Chapter 196 Either don't compete at all.
This design competition is the highly anticipated "Pengyue Cup," a major domestic design competition.
For Shang Wu, this is an important step in his design career.
This competition has an extremely high reputation, and if she wins, her name as the designer "Freya" will qualify her for international rankings.
The competition consisted of three rounds, with each participant preparing their own design work.
Shang Wu immediately submitted the limited edition artwork that she planned to release in the next quarter as her entry for the competition.
After successfully registering, she arrived at the hotel designated for the competition the very next day, bringing Ah Ying and her carefully crafted artwork with her.
The hotel lobby was filled with emerging designers from all over the country and several renowned masters.
Shang Wu doesn't like making friends or expanding her network in the design circle. Therefore, apart from a few masters who frequently appear in the news, she doesn't know any of the others and is too lazy to exchange pleasantries with them.
For some reason, when she and Aying checked in, they could clearly feel that the gazes cast around them were somewhat strange.
Several young designers who were also participating in the competition whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with undisguised contempt.
"Look, it's her, Shang Wu."
"I heard that in order to make money, she used her work to promote her best friend to become a designer and ghostwriter behind the scenes."
"That's right. It seems like this matter caused quite a stir. Her best friend betrayed her in the end, and the two of them were tearing each other apart."
"How dare someone like this participate in the competition? He's just dragging down the competition's standards."
These murmurs were quite loud and clearly reached Shang Wu and A Ying's ears.
Aying was so angry that her face turned red. She wanted to step forward to argue, but Shangwu gently pulled her back.
Just then, a design master named Zhu Ying happened to pass by and overheard the discussion.
He stopped and gave Shang Wu a sharp once-over before saying bluntly, "Design is an art that requires piety and self-respect. If you can use your own work to make money, you don't deserve to stand on this competition stage. I hope some people can have some self-awareness."
After saying that, he snorted coldly and left.
Immediately, more mocking or amused glances were cast from those around them.
Shang Wu's expression remained unchanged.
Having seen many big events, this is nothing.
Since she had openly admitted to using her hard work to promote Ji Yu, she was prepared to be judged.
Besides, she has already sincerely apologized, received forgiveness from her fans, and started anew. Let others say what they want; she will just continue on her own path.
Shang Wu took the room key, thanked the staff, and, as if she hadn't heard the harsh noises, pulled the indignant A Ying straight toward the elevator.
As soon as she entered the hotel room, Aying couldn't help but explode.
"President Shang, they've gone too far! How dare they talk about you like that! And that so-called master, he doesn't even know the truth and he's just spouting nonsense!"
Shang Wu put her suitcase down, walked to the window and looked at the bustling city outside. Her tone was calm and unwavering: "People can say whatever they want, we can't control them. In this industry, the only way to shut people up is to let your work speak for itself. My work is good enough, that's enough."
Seeing that she showed no signs of being affected, Aying couldn't help but sigh, "Being mocked to my face like that, I don't have such a strong heart."
“A strong heart is built through training. If you have experienced being abandoned by your family, friends and fiancé, and then the Yu family incident, the malice of these people today will be like a drop of rain falling from the sky, without any harm to you.”
Shang Wu urged A Ying to go to sleep, then turned on the computer and began making final adjustments to the details of the artwork.
Night was falling.
After reviewing the submissions, she looked up at the sky outside.
She doesn't care what kind of person she is in other people's eyes.
Only she knows what her life has been like along the way.
If she could be defeated by these moments of exclusion and gossip, she would have already given up.
As Shang Wu was deep in thought, the landline phone in the room suddenly rang sharply.
She frowned. Who could it be so late? She answered the phone: "Hello?"
A cold voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello, is this Ms. Freya? This is the competition review team. We have just received a formal complaint accusing you of serious ghostwriting and design practices in the past."
Shang Wu narrowed her eyes slightly. So they're resorting to the reporting tactic now?
"Please come to the conference room on the third floor of the hotel immediately. We need to ask you questions about this incident."
Shang Wu held the microphone and suddenly found it all ridiculous.
A report? That happened the night before her scheduled performance. How interesting.
"Miss Freya? Are you listening? Please come over immediately!" the voice on the other end of the phone urged.
Shang Wu said calmly, "I'll be right there."
After hanging up the phone, she followed the staff to the temporary meeting room on the third floor.
There were already three or four people inside, including Zhu Ying, who had embarrassed her in public during the day, two other highly experienced design masters, and a person in charge of the competition organizing committee.
The atmosphere was so heavy it was suffocating.
"Freya, please sit down." The person in charge said in a cold tone, pushing a printed document in front of her.
“We received a joint, signed complaint from these teachers, alleging that when you worked at Chengzhou Group, you provided a large number of design drafts to your then-best friend, designer Ji Yu, which constitutes suspected ghostwriting.”
