ATLAS TRANSLATES

When Zhan Xi entered the house, she rushed straight into Luo Jingyu’s bedroom but found the bed empty.

The bathroom door was closed with the sound of washing coming from inside. She anxiously paced in circles by the door until Luo Jingyu finally came out. Just as she was about to speak, Luo Jingyu jumped in surprise, not knowing where to cover himself with his hands.

He was shirtless, wearing only underwear, having no idea Zhan Xi would appear in his room so early in the morning with her hair disheveled, wearing only a nightgown.

At this moment, Zhan Xi was too anxious to think about anything else. She grabbed Luo Jingyu’s t-shirt and sweatpants from the bed and threw them to him: “Quick, put these on! Little Fish, something’s happened! I’ll tell you once you’re dressed, hurry hurry!”

Luo Jingyu put on his clothes in a daze and walked to the living room, where Zhan Xi was searching everywhere on his work desk. He went over and tapped her arm. Zhan Xi turned and asked: “Little Fish, carefully read what I’m saying – those six initial drafts you drew for Hanshang in early July, do you have any digital copies? Digital versions! Photos would work, scanned copies too, do you have any?”

Luo Jingyu read her lips carefully, thought for a moment, and finally shook his head.

He found several design drafts from August on the desk that had gone through multiple revisions, then took out a folder from the cabinet containing six initial drafts, and showed everything to Zhan Xi.

He pointed to the later drawings and signed: [These ones, photos, sent to them, revised.]

Pointing to the final drafts and then to the computer and printer in the corner: [These ones, scanned.]

Finally pointing to the initial drafts, he signed with both hands: [These ones no, long time ago, Fang took photos, I didn’t.]

Zhan Xi’s heart sank.

Luo Jingyu noticed her troubled expression and frowned, asking: [What’s wrong?]

Zhan Xi sat him down by the work desk and began signing while speaking: “Little Fish, something’s happened. I’ll tell you everything now. If there’s anything you don’t understand while listening, tell me right away. Then, think carefully if you left any evidence during this whole process, anything at all.”

Luo Jingyu didn’t know what had happened, but seeing Zhan Xi’s serious expression, he nodded slightly.

So Zhan Xi told him everything in detail. As Luo Jingyu listened, his face gradually grew pale.

Even Zhan Xi understood the severity of the problem. Luo Jingyu knew this industry better than her – how could he not know! Being accused of plagiarism was absolutely devastating for a designer and two brands. At best, they’d have to apologize; at worst, they’d face lawsuits and be forced to leave the industry.

But the problem was, he hadn’t plagiarized! He had never plagiarized in his life!

Zhan Xi opened [rrmft0429]’s Weibo post to show Luo Jingyu. In just this short time, there were already two comments under that person’s post, either planted by them or genuine passersby.

[User 1]: Got tea? Show us more.

[User 2]: The designs really look similar, waiting for updates.

Luo Jingyu: “…”

After he understood everything, Zhan Xi asked hopefully: “Little Fish, think again, do you have any evidence?”

Luo Jingyu went through the whole thing in his mind again, but still shook his head and picked up the stack of initial drafts, signing: [Before, I always sent phone photos to Fang. That day, he came to my house, he took photos! I didn’t!]

Zhan Xi understood what he meant.

Having known Luo Jingyu for over half a year, she spent more time in 1504 than in 802 and understood his work habits.

Little Fish preferred hand-drawing his designs, usually sending photos to Fang Xu via WeChat, which would naturally leave chat records and timestamps.

He would scan finalized works to his computer for archiving, along with multiple photos of the physical items, with each piece having its own document, neatly organized by date.

Zhan Xi understood these work habits, and Fang Xu naturally understood them too. Little Fish wouldn’t scan and archive design drafts during the revision process, and he wasn’t in the habit of using graphics software for modifications.

But that day… Zhan Xi flipped through the calendar – it was July 11th. Fang Xu had suddenly come over when there was less than a week left before the Maker Faire opened, and Luo Jingyu was teaching Zhan Xi how to make lily of the valley.

They were both extremely busy and hadn’t paid any attention to Fang Xu’s actions. Luo Jingyu and Fang Xu had agreed to continue collaborating on the Hanfu Festival business, and no one had detected that Fang Xu already had intentions to dissolve their partnership.

The memories became clearer bit by bit.

