Chapter 368 A Twist of Fate
"It's okay." Su Youling mouthed reassuringly, not worried about losing at all, but rather excited.
She admired Master Li's skills and character back then, and now that she has the opportunity to compete with him on the same stage, she is actually quite eager to do so.
"Now, let's welcome Ms. Rebecca, number four—the CEO and chief designer of the Strange Kingdom—who will give a detailed explanation of their design plan." The host's opening line successfully brought everyone's attention back.
The crowd looked at the stage, their expressions ranging from anticipation and disdain to amusement... each representing a different stance.
Sitting at the table, Li Shi subtly clenched his fist at Su Youling, as if to say "good luck."
He was forced into this situation today without any preparation, and he only glanced at the design plan on the way here.
However, he still has high expectations for this young girl.
He looked so much like President Su, and they worked in very similar industries. He shone brightly on stage, which made him feel a strong sense of kinship.
Su Youling smiled slightly, nodded in gratitude, and turned to open her presentation slides. "Regarding the design of this art exhibition, we have a few fresh ideas..."
He had only been speaking for less than a minute when a commotion suddenly broke out in the audience.
First, the design team members of Yitao Culture whispered among themselves, their eyes turning strange. Then, Teacher Li asked a few questions in a low voice and turned to find the judging panel.
The judges began to get excited.
The murmurs grew louder, and Li Tingxi frowned. He vaguely heard a rather unpleasant rumor and immediately gave it a cold look.
The people behind dared not speak loudly anymore, but their gazes toward the stage became increasingly mocking and disdainful, almost as if they were throwing daggers at each other.
"What nonsense are they spouting?" Wen Xi had also heard the rumors and wanted to slam her fist on the table and argue with these lunatics. She lowered her voice and angrily rebuked her team members, "Our design team worked overtime for several days to create this plan. Who plagiarized it? Spreading rumors without evidence, do they think we're easy targets?"
Li Tingxi said in a low voice, "The more critical the moment, the calmer you need to be. Don't cause her any trouble."
"You..." Wen Xi glared at him unhappily, then immediately cowered, muttering, "Why are you being so fierce? You've offended your boyfriend's best friend, do you still want to get married?"
Li Tingxi "..."
He paused, then pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh, and said calmly, "Miss Wenxi, as the deputy team leader, what should you be doing now?"
“I should…” Wen Xi glanced at the judging panel and suddenly realized, “I need to go and verify with the judging panel. I can’t let them slander me.”
Watching her rush over in such a hurry, Li Tingxi was speechless for a long time, feeling a little sorry for Su Su.
With such a formidable team of teammates, it's no wonder she's always so exhausted!
The atmosphere in the audience was becoming increasingly awkward. Su Youling noticed this and simply stopped her speech, picked up the microphone, and calmly asked, "Excuse me, is there something wrong with my design?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone threw a pen onto the stage.
"Stop pretending! Your design is a rip-off of our Yitao Culture. Don't think that just because your Strange Kingdom went first, this design is yours." The speaker was none other than Zhao Chuang, the marketing director who had just drawn the last lot in the lottery.
#Please do not use incognito mode whenever verification is required!
Li Tingxi's expression changed, and he hurriedly went up on stage, kicked the pen away, and shouted sternly, "Whose hand doesn't want to be used anymore?"
There was a moment of silence below, followed by an even stronger backlash.
"President Li, Rebecca stole the design from Yitao Culture, which is our own company. How can you be siding with outsiders?"
"You didn't give this design to Rebecca, did you? That's the result of so much hard work and time from the team members. You're such a derelict boss."
"This kind of design, obtained through unconventional means, might be used in exotic countries, but art exhibitions probably wouldn't accept it, right?"
"These foreigners are born thieves. The Allied forces stole so many antiques and works of art back then, and now these people come back to steal designs. They have no shame!"
"Have you had enough?" Li Tingxi's brows furrowed, his cold gaze sweeping over the noisy crowd. He said, word by word, "Rebecca's talent is undeniable; she would never stoop to such despicable acts. I can stand by her character and abilities, but do you dare stand by your words?"
He lowered his brows sharply, and his cold and fierce aura instantly erupted. Every word he uttered was like a dark gun barrel, aimed at every mouth that dared to speak, silencing the entire scene.
At this moment, Old Master Lu suddenly stood up and said coldly, "Rebecca, this is a grand event for art, and we absolutely will not allow any filth or corruption to exist here. Explain yourself."
Su Youling calmly returned the gaze, "Mr. Lu, this design draft was completed by more than a dozen people in our working group. There are meeting minutes, manuscripts, and electronic records... Moreover, we were the first to go on stage. Why is it concluded that Strange Kingdom plagiarized Yitao Culture?"
“Because Heaven has eyes.” Zhao Chuang suddenly stood up, looking righteous and awe-inspiring. He walked to the judges’ table and met Su Youling’s eyes on the stage. “You caused Boss Ka to be injured and hospitalized, wasn’t it all to eliminate Yitao Culture, a formidable competitor?”
"Fortunately, Mr. Ka is wise and insightful. Because he was afraid that I, an outsider who doesn't understand art, would make mistakes, he insisted on sending the electronic files of the design to Mr. Li and Mr. Ding for review as soon as I woke up in the hospital. He originally intended to check it one last time to ensure there were no errors."
"Unexpectedly, it has now become evidence to verify the truth. As for the meeting minutes and manuscripts you just mentioned... those are things that only original works like ours would have. What you've produced must be pre-prepared false evidence." This resounding rebuttal heated up the atmosphere again, filled with voices of opposition to Rebecca.
Li Tingxi frowned, his expression turning grim.
However, he did not rush to stand up for Su Youling. Instead, he stood quietly by her side, silently expressing his trust and support.
He believed in Su Su; whether in the past or present, she never needed to depend on anyone, but rather resolved everything related to her independently.
Of course, Su Youling did not disappoint him.
Faced with everyone's doubts, Zhao Chuang's accusations, and the anxious and worried looks from her team members, she slightly raised her hand and pressed it down, "Please be quiet."
After a moment of sighing, the crowd gradually quieted down.
“I never expected a design proposal to cause such a huge uproar. Now, no matter what our two teams say, it won’t change the fact that this proposal has been corrupted by that scoundrel.” Su Youling’s indifferent gaze towards Zhao Chuang was full of sarcasm. “Both sides have their own reasons. Just because you attacked first doesn’t mean that Strange Kingdom is problematic. Couldn’t all of this have been premeditated?”
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