134: Chapter 134 The Mystery of the Presentation Meeting

Chapter 132: Doubts at the Presentation Meeting

At 10:40 AM, the business van carrying the Company Name team pulled into the parking lot of Liquan Group.

General Manager Zhao Qiming led the other five people to the lobby reception desk. Yu Peishan was on duty. Looking up, she saw the Company Name people approaching and swept her gaze over them—six familiar faces, but the person who had been coming by to chat with her recently was missing.

She withdrew her gaze, verified the information in a business-like manner, and then had someone escort them to the lounge.

Afterward, she sent a message to Qiao Yichen: "Why didn't you come over today?"

Qiao Yichen replied quickly: "I'm not following this project anymore, so I didn't come."

Yu Peishan replied with an "Oh," feeling inexplicably empty inside.

The presentation meeting for Company Name was scheduled for 1:00 PM.

Director Liu was worried that coming back after lunch would be too rushed, so she communicated with Liquan Group in advance. The other party agreed to let them arrive early and even provided them with a separate lounge.

After the group sat down, Director Liu checked the time; it was almost 11:00 AM.

She broke the silence: "We still have time. Chen Mochi, go over the proposal one last time. Everyone else, check if there are any issues. If everything is fine, take a good rest after lunch."

She looked at General Manager Zhao Qiming.

General Manager Zhao Qiming nodded: "Let's do as Director Liu said. Going over it one more time now will make us feel more confident when we go on stage later."

Meanwhile, at the Planning Department of Company Name.

Qiao Yichen found himself with some free time.

He leaned back in his chair, his mind still replaying the two conversations from earlier. If things went as expected, Director Zhang He and Vice President Wang Yiming should have already made their moves.

Vice President Wang Yiming was a vice president, on the same level as Li Fan, and had the authority to review the initial drafts of projects handled by Li Fan. He had specifically emphasized the word "plagiarism." As long as Vice President Wang Yiming wasn't stupid, he would definitely check the scoring records of the initial drafts and compare the content of the initial drafts from each company.

As for Director Zhang He, although he didn't have that much authority, he was a subordinate of Li Fan and spent every day in the same department, so he might have access to more than one would think. Moreover, having been suppressed for so long, he had been holding in a lot of frustration.

Two people in different positions were exerting pressure from two different angles. One was investigating from above, and the other was watching from below. Even if Li Fan had immense capability, he wouldn't be able to withstand this pincer attack.

He took out his phone to check the time and switched to that WeChat alt account. Both chat boxes were still quiet.

"No rush," he told himself.

At 1:00 PM sharp, the Company Name team entered the conference room on time.

Director Liu sat in the observer's section, her gaze sweeping over the judges opposite—Li Fan sat in the center, flipping through materials with an expressionless face. Beside him were people from the Marketing Department, along with a few faces she didn't recognize. Vice President Wang Yiming was also there, sitting in a corner with a notebook in his hand.

Chen Mochi took a deep breath, walked to the front of the stage, and opened the PowerPoint.

"Good afternoon, judges. I am Chen Mochi from Company Name. Today, I will present the second draft proposal we have created for the Sweet Spring project—"

The core direction of the proposal had not changed; since the initial draft passed, it meant the general direction was correct. The past two weeks were mainly spent deepening the existing foundation: refining packaging design, polishing brand positioning, distilling core selling points, planning communication channels, and projecting execution rhythm.

Chen Mochi spoke with dedication; his pace was neither fast nor slow, and he would pause at key points to allow for reflection. The PowerPoint flipped page after page, from visuals to strategy, from communication to execution, progressing layer by layer.

Fifty minutes later, the last slide was shown.

"That concludes everything we have prepared for the Sweet Spring project. Thank you, judges, for your time."

Applause broke out; it wasn't enthusiastic, but it was polite enough. Li Fan nodded and checked a few boxes on the score sheet in front of him, his expression remaining neutral.

Vice President Wang Yiming sat in the corner. After hearing Chen Mochi's presentation, he lowered his head and wrote a few words in his notebook, looking thoughtful.

