Crazy (Lily ABO) - Chapter 23

Teng Lin ran into trouble.

An article titled “Artist Teng Lin Suspected of Plagiarism” was widely reported on social media. News in the art world rarely garners significant attention, but Teng Lin had a considerable following among young people, and someone had paid for a trending topic. Within an hour, the article accumulated thousands of shares. Although many comments and shares indicated people weren’t entirely sure who she was, the phrase “suspected of plagiarism” was a devastating blow for a painter who made a living from creation.

Xin Ruofan paid to have the trending topic removed. The incident hadn’t fully escalated yet, but it was bound to spread throughout the art community soon.

“Heh, it seems Zhou Zixuan knew someone would cause trouble, which is why she gave us this business card.” Xin Ruofan toyed with the business card in her hand, letting out a cold snort.

Teng Lin stared at the card in silence for a moment, then turned to look at her assistant, who was working diligently at the computer. “How is it? Any response?”

The assistant’s face was extremely grim. She stammered for a while before slowly speaking: “Two PR companies refused, and three haven’t replied… As for the blogger who posted the article, they responded that they are unwilling to delete the post. And Lawyer Wang is already preparing a lawyer’s letter. He suggested we issue a clarification statement to try and control public opinion.”

Before Teng Lin could react, Xin Ruofan picked up her phone and dialed the number on the business card. Teng Lin quickly pressed down on the Omega’s wrist. Zhou Zixuan’s goal was the shares Xin Ruofan held. If she accepted Zhou Zixuan’s help, Ruofan would have no way out.

Xin Ruofan gave a helpless smile. “It’s okay. I want to see how much sincerity she truly has.” She reassuringly patted the Alpha’s hand. “The longer this drags on, the more unfavorable the situation becomes for you. Since it’s her goodwill gift to us, I need to properly accept it.”

When meat is delivered to your mouth, why not eat it? Furthermore, she had said she would be Teng Lin’s shield, protecting her from harm. She was determined to do it. She also wanted to help her Alpha shine even brighter on her artistic path.

••••

The PR company quickly assembled a team to handle the online public opinion. The questioning article compared two of Teng Lin’s exhibition pieces from this year with a painting created by a British artist six years ago. Aside from differences in painting style and detailed techniques, the content and composition were strikingly similar.

Xin Ruofan and the assistant both felt it was too coincidental. For a moment, they couldn’t distinguish who had copied whom.

“It’s not a coincidence, because I painted both.” Teng Lin took a deep breath, her expression growing serious. “I once worked as a ghost painter for an artist. Two of those paintings were never publicly displayed, but they might have been resold by him back then. At that time, Teng Fei’s condition was getting worse and needed a lot of money, so… it was my mistake. I sent them for exhibition without properly verifying their originality.”

The assistant asked, “Can we find the original drafts? If we have the originals, we can refute him.”

“No,” Teng Lin shook her head, looking up at Xin Ruofan. “Weren’t you curious why I changed my painting style?”

“One time, when Teng Fei had an episode, she… accidentally caused a fire. Everything burned down.”

“Sketchbooks, easels, paintbrushes… all gone.”

This included every drawing of the girl she had meticulously recorded by hand, along with the hidden emotions in her heart and those cherished memories, all buried in the great fire. She had nothing left but an unvalued talent. She abandoned all moral concepts, nakedly presenting her dirty and dark thoughts to attract public attention. After all, the public reacts more strongly and deeply to negative stimuli than to positive ones.

“So I changed my approach. I only paint what they like to see. As long as it’s a topic that can make money and gain traffic, I’m willing to do it.”

Ultimately, she was just a vulgar commercial painter, unworthy of the title “artist.” The atmosphere instantly grew heavy. Teng Lin lowered her gaze, unsure where to look, only able to stare intently at her clasped hands. That fire was like a turning point. She awoke from the nightmare of losing a loved one, only to fall into another boundless, dark nightmare. Suffocating dreams entangled her, spreading like vines from her feet to her heart, impossible to break free from, impossible to escape.

Suddenly, a figure unexpectedly entered her line of sight. Wisps of tuberose, like spring rain, soothed the anxious Alpha. Xin Ruofan directly straddled Teng Lin, gently and silently pulling her into an embrace. Their bodies pressed closely together, so quiet that only their own breathing could be heard. Teng Lin felt her eyes sting. Closing them, she recalled that rainy night in London again. Someone brought light into her world, becoming her only reliance during those desperate, dark days, becoming a hope she wanted to touch yet also avoided.

The assistant awkwardly looked down at her phone, diligently playing the role of a silent third wheel. But they forgot that the PR company’s team was on the other end of the video call, seeing everything clearly.

“Ahem, apologies for interrupting, but… the matter hasn’t been fully discussed yet.”

Teng Lin’s heart jumped. She gently pushed the Omega off her. Xin Ruofan saw a blush spreading from Teng Lin’s neck to her ears and found it amusing. Considering there was still important business to attend to, she put away her teasing thoughts.

“Since we can’t find the original drafts, we’ll approach it from another angle,” Xin Ruofan said, her thumb and forefinger pressed against her chin as she furrowed her brow in thought. “Can we find more information about this painter?”

“We had the same idea as Miss Xin and have already gathered information on this painter named Simon. He’s not very famous and usually sells paintings at markets. He once blackmailed two local painters for infringement. One of the painters sued him for defamation and won, while the other case was dropped. Because these two painters weren’t very famous, it didn’t gain much traction online.”

“This person is a habitual offender?” Xin Ruofan sneered. She somewhat doubted the intelligence of the mastermind behind this, to find a habitual offender to do their dirty work.

“Yes, actually, this matter isn’t difficult to handle.”

First, Teng Lin’s studio would issue a clarification, explaining Teng Lin’s difficult circumstances back then. They would find her early exhibition works from before she changed her style. On the other side, the team would be responsible for guiding public opinion, shifting the focus to Teng Lin’s past struggles. Then, they would arrange for other marketing accounts to spread news of painter Simon’s “scams” to lower the credibility of the defamatory article. After that, they could arrange for internet trolls and casual users to help share the clarification. As the saying goes, “Slander takes one mouth, but refuting it breaks legs.” The subsequent tedious work involved massive shares and comments to dilute the incident.

To their surprise, as soon as this incident ended, Teng Lin’s previously announced collaboration project with a certain overseas brand was quickly officially announced. Xiao Yuan’s photography studio also seized on this wave of popularity, releasing her personal photography collection. The “Blood Bath” series of photos received immense attention, and even the subject of the photos, Xin Ruofan, gained a significant boost in popularity.

Not only was Teng Lin’s reputation not ruined, but her value doubled, and the worth of her artworks increased several times over.

“Did we just turn things around?”

The assistant found it incredible. Just a short while ago, she was caught in the anxiety of having no work. In just a few days, they received a flood of project negotiation requests. Xin Ruofan smiled. “How can we be just turning things around? We’re seizing the opportunity and rising to the challenge.”

However, a faint worry lingered in her heart. She felt that the situation had resolved too smoothly. Aside from being caught a little off guard at the beginning, every step afterward proceeded very smoothly. She had even anticipated what counterattacks the other party might launch next, but the matter was simply resolved like that. Could it be that this entire incident was orchestrated by Zhou Zixuan from beginning to end?

Xin Ruofan quickly dismissed this idea; doing so would be too foolish and obvious. But one thing she had to admit: Zhou Zixuan’s capabilities were stronger than she had imagined.

It seemed a meeting was definitely necessary.