”

Su Rong thought for a moment and said:

“They’re so boring…”

“When I was little, I visited my dad’s office and sat in on a couple of meetings.”

“There were chemists and physicists—those meetings were terrifying; I couldn’t understand a word.”

“…”

Xu Chen remembered something: “I heard from Fei Jie that Vice President Zhou has signed with your dad’s company.”

“And Wanrong has given Ran Bing Sports the exclusive on midsole materials…”

“We owe you big for that!”

Su Rong laughed: “Just save a pair of shoes for me!”

Xu Chen: “How could it be just one pair?”

“You’ll have as many as you want later…”

…

At the Xueyuan Cafeteria entrance, they ran into Sun Lingfeng and Jiang Yuze waiting.

Seeing Xu Chen, they quickly called out ‘little Xu’ and politely greeted Su Rong.

“What brings you two here?” Xu Chen asked with a smile.

Jiang Yuze:

“I’m here to lend a hand…”

Xu Chen nodded:

“With more people at the company, we need to grab extra food!”

Jiang Yuze still carried that professional air.

Sun Lingfeng wore a hoodie, jeans, and black-framed glasses, blending in with the university crowd.

Both found it odd that ‘little Xu’ was a university student.

After all, Xu Chen was the major shareholder and boss of Ran Bing Sports.

But after a couple of business meetings, they respected his skills.

He was sharp in business, handled people well, and it didn’t match his age at all.

On top of that, ‘little Xu’ was likable, with none of the spoiled heir vibes.

For someone as proud as Jiang Yuze, a foreign company vet, he had worried about ‘little Xu’ meddling.

But over time, he saw Xu Chen mostly deferred to Fei Jie, rarely chiming in unless it was spot-on.

And when he did, his input was always professional and solid.

Recently, Jiang Yuze learned something else that impressed him even more.

Most of Ran Bing Sports’ startup funds came from Xu Chen’s East Morning Star Advertising.

And East Morning Star’s successes were mostly Xu Chen’s doing.

Jiang Yuze couldn’t wrap his head around it, but it blew him away.

He started to get why someone as capable as Fei Jie was happy working for ‘little Xu’.

As a Fudan grad with years in foreign firms, Jiang Yuze had high standards.

Among peers, he was confident.

But meeting ‘little Xu’ changed that.

At least, the two companies Xu Chen built were beyond what Jiang Yuze could pull off.

And Xu Chen was younger than him.

Plus, with a solid family background and an entrepreneur dad…

“People comparisons are the thief of joy,” he thought.

…

…

Fifteen minutes later, at the Tonghai Creative Design Building office.

They ate dinner in the rest area, pushing tables and chairs together instead of the meeting room.

Wu Feifei was already there, happily sitting with Su Rong.

It was Jiang Yuze and Sun Lingfeng’s first taste of Tonghai University’s cafeteria food, and they couldn’t stop marveling.

Sun Lingfeng chewed on a big pork cutlet and said:

“Is this really university cafeteria food? It’s amazing!”

As a Fudan alum, Jiang Yuze knew the scoop and shared the legend of ‘food at Tonghai’.

…

…

That evening, the online meeting with London kicked off on time.

Vice President Zhou from Li Feng had already joined.

The proposal documents just arrived, projected on the big screen.

On the line, the presenter was the chief designer, Leon Chu, or Zhu Yunang.

Since it was for clients, he presented in Chinese.

He started with some buildup around keywords like ‘national trend,’ ‘sports,’ and ‘Xie Bingran.’

As a proposal pro himself, Xu Chen didn’t get much from the flashy intros.

But Pearl Cat’s PPT was sleek and stylish, fitting for a design studio.

After about fifteen minutes of setup, they finally dove into the actual design concepts.

“Based on the ‘national trend plus sports’ core, we developed three design directions…”

Zhu Yunang explained each one.

When the first design appeared…

Xu Chen stayed quiet but breathed a sigh of relief.

The direction was right.

The vibe was spot-on…

Nie Fei exchanged a knowing smile with Xu Chen.

Fei Jie’s recommendation of this London studio was a smart move.

As a designer herself, Sun Aimi was clearly impressed by Pearl Cat’s proposals and nodded approvingly.

…

Zhu Yunang’s team came up with three concepts for Ran Bing Sports and Ran Bing 001.

