Chapter 82: Stolen.

Lu Mingyu accepted Mu Liang's good intentions and nodded her thanks to the resident that carted the books over.

He nodded and left after that.

The four chatted some more, when visiting hours were almost up Lu Mingyu added that she's flying back home later that evening and wasn't really sure when she'll be back.

Mu Liang smiled and nodded.

He was a bit sad, he was enjoying the company of these three girls. But he too had her back to work as soon as he recovered so he wouldn't have that much time to entertain them anyway.

Plus it wasn't as if he'd never see them again.

"Then I'll leave these in your good hands. I do hope you'll find them useful."

"Please don't worry, I'll treat and use them well."

"Mhm, I have no doubt that you will."

Lu Mingxi noticed the atmosphere and the small dynamics between her sister and Mu Liang.

She nudged Qin Qianyu and whispered,

"Hey, what's going on here? . . Could my sister be falling for this old teacher?"

"Hehe, who knows, but, just so you know, Mingyu is older than him."

" . . . "

Lu Mingxi looked at Qin Qianyu wide eyed then she mouthed the words "stop lying!" to her.

While Lu Mingyu and Mu Liang were still chatting to each other, Qin Qianyu pulled the chart out and handed it to Lu Mingxi.

She saw the base details of the chat and her eyes soon zeroed in on his date of birth.

Her mouth flew open as she handed the chart back.

"I wonder if he likes my sister too!"

Lu Mingxi asked excitedly then she stopped and a look of realisation hit her.

Lu Mingxi's eyes transformed into that of a fox as her grin grew large.

"Mingyu! Since we don't have much time left, you should stay here and ask Teacher Mu to help you out. You have the books here and if you went home and had some questions for him it could be a bother. So go through them now and learn . . Stuff . . Together!"

Qin Qianyu almost cracked near the end of Lu Mingxi's rhetoric.

"Mhm, I think that's a good idea. You're not flying out till later this evening so Mingyu and I will pick you up after dinner when visiting hours for the day are officially over."

"But! Visiting hours are almost over now!"

"It'll be fine, since it's just you here. Okay, have fun learning stuff! Qianyu and I will head out first! . . Bye!"

Qin Qianyu laughed and gave Mingyu and Mu Liang a wave before being dragged out by Lu Mingxi.

"Hehe, you little fox!"

Lu Mingyu muttered. It seemed her feelings may have leaked out and her sister picked up on it.

Lu Mingyu blushed a little and apologised to Mu Liang for her sister.

"It's fine, I don't mind, in fact I was just thinking how I was quite liking our time together and how it was a pity for it to end so soon."

"Re . . Really? . . I . . Ah, . . Me too,"

Lu Mingyu said softly.

Inside the elevator, a giddy Lu Mingxi was all smiles,

"You know, Although Mingyu isn't a vain or superficially inclined type of woman, others may think strangely about her and especially so, if she manages to nab Teacher Mu."

" . . . "

"Even though Teacher Mu is a little chubby, it's nothing a jog or two can't fix. And they can do it together, spending more time in each other's company!"

"He really seems like a good natured and kind hearted person. If it does happen I only hope he treats Mingyu well. She'll definitely do the same."

Lu Mingxi says happily. Qin Qianyu didn't think much about it. To her, she believed that they could sort out their own happiness in their own way.

As for her, she wants to be a single dog for life along with Grandpa Wú.

Hearing Lu Mingxi's ending part had Qin Qianyu thinking about it a little though.

Her mind suddenly jumped to the time she was with Grandpa Wú in Dr Cao's office and seeing a picture with him and a handsome slim boy who oddly reminded her of Mu Liang.

"Could it be from stress eating over the loss of his parents and of his extended family?"

She asked herself.

Qin Qianyu and Lu Mingxi headed towards the taxi stand and left towards an address close by.

It was where a famed fabric store was located.

"Song Textiles?"

"Mhm, they've been in business a long time and when I had checked, the fabrics were fairly decent in both price and quality."

Qin Qianyu said nothing, she tried not to show any negative emotions on her face as well.

