Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

Yating snatched the phone from her and hastily scrolled through the news. There was an article in the top trending about Sky's accusation. Sky's official social media account posted a statement about how MissImperfectlyFine stole someone's short story and submitted it to Sky.

Sky didn't reveal Ai's identity because Jun didn't want any unnecessary attention on her. But his stand on MissImperfectlyFine was clear.

She was a plagiarizer.

As soon as the post hit the news, the publishing and reading communities were fiercely responding to Sky's accusation. Ai had a decent readers base, and some of her fans were indeed defending her.

But Sky had posted pictures of MissImperfectlyFine's submission alongside Ai's draft which she worked with Jun. The story was exactly the same, and some of Ai's readers were now wavering in their conviction.

"What bullshit is this?" Yating was outraged. "Somebody is defaming Ai! Has Sky gone crazy!?" He banged his palms on the desk and abruptly stood on his feet.

Zhan Yahui folded her arms. "Seriously, Gu Yating? You think Sky would do this to defame Zhou Ai?"

A layer of ice covered his gaze. "Through Zhou Ai, it wants to throw mud at Dream High too. But this is shit! How dare they use Ai for their dirty schemes?"

The door banged open, and Xing Bi dashed in. Huffing and puffing, she was trying to catch her breath. "The news…is a lie," she gasped. "Ai would never plagiarize!"

"I know Ai would never plagiarize," Yating answered without faltering.

Guiying came at the same time. "What is happening!? I just saw the news. Sky is accusing Ai?"

Yating punched his fist on the wall. "Sky has lost it! The hell would Ai even submit any draft to Sky?"

Xing Bi replied after a pause. "That's true actually. Ai was indeed working on some stories to submit to Sky."

Yating blankly stared at her. "What?"

Guiying widened her eyes. "Huh? But Ai works from Dream High."

Zhan Yahui raised her brow. "Oh. Is it because she feels threatened by Guiying that she chose to run away?"

Xing Bi threw her a nasty stare. "Ai is not running away! Why don't you ask this to the management who have been only giving all their promotions to Guiying?" She looked at Guiying. "I am not blaming you for this, Guiying. You are talented, and you deserve all you get."

She curled her fingers and gritted her teeth. "But I believe that Ai can become a great and popular writer if we focus on her too. If Sky can give her that chance, so be it. I will support whatever is required to open that path for her."

Guiying felt she couldn't breathe. "I…"

Zhan Yahui glared at her. "Xing Bi! Are you trying to make Guiying feel guilty?"

"It's not like that, and you know it too. Don't put words in my mouth that I don't mean. And what is the problem anyway? Ai isn't bound with any contract with Dream High," she chuckled. "Isn't it because Dream High sees no value in her so didn't bother to offer her one? Guiying is contracted and has a commitment but not Ai. Dream High has no right over her. She is not obligated in any way!"

Every word pierced Yating's heart akin to sharp arrows.

Ai wanted to leave Dream High?

First, she rejected his confession, and now she wanted to walk out of Dream High too.

Why Ai…?

Yating couldn't understand if it was really because of the lack of opportunities or because of how complicated his, Ai, and Guiying's relationship would become.

Or is it both?

Xing Bi said, "We are not here to discuss why Ai chose Sky. The point is that Ai would never plagiarize! I don't know what's going on, but they are misunderstanding like hell!"

"Or maybe it is really not a misunderstanding, and in desperation, Ai indeed copied someone's work?" Zhan Yahui smiled. "Maybe she feels she has lost her skills, so she had to resort to this. I read the submission Sky posted. I admit the writing styles are similar, but it's really not the same as how Zhou Ai writes. The emotions the story has conveyed is beyond the level Ai can write."

"That's because she is changing! Do you expect writers to be at the same place for their whole lives? Writing is an art. People learn and they improve. They learn to express themselves better. That's what Ai is doing. This doesn't mean that she hasn't written it! It's ridiculous!"

"I agree with Xing Bi," Guiying fiercely nodded. "These charges are really bullshit!"

Zhan Yahui exclaimed. "Guiying! How can you still support her?"

She gravely answered. "I have known Ai since high school. She is a diligent girl. She would never cheat like this. This isn't how she wants to become a successful writer. Ai has principles! She won't break the very foundation of creative art. Plagiarizing."

"You…" she sighed in exasperation. "For God's sake, don't make any statement as CherryBlossom about this. The last thing we want to deal with is people lashing out on you for supporting her. They will think you are a plagiarizer too!"

She glanced at Yating. "We have to take some action against Zhou Ai! Look, how negative publicity we are getting!"

Xing Bi interrupted. "And here you are again trying to push everything up on Ai without even investigating! You did the same thing at Guiying's signing event, and you still didn't learn anything? Do you hate Ai or something?"

"You! As if I have the time to hate her. It's just that problems occur whenever Zhou Ai is there! She was at the center of the commotion that time and now as well."

"It's not her fault if people like you just want to jump to conclusions!"

"Oh and you think the Sky CEO jumped to this conclusion too by accident?"

"Enough!" Yating harshly bellowed his command.

Zhan Yahui and Xing Bi quietened down.

He stared at them one by one. "Leave. I will handle this," His black eyes emitted an eerie iciness. "I will have a word with the Sky CEO."