“I’ll have Yan Yang accompany you.” Gong Yexiao was worried she would lose her way.
“En, alright! ” Gong Momo did not refuse as she was not that familiar with this city.
As soon as Cheng Liyue reached her office, she had to attend a meeting. In the meeting, the company owner stressed the importance of Shen Junyao’s commissioned jewelry piece. Cheng Liyue was required to closely follow up on its progress and not neglect it.
Cheng Liyue could only nod helplessly. Shen Junyao was well-known among the circle of wealthy ladies in ‘A’ City. The boss’ meaning was that if everything went well with this, then there would be more opportunities for the company to work with the wealthy ladies of Shen Junyao’s social circle.
When Cheng Liyue was making her way back to her office, Linda walked over to her with a grim expression. “Liyue, come with me to my office.”
In Linda’s office
Linda clicked on a link and said to Cheng Liyue, “Can you ascertain whether this design is yours? Why is it featured on the FEEL company’s design webpage?”
Cheng Liyue’s eyes widened as she glanced at it. “This is mine. No wait, there have been some minor changes to it.”
“This design is among those I’ve just submitted to a client for her selection. If she happens to pick yours and finds out that our design is the same as that of FEEL, how do you think this would affect us?”
“This– FEEL plagiarized my work.” Cheng Liyue was furious. This was something she had designed in a moment of inspiration. In their field, plagiarism was not unheard of.
“Yes, FEEL may have plagiarized your design but try and think how such a thing could have happened. How did your design fall into the hands of others?” Linda looked at her.
Cheng Liyue expelled a long breath and carefully thought back. “I may have thrown out the sc.r.a.ps in the trash can and they’ve been picked up by someone else!”
“That was careless of you.” Linda sighed. “The problem is that I’ve included your design for an important client’s perusal and she may decide on your design. But FEEL has now unveiled this design as theirs and it’s their design that has stolen the limelight.”
Cheng Liyue could feel an oncoming headache. “What if I have a chat with FEEL’s designer to see whether they can take theirs down.”
“FEEL has a solid background and their company is larger than ours. We’ve just set up our company here in this city. I’m afraid things would not be as simple as that.”
“But plagiarism is plagiarism. Should we just accept it as it is? I have to meet this person.” Cheng Liyue’s eyes were blazing with anger. This design originally belonged to her.
“For now, let’s just wait and see if this design of yours will be chosen.” As soon as Linda said this, her office phone rang. Linda promptly answered it. “h.e.l.lo, good afternoon.”
“You must be Mrs. Chen! How do you do. What are your thoughts on the designs we’ve sent you?”
“I’m very satisfied with number 36. It’s such a novel yet refined piece.”
Linda’s face stiffened. She forced out a laugh. “Besides this piece, is there any other piece that has caught your attention?”
“Just this one. I’m traveling abroad at the moment. I’ll get in touch with you after a week. This piece would be a birthday gift to my mother.”
“I see. Alright then.”
“I’m quite pleased with your company. Each of your designs are very original. It makes each piece more meaningful.”
Linda was dying inside. But on the surface, she replied with a smile, “Yes, this has always been our company’s objective. We aim to provide bespoke jewelry pieces for our customers.”
“Okay, I’ll contact you after a week.” The call ended after that.
Seeing Linda’s expression, Cheng Liyue had a feeling that the client had selected her design.
Turning to look at Cheng Liyue, Linda said to her, “Your design has been picked. It will be the client’s birthday gift to her mother. Are you aware of how serious this matter is? If this is not handled properly, our company’s reputation will be affected and it will be difficult for our company to gain a foothold here.”
Cheng Liyue’s face paled. She had to come up with a way to solve this problem.
Otherwise, it would reflect badly on the company and damage its reputation.
Linda was anxious. She swiftly looked up at Cheng Liyue. “Liyue, there’s someone who can help you out. Could you get this person to help?”
Cheng Liyue asked curiously, “Who is it?”
“Your son’s father, Gong Yexiao. He has the ability to get FEEL to put out an apology regarding this matter.”
This caused her to choke. Beg Gong Yexiao for help? No way, she wouldn’t even think about it. Shaking her head, Cheng Liyue replied, “I don’t want to bother him for the time being.”
Linda didn’t want to continue making things awkward for her. Since there was a possibility that Gong Yexiao could take his son away from Cheng Liyue, having him get involved in this matter would put Cheng Liyue in a difficult position.
“Alright, I’ll take a look at our company’s surveillance camera. I want to find the person responsible for this. It will clarify some things.”
“Okay.”
“Return to your office. Keep things on the down-low for now. I want to investigate this matter secretly.”
Cheng Liyue left Linda’s office. Although she was furious, she could not show it. She went back to her office and closed the door. Grinding her teeth in anger, she mull over this matter. She had printed a few copies of her design to make some modifications. She was trying to recall how she had handled the remaining copies. But she had only vague recollections of it. Gong Yexiao’s sudden appearance in her life had thrown her mind into disarray.
Around four, Linda called Cheng Liyue into her office. She had found a clue. Some nights ago, an employee had entered Cheng Liyue’s office and had sifted through her trash can before removing some sketches from it.
This employee was now absent from the company since three days ago. They had no way of getting in touch with her.
“It seems that this female employee wanted to steal some designs to sell before leaving the company. Unexpectedly, it was Yang Bingbing, the chief designer of FEEL, who s.n.a.t.c.hed them up and boldly displayed them as her work.”
“With this video, can it prove that Yang Bingbing plagiarized my work?”
“The evidence is insufficient to prove that. It can only show that this employee stole your design. However, whether or not she sold it to Yang Bingbing, we do not have proof of it. Yang Bingbing could always claim that it was her design to begin with, and we would not be able to counter that argument.”
Cheng Liyue balled her fists in rage. Her work was proudly displayed as someone else’s. She found this hard to swallow. “Then I’ll just have to question this Yang Bingbing and ask her to take it down.”
“No, you are our designer. This matter implicates our company, not just yourself. It’s pointless to act so rashly. What can you do if the other party chews you up and spits you out? This Yang Bingbing is known for being a tigress in our field. You’re no match for her.”
“But we only have a week. What if Mrs. Chen sees this design of theirs?”
“Before we’re able to deal with this, let’s just hope that she won’t. Alright, you can get off from work. I’ll discuss this with the higher-ups and see what they think.”
Cheng Liyue breathed out a deep sigh. Looking at the time, she saw that it was already half past four. She still had to pick up her son.Chapter 72: Cheng Liyue In Trouble