The Master’s Mask Unveiled Again
Chapter 887 - 886: Plagiarism, We Need to Expose Lu Mian in Collaboration with Mi Lu!

Chapter 887: Chapter 886: Plagiarism, We Need to Expose Lu Mian in Collaboration with Mi Lu!

"You..."

Qiao Yaqian stood there in her sharp business attire, her hastily tied low ponytail slightly messy. Beneath her delicate makeup, her face froze for a moment. Pointing toward the lounge, she said, "If you have something to discuss, please wait for a moment, I..."

"No need."

Lu Mian languidly twirled her phone in her palm, slightly tilting her head as she spoke in a faint voice.

"I’m the one you’re supposed to pick up."

"..."

Qiao Yaqian hesitated, clearly puzzled by Lu Mian’s words.

Without wasting words, Lu Mian directly opened the chat log with Qiao Yaqian on her phone to prove her identity.

Qiao Yaqian’s self-control cracked on the spot.

She covered her mouth with both hands.

Her exposed eyes carefully scanned Lu Mian up and down. "You’re... you’re the genius composer... Mi Lu?!"

Lu Mian, looking slightly reluctant to admit it, replied with a mildly disdainful "Mm."

"Oh! My! God!" Qiao Yaqian’s meticulously applied makeup seemed on the verge of breaking apart. She couldn’t understand why someone so disdainful of themselves looked so dazzlingly stunning. She gasped repeatedly while staring at her in disbelief.

"You’re a girl? I mean biologically..."

"...Yes." Not a cross-dresser.

"Are you even twenty?"

"Exactly twenty."

Qiao Yaqian remained stunned for a long while. Being the chief planner, she had been most looking forward to Mi Lu’s appearance at this festival. Tons of reporters and fans were already waiting at the event.

On top of that, numerous singers and lyricists had privately handed her business cards, asking her to introduce them to Mi Lu.

While new fans might not know, all the old fans had seen a silhouette photo of Mi Lu before.

He was supposed to be a dashing, rebellious man.

But now the person in front of her...

"Chief Planner, I’m going over now. Are you coming?"

Assistant Fang’s voice came through the walkie-talkie to Qiao Yaqian.

Qiao Yaqian replied weakly, "No need to come over. Mr. Mi Lu is already here with me."

"Huh? What about the red carpet? The hosts are already in position over there..."

Qiao Yaqian glanced over at Lu Mian. Lu Mian had walked over to the windowsill, idly plucking a leaf from the hanging pothos plant. Calmly, with a collected demeanor, she said, "I came here just to let you know—I’m not walking the red carpet."

"Why not?"

"Accompanying my boyfriend."

Qiao Yaqian: ... That hurt out of nowhere!

"Boss, everyone is waiting for you..."

To people in the music industry, Mi Lu was an unparalleled genius composer with a distinctive and unique style.

Figures as esteemed as master-level musicians greatly admired her work. Many renowned singers had tried to commission songs from Mi Lu. In fact, half the singers attending today’s festival had secretly reached out to Mi Lu in hopes of working with her.

Some even approached another composer with a style resembling Mi Lu’s, hoping against hope to collaborate.

It was evident just how many people truly appreciated Mi Lu’s music.

However, one of the reasons Mi Lu didn’t become a household name was because she consistently declined those singers—refusing to write songs, refusing to sell her copyrights, which ultimately limited her reach.

If you wanted to listen, great. If not, she didn’t care. That’s just how headstrong she was.

"Boss, can you reconsider?" While others wished they could live on the red carpet, Mi Lu wouldn’t even bother attending.

"Nope," Lu Mian declined decisively. "I’m sitting in the fan section. Don’t call me if there’s nothing important."

She tossed aside the leaf in her hand and started walking away. Then, after a single step, she paused. "Even if there is something, don’t call me."

Qiao Yaqian: ...

——

That evening, La Ge walked the red carpet with Kunyang.

Kunyang showed none of the airs of a senior figure, nor did he care about being the finale act. After picking up La Ge, he simply escorted him inside.

