Facing Nan Yu's interrogation, Wu Xiaxian was quite at ease.
He didn't even show the slightest sign of panic when being confronted. "Ah... Which one are you talking about?"
"The Return. I personally brought it to your office last week."
"What day was it last week?"
"… Tuesday."
Mr. Wu seemed to be recalling and said slowly, "Let me check the calendar... Oh, it seems you did come that day."
Nan Yu could tell that he was deliberately beating around the bush.
"Mr. Wu! Please answer my question."
Nan Yu's tone grew a bit stern. "This is already suspected of plagiarism. I have the right to protect my rights!"
"Xiao Nan, calm down first. Don't be impulsive."
On the other end of the phone, Mr. Wu took a sip of tea and said lightly, "I'm not just guiding you as a musician. They're all newly - signed young girls. It's normal for young people to have similar creative styles."
"The melody and rhythm of the whole piece are exactly the same as mine. The chord part and the musical score part are completely identical. This is not just a simple similarity in style."
Nan Yu took a slow breath. "Mr. Wu, you'd better give me a reasonable explanation."
She glanced at Zhou Yu's computer screen. The page still showed the rankings of the competition.
The number of votes for the first - place contestant was still rising.
"What kind of explanation do you want?" Mr. Wu sounded impatient. "I've already said it's a coincidence. Can't you understand?"
His tone turned cold. "There are plenty of talented people in the world. Why do you think it's others plagiarizing yours?"
"Alright, I'm busy." Someone knocked on his door, and he didn't intend to continue the conversation with her. "Instead of wasting time here, you'd better write some new pieces to prove your talent."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Nan Yu held the phone in her hand, her mind in a complete mess. She looked up at Zhou Yu.
The phone was on speaker, so Zhou Yu had heard the whole conversation clearly.
"This is illegal!" Zhou Yu was furious. "How dare he be so arrogant?"
Nan Yu thought for a few seconds and said softly, "A week ago, he asked me to sign a copyright agreement. Now the copyright of this piece belongs to the company."
Zhou Yu paused for a moment but still felt something was wrong. "It should be in your name or the company's name. Why is it under a strange name?"
Nan Yu thought the same way at first.
She had read every clause of the contract, and there was no provision allowing the piece to be released under someone else's name.
No matter how capable Wu Xiaxian was, he couldn't have tampered with the contract.
So the problem didn't lie in the contract.
"Come on. I'll take you to the company to get an explanation." Zhou Yu was indignant on her behalf and immediately took her to the talent agency to confront Wu Xiaxian.
As if he had anticipated their arrival, Wu Xiaxian met them in his office.
He was well - prepared. He had brewed tea in advance and placed it in front of them.
"Freshly brewed Longjing tea." Wu Xiaxian put on his usual smiling face. "Have some tea and calm down."
Judging from his manner, it was obvious that he knew their purpose.
Zhou Yu completely ignored his false politeness and couldn't hold back his anger any longer. "Wu Xiaxian, I introduced my junior sister to you because our previous collaborations were quite good. How could you take advantage of her like this!"
Wu Xiaxian smiled. "What do you mean by that? The company has an employment relationship with Xiao Nan. How can it be called taking advantage?"
"You asked Nan Yu to compose the music and then gave it to another musician as a competition entry. Isn't this taking advantage?" Zhou Yu's face darkened. "Your behavior is suspected of infringement!"
"What competition entry? I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me!" Zhou Yu said angrily. "The first - place winner of the original music competition. That piece was clearly written by Nan Yu. How could you give it to someone else?"
In the office, facing the two angry people, Wu Xiaxian showed no sign of fear. Instead, he smiled and said, "Do you have any evidence?"
"Nan Yu personally gave you the musical score. Isn't that enough evidence?"
Wu Xiaxian said unhurriedly, "Who saw it?"
As soon as he said this, the room fell silent immediately.
Zhou Yu turned to look at Nan Yu.
Nan Yu's expression froze. It took her a long time to speak. "… I came to your office that day and personally gave you the hand - written musical score."
At that time, there was only her and Wu Xiaxian in the office. There was no third person.
"Didn't you come to sign the copyright contract that day?"
Wu Xiaxian looked at her and smiled. "That contract has already been initiated. Your Sea of the Moon will soon be made into a physical album and will be released next month."
He knew well how to give a sweet after a harsh blow. His tone was very kind. "By then, the company will arrange a signing event according to the sales volume so that you can meet your fans. That's what we talked about that day. Have you forgotten?"
Nan Yu's face turned pale.
No, it wasn't like that.
They had not only talked about this that day. She had also handed in the musical score of The Return, but he didn't mention it at all.
Wu Xiaxian clearly intended to play dumb to the extreme.
Nan Yu took a deep breath. After a few seconds of silence, she slowly said, "So, Mr. Wu doesn't intend to explain anything about The Return, right?"
"I don't understand what you're talking about." Wu Xiaxian shrugged. "The Return was originally created and entered in the competition by Yueyue. It's meaningless for you to make trouble here."
He took out a cigarette and lit it in front of them without any care. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he continued, "If you insist on making a fuss, you can choose to terminate the contract and sue me."
"Unless you can provide evidence, otherwise I have the right to protect the rights and interests of other musicians under my name."
He flicked the ash and showed a victorious look on his face. "If you lose the lawsuit, the liquidated damages and compensation here will be almost tens of millions."
The implication was that they couldn't win this lawsuit.
Zhou Yu clenched his fist and sneered. "Wu Xiaxian, you're really bottom - less. I misjudged you!"
Facing his sarcasm, Wu Xiaxian just laughed. "Young Master Liang, I'm just trying to make a living. I'm sorry."
After they came out of the talent agency building, Zhou Yu severely criticized Wu Xiaxian.
Then he sincerely apologized to Nan Yu again and again. "Sorry. It's my fault for recommending the wrong person."
Nan Yu shook her head. "It's not your fault. I trusted him too easily."
Zhou Yu felt guilty and asked if she had any other way to prove that The Return was her creation. She said there was a draft at home before the revision.
But that couldn't be used as evidence.
With Wu Xiaxian's public - relations ability, he might even turn the tables and claim that Nan Yu was the one who was greedy for profit and plagiarized the original work.
But Zhou Yu still couldn't figure it out.
Why did Wu Xiaxian choose to support an unknown newcomer instead of Nan Yu, taking the risk of being exposed?
When he checked the gossip later, he found out that Jia Yinyue was the mistress of a certain capital tycoon. She was now in high spirits and would surely be given a lot of resources.
In this sense, Nan Yu was the "unknown newcomer".
After they got back, Nan Yu seemed absent - minded. She even accidentally cut her finger while cooking.
During dinner, Tan Linyuan casually asked if her previous piece had been released.
Nan Yu's eyelids twitched. After a moment of silence, she smiled easily. "Not yet. I'm waiting for the company's news."
She knew that if she told Tan Linyuan, he might help her, or he might not.
But she didn't know that Tan Linyuan actually asked her with the answers in mind.