"Okay, I'll introduce you to a few people later." Zhou Zhou pointed to his phone.
While they were talking, Xue Jingshu sent all the compiled materials to Duan Xu, Duan Xu then logged into his forum account, uploaded pictures, and edited the text.
Duan Xu: [Regarding the recent plagiarism incident in the design competition, I need to clarify something here.]
1. I am the designer of this logo. The design time, process, and creative concept are shown in Figure 1.
2. The reason for this logo design is that Summit Technology is a new company that Yan-ge and his team are going to establish, and I am in charge of this part. The starting point was not for the design competition, and the name Summit Technology was a name we came up with together, as shown in Figure 2;
3. Regarding Zhao's claim of a chance encounter in the library, the story is exactly the opposite. I met him in the library; he saw my design and asked me questions. I only decided to participate in the competition when it was almost over, but to avoid trouble, I participated under the company's name.
4. Finally, since you all claim we have shady dealings and rely on connections, then we'll trouble Jing-ge to obtain the evidence submitted by student Zhao, as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5. Please compare them yourselves.
Shortly after it was posted, the comments section received hundreds of replies.
[First of all, I was just a bystander. At first, I thought it was just an ordinary little story, but now it has grown into a huge, shocking one!]
[I've seen the image, it's obvious. Zhao Gan plagiarized Duan Xu; the file was created much earlier, okay?]
[I'm speechless. This is clearly a logo that someone designed specifically for their company, and it was maliciously copied and submitted to a competition. Don't they have any shame?]
[After seeing the evidence comparison, I fucking laughed. Zhao Gan's creative explanation is ridiculous! What, he came up with this design because he watched the sunrise from the mountaintop? Haha...]
[The chat screenshot in Figure 2 clearly shows that the idea came from their previous trip to the mountaintop where they camped and ate hotpot. It also has the symbolic meaning of being at the top, which is much more meaningful than Zhao Gan's idea, right?]
After everyone had looked through the evidence comparison chart, some people realized what was happening.
[Holy crap! So it turns out Zhao Gan was the one who orchestrated this whole thing all along?]
[That's awesome, why doesn't he just fly to the moon?]
Damn! I even spoke up for him before, now I feel like such an idiot!
[Damn it! Where is everyone? You plagiarist, come out and face the consequences!]
"Tsk tsk!" Zhou Zhou shook his head as he looked at the comments. "They've all turned against us instantly!"
Ye Xinyu relieved. "Serves him right! He got what he deserved!"
If Zhao Gan hadn't tried to strike first and had instead kept quiet, things wouldn't have escalated to this point. In fact, if no one had spoken up, no one would have known who plagiarized.
So he brought this on himself, and he has no one to blame but himself.
*
Sitting on a stool in the dormitory, Zhao Gan couldn't hold back any longer when faced with his roommates' questioning. He roared, "Shut the hell up! How the hell was I supposed to know that was the company logo? He said it was just practice. Blame Duan Xu, he fucking lied to me!"
This is a direct admission that he plagiarized Duan Xu.
The roommates looked at each other in disbelief. They had initially believed him, but he had deceived them. They had even spoken up for him on the forum!
"Zhao Gan, plagiarism is plagiarism, it's not Duan Xu's fault at all!"
"I misjudged you. Just consider me blind before. I won't say a word for you again!"
"What was said on the forum is true: you can know a person's face but not their heart!"
Zhao Gan's face flushed red and then turned pale, his fists clenched tightly, and he tried countless methods, but to no avail.
Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was his counselor.
He answered the phone with a stern face, "Zhao Gan, come to my office."
Zhao Gan Zhao Gan's roommates ignored him. He glanced at them, then took his phone and keys to go find the counselor.
Plagiarism is an extremely egregious act in the design industry, especially since this incident has escalated and damaged the school's reputation.
The counselor only learned about the matter after receiving a call from the school leadership, who then asked him to handle it.
In the office, the counselor looked at Zhao Gan with disappointment in his eyes. "Zhao Gan, you should know how serious this matter is, and because of your unauthorized remarks, it has already affected the school."
Zhao Gan lowered his head, clenched his fists, and remained silent.
"The school has already issued its decision. Plagiarism, coupled with deliberately inciting classmates, has had a very negative impact. You will receive a major demerit, and you must publicly apologize to Duan Xu."
Zhao Gan looked up in disbelief, "A major demerit?"
"Yes." The counselor nodded. "Zhao Gan, I don't know what you're thinking. Although university is still a school, it's also a small social circle. What you're doing is tantamount to ruining your future."
"Even if everyone forgets about this two years after graduation, no company will hire you if they find out you were given a major demerit for plagiarism!"
Zhao Gan's heart skipped a beat, and his face paled.
He didn't think much about it at the time; how could he have known the impact would be so huge?
"Apologize to Duan Xu on the forum," the counselor sighed. "And give the class monitor position to Zhang Yun."
"Alright, you can go now."
Zhao Gan walked out of the office, his face pale, his steps numb, his eyes vacant, his mind preoccupied with what to do next.
As he thought about it, he began to regret it. Because of a momentary impulse, he had ruined his future. If he had known it would turn out this way, he would never have plagiarized!
However, there's no such thing as knowing beforehand, nor is there a way to undo mistakes.
*
In the study, Duan Xu looked at Zhao Gan's apology on the forum and shook his head.
"What are you thinking about?" Shen Yanlang turned to look at him.
Duan Xu put down his phone, propped his head up with his hand, and said, "Zhao Gan apologized to me, but I ignored it. I feel that... no matter the reason for plagiarism, it cannot be forgiven."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yanlang reached out and ruffled his hair. "You're right, plagiarism is not something that deserves forgiveness."
[They even copied my Xuxu's stuff, humph, they should be blacklisted from the industry from now on.]
"You're starting to sound more and more like a domineering CEO," Duan Xu said speechlessly. "Hey, you're in charge of technology, does that make you a domineering CEO?"
Before Shen Yanlang answer, Duan Xu added, "The technical director is still a 'CEO,' so he's still a domineering CEO."
Shen Yanlang couldn't help but chuckle, scratching his chin. "I'm the domineering CEO, so you're the domineering CEO's little darling wife."
Duan Xu: "..."
Thank you, but I don't really want to be a pampered wife. If I had to be one, I'd be the matriarch! Hehe!
After this matter was settled, they stopped paying attention to Zhao Gan and focused on game development. Of course, they still attended classes, but devoted all their remaining time to game development.
Because of this incident, Summit Technology became well-known among the students at the school even before officially releasing the game. Since it was founded by Xue Jingshu and Shen Yanlang, everyone was curious and waiting for the game they would make.