Chapter 36: Formula Plagiarism

Fu Changqing subtly sniffed the scent strips, observing the exchange of glances between Shen Yue and Lu Yunshang below. He also noticed Lina on stage occasionally checking Lu Yunshang’s reaction, and the grim expressions of Lu Yunshang’s colleagues. He had a pretty good guess. He remembered Lu Yunshang showcasing a perfume themed around love at Master Bai’s house.

Still, as a judge, he gave the perfume a high score of 95. The other judges seemed satisfied as well. Only Master Bai hesitated, her eyes filled with questions as she looked at Lu Yunshang.

“Teacher Bai, you haven’t scored yet,” a female judge beside her reminded.

Master Bai thought for a moment, then picked up her pen and wrote 95.

It was the second company’s turn. After exchanging a glance with Lu Yunshang, Liu Jingting went on stage.

Tiantian reached for the gift bag at her feet to give the judges scent strips, but Lu Yunshang stopped her.

Lu Yunshang handed her own bag. “Use this one. Xiao Ke, help her. There are two bottles; it’s a set.”

Tiantian and Xiao Ke were puzzled but took the bag and went to the judges’ table.

Inside was a large gift box containing two perfume bottles. Tiantian opened it and gave Xiao Ke the bottle with the blue cap, keeping the one with the red cap herself. Both carefully sprayed seven scent strips and distributed them to the judges.

Shen Yue, seeing two bottles, was puzzled. She whispered to Lina beside her, “What’s going on? Why are there two?”

Lina was also confused. “Impossible. Our inside source said there was only one.”

Shen Yue clenched her fist. “Let’s listen to their presentation first.”

Liu Jingting began his presentation as the judges started sniffing. “Hello everyone, I’m Liu Jingting, head of Fangqi Perfume Studio. The product you are currently smelling is created by our perfumer, whose name we will not reveal for now.”

“This is a perfume set. We’re targeting couples – lovers or married couples. Of course, they can be purchased separately without affecting the user experience.”

“We named this series ‘True Love Supreme.’ Our perfumer was inspired by a romantic movie she loves. She says true love is the hardest to find and the most precious thing in the world.”

“She hopes that everyone who buys this product will find their true love.”

“Thank you.”

After Liu Jingting finished, the room fell silent. Lu Yunshang gripped the edge of her chair, her heart pounding.

Suddenly, someone clapped. Lu Yunshang turned to see Master Bai clapping; others followed suit.

Shen Yue’s face was grim.

An hour later, all participating companies had presented their products. The host invited the judges to an adjoining room to discuss the final selection. The others waited.

The waiting was agonizing. Tiantian and Xiao Ke clasped their hands in prayer. Liu Jingting’s forehead was beaded with sweat. Only Lu Yunshang remained calm.

Shen Yue approached. “Miss Lu is quite composed.”

Lu Yunshang glanced up. “Ms. Shen, how should I be?”

Shen Yue was speechless. After glancing at Liu Jingting, she said, “Why didn’t Mr. Liu reveal the perfumer’s name? Isn’t Miss Lu your chief perfumer? Are you not confident? Afraid of losing and embarrassing your perfumer?”

“Ms. Shen, you’re interfering too much,” Fu Hanzhou intervened, staring at Shen Yue. “This is Fu Group, not Shen Group.”

Shen Yue looked at Fu Hanzhou awkwardly. “Young Master Fu…”

“Ms. Shen, please return to your seat. You don’t look like a lady of your status.”

Shen Yue gritted her teeth, glared at Lu Yunshang, and returned to her seat.

Lu Yunshang lowered her eyes, saying nothing. Fu Hanzhou looked at her hesitantly, then returned to his seat.

Liu Jingting turned to Lu Yunshang. “Was Young Master Fu helping you?”

“I don’t know,” Lu Yunshang said indifferently.

Fu Changqing returned with the six judges. The host invited them onto the stage.

“Everyone, please settle down. We’re about to announce the winner. Which company’s product will be Fu Group’s new product? Mr. Fu will announce the results.”

Fu Changqing took the microphone. “‘True Love Supreme’ by Fangqi Perfume Studio. Congratulations! Thank you for providing us with an extraordinary olfactory experience. We believe this perfume will capture the hearts of consumers.”

Tiantian and Xiao Ke jumped for joy. “Yunshang, we did it!”

Liu Jingting patted Lu Yunshang’s shoulder and nodded; words were unnecessary.

Lu Yunshang smiled slightly, relieved.

Shen Yue’s face flushed red. She glared fiercely at Lina. “What’s going on?”

Lina shook her head repeatedly. “Impossible. There must be an inside story. Mr. Fu… he’s so close to Lu Yunshang; he’s the one who decides.”

She abruptly stood up and shouted at the stage, “I want to report!”

Everyone looked at Lina in astonishment.

Lina looked at Lu Yunshang and said slowly, “I report that Fangqi’s perfume formula plagiarized mine. I demand that Mr. Fu handle this fairly and impartially.”

Tiantian and Xiao Ke were furious and wanted to rush over and shut Lina up.

The audience started whispering.

Liu Jingting went on stage, took the microphone from Fu Changqing, and asked Lina, “Ms. Lina, please state your perfume formula.”

Lina looked smug. “Okay. My perfume formula: top notes are violet, magnolia, and lily of the valley; middle notes are peony, jasmine, rose, and gardenia; base notes are iris, amber, and vetiver.”

Liu Jingting smiled slightly. “So, Ms. Lina’s formula is a floral scent.”

Lina rolled her eyes. “Exactly. Now, Mr. Liu, can you tell us your formula?”

Liu Jingting looked at the audience. “Let’s have a colleague from another bidding company smell our perfume. Who would like to help?”

A woman with long hair raised her hand. “I don’t know either company; I’ll smell it.”

The woman went on stage, took the two scent strips from the host, smelled them, and showed an incredulous expression. She smelled them again.

“Ms. Lina, are you sure Fangqi plagiarized your formula?”

Lina was confident. “Yes.”

The woman with long hair chuckled. “Have you smelled Fangqi’s perfume before? Or seen their formula?”

Lina was speechless, stammering, “Someone told me. I can’t reveal who.”

The woman shook her head, smiling. “Your perfume is floral. Fangqi’s two bottles – one is fruity, the other woody. They are completely different formulas. How could it be plagiarism?”

Lina didn’t believe her. She rushed onto the stage, grabbed the perfume from the host, sprayed it on scent strips, and her face turned pale. She muttered,

“Impossible, impossible. The perfume she kept in the company safe wasn’t these two.”

Lu Yunshang stood up. “Ms. Lina, how did you know what perfume I kept in the safe? Oh, right, a few days ago, I noticed someone had moved the perfume in the safe. I thought it was my imagination.”

“It turns out there really was a thief in my perfume studio.”

Lina covered her mouth and looked at Shen Yue for help. “Ms. Shen, I…”

Shen Yue coldly snorted and prepared to leave.

“Ms. Shen,” Liu Jingting stopped her. “You asked who our perfumer was. Her name is Chiyo. Please welcome Ms. Chiyo to the stage.”

Lina turned to Liu Jingting. “Chiyo made this perfume? Not Lu Yunshang? How do you know Chiyo? She disappeared long ago. How could it be her?”