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“What sketch did she give her?”
“Holy crap, this is huge! Does Zhou Ruoyu mean that Ling Bo stole her sketch to enter the competition?”
“I’m from the planning department too. Last week those two were getting along great. I was wondering why they suddenly started fighting today…”
“As expected, when things go against the norm, there must be something fishy. If that’s the case, what Ling Bo did is way too much. No wonder they fell out!”
“And she even turned around and bit back? How shameless!”
“A thief, that’s what she is…”
The clamor of argument rang incessantly, and Ling Bo immediately felt overwhelmed. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, then began to pant nervously. There was no way she could accept such a bet—if she did, it would completely confirm the bad deed she’d done… But… but…
Where did Zhou Ruoyu get such confidence? Could it be… she really was hiding her talent? Was that painting really done by her own hand?!
After a long while, seeing Ling Bo sweating profusely and pretending to be dead, the tall straight-haired little loli snorted coldly, then shook her head and said:
“Sister Bo, Sister Bo. If you don’t speak, does that mean you can’t reproduce it? Hah… If you can’t even redraw something you supposedly created, how can you have the nerve to claim it as your own? I’m returning those words to you! Also… that sketch I gave you before—it really was just a rough draft. The more detailed design is still in my hands~ Never mind, since it’s all my drawing, doesn’t it make no difference which one I reproduce? I’ll just draw it again right now for you to see!”
Having said that, the girl took a piece of paper and began drawing on the spot. The crowd of onlookers immediately gathered around to watch. The girl’s brush moved like the wind, so fluid and fast that people were dumbfounded. Some busybodies even took out the work Ling Bo had submitted and compared it on the spot. Zhou Ruoyu pointed at the two drawings one by one, explaining:
“This element—it’s borrowed from a neighboring online game’s blue-and-white porcelain style! This one—it’s borrowed from another neighboring game’s mythical bird motif! And this, this, and these—I can tell you the origin of each one!”
Hearing the girl speak with such ease, the onlookers instantly became convinced: Zhou Ruoyu was the true owner of this design!
As for the plagiarist… Zhou Ruoyu slowly raised her head, then cast a rather resentful glance at Ling Bo before forcing a bitter smile and continuing:
“These things… I actually wrote them all in the instruction manual, but… I’m afraid Sister Bo, you didn’t even read it carefully, sigh… I originally thought you were a true friend who cared about me, but I never expected you’d treat me like this… So, why? Why did you steal my design and then oppose me at every turn? Why?!”
Hearing the girl’s lament, many in the crowd empathized with her. Their gazes turned toward Ling Bo, and some loudmouths even shouted accusations at her, sparking another uproar:
“Yeah, why are you bullying her? Stealing someone else’s design to enter a competition—that’s too vile!”
“Thief… a real, genuine thief. Not only did you steal, but now you’re jumping out to bully others? Don’t you have any shame?”
“Betrayed by her best friend… I can’t imagine how painful that would be. I never thought Ling Bo was this kind of person.”
“Tch… Should we report this to management? Don’t say I’m a snitch, but I really don’t want to associate with someone like her.”
“Hah, now everyone knows. If you know what’s good for you, resign early. Seriously… disgusting!”
Pale-faced, Ling Bo couldn’t even muster the strength to defend herself anymore. She only backed away step by step, shaking her head frantically:
“No… it wasn’t me, I didn’t steal it. I… Ruoyu, wuwu… I’m sorry… I did it because…”
Hiss—
Seeing that Ling Bo, on the verge of an emotional breakdown, was about to confess, Gu Xue drew a sharp breath. She immediately rushed over, clamped her hand over Ling Bo’s mouth, and gave her a fierce glare, a clear warning.
Feeling the obvious threat in Gu Xue’s eyes, Ling Bo gradually calmed down. Then Gu Xue dragged her away from the scene. Though the crowd was indignant, they were somewhat baffled by the scene.
Who was that woman who had just run out? They had never seen her before. Dressed so oddly, as if afraid of being recognized… What was going on?
Watching the two retreating figures, Zhou Ruoyu narrowed her eyes. A suspicion suddenly flashed through her puzzled mind: Was there someone behind Ling Bo? Someone instructing her to cause trouble?
And who was that woman? Strange… Zhou Ruoyu couldn’t see her face clearly, but she felt a vague sense of familiarity… Could it be… Liu Ruyan?
Thinking it over, the most likely enemy who would go mad to retaliate against her seemed to be only that one person. But the appearances didn’t quite match… After a long daze, the tall, straight-haired, dark-haired little loli suddenly snapped out of it.
No, that’s not right—whoever she is, I need to chase after them and see what’s going on!
So Zhou Ruoyu quickly rushed out the door… but found not a trace of anyone. She asked a few colleagues along the way, but though the two should have been very noticeable targets, no one claimed to have seen them.
Wh… what? They just vanished?
****
In a hidden utility room, Gu Xue was choked by the floating dust and coughed a few times. After a moment, she regained her composure, then glared at Ling Bo and said in a harsh tone:
“What were you doing just now, Ling Bo? I warned you, didn’t I? You were not to mention me!”
“But… but just now…”
Ling Bo stammered in reply, clearly still shaken from the panic. After a long while, she slowly raised her head and nervously asked Gu Xue:
“What do we do now?”
“What to do? Hah… you already blew it. What do you think? Resign… and let this be the end of it.”
Gu Xue coldly shook her head and said. Ling Bo stood frozen in place. After a while, she opened her eyes wide in disbelief, then suddenly exploded in anger, shouting at Gu Xue:
“Resign? You… that’s not what you told me before! You said… as long as I did the job, I’d get the money and keep working at the company safe and sound! And now? I… I just get fired?! That’s not what we agreed! Didn’t you say you’d smoothed everything over? What… what now?!”
“As if you could keep working at this company after this… What other option is there? Who… who could have guessed that she could draw such a great design?! I… I haven’t even blamed you for not doing your job properly yet!”
You’ve got to see this next! I Just Wanted An Ordinary Life This Time will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : I Just Wanted An Ordinary Life This Time
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