DASFAM_CH 15

"......"

Faced with the sudden counter-question, Fang Xu and Song Zhiqing were both momentarily stunned.

Fang Xu straightened up and slammed his teacup down on the table, "Bai Xu, what do you mean by that?"

"Boss, don't misunderstand."

Bai Xu dismissed it lightly and shifted his gaze toward Song Zhiqing, "I just feel that my abilities fall short. If this exhibition slot is so precious and can expand the studio's reputation, why not ask Master Song to lead the team instead?"

His gaze was sincere, gentle, and courteous—as if the cold mockery from a moment ago had been nothing but a shared illusion between the two of them.

Song Zhiqing recalled Bai Xu's behavior over the years and steadied himself, "This old set of bones that's nearly retired won't be joining in on the excitement. Boss Fang thinks highly of you, and I have confidence in you as well."

Bai Xu followed the opening and asked, "Then will my name be on the exhibited work?"

"……"

Song Zhiqing's smile faded slightly.

Fang Xu clicked his tongue and launched straight into workplace platitudes, "Bai Xu, have you even submitted your design drawings? These aren't things you should be worrying about!"

"If you rise to prominence too young, things tend to go wrong. Stay in the background, be patient, keep honing yourself— are you really afraid there won't be a chance for recognition in the future?"

Bai Xu caught the implication and pressed further, "So my original work, I can't put my own name on it?"

"Since when does a name matter so much? I'm giving you an opportunity, that doesn't mean you've already reached the required level. You're a ceramicist at our studio, and that means you represent our entire studio!"

Fang Xu reasserted his authority and delivered his verdict, "To be safe, this time I plan to do as we have before— exhibit under the studio's name, with Master Song credited as the lead instructor."

A cold glint stirred in the depths of Bai Xu's eyes, "The same as before?"

Dodging the question with roundabout words, piling on pressure through language, demanding that 'he' pour his heart and mind into the design— only to erase 'his' name in the end. How was that any different from plagiarism?

It was outright theft, committed openly under the guise of a superior and a mentor.

"Bai Xu."

Song Zhiqing called his full name—rare in its seriousness—and broke the silence, "Have you forgotten what I told you when you were still a student?"

"Ceramics has never been an industry for chasing fame and fortune. If that's the kind of thinking you have, you'd better change careers sooner rather than later. In this field, there are far more talented ceramicists than you. And when you go out in the future, don't say you're a student of mine, Song Zhiqing, I won't claim it."

Every word was a reprimand.

Seeing that Bai Xu remained silent, Song Zhiqing pressed further to reestablish his authority, "Take ten thousand steps back. If I didn't think highly of you as my student, I wouldn't have bothered speaking up for you here today. In my lifetime I've created countless works; I'm hardly desperate for a lead credit on one more."

Fine words are easier said than done.

Bai Xu stared at their two-faced, hypocritical expressions—that nest of snakes and rats—and wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and tear the masks off right then and there.

But he knew this wasn't the right moment. The more you were dealing with people of 'standing and prospects,' the more you needed a single strike aimed at their breaking point— one that left them no chance to recover.

"……"

Bai Xu suppressed his true feelings and instead let a deliberate show of weakness surface, "Master Song, you've misunderstood— I, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm still putting the finishing touches on the design draft. I'll get it in before the deadline; it won't hold things up."

The familiar soft, gentle tone reached their ears. Fang Xu and Song Zhiqing exchanged a glance and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Xu was the first to speak up with a performative air, "Bai Xu, Master Song means well for you. As the studio's boss, I also think very highly of your abilities. This is quite a rare opportunity, just think it over properly yourself."

A textbook case of delivering a slap and then handing over a piece of candy.

Bai Xu saw through it but said nothing. He pressed his lips together, "Then I'll head back and get ready. If anything comes up, I'll coordinate with Sister Qiu."

Song Zhiqing had always taken Bai Xu for a soft target, easy to handle, and didn't suspect a thing.

He gave a nod and slipped back into his usual habit of playing the mentor, "Feel free to come to me anytime if you have questions."

Bai Xu's nod was somewhat perfunctory. The instant he turned and walked out the door, the soft mask he had fabricated shattered at once, and his eyes turned cold and dark.

Tap, tap, tap.

At the sound of footsteps on the spiral staircase—

Qiu Yi stepped out of the private studio at the fastest pace she could manage. Her hands were still coated in the specialty clay, so she could only catch Bai Xu's eye and gesture toward the corner.

Qiu Yi glanced sideways up at the meeting room on the upper floor and lowered her voice with concern, "All done? They didn't give you a hard time, did they?"

