Chapter 93
With five days to go before the live broadcast of the "Road to the Sky" finale, the production team held a press conference.
All five finalists attended the meet-and-greet, and Lin Ting was undoubtedly the center of attention. Although the rumors about her and Chen Zhiyi that had been circulating online had subsided, the media loved to harp on the topic and ask questions. Lin Ting either smiled and remained silent, or the host would politely deflect the questions.
Lin Ting felt like she had become a two-faced person, saying one thing in front of others and another behind their backs. Being the woman behind a celebrity is not easy, especially since this woman also needs to occasionally show her face in public.
His fake smile was so stiff his face was practically frozen.
At this moment, a stranger in the audience picked up the microphone and asked Lin Ting about her commitment to originality. Lin Ting believes that as a designer, one must adhere to originality, be courageous in trying new materials, processes and technologies, discover the infinite possibilities of color and pattern, and skillfully combine art and technology to create clothing that is both beautiful and practical. She has a firm belief in original design.
What about plagiarism? Lin heard that designers should maintain a clear mind during the creative process, have confidence in their designs, and not be swayed by temporary gains or follow the crowd.
The stranger chuckled mockingly, pulled out a picture, and questioned Lin Ting, "Designer Lin, you're absolutely right. Then may I ask why the fabric pattern of a new e-commerce product launched by M Group is exactly the same as the fabric commonly used by a small e-commerce brand?"
It's a design based on fabric that we found in stock from a fabric supplier after failing to develop the fabric ourselves.
Lin Ting picked up the microphone and said calmly, "I think there must be a misunderstanding here. This fabric is in stock provided by a fabric supplier under our M Group. We sign a large contract before cooperating with suppliers, requiring that the fabrics provided cannot have any copyright disputes. This is the most basic professional quality."
The stranger said, "You're too confident. First of all, this fabric has the logo of an e-commerce brand, and the brand has applied for intellectual property protection for the pattern on this fabric. Your direct use of it is a serious infringement."
Or is it that your big company, with its vast resources and influence, allows you to so openly bully smaller brands?
A collective gasp rippled through the audience, and once again all the cameras and microphones were focused on Lin Ting.
Lin Ting wanted to argue, but when she saw the intellectual property certificate the man produced, she realized that things were not so simple and that it might be a premeditated scheme. The clothing industry has too many dirty tricks to use to crush competitors. A single false accusation of plagiarism can ruin a company. However, she did not know whether this scheme was for the company or for her. She had to stay calm and not let the situation worsen, especially since she was in front of the camera. If she was not careful, both the company and she would lose.
Lin Ting smiled again and said, "Please don't get agitated. There must be some misunderstanding. This fabric was indeed provided to us by the fabric supplier."
Before Lin could finish explaining, the man retorted, "Stop trying to shut up with the fabric supplier. As designers, you don't even have any awareness of copyright. You push the blame onto the supplier when something goes wrong. After all, it's ultimately your decision to use this fabric. The hard work of a small brand can be copied and stolen overnight, causing enough losses to bankrupt them. And you still have the audacity to claim that you insist on originality. It's ridiculous."
The words "plagiarism," "theft," and "bankruptcy" pierced Lin Ting's brain, causing sudden, sharp pains and leaving his mind blank. He forced himself to remain calm. "Please don't make a hasty decision. There must be a misunderstanding. Please give us time to investigate. If we are indeed wrong, we will accept all the corresponding punishments. However, today's press conference is about the competition. If you have any questions about the competition, you can contact me privately after the press conference."
The man was clearly not going to let it go, saying, "How can this not be related to the competition? I want to ask the production team, would you still dare to accept contestants with such disgraceful experience as plagiarism? You claim to be outstanding original fashion designers in China, but don't you do background checks on the contestants? How did they pass the selection process? Is there some kind of shady deal? Or do you have powerful connections that you can't afford to offend?"
There's someone behind this, which is clearly a veiled threat.
