It was a female office worker in her twenties, currently tilting her head as she chatted and laughed with a colleague.
It was actually her!
The moment their eyes met, all the clues seemed to click into place at once.
Well, no need to go in now.
Tomorrow, they’d just wait to reel in the net.
By the time Jiang Si got home, it was already quite late. She hadn’t planned to tell her family about the matter right away, especially not her mother-in-law.
Knowing Mother Huo’s temperament, if she found out Jiang Si’s design had been swapped out, she’d probably blame herself for ages.
But clearly, this wasn’t something that could be kept under wraps.
Not long after they returned, Huo's fourth uncle arrived right on cue.
Grandma Huo was surprised to see him. "Fourth, what brings you here?"
As if struck by a thought, she then looked at him expectantly.
"Did the family portrait photos get developed already?"
Huo's fourth uncle was momentarily taken aback before replying, "Mom, what are you thinking? We just took the family portrait yesterday—it couldn’t possibly be ready that fast."
Hearing this, Old Master, who had been playing with his great-grandchildren, snorted without looking up.
"If it’s not ready, why are you here? Got my hopes up for nothing."
Huo's fourth uncle awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Dad, come on. Can’t I visit without a reason?"
"Don’t listen to your father," Grandma Huo chided, shooting Old Master a glare. "Last time when Fourth didn’t visit the old house for a week, someone kept muttering about it every day."
Old Master choked on his words.
Just then, Mother Huo emerged from the kitchen, smiling as she smoothed things over.
"Fourth, go wash your hands. You’re staying for dinner."
Seeing Mother Huo’s cheerful expression, Huo's fourth uncle was puzzled.
Glancing around, he noticed Father Huo sitting in the living room sipping tea as if nothing was amiss.
He was baffled.
This didn’t make sense. After such a big incident, how could his elder brother and sister-in-law be so unbothered?
His confusion must have been obvious, because Father Huo instinctively asked,
"Fourth, is something wrong?"
Despite being a high-ranking official himself, Huo's fourth uncle had always been a little intimidated by his elder brother.
So when Father Huo questioned him, he came clean.
"There is something. I heard from Ting Huai that Jiang Si’s design draft… seems to have been plagiarized."
"What?" The moment those words left his mouth, everyone in the living room turned to stare.
Mother Huo demanded, "Fourth, explain clearly. Who stole her design?"
Huo's fourth uncle didn’t know all the details, only that the Shen family was involved.
Moreover, the Ministry of Construction had already launched an investigation.
Just as he expected, the moment he said this, Father and Mother Huo’s previously sunny expressions darkened like a sudden storm.
Especially Mother Huo.
Upon learning that her daughter-in-law’s hard work—nearly a month’s worth of design—had been stolen by the Shen family,
she was so furious she nearly exploded!
If not for Father Huo holding her back, she would’ve charged over to the Shen household with a kitchen knife.
By the time Jiang Si came downstairs, the whole family already knew.
Touched by their outrage, she gently declined their offers to accompany her the next day.
To outsiders, it might look like they were going to demand justice.
But to those unaware, it could easily be misconstrued as the Huo family throwing their weight around.
Understanding their concerns, Jiang Si looped her arm through Mother Huo’s and said, half-jokingly but dead serious,
"Mom, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? I’ve already gathered all the evidence I need."
"Besides, Professor Li and the others are reasonable people. He’s already assured me that justice will be served."
Pausing, she added, "Mom, trust me—I’ve got plenty of experience in taking people down."
Though her tone was light, the family’s hearts ached at her words.
Mother Huo’s eyes reddened instantly.
Deep down, she blamed herself for failing to prevent this, letting her daughter-in-law suffer.
But Jiang Si shook her head. "Mom, they’re the ones who did wrong. They’re the ones who should apologize and pay the price!"
"If you take responsibility for their mistakes, I’ll never dare ask you for help again."
Hearing this, Mother Huo reluctantly gave in.
Patting Jiang Si’s hand, she relented, "Fine, you two go alone tomorrow. But don’t be afraid, and don’t let yourself be bullied. If anything happens, call your father’s office!"
"Got it, Mom," Jiang Si nodded.
Meanwhile, the Shen family remained blissfully unaware of the storm brewing.
At that moment, they were happily gathered in their living room, discussing what to wear the next day.
Well, "happily" didn’t include Xu Fangmin and Shen Chao.
They weren’t invited.
Ever since the ugly scene at the Beijing restaurant, Shen's Father and Mother had all but cut off the second branch of the family.