Qiu Yi had long since seen through Fang Xu's hypocritical way of dealing with people. The reason she had managed to stay on at this studio was—

First, she had joined relatively early and built up her own client base here.

Second, Fang Xu had not yet set any crooked designs on her work.

Though Bai Xu never breathed a word about it, Qiu Yi could more or less guess that the exploitation he faced was no small amount— only since the person involved kept quiet, she hadn't found it easy to speak up on his behalf.

Bai Xu glanced up at the meeting room on the upper floor. A plan had already taken shape in his mind, "Sister Qiu, actually, there is something I'd like to ask your help with."

"……"

Qiu Yi caught something unusual in the seriousness of his expression, but still agreed without hesitation, "Of course, go ahead!"

...

Knock, knock.

A knock at the door.

Xie Qi was seated in the lounge area of the master bedroom's central room. He looked up at once at the sound, "Young Master Bai, you're back?"

Bai Xu glanced at Shang Yanxiao on the bed, then immediately shifted his gaze back, "Xie Qi, would it be alright to borrow your computer for a moment?"

"Of course."

Xie Qi bent down and closed his own work interface before handing the device over.

Drawing on memories preserved in his mind, Bai Xu swiftly opened the address of a ceramics forum with excellent privacy features and entered his username and password.

Xie Qi and Chen Yufei exchanged a glance—

The former silently mouthed: What's going on?

The latter shook his head, equally in the dark.

In short order, page after page of design drafts, photographs of finished pieces, and corresponding videos appeared on the screen—yet without exception, every one of them was set to visible only to the owner.

Bai Xu looked at the neatly organized text and images, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

The original host had always known what Fang Xu and Song Zhiqing were doing. He had simply been at their mercy and lacked the funds to pursue his rights, so he had kept it all suppressed— but to protect his original works, he had quietly put in a great deal of effort behind the scenes.

Such as all of this.

Every original work had its concept sketches, physical photographs, and videos uploaded and backed up, each with a clear timestamp for verification. Some pieces had even been quietly submitted for original copyright certification.

Xie Qi looked at the page Bai Xu had opened, then recalled the background check he had carried out earlier, "Young Master Bai, are all of these your ceramics works?"

"More or less. Xie Qi, I'd like to ask two favors of you."

Rather than seizing the creative work that should have belonged to the original host, Bai Xu wanted to reclaim far more on his behalf.

Xie Qi nodded, "Go ahead."

Bai Xu clicked on a complete ceramics design that had been most recently uploaded a month and a half ago, "Help me apply for original copyright certification for this piece, and compress the certification timeline as much as possible."

Generally speaking, this kind of copyright certification takes anywhere from one month to half a year.

"If it's only graphic and textual designs…" Xie Qi studied the design drafts on the screen and offered his suggestion, "Engaging a lawyer who specializes in this area and going through the expedited copyright channel should compress the timeline."

"Yes, that's exactly it. We'll need a specialist lawyer."

Bai Xu agreed with the suggestion, "In addition, I want to file a lawsuit against Taojing Studio for long-term misappropriation of my original works without paying the corresponding contractual compensation."

Even though the original host had signed a relevant contract with the studio, Fang Xu had still withheld the design fees and commissions owed to him. The original host had sought fair additional pay on multiple occasions, but had been brushed off each time with one excuse or another.

Xie Qi's brow furrowed slightly, "Understood. I'll find the right lawyer and get in touch with you as soon as possible."

Bai Xu gave a nod, "Thanks."

In truth, he could simply have chosen to resign and leave the studio—to leave everything belonging to the original host's past behind—which would have spared him a great deal of trouble. But Bai Xu couldn't bring himself to do it.

Ceramics design was the one thing the original host had loved and fought for throughout all these years. He wanted to preserve some trace of that in this world on his behalf, to win back a measure of justice— even just a small one.

This design draft, completed but not yet handed over to the studio, he would enter into the competition and exhibition in the original host's name.

Bai Xu reined in his wandering thoughts and looked toward Shang Yanxiao on the bed. For some reason, the warmth from the previous night—spreading from his fingertips throughout his entire body—surfaced once more.

"Shang Yanxiao, he…"

Bai Xu stopped himself mid-sentence, nearly biting his own tongue, "Still no sign of waking up? Why do I keep getting the feeling that his color actually looks quite good?"

Nothing at all like someone who had been bedridden for so long as a vegetative patient.

"Right? I find it strange too."

