The phone rang incessantly. Zhao Yu groggily opened her eyes, fished for her phone, and was momentarily puzzled when she saw it was a call from Wang Qi.

Everyone had been swamped for days with the new product launch. They had all drunk heavily at the celebration banquet last night. Sunday morning should have been for proper rest. Why was she calling so early in the morning?

“Hello?” Her voice was hoarse when she answered, and her head still ached slightly. “What’s going on?”

“Emergency overtime. Get to the office now. Something’s happened.”

Zhao Yu’s drowsiness vanished instantly. “What is it?”

“The new products launched yesterday are being accused of plagiarism. It’s already blown up, impossible to suppress.” The sound of a car horn came through the phone; Wang Qi was probably already on the road. “It’s definitely a competitor using this to blow things up, deliberately trying to crush us.”

When Zhao Yu arrived at the company, Xue Zhan was already in a meeting with the PR and Product departments, discussing countermeasures.

Domestic attention to intellectual property rights was growing increasingly stringent these days. Anything involving plagiarism was a major issue. Moreover, over the past two years, the Jewelry Industry Association had also established clear regulations regarding IP protection within the industry. Once plagiarism was confirmed, the company would face more than just reputational damage—there would be even more serious industry and legal consequences.

Wang Qi hadn’t joined the meeting. She was at her workstation monitoring online developments. The moment she saw Zhao Yu walk in, she spoke: “This one’s tricky. Lanxi is deliberately stirring up trouble.”

Zhao Yu leaned in to look at the computer screen. “What exactly is the situation? Which product was copied?”

“This one.” Wang Qi pointed at an image on the computer. “Honestly, I really couldn’t tell it was copied. But after reading their analysis, I have to admit there are some similarities.”

Plagiarism was inherently difficult to define in any industry, yet once that label was attached, it was indeed terribly hard to remove.

Zhao Yu carefully read through the online analysis posts and suddenly froze. “TNC?”

“Right. The product our designer is accused of copying happens to be from TNC Studio. That’s where the difficulty lies. TNC has already signed a partnership with Lanxi. If the design patent for this piece really is in Lanxi’s hands, they’ll absolutely grind us into the dirt.”

Zhao Yu took the mouse, clicked through other news articles to skim them, and shook her head. “Probably not. If Lanxi held the patent rights, they would have stepped forward already. Besides, isn’t it clearly stated here that the designer of this piece is Ling Jianwei?”

Wang Qi was puzzled. “What about Ling Jianwei?”

Ling Jianwei had always treasured his own designs. He wasn’t short on money and never sold his patents. Even with patent licensing, he wouldn’t grant exclusive usage rights. Zhao Yu had a general understanding of all this. But after a pause, she said nothing, just continued scrolling through the related news.

Wang Qi, however, couldn’t resist joking. “Didn’t Xia Nan say before that Qin Yi’s senior Ling might have a thing for her? If that’s true, we could let Qin Yi take one for the team, deploy a little honey trap, and win over her senior Ling. If the patent rights are still with Ling Jianwei, as long as he doesn’t sue, the problem becomes much easier to handle.”

Zhao Yu chuckled softly. “You’re still in the mood for jokes at a time like this?”

Wang Qi shrugged. “What else can I do? I’m just a lowly secretary. If something really happens to the company, I can’t help, and I won’t suffer losses alongside it. Even if the company goes bankrupt, I’ll just find another job.”

At this, she couldn’t help but tease further. “I only dare tell you this because I consider you a sister, so don’t go snitching to the boss. If you really do become the lady boss someday, I’ll still need you to look after me.”

Zhao Yu pushed her, exasperated. But she did seriously ponder Wang Qi’s words in her mind.

Use a honey trap on Ling Jianwei? It might actually be feasible.

But that would depend on Xue Zhan’s attitude, and how this situation developed.

After the meeting concluded, the PR department immediately drafted an external statement, pledging to handle the matter seriously. As for the plagiarism accusation, admitting to it was out of the question.

Never mind that it was still undetermined whether any plagiarism had occurred. Even if it had, the company could never admit it. However, with the issue blowing up so massively online and many industry experts supporting the plagiarism theory, the situation was unfavorable for Huacan from every angle.

Xue Zhan’s expression was grim. Zhao Yu guessed that what angered him most was likely himself. After all, he had personally overseen so many aspects, and still, something slipped through the cracks. For someone who demanded such rigor from himself at work and strived for perfection, this was a significant blow.

“How can such a large company never have a single oversight? You diligently supervised every link in the chain, but there will always be subordinates who handle things poorly. Not to mention, plagiarism is inherently difficult to define. No matter how you look at it, the blame can’t be placed on you.”

Xue Zhan was momentarily stunned.

It wasn’t because of her few dry words of comfort. It was because she had naturally walked behind him, placed her hands on his shoulders, and begun gently kneading them, helping him relax his body.

Just like… a gentle wife, standing silently behind her husband in support when his work encountered setbacks, unwavering and steadfast.

Such a thought flashed unbidden through his mind. Startled, he abruptly leaned forward, evading her hands, and said flatly, “Go busy yourself with work.”

For the past few days, it was as if nothing had ever happened between them; they had simply gone on working together as boss and assistant.

Zhao Yu also knew there had to be a limit to everything and didn’t dare push too hard. But his current evasive attitude was a stark contrast to his decisive and resolute working style.

“As long as Ling Jianwei doesn’t sue, this matter becomes much easier to handle, right?”

Xue Zhan looked at her expressionlessly. His gaze clearly stated he thought she was talking nonsense.

The reason this issue had exploded overnight was because someone was fueling the flames behind the scenes. The prime suspect was definitely Lanxi. It was even highly probable that the entire plagiarism accusation was initiated by Lanxi.

Ling Jianwei’s studio had a partnership with Lanxi. The Ling and Zhuang families were also about to be united by marriage. Why would Lanxi let go of such a perfect opportunity?

Even if, after a court battle with Huacan, the law ultimately determined there was no plagiarism, Ling Jianwei would definitely fight this lawsuit.

Zhao Yu smiled faintly. “What if I said I have a way to make Ling Jianwei not pursue this, and moreover, get him to help clarify the plagiarism issue?”

Xue Zhan looked at her in astonishment, as if trying to gauge the truth of her claim.

Zhao Yu was confident. “One day. No—just two hours, and I can settle it. However, I have a condition.”

Xue Zhan fixed his eyes on her. “What condition?”

“I want one percent of Huacan’s equity.”

Xue Zhan couldn’t help but let out a derisive snort.

Zhao Yu certainly knew she was making an outrageous demand. Even Xue Zhan only held ten percent of Huacan’s equity to date. While this plagiarism issue was serious, it wasn’t worth that high a price.

“Seems Director Xue isn’t agreeing?” Zhao Yu leaned forward, slowly drawing closer to him, and raised her eyebrows smugly. “Then let’s change the condition. I help Director Xue resolve this matter. In return, Director Xue sleeps with me for three months. How about it?”