Chapter 10 – Plagiarism

Two years ago, she was able to build a bit of reputation for herself under that name. It was just that when Ji Nan Feng came back, all her attention was focused on him. Thus, ‘Miao Bai’ went silent for more than a year. After marriage, when Ji Nan Feng refused to let her go out to work, she secretly started up again under Miao Bai.

Three months prior, she designed a series of twelve wedding dresses. Out of the whole series, nine of them received the Dai Sha Best Design Award. It was titled the ‘newest fashion trend’. This caused the remaining three sets to be in high demand in various retail stores.

The nine sets that got the award were placed in the Dai Sha Exhibition Hall. She would earn a commission from them every month. However, she did not know how much she earned from those, nor did she pay attention to it. She has an agent, Allen, who would help her manage these things.

They only got to know each other four months ago. Although they have never met before, they got along swimmingly hence they decided to collaborate. All she had to do was to draft the design and hand them over to Allen. From there, Allen would handle the rest for her.

The remaining three sets were sold directly and they garnered over more than four million dollars. The sum could have been a lot more if she did everything herself. Instead, she was just responsible for designing the dresses. Yet, she was very grateful for what she earned already.

~~~~

As they were shopping, Xu Qing Man learned that Mo Li Xin planned to acquire houseware. So she decided to put her shopping aside and help Mo Li Xin.

The things they purchased ranged from items as large as a wardrobe and refrigerator to things as small as a coaster.

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~~~~

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“It’s okay. As I said before, I’ll pay for whatever you want to buy today. Plus, you’ve spent the day accompanying me to buy houseware already,” Mo Li Xin laughed.

“That won’t do, you don’t even have a job! And even if you have money, it was given to you by your husband or grandfather. To spend it on yourself is one thing, but I dare not use it,” Xu Qing Man adamantly refused without further ado.

“Who said that I’ll be using their money? I have my own money. Just because I’m not holding a job doesn’t mean that I do not have an income. Do you know of Miao Bai? That’s me,” Mo Li Xin confessed.

“Is… that… is that the one that designed the series of twelve celestial stars wedding dresses? That Miao Bai?”

“En, that’s me. So now that you know, are you now willing to spend my money? In this world, you’re the only one that knows that I am Miao Bai. So don’t go around telling others,” Mo Li Xin sheepishly informed her.

“Really? Are you for real? Xin Xin, please slap me. This whole day has been like a dream.” Xu Qing Man said in disbelief, even the words she said did not make sense to her ears.

“Back then, didn’t you say that you’ll take care of me when you earn big bucks? Since now I have the money, I’ll take care of you.”

It took a while for Xu Qing Man to wrap her head around what she was told.  As she thought of something abrupt, “Xin Xin, I’ve something to discuss with you~”

Looking at her up to no good expression, it caused the hairs on Mo Li Xin’s body to stand.

“What is it?” Mo Li Xin asked cautiously.

“Can I be your model for the dresses you design in the future?”

“Of course, I originally wanted to ask you. It was just that those twelve wedding dresses were my comeback designs. The overall styles were on the riskier side, that’s why I didn’t ask you to model them.”

“Really?”

“Definitely!” Mo Li Xin helplessly assured her.

Xu Qing Man was tall and her features made her look like a mixed-blood. Therefore, she was a suitable model candidate. After graduation, she also embarked on that career path. It was just that she had not been given the right opportunity to shine.

“Alright, let’s go shopping! You’re paying for my stuff today. Let’s consider it as payment for my future modeling jobs,” Xu Qing Man said. Since the money was earned by her best friend, she had no qualms or guilt about spending it.

‘Hmm… it seems like it is what it is, but why did it feel like something is not right?’ Mo Li thought to herself.

“Xin Xin, come take a look at this! This wedding dress seems to share similar aspects as the one you designed. But as compared to yours, it seems to be severely lacking. Shall we go in and check it out?”

Mo Li Xin withdrew from her thoughts and looked in the direction Xu Qing Man pointed at. Indeed, the dress looked a lot like the one she designed.

The two wanted to enter the store but were obstructed by the store assistant at the entrance.

“Miss, our store isn’t looking to hire a cleaner,” the tone of the lady that spoke was particularly scornful.

Xu Qing Man had some self-awareness of the situation. She knew that although her clothes were decent-looking, they were not branded. And in the eyes of the people working there, she was labeled as poor. Hence, they looked down on her, the attitude was truly snobbish.

“We came to look at wedding dresses. Why? Are we not allowed inside? You never know, we might be a potential customer,” Xu Qing Man stated curtly. She hated putting up with this kind of person the most.

In the end, the two thirty something years old shop assistants let them in. As Mo Li Xin examined the wedding dresses in the shop, she felt all sorts of feelings welling up in her heart, and she even felt a little angry.

Within the store, there were not many wedding dresses. But each one of them contained some elements from her celestial stars series. This knowledge caused great discomfort within her heart. If they had been able to duplicate the essence of her dresses exquisitely, she might not have been so upset. But this was simply rough and slipshod work.

“Who is the designer?” Mo Li Xin questioned.

“Trying to act like you know when you actually don’t. Even if I were to tell you, you wouldn’t know who is who!

“Remember the celestial stars series of wedding dresses that are very popular on the internet? The designer of these wedding dresses studied under the same teacher as the one that created celestial stars,” the sales assistant explained condescendingly.

When talking about the celestial stars series, The store clerk was full of fascination and she even sounded haughty. It was nearly as if she was the one that designed the series.

“I know of Miao Bai, but I didn’t know that she had someone that studied together with her under the same teacher,” Mo Li Xin sneered.

“What do you know? Those people are way above your league like you would know anything about them!” The sales clerk shot back.

“That’s right! If you’re planning to buy something, then hurry up. If not, just leave. Your type of people are the hardest to serve,” the other shop assistant added.

Mo Li Xin was about to counter them when a tall man entered the store. With a glance, she gathered that he was a mixed-blood, bewitchingly distinguished, and very handsome. Compared to Ji Nan Feng’s looks, he was not outdone. Although both men were good-looking, they were handsome in their own right. One was like a refined prince, and the other gave off the vibe of a valiant knight.

“When did rip off garments have the right to be sold?” The man asked.

The sales assistant was star stuck as she gawked at the man. As for what he had said, she was unable to process his words but neither did she care to.

Mo Li Xin also became curious about the man as she raised her eyebrows, “How did you tell that these wedding dresses were imitations?”

“Evidently this set of dresses were mechanically designed with uniformed patterns, hence it contained no sense of original creation. The difference between these and the dresses from the celestial stars series is too notable to be ignored. Do you know about its origin too?” Gong Ze Yun asked, his profound gaze rested on Mo Li Xin.

Mo Li Xin did not notice his strange stare as her full attention was on the wedding dresses. One would not have looked at a stranger with that gaze, but more likely towards a longtime lover.

“I do, I definitely know,” and how could she not? This was her creation. But who would have expected that an outing would lead to her coincidentally finding out that someone plagiarized her work?

“The night sky above is sprinkled with stars. Everything may look like it’s disorderly and random, but in fact, they all have their rightful placement. The essence of this design is not in the expensive embellished diamonds but in the diamond’s placement. Four in a group, in picturesque disorder around the waistline of the twelve dresses. They represented the twelve constellations. Hence the name ‘celestial stars’.

“Whereas these… imitations… are just copied mechanically without any attempt at originality. They do not have a deeper meaning to it, the people behind the scenes are just trying to churn out large quantities without regard for quality,” Mo Li Xin slowly explained.

Gong Ze Yun stared at Mo Li Xin, mesmerized. She had always been like this, whether it was in the previous life or this life. Her pure and passionate opinion regarding designing wedding dresses had not changed.

Fortunately, in this life, there was still time. It was not too late.

“What do you know? You’re spouting nonsense!” The sales assistant was enraged. It was every girl’s dream to own a set of celestial stars wedding dresses. Yet she knew that she would not have the opportunity to own one, so being able to promote these merchandise was something that she was proud of and satisfied with. But this girl from unknown origins, dared to claim that those wedding dresses were not worth mentioning and that it was a shabby imitation.

“Don’t you worry, this kind of thing we wouldn’t want to purchase. Neither do we need to own something like that. A word of advice, it’s best you start looking for a new job. I don’t believe this store will last for much longer,” the silent Xu Qing Man suddenly harrumphed.

How dare they brazenly plagiarize Xin Xin’s work? How shameless! She must report this store and make them suffer the consequences of their actions!

In the end, Mo Li Xin took a cab home as she left the chauffeur to ferry Xu Qing Man back. Her thoughts lingered on the beautiful man who suddenly appeared. He exited the wedding dress store with both of them and walked a short distance together. From their brief conversation, she found out that they had many common interests, and talking to him was not awkward. Yet subconsciously she felt that the gaze he had when he looked at her was somewhat particular.

