The moment the plane landed, He Xia immediately opened her phone.
As soon as the full signal was restored, she called that designer.
"You wanted the final payment, didn't you? Come here, I'll give it to you." As she spoke, a fierce, cold glint flashed in He Xia's eyes.
She chose a hotel near the airport as their meeting place.
After saying this, she didn't give the designer a chance to respond.
If this designer didn't want money, they wouldn't have used the contract to chase her for the five million in final payment.
But if the task wasn't completed, how could the money be fully disbursed?
After hanging up the designer's call, she immediately called Nan Shiqing.
Her face was heavy and tense, "Come to this place first, we have something we need to handle."
"Okay."
Nan Shiqing wasn't in the mood to say much. Even if her mother came personally, she wasn't sure if there was really a chance of salvation.
Soon, mother and daughter met at the hotel.
He Xia hadn't elaborated on the phone, but Nan Shiqing couldn't not ask when they met. She was a bit puzzled, "What is it that we need to handle first?"
"The designer who provided you with the draft," He Xia said faintly, while signaling her assistant, who was also a bodyguard, with her eyes.
Mentioning that designer, Nan Shiqing's face instantly turned ugly.
The humiliation from the design competition resurfaced, as if she were reliving it.
The gazes of those around her, and their whispers.
Nan Shiqing clenched her palm tightly, gritting her teeth, her eyes bursting with a hint of ruthlessness.
"Mom, I really don't want to say anything more. If the person you found was even slightly reliable, I wouldn't have lost so miserably. What's the use of finding that designer now, at this critical juncture? Can that person salvage the situation?" Nan Shiqing said in exasperation.
She couldn't understand He Xia's actions.
He Xia shot her a cold glance, filled with disdain, and rebuked, "Do you think I want to meet? She said, the design draft hasn't even been completed!"
"What?"
Nan Shiqing was greatly shocked, it was unbelievable.
If the design draft wasn't even completed, then who made that design draft at the competition?
Seeing Nan Shiqing's shocked reaction, He Xia's chest felt even more constricted, "It's one thing that you're useless at succeeding and only good at failing, but now you're going to ask a million questions?"
He Xia's words were filled with disdain for Nan Shiqing.
If Nan Shiqing were even half as smart as Mu Yinyin, she wouldn't have to work so hard!
"Mom! How can you say that to me? I'm your own daughter. You told me this design competition was foolproof, but what was the result?"
Nan Shiqing was displeased with He Xia's words, her face gloomy.
Just as He Xia was about to say something, the doorbell rang.
He Xia went to open the door.
The designer He Xia had found had arrived.
"If you intended to give it to me, you could have just transferred it to my account. Why did you have to call me to a place like this?"
The designer He Xia had found was a woman.
Around 25 years old, with a head of red, big wavy curls, wearing a short, sexy black skirt.
She was also carrying an old-fashioned Chanel bag.
No, many of the designer brands she wore were outdated, but they looked new. It was as if she was deliberately showing off her wealth.
And indeed, her look of displeasure was exceedingly obvious.
The one who answered her was not He Xia. Instead, the bodyguards directly put a nylon rope around her!
The woman's face changed drastically. How could she remain calm? She frantically shouted, "Are you crazy? Kidnapping is against the law!"
He Xia ignored her. With a gesture and a look, the woman was restrained on the table by the bodyguards!
Instantly, the woman couldn't move at all.
To prevent her from making any noise, He Xia had someone tape her mouth shut.
"Wuwuwu..." The woman couldn't speak, only whimpering. Her gaze towards them was filled with horror and anger.
Nan Shiqing frowned, remaining silent.
He Xia, however, completely ignored the woman.
Shortly after, there was another knock on the door.
This time, a man stood at the doorway.
He Xia had the bodyguards follow the same procedure.
The man's eyes were filled with shock and anger, "How can you treat me like this? Didn't you say you would compensate me?"
"Compensate you?" Hearing the man's words, He Xia acted as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world. "Your method was also very foolish. Saying the design draft was lost, that's such a low-level tactic. Couldn't you have found a way to slip the design draft in back then?"
"But didn't you, Mom, say that the designer hadn't even completed the design draft yet?"
The man said nothing, but Nan Shiqing retorted to her mother, her words carrying a hint of confused bewilderment.
He Xia felt her chest heave even more noticeably.
She was truly about to be angered to death by Nan Shiqing!
How could she have given birth to such an idiot?
He Xia gave her a look of disdain and a stern glare.
Nan Shiqing understood. She left the scene to He Xia and said no more.
"How did you get that design draft?" He Xia placed her hand on the staff's shoulder. Her words seemed calm, but each syllable was slow, and the way she patted the man's shoulder conveyed a sense of heaviness and fierceness.
Hearing this, Nan Shiqing finally understood.
Nan Shiqing grabbed the man's collar, shouting hysterically, "Speak! If you don't, I'll cut your flesh off piece by piece!"
Fu Siye and Mu Yinyin weren't around now, and there were no outsiders. Nan Shiqing didn't want to pretend anymore.
"It was the same as what I received in the last exam competition. A black box was placed directly beside me, and I took the opportunity to bring the design draft out. The situation was very urgent at the time, and I could only do that."
The judges flipped through the pages one by one. He had no chance to replace or destroy them.
At the time, he thought that with so many design drafts, once they flipped through them, they would only remember the outstanding works that caught their eye.
Those inconspicuous ones, even if glanced at, would be cast aside.
Who knew that the girl who collaborated with Nan Shiqing would point it out so sternly.
"Find a way to get me the surveillance footage from the scene. And you, didn't I tell you to complete the design draft as soon as possible? Why is it so slow this time?"
He Xia spoke coldly to the man.
The next second, she turned and shot a fierce glance at the woman.
"Riiip!"
He Xia suddenly tore off the tape.
The woman cried out in pain instantly, her lips feeling a burning sting.
Before she could recover, Nan Shiqing grabbed her hair.
This time, intense pain spread from her scalp.
Nan Shiqing frenziedly yelled in her ear, "I'm talking to you, did you hear me?"
The woman could discern the situation.