IJLHTW - 70

Yongshi Jewelry’s latest advertising campaign quickly sparked heated discussion after being pushed across the entire internet.

“The style of this ad is too similar to Huo Ci’s work,” someone commented under Yongshi’s official Weibo.

Unexpectedly, this Weibo comment sparked a massive debate, and netizens quickly followed suit.

“The commenter above is a true hero, saying exactly what I wanted to say.”

“When I saw this ad, I specifically checked who shot it. If they hadn’t said, I would never have guessed it was Nan Wan. Just looking at the camera work, it’s completely Huo Ci’s technique.”

Those who could discern camera techniques were clearly professionals.

Of course, Huo Ci’s fans were fuming. Many of her fans were photography students or enthusiasts who looked up to her as an aspiring goal. Huo Ci’s personal style was so distinctive that new photographers had previously tried to plagiarize her to take shortcuts.

At that time, a group of fans found evidence and even sent it to the studio, hoping to help them.

Now, such a thing had happened again, and everyone knew that Huo Ci had previously shot T&A’s latest advertisement. But T&A’s advertisement hadn’t even launched yet, and here was an advertisement with a very distinct Huo Ci style. The fan groups were practically exploding, all asking whether this advertisement was indeed Nan Wan plagiarizing Huo Ci.

After Bai Yu returned to the company, he received a call from Huo Ci. Her voice on the other end was cold and clear: “I want you to thoroughly investigate our studio now. Every person who had access to this advertisement needs to be carefully checked. At least, don’t let T&A find out first.”

Her words were already a warning to Bai Yu, telling him to focus his attention within the studio.

In fact, Huo Ci’s studio didn’t have many employees, only about twenty. Because the salaries and benefits were top-tier in the industry, employee turnover was extremely low. Even the front desk assistant had been working at the studio for three years, and many had been there since the studio was first established.

Deep down, she didn’t want the leak to be from an internal staff member.

After she hung up, Yi Zechen brought her clothes. She was still wrapped in a bath towel. When Yi Zechen had pulled her out of the bathtub earlier, she was ice cold. Although it was already April, lying in the bathtub fully clothed for an hour was indeed freezing.

“I ran you a hot bath; go shower first,” he looked down at Huo Ci, then glanced at her phone, his expression calm and cool. “No matter how important it is, it can wait.”

Huo Ci curled her lips, a half-smile on her face, and said teasingly, “I’m afraid some people wouldn’t even give me time to shower.”

Yi Zechen looked at her and said calmly, “Then hit back. Hit them until they don’t dare to provoke you anymore.”

“Mr. Yi, at a time like this, shouldn’t you be teaching me to be harmonious and prosperous?” Huo Ci was slightly stunned that he would say that, then laughed.

Yi Zechen: “If the other party doesn’t know what’s good for them, they should be made to wake up.”

It was also because of today’s events that Huo Ci suddenly realized that this world continued to turn. Yes, she had encountered the most difficult moment of her life, but no one would give her special treatment because of what she had gone through. Those who wanted to deal with her still hadn’t stopped.

Regarding this advertisement, although she tried her best to deny it at T&A, everyone understood that it was aimed at her.

Otherwise, the other party wouldn’t be so blatant, daring to plagiarize so clearly.

This was also why T&A contacted her immediately and why President Robert was so angry. In T&A’s view, the advertisement incident was inextricably linked to her.

Huo Ci naturally couldn’t let them pin this on her.

But privately, she couldn’t let her guard down. The previous incident of being secretly photographed with Shen Suian was perfectly resolved due to Yi Zechen’s sudden marriage. Now, she was being framed at work again. It seemed they were determined to oppose her to the end.

“Do you know who it is?” Yi Zechen looked down at her.

Huo Ci smiled: “What, are you going to stand up for me?”

“Shouldn’t I?” Yi Zechen looked at her with gentle eyes, asking back with a smile.

Huo Ci reached out to hug him, but he dodged, frowning slightly and saying helplessly, “You’re all wet.”

See? One second he wants to stand up for her, the next he’s complaining about her getting his clothes wet.

Huo Ci knew he said that on purpose, just to tease her. But what kind of person was she? Huo Ci was the type who, even if she hit a wall, would knock it down and stride through with her head held high.

She directly hugged him, getting his clothes completely wet.

Yi Zechen looked at her dotingly and asked, “Does it have to be this way?”

“It absolutely has to be this way! We share good times and bad times, don’t we?” Huo Ci said with a mischievous grin, leaving Yi Zechen with no way to resist her.

