Reborn to outshine My Ex and His White Moonlight

Chapter 917: Meeting the Plagiarist

Lin Zhiyi heard Gong Chen’s words, and immediately took out her phone to check.

Sure enough, netizens love a good spectacle, and they’re starting to take sides.

Especially after Shirley’s background was exposed, many people sympathized with her.

They felt that as an adopted orphan who is willing to return to the country to study, it showed her heart was set on the homeland.

This brought the matter to a new level.

Many believe that someone with such awareness could not engage in plagiarism.

Lin Zhiyi smirked, "I’ve lived in the country my whole life, am I supposed to be proud of that? Is this really a point to attack me on?"

Gong Chen said, "That’s why I’m here, I want to see for myself who this Shirley really is."

Lin Zhiyi checked her watch.

"It’s about time, let’s go. I made a reservation at a restaurant near the school."

"Okay."

Gong Chen took Lin Zhiyi’s hand and they walked towards the restaurant.

On the way, they happened to pass through a residential area.

Once, Lin Zhiyi had been caught here by Gong Chen.

Lin Zhiyi looked at the alley, Gong Chen suddenly leaned over and said, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

Lin Zhiyi turned her face away, her cheeks flushed.

Gong Chen said teasingly, "Want me to help you remember?"

Lin Zhiyi quickly pushed him, "In broad daylight, what are you thinking? Let’s go."

"Oh, so you remember it so clearly."

"Let’s go."

Lin Zhiyi, feeling embarrassed, pulled Gong Chen towards the restaurant.

The restaurant was small, but very stylishly designed.

Lin Zhiyi sat by a small window sipping coffee.

The assistant who went to park the car sent her a message.

"She said she’s almost there. I’ll go to the school to see what’s going on."

"Okay."

The assistant usually spoke loudly but was very thorough when it mattered.

Putting down her phone, Lin Zhiyi looked towards the corner.

Gong Chen raised his glass to assure her.

Lin Zhiyi smiled and turned around, just settling in when the bell on the door rang.

She looked up to see a woman dressed in all white walk in.

Even her hat was white, making her face appear even smaller.

After sitting down slowly, she pressed her lips together.

"Hello, Miss Lin. I’m Shirley."

Her gentle voice was particularly soft.

Lin Zhiyi felt embarrassed to question her and quickly said, "Hello, I’m Lin Zhiyi."

Shirley smiled, "Did you need to see me for something?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiyi furrowed her brow slightly.

With everything that’s been going on online, there’s no way she doesn’t know.

"It’s about the plagiarism issue," Lin Zhiyi said directly. "Surely you must be aware?"

"I’ve seen it, but I don’t know what’s going on either." Shirley shook her head.

Lin Zhiyi asked, "Shirley, can you share your design ideas?"

Shirley was stunned.

"It’s not very appropriate, is it?"

"Sorry, I just want to know if we happened to come up with the same idea by chance." Lin Zhiyi explained.

Shirley looked at Lin Zhiyi and said, "Do you want me to clarify things personally?"

Lin Zhiyi was about to speak when her phone vibrated.

It was a message from Gong Chen.

"Don’t rush."

Lin Zhiyi regained her composure, looking at Shirley again, she found her expression calm and collected.

Instead, it seemed like her own eagerness to get to the truth made her too talkative.

Lin Zhiyi took a deep breath, "No need, I’m not here to force you, I just wanted to ask what you think."

Shirley paused.

She didn’t speak for a long time.

Lin Zhiyi continued to ask, "Miss Shirley, with something like this happening, the competition organizer wouldn’t just let it go. Didn’t they contact you?"

Shirley pressed her lips tightly together.

The waiter happened to bring coffee.

She took a sip of her coffee, her eyes downcast, "So what does Miss Lin think?"

Just as expected.

No wonder Gong Chen told her not to worry, he had figured out Shirley’s intentions.

