Chapter 315 – My Dear CEO Wife – The Female Lead’s Acting Skills (15)
Overall, the press conference was a success. Wen Changhe and Bai Tang publicly announced their relationship, and the two walked out of the venue hand in hand, openly drawing a flurry of camera flashes from the reporters behind them.
Wen Changhe smiled as he held Bai Tang’s hand, leaving amidst envious glances.
With the boy’s identity now revealed, the reporters wouldn’t miss the chance for a headline story and began digging into his background.
Meanwhile, Zu Shuang—recommended by Wen Changrou—had joined a new design team to prepare for an upcoming international competition.
As graduation approached, Qiu’er reminded Xiao A, “Tang Tang needs to go back to school around this time to complete the graduation procedures.”
The prerequisite for completing them was submitting a graduation project and thesis. Given Bai Tang’s previous inability to speak, his advisor had applied for an exemption from the oral defense. Bai Tang only needed to submit his design and return to school to collect his graduation certificate on time.
However, Bai Tang’s graduation project had already been stolen and used by Zu Shuang. If he submitted it now, wouldn’t it be identical?
Qiu’er said, “He should submit it! The female lead’s advisor and Tang Tang’s advisor aren’t the same person. When the final submissions are tallied, if they find identical work and expose her plagiarism, that would be truly satisfying…”
Every designer has their own style and habits when creating their work. Every one of Bai Tang’s design drafts includes a distinctive “T” element—something his advisor is well aware of. If this comes to light, Zu Shuang will be in serious trouble.
No sooner said than done, Bai Tang submitted his design draft, waiting to see Zu Shuang humiliated upon his return to school.
Since Wen Changhe and Bai Tang went public with their relationship, people had begun to notice a new trait of the Wen Group president—he loved to flaunt his partner.
Weibo posts like “Tang Tang made me a mousse cake today,” “Tang Tang and I bathed the family dog,” and “Caught eating snacks late at night” were practically blinding to the public’s eyes. “Lemons on the lemon tree, you and me under the lemon tree”—that perfectly summed up how netizens felt watching this couple.
“Did you eat lemons today?” became a daily question and a shared tear of envy.
Today was the day Bai Tang went back to school to collect his graduation certificate. Wen Changhe drove his darling to the school gate and asked once more, “Are you sure you don’t need me to come in with you?”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Bai Tang kissed Wen Changhe’s cheek and said in his sweet, childlike voice, “No need, I can do it myself.”
He couldn’t rely on his husband for everything. There were some things he wanted to handle on his own. It was just collecting a graduation certificate—surely he could manage that small matter himself.
Wen Changhe sighed almost imperceptibly. “Okay, I’ll wait for you here.”
The boy nodded. “Okay, I’m off~”
He opened the car door, got out, and walked toward the school gate.
Many students were returning to campus, and numerous cars were parked outside the entrance. Most belonged to parents of graduating students, dropping off their children to collect diplomas and pack up their belongings to take home.
Bai Tang came from a poor family and had very little luggage; one suitcase was enough. Wen Changhe had told him to throw away any remaining personal items. If Bai Tang hadn’t insisted on keeping them, even the few clothes left in the dormitory might have been discarded.
Most of the returning students were all smiles. Some had already found new jobs, while others were simply happy to graduate. A few, however, couldn’t hold back their tears. Graduation meant separation. They said they would meet again, but once everyone entered the workforce and scattered across the country, when would there be time to reunite? Perhaps today’s meeting was their final farewell.
Wen Changrou and Zu Shuang had arrived at school before Bai Tang and were taking commemorative photos with their classmates.
Out of consideration for Wen Changrou—and seeing Zu Shuang sidling up to them—they couldn’t very well refuse her. They could only smile and pose for pictures, thinking this was probably the last time they’d have to deal with Zu Shuang anyway.
With that thought, their smiles brightened, and the school path was filled with youthful energy.
Click! A photo was taken, and just then the girls spotted Bai Tang returning. They all rushed over and pulled him into the picture.
Bai Tang was popular among the girls. He was shy and easily embarrassed, but kind and approachable, and most of the girls liked him. However, he usually kept to himself and didn’t interact much with others.
Now that graduation was near, it was natural for male and female classmates to take pictures together.
Bai Tang cooperated with the girls, looking at the camera with a gentle, shy smile that made the girls—who loved cute things—squeal in delight. Some couldn’t resist even reaching out to pinch his cheeks.
It feels even better than I expected—what a steal!
Bai Tang was Wen Changrou’s future brother-in-law, so of course she wasn’t happy seeing the girls take advantage of him like that.
She joined in the fun, using the pose of taking a photo to subtly shield Bai Tang.
“Brother-in-law, give me a smile.” Wen Changrou lifted the selfie stick and called out affectionately.
“Changrou, what did you just call him?”
“Brother-in-law.”
