The Legend of Cinderella's Counterattack

Chenxi frowned and looked at me worriedly, "Lolo, are you really determined to do this? This is a big gamble. If you're not careful, you'll lose everything."

I took a deep breath, my eyes firm. "I know, but I have no choice. If I don't stand up today, more people will become William's victims in the future."

On the day of the press conference, I arrived early and meticulously prepared everything. The lighting, the music, the models, every detail I sought perfection in. I wanted to use this show to prove my strength and make William pay for his actions.

Finally, the much-anticipated moment arrived. The catwalk lights shone brightly, and models, clad in my latest designs, confidently showcased the unique charm of Eastern aesthetics. The audience erupted in applause and endless gasps of admiration. Everything was proceeding perfectly according to my plan.

Just then, an accident happened.

"Ms. Lin, is the dress you designed really original?" A sharp voice came from the audience, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

Startled, I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a reporter-looking man holding a microphone, staring at me aggressively. "As far as I know, the design of this dress is very similar to one Mr. William released three years ago. How do you explain it?"

I immediately understood that this was William's conspiracy! He had long expected that I would expose him at the press conference, so he arranged for someone to bite me back!

"My journalist friend, you may be mistaken. My designs are all original and there is no plagiarism." I tried to stay calm and responded calmly.

"Really? Then please explain why your design is so similar to Mr. William's work?" The reporter pressed on, his tone full of suspicion and provocation.

"I..." I was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to explain.

"It seems that Miss Lin has nothing to say." The reporter sneered and turned to the audience. "Dear guests, you have all seen it. This is the so-called original designer. He actually blatantly plagiarized other people's work. It's really despicable!"

His words were like a bomb, instantly detonating the entire audience. The originally lively press conference scene suddenly became noisy, with discussions and doubts rising one after another, and the expectant gazes turned into suspicion and contempt.

My heart sank. I knew that everything I had carefully prepared had been ruined by William. The clamor at the press conference was like a sharp blade, tearing my carefully constructed dream world to pieces. I felt like a puppet abandoned on the stage, letting the tide of despair overwhelm me.

"Lolo!" Chenxi rushed onto the stage, grabbed my hand, and asked anxiously, "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, unable to speak. Everything before me was blurry, and only the reporter's sarcastic words echoed in my ears, like poisonous needles pricking every nerve in my body.

"Let's go!" Chenxi pulled me and stumbled out of the crowd, leaving chaos behind.

Back at the villa, I locked myself in my room, refusing to see anyone. The bitterness of failure, like poison, eroded my sanity bit by bit. I thought I could change my fate through my own efforts, but reality was far more cruel than I imagined.

“Lolo, open the door!” Lawrence Lu’s voice came from outside the door, with a hint of anxiety and worry.

I ignored him and buried myself deeper in the quilt, trying to block out all sounds, including his.

"Lolo, I know you're sad right now, but you can't shut yourself off like this." His tone became gentler, "Open the door and let me in to accompany you, okay?"

His voice seemed to have some kind of magic that I couldn't resist. I stood up and opened the door.

Lawrence Lu stood at the door with a trace of fatigue on his face. When he saw me, a trace of heartache flashed in his eyes. He walked in and gently hugged me in his arms.

"Don't be afraid, I'll take care of everything." His voice was low and firm, like a reassurance, which gradually calmed my anxious heart.

"Yuxuan, am I useless?" I raised my head, my eyes red. "I thought I could..."

“Don’t say that!” Lawrence Lu interrupted me with a hint of sternness in his tone, “You are the best! This press conference is just a small setback. We still have a chance, and we will win back!”

His words gave me a little comfort, but I knew that things were far from as simple as he said. William's conspiracy had succeeded, and my reputation was severely damaged. How could I recover easily?

"Yuxuan, our plan..." I thought of the business plan he was working on, and my worries grew.

His expression changed slightly, and a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes. "The plan has been put on hold for the time being."

"What's going on?" My heart sank and I felt vaguely uneasy.

“The partner suddenly withdrew his investment, saying that he had doubts about my ability.” Lawrence Lu smiled bitterly, “It seems that William’s influence is greater than we thought.”

My heart sank suddenly, and a feeling of powerlessness came over me. Not only had my career been severely damaged, but Lawrence Lu was also implicated. All this was because of me, because my appearance broke the original peace and brought disaster to them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Lawrence Lu held my hand with a firm look in his eyes, “I won’t let anyone hurt you, nor will I let anyone destroy everything we have.”

His words made me feel a little warm, but the cruelty of reality made me unable to truly feel at ease.

At this moment, Chenxi called, her voice filled with panic and fear, "Lolo, I... I seem to be in trouble..."

"What's wrong?" My heart tightened, and I had a premonition that something bad had happened.

"I spoke up for you online, but..." Her voice was choked with sobs, "They...they said they were going to kill me..."

My heart sank suddenly and a chill instantly spread throughout my body.

At the same time, the housekeeper came hurriedly, his face pale and his tone hurried, "Sir, Miss, it's not good, something happened..."

The housekeeper's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in my ears. I stood up almost instinctively, grabbed his arm, and asked anxiously, "What happened? Tell me slowly!"

The butler took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but there was still a hint of fear in his tone: "I followed your instructions to investigate William's background, but...but..." He paused, as if to organize his words, "I was followed, they, they took me to the suburbs, and...and..."

