"Excellent. It's in a few months, so we have time to discuss it later. What did you want to tell me?" Lia propped her head on her hands as she crossed her legs while staring at Valentina with an amused smile.
"I've been thinking about your words previously, and I think you're right."
"I usually am. But continue, I'm listening."
Valentina paused, taking a deep breath as she organized what she wanted to say. Although her main task was to be the top actress, when looking at her stats, skills, and current career positioning, it would take her a while to reach the peak of this field. Especially with the stingy way the system gave her stat increases, who knew when she would max out her acting skills?
On the other hand, she had one thing that had always been top of the line. The one stat that had a passing grade from the beginning, had Lia was obsessed with her and gave others a favorable opinion of her.
Her visual beauty stat which was currently 91/100.
That's right, she had decided to properly milk the benefits of being a pretty person in the entertainment industry and decided to sell her visuals. On the one hand, she could gain lots of exposure, and on the other hand, she could hopefully bring in some money and sponsorship.
She had seen the effect that she had on the red carpet, had gotten positive feedback from the poison-tongued photographer, decent comments from the Fallen Angels video, and even during her live stream. People could criticize her for a lot of things, but they couldn't deny her beauty. Her visuals, combined with graceful body movement body skill and even her skill expressive emotion skill, assured her that she would always look good. Although she didn't plan on being a model, Lia's words about being a multifaceted artist rang true to her.
There would be no harm in curating her image, especially as someone in the high fashion space. As long as she was constantly getting exposure and people continued acknowledging her, she would eventually end up in the right rooms and could vie for better treatment and bigger roles. She could simultaneously grow her fanbase as well as her pockets if things went right.
All she had to do was convince Lia to continue working her magic on her and to style her for major events. The woman already wanted to take her to fashion shows and the like, so she would just suck up her embarrassment and ask for a bit more.
Additionally, she had one loft goal that she really hoped she could reach, and it couldn't be done without a stylist with a good vision who could help collaborate and guide her.
"You were right when you asked me not to limit my scope. I want to focus on my fashion aspect more seriously. I think my best attribute is my visuals, and I think with your help, I could really take it to the next level. There has been good feedback so far with everything you put me in, and I hope to continue working with you. I know that I probably can't afford to book you as my full-time stylist," Valentina paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "However, I would still like to work with you and consult with you, so if you could tell me your prices for different ranges of services you can provide, I will find a way to pay even if it's only for big events."
"Hmmmm." Lia tapped her finger against her lips in contemplation.
"Even if you can't fully style me, I'm fine with just getting tips or just some feedback. It's just I have a certain goal I want to achieve, and you're the only person I know who can help me out. Although I might not be the only person you focus on, I hope you can make time for me. I assure you, I will find a way to make it up to you." Valentina stared directly in Lia's eyes, trying to convey her serious determination to the woman.
"This is a really long-winded request, Valentina. Say it confidently, and say it with your chest. What do you want to accomplish?" Lia gave her a knowing smile as if she could sense what Valentina was thinking but wanted her to say the words on her own.
"I don't know if it's possible this year or even the next....but I want to win the fashion icon award from the fashion academy within the next couple of years."
Seeing the firm look in Valentina's eyes, Lia broke into a wide smile.
"Good. You should be confident when you ask for something and not devalue yourself. Good good. I like your lofty goal, and I'm willing to work with you to reach it. After all, at some point in my career, I won the best new designer for the year. I won't say that I'm cheap, but....as long as you join Platinum Entertainment, I am willing to style you for big events for free for the duration of one year. After that, my contract is up, and I doubt I'll resign. Any future stylings you request will have to be fully covered by you. Is that acceptable?"
At her request being accepted so easily, Valentina blinked at Lila in shock.
"Do you really mean that??"
"Of course, my favorite student. Besides, how could I allow others to touch your otherworldly beauty, especially when I saw you first? What if they steal you away with nice words and false promises? You could be swindled away and then end up with a horrible stylist and designer, and they begin dressing you in *gasp* fast fashion? I would literally faint and then perish into dust."
Valentina: "......" as someone who was a consumer of regular clothes that would be considered fast fashion, she didn't know if she should feel insulted and complain or if she should just let it slide.
Remembering that Lia was doing her an immense favor and probably meant no harm because she was in the industry, Valentina decided to just move on from the topic.
"Then, is there any paperwork that needs to be signed? Or..."
"Not really. As I mentioned, I'm already contracted to Platinum Entertainment as a stylist and a brand. I'm not sure what your contract is going to be when they are, but you are permitted to request styling from a pool of stylists contracted to the company. Naturally, it's up to the stylist to confirm or deny the request. You can get more details from Kai or that silly short man of a CEO at Platinum. And then just follow up with me. Speaking of which, you and Kai..." Lia paused and gave her a smug smile, "What is going on there? You all seemed pretty close this morning, heh heh."
"It's nothing serious." Blushing, Valentina immediately looked away.
"Nothing serious, my butt. Getting a rude asshole like Kai to drop you off in the morning, you're gutsy, Valentina. Now give me all the details. How did you seduce my childhood friend? Or did you fall for his pretty face?"
As Lia jumped down from the table and dashed toward Valentina with her arm stretched to grab her, Valentina immediately backpedaled and began weaving around the large worktables.
"Tell me!"
"It's nothing!"
"No, it's not! When did you two confirm your relationship? When is the wedding date? I demand to be in charge of creating the wedding dress!!"
"I said it's nothing!"
Dashing away from Lia with all her might, Valentina began regretting wearing high heels and her low stamina. Although her feet weren't hurting, she felt as if she couldn't reach her top speed to escape from Lia, who was much shorter and faster than she appeared.
After a couple of minutes of back and forth, the two women stared at each other from opposite sides of a single table, panting and completely out of breath.
Suddenly, Valentina's cell phone began ringing. As she glanced between the phone and Lia, Lia sighed before unwillingly muttering. "Truce?"
"Please." She almost cried with relief.
"Since I'm generous, I'll release you for now. But this isn't over. I'll find out the details even if I have to hold your clothes hostage."
As Lia gave her a devious smile while chuckling, she had the thought once more that she could really understand why Lia and Kaiser were friends.