129: Chapter 129 Review and Planning

Chapter 127: Review and Layout

Friday, May 23, 2025. Moderate rain, 19~24℃.

When Qiao Yichen opened his eyes, the sky outside the window was not yet fully light.

He reached for his phone and took a glance—6:00 AM sharp. It was an hour earlier than his alarm. Beside him, Liu Yanran was sleeping soundly, her breathing steady, with one hand resting on his waist.

He gently moved her hand away, threw on some clothes, and walked out of the bedroom quietly.

At the living room balcony, he pushed open the glass door, and the sound of the rain instantly became clear. Fine threads of rain drifted in diagonally, hitting the railing and splashing into tiny droplets. He lit a cigarette, leaned against the railing, and looked out at the grey sky.

His mind was incredibly clear.

He closed his eyes, and those few lines of cold, glowing blue text surfaced in his field of vision: [Intelligence 2]

Sun Wei (Qichen Media) is engaging in unfair competition in the "Sweet Spring Project":

On May 13, Sun Wei obtained the core content of Liu Yanran's team's first draft proposal (strategic direction, creative concept) through Li Fan, a judge from the Liquan Group, and is currently adjusting his own second-round proposal based on it.

On May 14, Sun Wei transferred 300,000 yuan to the account of Li Fan's wife, "Wang Li," with the remark "consultation fee."

300,000.

Qiao Yichen stared at this number and slowly began to calculate.

Sun Wei was a Director at an advertising company; his salary for over half a year was only about that much. Would he pay it out of his own pocket? It was impossible—he wasn't stupid. Why would he spend so much money when the biggest beneficiary wasn't himself?

Therefore, this 300,000 could only have come from Qichen.

So why would the company pay this money?

He took a puff of his cigarette and continued his deduction.

For this Sweet Spring project, eight advertising companies were shortlisted for the second draft. He had heard Liu Yanran say before that as long as they made it to the final round—the top three—it was equivalent to being linked with Sweet Spring. Subsequent projects, resources, and reputation would all be tangible benefits. Advertising companies would fight tooth and nail for such long-term cooperation opportunities.

Moreover, the boss placed extreme importance on this project. The deadline for the initial draft had been suddenly shortened before, and Liu Yanran had transferred all the company's senior planners to help out precisely because the higher-ups were watching closely.

There was a saying in the advertising circle: landing one big client can sustain you for three years. With a group of Sweet Spring's size, once a partnership was established, subsequent projects could be lined up until next year.

So Qichen's goal was clear: get into the top three.

They didn't necessarily have to take first place, but they had to be in the top three.

How to ensure a spot in the top three? The proposal had to be good enough.

How to make the proposal good enough? The simplest and most direct way: copy a strong one, combine it with one's own original ideas, and produce an "upgraded version."

Who to copy?

He stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and lit another one.

Among the eight companies, four were top-tier 4A agencies. Those international big names were too strong and had too much backing; copying them was suicidal—once exposed, the other party could sue Qichen into bankruptcy and drive them out of the industry. 4A legal departments were no pushovers; if things really got heated, Qichen's reputation would be ruined.

The other four were mid-sized advertising companies like a company name. Excluding a company name and Qichen itself, the remaining two were, frankly, just there to make up the numbers. Copy them? Even if they made the top three, they wouldn't be able to hold it; the quality of the proposal wouldn't keep up, and they'd be exposed later anyway.

So the only one that was truly a threat, worth copying, and affordable to copy was a company name.

Their strengths were comparable, copying them would yield results, and the risk was within a controllable range.

Furthermore, Qichen and a company name already had an old grudge. The first project he followed right after transmigrating—the Xianbai Company project—was won by a company name over Qichen. Qiao Yichen was also promoted because of that project. That loss was humiliating, and Sun Wei surely remembered it.

The company might not want to turn the page either. A competitor was a competitor; if you could suppress them, why wouldn't you?

Then there was Liu Yanran.

The corner of Qiao Yichen's mouth twitched. Sun Wei's feelings for Liu Yanran—he had heard he pursued her before, and combined with that time he drugged her in the bar, it was obvious. Since he couldn't have the person, he wanted to crush her in the project. He wouldn't pass up that kind of twisted satisfaction.

And thinking carefully, there was another advantage to Sun Wei choosing a company name: if anything happened later, Li Fan could help cover for him on the judging panel. When scoring, he could give a slight boost to one side and suppress a company name's score a bit; with that back and forth, the gap would appear.

