As for Pink-Hair, before Falling in Love, He Insisted That He Wasn't the Possessive Type - Chapter 4

Upon Shang Qingye’s return, he subconsciously glanced at the seat Yu Qingdu had just occupied, only to find it empty. His gaze swept across the private room unintentionally. Seeing that the person was gone, his brow furrowed imperceptibly; it was a reaction he did not even notice himself.

Shang Qingye sat back down without a word. He looked toward Chen Yue, who had not drunk much that night and remained relatively sober. Chen Yue was currently busy organizing a card game. After watching for a few moments, Shang Qingye withdrew his gaze and pursed his lips. Suddenly, the room felt several times louder than before, the noise grating against his ears.

He stared fixedly at the pattern on the back of the playing cards on the coffee table for a while before finally shifting his focus back to Chen Yue. Chen Yue was not far from Shang Qingye’s position; consequently, he heard Shang Qingye look at him and ask:

“Where is the person who was sitting next to me?”

Taken aback by the sudden question, Chen Yue was stunned for a few seconds. He looked at Shang Qingye, then at the empty seat beside him, before realization seemed to dawn on him.

“You mean Brother Du? I think I saw him leave just now.” As he spoke, he nudged Zhou Hao beside him with his elbow. “Right?”

Zhou Hao was dazed. “What is right?”

“Did Brother Du leave?”

Hearing his brother’s name, Zhou Hao nodded subconsciously. He muttered, “He left. My brother left. He told me to do something. What was it? What was it again? I cannot remember.”

His voice trailed off into a mumble as he drifted further into his stupor. Hearing that Yu Qingdu had gone, Shang Qingye stopped listening to Zhou Hao’s rambling. He narrowed his eyes, looking somewhat exhausted.

The party did not end until midnight. Shang Qingye watched as the last two people, Chen Yue and Zhou Hao, called for designated drivers and safely entered their cars. Only then did he walk out into the night alone.

Yu Qingdu rushed back to the office. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Xu Yue and Jiang Zhiyan sitting on the sofa. Their expressions were grim, especially Jiang Zhiyan’s; his face was so dark it looked like it could drip ink.

The heater was on in the office. After entering, Yu Qingdu closed the door, took off his coat, and hung it on the rack. He then sat down in his office chair, looked at the two of them, and asked:

“What happened?”

The two in the office exchanged a glance. Finally, Xu Yue stood up and handed his phone to Yu Qingdu. As Yu Qingdu reviewed the content on the screen, Xu Yue spoke:

“Shengshi just launched the promotion for their new product. It goes on sale the day after tomorrow.”

Yu Qingdu raised an eyebrow as he looked at the product in the photos, which bore a striking resemblance to the samples he had designed. Seeing that neither of them spoke further, Jiang Zhiyan stared down at his clenched fists as if he had made a difficult decision. He rubbed his face haphazardly and suddenly blurted out:

“I suspect that coward Jiang Yi leaked it.”

Yu Qingdu looked at Jiang Zhiyan. The models for their office did not have the right to see the samples. Sure enough, he heard Jiang Zhiyan continue, “It is my fault. I thought we had collaborated with him many times, and since he was supposed to do the modeling for the competition’s photos and had signed a confidentiality agreement, I let my guard down. When we were chatting, he mentioned it casually, and I took him to have a look.”

The more Jiang Zhiyan spoke, the more ashamed he became, his fists tightening. “I am sorry, Qingdu.” His eyes were already turning red. He knew this was the work Yu Qingdu had been preparing for the competition.

Xu Yue watched them quietly. Before Yu Qingdu had returned, Jiang Zhiyan had already told him everything. He spoke calmly, “The main issue now is that we have no evidence to prove who leaked it. The confidentiality agreement is useless in this case. Shengshi’s finished product is not exactly identical to your sample, Qingdu, so it would be difficult to sue.”

Yu Qingdu glanced at the dejected Jiang Zhiyan, then turned his gaze back to the jewelry images. To him, while the exterior was eighty percent similar to his design, the execution of the details was abysmal. Finally, in the silent office, Yu Qingdu spoke:

“It really is not similar.”

At this, Xu Yue looked at him, and Jiang Zhiyan lifted his head. Yu Qingdu continued calmly, “It is just a piece of trash. It is not worthy of affecting my design or the competition.”

Yu Qingdu looked at the two of them, propping his chin on one hand, and continued, “Besides, I found some different inspiration tonight. I need to revise the draft, and I am switching categories.”

“What?! But tomorrow is the deadline for submitting the preliminary materials!” Hearing Yu Qingdu’s words, Jiang Zhiyan forgot his shame; his face was full of disbelief. He looked at Yu Qingdu sharply. “You are going to change it now? How much? And switch categories? To what?!”

Resting his chin on his hand, Yu Qingdu handed the phone back to Xu Yue. He used the index finger of his free hand to tap rhythmically on the desk. “Is the deadline not twelve o’clock PM the day after tomorrow? I will need to revise at least a third of it and design two smaller pieces. I want to move to the jewelry set group.”

“You will be extremely pressed for time!” Jiang Zhiyan felt even more guilty, believing his mistake had forced Yu Qingdu to redo his work.

Yu Qingdu looked at Jiang Zhiyan and raised a single finger to his thin lips, making a shushing gesture. He tilted his head, his pink hair swaying with the movement. A slight smile played at the corners of his mouth. “This is an inspiration that came to me suddenly tonight. For my design, it is very important and, equally, very timely.”

Over the next day, Yu Qingdu worked on revising the design drafts, completely losing himself in the task. He locked himself in the room and barely ate. Meanwhile, Xu Yue and Jiang Zhiyan managed the studio to ensure Yu Qingdu could focus entirely on his revisions. Jiang Zhiyan, in particular, worked with immense energy. He was usually the type to avoid overtime whenever possible, but for these two days, he sought out tasks even when there were none; he stayed at the studio without pause.

A day later, in the morning, Yu Qingdu looked at the design draft in his hand and smiled. After a day of high-intensity revisions and designing, he was exhausted and his eyes felt dry. Propping his chin on one hand, he squinted at the draft. Through those lines, he could recall the exact source of his inspiration.

Everything after that was much simpler. He called Jiang Zhiyan and Xu Yue inside. Xu Yue took the design draft; a look of admiration and praise flashed in his eyes. The three of them organized all the necessary preliminary documents and electronic versions of the manuscripts, compressing them and submitting them via email before the twelve o’clock PM deadline.

Having not rested for a day and a night, Yu Qingdu prepared to head home for a shower and some sleep once the materials were submitted. He grabbed his car keys and coat and left. As for the matter involving Jiang Yi and Shengshi, he left it for Xu Yue and Jiang Zhiyan to handle.

Upon arriving home, Yu Qingdu took a shower and went to sleep with an eye mask on. He slept until nine o’clock PM. When he woke up, he poured himself a glass of water and took a sip. Dressed in silk pajamas, he held the glass in one hand and his phone in the other, checking his messages as he walked toward the sofa. After sitting down, he placed the glass on the coffee table and looked at the message from Xu Yue:

“Zhiyan’s style does not quite suit the studio’s new products. I have found a new photographer to try for this shoot to change things up.”

Yu Qingdu replied with one hand: “Good.”