At the time, it was Luo Jingyu himself who suggested letting Fang Xu take photos. When Fang Xu asked if he wanted to make revisions, Little Fish said to send them to the client first for review. He expressed this in sign language, with Zhan Xi translating. Right under their noses, Fang Xu took photos of the six design drafts.

In other words, the only person who could prove that Luo Jingyu’s initial drafts were created before [rrmft0429]’s post was Fang Xu, and the evidence was on his phone.

Zhan Xi organized the clues in her mind:

One, were Fang Xu and [rrmft0429] working together? — 90% likely yes.

Two, what was Fang Xu’s goal? — To suppress Xiyu Hot Pressing? Force Luo Jingyu to quit? Force him to collaborate again? Extort money from Hanshang?

Three, were Fang Xu and Hanshang working together? — 90% likely no. As such a big brand, Hanshang wouldn’t deliberately damage their own reputation by collaborating with Fang Xu to target Little Fish. They were even more wronged than Little Fish, which explained Susu’s anger.

Four, why was Fang Xu so certain Luo Jingyu had no evidence? What if he did? Taking a few photos would easily turn things around, wouldn’t it?

Zhan Xi thought for a while, her eyes moving back to [rrmft0429]’s Weibo.

She began to understand – this was an alternate account. Why an alternate account? Because they didn’t know if Luo Jingyu had evidence. If he did, this would blow over easily – a post from an alternate account could be posted and deleted, and no one would care.

But what if he didn’t?

What if she and Luo Jingyu couldn’t produce evidence? If the other side found out, wouldn’t they make bigger moves?

Was it still possible to beg Fang Xu now?

Zhan Xi thought, the situation hadn’t blown up yet, neither Hanshang nor Xiyu had responded, because [rrmft0429] was also waiting to see if Luo Jingyu had evidence. If they went to beg Fang Xu now, to ask what his true purpose was, could they still save the situation?

The downside was that it would immediately let Fang Xu know they truly had no evidence.

The upside was that they could bring a voice recorder to get Fang Xu talking, record the conversation – wouldn’t that be evidence?

After sorting everything out, Zhan Xi felt it was time to communicate with Susu first.

She called Susu in front of Luo Jingyu, and the other party quickly picked up: “Hello!”

Zhan Xi pressed record and told Susu everything she knew about the situation, honestly telling her that Teacher Luo had likely been deliberately set up by Fang Xu.

Susu didn’t accept Zhan Xi’s explanation and was furious: “This is a conflict between you and Fang Xu, what does it have to do with us? Why didn’t you tell me Teacher Luo went solo because things got unpleasant with Fang Xu? You need to be clear about one thing – Teacher Luo gave his initial drafts to someone he had bad blood with, you should have told me this exactly as it happened! If you had told me, whether we wanted to continue working with you would have been our decision. Not telling us makes it your responsibility!”

“I’m so sorry, I handled this wrong.” Zhan Xi grabbed her hair. “We really didn’t expect Fang Xu to be so despicable. When Teacher Luo went solo, Fang Xu took all his design copyrights from the past four years, and as compensation, he gave this business to Teacher Luo. We really didn’t suspect his motives at the time.”

“But do you have evidence? Do you have it in black and white?” Susu suddenly found the key point. “Miss Zhan, the problem now isn’t about what Fang Xu did, but that person on Weibo didn’t mention any connection to Fang Xu! They raised plagiarism concerns as an individual! I can’t fully trust what you’re saying now. I don’t know if you really gave the initial drafts to Fang Xu, and I don’t know if Teacher Luo’s inspiration really came from this person on Weibo. I need evidence! What good does it do just telling me with words?”

Zhan Xi cried out: “I told you I was watching Teacher Luo draw the initial drafts! It was early July! I was also there when Fang Xu took photos of them! It was July 11th! I was present for all of it! Believe me! Teacher Luo was framed!”

“Where’s the evidence?!” Susu also shouted. “If you want me to believe you, show me the evidence! The other party posted their pictures on July 21st. Show me evidence that proves Teacher Luo’s initial drafts were created before theirs. Do you have any?!”

Zhan Xi suddenly deflated, her tone dejected: “No, the only evidence is on Fang Xu’s phone.”

“…” Susu fell silent, then after a while said, “I’ll discuss this with the boss first and get back to you. Our designer is very angry right now. If this can’t be resolved, I’m sorry, we can only proceed according to the contract.”

