Chang Qingchuan stared at the video on his phone, his face draining of color. "How could this happen?"
"Chief Chang, what do we do? What should we do now?" the colleague holding the phone asked anxiously.
Chang Qingchuan tried to calm himself. "Have the male models go on stage first." Besides changing the order, he couldn't think of a better solution at the moment.
Gu Susu, not far away, heard someone near Chang Qingchuan exclaim that something was wrong and walked over. "What happened?"
The colleague holding the phone directly handed it to her. "Look for yourself. This is the latest women's fashion show from the second company to appear."
Gu Susu looked at the video on the phone, bewildered. She was shocked. This was impossible, absolutely impossible.
Why were the women's fashion designs of this company almost identical to hers, with only slight differences in color and minor details?
"I thought your design proposal was so great, turns out you're plagiarizing someone else's," a colleague beside her remarked sarcastically.
Gu Susu felt like everything was ruined. She didn't even bother to refute the colleague's words.
It was Chang Qingchuan who immediately defended her. "Xiao Gu wouldn't plagiarize someone else's design. Someone in the company must have leaked our designs."
Gu Susu looked at Chang Qingchuan blankly. "No matter the reason, if the same design appears from another company before ours, and we follow, the outside world will think we are imitating."
At this moment, others from the design department also saw the identical women's fashion show on the synchronized screen backstage and gathered around.
Blaming anyone now was useless. The launch event was ruined, and everyone in the design department would suffer.
Seeing that it was already the third company's turn to showcase, there was no time left to change anything.
Someone suggested, "If the women's wear series doesn't walk the runway, at least people won't think we're plagiarizing or imitating."
"No, this is clearly our company's creativity, and it's been stolen. If we don't show it, it will look like we're the imitators and they're the originals," Chang Qingchuan immediately objected.
Everyone else cast suspicious or disdainful glances at Gu Susu.
She knew that apart from Chang Qingchuan, no one believed she was the original designer and that the others were the imitators.
The colleagues from the design department who had come along now all thought she had plagiarized. But what worried her most wasn't others' misunderstandings, but her promise to Qin Tianyi that there would be no issues affecting the company. If something went wrong, Qin Tianyi wouldn't let them off easily. Moreover, she didn't want the company left by Qin Tianyi's mother to be questioned.
What to do? What on earth should she do?
Qin Tianyi, sitting in the VIP section at the front, knew something was wrong as soon as he saw the second women's fashion show. He had reviewed Gu Susu's entire design proposal and sketches in advance. This was clearly the same theme and design as Gu Susu's. It was truly shocking. He was well aware of Gu Susu's design capabilities and knew she would never plagiarize from a fashion company that was not particularly well-known.
However, this company's women's wear theme show received applause from the very beginning, creating a refreshing and sensational effect. Regardless of how the truth would be revealed later, they were destined to lose before they even appeared.
Qin Tianyi clenched his fists tightly, staring at each piece of design that came from Gu Susu's hands, yet brought countless praises to another company.
"Tianyi, are you alright?" Shu Yan, sitting next to Qin Tianyi, noticed his unusual expression. He wasn't appreciating the spectacular fashion show on stage but was staring at it as if it were a hated enemy.
"I'm fine," Qin Tianyi replied faintly, loosening his fists.
But Shu Yan could sense that something was bothering him, though he was unwilling to share it with her. She asked again, "Is there something wrong with the show on stage?"
"No," Qin Tianyi's gaze shifted away from the stage to somewhere else, and he didn't look at Shu Yan.
Shu Yan felt a pang of disappointment and didn't ask further. Looking at his handsome profile, she realized she had fallen for him uncontrollably at some point. From the time she had known him, this man had always been cold towards any woman, possessing strong self-discipline. Qin Tianyi had never had any inappropriate words or actions towards her or any other woman. She didn't know whether to be happy or disappointed, feeling that she was no different from other women in his eyes. To this day, she still didn't know how to make herself stand out in his eyes.
...
Gu Susu, pacing anxiously backstage, had a sudden inspiration. It was a desperate measure, but she had to try, regardless of the disapproving looks from others. She rushed to Chang Qingchuan and said rapidly, "Did we bring some tools for altering clothes, as well as some scattered accessories and fabrics?"
"Yes."
She continued, "Get them all here quickly, and have all the models ready for the runway gather here too."
Chang Qingchuan didn't know what she was planning, but he sensed she had thought of a solution. With time pressing, he could only let her try. "Alright, what are you all standing around for? Cooperate fully with Xiao Gu to alter the clothes!"
Everyone who had come along muttered to themselves, but at this point, they just needed to get through this hurdle. They immediately sprang into action.
Gu Susu looked at the models who were already dressed. There was no time to have them take off their outfits to make changes, so she could only alter some decorative parts and details while they were wearing them. It was incredibly difficult to change the entire style in such a short time. Even with her speed, she was in a frenzy.
Chang Qingchuan understood her idea and wanted to help. "Tell me how to alter the next model's outfit, and I'll do it. Many hands make light work. As long as it doesn't clash with the previous ones, we can't worry about the style now."
"Okay, add some decoration to the waist of this male model's pants and take in the sides to make them tighter."
Chang Qingchuan quickly got to work. Seeing that the chief was helping, others also gathered around the models about to go on stage, wanting to help Gu Susu with something. Everyone pitched in to help her alter the designs on the spot. Although it was rushed, by the time the women's wear designs were to be presented after the men's wear show, the clothes on each model had undergone some changes, more or less.
Gu Susu checked the decorations on the last model's outfit before she walked onto the stage. She didn't dare to relax, staring intently at the synchronized screen backstage. When the audience saw this set of women's designs, there wasn't a significant reaction. After all, her original designs had already been showcased by another company. With such a precedent, their designs received a lukewarm response. However, at least there were no boos, and it didn't feel too repetitive. They had passed the hurdle, albeit with some anxiety.
When the entire runway show for Mishing Company concluded, the audience gave polite applause. Backstage, the design department people finally breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Tianyi was somewhat surprised. He had expected Mishing Company to face scrutiny and criticism from the outside world, but he hadn't expected Gu Susu to alter the designs in such a short time, salvaging the potentially disastrous situation.