The media people in the audience started whispering among themselves, their gazes towards Lin Ting changing, filled with doubt and sarcasm. On stage, several contestants also secretly curled up the corners of their mouths, their eyes and brows revealing unintentional smiles. If caught by a discerning eye, they would have noticed that it was blatant schadenfreude.
Everyone's abilities are clear now that we've all made it to the finals. Fewer competitors mean a higher chance of winning, and everyone wants to be the last one standing, especially one who's been under intense scrutiny from the start.
This meet-and-greet was also broadcast live, and the barrage of comments instantly flooded in, with mixed opinions about Lin Ting.
"Having followed this show this far, Lin Ting's skills are quite good. Could she have been set up by someone?"
"Skill has nothing to do with ignorance. Moreover, as a designer, it's ridiculous that he doesn't even have the awareness to tell whether the pattern is a brand logo. To put it bluntly, it's plagiarism."
"Maybe she plagiarized other things, but it just hasn't been exposed yet."
"If that's the case, plagiarism is shameful. Don't forget that her first viral video was the one where she confidently declared herself an original designer. It seems ridiculous now."
"Is there a script? This girl has had a lot going on lately, hasn't she?"
"Could there really be something fishy going on? That guy just now clearly said that Lin Ting has someone backing her. Could that person be Chen Zhiyi?"
"I think it's possible. There's no smoke without fire in the entertainment industry. Many announcements claiming to be fabricated or false information will eventually prove to be true in the end."
The situation spiraled out of control, and the meeting ended prematurely.
After closing the door, Director Wang Tong spoke with Lin Ting about the matter in detail. Lin Ting couldn't explain it clearly at the moment and asked the director for time to investigate. However, she was certain that there was a misunderstanding and that she would never do something like plagiarism. Seeing her sincere attitude, Wang Qiang asked Lin Ting to resolve the matter before the finals.
Lin Ting left the meeting and went straight to the company. When she entered the office, everyone looked at her with serious expressions. It seemed that they all knew. She couldn't control it anymore, so she called Yao Yanyan over, and the two of them discussed the matter in the conference room.
Yao Yanyan took a stand and admitted that the mistake was her own fault. "It was my oversight, but at the time I really looked at a lot of suppliers and a lot of fabrics, but I couldn't find a suitable one. When I finally found one that was suitable, I got carried away and didn't verify it properly. I'm sorry."
Lin Ting couldn't bear to be harsh, after all, the problem was her own doing. If she had listened to advice and given up on placing the bulk order, this wouldn't have happened. "It has little to do with you. I insisted on placing the order, and I signed the fabric confirmation card. You covered for me during that time; it was very hard for you. Now I just want to contact the fabric supplier to find out what happened. As the boss, he couldn't possibly be unaware that this fabric is exclusive to another brand and has applied for intellectual property protection. If he knowingly recommended it to us, isn't he deliberately framing us? What is his purpose?"
Yao Yanyan took out her phone, "After I saw the live stream, I tried to contact the other party, but I haven't been able to reach them yet."
Lin didn't believe it and dialed the number, but the receiver said the number was out of service. He dialed again and got the same result.
Are there any other ways to contact me?
"No, I just contacted the supply management department. They are checking the factory records and should be able to find the rest."
Lin Ting couldn't sit still and got up. "I'm going to the supply management department."
Zhang Ying walked in. "No need to go over there, I just came back from there."
Lin asked anxiously, "Have you noticed anything unusual?"
Zhang Ying: "The submitted factory inspection documents were fine, and the on-site inspection was also fine. However, we went through a special approval channel at the time, and the on-site factory inspection was entrusted to a third party. Our staff did not go with us. But now we seriously suspect that he is a middleman who just borrowed someone else's factory site and does not actually have a factory."
These middlemen profit from the price difference. They own multiple physical factories, promote their products, or receive orders from upstream suppliers to produce them, thereby earning a profit in the process.
High-quality middlemen can be design studios or trading companies. They develop new styles, fabrics, and processes through their own designers or buyers, and then recommend them to brands. Once adopted by the brands, they can produce large quantities of goods and place orders with cooperating factories. Therefore, good middlemen are the design brains of brands and the way for physical factories to survive.