According to the contract, Luo Jingyu would have to bear legal responsibility, pay compensation, apologize, and the final result would inevitably be — leaving the industry.

After hanging up, Zhan Xi looked up at Luo Jingyu. He had been watching her make the call, though she wasn’t sure how much of what she said he had understood. Zhan Xi felt his expression was unfamiliar, one she had never seen before, and her heart softened, knowing he must be deeply hurt.

He probably couldn’t understand, she thought, couldn’t understand why someone would be so evil, deliberately plotting to harm him. His thoughts were so simple and pure, without any malice. When people wronged him, he always just processed it quietly by himself.

When Ji Hongzhe bullied him as a child, he didn’t hold it against him at all when he grew up; when Zhan Jie treated him coldly, he still eagerly tried to please him; when Fang Xu oppressed him for four years, he still remembered the other’s kindness when facing their split.

Luo Jingyu was indeed naive in dealing with people, sometimes even a bit foolish, and Zhan Xi understood this, had always understood.

He had lived in a silent world for nearly twenty-seven years, knowing that ordinary people were full of prejudice against special groups like him. He never resented others, only tried to change himself, not wanting to be disliked or looked down upon.

When others didn’t like the sounds he made, he held them in and stayed quiet. When others would curiously watch him use sign language, he got used to keeping his hands in his pockets in public to hide himself. He held the greatest kindness towards this world, never hurting others, not asking for their understanding, and certainly not hoping for their pity or charity – he only asked that they not hurt him.

So, for Fang Xu’s deliberate setup and framing, Luo Jingyu couldn’t understand it. It was a huge blow to him, making him doubt himself, wondering if he had really done something to wrong Fang Xu to deserve such revenge.

He might also feel self-contempt, thinking he was too stupid to fall for the other’s trap, and now not only had he harmed himself, but he had also implicated Hanshang and caused Zhan Xi to worry.

Zhan Xi stepped forward and hugged Luo Jingyu, then held his face and said: “Little Fish, this isn’t your fault, not at all. It’s completely Fang Xu’s fault. He’s deliberately trying to bully you, maybe he wants money, or maybe he wants to make it impossible for you to stay in the hot pressing industry. I don’t know why he’s doing this, I just know you’re innocent. You trusted him too much, but trusting too much isn’t a mistake – it’s your strength. Because you’re Luo Jingyu, you’re just a pure person, not filthy like Fang Xu.”

Zhan Xi didn’t know if Luo Jingyu understood her words. At this point, her own thoughts were also very chaotic, mainly because she couldn’t think of a solution and was still hesitating about whether to go beg Fang Xu.

Luo Jingyu tugged at the corners of his mouth, maybe trying to smile, but couldn’t manage it. Zhan Xi watched as his eyes gradually reddened. He noticed it himself and pushed away her hands, got up and went into the main bathroom, closing the door behind him.

The sound of running water came from inside. Zhan Xi sighed and picked up her phone.

She decided to take a gamble and try her luck.

Zhan Xi sent a private message to [rrmft0429].

[Xiyu Hot Pressing Arts]: Hello, I’m Little Zhan, Teacher Luo from Xiyu Hot Pressing’s assistant. Regarding your Weibo post from last night, here is our explanation: Teacher Luo received the design commission from Hanshang Hanfu on July 3rd, with WeChat chat records as proof. Between July 4th and July 9th, he gradually drew the initial drafts for the “Fish Playing with Lotus” accessories, definitely before your field research. The design inspiration was all original. So we believe your plagiarism accusation is groundless.

We have the initial drafts right here, and there are also chat records with Hanshang proving the subsequent revisions and final drafts. Please don’t make baseless plagiarism claims. Delete your Weibo post as soon as possible. We reserve the right to pursue legal action, thank you.

After sending the private message, Zhan Xi’s palms were sweating as she waited for a response.

A few minutes later, the other party replied.

[rrmft0429]: Oh really? Then prove it to me. Just prove that your initial drafts were indeed created before I posted, and I’ll admit it was probably just a coincidental overlap in design inspiration. Oh right, I actually drew design drafts too – how else would I make them? Wait a moment, let me post something first.

They’re going to post again??

Zhan Xi was about to go crazy. Couldn’t they just discuss this in private?

A moment later, she saw [rrmft0429]’s new Weibo post.

