"h.e.l.lo, Mr. Miller," Sheng Jiaoyang replied with a smile.

With a smile on his face, Miller glanced at Lina, who was standing beside Sheng Jiaoyang. "We are all friends who have worked together before. This matter didn"t have to develop to this stage. Why did you not want to solve the issue privately, but insist on filing a lawsuit? This situation wouldn"t look good for either of us."

"Director Miller, the only party losing out in this situation ought to be you, isn"t it? We"re just getting back what we deserve. Isn"t that right, Paul?" Lina turned to look at Paul.

"That"s right, we"re just defending our rights. Mr. Miller, there"s no need to worm your way into being friends with us."

The smile on Miller"s face froze momentarily. He glanced over in Sheng Jiaoyang"s direction and said, "Jiao, you guys are good friends. Why didn"t you persuade Lina to drop this case? Wouldn"t it be better to have another friend, rather than a compet.i.tor?"

"Actually, it"s quite fun to be compet.i.tors." With a disapproving look on her face, Sheng Jiaoyang tilted her head and continued with a humorous tone, "Mr. Miller, I have something to tell you. I am also part-owner of the newly established brand, JAYAN. I hold 35% of the shares."

The flesh on Miller"s cheeks shook, and his expression changed. In the end, he shook his head and sighed, "You youngsters are just too impulsive. Jiao, we could have been very good friends. In fact, I still want to invite you to be the spokesperson for RICHAD"s Chinese branch."

Sheng Jiaoyang laughed. "Mr. Miller, do you know how much I"m worth now? You want me to be your spokesperson for a measly one million GBP? That offer isn"t appealing at all."

Miller felt that his self-restraint was wearing thin. This was the first time he had met people who neither listened to reason nor bowed down to force. Looks like they insist on learning things the hard way. He gathered his thoughts and coldly said, "Since you are going against me, then after today, the fas.h.i.+on industry will no longer welcome you with open arms."

"Don"t say that, Mr. Miller. You"re not the only one who controls the fas.h.i.+on industry. As for your personal network, we"re not interested in that at all."

Sheng Jiaoyang pulled Lina towards the courthouse, but she stopped after taking only two steps. She turned to Miller and said in English, "Mr. Miller, since we have worked together before, let me give you a sincere word of advice. You"re not young anymore, so stop using those shameful and underhanded tricks. You won"t be able to maintain your success if you keep plagiarizing other people"s works."

Miller was angered to the point of experiencing shortness of breath.

However, the media reporters around him didn"t let Miller go just because he was angry. Instead, they swarmed up to him and surrounded him.

"Mr. Miller, what do you think are your chances of winning today"s case?"

"Mr. Miller, can you tell me more about the feud between you two?"

"Mr. Miller…"

Miller didn"t answer any of the questions. Instead, he simply ignored the reporters and walked towards the courthouse with his a.s.sistant.

Meanwhile, his bodyguards blocked the reporters" and prevented them from going up to Miller.

Sheng Jiaoyang and her team were well prepared for today"s fight. Everything was all set, and all they had to do was to wait for the judge"s verdict. Thus, they appeared very relaxed.

On the contrary, the atmosphere on Miller"s side was heavy. If they were to lose the case today, what would be in store for them in the future?

The reputation of the RICHAD brand would be greatly diminished.

Any big brand that plagiarized other people"s works would leave a bad impression on consumers. This was a stain that couldn"t be erased, no matter how much money they spent on trying to salvage their reputation. Even if they were to use a scapegoat for this kind of situation, they could only lessen the damage by a little. It wouldn"t completely erase the consequences of this plagiarism incident.

With the presence of solid evidence, the judge was able to pa.s.s his judgment quickly.

In the end, RICHAD lost this plagiarism case. RICHAD not only had to issue an official letter of apology, but they also had to immediately compensate the other party for their financial losses and psychological damages. If they launched new products with the plagiarized designs, they must pay all the sales revenues they got from those designs as compensation. If they haven"t sold any of the new products yet, they must first buy the patent for those designs if they want to proceed with selling them.

The media reporters waiting outside immediately grasped the outcome of the lawsuit the moment they witnessed both parties" expressions. Even so, they still gathered around them to ask for more insight on the matter.

Miller and his team weren"t in the mood to face the reporters. The bodyguards created a path through the crowd of reporters for them, and they quickly got in the car and left.

Meanwhile, Sheng Jiaoyang and her team were surrounded by the reporters.

As the saying goes: "People are in a good mood when things go well". Sheng Jiaoyang, Lina, and Paul didn"t leave immediately. They responded to a few questions before politely retreating.

The results of the RICHAD plagiarism case was soon known to everyone.

This was the first time in many years that a big brand and company had tried to plagiarize the design of a newly established brand. With the judge"s quick decision, it was clear that the evidence was undeniable, and that there was no need for the two sides to engage in endless haggling and s.h.i.+fting of responsibility.

Subsequently, RICHAD issued a letter of apology, but it stated that the plagiarism of Paul"s design was due to the personal conduct of a designer within the company. They also stated that the designer had been fired, and that he would never be hired again. At the same time, they let everyone know that they would compensate Paul for his damages accordingly, and that they would negotiate with Paul to buy the patent rights to use his designs.

Their positive att.i.tude from the apology had changed the perception of many netizens who were criticizing RICHAD before the release of the letter. However, even if it was done by a rogue designer in the company, the company should still bear the consequences, because they had failed to manage their designers properly.

