Against the Light - Chapter 53
Chapter 53: Yilan Saves the Day
On the screen, the host walked gracefully onto the stage, bowed, and then introduced the three judges present, all of whom were top designers in the industry. After introducing each one, the host turned to the camera.
"I've been paying attention to some of the rumors online these past two days. What I want to say is, the truth will speak for itself. Sister Ting's character and professionalism are well-known in the industry. I hope she won't be disturbed by those rumors and can complete the competition with a calm heart. Let's give Sister Ting a round of applause to encourage her, shall we?"
The audience below the stage applauded cooperatively.
"Damn it, what kind of garbage host is this? Lying through his teeth with his eyes wide open?"
"It's normal. Think of how much traffic Ye Ting brought to this show. Of course the production team is going to hype her to death. Once it's confirmed she was the victim of a frame-up, she'll play the part, win the championship, and walk away with fame and fortune. The show must have taken a hefty fee from her."
"Disgusting! I'm never buying her clothes again. So disgusting!"
"Turn on the bullet comments, let's see what people online are saying."
Fang Yi turned on the bullet comments, and a dense wall of "Go, Sister Ting!" and "Sister Ting is so pitiful, the framers can go to hell" flooded the screen. She was so angry she turned them off again. Looking at that stuff was just polluting her eyes!
"Can we fast-forward? I don't want to listen to this host ramble on. It's so annoying."
"Sister, this is a live broadcast. Be patient."
Everyone tried to watch patiently, but within three seconds, what was supposed to be a live broadcast viewing had turned into a roast session.
Hearing the lively chatter, Yu Hua grew curious and came out to watch with them.
As the host left the stage, the contestants came on one by one with their model teams to display their designs. After the models finished their walk, the designers began to explain their design concepts and sources of inspiration. The camera occasionally cut to the audience and the judges' panel, where everyone wore focused expressions.
However, the group from the film crew had no such interest. They were busy complaining about how ugly the designs were, not resting for a moment.
"Ye Ting should be next, right? Where on earth is Sister Ran? Did she not even go to the venue?" Seeing that the show was nearing its end and there was still no sign of Gu Xinran, nor any apparent disturbance at the venue, everyone started to get anxious again.
"Next up is the long-awaited designer Ye Ting and her new creation. Let's have a warmer round of applause!" The host came on stage to control the flow, whipping the atmosphere into an unprecedented frenzy.
As the host's voice fell, a figure emerged gracefully from backstage. Ye Ting was wearing a black-and-white, asymmetrical long dress. The left side of the skirt fell to her ankle, while the right side was near her knee. The form-fitting design perfectly accentuated her figure. Her long hair was tied up neatly, revealing a smooth, full forehead.
Her appearance was met with waves of screams.
"That dress is kind of pretty," someone from the crew accidentally remarked, immediately drawing glares from the others.
"Only kind of! Compared to Xinran's, it's a million miles off!"
Only then did the group let her off the hook.
"Sister Ting, you've made it all the way to the finals. Is there anything you'd like to say?" The host passed her the microphone.
Ye Ting elegantly took the microphone and smiled faintly at the audience. "I'm very grateful to everyone for appreciating my work. When I entered this industry eighteen years ago, I said that design is as important to me as life itself. Seeing others wear the clothes I design gives me an indescribable sense of accomplishment. I love this feeling, and I love even more seeing the satisfied smiles on your faces when you wear my creations. I want to say this again today, and I hope that in another eighteen years, I'll still be doing the work I love, still doing something so meaningful."
A thunderous round of applause erupted from the audience, but suddenly, it came to an abrupt halt, replaced by a wave of gasps.
The crew members, who were just about to start cursing, were also stunned.
Just as Ye Ting finished speaking, a figure had walked directly from the side of the stage to the center, standing right in front of her!
"Ahhh! Holy crap, she really went to the venue!!"
"!! She just rushed onto the stage like that?? Won't she get thrown out by security!!"
"Quiet!"
The studio fell silent. Everyone stared in astonishment at the unexpected intruder.
"Gu Xinran?" Someone in the audience recognized her and cried out in surprise. The scene instantly spiraled out of control as the audience's whispers turned into loud discussions.
The host was stunned for a moment, then quickly approached. "Excuse me, Miss Gu, is it? You were not invited to the show, you can't be standing here." The host gestured to security below the stage, and two guards immediately ran up, making a "please leave" gesture toward Gu Xinran.
