Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

Paris.

It was three days later that the popular French model, Alicia Faucher, finally gave Alix the time of her day. Not willingly. But based on a note that said -

'Tell her if she doesn't speak to me directly, I'll assume she's fine with what I really wanted to say. On record.'

Cautious as she was, Alicia was spooked enough into meeting her at a private setting of Alix's choice.

"You leak beauty even with your shades and scarf~" Alix smiled, speaking with a fluent French accent.

Alicia's eyes widened. She hadn't expected an Asian woman to be behind that anonymous message. Then it suddenly occurred to her where she had seen her.

"Ren Alix!"

"Almost perfect pronunciation. Hmm, I will give you a seven on ten."

Alicia gave her a dirty look that all too expressed her fury. She let off her scarf and glasses that showed her indignation on full display.

"So it was you."

"It's a surprise you didn't figure it out soon. I was prepared for my note to bite the dust."

She narrowed her eyes. "What did you want to say on record?"

"Straight to the point. As I like it. But before that, I would get straight to my point first."

Alix placed a big bag before her that made Alicia stare at it.

"How did you get the dress?"

"Let's just say one of your employees has a thing for Asians. Maybe he wants some spice in his life," she smiled.

Her gaze darkened.

"In exchange of a lovely evening with him, he was pretty much ready to do everything I wanted. Oof, French are so romantic. I almost melted. Anyway, it's the same dress from Ren Designs that you supposedly wore and which supposedly got faulty. But instead of me declaring that this was a perfect shipment from our side and you blame me for bias, I took the judgment of one of Paris's own fashion designers."

Alix showed her a video recording in which a retired, elderly designer, who was renowned in his days as Mr. Auclair, clearly stated on record that the fault was induced on purpose and that the original design and stitching was perfect without any lapses. He went a step ahead and even praised the handiwork, impressed.

That recording brought a grimace to her expression because Mr. Auclair was a stubborn old man. There was no possibility of Alix tricking or threatening him to give his statement out of coercion as he would rather die than budge under pressure. Such was his reputation so Alicia was in trouble. Nobody would doubt Mr. Auclair's judgment as a renowned and respectable designer of his time.

"There is no way he would bother to entertain you. He lives very isolated and won't just meet anyone."

"He knew who I was, which is exactly why he agreed to meet me. Honestly, it was out of my expectations too but it seems like he really liked the traditional wedding dress I wore during the fashion show a few months ago. He was very interested to learn more about it. He lives isolated but he still keeps tabs on the fashion world. It will be a big blow to your agency once your manipulation gets out, especially from Mr. Auclair's mouth."

Alicia's expression worsened, which made Alix sneer.

"You must be thinking that whoever that other Asian bribed your agency to do this didn't anticipate this would happen, did he?"

Her eyes widened.

"I know who you are thinking about, most probably a particular influential Chinese politician who pulled some strings into getting this done. Maybe they offered an easy path to investments in China in exchange. Or some other sort of benefit or looking the other way around if you happen to open a business in Beijing in the future. But they are going down and so will your lovely dream along with it. So I am giving you two options."

Alicia slightly backed away, watching her hawk-like gaze.

"Either you come out in the media and clarify this misunderstanding which has been long due for or I won't waste a moment publishing this video. Think carefully. If it comes to the latter, then your modeling future…" Alix clicked her tongue, "seems very grim."

A long silence ensued before Alicia finally said, "I will do a press conference."

Alix beamed. "Perfect! See? It wasn't so difficult getting to a mutual understanding, now was it?"

She gritted her teeth.

"You got what you want. Now tell me what you were going to say on record about me."

Alix shrugged. "I don't have a clue."

Which made Alicia curse out loudly. "You made a fool out of me!?"

"But I can take a fair guess because everybody has secrets. Considering how I smell two faint but distinct scents of cologne from you coupled with the fact that your hair is oddly covering your left side of the neckline which looks to be a very off hairstyle for a model of your stature who is very particular about her looks, suggests to me that you might have come here in a rush after enjoying some lovely time with a man. So much so that his cologne got stuck onto you and so did a passionate hickey that you are trying to hide at the cost of your appearance."

She froze.

"And the panic on your face suggests a married man in the equation. So an illegitimate affair."

That further dropped her color.

Alix smiled and got up, gesturing a zipped lips sign. "But my lips are sealed - as long as you know what to do. Career in your industry is very fleeting~"

She left the room, leaving an almost ghostly Alicia in her wake. Whistling to a merry tune, she walked out when a door from an adjacent private room opened and a familiar man she knew all too well stepped out.

Alix's jaw dropped. "What the…You came all the way to Paris too? Are you stalking me?"

Jin ignored her interrogation and narrowed his eyes. He stepped closer, almost leaning in accusingly.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Her expression darkened at first but then her lips twisted in a jeer. "Heh. Didn't expect that I could handle this on my own, did you? Did you come here to be my knight in shining armor?"

His eyes squinted further with a completely different point bothering him.

"Will you really spend an evening with that man?"

"Huh? What man?"

"The employee from Alicia's agency who has a thing for Asians. You promised to spend an evening with him in exchange for getting that dress."

She gave him a blank look.

"Will you be going out with him tonight?"