There were many small businesses owned by the Song family, this textile factory and store tucked away in the corner was one of them.

The pair paid the fair and went out to explore.

The Main Street leading to the textile factory and its onsite store and showroom was closed off to traffic.

They, along with some sponsors were holding a promotional event as a build up to the up coming Ouxiang Up competition.

"Isn't this exciting! Come let's go compare and see if my designs hold up against what's in trend!"

"Haha! Alright! But from what I've seen you're bound to be the one setting the trend!"

"Hehe! . . "

The showroom floor showed garments made from the material the textile factory stocked and made in-house.

However, when Lu Mingxi saw the designs of the garments on display, she became utterly confused then mad as her grip on Qin Qianyu's arm tightened.

This didn't escape Qin Qianyu either.

"Mingxi how are these here?"

"I don't know! . . But this is . . This is fraud!"

What the pair saw were dresses designed by Lu Mingxi.

Not only that but they were being marketed as a design created in collaboration with a luxury brand named Tā de.

"What do I do!? These were for the Ouxiang Up competition in a months time!? . . How would I even come up with another concept!?"

Lu Mingxi stated worryingly, then continued,

"How could Tā de do this!? . . Aren't they and Secondhand the two major sponsors for the Ouxiang Up competition!?"

Suddenly the loud music went quiet and a well dressed and groomed man stepped up to the stage and after clearing his throat, he first thanked everyone for coming to the event then he got right into introducing the main line up of the new seasons range.

EDM style music started thumping aloud as model after model walked on in style.

Exclamations sounded out from every corner, this didn't escape the ear of the man that just spoke either.

He was on cloud nine listening to all the praise around him. He turned to the man seated to his right and smiled brightly as he spoke,

"Mr Jie, these designs are truly next level! Your team should be commended for their efforts."

"You praise me too much Mr Hui. All thanks should go to Mr Song, he was the one that gave me an outlet in which I was able to showcase my talents."

"Mr Song, you've really backed a winner here, this 100 million investment was well worth it."

The man surnamed Hui turned once more and said. The person he was speaking to was Song Zhaoge.

"You praise me too much kind sir, I just knew I had something special when I saw Mr Jie's initial sketches, it's my good fortune that I came to you instead of Secondhand."

"Oh? . . "

"Mr Jie has some history with them and all he asked was that whoever invested he didn't mind, unless it was Secondhand."

"Do tell Mr Song,"

"Ive learnt from other independent sources that it involved plagiarism and stolen designs of his by Secondhand's own senior designer from when he was a designer there. I poached him from Secondhand myself. I'm glad I did, before you, haha!"

"That's good to know, I've always hated that old man Yang!"

Mr Hui says with utter disdain on his face and in his voice. He turned and stared with hostile eyes to where Secondhand and their people were seated. A smirk appeared on his face as a thought came across his face.

Song Zhaoge didn't really care, he was just glad he was able to get that 100 million from Mr Hui and now he could go back to Vial with the investment amount he had promised them.

27 unique dresses suitable for all seasons and occasions showed up on stage.

All of the designs shown on the showroom floor were from Lu Mingxi's online portfolio.

6 of which were from before she picked up her sketch pad again.

But it was the main attractions that had Lu Mingxi totally deflated.

The final four showpieces, they didn't even change the name of the four dresses theme, 'Bonds'

These were to be Lu Mingxi's own submissions into the Ouxiang Up competition.

A thunderous round of applause echoed out and Mr Hui went up to the microphone and bowed politely.

He was fully rapt with the response as he accepted the applause and cheers.

He calmed the audience down and beamed brightly as he spoke.

"All these outfits you see before you will go on sale in a few weeks before Ouxiang Up starts."

The crowd erupted into manic cheers after saying so. He let it go on for a while before he continued.

"I also hope today's event inspires all budding designers here to dream big and not let those around you weigh your hearts down with their jealousy and hate. All I ask is that you let the theme of this collection speak for itself and for you "Bonds" we of Tā de support you future designers! Together as designers let our bonds be stronger then they were before let it unite all designers of the fashion world with Tā de as your centre, your pillar of support."

