"Alright, stop arguing." Lu Ying was exasperated by their bickering and said with a stern face, "We will investigate the truth of the matter. Go back and wait for our news!"
“Team leader, no need to investigate anymore, she plagiarized us.” Liu Caixia knew the whole story and said confidently, “I guarantee with the reputation of the state-owned garment factory that we are the original creators of Four Seasons Story.”
"That's a joke. I never said my design was 'The Story of the Four Seasons'," Chen Meili retorted. "You guys have a set, I only designed a single piece. Who copied you?"
Lu Ying was angered by the two of them. Without saying a word, she got up and left.
Su Zhe glanced at Chen Meili and followed Lu Ying out. Chen Meili called out to him, "Su Zhe, don't you believe me either?"
"I believe the facts." Su Zhe walked away without looking back.
"You bitch!" Liu Caixia was furious. They were supposed to go home happily after the results came out this afternoon.
Because of their meddling, she has to stay and cooperate with the investigation.
It might even alarm Xu Qingning.
After Zhao Jingyu finished giving his statement at the police station and asked about the interrogation results, the police officer told him, "These two have confessed. They said someone contacted their boss and asked them to scout out the state-owned clothing factory's guesthouse and steal their competition sample clothes. But their boss is elusive, and they don't know where he is now."
“Comrade Zhao, this is an organized theft gang. We will definitely follow the clues and arrest them all.” Another policeman added, “If there is anything wrong with your competition costume samples, we will provide you with evidence.”
"Thank you, officer." Zhao Jingyu knew this matter couldn't be resolved overnight, and he didn't know the final outcome at the venue, so he thought he'd go back and check.
Just as he stepped out of the police station, Liu Caixia walked towards him. As soon as she saw Zhao Jingyu, she told him what had just happened: "It must have been Chen Meili who did this. Maybe Xiao Tingshen was involved too. They're shameless."
"The police station has also found some clues. We'll go and report to the judging panel. As long as we can prove that our work is original, the matter will be resolved."
Zhao Jingyu felt that this matter was not difficult, and returned to the venue with Liu Caixia to tell the judging panel what happened last night. "It is obvious that the other party is in the dark, while we are in the light, so they came up with such a despicable way to deal with us. Because we are the original creators, we are aboveboard."
"Understood, we will go to the police station to find out what happened." Seeing that Zhao Jingyu was in a stable mood and did not seem to be there to cause trouble, Lu Ying said, "Go back and wait for news. We will investigate as soon as possible. Once it is found that someone plagiarized, not only will their competition ranking be canceled, but they will also be banned from participating in any clothing competitions held in Shandong Province for life."
"Okay, then let's go back and wait." Zhao Jingyu wisely stopped asking questions and returned to the guesthouse with Liu Caixia.
Xiao Tingshen was already waiting for them at the door. Zhao Jingyu was annoyed when he saw him: "What are you doing here?"
"Jingyu, don't misunderstand, I'm here to apologize to you." Xiao Tingshen had just returned from Su Zhe's place. He knew Chen Meili's level of expertise and also knew that Xu Qingning was a fashion designer at a state-owned clothing factory.
These entries are all stylish and practical; it's unlikely that Chen Meili, an amateur, could have designed such pieces.
"An apology?" Zhao Jingyu opened the door, and Xiao Tingshen followed him in, frowning. "Let's settle this privately!"
"I advised you to withdraw from the competition back then, but you wouldn't listen," Zhao Jingyu sneered. "Now you want to settle this privately? Too late!"
“Exactly! Once you participate in the competition, it’s no longer a private matter. How can you resolve it privately?” Liu Caixia followed her into the room and said irritably, “Xiao Tingshen, you’re supposed to be a college student, how could you do such a thing?”
“I really didn’t know,” Xiao Tingshen explained. “If I had known that Chen Meili had plagiarized Xu Qingning’s work, I would absolutely not have agreed to her participating in the competition.”
"I remember telling you this, but you didn't believe me." Zhao Jingyu was too lazy to talk to him about it and snorted coldly, "Xiao Tingshen, I have nothing more to say to you. Let's just wait for the judges' investigation results!"
