Obsessive Tycoon and His Swan Girl
Chapter 280: Slap in the Face (3)

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Slap in the Face (3)

The ladies nearby exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts.

They set aside their mahjong tiles and said to Liang Jinlan, "Then what about our money? We won’t meddle in this moneymaking business anymore, so why don’t you just return our money first?"

Liang Jinlan was livid!

...

After the award ceremony had ended, Xun Yining accepted interviews from several media outlets and responded very appropriately.

Liang Hani was very pleased with him, "Not bad, kid, not bad at all."

"It’s all thanks to what I learned from Sister Xiaozhe," Xun Yining said, somewhat embarrassedly.

"Later on, you can learn from me. She’s very busy now, I’m afraid she won’t have the time to teach you," Liang Hani said, glancing unfriendly at Qin Jingchen.

Jiang Zhe replied, "Sure, that’ll take a load off my mind."

Scratching his head, Xun Yining realized that Liang Hani felt slighted; why was Jiang Zhe elbowing him out?

To celebrate for Xun Yining, Fen Ye made a dinner reservation.

Just as she sat down, Jiang Zhe received a phone call from Cheng Lu.

She answered and put it on speakerphone.

"Jiang Zhe, Yining did great! I originally thought, no matter how he did in the competition, it was just for the experience. I didn’t expect him to bring back a championship!" For Cheng Lu, this was definitely an unexpected pleasure.

"Mhm, he’s good."

"People who came to place orders today almost blew up my phone, I even took a moment especially to make this call to you. When we’re back, I’ll definitely give you both a proper celebration!"

"Okay, we’ll be in touch then."

After hanging up, Jiang Zhe asked Xun Yining, "Did you hear all that?"

"I heard it. I’ll work even harder in the future!"

Jiang Zhe checked the news online; because of Jiang Fanyue’s incident, Xun Yining, a player who had been extremely low-profile, had caught everyone’s attention.

Many netizens took the initiative to ask if he had any design works.

Then someone mentioned that they had seen promotions for Xun Yining on a certain website, and following the leads, found Cheng Lu’s company, which sold clothing designed by Xun Yining.

Moreover, these clothing designs were quite good and appeared to be in line with contemporary trends among young people, prompting many netizens to place orders, resulting in a sell-out on the website.

Shrewd businesspeople smelled an opportunity and would naturally not pass up the chance to make a fortune; they immediately began contacting Cheng Lu to purchase.

This was why Cheng Lu hadn’t done any promotion, and Xun Yining was still quiet and low-key, yet the clothes had sold out tonight.

Jiang Fanyue’s feelings upon learning this outcome were unknown.

...

At this moment, the news had spread throughout the country.

Jiang Zhang and Liang Jinlan were overwhelmed by the flood of returned orders and phone calls.

Jiang Xiliang and Wen Xia felt a slight sense of alarm; there was indeed more mystery within this affair than they had realized.

Both of them felt relieved they had not participated; had they been involved, and even used their own reputation to vouch for Jiang Fanyue, the loss would have extended beyond just money.

"How could Fanyue be like this? The Jiang Family’s previous designer had already encountered such a situation, how could she not take it as a warning?" Wen Xia sighed.

Jiang Xiliang had been silent all along.

"Husband, I’m so glad you stopped me in time. Otherwise..." Wen Xia thought of the potential attacks Jiang Xiliang could face over this issue, affecting his career, and realized the issue could have been major.

In any case, it was a troublesome matter.

"It was Jiang Zhe who told me," Jiang Xiliang said.

"Ah?" Wen Xia found it somewhat unbelievable, "So, even though she was a judge, she took the initiative to kindly warn you once she knew Jiang Fanyue was plagiarizing?"

"It wasn’t exactly her taking the initiative. I was the one who warned her not to invest too much in Xun Yining."

Jiang Xiliang felt a tinge of complexity in his heart.

Wen Xia didn’t know what to say for a moment.

...

After running out from the award ceremony, Jiang Fanyue hurried back to the hotel.

Without much thought, she knew the severity of the consequences that would follow.

Ever since the Jiang Family cut ties with the designer J, the business had been on a steady decline.

This time, for her sake, they had made a final, desperate gamble.

The money borrowed, the bank debts, and the investments from others could have all been settled in one fell swoop.

But with this incident, it all vanished into thin air.

And Jiang Zhe had known about this matter early on but had not revealed a hint of it.

The more Jiang Fanyue thought about it, the angrier and more alarmed she became—Jiang Zhe knew that she had used designer J’s content yet had always kept it so well hidden!

Her hands were tightly clasped together. Was there really no way out this time?

Gu Jiaheng rushed in after her, "Fanyue? Fanyue?"

He didn’t have time to think more; he simply feared Jiang Fanyue might do something foolish.

When Jiang Fanyue looked up, her face was streaked with tears, "Brother Heng, I truly didn’t know that it was J’s design. I really didn’t plagiarize. Perhaps it was a strike of inspiration, or maybe I have seen too much of J’s work since I was young, influenced and inspired by her, but I truly did not plagiarize. I had no idea she was producing a manual, nor do I have any channels through which I could have obtained her manuscript..."

Seeing her pitiful state, Gu Jiaheng believed her words.

Thinking about it, Jiang Zhe, as a judge who knew that Jiang Fanyue and J had similar inspirations, never gave a warning—indeed, it was hateful.

After all, what fault did Jiang Fanyue bear?

"Alright then, stop crying," Gu Jiaheng said tenderly, "Crying won’t solve anything."

"But now I really don’t know how to resolve this..." Jiang Fanyue wept bitterly. This time upon returning, the Jiang Family would likely suffer a massive blow.

Even her status as the precious daughter of the family might not be preserved.

Gu Jiaheng comforted her, "No matter what, you can’t be entirely blamed for this incident. I’ll help think of a solution."

Even with his promise, Jiang Fanyue couldn’t find peace of mind.

If it had not been for the high-profile promotion at the beginning, it would be better, but now that it had already been publicized to this extent, what solution could there be?

She suddenly had a thought and looked up at Gu Jiaheng, "Would you really help me?"

Gu Jiaheng didn’t know what she was going to say but still nodded gently.

...

After dinner, Jiang Zhe could have returned with Qin Jingchen.

However, Liang Hani insisted on following her back to the hotel.

Fen Ye teased from the side, "Uncle, there are people who play the thief for a thousand days, but who can guard against the thief for a thousand days?"

As the words fell, Jiang Zhe gave Fen Ye a cool look.

Qin Jingchen’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Fen Ye coughed lightly, "I, cough, the night is nice, isn’t it? Uncle, let me take you back first."

Jiang Zhe waved goodbye to Liang Hani and then started walking towards her own room.

Xun Yining quickly and sensibly went into her own room.

Qin Jingchen followed Jiang Zhe at an unhurried pace, accompanying her into her room.

Entering the room, Jiang Zhe’s school uniform outlined her straight and slender legs, giving off a tailored feel just by wearing a common uniform.

She bowed her head to organize her backpack, the watch on her wrist gently swaying, emitting a warm and enchanting subdued light.