The Self-Redemption of the Wronged Fool [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 4

Time flew by, and after the first round of online voting concluded, the crowd arrived at the GI Design Works presentation venue. This session featured voting from industry judges and formal project introductions.

Lin Ming and Ji Qiuchi arrived early at the venue, only to run into Wen Jing and Zhao Lingyun halfway. To their surprise, Zhao Lingyun looked at Lin Ming with a subtle, complicated expression.

“One is known by the company they keep; you only become excellent by being around excellent people. Xiao Ming, perhaps you should reconsider who you choose as your friends.”

Ji Qiuchi raised his eyes, glancing at him lazily. Was he implying something?

Lin Ming replied, “Student Zhao, we aren’t close. Please call me Student Lin from now on. As for making friends, I don’t believe you are in any position to make demands of me. Besides, my brother is very excellent, and I like him very much.”

“…” Zhao Lingyun was stung by the retort, his irritation rising, yet he suppressed his temper. “Xiao Ming, if you ever need anything, you can come to me. Our families have been close for generations; I won’t just ignore you.”

He completely disregarded Ji Qiuchi standing right next to Lin Ming or perhaps, he said it specifically for Ji Qiuchi to hear. Ji Qiuchi simply wanted to roll his eyes.

But he didn’t expect Lin Ming to take a stand: “We aren’t familiar with each other, and I don’t need your care. My brother will take care of me.”

Zhao Lingyun was forced to leave in embarrassment. As he walked away, his eyes were bloodshot with fury, looking as though he could no longer endure the humiliation.

Ji Qiuchi hadn’t expected Lin Ming to say such things to Zhao Lingyun. The corners of his mouth curled slightly; he was quite satisfied. “As expected of you, Xiao Ming. Well done.”

Lin Ming squinted his eyes like a lazy big cat, enjoying the feeling of Ji Qiuchi patting his head. Ji Qiuchi truly felt this younger brother was a good person at least his eyes weren’t blind. They turned and headed toward their seats.

Watching Zhao Lingyun suffer a setback, Wen Jing felt a secret joy in his heart. He called out to Ji Qiuchi, “Ji Wang, don’t forget our bet. The loser gets out of this school.”

Wen Jing and his group had used their connections yesterday to get the shortlist for the student group. As it turned out, Ji Wang’s design wasn’t even on it, whereas his and Zhao Lingyun’s design had already been shortlisted.

Ji Qiuchi smiled. “What’s the rush? The final evaluation hasn’t even started.”

Evaluation? Wen Jing sneered internally. A guy who didn’t even make it past the online vote wants an evaluation? He also felt he had wasted his effort stealing the blueprints; they weren’t even necessary.

Meanwhile, Ji Qiuchi looked at the familiar imitation among the thirty shortlisted student pieces with a sense of irony. That fellow claimed Ji Qiuchi was “trash,” yet he actually used the “trashy” design blueprints he had “prepared.”

Wen Jing hadn’t even used his own work. Was he that insecure, or did he think other people’s things were better even if they were scraps?

Lin Ming also spotted Wen Jing’s work at a glance. His expression soured as he leaned into Ji Qiuchi’s ear. “Brother, he actually dared to do it.”

“Yes, they even specifically picked a time to turn off the school studio’s surveillance.”

Ji Qiuchi and Lin Ming took their seats. Their academy had five entries selected, so their seats were arranged in the prime first row.

In reality, if Wen Jing and Zhao Lingyun had been more observant, they would have noticed that besides industry designers, most of the invited guests were shortlisted contestants. The final rankings would be confirmed by judge votes and onsite guest votes.

Since the Lin family had a child participating, they had arrived early. However, as the student shortlist was announced, Mother Lin hesitated. Father Lin, however, had investigated immediately and reassured his wife with a mysterious expression: “Don’t worry, they’ve truly done something big this time.”

The student works were brought up one by one. The exquisite jewelry nearly dazzled everyone’s eyes, even for the student category. This year’s entries were quite strong. When Wen Jing’s work was brought to the center stage, the audience showed looks of satisfaction.