Not everyone paid attention to the gossip surrounding the Wen Group, even though it had recently trended on social media. For designers, working overtime was the norm; or they were newcomers focused on gaining experience and learning from their seniors. As a result, some people were unaware of the relationship between Wen Changhe and Bai Tang.
“I know this! I found it!” one of the girls shouted excitedly, holding up her phone. She had seen the photo of Wen Changhe and Bai Tang together.
While everyone was gathered around gossiping, Wen Changrou cleverly led Bai Tang away from the group of girls.
“Brother-in-law, wasn’t I clever?!” Wen Changrou never hid her true nature from her own people. At this moment, she was nothing like the poised Vice President of the Wen Group who had been honing her skills and beginning to exude a queen-like aura.
Ever since Wen Changhe had imposed his “devilish training” plan on Wen Changrou, no one in the Wen family had truly cared for her. Even when she was exhausted, no one offered a helping hand. Wen’s father had initially provided some guidance, but that, too, eventually stopped. Only Bai Tang had shown her concern, often speaking up for her whenever Wen Changhe was overly harsh about her work—even arguing with him on her behalf.
Wen Changhe was naturally defeated by Bai Tang and thus became Wen Changrou’s “protector” within the Wen family.
“Rou Rou is so smart~” The boy’s eyes crinkled as he patted Wen Changrou’s head approvingly.
Without Wen Changrou, Zu Shuang was completely ignored; no one approached her.
Watching Wen Changrou and Bai Tang interact, Zu Shuang seethed with jealousy.
When had Wen Changrou and Bai Tang become so close?
Lost in thought, Zu Shuang was suddenly interrupted by the class monitor’s voice behind her.
“Zu Shuang, the teacher wants to see you in the office.”
The monitor’s tone wasn’t too loud or too soft—just enough for everyone nearby to hear.
Zu Shuang felt a surge of pride under their curious gazes.
Her graduation project had been praised by her advisor, who had said it would be sent for review. Maybe this was to inform her of the results.
She glanced smugly at Bai Tang, only to find that he wasn’t even looking her way.
Zu Shuang said in a soft, sweet voice, “Thank you, class monitor. I’ll go right now. It’s probably about the design review. The advisor said my design was quite good…”
The more she said this, the more curious everyone became.
Finally, as Zu Shuang walked toward the office, a group of little followers trailed after her.
Everyone has a gossipy streak. Since they had time to spare, they figured they might as well see what was going on. They were all familiar with Zu Shuang’s previous design work, and frankly, none of them believed it was good enough to win an award.
Upon entering the office, the professor slammed two design drafts onto the desk.
“Zu Shuang, take a look. What’s the difference between these two designs?”
Judging from the professor’s expression and tone, this wasn’t about any award at all—it was clearly something else entirely.
Outside, the students craned their necks toward the office, waiting eagerly to see what would happen next.
Zu Shuang froze for a moment, then compared the two design drafts. They were identical—completely indistinguishable.
Just as she was wondering what was going on, she caught sight of the bottom right corner of the draft on her right. The signature read Bai Tang. A fleeting look of panic flashed across her face, but she quickly forced herself to appear calm again.
Although she tried to regain her composure, her brief change of expression did not escape her tutor’s notice.
He felt a surge of disappointment and anger. He had thought he’d found a promising student, but it turned out her work was plagiarized—and she even seemed determined to deny it.
Sure enough, just as her tutor had predicted, Zu Shuang refused to admit the truth and even turned things around, accusing others instead.
“How… how can they be exactly the same? Why is Bai Tang’s design draft identical to mine? What’s going on?” Zu Shuang exclaimed, feigning surprise.
The tutor’s tone was icy. “What’s going on? Don’t you already know?”
“I submitted my graduation project a long time ago, Teacher. When did Bai Tang submit his? He even borrowed my computer before…” Zu Shuang’s explanation grew increasingly far-fetched.
At the next desk, Mr. Li, who was Bai Tang’s graduation advisor, could no longer stay silent.
It was Mr. Li who had first discovered the two identical designs while reviewing the students’ submissions. After thorough comparison, he found that Zu Shuang’s graduation design was completely inconsistent with her previous style—yet it matched Bai Tang’s usual design habits perfectly.
Since Bai Tang had submitted his work late, Mr. Li had questioned him about it. In response, Bai Tang quietly provided solid evidence proving that Zu Shuang’s graduation project was not her own creation.
Mr. Li said sternly, “Zu Shuang, taking someone else’s work without permission is stealing. You stole Bai Tang’s graduation design—don’t you feel any shame?”
Zu Shuang staggered back two steps, tears welling in her eyes. “I didn’t! This is my own design! I was the one who submitted it first! Why are you accusing me of plagiarizing Bai Tang instead of saying that Bai Tang plagiarized me?”
Watching from nearby, Qiu’er ground his teeth and hissed, “Shameless! This so-called female lead is truly something else!”
Meanwhile, Xiao A lifted his camera and began recording the entire dramatic scene.