After leaving the conference room, Chen Mochi let out a long breath and wiped away the non-existent sweat on his forehead.

"It's over, it's over—" He tugged at his collar, "I'm dying of thirst, I'm going to get some water."

General Manager Zhao Qiming waved his hand: "Go ahead, we'll wait for you in the lounge."

Chen Mochi walked towards the pantry. Just as he turned the corridor, he heard the sound of several people whispering ahead.

"—Brother Zhao, you should strengthen this part; you don't need to go into too much detail about the budget—"

"—Right, look at that company from just now, that packaging design—"

Chen Mochi's footsteps faltered. Subconsciously, he lightened his steps and slowly approached.

In the pantry, three people were huddled together, holding documents and discussing something in low voices. One of them had their back to the door and was flipping through a stack of printed documents.

Chen Mochi stood at the corner, listening intently. Fragmented words drifted over—

"Visual positioning—"

"Core selling points—"

"Communication rhythm—"

A chill ran down his back.

Why were these terms so familiar?

He held his breath and listened a bit more. The more he listened, the more wrong it felt—how could the content of their discussion be so similar to their Company Name proposal?

The three people chatted a bit more, then walked out with their documents.

Chen Mochi sidestepped behind the wall and waited until they were far away before quietly following them.

The three people walked to the lounge area, sat down on the sofa in the northeast corner, and continued discussing with their heads down.

Chen Mochi clearly saw the Qichen Media employee badges hanging on their chests.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Chen Mochi practically jogged all the way back to the lounge.

General Manager Zhao Qiming and Director Liu were whispering about something. Seeing him rush back with a pale face, they were both stunned.

"What's wrong?" General Manager Zhao Qiming frowned.

Chen Mochi lowered his voice and recounted everything he had heard and seen. By the end, his voice was trembling: "General Manager Zhao Qiming, Director Liu, the things they were discussing are very similar to our proposal in many places."

General Manager Zhao Qiming's brows furrowed even deeper. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "Could it just be a coincidence? For projects like this, sometimes it's normal for ideas to align—"

Director Liu looked at him, knowing full well.

Qiao Yichen had told her before about the plagiarism by Qichen Company—and it wasn't just a guess; there was evidence.

But she couldn't say this directly. She needed a reasonable excuse, a justification for questioning that could be presented in a public setting.

Now, that excuse had delivered itself to her doorstep.

"General Manager Zhao Qiming," she began, her tone calm, "I remember you have a friend working at Sweet Spring, right?"

General Manager Zhao Qiming nodded: "Yes, in the Brand Department. We have a decent relationship."

Director Liu looked at him, not finishing her sentence: "Could you ask him to help check later? It would be best if it's not the case, but if it really is—"

She paused, leaving the rest unsaid.

General Manager Zhao Qiming understood. He sighed and nodded: "Alright, I'll go ask later."

One hour later, at 2:40 PM.

Qichen Company team entered the conference room.

Director was walking at the very front, wearing a crisp suit with a confident smile on his face. Behind him followed several people carrying laptops and folders.

Vice President Wang Yiming sat in the corner, his gaze fixed on Director.

The presentation began.

Director went on stage himself, flipping through the PowerPoint page by page. He spoke fluently; every pause was perfectly timed, and every image was exquisite and beautiful.

The more Vice President Wang Yiming listened, the more intrigued he became, eventually smiling.

Fifty minutes later, the presentation by Qichen Company ended.

Applause broke out. Director smiled and nodded toward the judges' panel, then led his team out of the conference room.

General Manager Zhao Qiming watched the Qichen Company team come out, stood up, took his phone to the corner, and made a call.

Director Liu watched him without saying a word.

A few minutes later, General Manager Zhao Qiming returned, his expression not looking good.

"I asked," he lowered his voice, "my friend said that from a professional perspective, the two proposals do indeed have many overlapping areas. It's not just him; there are others internally who find it strange."