"But the competition cannot be without limits," Shen Qingqing glanced at the date on her phone. "Today is September 12th, exactly at 12 PM. In 24 hours, you must simultaneously submit a proposal. Any questions?"
Lin Mo was the first to reply, "No problem at all. I'll go back and tell my teammates right away."
Zhao Xi, not to be outdone, immediately ran out.
For the next 24 hours, the company fell into an unprecedented quiet and harmony. Everyone was diligently working on their tasks.
However, the underlying tension grew thicker.
Every day, as Shen Qingqing passed by the office area on her way to work, she could feel the palpable, almost explosive atmosphere.
By noon the next day, Shen Qingqing, Fu Jing Shu, and several major shareholders arrived at the conference room on time. The project presentation was scheduled for 12 PM, but they waited for nearly half an hour, and Lin Mo and his team hadn't shown up.
Zhao Xi did arrive, and he brought his team's project proposal.
The shareholders found the proposal to be quite good.
"Are Lin Mo and his team coming or not? Have they given up on the competition?"
"They're already 40 minutes late!"
"Don't they have any sense of time for important matters!"
The shareholders expressed their dissatisfaction.
Zhao Xi, adding fuel to the fire, chimed in, "If I were this late, I wouldn't even bother showing up. Such an important competition, and they're late! They clearly don't take this competition or the shareholders seriously!"
Everyone's expression grew increasingly grim.
Some with short tempers slammed the table, "If you don't want to participate, just say so. There's no need to toy with us like this!"
Zhao Xi said sarcastically, "It seems they lack confidence in their proposal and are afraid to come. It's a pity for the shareholders who came to the company so early. What a bother for you all."
One was conspicuously absent, while the other was eloquent and had presented a proposal that satisfied everyone. Although the results weren't announced yet, the scales in everyone's hearts had already begun to tip.
Zhao Xi secretly rejoiced.
He knew he had won.
Just then, the conference room door burst open with a bang!
Lin Mo stumbled in, out of breath. "I'm so sorry. I got stuck in traffic for too long. I was running here with the documents."
His clothes and hair were dishevelled, and a fine sheen of sweat dotted his forehead.
Despite his dishevelled state, the shareholders were still unhappy. Someone said, "Since you knew how important today's competition was, you should have left earlier!"
Lin Mo didn't offer much explanation. He bowed politely and apologized, "It's my fault. I've caused trouble for everyone. Now, please review my proposal."
He distributed his documents to the shareholders.
As the shareholders read the contents, their expressions varied. Lin Mo, who had been full of confidence, now felt a pang of anxiety. Their expressions didn't look good.
The document was tossed onto the table with a soft thud. Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. "What do you all think of my proposal?"
A shareholder snorted, "What can a plagiarized proposal be like?"
Another person said meaningfully, "Lin Mo, you're not new to the workplace. You should know that plagiarism is a major taboo. Besides, who would be so blatant as to copy someone else's proposal?"
Lin Mo's eyelids twitched. He lunged forward to grab the document and open it. It was indeed their content, and it hadn't been swapped.
"We absolutely did not plagiarize. This project content is the result of a day and a night's work, the culmination of all our effort."
"You should look at their proposal."
Lin Mo glanced at Zhao Xi and happened to catch a faint smile on his face. His heart leaped, and he quickly grabbed the document to examine it.
The content was strikingly similar to his own proposal!
Lin Mo wasn't foolish. He understood the situation almost immediately. The other party must have stolen their project proposal and then made some modifications based on it.
This made the proposal appear slightly different, but the core idea and the overall plan were largely the same. The one submitted later would inevitably be accused of plagiarism.
Lin Mo gritted his teeth. "Zhao Xi!"
Zhao Xi, however, seemed even more agitated. "You're something else! You can't come up with a proposal yourself, so you resort to plagiarism. Don't you have any shame?"
Lin Mo, incensed, laughed bitterly. "Who is the one without shame? You know it in your heart!"
"What do you mean?" Zhao Xi furiously retorted. "Are you trying to pin the blame of plagiarism on me? Let me tell you, we submitted our proposal first. We finished it at 6 AM this morning!"
"It's clearly our proposal!" Lin Mo was furious. He hadn't encountered such blatant plagiarism in many years.
Zhao Xi spat, "It's your proposal? Then why didn't you submit it earlier? I think your lateness was deliberate. Because you didn't have a good proposal, you faked being stuck in traffic, deliberately arrived late, submitted a plagiarized version of our proposal, and then tried to frame me!"
The more he spoke, the more logical it sounded to him, and he tried to convince the shareholders.
"Gentlemen, do you think what I'm saying makes sense? The roads were very smooth when I arrived today. There was no traffic jam at all!"
Lin Mo's face turned pale. "You arrived early, of course, there was no traffic!"
"Then why didn't you come earlier?!"
"I did leave early, but I encountered a ruffian on the way, and there was some friction, so..."
Under Zhao Xi's mocking gaze, Lin Mo suddenly understood.
No wonder everything had gone wrong since he left home today.
"It was you, wasn't it?!"
Zhao Xi quickly curled his lips, then put on an expression of outraged anger. "I knew you would try to frame me. You're so wicked!"
Lin Mo sneered and stopped wasting words with him. He turned to the shareholders. "I did not plagiarize."
"You expect us to believe you based on your word?"
Zhao Xi fanned the flames from the side. "Someone as shameless as you who resorts to plagiarism should be kicked out of the company! How dare you still stand here?!"
Shen Qingqing glanced at the hyperactive Zhao Xi and said coldly, "Let's check the surveillance footage."
"Agreed!" Lin Mo readily consented. "We didn't leave the company at all during these 24 hours. I only went home at 6 AM this morning to change clothes. To ensure the security of the project files, I carried them with me at all times. The files remained in the company at all other times."
Once they saw the surveillance footage, it would be clear who had plagiarized.
While waiting for the footage to be retrieved, Shen Qingqing glanced at Zhao Xi.
He appeared remarkably calm.
Shen Qingqing had a vague feeling that the surveillance footage might not go smoothly.
Soon, the person with the footage returned.
As soon as the surveillance video started playing, it went black. The staff member looked bewildered. "How could this happen? The surveillance was fine before!"
Shen Qingqing pushed the person aside and attempted to repair the surveillance video. It seemed the damage had been done deliberately and thoroughly, making it impossible to fix in a short time.
She shook her head at Fu Jing Shu.
Just then, an employee walked in, looking apprehensive and nervous. "I want to report that company secrets have been betrayed."