~~~~

When she got home, Ji Nan Feng was still not back yet. Looking at all the new items she bought, she decided to pack them first. By the time she was done, it was already ten in the evening. The villa was neither big nor small but with the new decorations, it gave a touch of warmth to the house.

Glancing at her phone, she saw that Ji Nan Feng sent a text message an hour ago. He informed her that he would be late as he had things to settle, and he told her not to worry.

Reading the message, Mo Li Xin broke into a smile. This was the first time he ‘reported’ to her.

Placing down the phone she proceeded to take a bath. Unexpectedly, the building suddenly experienced a power outage. Mo Li Xin was thankful that she had washed off the suds before it happened. She fumbled around blindly for her bath towel and wrapped it around herself. As she made her way towards the bedroom, she heard the sound of doors opening from at the living room.

“Nan Feng, is that you?” Mo Li Xin asked in uncertainty, feeling somewhat guarded.

“Why aren’t you sleeping yet? Were you afraid?” Ji Nan Feng’s soothing voice came from the entrance.

“I’m not scared,” Mo Li Xin replied as she breathed a sigh of relief. Despite her words, she was relatively afraid of the dark.

After their brief exchange, the two finally ended on the bed. Ji Nan Feng reached over and put Mo Li Xin into his arms.

“Did you wash your hair?” Ji Nan Feng asked.

“No, the doctor applied medication on my head yesterday. He advised me not to wash my hair for three days,” Mo Li Xin murmured, as her thoughts drifted to somewhere unpleasant.

“That day, were you hurt?” Ji Nan Feng asked despite knowing the answer. He felt troubled because as compared to everyone else, he knew very clearly what exactly happened that day.

“En, but it’s not serious. You’re in a more serious condition, and th-” she did not want to mention that person.

“Duan An Ran?”

“Yes…” she answered weakly.

“The incident had nothing to do with you. So don’t worry about it. As for what happened that day, I’ve already investigated. There is CCTV monitoring in that area when the hotel caught fire. You’re innocent,” Ji Nan Feng reassured. This was exactly the reason why he came back late tonight.

It was precisely because of this event in his past life that led to his relationship with Mo Li Xin to drop completely below freezing point.

Although in this life, he knew the entire process of development, he still had to seek evidence in order to rid Mo Li Xin of all suspicion.

He had to admit that Duan An Ran was extremely conniving in many aspects. She was about to manipulate the victim into feeling that they were the cause of the matter. Even when the victim was the one injured, they would still be plagued with a deep sense of guilt and speechlessness.

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Second male lead is that you? (´∀`) Second male lead syndrome activated

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