[rrmft0429]: These are my design drafts for the hairpin and hand flower. Sorry they’re not well-drawn. I just looked through my photos – the field research was on July 15th, then I spent three days drawing after returning, so these drafts should have been completed on July 18th. I didn’t show them to anyone after drawing them. Then I spent three days on the handwork, finished on the 21st and posted – it’s that simple. @Hanshang Hanfu Studio, @Xiyu Hot Pressing Arts, la la la~ I wonder if Teacher Luo from Xiyu Hot Pressing, who says his initial drafts were created before mine, has any proof? If you do, please let me see~

This person really posted four design drafts of the hairpin and hand flower, also hand-drawn, though not with markers but colored pencils.

Zhan Xi picked up Luo Jingyu’s original initial drafts and compared them, her heart sinking further. They had simply redrawn Luo Jingyu’s initial drafts, matching even the details exactly.

Because this person didn’t know how Luo Jingyu had later modified the designs, the final products ended up having differences in details, but if you compared both parties’ initial drafts, outsiders couldn’t tell who had copied whom.

Looking at the evidence, this person had the iron-clad proof of their July 21st Weibo post, while Luo Jingyu had nothing.

Zhan Xi curled up in her chair, fingers tapping her chin, wondering what to do.

She probably still had to find Fang Xu – the key to this situation was in his hands. Appeal to his emotions, reason with him, even pay him if necessary?

It was humiliating to beg him not to destroy Little Fish, considering Luo Jingyu had helped him make money for four years, but Zhan Xi really couldn’t think of any other solution.

In this situation, she didn’t know whether Fang Xu or [rrmft0429] was the mastermind, still unclear about their motives. If they wanted money, that would be easier to handle – but what if that wasn’t it! What if their goal was to destroy Luo Jingyu?

Zhan Xi was young after all and had never encountered anything like this before. After thinking it through, she decided to call someone for help brainstorming strategies, so she called Luo Xinran.

Luo Xinran was always following entertainment industry drama and would know more about these kinds of PR issues. She quickly came over after receiving the call.

Three heads are better than one – Zhan Xi felt that she and Luo Jingyu were too close to the situation, while Luo Xinran was an outsider who might have different insights.

The two girls sat seriously discussing by the work desk. Zhan Xi took out paper and pen to draw a timeline for Luo Xinran, while Luo Xinran flipped through the dozens of design drafts.

Zhan Xi had already labeled the bottom right corner of each design draft with pencil – sequence number and date, initial draft, first revision, second revision… final draft. All the drawings clearly showed Luo Jingyu’s thought process, the entire progression clear at a glance. But the most frustrating part was that the lotus and fish combination remained basically the same from start to finish – it was inherently difficult to change.

While they were discussing, Luo Jingyu sat quietly at the side “listening” at first, then he got up and went into the kitchen.

Later he came out of the kitchen, picked up his keys and phone preparing to go out.

Zhan Xi ran over and caught his arm asking: “Little Fish, where are you going?”

Luo Jingyu smiled slightly and signed: [Buy groceries.]

Zhan Xi was speechless: “Don’t go, let’s just eat whatever’s at home, I’m not hungry, or we can order takeout.”

Luo Jingyu shook his head, pointed at Luo Xinran and replied: [We have a guest.]

Zhan Xi didn’t force him then. Little Fish never neglected her friends.

So Luo Jingyu went out alone.

—

“If we’re going to find Fang Xu, we need to prepare what to say beforehand, memorize it perfectly, anticipate all possible responses. The ultimate goal is to get him to admit he took photos of Little Fish’s drawings. Even if he won’t admit he orchestrated all this, it’s fine – we just need to prove Little Fish drew these in early July. We don’t even need to address whether that Weibo person plagiarized or is trying to scam – doesn’t matter, we’ll just say it was coincidental inspiration, we won’t pursue that!”

After telling Zhan Xi this, Luo Xinran pointed at some words on the paper. “Also, voice recorders – one isn’t enough, bring several, wear them all over. If necessary we’ll buy those mini recording devices. Damn, I refuse to believe we can’t take down that Fang guy! What kind of person bullies your Little Fish? What did Little Fish ever do to him? Is this guy even human? I want to get Pipi Xia to beat him up!”

Zhan Xi tiredly rubbed her hair, shaking her head: “I don’t know either. I plan to find him tomorrow. I still haven’t admitted we don’t have evidence, so they must be wary too. Hanshang is playing dead, and things haven’t blown up yet – I think everyone’s waiting to see what happens. If I go to Fang Xu, he’ll definitely know we have no evidence. This really… I don’t know if it can be resolved properly.”