Yi Zechen directly picked her up and said with a smile, “Is this better now?”

Huo Ci then smiled triumphantly.

“What are you going to do now?” Yi Zechen asked her as he dried her hair.

Huo Ci sat obediently in front of him, letting him continue to dry her hair with a towel. She slightly raised her eyes, a meaningful smile on her face: “What do you think I should do?”

It was truly too difficult to protect her rights in this matter, given that the other party released the advertisement before them.

The other party had gained the upper hand.

“I don’t know,” Yi Zechen was indeed not very clear on how to define such plagiarism. After all, protecting intellectual property rights has always been very difficult.

Huo Ci looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips, a little deliberately, “You can look forward to it.”

________________________________________

Bai Yu began investigating the matter in the studio, but the difficulty was too great. After all, many people were involved in T&A’s advertisement, and he had no leads for a while.

Huo Ci was at the hospital clipping Huo Mingzhou’s nails. When Bai Yu called, she had just finished the last finger.

“No way to investigate,” Huo Ci sneered. She said, “Do you know the extent of this advertisement’s plagiarism? This is a complete copy of my original. This person must have entered my office. Pull up the surveillance footage and let me check it day by day.”

For a partner of T&A’s caliber, anything filmed would only be saved on Huo Ci’s computer.

However, fortunately, because the studio had been burgled before, surveillance cameras were installed. Anyone who entered her office when she wasn’t there would be a major suspect.

Of course, it wasn’t out of the question that the studio staff were innocent, but the leak came from T&A’s side.

Huo Ci hoped for this outcome.

“And now, it’s already a huge buzz online. Some people are saying you deliberately created a stir. I see Yongshi Jewelry eager to capitalize on this hype and promote themselves,” Bai Yu said with some annoyance.

Huo Ci smiled faintly, “Let them jump around for a few more days.”

After instructing the caregiver, Huo Ci returned to the studio. Everyone in the studio knew something had happened to her family because she hadn’t been back for a week. Seeing her suddenly, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Huo Ci was the studio’s cash cow; anyone else could leave, but she couldn’t.

Just as she reached the door, she ran into Bai Aili, Bai Yu’s cousin, who was signed as a model at the studio.

“Huo Ci, you’re back,” Aili looked at her, saying warmly.

Huo Ci casually glanced at her, looking at the clothes she was wearing and the bag she was carrying: a Chanel early spring collection jacket, which would cost over sixty thousand even in Europe, and the bag she was carrying was a limited edition LV, extremely difficult to buy domestically.

She nodded, and Aili waved and left.

After entering her office, she called her assistant in and asked, “Who has been arranging Aili’s work recently?”

“Still General Manager Bai,” the assistant said immediately, not understanding why she suddenly asked about Aili.

She rested her elbows on the desk, chin on her palm, and softly said, “Is Aili very popular lately?”

The assistant blinked, seeming not to quite understand why she would say that. She stammered, “It should be better than before, I guess.”

In fact, signing models for the studio was just expanding their business; at most, they would piggyback on the boss’s resources when Huo Ci shot various advertisements. Forget being popular, she was practically unknown.

Huo Ci sneered. No significant workload, yet suddenly wealthy. It seemed she had come into a considerable windfall.

She immediately called Bai Yu over. As soon as he entered, Huo Ci asked, “Has Aili gotten a boyfriend recently?”

“No, no, she hasn’t. Did she cause trouble again?” Bai Yu was completely baffled by Huo Ci’s question.

Huo Ci looked at him and said, “Then did you give her money?”

“She’s perfectly capable; why would I give her money for no reason?” Bai Yu said, confused.

Huo Ci stood up, “Call her and tell her to come back immediately.”

Seeing her serious expression, Bai Yu quickly called Aili and had her come back. When she pushed the door open and saw both Huo Ci and Bai Yu, she still asked with a giggle, “Is there work for me? I knew it would be a good thing when Huo Ci came back.”

Huo Ci looked at her, her eyes scanning the bag on Aili’s back again, until she saw the letters carved on the bag: NW.

“No good news. How about we discuss why you stole T&A’s advertisement and gave it to Nan Wan?” Huo Ci looked at her, her dark eyes cold and certain.

“I didn’t...” Aili was about to deny it, but she looked up and saw those eyes.

Those eyes, always hidden behind the camera, were so cold. Looking at her, they made it impossible for her to utter a single lie.