"Do you have anything to explain about this?"
Shang Wu looked at the "evidence" that was clearly carefully prepared, her expression turning slightly cold.
That is indeed true.
It was because she misjudged people and made a moment of confusion, using her design work to sell Cheng Zhou's work and to gild Ji Yu's reputation.
She never considered denying it, and later publicly apologized.
But this has become the basis for others to attack her today.
Shang Wu calmly explained, "This did happen, but I didn't seek any commercial gain at the time; it was purely out of personal affection..."
"Help?" Zhu Ying interrupted her with a cold laugh, her tone full of sarcasm. "Where are the boundaries of help in the design industry? Frena, you're blurring the lines of originality, which is the greatest disrespect to the competition! We believe you're not qualified to compete!"
“That’s right! One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel!” another master chimed in. “She must be disqualified from the competition!”
The person in charge looked troubled, as if he was weighing his options.
Looking at their righteous and self-righteous faces, as if they were defending the sanctity of the industry, Shang Wu felt a wave of disgust wash over her.
“I took the initiative to admit this and apologize, and donated all the income from these works to a charity foundation. Even the buyers of my jewelry brand forgave me. What right do you have to question me?”
The expressions on their faces changed slightly, and they were momentarily speechless.
At this point, the person in charge said, "Go back to your room and wait for the final evaluation results."
Shang Wu got up and walked out of the conference room with a heavy heart. She didn't leave immediately, but stopped at the corner of the corridor.
She needs to think of a solution.
Just then, the meeting room door wasn't closed properly, and the faint sound of several people talking inside could be heard.
First, the person in charge hesitated: "Teachers, although the report is true, Freya did not cheat in the official competition. Directly disqualifying her doesn't seem quite right, does it? Besides, her initial score for this submission was very high..."
Then came a low, calculating voice: "Brother Li, you've seen her work too. The creativity and execution are both extremely high. She's our strongest competitor! Now we have the perfect opportunity to take her down. Without this formidable rival, our chances of winning will greatly increase, won't they?"
Zhu Ying's voice rang out, tinged with smugness: "Hmph, she's not clean herself, who can she blame? This is perfect for clearing the way for us. We have the majority of judges in this competition, so let's stick to the fact that she's a stain on the industry and kick her out!"
"Exactly, she doesn't have any connections anyway, so it's fine if she gets trampled on..."
Shang Wu heard it clearly and gave a mocking smirk.
These sanctimonious so-called masters are truly despicable.
Her gaze turned cold and sharp.
Do you want to ruin her?
Let's see who can outmaneuver whom.
Shang Wu turned around, walked back to her room, opened her laptop, and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.
Soon, she found the unreported dirt on Zhu Ying's early plagiarism of niche Eastern European designers, and email records of another master using his position as a judge to sexually harass female students.
There were also people who were invited to be judges and privately accepted huge bribes, with screenshots of bank transfers showing them helping others win awards.
Shang Wu knew about these people's dirty secrets in his early years, but he only regarded them as gossip and was not interested in them, so he would just read them and then throw them away.
I never thought it would come in handy one day.
She compiled these damaging allegations into a concise graphic and text format and anonymously sent it directly to the official group chat where all contestants and judges were present.
Instantly, the entire competition group exploded!
[Holy crap?! What is this?!]
[Bamboo Shadow Master plagiarized?!]
[Teacher Ye's alleged sexual harassment? Really?!] [They even take money? Was the competition this corrupt back then?]
[@Organizing Committee, please explain! Why is this kind of person allowed to compete with us?]
The group chat immediately erupted into chaos, with questions and onlookers flooding the screen.
At the same time, the phones of several people in the conference room started ringing incessantly.
When they opened the group message, their faces turned deathly pale.
"What's going on?! Who posted this?!"
Zhu Ying trembled with rage. "Who...who is deliberately targeting me?!"
The person in charge turned green.
Just then, with a "bang," the conference room door was suddenly pushed open.
Shang Wu left and then returned.
She stood at the doorway, her face cold and stern, her voice carrying an undeniable sense of pressure.
"Teachers, have you enjoyed all the great content in the group chat?"
She walked in step by step.
"Now, I'm giving you two choices."
"First, I need to immediately clarify with the organizing committee, withdraw your disgusting joint report, and do everything I can to ensure my fair participation."
"second,"
Shang Wu sneered, "We'll put all the dirt on us, including the original evidence, online. Let the whole world see what kind of person this so-called design master really is."
"Let's see if this competition can still be held then!"
Everyone was stunned, dumbfounded by her sharp expression.
Shang Wu placed her hands on the conference table, exuding the same imposing aura she had as a former CEO, and looked down at the few people who were terrified out of their wits.
She asked, word by word, "Should you try to salvage the situation now, or..."
"Let's all go into the water together, and stop competing?"
"select."
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