The first was ‘Ice Fire Patterns.’

It incorporated Chinese elements like ‘Qingci ice crack patterns’ and ‘Dunhuang flame patterns.’

The overall shoe design featured bold red-blue contrasts, making it eye-catching.

The patterns merged with a dynamic, fierce energy perfect for sports.

They also created a sleek ‘IOF’ logo for ‘Ice On Fire’ that blended seamlessly into the patterns…

The second was ‘Ice Fire Great Wall.’

It used the Great Wall as the main symbolic element.

Then added ice and snow, plus beacon fires, around it.

It was subtler than the first but packed with deeper meaning…

The third was more traditional: an iconic ‘IOF’ design.

It shaped a simple, sharp ‘IOF’ logo into the shoe.

This approach aligned with mainstream brands like Nike, Adidas, and Li Ning.

…

Zhu Yunang spoke confidently, clearly proud of his work.

“That’s our three directions.”

“Any questions or feedback from your side?”

Once he finished, no one in the meeting room jumped in right away.

Nie Fei glanced at Xu Chen, saw his smile, and said into the phone:

“Thanks, Leon, and thanks to everyone at Pearl Cat!”

“The proposals are fantastic!”

“We need to discuss internally.”

“We’ll get feedback to you before your evening ends today!”

…

…

After hanging up, Nie Fei smiled and said:

“Let’s discuss—speak freely.”

The room was buzzing with excitement.

“The Great Wall one is great!”

“It reminds me of Bing Ge’s ‘Wall of China’ vibe from that Osaka showdown!”

“With ice, snow, and beacon fires—it’s perfect!”

“I like the first one; it’s so unique.”

“This shoe would stand out from everything on the market—bold and fresh.”

“Exactly! Super cool and trendy, yet it pulls in traditional Chinese elements like the ceramic cracks and ancient fire patterns!”

“Yeah, cool and trendy for sure!”

“But dig deeper, and it’s all about those classic touches!”

…

…

Everyone debated passionately, some faces flushing with enthusiasm.

After about half an hour, no clear winner emerged.

Overall, the ‘Ice Fire Patterns’ and ‘Ice Fire Great Wall’ ideas were the favorites.

Nie Fei turned to Sun Aimi and asked:

“Aimi, you’re a designer…”

“What do you think?”

Sun Aimi adjusted her round glasses and said:

“From a design standpoint, I prefer the first one.”

“Put it next to other shoes, and that red-blue clash would make it pop.”

“Like everyone said, it’s cool, trendy, and fits the ‘national trend’ vibe perfectly.”

“The Qingci ice cracks and Dunhuang flames hold up under scrutiny.”

“So, it really nails the concept.”

Nie Fei chuckled and looked at ‘little Xu.’

Xu Chen hadn’t spoken yet; he was texting on his phone.

He paused, then smiled and said:

“Bing Ge picks the first one.”

The room hesitated for a second, then erupted in applause and cheers from the first design’s supporters.

Xu Chen had snapped photos of the three designs and sent them to Xie Bingran.

Xie Bingran replied with a simple ‘1.’

Sun Lingfeng adjusted his black frames:

“Should we run a survey?”

Nie Fei: “No time.”

Xu Chen nodded: “Surveys won’t help much without a big sample.”

“All things considered, the ‘Ice Fire Patterns’ is the best.”

“But I do like the Great Wall idea personally.”

Sun Aimi blinked: “We could blend them.”

Xu Chen looked at Sun Aimi and smiled.

Sun Aimi added:

“Keep the shoe upper as ‘Ice Fire Patterns’ with the red-blue scheme.”

“Then, add Great Wall patterns on the midsole side—no extra colors, just the lines for decoration.”

“It won’t mess with the overall look.”

Xu Chen thought it over and said:

“Let’s feedback that to them and see if they can try it.”

“Design is about simplicity, but the midsole already has patterns, so weaving in Great Wall elements could work.”

“It might even boost the marketing.”

He paused: “Ran Bing 001’s bouncy midsole is a key selling point.”

“We could turn the Great Wall on the sole into a marketing hook, like ‘Wall of China,’ ‘unshakable base,’ or ‘Great Wall grit’!”

Everyone pondered it:

“That’s brilliant!”

“‘Unshakable base’ and ‘Wall of China’—perfect!”

“It ties in the product strengths too!”

“…”