The live broadcast room and the venue exploded simultaneously.
The man spoke clearly, and everyone heard what he said.
Lack, chief designer of the global luxury brand Lacuna.
They're saying Wen Qingyu plagiarized.
It was copied from his own work.
The entire audience was stunned.
The live stream crashed, and at the same moment, the production team activated a signal jammer to control the situation.
"Holy crap! I really didn't hear that right! Plagiarism! Helian Xin's group plagiarized, damn it! And they even copied Lack?!"
"Why is it so laggy? Does anyone have internet access?!"
"Damn, I just used space!"
"Is it real or fake? Those two are so stupid, why did they have to copy Lack?!"
"Is it true? Didn't you hear Lack swearing? How dare Wen Qingyu? Does she think nobody watches things from a few years ago?"
"But wasn't it said that it was only changed at the last minute?!"
"You believe her just because she says so? Didn't you see she couldn't say a word when Lack was scolding her? If she really designed it herself, she would have immediately refuted it."
"Being scolded like that... I must have been stunned... but Lack's cold-faced scolding was so cool!"
"Was that sentence he said about Wen Qingyu stealing something he gave to someone else? He said it so fast..."
No, you must have misheard.
"But I clearly heard 'her'... I only understood the words 'gave her'..."
"I knew it looked familiar!" A fashion design student finally found a photo.
"Four years ago, when Lacuna first walked the runway, I took some unfinished photos, and this is it! Holy crap! Except for the missing black coat, the dress is exactly the same!"
"Finally someone spoke up! Just now their fans were cursing me, saying that it's normal for permanent makeup to look similar, but it's ridiculous that the patterns are exactly the same, like copies!"
"Actually, I think it's not just the clothes, but also the jade accessories... they have almost no original elements. They're exactly the same as some of the ones in the Mirage Museum. This can't even be considered as borrowing."
"What kind of original work is this, just replicating old antiques!"
"Serves him right! He let Helian Xin and his bunch of idiot fans keep cursing Aorsa, and now it's backfiring on him!"
"No wonder you kept accusing them of plagiarism. You're just trying to divert attention because you feel guilty, aren't you?"
"The director told them to rest and wait for the results to be announced. Is there even a need to announce the results? Tonight, the headlines are full of plagiarism stunts!"
"I guess she thought Lack wouldn't come, so she wanted to try and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle. If she hadn't taken off her coat, you might not have been able to tell!"
"We have internet! We have internet!"
"Holy crap, the general manager of Lacuna Asia posted pictures! High-definition comparison photos! Damn, they're exactly the same, so realistically reproduced. Could it be that someone on the inside took detailed pictures for her?!"
"Hey! Didn't that female referee say that Helian Xin and Wen Qingyu designed this together? The three of them are very close. Could it be that she used her connections to steal it?"
"Then why didn't she give the two that were hers? That way she could at least cover for them!"
"Ah! Wen Qingyu actually issued a statement! She said that her design drawings were completed with the help of her assistant, and that the drawings were all done by her assistant and had nothing to do with her."
"I almost believed that!"
"You said you did everything independently, but now you're acting as an assistant. You even had the assistant design the core piece of clothing. What was she doing?"
"Going to prepare my acceptance speech, huh? I spent a week writing this [To myself for doing so well!]"
"The video was recorded backstage... I think Helian Xin's fans have all gone backstage to wait for her—"
—Fans gathered at the entrance to the backstage work area.
"Why did you put such a plagiarist on Xinxin?! Didn't the production team even do any vetting?! Can you afford to compensate Xinxin for the losses this has caused?!"
"Demand compensation from the production team! And an apology from Wen Qingyu!"
"Come out! Xinxin! Why are you locking people inside!"
"Is it Wen Qingyu who won't let Xinxin leave!"
"Open the door, production crew! Let them in!"
The staff's attempts to dissuade them, along with the screams and shouts of the fans, echoed throughout the backstage area. Helian Xin and Wen Qingyu hid in the work room, their hearts pounding with anxiety as they listened to the increasingly loud banging of the door.
"Hey! Hey! What do we do now!" Helian Xin's hair was disheveled, and her exquisite clothes were torn to shreds.
"I've already sent someone to pick you up! You better stay hidden and don't run around! You're going to pin all the blame on Wen Qingyu, you hear me!" Mai tried to calm her down.
"I'll send a message saying you've joined the crew in the last two weeks, just don't let it slip!"
"I know, I know!!! Hurry up! Hurry up and get someone to take me out!" Helian Xin roared and hung up the phone. She forcefully tore off her clothes, scattering the pink pearls embroidered on them all over the floor.
She forcefully threw the clothes at Wen Qingyu beside her, "Look what you've done!"
"Didn't I warn you? You idiot who doesn't even know how to plagiarize! Of all people to plagiarize, why did you have to plagiarize his!"
