Cracks appeared
"Really?" Qiao Wei had a gloating expression on her face.
"Alright then, I hope Miss Lin can resolve all of this herself."
After saying that, she walked away triumphantly, leaving Lin Tingyue spitting fire in her eyes.
It's infuriating that something went wrong with one of our own people after all the precautions we took.
"Go back to the company now, copy the backup from my computer, and I'll take a look at the work."
"good."
In the private lounge, Lin Tingyue sat next to Chi Zhuo, looking somewhat anxious.
"What, are you worried about this exhibition?"
Lin Tingyue looked somewhat dejected. "No, I was wondering why my employee would do something like that."
"Once he did it, there's no need to overthink it. People are complicated; just fire him directly."
"However, he has never had any problems at work."
“Listen to this.” Chi Zhuo handed over his hand. “As a manager, you only need to set the rules, and others only need to follow the rules. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”
"But……"
Lin Tingyue wanted to know more about the reason, but then she heard a knock on the door; it was her assistant's voice.
"Sister Yue, we found the backup."
"Okay, coming."
Lin Tingyue stood up and looked at Chi Zhuo, "Then I'll go arrange my work first, see you in a bit."
"Okay, go ahead."
Lin Tingyue quickly walked out of the lounge and took the USB drive from her assistant.
"Sister Yue, there's something I need to tell you." The assistant lowered her voice. "When I got back to the company just now, I saw Manager Zhang in the lobby on the first floor, but he didn't see me and slipped away. Do you think he might have already leaked the design drawings?"
Lin Tingyue paused, her brows furrowing. "Ignore him for now, import the backup files into the system to ensure the presentation goes perfectly."
"clear."
After arranging everything, she calmed herself down and headed towards the control room.
The presentation session is about to begin, and the audience is filled with judges and industry professionals.
Qiao Wei sat in the front row, chatting and laughing with the person next to her, occasionally glancing at Lin Tingyue with an undisguised look of anticipation.
"Sister Yue, everything is ready." The assistant gave an OK sign.
Lin Tingyue took a deep breath and nodded to indicate that she would begin.
Qiao Wei's work was indeed stunning; the glass screen shimmered and shone under the lights.
When it was the turn of the "Creation" studio, Lin Tingyue took a deep breath and lifted the curtain—
The entire audience was silent for three seconds, then erupted in gasps of amazement.
She combines intangible cultural heritage pottery with contemporary light and shadow, so that each piece projects a silhouette of a poem from a specific angle.
The result was obvious: Lin Tingyue and Qiao Wei both made it into the top ten, and the level of detail in their works was comparable to that of the top three.
After the presentation of the works, the audience erupted in applause.
Just as Lin Tingyue was happily accepting the invitation, Qiao Wei approached her alone.
"Lin Tingyue, I admire you. You forced me to withdraw from this exhibition. It's really amazing to have such a good husband."
"What do you mean?"
Qiao Wei deliberately sneered, "You're not still playing this trick on me, are you? Pretending you don't know?"
Lin Tingyue looked at her calmly, "Explain clearly what it is."
Seeing that Lin Tingyue genuinely didn't know, Qiao Wei continued to complain, "Chi Zhuo sent someone to inform the Qiao family to withdraw from this art exhibition, otherwise he would force Zhuoyue to cancel all cooperation with the Qiao family. Miss Lin, are you satisfied with this outcome?"
"How...how could this happen..."
"I really can't stand your attitude. You've already gotten the benefits, but you still have to pretend to be pitiful." Qiao Wei rolled her eyes and was about to turn around and leave.
At that moment, several people dressed in suits walked over.
"Ms. Qiao, you have lost your eligibility to participate in the exhibition. Please leave the art museum."
Qiao Wei's face turned ashen with anger, and she clenched her fingers tightly.
"snort."
Lin Tingyue watched this scene in shock.
Qiao Wei gritted her teeth, "Chi Zhuo, you actually resorted to such methods to protect your wife? I'll remember this!"
"Miss Qiao, please come in."
Qiao Wei and her group were eventually asked to leave the art museum.
"Yueyue! You're amazing!"
Xia Xiaoran's sudden appearance at the art museum surprised Lin Tingyue. "Ranran?"
Beside her stood a handsome young man, whose eyes appeared exceptionally clear and innocent compared to those around him.
Lin Tingyue took the qualification card given to her by the organizer, walked down from the stage, and greeted the two of them.
Hello~
Xia Xiaoran quickly introduced, "Yueyue, this is the one I was talking about, Qin Yuchen."
She turned to Qin Yuchen and said, "Yuchen, this is my best friend, Lin Tingyue, who is currently the owner of the 'Creation' studio."
Lin Tingyue quickly shook hands with Qin Yuchen: "Hello, hello, I often hear Ranran mention you."
Qin Yuchen smiled shyly: "Really?"
Lin Tingyue glanced at Xia Xiaoran and nodded in reply, "Yes."
Xia Xiaoran interjected promptly, "Yueyue, Yuchen kept praising you for being amazing from the audience just now."
As they were talking, Chi Zhuo walked over from backstage. He saw Xia Xiaoran and Qin Yuchen, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and then naturally stood next to Lin Tingyue.
"I saw everything just now, it was a great success," Chi Zhuo said softly to Lin Tingyue, then gently squeezed her hand before turning to Qin Yuchen, "And this is?"