Gu Xinran didn't move.
The two guards exchanged a look. Just as they were about to grab her, Gu Xinran shot them a cold glance. The two men shivered and didn't dare to reach out again.
Gu Xinran walked up to the host. Her gaze was so piercing that it made him feel guilty. Before he knew it, she had snatched the microphone from his hand.
"Ye Ting, the sense of accomplishment you get from copying others' work must be even more indescribable, isn't it?" Gu Xinran's eyes glinted with a cold light as she looked at Ye Ting without a trace of emotion.
"Hiss…" A collective gasp swept through the venue. She actually… accused Ye Ting of plagiarism in front of a national audience!?
Ye Ting's expression changed several times. She looked Gu Xinran up and down. "Miss, you must take responsibility for your words. If you slander me with accusations of plagiarism, I can sue you for defamation."
Gu Xinran ignored her and took two photos out of her bag, turning to face the camera.
"This is a design sketch I drew on the show 【A Good Show】 when I was a contestant. The gown that Ye Ting designed in the last round is ninety percent similar to my sketch. I believe that some of you here have seen 【A Good Show】, and some of you must have seen this sketch. Why? Why did you all turn a blind eye?" Gu Xinran's voice trembled with anger.
"Miss, please be mindful of the occasion. This is not some 【A Good Show】. This is 【Star Wardrobe】, a highly professional design program. Security, please escort this lady off the stage. Don't delay the competition," one of the mentors spoke up.
Gu Xinran glanced at her. She had done her homework before coming and knew this person. Her name was Chen Jing, a well-known designer and Ye Ting's senior. The two were always in cahoots.
"Fine. Then may I stand here in the capacity of a designer?" Gu Xinran asked.
Chen Jing scoffed and exchanged a look with the other designers. They all shook their heads. "Do you have any work? Do you think it's that easy to be a designer? You just move your lips and suddenly you're a designer?"
Gu Xinran held up the photos. "This is my design sketch."
With that, she took a piece of clothing out of her bag. Looking at it, she took a deep breath and slowly unfolded it. "And this is my work."
Another wave of gasps came from the audience. The dress in her hands was almost identical to the one Ye Ting had designed before. The only differences were that her dress was primarily white, the petals adorning it were a faint blue, it had fewer tassels, giving it a fresher look, and the placement of the petals was slightly different. Additionally, on the layered hem, the edge of each layer was dotted with a bit of blue petal.
The director below the stage saw that things had developed to this point and knew he couldn't stop Gu Xinran. He simply signaled to the control room to stage a live confrontation to see who really copied whom!
A minute later, a picture of the finished dress Ye Ting had designed in the previous round appeared on the big screen.
The director then had the camera zoom in on the dress in Gu Xinran's hands, allowing the audience to compare them carefully.
He looked closely himself. Indeed, apart from some differences in workmanship, the cut, style, and details of the two dresses were almost exactly the same! And Gu Xinran had the sketch as proof. This…
"She actually made the dress! Ahhh!!" In the crew's room, Lin Guo went crazy. Ever since Little Fairy had drawn this dress, she had been dying to see the finished product. She never imagined she would see it today under these circumstances!!
"Holy crap, she can make clothes too?? I thought being able to draw the design was amazing enough…"
"Is she really a fairy??"
"Damn it! Sister Ran is so hardcore. Let's see what Ye Ting has to say now!"
In the studio, after seeing Gu Xinran's dress, Ye Ting suddenly let out a laugh. She looked at the mentors below the stage, and they were laughing too. Gu Xinran narrowed her eyes, realizing something was wrong.
"Excuse me, Miss Gu, I suggest you stop here. For now, at least, Ye Ting is still giving you some face," Chen Jing said with a smile.
"Forget it, Sister Chen. Face or no face, it's not like she cares. Why don't I say it? I'll be the bad guy," another mentor said, glancing at Gu Xinran with eyes full of contempt.
"The draft for this dress was shown to us by Ye Ting a long time ago, about three months ago. But strangely, the design was stolen after that. Heh, I never expected to find it in your hands."
The audience was in an uproar.
"She stole a design, passed it off as her own, drew it on a show, and then turned around to bite back? What kind of twisted move is that? She's so manipulative!"
"Exactly, you really can't tell by looking at her!"
"So disgusting. Tingting has been through too much!"