Wen Qingyu's phone was ringing incessantly. Still reeling from the earlier incident, she felt a bitter taste in her mouth, like someone swallowing a bitter pill. She pushed aside the frantic Helian Xin and called out:
"I didn't copy! I didn't copy it! This dress isn't mine at all!"
"What are you talking to me about! Go outside and talk to her! Go talk to Shi Youxi! You and Qi Qiulin are both brainless! You don't know, and she doesn't know either! Do you dare say you took someone else's design and passed it off as your own?!"
Wen Qingyu was stunned when she heard the name mentioned. Before she could react, her phone rang. She looked at it and saw that it was Su Su calling.
He immediately launched into a tirade: "Su Su! Where are you! Get over here right now! Go online and tell those idiots you drew it! It's all your design!"
The person opposite listened calmly to her shouting and yelling, and said calmly, "Thank you for giving me this opportunity, senior."
Wen Qingyu's lips twitched; she finally realized what was happening.
"You bitch? You did this on purpose?! You dare to hurt me! You think I won't kill your parents?! You filthy bitch—"
The phone call ended, and Wen Qingyu screamed, saying to Li Duan beside her, "Find online trolls! Say that Mu Yiran tried to harm me! That I was framed! Go!"
Li Duan was covered in sweat, frantically making phone calls. He was shocked by what the other end said, "What...you mean Su Su issued a statement?!"
"?!"
Wen Qingyu quickly went to check; Su Su had posted a video, and more and more people were gathering to watch it.
"Hello everyone, I am the assistant of Wen Qingyu, the designer participating in this competition, and also Wen Qingyu's junior from the same school."
Is this Wen Qingyu's assistant?
Is this for real?
Here we go again, a classic capitalist tactic: sending an intern out as a scapegoat. Poor girl...
So, those three people are pushing all the blame onto a college student who's still an intern? Have they no shame?!
How much money would they have to pay this woman to agree to be a scapegoat? If she admits it, her career is ruined for life...
Many netizens assumed that Su Su released the video at this time to defuse the controversy and take the blame for the wrongful accusation, but unexpectedly, the girl in the video looked directly at the camera and said with a firm gaze:
"I am here to file a formal complaint against Wen Qingyu, my senior and boss, from the 2019 class of Art and Design at Shenzhen-Hong Kong University. For the past three years, she has been threatening and bullying me on campus, forcing me to do things for her!"
"During the recording of this program, she used my career to blackmail me and directly stole my personal works and class assignments for her own use! Even after the incident, she threatened my bedridden father to force me to come out and become the scapegoat for this plagiarism!"
"Everything I have said is true, and I have evidence to back it up!"
After that, the video went black, and an audio recording was played:
"Do a good job this time, understand? You're graduating soon, and there's only one outstanding graduate. Do you know what will happen if you don't do a good job? Oh, it seems like your dad's medicine is out of stock, right? Once you finish making these, I'll tell you how to buy them."
"Thank you, senior. I'll draw it as soon as possible."
"Just do it according to the sketches I sent you—"
"Senior, why did Tokyo Shangxiu tell me that the studio refused to cooperate? What does it mean that they said I don't need to go?!"
"What kind of tone is that? When did I allow you to take on side jobs? Besides, you're about to join a production team. If you go there, who will do my work? Don't forget you're still in your internship. If you want an internship certificate and to graduate, you'd better work hard! Tokyo? Is that a place for a newbie like you? You'd only be a runner-up there."
"But I had already made all the arrangements—"
"You can't understand human language, can you?! You still have the nerve to talk to me nicely?! I can stop you from going! Even if you get on the plane, I can make the flight canceled! Don't think I don't know you want to use this opportunity to run away! Don't even think about it!"
Your family is all in China!
"...I'm sorry, senior...it was my oversight..."
“…”
"—Senior, that's for my Rising Star competition next month! Didn't you say you wouldn't interfere with my personal development?"
"Yours? What nonsense! Without me, you'd only be doing odd jobs at a magazine or sitting in some factory dyeing plant. From the moment you started following me, everything that's yours is mine! If you're using the resources I provide for free, you'd better be prepared to pay them back, understand, Su Su, junior?"
"If there's even the slightest flaw in this fashion show that damages my image..."
"I can't guarantee you'll graduate smoothly, and your bedridden father might not be able to get his medicine."
"......"
"Hmm? Did you understand? If you understood, then bring it here, my design."
"........I understand, senior."
Su Su played nearly fifteen minutes of similar recordings, including conversations with students and teachers from Wenqing Language Violence School, as well as conversations between herself, Helian Xin, and Qi Qiulin.
Wen Qingyu: "So the other referee is really that Lacy?"
Qi Qiulin: "You don't need to care who it is. Three out of four people voted for you. The gold award will definitely go to the two of you. You and Xinxin just need to follow the steps I taught you to make the clothes and draw the patterns during the recording. Ask someone to promote it and you'll have more fame soon."
Helian Xin: "I had Li Duan secretly take pictures of Mu Yiran's group. You can have someone make a few similar sets later, and we'll release them first."
"Crush them at the checkpoint."