Xie Qi was also a seasoned performer by now, "Dr. Zhang came by again with his team this afternoon. He said all of the Third Young Master's readings and vital signs are perfectly normal, he even shows a degree of response to external stimuli, but he just won't 'wake up.'"

"……"

"He probably just needs more time," Xie Qi pushed up his glasses, his worry tinged with a thread of certainty, "The Third Young Master is strong-willed. He'll definitely wake up."

Bai Xu recalled the slightly 'over the line' probing from the night before and, for the moment, set aside his suspicions, "Yes, let's wait a little longer."

He had already transmigrated into a novel, what was there left that he couldn't believe?

As one of the supporting characters in this story, Shang Yanxiao experiencing a medical miracle later on was perfectly normal. Remaining comatose in bed while somehow maintaining his looks was perhaps normal too.

Bai Xu looked away, "I'm heading downstairs to get something to eat. Carry on."

"Alright."

The bedroom door closed once more.

Chen Yufei and Xie Qi exchanged a knowing glance. One went to the door and locked it; the other picked up the laptop and walked toward the bed, "Third Young Master."

Shang Yanxiao slowly opened his eyes and gave a simple instruction, "Do as he said. While you're at it, look more closely into the studio he mentioned. This matter can be assisted with, but going forward, it must not be traced back to the Shang family or the group."

For Bai Xu to suddenly file a lawsuit out of nowhere, this studio must surely have something suspicious going on.

"Understood," Xie Qi nodded, "By the way, Third Young Master—"

"Uncle Lin mentioned that the Fourth Young Master doesn't seem keen on attending the dinner banquet the Sun family is hosting."

Shang Yanxiao sat up, his eyes completely unruffled, "Let it be. If he doesn't want to go, don't push him. It was always a banquet with ulterior motives."

The seemingly ironclad cooperation between the Shang family and Jinbai had suddenly fallen through, and naturally there were those in the capital social circle who had caught wind of it and were moving to seize the opportunity— hoping to use this banquet to probe further into the true state of affairs within the third branch.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Xie Qi's brow, "If the Fourth Young Master doesn't attend, there will inevitably be people with ill intentions spinning their narratives again."

After all, now that Shang Yanxiao had 'fallen,' the entire face the third branch presented to the outside world rested on Shang Queyan's shoulders alone.

How could Shang Yanxiao not know this? Yet in the end he still felt tender toward the younger brother who had grown up freely and sheltered since childhood, and was unwilling to push him too hard.

Shang Yanxiao kneaded his shoulder, which had grown stiff from lying down so long, and said quietly, "Give Xiao Yan a little more time. Some things can't be rushed. Oh, and— the quiet liquidation of minor assets I had you handle before, how is that coming along?"

Xie Qi replied, "Just about done. By next month it should consolidate to around eighty million."

Shang Yanxiao's eyes deepened, "Good."

The covert power struggle between the main branch and the collateral branches of the Shang family had grown vicious, and his current 'condition' made it impossible for him to appear before the public.

For the sake of long-term planning, and to keep out of the sight of familiar eyes, starting fresh under a different name was something that had to be done.

...

Bai Xu made his way downstairs at an unhurried pace, arriving just in time to see Uncle Lin holding an invitation and about to tuck it into a drawer.

He called out, "Uncle Lin."

Uncle Lin looked up, Young Master Bai, you're back?"

Bai Xu's gaze settled on the white-and-gold invitation, "What's that?"

Uncle Lin made no attempt to conceal it and handed the invitation over, "An invitation to a dinner banquet, sent over by the Sun family. They say they'd like to have the third branch come together for a gathering."

"……"

The Sun family?

Why did that ring such a bell?

Bai Xu took the invitation and looked it over, then heard Uncle Lin say, "The Fourth Young Master isn't willing to go."

After all, banquets of this kind were never short of young masters and young ladies from wealthy families of the same generation. Shang Queyan's physical condition had already become an established fact, and there was no avoiding a certain amount of veiled mockery and gossip.

No one's courage is built in a single day, it was entirely understandable that Shang Queyan didn't want to go.

Bai Xu understood, "Give him a little more time. Some things can't be rushed."

"That's true."

The butler paused for a few seconds, his worry plain to see, "The Sun family's business has been growing considerably these past two years. Word is that their next branch is going to take root right here in the capital."

"With an invitation this openly delivered, if no one from the third branch attends, the rumors that have only just died down will likely start bubbling up again."

"……"

Bai Xu stared at the name 'Sun Miaochun' on the invitation, and it finally came back to him— the relevant details mentioned in the novel.

He slowly closed the invitation, a faint curiosity stirring in his mind, "In that case, I'll go on behalf of the third branch."

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