Because of this matter, many people learned about the new brand JAYAN and that Paul, the designer behind this new brand, was an excellent designer.

When the incident was becoming well known, the domestic media outlets also reported about it. However, this was, after all, a foreign affair, so there were no extensive news reports on it.

But when the interview that took place in front of the courthouse was broadcasted, everyone was shocked by Xu Jiaojiao"s appearance.

Initially, the netizens were very confused. Why was Jiaojiao present in a foreign court case regarding plagiarism?

Subsequently, more detailed information was uncovered by the public.

They found out that Jiaojiao and Lina were the founders of the newly established brand, JAYAN, that won the lawsuit against RICHAD.

Originally, a foreign lawsuit wouldn"t cause any sensation in China. However, it became a different story as Jiaojiao was part of it.

Everyone felt that Jiaojiao was awesome this time. Not only had she sued the brand she had once collaborated with, but she also won the lawsuit.

However, there were two different views concerning this matter. Some people felt that Jiaojiao was cruel since she sued her former employer. Others said that Jiaojiao had done a very beautiful job in safeguarding her rights this time.

Back in their university dormitory, Liu Lu and Zheng Yuan just woke up, and like usual, they browsed the internet for the latest news related to Jiaojiao. They were momentarily stunned when they read about the plagiarism case. Then, they searched for all kinds of news reports, and finally climbed the great firewall to search for news reports from overseas media. Only then did they confirm that this case had something to do with Jiaojiao.

"OMG, Yuanyuan, when did Er Jiao set up a new brand?" Liu Lu was surprised.

"Is that something to be surprised about?" Zheng Yuan pushed her gla.s.ses up and asked.

Liu Lu blinked, "Oh yeah, it"s not surprising at all if it"s Er Jiao. In any case, she has done more amazing things in the past."

"There have long been indications that Jiaojiao has set up a new brand."

"There were? Why wasn"t I aware?"

Zheng Yuan looked at Liu Lu, and a trace of disdain was visible in her eyes.

"Did you forget already? Neither Jiaojiao nor Lina went to the RICHAD"s fas.h.i.+on show last September."

Liu Lu momentarily froze. "Right, at that time, I was wondering why neither of them took part in RICHAD"s fas.h.i.+on show. However, Er Jiao took part in another designer"s fas.h.i.+on show, so I didn"t think much about it."

"No matter how much you ponder over it, would you be able to antic.i.p.ate that things would end up like this?" Zheng Yuan asked indifferently.

Liu Lu scratched her head in puzzlement. "Say, Yuanyuan, why do I feel like you are insulting my IQ?"

"Do you even have IQ?"

"Hey Yuanyuan, ever since you started dating your senior, you"re not taking this single lady"s IQ seriously anymore. Hmph! I"m ignoring you!"

Although Liu Lu said that, she soon turned around to talk to Zheng Yuan again, "Did Er Jiao and her team have a falling out with RICHAD?"

"Didn"t you read about it? They even filed a lawsuit. How can they not have a falling out?"

"I"m talking about before this lawsuit!"

Zheng Yuan glanced at Liu Lu silently and said nothing.

Liu Lu found her gaze unbearable, "You"re looking down on me again, aren"t you?"

"Would this incident have happened if they hadn"t fallen out earlier?"

Liu Lu touched her chin and nodded. "Hmm, that"s true. If they really want to keep a good relations.h.i.+p, Jiaojiao would have talked with them privately instead of suing them."

"Mhmm." Zheng Yuan was focused on the computer screen in front of her.

"What are you searching for?" Liu Lu approached Zheng Yuan.

"I"m checking if JAYAN has opened any stores in China."

"I think even if they haven"t opened any stores in China now, they should open some outlets here soon. This lawsuit was a good advertis.e.m.e.nt for them. So many people are talking about it on the Internet. Jiaojiao"s way of stepping on RICHAD to promote her brand is such a wonderful method! Hey, Yuanyuan, do you think Jiaojiao bribed the designers inside RICHAD, and then cooperated with each other…"

"Alright, hurry up and go wash up. I remember you have cla.s.s in the morning."

"OMG, why do we have to start school so early? The Lantern Festival hasn"t even taken place yet!"

Jiao Fans treated this plagiarism case very calmly this time. However, they still praised their idol with a proud look on their faces.

In fact, the other netizens no longer questioned anything related to Jiaojiao when they see these kind of explosive news.

What was there to doubt? Jiaojiao had done even more incredible things before this.

What most people discussed online nowadays was what could possibly happen to Xu Jiaojiao that would cause them to feel surprised. Even after much heated discussion, they were unable to come up with such scenarios at the moment.

Meanwhile, what was the protagonist of the news doing right now?

Since they won the case, they naturally had to celebrate.

Because everyone was happy, they inadvertently drank too much, and they returned home half drunk.

Lina, in particular, drank the most and got herself drunk.

Fortunately, Sheng Jiaoyang was still sober. She helped Lina off the car and supported her all the way back to Lina"s residence. When she arrived near the door, she saw a man standing in front of it. She squinted her eyes and fixed her gaze in that direction, and when she recognized that person, her expression instantly turned cold.

"Mr. Sven, why are you standing in front of someone else"s door in the middle of the night?" She asked sarcastically.Previous ChapterNext ChapterPlease go to to read the latest chapters for free