Meng Nianchu fixed her eyes on the phone screen the man had placed in front of her and frowned slightly.
The man let out a cold snort, retrieved his phone, and put it back into the bag on his back. "I finished that design drawing half a month ago. I thought it was good at that time, so I took a photo and posted it on Weibo. The picture even has the date on it!"
"I originally posted it online to attract some fans' attention. Who would have thought that there would be someone bold enough to directly steal my photo and make clothes for sale? In this broad daylight, is there any justice left!"
"I'm sorry." Meng Nianchu's expression froze slightly. Her mind raced as she thought of a way to handle the situation. "I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer for this matter, but could you please give me some time?"
The man frowned and immediately refused. "Give you time? You're just afraid that I'll make a scene in your company, which will have a bad impact on your company's image, and you want me to leave quickly! Let me tell you, there's no way! I want an answer now. You must give me a solution!"
"I gave her the design drawing." Li Xiao pushed the door open, glanced at Meng Nianchu, and stood beside the man. "I copied the design drawing. Meng Nianchu had no idea about this. It has nothing to do with her."
Hearing Li Xiao voluntarily take the blame, the man let out a mocking laugh. "You dared to copy my stuff, and you even have the nerve to come here. You're really bold!"
"I'm really sorry about this. I had no other choice." Li Xiao lowered her head, looking extremely dejected.
The man angrily poked Li Xiao's shoulder. "Just because you had no other choice, you could copy my stuff? Who gave you the nerve! Let me tell you, you have to give me all the money you made from selling clothes with my design drawing. Otherwise, this matter won't be resolved today!"
The man showed no sign of leaving.
Without hesitation, Meng Nianchu took out 20,000 yuan from the safe. "The company also needs to make a profit. I'll ask the designer in charge of this project about this matter. For now, I can only give you this much money. Please give me your bank card number. I'll transfer another 80,000 yuan to you later. Consider it as buying the copyright from you."
"You made so much money from selling clothes, and you're only giving me such a small amount. Are you trying to send me away like a beggar?"
"Security!" Li Xiao suddenly shouted.
The security guards who had been standing outside the door immediately rushed in upon hearing Li Xiao's shout.
Li Xiao said, "Please escort this gentleman out first."
The man was grabbed by the security guards and forcibly dragged out of the company. His roars could still be heard from afar.
"I won't let you off!"
Li Xiao was extremely agitated. She tried to suppress her anger and was about to explain to Meng Nianchu.
Meng Nianchu asked first, "Why did you do this?"
Now that there were no outsiders, Meng Nianchu didn't need to hide her emotions. Her expression turned cold, and her eyes stared at Li Xiao with a hint of cruelty.
"Did you do it on purpose?"
Recalling Li Xiao's strange reactions when facing her in the past few days, Meng Nianchu suddenly realized that Li Xiao seemed to have something to say to her at that time, and it should be about this matter.
Li Xiao avoided Meng Nianchu's gaze. "I was coerced by Linda..."
She paused, her eyes turning red. For some reason, she couldn't continue. Sniffling, she changed the subject. "I'll pay for the copyright fee myself. I'll also return the 20,000 yuan to you."
"You did it yourself, so of course you have to solve it." Meng Nianchu could hardly hide her anger, and her words seemed to be laced with thorns. She walked around the desk, took out a resignation letter, and threw it at Li Xiao. "As a designer, you shouldn't have done such a thing. I don't need to say much. You know what to do, right?"
Li Xiao tried hard to hold back her tears. "Yes, I do."
"Get out."
Li Xiao stepped forward, picked up the resignation letter, and walked out.
Meng Nianchu let out a long sigh, and her nose felt slightly sour.
How could she not feel aggrieved when such a thing was caused by the person she trusted the most!
Noticing that Li Xiao was still standing at the office door and hadn't left, she asked impatiently, "What are you still doing here?"
As she asked this question, there was a glimmer of hope in her heart that Li Xiao would explain to her why she did this.
But Li Xiao only said, "You should be careful of Linda. No..."
Before she could finish her sentence, someone suddenly shouted outside the office, "Fire! Hurry, someone come!"
Hearing the shout, Meng Nianchu and Li Xiao immediately ran out of the office. As soon as they stepped out, a choking smell of smoke filled their noses. The employees on the upper floors were rushing downstairs in a hurry.
Li Xiao instinctively grabbed Meng Nianchu and ran downstairs. When they reached the stairs, they bumped into Mu Junze, who was coming up.
"Quick, carry her on your back." Li Xiao helped Meng Nianchu onto Mu Junze's back.
Mu Junze carried Meng Nianchu out of the office building with a cold face.
The three of them ran out one after another. Seeing the man who had been escorted out of the company by the security guards earlier being restrained by the police, they knew in their hearts that this man had set the fire.
Fortunately, the security guards had discovered the fire in time, so the fire wasn't very big. Apart from the serious damage to the first floor of the company, there were no casualties.
Mu Junze tightly hugged Meng Nianchu and stared intently at the high - rise building emitting white smoke, his expression gloomy.
Meng Nianchu was also in a state of shock. Somehow, this fire was linked to the fire in her memory.
Meng's company was located in the center of the business district. When a fire broke out here, passers - by nearby came over to check the situation.
Meng Nianchu only had a fleeting thought of Linda in her mind, but she actually saw Linda in the crowd.
Linda was wearing a red mink coat and stood out in the crowd. When she saw Mu Junze, her eyes lit up, and she walked over with small steps.
"Junze, it's so dangerous here. You'd better not stay here any longer. What if you get hurt?" she said softly.
Mu Junze was as cold as ice.
Out of the corner of his eye, Linda noticed Meng Nianchu standing beside Mu Junze and curled her lips. "You've only been in charge of the company for a short time, and it almost got burned down. With a successor like you, the company will probably go bankrupt soon in your hands."
Meng Nianchu glared at her coldly.
When Li Xiao saw Linda coming, she involuntarily stepped back to keep a distance from her.
However, as soon as she moved, Linda, who hadn't noticed her before, was immediately attracted by her. Linda walked up to her with a meaningful smile on her face and said gently, "Why have you lost so much weight in just a few days? Did Meng Nianchu not let you eat because of this mess in the company?"
Li Xiao quickly hid behind Meng Nianchu.
Meng Nianchu was slightly puzzled by Li Xiao's resistance to Linda. At the last party, Li Xiao had been able to handle Linda with ease. Why was she so terrified of Linda after just a few days?
Li Xiao hung her head and said nothing.