The beggar went on to say that the main element for the theme was flowers and that the handmade flowers on the outfit were made to resemble a real one as close as possible, as if it would bloom from the dress anytime, hence befitting of the theme "Endless Spring".
"I’m a die hard fan of Neon!" Ning Xi told him proudly, and she started to believe that the beggar was the designer himself.
The way he looked at the pictures was akin to a mother looking at her child with profound pride.
There was no way he would look at them with such eyes if he was not the actual designer who had put in the effort to create those outfits.
The beggar continued telling her the details of each and every outfit, including the inspiration behind each design…
Sometime later, he started sobbing on the floor while holding Ning Xi’s phone, "My Neon...my precious Neon…"
Ning Xi squatted beside him and gave him a pat on the back. "What happened? These are all your designs, but how did David become the designer?"
He had kept this incident in his heart for a long time, not telling anyone what had happened but he started to open up, "David...he was my partner, he was my classmate in university. We’re really good friends and I always thought of him as a brother, the most trustworthy partner!
"We started the business together when we were still in university and we set up our own studio. I’m better at designing while management is his forte, so we delegated the roles and I did the designs while he handled marketing…
"I trusted him so I never asked him about the studio. Who'd have known that in the end, he would steal my design drafts from my computer, take all the money and abandon me while he found a sponsor and set up a new brand himself?"
Ning Xi finally understood and she seeked confirmation, "And that new brand is History?"
"Yes…"
"Haven’t you thought of suing him?"
"How so? We don’t put the designer’s name on the clothes, the only person who knew that I was Neon’s designer is him, while he himself is a professional designer. Plus, his design style is very similar to mine. He destroyed all the data on the computer, so there’s no proof that those drafts were my work…" the man despaired.
Ning Xi gave it some thought and then asked, "How many drafts did he steal?"
The man clasped his hand to his chest as if he was in pain and with red-rimmed eyes, he said, "All of it! All of my drafts! Including the half-finished ones!"
Ning Xi pointed at her temple with her finger and questioned, "Then...what about the ones here?"
"What?" The man was confused.
"The design drafts in your mind, did he take them away too?"
The man was surprised, then he replied with a bitter laugh, "Are you suggesting that I make a comeback? Ha...impossible...ever since he betrayed me...and I saw my Neon become History, my mind...I lost my inspiration...I can’t be a designer anymore...I just know it...I’m done for…"
"But you still have your passion, don't you? Dare you say that you have zero interest in design now? Don’t you feel anything when you see those cleverly designed clothes? Don’t try to deny it, you wouldn’t have nitpicked on the outfit on me if you have no interest whatsoever. Definitely not to the point where you couldn't even tolerate a single flaw on it!" Ning Xi replied him convincingly.