Lin Xi cheerfully left Shen Heng's office and went back to Xia Chen who got bored very quickly. Lin Xi decided to go shopping since he didn't have any child size clothing for Xia Chen. For the past few days, he had been giving the boy his old clothing. Shen Jin only had limited clothes and the original body had been wearing the same thing for years that they were tearing and worn out.
After going through a few stores, he bought a couple of bags that were filled to the brim. Walking down the street, Lin Xi saw something that caught his eye. The window across the street had a mannequin adorned in a Chinese wedding dress. It was a strapless dress with red and white fabric. The embroidered flowers stood out to him because it was eerily similar to a sketch he saw in Shen Heng's office.
His eyes narrowed as he entered the shop.
"Hello, do you need any help?" One of the employees asked.
"Do you know who designs that dress?" I questioned and pointed to the mannequin on display.
"Oh, you have great eyes. This was specially brought in today by the Logan Company."
"The Logan Company?"
"It's an uprising fashion brand located in Europe. They recently created a branch in China under the control of a talented individual."
The worker continued to praise the person for ten minutes before Lin Xi couldn't take it anymore and interrupted, "So, who is this talented individual?"
"I'm not sure because he has never taken any interviews and his real name isn't ever posted under his designs. His clothing is usually under the pseudonym, "V." He hasn't appeared in public, so no one knows how he looks like."
As she continued to chatter on about the mysterious designer, Lin Xi went to have a closer look at the dress on the mannequin. Scrutinizing the dress, he was able to see some details that weren't in the original sketch. If someone didn't look closely, they can mistaken Shen Heng's sketch as this one.
Lin Xi went into deep thought before leaving to go back to the company. He allowed Xia Chen to look through all the clothes they bought while he stormed into Shen Heng's room.
"Hey Shen Heng, I need to see-"
Lin Xi opened the door but didn't expect two men to be in the room having a meeting with Shen Heng. Three pairs of eyes stared at him as he awkwardly backed out of the room.
"Er...sorry, I'll come back-"
He was stopped by his lover, "Jin come in."
Lin Xi listened to him and sat directly across from Shen Heng. The other two men continued their conversation about the fashion show that was happening in two weeks. They spread out all the drawings and plans out on the table. Lin Xi took a glimpse and recognized the sketch that was very similar to the one on the mannequin. He picked it up and observed the details.
Shen Heng noticed Lin Xi's actions and told him that the dress had already been made and ready to be displayed on the fashion show. Lin Xi quickly expressed interest in seeing it in person and his lover complied with his demands. They entered a room filled with people running from one place to another and fabric scattered everywhere. In the back, mannequins had different types of dresses, suits, and clothing on them.
Lin Xi was able to see the specific Chinese wedding dress stand out. The color scheme was almost the same as the one he saw in the shop. There was a slight difference in the embroidered flowers. Without a good eye, one wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the one from the shop and this one.
"Who designed this?" Lin Xi anxiously asked.
"Do you like it?.... I made the initial sketches." Shen Heng answered as if he was embarrassed.
Lin Xi frowned because it was clear that someone stole Shen Heng's idea and actually put it out on the market before his lover did.
Thinking that Shen Jin was interested in his designs, Shen Heng told him more.
"The dress is going to be the centerpiece of the fashion show."
Lin Xi didn't continue listening to his lover and pulled him by his tie allowing them to meet at eye level.
"Shut up and just tell me who else saw the initial drawing."
System 1314: Host, don't act OOC!
Lin Xi sighed. His true personality was coming out due to the anxiety. Someone was definitely plotting against his lover. He didn't have time to think about the OOC restriction.
At the same time, Shen Heng was loving Lin Xi's attitude towards him. If they weren't in a room filled with people, he would have pulled Shen Jin into his embrace and taken advantage of this situation.
"Jin, you're so forward." Shen Heng's hands wandered dangerously near Lin Xi's butt.
Lin Xi thought that his lover's mind was always filled with perverted things.
"Brother, quickly tell me," Despite acting serious, Shen Heng had fallen for his charms.
If Lin Xi told him to jump off a bridge, he would definitely do it. Eventually, Shen Heng got a list of names that had access to the sketch. There were a total of ten people along with a folder containing their background checks. His lover wouldn't hire someone without making sure they had the qualifications. Flipping through all the pages, Lin Xi didn't find anything distinctive.
Shen Heng was confused by Shen Jin's actions and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"There's a spy in your company. Your design was stolen." Lin Xi answered with seriousness.
Before his lover could reply, Lin Xi dragged him out to where the dress was displayed. When Shen Heng saw the dress, his eyes widened visibly, and coldness began exuding out of him.
—————
Back at the house, Lin Xi was cooking dinner in anger. After showing Shen Heng that his design was stolen, his lover forced Xia Chen and him to go home. Shen Heng claimed that he would figure everything out even though Lin Xi was the one who found the evidence.
Ignoring his lover's words, Lin Xi called out to the system.
Lin Xi: System, do you know who "V" is?
System 1314: In the original plot, after Shen Jin suicided, the Logan Company began rising in popularity and became a big competitor to the Shen Heng and his company. Due to unexplained consequences, "V" dropped out of the fashion show last minute. Even in the original plot, there is no description of who "V" is.
Lin Xi: Wait, is the fashion show you mentioned, the upcoming one that has Shen Heng's dress as the centerpiece?
System 1314: Yes.
After the system's confirmation, Lin Xi frowned in displeasure. The system continued to give Lin Xi bad news.
System 1314: In addition, there was never any news about any sketches being stolen.
Lin Xi: Hmmm, it must be my interference in this world. Shen Jin wasn't even supposed to be alive at this time period.
As Lin Xi continued to contemplate about the plot, he finished cooking dinner. Looking at the time, he noticed it was still early, so he went to take a relaxing bath with Xia Chen. In the middle of a bubble bath, Lin Xi had a realization that Xia Chen might be his clue. Without Lin Xi protecting the little boy, he should have been dead.
Suddenly, a scream broke the peaceful atmosphere. Lin Xi quickly left the bathroom with Xia Chen. More yells echoed throughout the house as Lin Xi glanced around the room to find a weapon. All he saw was the piles of messes everywhere. With the noise increasing and multiple footsteps approaching the door, Lin Xi pushed Xia Chen into the messy closet.
In a quiet voice, Lin Xi spoke, "Don't come out until I say so."
The boy's panicked eyes and quivering body wanted to protest but Lin Xi shushed him and closed the closet doors. Just as they closed, two men forced their way into his room. With no weapon, Lin Xi wasn't afraid and glared at the intruders.
"Where is the boy?" One of the men questioned in broken Chinese. Lin Xi noticed that both men were not of Chinese descent.
When the man saw that Lin Xi was not answering, he began to get angry and wanted to march up to him. Just when he took a step, his partner held out his hand stopping him from continuing.
"Wait, don't do anything rash," The man warned the other.
"We already failed once. We need to get the kid this time."
Lin Xi heard their conversation and knew they were speaking in English. They were the same men who attempted to kidnap Xia Chen a few days ago. The man approached Lin Xi with the intention of capturing him.
"Where is the boy?" He asked again, but with no response, his patience disappeared and wanted to grab Lin Xi.
Lin Xi gracefully dodged and tried to fight back. He threw a punch, but the man quickly caught it. Lin Xi forgot that his body was as weak as a twig while his opponent was all muscle.