"........"
The comments above and below are displayed as barcodes.
[Damn it... the design institute of Shenzhen-Hong Kong University, I just received my acceptance letter and you pull this stunt on me?]
[Using her family to threaten her, doesn't she have parents?! A despicable woman born of parents but raised without them!]
Is this for real? I thought this kind of ridiculous school bullying only existed in adult dramas!
[I graduated in 2021, and I heard about this woman back then. Her reputation is indeed... well, you know. Her family used to have very strong connections; even the principal had to pour her drinks. She also has a very powerful boyfriend, right? She used her boyfriend's connections to trick a lot of people into joining her so-called studio, just like Su Su...]
[This recording must have been prepared beforehand, right? Releasing it at this precise moment... I can only say, well done!]
[What kind of idol are you talking about? You even got the name wrong. No wonder you dared to plagiarize other people's work. Apparently, you didn't even know who you were copying.]
【Lacy...I'm lucky! Everyone else laughs at you, but you're the funniest thing ever, my brave Qingyu!】
[Who said Helian Xin was innocent, naive, kind, and simplistic? Listen to her last sentence, it was so cold! She orchestrated this whole thing and then framed Zhou Yuan and the others, how vicious! Now it seems Zhou Yuan is really well-mannered; she didn't even slap them on stage just now.]
[What kind of naive and innocent girl is there in the entertainment industry? Naive and innocent girls only exist in novels. Besides, she's been in this cesspool of entertainment for almost fifteen years since she was a child. Could a naive and innocent girl survive this long? Even bones would be soaked in all sorts of colors by now! Her fans still brag about being untainted by the mud, but now they know, their sister isn't just multicolored black, she's a riot of white! No wonder Zhou Yuan treated her that way; even a veteran actress can tell how much shit is hidden in her brain!]
Doesn't anyone suspect this recording is fake? Maybe it's just another way to attract traffic?
[This is already a slap in the face, and even if you're going to say it's fake, you need to have material to fabricate it, right?]
[Oh, this is something I've done before. I've listened to her recording several times, and the dialogue is smooth and uninterrupted. The possibility of it being edited is very small.]
[Wen Xin must be speechless. She finally managed to invite a few big names, and after this episode, half of them are being criticized online!]
[Speechless? She's overjoyed! Who knows how high the ratings will be tonight? And given their plagiarism and malicious rumors, Wenxin can sue several of them. She's made another fortune!]
[They're finished now. I heard from those still inside that Zhou Yuan's fans have been holding back all night, they flooded both of their social media feeds, and even went backstage to confront them...]
Wen Qingyu and Helian Xin, their faces flushed, scrolled through their phones, browsing comments.
"It's fake! It's all fake!"
"Think of something quick! Why aren't there any online trolls?!" Wen Qingyu slammed her phone at Li Duan. "You should have stopped that bitch Su Su before she released the video! What do we do! What do we do?!"
Helian Xin's vision was blurry, and her phone kept ringing in her head like a death knell.
Li Duan wiped his sweat. "We can't get through to Qi Qiulin on the phone. She's probably in trouble herself. Now we can only try to create some other disturbance to divert attention!"
He looked at Helian Xin, "Mai's people have arrived. The most important thing is to leave here first, and then think of a solution!"
He instructed a girl to change into that tattered dress.
"What about my reputation! What am I going to do! Leaving now would only prove that I'm just running away!" Wen Qingyu shook her head. "I don't care! I have to make this clear!"
"Damn it, why isn't he answering my calls?!" Wen Qingyu called Lu Tingyi several times, but all calls went unanswered.
And damn it, she couldn't find a single person to ask for help!
Just then, the staff blocking the door were caught off guard, the back door was pushed open, the curtain was lifted, and a torrent of angry curses and accusations rushed into the room like a flood.
"Where is Wen Qingyu! That bitch dared to drag our Xinxin down with her! She should take responsibility for her actions! Come out and apologize right now!!"
"There she is! Grab her!"
Wen Qingyu froze, startled by the swarm of faces rushing towards her. "Close the door...close the door! Ah—"
Someone pushed her from behind, forcing Wen Qingyu into the flood that was about to engulf her, the suffocating feeling of drowning coming from all directions.
"Let me go! It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"
"Mu Yiran framed me! It was her! Not me! Not me!"
Meanwhile, the fans surrounding the back door also ran to the front door following the commotion. Li Duan, along with Helian Xin and the girl in disguise, took the opportunity to slip out through the side door.
Not knowing where Li Duan was leading her, Helian Xin's vision was blurry and her blood was rushing to her head, so she couldn't see the road at all.
until--
"Lack, this episode is about to end. I have some questions from fans that I'd like to ask you. What is the origin of Lacuna?"
"Source?" the man asked in a cold voice.
Helian Xin stopped walking without realizing it, staring intently at the face on the screen.
The man she had always longed for, the man who had always faced her with an expressionless face, now only revealed an intense, almost unreal tenderness and love when she thought of him.
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