In pursuit of quick profits, many middlemen resort to opportunism, recommending the same designs to multiple brands, or using a brand's design as their own product to recommend to other brands. Large brands, taking note, will redesign the selected items to create new products, while smaller brands, eager to make quick money and seize market share, will directly steal or slightly modify the designs and produce them rapidly.
This has led to a situation where clothing styles on the market are very similar, making it impossible to determine which products are genuine. In some cases, counterfeit products, in order to achieve high sales volume with low profit margins, have copied the styles, changed the craftsmanship and fabric quality, and lowered the price, resulting in high sales volume and causing genuine products to lose market share.
Therefore, the M Group's supply management department has a relatively strict review process for design studios or trading companies. Normally, it takes three months to review before a company can be included in the supplier pool. However, this time, due to the special approval process, the chief designer, design director, and general manager of the design department jointly signed a guarantee to simplify the process, and all approval procedures were completed within one month.
Lin Ting was horrified upon closer examination. Sure enough, this fabric middleman had come with premeditation. "How could he know we needed fabric for a particular style, contact us at the perfect time, and even clearly understand the style we wanted, which is why his recommendations were so precise?"
"Could it be?" Lin Ting's expression suddenly turned ugly, and his gaze toward Yao Yanyan became increasingly obscure and unreadable.
Yao Yanyan knew exactly what Lin Ting meant. She lowered her head and chuckled softly, then looked up and stared directly into Lin Ting's eyes. "You think I'm a mole? What's my reason for doing this? Do you think I want to get revenge on you for taking my job? If I really wanted to frame you like this, I would have had many opportunities. Why would I wait until now? And why would I bother to keep an eye on things for you when you're not at the company? I could just give up."
Zhang Ying also thought it was unlikely. Although Yao Yanyan had made a mistake, she was highly loyal to the company. She might engage in minor squabbles, but she would never do something that would damage the company's reputation. Moreover, everyone had seen how diligently she had worked during this period. "I also think it's unlikely that Yanyan did it. It's also unlikely that the other colleagues in the design department did it. I'm sure my subordinates all have that kind of professionalism. But when you were developing the fabric, you tried it with many fabric suppliers, so it's inevitable that some information would have leaked out from outside."
Yao Yanyan spoke again, "I still remember what you said to me after the last order meeting. I can tell right from wrong."
Lin Ting also felt that he was despicable because he was so anxious that he started to shirk responsibility. Don't forget, he had the right to sign off on everything.
In an instant, Lin Ting felt utterly weak. He propped his forehead up with his hands, closed his eyes, and forced himself to calm down and sort out his thoughts, but he couldn't calm down at all. "Boss, you said he came with a premeditated plan. What for? Company interests? Or is it a rival?"
Zhang Ying: "The company has encountered similar situations before where we were falsely accused of plagiarism. The impact was not significant, but for a designer, it is a stain on their career that they will remember for a lifetime."
Lin Ting suddenly realized and straightened up. "So they came for me."
Everything was so precise.
"Why is he targeting me? I don't know him."
Zhang Ying: "I guess he's just a hired gun, and there must be someone behind him. As for why he's targeting you, it could be for personal gain or feelings. You've been getting a lot of attention lately, so it's inevitable that some people are jealous."
The mention of the word "relationship" triggered a name to flash through Lin Ting's mind, and a wave of fear and unease washed over her. Her eyes were vacant and lifeless as she stared blankly ahead, her face turning ashen white as a sheet of paper.
Seeing her expression, Zhang Ying asked, "Are you thinking about someone?"
Lin Ting shook her head, her voice hesitant, "I need to think about it."
Zhang Ying patted her on the back, "Don't be nervous. The company is fully cooperating with the investigation. The supply management department is also helping to find the person. As long as we can find him and he can clarify everything, I think everyone will understand, and the pressure you are under from public opinion will be much less."
"Thank you, boss."
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