Four lines intersected: controllable risk, comparable strength, old grudges, and personal desire, plus a judge to safeguard the process.

a company name became the most suitable choice.

So Qichen provided the money, Sun Wei executed the plan, and they bribed Li Fan to get a company name's initial draft. Then they combined Qichen's own proposal with a company name's ideas—originally, after removing the two filler companies, it was six competing for three spots, a fifty percent chance of advancing. After taking the best of both worlds, how much could the probability increase? Sixty? Seventy?

With Li Fan's help on the judging panel, a seventy percent certainty was likely.

Using a mere 300,000 to buy a seventy percent chance of getting into the top three.

A very good deal.

Qiao Yichen leaned against the railing. The fine rain drifted onto his face, feeling cool and refreshing.

He looked down at his phone—6:45 AM.

The rain was still falling.

He pushed open the balcony door and walked back into the living room. The house was warm and cozy, a different world from the cold dampness outside.

A slight movement came from the master bedroom. Liu Yanran turned over and called out dizzily, "Yichen?"

He walked over, sat down by the bed, and reached out to brush the stray hairs from her forehead.

"Awake?"

She squinted at him, her voice thick with sleep: "Where did you go?"

"Had a cigarette." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Sleep a bit longer, it's still early."

Liu Yanran gave an "mm" and curled into his arms.

Qiao Yichen lay down and pulled her into his embrace. She soon fell back asleep, her breathing steady, her body softly pressed against him.

He kept his eyes open, staring at the ceiling, his mind still working.

The problem now was how to deliver the knife into the hands of Vice President Wang Yiming and Director Zhang He.

There were only a few days left until next Monday.

Vice President Wang Yiming was Li Fan's arch-rival; they had been fighting for the same Vice President position for several years. Having stayed in big companies in his past life, he had seen plenty of struggles at this level—upon receiving anonymous materials, Vice President Wang Yiming's first reaction would definitely not be to report it with great fanfare, but to first investigate secretly himself.

He would go through the projects Li Fan handled, check the scoring records for the Sweet Spring second draft, and might even pull out the scores for the initial draft for comparison. As long as he found an anomaly, he would have the confidence to pass it up the chain.

Director Zhang He was even simpler.

A subordinate whose position was snatched by Li Fan, he had fire in his heart. For someone like this, giving him a message and agitating him a bit would make him cooperate out of his own self-interest.

After all, this was a great opportunity to pull Li Fan down. He might not have the guts to jump out and report it, but secretly passing internal information or lighting a fire would be no problem.

An arch-rival of the same rank, and a subordinate who wanted to make a comeback.

These two people were carefully prepared by him for Li Fan.

When the chain reaction hit—Li Fan's bribery exposed—Sun Wei's plagiarism certainly wouldn't be hidden either. As for Qichen, let alone protecting Sun Wei, they would probably distance themselves immediately and shift all the blame onto him.

Perfect.

The only thing was, what method should be used to get the materials into their hands?

Express delivery? Anonymous email? Or find a middleman—

Just as he was thinking, the alarm on the bedside table rang.

7:00 AM sharp.

Liu Yanran frowned and turned over, reaching out to turn off the alarm. Just as she was about to close her eyes and continue sleeping, her nose twitched, and her frown deepened.

"You smoked?"

Qiao Yichen turned his head to look at her and nodded: "Yeah, just went to the balcony for a few."

Liu Yanran glanced at him, her tone indifferent but clearly carrying a hint of disdain: "Smoke less."

Qiao Yichen leaned closer to her, pressing against her face, and replied with a smile: "Alright."

Liu Yanran pushed him away in disgust, her face scrunched up, her voice still carrying the nasal tone of someone who just woke up: "Ugh—stay away from me, you smell like it."

After saying that, she lifted the quilt and got out of bed.

Qiao Yichen followed her with a laugh, and the two of them entered the bathroom one after the other.

Standing side by side in front of the mirror, they squeezed toothpaste, filled cups with water, and brushed their teeth, their movements as synchronized as if they had rehearsed.

Liu Yanran glanced at him in the mirror, her toothbrush still in her mouth, as she mumbled something illegible.

Qiao Yichen didn't hear her clearly, but judging from her expression, she was likely still complaining about the smell of smoke on him.

He smiled and continued brushing his teeth.

Outside the window, the rain was still falling.