He even took the time to introduce La Ge to several well-known singers.

After meeting them one by one, La Ge then headed backstage to prepare for his performance.

The festival’s opening act featured a few members from this year’s hot variety show, "The Voice of the Best," performing a group song and dance to warm up the atmosphere.

Afterward, the host would come onstage to officially kick off the festival.

The second performance of the night would be La Ge’s song, "The Four Seasons."

Sun Wei hurriedly led La Ge to an empty dressing room to change into his performance outfit.

While La Ge was changing, Sun Wei excitedly kept talking.

"Bro, didn’t I tell you? Master Kunyang knows a ton of people! Just follow him, and you can’t go wrong!"

"It’s only because of Miss Lu that Master Kunyang is helping me."

"Miss Lu, Miss Lu..." Sun Wei rolled his eyes. A young woman—how much influence could she possibly have in the entertainment industry? This kid still didn’t know who the real big shot was.

"Alright, Miss Lu is good at songwriting, but there are plenty of people better than her. I heard that genius composer Mi Lu is here as well."

La Ge buttoned his shirt. "Mi Lu?"

"Yeah, the one Miss Lu supposedly plagiarized."

As La Ge’s assistant, Sun Wei had naturally heard some rumors. Online chatter about Lu Mian plagiarizing Mi Lu had been relentless, with supposed "color-palette" evidence being plastered everywhere. He was well aware of it.

But his attitude was simple: as long as it didn’t cause a major scandal, he could turn a blind eye.

La Ge, fastening his buttons, looked displeased by the comment.

"I trust Miss Lu. She didn’t plagiarize."

"..."

Sun Wei smirked a little. This guy was way too stubborn.

"What I’m saying is, tonight is a golden opportunity for you to connect with Mi Lu. Do you have any idea how many people in the industry are dying to collaborate with him? Out of the ten singers sitting out there, five are desperately trying to get licensing for Mi Lu’s compositions. And the other five... well, they don’t even have the connections to reach him."

La Ge remained unmoved. "I think Miss Lu is great."

In his mind, Sun Wei silently muttered: But she’s the plagiarist...

"Anyway, bro, let me give you some sincere advice. If you manage to collaborate with Mi Lu, your path in the music industry will be smooth sailing! The choice is entirely up to you..."

Any sensible person would know better—grabbing onto Mi Lu’s coattails was way better than sticking with Lu Mian’s.

Unwilling to listen anymore, La Ge made an excuse. "I need to touch up my makeup," he said, then called the makeup artist into the room.

Left with no choice, Sun Wei grudgingly walked out.

He was just heading to the corridor’s end for a cigarette when he suddenly overheard a hushed conversation.

"Teacher, I’ve got the tempo color palette and the evaluation report right here. As long as we show these to Mr. Mi Lu, there’s no way he’ll let this slide. Mi Lu’s an incredibly proud person, refusing to license any copyrights—how could he possibly tolerate being plagiarized by someone else?"

It was a young woman speaking. Sun Wei thought her voice sounded vaguely familiar.

"Alright. Handle it as you see fit. My suggestion? First, locate Mi Lu. If we get his cooperation, this thing’s success rate will shoot up."

This time, the speaker had a mature, male voice.

Sun Wei thought it sounded awfully like the famous singer Pu Jing.

"Got it, teacher. I’ve already told people in Mi Lu’s fan group about this..."

Hearing this, his urge to smoke disappeared instantly. He spun around and bolted back to the dressing room, shoving the makeup artist out the door.

"La Ge, listen to me! Right now, you’ve got only two options, and you have to pick one!"

"What’s going on?"

"Someone’s planning to report Lu Mian for plagiarizing Mi Lu—they’ve already got evidence and are heading to show it to the man himself! You either risk it all and still perform ’The Four Seasons,’ or you switch songs and show Mi Lu where you stand! But if you ask me, your best bet is to team up with Mi Lu and expose the plagiarist—you might even go viral overnight..."