"Chuchu, this is a formal competition. You are responsible for all the participants present."
Qi Hao frowned and couldn't help but try to persuade her. Lian Chuchu bit her lip, her face pale. In Qi Hao's eyes, she seemed to be a loyal and righteous girl, but she was torn between her best friend and justice.
"Chuchu, let me see, I won't tell anyone."
Hearing Qi Hao's assurance, Lian Chuchu hesitated for a while before turning on her phone and handing it to him. Qi Hao was quite tall, and Song Mengmeng couldn't see him when he was looking at the phone.
Looking at the finished product and its description on the page, Qi Hao's expression grew increasingly grim. This was one of Sole's earlier works, which had gone unnoticed due to its age.
He glanced at Lian Chuchu, whose eyebrows were furrowed and who looked like she was about to cry.
Qi Hao pressed the lock button, the screen went black, and he handed it to Lian Chuchu, saying, "Chuchu, this matter concerns fairness."
Lian Chuchu lowered her head, her voice trembling with emotion:
"I know, but Vivi is my best friend, I can't do this."
Having spent so many days with Lian Chuchu, Qi Hao had been moved by the girl's simplicity and kindness. Now, seeing her in such a predicament, Qi Hao felt a dull pain in his heart. After a long silence, he finally spoke:
"This has nothing to do with you. Mengmeng and I will handle it. Don't worry, it won't affect your relationship."
Song Mengmeng was unaware of the situation, so she looked up and asked in confusion:
"What's wrong?"
The three of them spoke in very low voices, so others thought they were just whispering and wouldn't have any other thoughts.
Qi Hao lowered his head and told Song Mengmeng about it, and Song Mengmeng stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
No wonder that outfit looked so familiar; it was designed by Li Weiwei.
"This is plagiarism, and it happened in a competition."
Song Mengmeng had never encountered such a situation before, but she found Li Weiwei's behavior extremely distasteful.
"Mengmeng, keep your voice down."
Qi Hao glanced at Lian Chuchu, whose eyes were already red. Song Mengmeng quickly covered her mouth and turned to look at Lian Chuchu as well, "Chuchu, what are you thinking?"
Lian Chuchu's eyes reddened slightly, and she shook her head. "I think Weiwei must have her reasons. She's not that kind of person."
"Chuchu, you can't see into someone's heart. In this kind of competition, everyone is pursuing fairness. If she wins a prize because of plagiarism, then everyone can plagiarize in the future."
Lian Chuchu looked very sad and said haltingly:
"I know, but Weiwei is my best friend. I'm begging you, if she hasn't affected anyone else, please, please don't expose her. I'll definitely talk to her nicely."
Seeing that even Chu Chu had said so, and that the group was getting along quite well, Song Mengmeng and Qi Hao remained silent for a long time before saying, "Okay, we agree."
Qi Hao nodded, agreeing to Lian Chuchu's request. Song Mengmeng was actually not very happy, but seeing that Qi Hao had agreed, she could only nod under Lian Chuchu's expectant gaze.
Speaking of which, in the second team competition, it was thanks to Lian Chuchu that their scores improved.
About half an hour later, the results were announced by the president himself.
First place: Nam Gyi
Second place: Cheng Yi
Third place: Lian Chuchu
Fourth place: Zhang Hong (Li Weiwei's group member)
Fifth place: Li Weiwei
The sixth place went to another member of Li Weiwei's group. Even Chu Chu listened to the rankings, lowered her head, and smiled slightly. She had expected that Li Weiwei's group members would be so capable.
Seventh place: An Ran
Eighth place: Qi Hao
......
There are quite a few more after that. Song Mengmeng died in tenth place, but this incident didn't affect her.
Li Weiwei was so excited she almost jumped up, her eyes sparkling. She had actually come in fifth place! Thank God.
Qi Hao glanced at Lian Chuchu and said, "Chuchu, your friend just made it to fifth place."
"Brother Qi Hao, I know, but..."
"Chuchu, this matter must be told to the president, otherwise she will never repent."
Qi Hao interrupted Lian Chuchu, who lowered her head completely and stopped talking. Song Mengmeng couldn't bear to see Lian Chuchu so upset, so she reached out and took Lian Chuchu's hand. "Chuchu, you don't need to blame yourself for this. It has nothing to do with you. Just sit here from now on."
Immediately afterwards, Song Mengmeng stood up and addressed the stage:
"President, I have an objection."
The president had just finished announcing the results when he heard this, and his gaze fell on Song Mengmeng. "What objections?"
Song Mengmeng took out her phone, which contained Sole's works that she had searched for herself. They were all available online. "Someone plagiarized FM designer Sole's early works. I have evidence."
Her words caused a stir among the dozens of people, who looked at each other and whispered among themselves.
Li Weiwei's heart skipped a beat, and she panicked, but she couldn't show it at the moment. She was using the manuscript paper that Sister Chu Chu didn't use, not Sole's.
Thinking about this, her heart calmed down a lot.
Li Weiwei picked out the two best drafts from Lian Chuchu's pile of papers. She used the less-than-perfect one for the first scene, but after perfecting it herself, the result was quite good, and she found that no one noticed or pursued the matter. Only then did she use the second draft, feeling relieved again that someone else must have used Sole's design.
The association will not tolerate plagiarism. The president's face darkened, and he asked Song Mengmeng to bring up her phone. He and the vice president and several other judges stared at Sole's design for a long time and even found the work submitted by Li Weiwei.
In comparison, Li Weiwei made slight modifications to this design, adding some elements that fit the theme. However, anyone who understands design can immediately tell that it was just a matter of adding a few things, and everything else remained unchanged.
The president's face immediately darkened. In all his years, he had never encountered anyone who dared to cheat in such an important competition, such blatant plagiarism.
After discussing it, the judges decided to change the rankings.
"After investigation and comparison by the association, it was found that some of you plagiarized Sole's work. After discussion, we have decided to re-determine the top five."
The vice president stood up, his face also grim. This plagiarist was treating the association like a fool.
"The players who will represent the country in the competition are Nan Zhi, Cheng Yi, Lian Chuchu, An Ran, and Qi Hao."
This statement completely stunned the people below, and they immediately replaced two contestants.
Li Weiwei's heart sank completely. She was replaced, along with team member Zhang Hong. This was Zhang Hong's third time participating; she had finally managed to advance to the world stage this year, and now she was suddenly replaced. How could she accept this? She abruptly stood up and shouted:
"I didn't plagiarize, so why was I replaced? I'm not having it."
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