Wen Jing and Zhao Lingyun stepped onto the stage to introduce their so-called design concept.

“This time, we took a different path. Instead of pink or blue diamonds, we chose yellow gemstones. We believe the ‘first love’ represented by a yellow gemstone is a kind of gentle tolerance a sweeter representation than even pink.”

Only Lin Ming’s expression grew increasingly dark. Ji Qiuchi was initially watching to see how Wen Jing would spin his lies, only to find Lin Ming’s lips pressed into a thin line.

He comforted him, “Xiao Ming, don’t be angry.”

“Brother, that is something we put so much heart into,” Lin Ming said aggrievedly.

Unsurprisingly, Wen Jing and his partner won the student group championship. They returned to their seats looking like victorious roosters. Zhao Lingyun also looked very relaxed as many people flocked to flatter him.

However, their good mood only lasted until the Master Group shortlist was announced. Lin Ming and Ji Qiuchi’s work was ranked first in votes, standing high at the top of the list.

Even more shocking was that the student group’s winning piece was incredibly similar to theirs, with only a few minor differences. Lin Ming’s piece featured a pure, vivid yellow gemstone that captured everyone’s attention like the sun, without a single trace of impurity.

Set against a silver base, it radiated a dazzling light. While its price might not be the highest among all yellow gemstone jewelry, it was definitely the rarest kind.

Wen Jing gasped in shock, “Impossible! You actually entered the Master Group? No wonder you weren’t in the student group! You didn’t submit to the student category at all!”

He hadn’t even bothered to check the Master Group page. He couldn’t believe Ji Wang had the nerve to compete there—wasn’t he afraid of a humiliating loss?

The judges were also very curious. More importantly, this work was a collaboration between Lin Ming and Ji Wang. The drama surrounding their families was known throughout the entire jewelry industry.

Ji Qiuchi replied, “Yes, we submitted to the Master Group.”

Wen Jing bit his lip and actually stood up in front of the public. “Ji Wang’s work is a plagiarism of ours. He doesn’t deserve to be on this stage.”

Having been called to the stage for their presentation, Ji Qiuchi calmly watched the other man’s breakdown. Lin Ming also looked at Ji Qiuchi with a steady gaze as Ji Qiuchi began to introduce the design.

“The decision to use yellow tourmaline for this jewelry design was entirely my idea. It was because I thought of the ginkgo leaf from its meaning of longevity and health to its flower language of eternal love.

In this design, Xiao Ming helped me realize my vision. We spent a lot of energy, went through several revisions, and personally selected the most suitable yellow tourmaline.

That is how this work came to be. Therefore, I am also curious Student Wen claims we plagiarized him; does he have any evidence?”

Ji Qiuchi’s gaze was like a knife, stabbing straight into Wen Jing’s heart. Wen Jing bit his lip. “We have the design sketches and computer backups to prove when we created the jewelry.”

Lin Ming looked up at Wen Jing. “I have those here as well.”

Seeing Ji Qiuchi’s unruffled demeanor, Wen Jing felt increasingly uncertain. However, believing he was fully prepared, he brought up videos showing snippets of the design process.

But when the video Lin Ming provided was played, the entire hall fell into an uproar. It wasn’t a clip of design sketches at all it was footage from a surveillance camera hidden in the corner of a cabinet. The footage clearly showed someone photographing every single page of the design sketches in their studio.

Lin Ming feigned surprise. “I’m sorry, I played the wrong one.”

He did it on purpose! Wen Jing’s mind went blank at the sight of the surveillance. Surveillance? How was that possible? He had clearly told someone to turn it off. He hadn’t known Ji Qiuchi had a camera on the shelf. But the person in the video wasn’t him there was still a chance.

“You are framing me! Even if the surveillance shows someone stole your design, it doesn’t mean I did it. You’ve always hated me, Ji Wang. Maybe you staged this yourself!”

Ji Qiuchi was truly amazed; the other party used underhanded tactics first and was now trying to flip the blame.

“Well then, we’ll just have to ask our friend from the surveillance video to come out. I’m sure he has something to say.”