Xia Xiaoran quickly introduced again: "This is Qin Yuchen, my friend. Yuchen, this is Yueyue's husband, Chi Zhuo."
When the two men shook hands, Lin Tingyue noticed that Chi Zhuo glanced at Qin Yuchen a few more times.
“Mr. Qin looks very young,” Chi Zhuo said.
"I'm still in university," Qin Yuchen replied, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.
"Listen, come here for a second, I have something to tell you."
Lin Tingyue smiled and gestured to her friends, "You guys keep an eye on things, I'm going to talk to someone."
Xia Xiaoran waved her hand, "No rush, you go ahead and do your work."
After Lin Tingyue finished arranging things here, she followed Chi Zhuo to a corner.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"The celebration banquet tonight is scheduled for the top floor of Zhuoyue, so you'd better dress up nicely."
"Huh?" Lin Tingyue didn't quite understand why Chi Zhuo brought this up.
Chi Zhuo added, "Because of the special nature of this exhibition, I invited my parents over. They also want to see you and celebrate with you."
"Wow~" Lin Tingyue was overwhelmed with joy for a moment, and didn't even have time to ask about Qiao Wei's matter at the beginning. She just smiled and agreed.
"Okay, I guarantee it will be amazing, right?"
"Okay, it's settled then."
The celebration banquet was held in the rooftop starry sky hall of the Zhuoyue Hotel, which was extremely luxurious.
Lin Tingyue specially changed into a royal blue off-shoulder dress, with exquisite makeup and a radiant appearance.
Not only did Chi Zhuo's mother come today, but her parents also came. The group of people are sitting together, chatting and laughing.
"Tingting is here." Su Jinghe saw her first and waved with a smile.
Lin Tingyue immediately put on a polite smile and walked over quickly: "Mom, you're here."
Then she looked at her parents, "Dad, Mom."
Lin Yaozong nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes: "We heard about today's exhibition. It was well done, and you remained calm under pressure."
"Yes, I heard there was a little hiccup in the middle, but you managed to resolve it all." Zhen Lan took her hand and patted it gently. "Thank you for your hard work."
Lin Tingyue was overjoyed to receive the approval of her elders.
She subconsciously began to look for Chi Zhuo's figure and saw that he seemed to be talking to Cheng Ji about something.
Just as Lin Tingyue was about to walk towards Chi Zhuo, the lights in the entire banquet hall suddenly went out.
A beam of spotlight shone brightly and shone precisely on Chi Zhuo.
He held a microphone in his hand, his gaze piercing through the crowd, landing on her with a gentle yet firm look.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to take a few minutes of your time." Chi Zhuo's voice came through the microphone and filled the entire banquet hall, instantly silencing the previously noisy scene.
Lin Tingyue stood there, stunned, watching Chi Zhuo walk towards her step by step.
“Today, we gather here to celebrate Tingting’s success. But for me, this is also a special day.” Chi Zhuo stopped in front of Lin Tingyue and took her hand. “A day to make up for regrets.”
As he finished speaking, the curtain on one side of the banquet hall slowly opened, revealing a meticulously arranged exhibition stand.
The display shows photos of Lin Tingyue from each year, including her travels, paintings, and trophies she won in various competitions.
Lin Tingyue stood there, stunned, her eyes welling up with tears.
“When we got married, we kept everything simple.” Chi Zhuo’s voice was deep and gentle. “I remember that we couldn’t even pick out a decent wedding ring for you, let alone a formal proposal.”
Chi Zhuo knelt on one knee and took out a dark blue velvet box from his pocket.
When he opened the box, a delicate sapphire ring lay quietly inside.
“Listen to this, since we got married, you have never complained about my busy schedule, nor have you ever blamed me for rushing things back then. You run your own studio independently, constantly making breakthroughs in your career, and at the same time, you take such good care of our family.”
He took a deep breath and held up the ring: "So, on this special day, in front of our family and friends, I want to solemnly ask you: Lin Tingyue, are you willing to give me a chance to make up for the regrets of the past with the rest of my life?"
The scene was silent; everyone held their breath, waiting for her answer.
Lin Tingyue's tears finally streamed down her face uncontrollably.
"I do." Her voice was clear and firm.
A bright smile bloomed on Chi Zhuo's face as he carefully placed the ring on her ring finger; the size fit perfectly.
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Chi Zhuo stood up and hugged Lin Tingyue tightly.
Everything looked so perfect.
Qiao Wei's angry words from earlier that day still echoed clearly in his ears.
Taking advantage of a moment when she was alone with Chi Zhuo, Lin Tingyue gently touched his wine glass and asked in a low voice, "Chi Zhuo, about Qiao Wei... did you do something? Why did she suddenly withdraw from this exhibition?"
Chi Zhuo's expression remained unchanged. He took a sip of champagne and said in a calm tone, "Isn't it good that she lost her eligibility? It saves you the trouble of looking at her."
His tacit acceptance completely extinguished any remaining hope Lin Tingyue had.
Her smile faded slightly: "I know you mean well. But using a business partnership to coerce her family into withdrawing from the competition... isn't that going a bit too far? I want to beat her with my own strength."
Chi Zhuo turned his head, his deep eyes looking at her with a hint of confusion: "Listen, the result is what you wanted, the process is not important. I helped you avoid any potential risks, what's wrong with that?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
