Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming

"We’ll shoot the posters later." Guo Nuoyan was rubbing his hands happily. Another task finished.

How would Qin Guan use the room? What advantage would it bring to J Clothing? This was not his concern as the manager of the Promotion Department.

Qin Guan got on and off the slow bus with his heavy bags. When he entered his house, he threw the bags down and rushed to his soft bed.

His busy life made him tired, even though he had acclimatized himself to a heavy work schedule back in China. Thinking of Cong Nianwei, who had to be studying at the library at the time, Qin Guan smiled with satisfaction. I fall short of the best, but I’m better than the worst.

The next day, Qin Guan idled around on campus in a J Clothing outfit. He had taken off his glasses and used mousse on his hair. Then he had put on a loose T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up in a casual, yet elegant way. A beautiful Chinese character "龍" [1] was on his back.

He headed to the dancing studio on the third floor of the Recreation Hall, where Wendy was practising. She spent all her free time practising her new dancing routine.

As a student at Columbia, she had less time for practice than dancers in Hollywood.

Good dancers were very concentrated during practice. Qin Guan waited for her patiently until the music came to an end. Then he applauded her.

"Qin Guan?" Wendy seemed happy as she turned around. "Have you made a decision? Shall we go to the theater? We have a big performance coming up before Halloween. You could apply for the job."

Qin Guan grinned and began his shameless promotion. "I’m not here for dancing. Look at me!"

He took off his shoes and span around on the wooden floor. The J clothing shirt was drifting in the air in time with his movements.

He spread his arms, stretched and then bent at the waist. The cotton T-shirt fit his body very well.

Wendy was inspired. When Qin Guan stopped and stretched his arms out to her considerately, she went over to feel the shirt with her fingers.

"This is like our practising clothes. We can wear it with our tights and go out. It’s so convenient!"

"It’s also good quality. It will keep us warm during the fall. Where did you buy it? How much does it cost? We are poor dancers. Designer brands are beyond our means."

"It’s not expensive." Qin Guan took out a red women’s T-shirt with short sleeves and showed it to Wendy. "The short-sleeved shirt costs 9.9 dollars, and the long-sleeved one costs 29.9 dollars. Aren’t they cheap for their quality?"

Wendy fell in love with the red shirt at first sight. There was also an oriental character of a mysterious, ancient style on it. It was written in cursive writing, giving off a dancing vibe.

"It’s a Chinese character that means ‘dance’. Isn’t it beautiful?"

"Yes! I’ll take it. Is there a bigger one?"

She was trying on the shirt when Qin Guan waved her off. "It’s free. I found out your size yesterday. I hope you could give me a hand though. It would be a piece of cake for you."

Qin Guan put his palms together and begged Wendy, which made her burst into laughter.

"What can I do for you? I hope it’s not anything too hard. 40 dollars is not that high a price."

"It’ll be no trouble. Could you go to the theater in my shirt and promote it for me?"

Wendy smiled. "No problem. I have a performance tonight. I’ll wear your shirt in the afternoon. Do I look beautiful?"

Qin Guan gave her a thumbs-up without hesitation. Pleased, Wendy turned around and looked at herself in the mirror.

During her class, many girls asked her about her red shirt and wanted to place an order for it. The group of customers exceeded Qin Guan’s expectations. By the time the class ended, Wendy had received more than 20 orders. She stuffed the list into her bag.

Low-cost, good quality clothes sold well on Broadway.

At the TT Theatre on Broadway, a large-scale rehearsal of a musical drama was taking place. Dancers were performing on the stage, following the instructions of the director and the supervisor.

Wendy was in a small group of dancers that would attract more attention than the background dancers. She was wearing the elegant red shirt. The Chinese character looked like it was dancing on it.

"Stop! Take a break! Come here, Wendy!"

The grey-haired director, whose name was Garnett, shouted at the dancers. They could have a few precious minutes of rest.

C, who was in charge of the props, was a cunning Jewish man. He waved at Wendy.

"Nice shirt! I’m buying costumes for our cast these days, but I still haven’t been able to find the right ones. Young people nowadays are always complaining. You know our budget. It’s been more than two years since we bought new costumes."

Translator’s Thoughts

Lan Lan

[1] Chinese dragon.