Under Wen Jing’s desperate gaze, the person from the video appeared at the venue. “I also have the transaction records with Wen Jing. I was wrong to be greedy at first, but he has the Zhao family behind him, so I didn’t dare offend him. But I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf now, and the young master of the Lin family has promised not to pursue my faults.”

Wen Jing wanted to keep struggling, but he saw Zhao Lingyun frown, a flash of annoyance in his eyes.

Zhao Lingyun spoke up: “I did not participate in the design of this competition entry. I have been working at the Zhao Corporation during this time. I didn’t expect Wen Jing to do such a thing. It was my oversight. I promise that the Zhao Corporation will never employ such an immoral designer in the future.”

Wen Jing stared blankly at Zhao Lingyun. But what could he say? That Zhao Lingyun knew? Letting Zhao Lingyun cut ties with him was the best choice; yes, he couldn’t ruin Zhao Lingyun. This was all Ji Wang’s fault.

He had indeed lost this round to Ji Wang. He glared at Ji Wang with pure hatred, finally gritting his teeth and admitting, “Yes, I did everything.”

Would the crowd believe that? Everyone knew the truth was likely different, but what did it matter? The Zhao family was also a jewelry enterprise; continuing this scene wouldn’t lead to anything.

Looking at Wen Jing’s blatant hatred, Ji Qiuchi felt it was quite unfair the perpetrator was acting so arrogant.

Lin Ming stepped in front of him, blocking Wen Jing’s line of sight. Lin Ming said, “The Lin Corporation also has no room for a designer who achieves results through plagiarism.”

The Lin family was famous for spoiling their son. Since he had spoken, it represented the Lin Corporation. Wen Jing felt all the strength leave his body, his face full of dejection. With Lin Ming speaking out, there would likely be no place for him in all of City A, just to avoid offending the Lin family.

Yet, in his heart, he felt he could still be saved. Zhao Lingyun said those things, but in reality, he wouldn’t just leave him be. He still held onto hope.

However, after returning, what awaited him would be even more cruel.

For now, with the matter resolved, the audience cast their votes. Wen Jing could only watch helplessly as Ji Qiuchi’s jewelry design received more and more votes. The student group championship was revoked, the rankings were reorganized, and Ji Qiuchi’s team took first place in the Master Group.

The industry was already being flooded with news of today’s events.

Some people didn’t care about the drama; only those who knew the craft realized how excellent Ji Wang and Lin Ming’s design truly was. This jewelry wasn’t just a brooch; it included a necklace, ring, and earrings—a full set that was particularly appealing to wealthy socialites.

Design companies were already contacting them to discuss cooperation. In the end, Ji Qiuchi let Lin Ming handle the design, and Lin Ming took it back to the Lin family.

It was only then that Mother Lin understood what Father Lin had meant; he had known all along. It was a false alarm for her. Having worked in jewelry for years, they could see that Ji Wang was truly gifted.

This time, his talent wasn’t just in metalwork; his carving was exceptional, not to mention his polishing and cutting of the gemstones. Based on the appraisal instruments used by the judges, the technical specifications were terrifyingly precise.

They didn’t plan to put it on the market, but someone had already reached out wanting to buy it. Father Lin ultimately chose to use it for exhibition and promotion, then transferred a massive sum of money into Lin Ming and Ji Wang’s cards.

“That’s twice the market price. The gemstone was found through the Lin family’s channels anyway. We made a huge profit. Even if I get kicked out of the house later, I think I’ll be fine.”

The System said, “It’s okay! Your time in this world only lasts until the moment the original owner dies. You won’t run out of money.”

It added hesitantly, “But Master Host, you still haven’t pursued him. When exactly do you plan to win over Zhao Lingyun? Won’t this incident make Zhao Lingyun hate you even more?”

Ji Qiuchi, having absolutely no intention of pursuing the scumbag, curled his lip in resistance. “There’s still time.”

The System had no choice but to say, “But there isn’t much time left.”

Support The Self-Redemption of the Wronged Fool [Quick Transmigration]