"Now I would like to invite a few people on stage, please help me in welcoming the lead designer to the stage and his boss. Mr Jie, Mr Song please do come up."

Another rambunctious round of applause rang out.

Mr Jie came up to the stage with a woman by his side, the pair made way and gestured for Song Zhaoge to go ahead of them.

Song Zhaoge gave a slight nod as he adjusted his cuffs and ambled to the front of the stage.

He stood stoically as he cast his eyes around and glanced through the crowd. He gave the audience slight nods at timely intervals.

He, and Mr Hui were soon joined be Mr Jie and the unnamed woman.

Mr Hui handed over the microphone to Song Zhaoge to say a few words.

"Firstly, thank you all here in attendance, this event can be considered a success because of all of you."

"Secondly to our honoured guests this is not only a successful event for Song Textile's but also the Ouxiang Up competition."

"Now I'd like to acknowledge our partnership with Mr Hui of Tā de and ourselves for helping us bring to all of you, these gorgeous dresses you see before you. All 31 dresses from the 27 "all wear" unique designs to the four shining stars known as Bonds, have all been the long painstaking efforts of our resident designer in cooperation with Tā de and Mr Hui."

"Without further ado, I introduce you to that very designer here and now. Mr Jie, if you please."

Song Zhaoge extended a hand and welcomed Mr Jie to the front.

"Thank you, everyone . . How do you like our designs?"

The crowd erupted once more. They really loved them. Many in the audience were well and truly stunned by the intricate designs and attention to detail.

They could all see the designers passion and fashion sense in each dress.

Each one a step up from the last, but they all held a cohesiveness about them,

"This is what I truly call a collection."

"This designer! How did any of us miss him? Was he hiding abroad?"

"A small crappy textile factory nabbed a fellow like him? There must be something wrong with the world!"

"Yang Mingchun, any thoughts on this fellow?"

They just shook their head, before answering,

"That fellow, none at all, the design of the dresses, I have a few."

"Oh? do share!"

"For starters, who is Lu Mingxi?"

"Huh? What's that got to do with the dresses?"

"Heh! If you have to ask, change professions!"

"Grumpy old goat!"

"Well, what I really want to say is that these designs aren't his, he's far too mediocre to produce these,"

"What! . . Are you saying these designs are stolen!? He plagiarised these dresses?"

"Mhm, that's right!"

Everyone on stage all heard the discussions from the other guests in attendance, Mr Hui especially so.

His face turned sour when he heard the voice of Yang Mingchun,

"Thief calling the police on the owners of the house!"

Mr Hui complained internally while on stage, Mr Jie continued his speech.

"I'd like to thank my gorgeous girlfriend and muse, Ji Yunhao. It's all because of her that I have the courage to dare and dream big."

The woman beside him smiled brightly. She playfully pinched his elbow before giving him a light peck on the cheek.

"All of the designs you see here are inspired by her, these dresses I designed are the fruits of our 'bond'. Yunhao, it's been my greatest joy having met you. In my darkest time you were there to pick me up, although it hasn't been long, to me everyday is an eternity I've gotten to stay with you. I love you forever and a day."

Mr Hui at this time took hold of the microphone and started singing the praises of Song Textiles and his ability to headhunt and "steal" Mr Jie from Secondhand.

As he said so he looked towards Secondhand's Yang Mingchun and their members but he saw no angry looks,

However, Yang Mingchun did speak up,

"Mr Hui seems to be mistaken, the cooperative designer of yours and Mr Song has never once worked for Secondhand, that I can assure you of."

"Is this true?"

"They've been trying to smear me and my reputation ever since I accused them of stealing my ideas when I worked for them. So of course they would deny ever knowing me. I was one of their best designers! These designs here are the proof of that!"

Exclamations rang out and people started pointing fingers at Secondhand some even shouting out in rebuke of them.

Mr Hui sneered inside his heart at Yang Mingchun and all of Secondhand's people as they sat there unmoving.