Bai Yu looked at Aili in shock, equally disbelieving, but Aili guiltily lowered her eyes, not daring to look up at anyone. It wasn’t until Huo Ci walked up to her, reached out, and pulled the bag from her shoulder, sneering, “Just for a bag like this? Do you know how much this bag costs?”

Aili didn’t dare speak. Huo Ci sneered, “Thirty thousand. You’re willing to go to jail for thirty thousand. Very good, utterly stupid.”

Upon hearing the words “go to jail,” Aili immediately panicked, finally knowing how to retort, and blurted out, “I didn’t! You have no evidence!”

“No evidence?” Huo Ci laughed. She picked up the bag and threw it directly at Aili, pointing to a corner of the bag and cursing, “You f***ing open your eyes and look at the letters carved on the bag: NW. These are the initials of Nan Wan’s name in Pinyin. This bag was given to her by the brand when she attended Fashion Week last year.”

Bai Yu immediately stepped forward, snatched the bag, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed the letters NW.

He remembered that Nan Wan had indeed attended several events during the Spring/Summer Fashion Week last year.

“Brother, save me, I really didn’t mean to,” Aili, knowing she couldn’t deny it anymore, pleaded with Bai Yu.

Bai Yu trembled with rage, looking at her and angrily saying, “What kind of person is Nan Wan? Don’t you know? Do you think she’ll be sincere friends with you? Huo Ci is right; you’re willing to go to jail for a bag. If you want to die, I won’t stop you.”

Aili hadn’t expected Bai Yu, who usually indulged her every whim, to treat her this way.

She looked at the two of them, her face panicked but still defiant, saying, “You’re trying to scare me.”

“Scare you? Leaking commercial secrets, do you know how much T&A lost this time? This advertisement has to be completely reshot, all the hard ads have to be pulled,” Bai Yu looked at her, utterly disappointed.

Aili then realized the seriousness of the matter. In fact, she hadn’t wanted to do it, but she was truly tempted.

She thought that even if she stole something, at most, it would just delay the advertisement.

She cried, reaching for Bai Yu’s hand, but he shook her off. It wasn’t until Huo Ci looked up at her and asked, “Was Nan Wan the one who instigated you?”

“Yes, yes, yes, it was her! She’s mad you stole the T&A ad!” But before she could finish, Bai Yu’s furious roar interrupted her.

He cursed, “Bullshit! She’s the one who actually stole T&A’s ad! She used underhanded tactics to snatch the ad! Are you brainless? She can just say two words and fool you!”

Aili was so scolded that she dared not speak.

“This matter is no longer just about our studio. What Aili stole is a commercial secret. Even if I let her go, do you think T&A will let it rest?” Huo Ci looked at Bai Yu calmly.

Bai Yu lowered his head; he had attended yesterday’s meeting.

So he knew that once T&A found out about this, they certainly wouldn’t let Aili off easily.

Aili was crying uncontrollably, but Bai Yu didn’t show her mercy. He confiscated her ID card and all her bank cards, leaving her no chance to escape.

Bai Yu told her to go to his office for now, while he remained with Huo Ci.

“I’m sorry, Huo Ci,” he knew what Aili did was truly foolish.

Huo Ci leaned against the table, looking at him: “Do you know why Nan Wan would give her an old bag? She’s showing off to us.”

Bai Yu understood, and his disgust for Nan Wan had reached its peak.

Aili dropped out of high school without graduating. She was pretty, only dated when she was in school, and was later expelled. So she had no education and didn’t understand the seriousness of commercial espionage. Nan Wan used Aili, and now she’s using her to show off to Huo Ci, which shows how much the previous T&A jewelry incident affected her.

“What do we do now?” Bai Yu asked her.

Huo Ci suddenly looked up, asking him, “Isn’t the Media Awards this weekend?”

This awards ceremony was a major event in the media industry, attended by many popular celebrities each year, and many emerging photographers emerged from this awards ceremony. After all, the industry highly recognized the Media Awards, and the presenters each year were chairmen of various media companies and chief editors of magazines.

Bai Yu didn’t know why she suddenly asked this, but still nodded.

Huo Ci stood up and said calmly, “She’s always wanted the Media Awards’ Best Photographer award. Go tell the organizers that I will be attending this year.”

A month ago, Bai Yu had told her that Nan Wan’s agent was actively trying to secure this award for her. This was to salvage her declining performance this year, as she had been involved in a scandal related to unspoken rules, which was really embarrassing. This award was very important to Nan Wan.

She sneered, “She wants to show off to me, I have to return the favor.”

“This time, I’ll send her to the moon.”