“I have provided all of Xu Qingning’s design ideas and inspirations from the past six months.” Liu Caixia had previously thought Xiao Tingshen was an upright and good young man, but now she found him increasingly displeasing. She said coldly, “We are confident of victory and will not accept private mediation.”
If it weren't for Chen Meili, that troublemaker, she would already be celebrating her victory with Zhao Jingyu.
shameless!
Xiao Tingshen was rebuffed and returned to school dejectedly.
He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and wrote an urgent letter to Tang Wenya that very night, telling her the whole story and accusing her of using any means necessary and of making things difficult for Xu Qingning in such a matter.
They also said that Chen Meili was ruthless and even hired a thief to steal Xu Qingning's sample clothes, which was simply outrageous.
He didn't understand why Tang Wenya had become like this, what had made her like this?
In any case, Ge Yanni is well-educated and reasonable, and would never do such a thing.
The next morning, Liu Caixia went to knock on Zhao Jingyu's door and asked him to accompany her to ask the judges. She was an impatient person and hadn't slept well the night before.
"Let's wait a little longer. They'll come looking for us when they hear something." Zhao Jingyu was also anxious, but they had no better option than to wait. They had already said everything they needed to say and sent all the necessary evidence.
"Otherwise, we would have already boarded a long-distance bus and headed back." Liu Caixia was restless. "There are rumors going around the factory now. They even suspect that we copied someone else's work!"
“Director Liu, this is what they call good things come to those who wait. Let’s wait a little longer.” Zhao Jingyu raised his wrist to look at his watch. “Come on, let me treat you to breakfast, and then we can take a stroll and buy some gifts to take back.”
"You're such a carefree kid," Liu Caixia said with a laugh. "I don't think I'd dare let you treat me. What if we can't reconcile the accounts when we get home, and you two have a fight? That would be my fault again."
"It is my honor to invite Director Liu to dinner, and my wife will definitely support it," Zhao Jingyu said seriously. "When I came here, my wife repeatedly told me to take good care of Director Liu, to invite him to dinner, and to take him shopping. If I neglect Director Liu, I will have to kneel on a washboard when I get home."
"You're just good at talking." Liu Caixia was amused by him. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. I'll take you to the biggest department store in the provincial capital. It's almost Chinese New Year, so we can buy some New Year's goods to take back with us."
“I knew it. Coming to the provincial capital with Director Liu was definitely a great deal. Not only is the food and lodging free, but we can also broaden our horizons.” Zhao Jingyu grabbed his coat and headed out. “The provincial capital is really cold. I’m going out to buy a coat, otherwise my ears will freeze off.”
The weather wasn't too cold for the first couple of days after I arrived.
It started getting windy in the provincial capital yesterday, and it got cold as soon as it started to blow. He was wearing a sweater and a suit, but he couldn't keep out the cold wind at all.
"Who told you to prioritize style over warmth, daring to come to the provincial capital in just a sweater and suit?" Liu Caixia had been wearing a padded jacket and trousers the whole time. She saw that Zhao Jingyu was dressed lightly and thought that young people were resistant to the cold, but who knew that he also had his limits.
She reached into her pocket and took out a few cloth coupons, giving them to Zhao Jingyu: "Everything else is fine, but you should buy yourself a cotton-padded coat first, otherwise if you catch a cold, I won't be able to explain it to your wife when we get back."
As soon as Zhao Jingyu entered the market, he bought a military overcoat. He actually had one at home, but he didn't wear it because he thought it was too bulky.
When he gets back, he'll give this military overcoat to his dad, who definitely doesn't have one.
Liu Caixia browsed around but didn't buy anything.
She felt that everything sold in this market was quite expensive.
Putting everything else aside, Zhao Jingyu's military overcoat was five cents more expensive than in Jiaodong City, so she couldn't bear to buy it.
When the two returned, Lu Ying was already waiting for them in the guardhouse.
Thank you to Wanxingmianmian, Pinganxile, Shuyou, Shuyou, Shuyou, and Dongxian for the monthly tickets.
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