Gu Xinran closed her eyes, so angry she almost laughed.
"Me? Steal your design?"
"Fine." Gu Xinran nodded, walked over to this mentor, and gave her a deep look. Then she picked up the pen and paper from the table and began to draw, her head bowed.
The audience craned their necks in curiosity. The director immediately had the camera zoom in, and everyone could finally see that she was drawing something!
Gu Xinran's hands were trembling with anger, but she forced herself to draw the lines more smoothly. Before long, an exquisitely conceived design began to take shape. It was a semi-off-the-shoulder, gown-style wedding dress.
The left shoulder was bare, and a line of staggered roses ran from the left side of her neck to her right abdomen. The waist was cinched with a slanted belt. The skirt featured a distinctly layered design with five tiers of fabric. The bottom layer was a long train, with each subsequent layer gradually shortening. The edges of each tier were also drawn with different folds, making the whole design look dignified and grand.
After finishing the sketch, Gu Xinran straightened up and looked at it carefully. This was the wedding dress her precious daughter, Xiao Ye, had designed for her lover. She had seen it back then and had always remembered it. Xiao Ye's design talent was clearly inherited from Yilan; it was exceptional.
She took a deep breath and held up the sketch for Chen Jing and the others to see. "Why don't you tell me, whose design did I steal this time?"
She slapped the sketch down on the table and took another piece of paper to continue drawing.
In her past life, Yilan had designed twenty-seven outfits for her. Besides various gowns, there were shirts, skirts, and even a wedding dress. She had etched them all into her memory. Now, one after another, she drew a total of seven sketches!
She let out a long breath and straightened up, looking at the mentors who were sitting dumbfounded in their chairs.
"Mentors, you are all so knowledgeable. Tell me, where did I steal or copy these designs from?"
Their faces were visibly pale. Chen Jing didn't dare to look up at her. As a veteran designer, she could tell at a glance that the cuts and styles presented in these sketches were extremely sophisticated, definitely the work of a master. She quickly searched her memory but couldn't recall seeing a single similar design!
From the moment she started drawing, the audience had been stunned. The first wedding dress design had already won them over. As they watched the subsequent ones, the audience was about to go crazy. This was a genius designer—no, she was more than a genius. How could a normal person draw seven design sketches in less than two hours!?
"Do you want me to keep drawing?" Gu Xinran's light words made the mentors' faces turn ashen.
She glanced at them. "You can't even maintain basic fairness and justice, resorting to conspiracies and tricks. Mentors? You think you're worthy?"
"You!"
Chen Jing looked at her, only to be met with a contemptuous gaze that made her old face flush red.
Gu Xinran gathered the sketches, returned to the stage, and looked at Ye Ting, who was also staring blankly at the big screen behind her.
"Designer Ye, are you still refusing to admit you plagiarized me?" she asked with a smile.
Ye Ting turned to face her, returning a smile. "I did not plagiarize. I have already explained the inspiration and design concept for this dress. This is my work."
The two locked eyes, sparks nearly flying between them.
Gu Xinran smiled. "Your level of shamelessness is far superior to your design skills."
Ye Ting narrowed her eyes.
"Can I have a mannequin?" Gu Xinran turned and asked the director's team.
The director nodded dumbly, and someone immediately wheeled a mannequin onto the stage.
Gu Xinran put the dress on the mannequin.
"This dress was designed by my wife and me together. You may be able to copy it, but you don't understand its meaning." Gu Xinran adjusted the dress on the mannequin, glanced at her, and gave a harmless smile. She slowly turned the mannequin sideways to face the audience.
The audience was confused, until someone suddenly exclaimed, "Lan!"
Immediately, whispers spread through the audience. They were astonished to discover that when viewed from the side, the arrangement of the blue flowers on the dress looked very much like the character "岚" (Lan)!
"The flowers adorning this dress are a plant called the Cold Orchid. They only bloom in winter, during the coldest season. They are my wife's favorite flower." As Gu Xinran mentioned her wife, a faint warmth finally appeared on her cold face, and a soft light flickered in her eyes.
"Ahhh, using your wife's favorite flower to spell out her name and sew it onto a dress, what kind of divine love is this?!!!"
"Look closely at the comparison. From the front, the placement of the flowers on her dress is exactly the same as in the design sketch! This proves that this is how the dress was originally meant to be. This is the real one!"
"So you're saying Ye Ting really did plagiarize her? And made changes to her design?"
