Chapter 47: Plagiarism

This was indeed excellent news! Originally, Qin Miaoyu would have needed to obtain Liang Sixuan’s painting from the Saintis Competition’s official organizers to prove that Liang Sixuan had plagiarized. But now, with Liang Sixuan’s own actions coming to light, much of that trouble could be spared.

She didn’t even need to take the initiative herself; people online were already tagging the official account of the Saintis Competition. Some diehard fans took Liang Sixuan’s side, demanding the truth from the organizers and calling for her name to be cleared. Others, convinced of Liang Sixuan’s plagiarism, urged the officials to confirm it outright. Still more were just bystanders, eager to see how things would unfold.

As she scrolled through the online chatter, Qin Miaoyu felt a faint stir of excitement, but at the same time, a wave of sadness washed over her as she recalled her own experiences from years before. Her voice grew quiet.

“Alright, thank you, cousin.”

After ending the call with her cousin, Qin Miaoyu retreated into her study to paint, only emerging from her creative world when Lu Qi’an’s video call interrupted her.

“Are you painting right now?”

Lu Qi’an had just arrived at the hotel when he received a message from her cousin, mentioning that Qin Miaoyu seemed a bit down at the end of their call. So, he hurried to video call her, determined not to bring up anything about Liang Sixuan.

“I am! Why the sudden call?”

Lu Qi’an was just about to come up with an excuse when he suddenly noticed a painting in the background behind Qin Miaoyu.

“Miaoyu, could you show me the painting behind you?”

Qin Miaoyu turned her head, pointed, and asked, “That one?”

Seeing him nod, she got up, moved the camera, and changed the angle.

“This painting looks familiar. Have you done something similar before?” he asked.

She had, in fact.

“I painted a series of three in this style. The other two have already been sold—you probably saw one of those somewhere.”

Two of them! Lu Qi’an suddenly recalled having seen two paintings similar to this one, back at the old Lu family house. He’d found them beautiful at the time, even pausing to admire them for a while.

However, he didn’t dare ask who she’d sold them to, since he still hadn’t revealed his own identity to her. He wanted to explain everything to her face-to-face.

Just then, Qin Miaoyu’s gaze landed on the water dispenser, reminding her of something she’d meant to ask Lu Qi’an.

“Qi’an, have you ever met the landlord of this place?”

“I have. Why?” Of course he had—he saw himself in the mirror every day!

“Do you remember the two apartments Xiao Liu first showed me? I thought the rent was suspiciously low, so I didn’t take them. But today I realized—this place is just as cheap!”

Lu Qi’an hadn’t expected her to notice this. “Why do you think so?”

“This water dispenser, the custom designer furniture, the expensive decorations—even the chandelier is top of the line. Why would anyone rent out a place like this for such a low price?”

He hadn’t really considered the apartment’s furnishings, but now that he planned to come clean, he wasn’t worried. Still, he gave her a casual excuse.

“Don’t worry, this apartment belongs to our President Qi. He gave me a friendly discount on the rent. Just enjoy your stay.”

Hearing this, Qin Miaoyu felt completely reassured. “President Qi isn’t just a good husband and boss—he’s a great friend, too!”

Thinking back, she realized she’d heard about this mysterious President Qi from Lu Qi’an several times, and, come to think of it, President Qi had indirectly helped her out quite a bit.

“When you’re back, if President Qi has the time, let’s invite him to dinner. He’s done a lot for us.”

On the screen, Lu Qi’an smiled. “Alright, I’m sure there’ll be a chance.”

Perhaps because more and more people were commenting on the Saintis Competition’s official account, the organizers finally issued a response.

Their statement, in short, was that Liang Sixuan’s submission was indeed extremely similar to Qin Miaoyu’s award-winning piece. However, Qin Miaoyu’s work was of far superior quality and had been submitted much earlier. Beyond that, they would not comment further.

They refrained from directly accusing Liang Sixuan of plagiarism since she had pleaded with her teacher, who contacted the organizers to ask for a gentler statement. Though her teacher was furious at her actions, years of mentorship and their bond prompted him to intercede on her behalf.

Qin Miaoyu was not at all surprised. In fact, she hadn’t even expected the organizers to make any statement at all.

Thanks to this diplomatic wording, Liang Sixuan claimed it was merely a coincidence of inspiration, even posting a video to explain the supposed major differences between the two pieces, which managed to calm those fans who had nearly turned against her.

But the video that Qin Miaoyu and Ji Xuan had prepared in advance now came into play.

Back when she’d decided to use this painting to enter the competition and catch her fish, Qin Miaoyu had asked Ji Xuan to film a video for her. In it, she discussed the rare spark of inspiration and her creative intent. She even produced another painting she’d made by copying the original, noting that trying to recreate it couldn’t capture the same feeling.

The painting she copied in the video was, in fact, almost identical to Liang Sixuan’s.

Apparently, Liang Sixuan hadn’t even bothered to make significant changes—she had simply copied the painting line for line.

At the end of the video, Qin Miaoyu pointed out a secret detail: in the lower right corner of her painting, she’d inscribed her initials, QMY, by hand. She encouraged viewers to look closely, and sure enough, it was easy to spot.

Looking at Liang Sixuan’s painting, one found a similar mark in the same spot…

The plagiarism was indisputable!

After watching the video, Liang Sixuan was like an ant on a hot pan. How could she have known Qin Miaoyu would think of such a thing? This video rendered her previous attempts at denial utterly ridiculous—and left her with no way out.

Seeing her daughter on the verge of an outburst, her mother, Xi Ruofen, quickly intervened.

“That’s enough. You lost this round—getting angry won’t help. Think about how to salvage the situation. But after this, your career as an artist is finished. Didn’t you say you’ve been unhappy working in Jingcheng? Quit. Come work at one of the companies under my name and learn some management.”

Liang Sixuan was unwilling to give up on the dreams that had just been reignited, but there was nothing more she could do to turn things around. Following her mother’s advice, she issued a public apology, stating that she would remember this lesson and never participate in any art competitions again.

She thought that would be the end of it. But Qin Miaoyu’s goal was not just this competition; she wanted to expose what Liang Sixuan had done all those years ago!

So, not long after Liang Sixuan’s apology statement, another photograph began to circulate online.

It was the photo that Yang Sisi had accidentally taken back then—Liang Sixuan painting “Becoming the Butterfly,” with a printed copy of another painting placed right beside her!