Xu Fangmin tried to interject with a few pleasantries, but no one spared her a glance.
After sitting through the cold treatment, the couple eventually stormed back to their room in a huff.
In the past, He Lin would’ve sneered at them.
But today, she was too thrilled to bother.
"The Ministry of Construction… really invited us tomorrow?" she asked again, as if she couldn’t believe it.
"Of course!" Shen Dong leaned back on the sofa, smugly sipping his tea. "They called us personally."
Shen's Mother chimed in, beaming, "That’s right. They made it clear—10 a.m. tomorrow, fourth-floor conference room at the Ministry’s administrative building. Both of you are to attend."
He Lin still seemed dazed. "But why would they invite me?"
Shen's Mother waved it off. "What else? It must be about the exclusive interview."
Pulling out a brand-new padded coat from the closet, she handed it to He Lin. "Try this on. I bought it last month—haven’t even worn it yet."
The dark blue corduroy fabric looked expensive. He Lin grinned.
"Thank you, Mom. You treat me better than my own mother."
"Enough sweet talk. Go try it on."
Though Shen's Father stayed quiet, his relaxed expression said it all.
He called Shen Dong into the study for a final round of instructions before finally settling down.
But his peace of mind was premature.
Just as the family wrapped up their discussion and prepared for bed, Xu Fangmin and Shen Chao started arguing.
The reason was simple.
Xu Fangmin had overheard Shen's Mother giving He Lin a new coat, and she wasn’t happy about it.
She grumbled to Shen Chao, who, though resentful, had long grown used to such slights.
Besides, their lives were already far better than most.
So he told her to be grateful for what they had.
That was the last thing Xu Fangmin wanted to hear.
She snapped, "Useless man! How did I end up with someone like you?"
And with that, she kicked him square in the backside.
Shen Chao wasn't paying attention and got kicked to the ground. This really angered him.
Both of them were in a fit of rage, and in the heat of the argument, somehow the topic of divorce came up.
Although they had quarreled before, they had never reached this point.
Xu Fangmin instantly burst into tears out of grievance.
As soon as she started crying, the child also began to wail.
The cries were so loud that the nearby neighbors could hear them, which made Shen's Father and Shen's Mother feel extremely embarrassed.
Even their good mood from earlier instantly plummeted.
However, they didn't know that this was just the beginning.
Early the next morning, Shen Dong and He Lin got up early and got dressed up. Shen's Father even specifically asked the guard to drive them to the Ministry of Construction.
Who would have thought that as soon as they pushed open the door of the meeting room, it was already full of people.
Apart from the relevant leaders of the project team and the plan review team, they also saw Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou sitting in the front row.
What's going on?
Why were they here?
Although they didn't know why these two couples were present, Shen Dong and his wife subconsciously frowned.
They even wondered if they were just incompatible with each other.
It seemed that every time they met these two, something bad was bound to happen!
Of course, they only dared to grumble about this in their hearts. Unexpectedly, their grumblings actually hit the nail on the head.
Because not long after they sat down.
Professor Li walked seriously to the center of the meeting room.
Without any pleasantries, no beating around the bush, and without even giving Shen Dong a chance to react.
"Comrade Shen, may I ask if you completed this design plan for the foreign-related hotel independently?"
Shen Dong was stunned for a moment. "Of course!"
"Really?"
In front of everyone, Professor Li took out a stack of enlarged photos.
"Then please explain why your design plan is as much as 90% similar to Comrade Jiang Si's design plan!"
Saying it was 90% similar was actually being generous to him!
It was only after Professor Li saw the photos that he realized that this useless fellow had even made some unnecessary changes to many of the excellent parts of Comrade Jiang's design plan. It was simply absurd!
Facing Professor Li's question, Shen Dong's face instantly turned deathly pale.
Before he could figure out how to explain,
He Lin beside him blurted out in a panic, "It's obvious! She must have copied ours!"
Almost at the same time, there was a sudden series of rapid knocks on the door.
The staff member went up and opened the door.
The moment Jiang Si looked up, she could hardly believe her eyes.
It was as if there was a lump in her throat, and she couldn't say a word for a long time —
[I've been trying my best to write. Normally, two chapters are about 4,000 words, but today I've written 5,200 words for two chapters and still haven't finished.
I'll have to continue tomorrow. Orange (the author) promises that all the justice will be served.
Also, here's a little spoiler: besides these, the female lead has another piece of evidence hidden in the design drawing.]
