There Was Actually a Third Person at the Scene?!...

The director didn't want them to keep talking about stories from the show either, so he cut in to change the subject. "The client once said that this village has a real treasure: the cloth-making techniques passed down through generations. In the past, its cloth was presented as tribute to the imperial family, and ordinary people rarely had a chance to see it. Even today, it's worth a fortune. Wen Feiran has earned the heir's approval and will be given a bolt of cloth. Afterward, you'll become apprentices at the design institute and make a piece of clothing that truly belongs to you."

When the lid opened and Wen Feiran saw the cloth inside, his eyes filled with shock. A full half minute passed before he came to his senses and reached out to stroke it with trembling hands.

In one of the worlds he had visited during his quick transmigration, his task had been to enter the Shangyi Bureau and put the male lead in his place. Drawing on his previous victories, Wen Feiran had buried himself in his studies and indeed defeated the male lead in a minor examination. He had even gone from a supporting character to the final boss. If the system hadn't corrected the plot back then and caused him to fall off a cliff, the male lead might never have managed to defeat him.

Wen Feiran had thought that completing the task meant saying goodbye to that chapter of his life, with no chance to touch it again. He hadn't expected the production team to grant him that final wish.

Wen Feiran was so absorbed in his own world that he didn't notice the production team's specially invited guest walking over.

"Hello, I'm a designer from, what was it, the South China Institute? It's a pleasure to meet you."

Wen Feiran caught the keywords and dredged up a memory.

He had just transmigrated back then, penniless and unable even to pay off his debts, much less buy medicine to nurse his body back to health.

With no other choice, he had looked everywhere for ways to make money. He happened to see that a design competition offered generous prize money, so he tried his luck. To his surprise, he won first place.

What was the name he had casually picked again...

"Sishui."

Right, it was Sishui!

Wen Feiran instinctively raised his head and looked toward the voice. "I'm the designer Sishui. I once won first prize in the eleventh South China Cup, which was also how I entered the design industry."

Wen Feiran: "..."

All the details matched. It couldn't be someone with the same name.

If you're Sishui, then who am I?

Chapter 20: There Was Actually a Third Person at the Scene?!...

Wen Feiran had been destitute at the time and had entered the design competition only for the prize money. He hadn't had the time to consider the possibility of building a career in design. But now he had escaped his unscrupulous agency and paid off his debts. Everything was moving in a positive direction, and he had begun considering his career options too.

But before he could put the matter on his agenda, someone had already taken his identity!

Wen Feiran watched the designer chatting and laughing with the others, a complicated expression on his face. His frown deepened.

The designer who had stolen his identity was far too bold. Using it for personal gain was bad enough, but he even dared to appear on a show in public. Was he really not afraid of being exposed?

Wen Feiran had never felt inclined to speak in situations like this before, but this was the first time he had approached a stranger. "Hello, Designer Sishui. May I ask what your real name is?"

"My name is Sun Baofeng." He said it just like that, without a trace of fear.

Wen Feiran nodded, looking thoughtful.

Throughout the competition, a man named Li Nan had been his contact. Li Nan had also been the one to notify him of his victory and send him the prize money. From beginning to end, he had known nothing about Sun Baofeng.

Did Li Nan and Sun Baofeng know each other? Were they working together?

In any case, Li Nan had played an important role in it.

Before Wen Feiran could think it through, Sun Baofeng raised an eyebrow. "Why are you making that face? Don't you like my name?"

Wen Feiran paused. Until he had concrete evidence, he wouldn't alert him, so he asked indirectly, "I do. Then why don't you use your real name? Why did you choose the nickname Sishui?"

A flicker of discomfort crossed Sun Baofeng's face. "I just thought of it on a whim and picked it at random."

He clearly didn't want to continue the conversation and turned to speak to the others.

Wen Feiran suddenly found it funny.

Sun Baofeng had taken his identity but knew nothing about him, not even where the name came from.

The last character of his name, "Ran," had four dots, so he had chosen the name Sishui. It had nothing to do with Sun Baofeng.

Even if he had no intention of pursuing a career in design, the man had flaunted himself so brazenly before him that he could never tolerate Sun Baofeng continuing to impersonate him.

Wen Feiran decided to email the officials and expose what Sun Baofeng had done.

But the moment he picked up his phone, a camera suddenly moved in close, as if it held some fresh gossip.

"..."

Every move he made in front of the camera would be magnified. If anything went wrong, his hidden identity would be exposed.

Wen Feiran knew very well that even if he finished filming without incident, he would attract a great deal of attention and his normal life would be disrupted as a result. Each of his hidden identities was a form of insurance, allowing him to use different identities to earn money and live.

He planned to send the email that evening after the livestream closed.

They traveled by car to the South China Design Institute. From the architecture to the interior decor, every detail was full of design, and treasures of human ingenuity appeared here and there. It was a veritable sanctuary for artists.

If not for the production team's arrangements, neither the guests present nor the viewers in the livestream would have had a chance to come here and broaden their horizons with such a visual feast.

Sun Baofeng took them to a classroom in the farthest corner, taught them some basic principles, and guided them in designing a piece of clothing of their own.

But Sun Baofeng clearly had another purpose.

"I'm only twenty-five this year. I scored the highest of any contestant in the competition's history and was made a designer straightaway as an exception. I also hold the record for the youngest."

"Although we're in the same profession, I'm a fairly direct person, and I put design above everything else. I have to point out that these lines are too rough. Even if it's only a sketch, every curve and every stroke should have a purpose."