"It seems very likely at this point."
The audience was buzzing. Ye Ting heard them and smiled.
"As you can all see, her dress contains a declaration of love for her wife, which is indeed very thoughtful. However, my dress does not have this meaning, nor is there any design that uses flowers to form words. Furthermore, the petals used in my design are not Cold Orchids. Must we insist on conflating two dresses with completely different design concepts?" Ye Ting said righteously.
Gu Xinran took a deep breath. Even at this point, she was still trying to argue!
Shameless!
The crew members were now at a loss for how to express their shock.
They all looked at Gu Xinran with fervent eyes. She could actually crush a group of famous designers on a design show!! This was simply… a boss! No, a mega-boss!!
"Wait, let's not celebrate too early. Ye Ting is twisting the concept now, trying to use the 'different design concept' argument to force this into being a coincidence rather than plagiarism. If Xinran doesn't have a smoking gun, this will just be left to public opinion," Ming Zhen, who knew Ye Ting well, said in a low voice.
"Isn't the evidence solid enough already?"
"Solid, my ass. At best, this proves that Gu Xinran also designed a dress like this and gave it a very loving meaning. But she can't refute that Ye Ting's dress wasn't designed by Ye Ting herself, since her design concept is perfectly plausible. I've told you before, proving plagiarism in the design industry is extremely difficult. After all, there's no clear definition for something like design."
"Then what do we do… Ye Ting is still arguing even after all this. Can't she just be graceful about it?"
"Graceful? If she admits to plagiarism, do you think people won't question whether her past works also involved plagiarism? And guess what, even if she didn't, do you think people wouldn't forge evidence of her plagiarizing to take this opportunity to crush her? So, she will never admit to this, no matter what. The worst that can happen is a lawsuit. After a while, when the hype dies down and the court can't reach a verdict, everyone will forget about it. Then she'll come back, do some charity work in her company's name to whitewash her image, and this whole chapter will be closed."
"That's so disgusting!"
"Look at Xinran. Her eyes are all red. Is she about to hit someone?"
Everyone was startled by this and immediately looked over. Sure enough, on the screen, Xinran's eyes were bloodshot, her fists were clenched, and she was glaring fiercely at Ye Ting.
"But I really didn't expect the entertainment industry to have such a design talent. Are you interested in joining my team? If you enter this field, you will definitely have a great future," Ye Ting extended an olive branch to her.
Gu Xinran shook her head. "You're not worthy."
Gu Xinran clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms without her noticing. She tried hard to recall what Yilan had told her about making this dress, but at the time, Yilan had said she would tell her the details when she got back. Unexpectedly, that return had been their final parting.
Ye Ting smiled and shook her head. "Director, this farce should be over by now, shouldn't it?"
"Ahem, things like design are inherently prone to coincidence. It seems now that Miss Gu is not only an excellent actress but also a deeply hidden, outstanding designer!" The host took the microphone and stepped forward to smooth things over.
As he was speaking, a phone suddenly rang.
Everyone was taken aback and followed the sound to Gu Xinran. Gu Xinran took out her phone and glanced at it. Seeing the "l" on the screen, she froze completely.
After a long moment, she tremblingly pressed the answer key.
"Put it on speaker."
The moment she heard Yilan's voice, tears instantly welled up in her eyes. She quickly turned on the speakerphone and brought the microphone over to her phone.
"The edges of the three-layered hem, when overlapped, form a tiny handprint from the blue petals."
The cool, clear voice echoed through the studio. Everyone simultaneously turned to look at the dress Gu Xinran had designed.
The host, somewhat skeptical, went forward and overlapped the three layers of the hem. Sure enough, the small blue flowers dotted along the edges of the three layers combined to reveal a blue handprint!! It looked like a small child's handprint!
"The faint embellishments on the edge of the skirt are the finishing touch. Ye Ting didn't know the deeper meaning behind it and copied this part of the design," Bai Yilan continued.
Ye Ting's dress was immediately displayed on the big screen again. The technical staff quickly isolated the skirt hem, and when the three layers were overlapped, even though Ye Ting's dress was entirely white, the shape of the handprint was still visible in the white embroidery!
"It really is a small handprint!!" the audience exclaimed.
"Oh my god, it really is a handprint. This must be irrefutable proof now!"
"Why would there be a handprint on a dress??"
"This thing… is it the same principle as a watermark??"
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