As the applause died down and the next designer’s collection from a well-known company began its display, Shu Yan tilted her head and whispered to Qin Tianyi, "Your company's women's wear designs this year are better than last year, but some are too flashy. They still don't compare to the Ime Company that just showed. But don't worry, I'll persuade my father to let your brand into the top-tier department stores."
Qin Tianyi knew that Ime Company had plagiarized their work. He suppressed his anger and grunted, vowing to investigate this matter thoroughly!
After the spring fashion show, Ime Company became the most talked-about company. Reporters and major distributors swarmed the CEO and designer of Ime, creating a lively scene.
Qin Tianyi glanced at Ime Company and signaled Xiao Anjing to give them a warning.
Xiao Anjing understood, walked over with a smile, squeezed through the crowd of reporters and distributors, shook hands with Ime's CEO, and said, "Congratulations, congratulations."
"Mr. Xiao is too kind, I don't deserve it."
Xiao Anjing smiled and said, "You truly don't. Stealing others' work, you should be expecting a lawyer's letter."
His words caused an uproar among those around. Ime's CEO looked bewildered and asked, "Mr. Xiao, what do you mean by that?"
Seeing that Ime's CEO seemed genuinely unaware, Xiao Anjing looked at the designer beside him and said, "Ask your designer properly, and you'll understand everything."
With that, he firmly patted the shoulder of Ime's chief designer, pushed aside the surrounding reporters, and walked out of the grand hall where the show was held with a flourish.
Ime's CEO glanced at his company's designer and noticed her guilty look. He didn't question her on the spot but resumed his smile and said to the reporters, "Xiao and I are old friends; he's just joking."
Everyone seemed to understand, and the previous lively atmosphere returned.
Qin Tianyi and Shu Yan had already left the hall and were waiting for Xiao Anjing outside.
Seeing Xiao Anjing emerge, Qin Tianyi asked, "Did you say it?"
"Yes, Ime's CEO doesn't seem to know yet, but he should go ask their chief designer."
Qin Tianyi nodded slightly and said, "You go back first. I'll take Shu Yan home. We'll discuss it further at the office tomorrow."
Xiao Anjing nodded and left with his companion.
Shu Yan sensed that something had happened and asked curiously, "Tianyi, is there something between your company and Ime?"
"I'll take you home first, and I'll explain on the way."
She got into Qin Tianyi's car. Before he started the engine, she said without looking at him, "Take me back to my apartment. I don't want to go back to the Shu family tonight."
"Alright."
Shu Yan tried to suggest, "Since you're taking me, why don't you come up to my place later? I'll make you a cup of coffee."
"I don't drink coffee at night," Qin Tianyi replied, as if completely oblivious to her hint.
Shu Yan couldn't help but give a wry smile. "You're rejecting me. Oh well, it's my own fault for not being charming enough. By the way, what's going on between your company and Ime?"
Qin Tianyi drove, his brow furrowed, and said, "The women's wear collection they displayed tonight was a theft of our company's designs. Once this is clarified, I will send them a lawyer's letter."
"They stole your designs? But your two women's wear collections tonight have different styles... Oh, wait, it's not that there are no similarities. I thought just now, although your two companies' women's wear styles had different themes, the overall fashion styles were quite similar."
"It was originally going to be identical, with a clash on the runway, but our designer at Mishang made last-minute changes backstage."
"Last-minute changes? To alter the entire design into another style in such a short time, your designer must be a genius." Shu Yan asked with some curiosity, "Does your company have such a designer? How come I don't know about her, and I haven't seen her?"
"She just joined Mishang not long ago, a newcomer."
"Oh," Shu Yan said with great interest, "Can you introduce me sometime? I really want to see what such a talented designer looks like. Is it a man or a woman? Young and beautiful?"
Qin Tianyi didn't answer her and said, "You must be tired after watching the fashion show for several hours. Rest in the car, and I'll wake you when we arrive."
Shu Yan noticed a slight flicker in his brows as he spoke, appearing somewhat agitated. She was quite surprised that his emotions would fluctuate when the new designer at Mishang was mentioned.
"That talented designer is a woman, isn't she?"
Qin Tianyi still didn't answer her and seemed unwilling to speak for the rest of the time.
Shu Yan couldn't fathom what he was thinking, but she could tell he didn't want to talk to her anymore.
She tactfully stopped asking questions, leaned back in her seat, and closed her eyes. However, she made a mental note of this new designer and resolved to meet this woman if she had the chance.
...
After the fashion show, Gu Susu and her colleagues from the design department were packing up backstage and clearing the area.
Having just gone through the modification, her colleagues no longer doubted her abilities and believed that Gu Susu's designs had indeed been plagiarized by Ime Company.
As they packed, someone raised a question, "How did Ime get our company's design proposals? Did they plant an informant in our company?"
"It's highly possible, and this informant must hold a fairly high position in our company to obtain such complete design proposals."
Gu Susu did not participate in their discussion, but she was also thinking about who it could be that stole her design theme and blueprints and sold this crucial information to Ime Company.
From the moment she started designing until tonight's show, she mentally reviewed everyone who might have had access to her design drafts.
She felt that none of these people would do such a thing. Those who had seen her original drafts were only Chang Qingchuan and Qin Tianyi, and they would certainly not betray the company.
Then there were a few designers whom Chang Qingchuan trusted. They had only seen a general design proposal and the final finished garments at the time. Even if this information were sold to other companies, it would be impossible to replicate her designs so accurately.
She couldn't figure out who had betrayed the company, and her head began to ache.
After a busy day, Gu Susu finally returned to her seaside villa late at night, dragging her tired body.
Only Chang Qingchuan knew her address. After sending everyone else home, Chang Qingchuan personally drove her back.
When she walked into the living room, she saw that Qin Tianyi had already returned. He was sitting on the sofa with a glass of milk in front of him, sipping it slowly.
For someone with gastritis like him, drinking a cup of warm milk before bed every night was good for his stomach.
She was surprised that he had developed this habit from something she had reminded him of before.
Gu Susu glanced at the glass of milk, not looking at him, and said, "You're back quite early. I'm very tired today, so I'm going back to my room to rest."
"What did you promise me, yet something still went wrong and almost ruined Mishang's reputation," Qin Tianyi said coldly, staring at her.