Shirley wasn’t offering any information, and Lin Zhiyi, eager to find out the truth, ended up saying too much.

Especially when it sounded like she was offering a solution, making it seem like she was pressuring Shirley.

No wonder Gong Chen preferred to be less talkative when discussing work with others.

Lin Zhiyi also took a sip of coffee.

She smiled, "Shirley, I’m asking you, we can be considered fellow alumni, I definitely won’t bully you, I just want to hear your thoughts."

Shirley clutched her coffee cup tightly.

"I don’t know."

"Actually, I don’t know either." Lin Zhiyi followed her lead.

Shirley’s eyes shifted, "The competition organizer did approach me, they said if I can’t prove my innocence, the first place in this design competition can’t be awarded to me. Lin senior, you’ve participated in competitions before, you surely know how to resolve this, right?"

Lin Zhiyi didn’t speak.

So quick to call her Lin senior now.

But... she couldn’t understand why the solution had to come from her.

Lin Zhiyi just wouldn’t say it.

"Seems like we won’t be able to discuss much today, I’m sorry for taking your time."

"Senior!" Shirley looked up at Lin Zhiyi, "Is there really no other way?"

"I’m sorry, I can’t think of any."

Lin Zhiyi firmly held her ground, claiming she had no solutions either.

Shirley lowered her head and slowly got up.

"I’ll head back first, if there’s anything, please reach out to me."

"Okay."

Lin Zhiyi didn’t try to stop her.

Shirley hesitated for two seconds, but still left.

Lin Zhiyi looked through the small window, confirming Shirley had left, then waved Gong Chen over.

Gong Chen walked over.

"It’s like she knew I’d be looking for her," Lin Zhiyi said.

"Your statuses aren’t equal right now. If you propose a solution, it would feel like you’re pressuring her; she wants you to pressure her," Gong Chen said.

"If I really offered a perfect solution, could she still claim I’m pressuring her?" Lin Zhiyi countered.

"No matter how perfect, can you help her prove she didn’t plagiarize? As long as she insists there’s no way to prove it, your perfect solution is only perfect for you."

"Why is she doing this?" Lin Zhiyi didn’t understand.

"Not sure."

Gong Chen shook his head.

So far, Shirley’s image seemed perfect.

There were no abnormalities in her life over the past twenty years.

Lin Zhiyi said, "Third Young Master, you know? I had a peculiar feeling while talking to her, as if she didn’t really care about the first place at all. But from what I know, this year’s first place can directly intern at a high-end luxury brand."

"Being able to stay at a luxury brand would help avoid many detours, just like we wanted to stay in Xue Man’s studio back then."

"She designed jewelry that is similar to mine, so she should be someone who loves jewelry design. But when she mentioned the competition, there wasn’t any enthusiasm in her eyes."

Gong Chen’s gaze deepened, and he proposed a hypothesis.

"What if her target is you? After all, there are many jewelry designers in Jing City, yet she ends up having designs similar to yours, which inherently seems intentional."

"Me?"

Lin Zhiyi sighed.

At what point did she inadvertently provoke someone else again?

Originally, she thought that she had resolved the matter with the Bai Family, and could finally have a peaceful New Year.

Just as she was thinking this, the bell at the door rang again.

The assistant entered.

The assistant waved and walked up to Lin Zhiyi.

"Third Young Master, boss, I asked around at Shirley’s school just now, Shirley is no different from other international students, she’s just a bit aloof, so she’s not very close with her classmates."

"One of her classmates did mention she wasn’t in the best health, and they saw her taking medicine more than once in private, but they’re not sure what it was because she always keeps her medicine in a separate white box and they never saw the pills or bottles."

"Oh, and her teacher said that Shirley was the one who actively wanted to participate in the competition, but even though they urged her several times to submit her work, Shirley kept saying to wait until the last moment to hand it in."

Lin Zhiyi said, "Submitting at the last minute is normal; inspiration can come in an instant. As for the medicine... she does seem excessively frail."