Luo Xinran said: “I’ll go with you tomorrow, bring Pipi Xia too, wait outside.”

“Is that necessary?” Zhan Xi asked. “Are we going to fight?”

Luo Xinran angrily said: “Better safe than sorry! This kind of thing is too outrageous – framing someone for plagiarism! God! Even TV dramas wouldn’t dare write this plot. They’re just bullying your Little Fish because he’s pure-hearted and can’t speak up for himself. Only a monster could do something like this.”

Zhan Xi was quiet for a moment, then turned to look at the wall clock and suddenly jolted, asking: “How long has Little Fish been gone?”

“Hm?” Luo Xinran started. “Don’t know, almost an hour maybe?”

“It doesn’t take that long to buy groceries, the market is right outside the complex.” Zhan Xi jumped up from her chair and took out her phone to message Luo Jingyu.

[Egg Pudding]: Little Fish, why aren’t you back yet?

[Egg Pudding]: Little Fish, come back quick, I’m hungry.

[Egg Pudding]: Where did you go?

Several more minutes passed and Luo Jingyu still hadn’t replied. Zhan Xi gradually developed a bad feeling and said to Luo Xinran: “This is bad, Little Fish… probably went to find Fang Xu.”

“No way?!” Luo Xinran stared in shock. “Is he that rash?”

“His thinking is different from ours. He-he-he probably lost his head in anger and won’t think so much. He probably just wants to ask why.” Zhan Xi said. “Not good, I need to find him. I know where Fang Xu’s office is.”

She quickly went back to the eighth floor to change into outdoor clothes, without brushing her teeth, washing her face, or combing her hair. She left with Luo Xinran. There was no sign of Luo Jingyu at the market by the complex entrance, and his phone remained silent. Zhan Xi hailed a taxi and gave the driver Fang Xu’s office address.

On the way, Zhan Xi tried calling Luo Jingyu but no one answered. Little Fish didn’t take calls, but the phone would vibrate to let him know she was looking for him.

Zhan Xi was extremely worried. She didn’t care if Luo Jingyu’s actions disrupted her plans – she was only concerned for his safety.

She knew Luo Jingyu too well. He appeared calm, face pale, expressing nothing, but Zhan Xi knew there must be huge waves crashing in his heart, and who knew what thoughts he might have.

He had studied hot pressing for nearly ten years! It was his most beloved career, the goal he wanted to pursue for life! He had invested so much time, energy and money, never had any black marks in the hot pressing industry. There were quite a few hot pressing enthusiasts who copied his works to make small items – Fang Xu couldn’t be bothered to care, so he didn’t mind either.

He was too afraid of being forced out of the industry. Under such enormous pressure, Zhan Xi felt Luo Jingyu could no longer think rationally about the problem. He might be close to breaking down, but sadly she hadn’t noticed earlier.

She wouldn’t blame Little Fish for being rash. She just felt extremely sorry for him, extremely worried, afraid Luo Jingyu might hurt Fang Xu and cause irreparable consequences, and also afraid Fang Xu might hurt Luo Jingyu and make things even worse.

God! How did it turn out like this?

Zhan Xi couldn’t stop shaking in the taxi. The driver watched her through the rearview mirror and asked: “Is the AC too cold?”

Luo Xinran held Zhan Xi and said: “No, my friend has a cold.”

Suddenly, Zhan Xi’s phone rang – it was an unknown number. She quickly answered and heard a woman’s shrill voice: “Are you Miss Zhan? Little Fish’s friend? Come quick! I’m Fang Xu’s employee. Little Fish just came to find our boss, and now they’re fighting! Oh my god! It’s so scary, there’s so much blood! I-I-I-I’ll call the police first!”

Zhan Xi: “…”

The call ended and Zhan Xi suddenly lunged forward to hit the driver’s seat back, crying out: “Driver! Please go faster! Please hurry! Faster faster!”

“Okay okay don’t get excited, I’m already going fast!” The driver added a bit more gas, sweat appearing on his forehead.

Luo Xinran had also heard the phone call and held Zhan Xi’s shoulders tightly: “Zhan Xi stay calm, calm down, Little Fish will be fine, trust me, Little Fish will be fine.”