"You won't..."
"I am the original designer of Acacia!"
The proud gleam in her eyes when she mentioned Xiangsi (a Chinese idiom for longing for someone) faded, and her gaze fell on the gravel in front of her. Wan Mingyi's expression turned bitter. "In August, he gave me a bouquet of flowers, which included a bunch of red beans. I had never grown red beans before, so I didn't know I had to water them. I watched as the plump, red beans turned black day by day. Then one day, I had a flash of inspiration and drew a design for Xiangsi."
"I was so proud of myself at the time. Even though it was just a sketch, I felt very proud, so I took a picture and posted it on the forum to share my thoughts with fellow enthusiasts."
Ye Li looked surprised, "That 'Better safe than sorry' guy was you?"
Wan Mingyi nodded.
Ye Li breathed a sigh of relief.
She said she had seen it.
Seemingly surprised that Ye Li was a netizen she had interacted with in the comments section, Wan Mingyi sighed and continued, "Less than ten minutes after I posted it, he came back and told me that we designers should properly record even the fleeting inspirations that cross our minds. Drawing them out like I did is fine, but posting them on the forum is unnecessary. And then... I deleted it."
As if she had already guessed who the "he" Wan Mingyi was talking about was, Ye Li remained silent.
The light in Wan Mingyi's eyes dimmed little by little. "He graduated from the Jewelry Design Department of Imperial University. His family is well-off, and he is a promising jewelry designer. As for me, I'm just self-taught and a late bloomer. In his words, a full bottle of water is silent, but a half-full bottle is noisy and will spill if you're not careful."
"I was the one who suggested it first. We'd set up our own design studio, meticulously crafting our own brand, and one day, we'd shine. It was just a casual remark before bed, and I forgot about it as soon as I woke up. I never expected this..."
Wan Mingyi chuckled self-deprecatingly and turned to look at Ye Li. "He found several talented designers in the industry and co-founded Shiny Studio. He only told me after it was all registered, saying it was because he didn't want me to work too hard. He also said that when he becomes a big designer in the future, he can buy me a big house and support me!"
"Fuck it!"
After swearing, Wan Mingyi glared angrily at the vast sea before her and shouted, "I'm talented and capable! Even if I weren't a designer, I could support myself with a job. Why should he support me? He's a shameless plagiarist!"
Ye Li's eyes lit up.
Indeed, great minds think alike.
She and Wan Mingyi had the same opinion about Chen Jiayuan.
"He copied your 'Love Longing' set of poems. Didn't you ask him for an explanation?"
Ye Li asked.
Wan Mingyi sighed, looking dejected. "The draft is gone. Even if there was a first draft, it's on his computer. Even changing 'red bean' to 'ruby' was his own idea. Forget suing him, I can't even provide evidence that he plagiarized me to complain to anyone. Besides, he's my boyfriend... oh, wait..."
Wan Mingyi changed her tune, "He's already my ex-boyfriend!"
"Ye Li, they say you can know a person's face but not their heart, but I never thought I couldn't even see through the person next to me in bed!"
She recalled how he used rubies to design the Love of Longing piece, and how he proudly showed it off in his studio, accepting praise and flattery from others, and how disgusting his attitude was when she discovered it.
Wan Mingyi was utterly dejected. "I must have been blind!"
"If I hadn't fallen in love with jewelry design, I wouldn't have met that scumbag, and without him, I wouldn't be feeling so utterly hopeless right now."
With her head bowed, tears slid down her cheeks and disappeared into the sand with a thud.
Wan Mingyi whispered, "Perhaps, it was wrong from the very beginning!"
"No, you're not wrong!"
Ye Li's voice was firm and resonant.
Wan Mingyi suddenly raised her head.
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