"What else?" Lu Yuxuan stepped forward and asked in a deep voice. His eyes were sharp, as if he could see through everything.

"They, they beat me up and warned me that if I dared to investigate further, they would make me... make me..." When the butler said this, his voice was trembling, and he was obviously scared.

I gasped. William's methods were even more ruthless than I had imagined. I had only asked him to do a background check, and yet he was treated so cruelly. A surge of rage welled up in my heart, and I clenched my fists, wishing I could tear William into pieces.

“What else did he say?” Lawrence Lu’s voice was icy cold, without a trace of warmth, as if it was a messenger from hell.

"He said... he said... that you and the young lady should take care of yourselves and stop interfering in matters that are not your own, otherwise... you will bear the consequences..." The butler lowered his head, and his voice became smaller and smaller, almost inaudible.

The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing point. Lawrence Lu and I were silent, but we could feel the anger and murderous intent emanating from each other. The housekeeper's words undoubtedly sounded the alarm for us. William is a ruthless opponent who will do anything to achieve his goal.

Lawrence Lu patted the back of my hand gently, motioning me to calm down, then turned to look at the housekeeper: “You go down and rest first, I will take care of this matter.”

The butler hurriedly left the room as if he had been pardoned.

“William, you really pissed me off!” Lawrence Lu looked out the window with a sinister look in his eyes and a murderous tone in his voice.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. William's revenge came so quickly and so violently that I was caught off guard, but I couldn't panic. I had to calm down before I could come up with a plan to deal with it.

"Yuxuan, what should we do now?" I raised my head and looked at his profile. His face was full of fatigue. He had been running around for me and the company's affairs during this period of time. He was already physically and mentally exhausted. I didn't want to add more burden to him.

Lawrence Lu turned around, hugged me in his arms, gently stroked my hair, and said in a low and firm voice: "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. I will protect you and everything we have."

His embrace was warm and strong, which made me feel a little relieved, but I knew that things were far from as simple as I had imagined. What we were facing now was a war without the smoke of gunpowder, and our opponent was a cold-blooded and unscrupulous demon.

What’s worse is that my design team was greatly impacted by this incident. The news of the failed press conference spread like wildfire in the industry. Many people began to doubt my design ability. Some collaborations that had been negotiated were cancelled. The morale of the team members was also greatly hit, and some core members even began to resign.

I know that a brand's innovative capabilities come from an excellent team. If I can't stop the losses in time, my brand will face a devastating blow. I am anxious and uneasy, but I have no choice but to pin my hopes on Lawrence Lu, hoping that he can find a solution to the problem.

Lawrence Lu decided to avoid William’s edge first and not confront him head-on. I know he was trying to protect me and didn’t want me to get hurt, but this concession caused the outside world to talk about it, questioning his ability, and some even said he was a "playboy with nothing but appearance" who only relied on the power of his family.

I looked at Lawrence Lu's increasingly thin face and felt distressed. He was extremely busy every day, handling company affairs and dealing with all kinds of rumors, but he always kept a smile in front of me, not letting me worry about him.

"Lolo, don't worry, everything will be over." He always comforts me like this, but I know that things are far from as easy as he says.

William's company took advantage of the situation and grabbed a significant portion of our market share. They even maliciously spread rumors and defamed our brand, claiming our designs were plagiarized and of inferior quality. For a time, we were surrounded by enemies on all sides.

"Lolo, how about we take a break for a while and wait until the storm has passed?" Chenxi looked at me worriedly. She has been by my side all this time, helping me deal with various things.

I know she's doing this for my own good, but how can I give up at this point? My brand has just started, and if it collapses now, all my previous efforts will be wasted!

"No, I can't give up!" I said firmly, "I want to prove to them that my designs are the best and my brand will not be defeated!"

Chenxi looked at me, hesitant to speak, and finally nodded: "Okay, I believe you!"

However, things turned out to be even worse than I imagined. Some partners, under pressure, proposed to terminate their contracts. Our capital chain was in trouble, and the company faced an unprecedented crisis.

Just when I was feeling desperate, an anonymous letter arrived at my studio. There was only a note in the envelope that read:

"Want to know the truth? Meet me alone at the abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city at 3 pm."

There was no signature, no other information, only a sentence full of temptation and danger. My intuition told me that this letter might be related to everything that had happened recently, and that it might help me find the mastermind behind it. But I didn't dare tell Lawrence Lu. I was afraid he would worry, and even more afraid he would stop me from going.

I clutched the note tightly, my heart in a state of conflict. On one side was the unknown danger, on the other was the possible truth and a turning point. What should I do?

Butler Li handed me an unsigned envelope. The strong scent of perfume almost overwhelmed me. Things at the company have been overwhelming lately. William's pressure has been relentless, and Lu Yuxuan's decision to temporarily withdraw from the spotlight to protect me has been interpreted as weakness and incompetence. I force myself to stay strong every day, telling myself not to collapse, but this sudden letter is like a stone dropped into calm waters, stirring up a thousand waves.

"Miss, this letter..." Old Li hesitated and looked at me worriedly.

I forced a smile and said, "It's okay, I understand. You can go ahead and do your work."

After Lao Li left, I couldn't wait to open the envelope. Inside was a thin piece of paper with a beautiful handwriting: "Ms. Lin, I know you're in a difficult situation right now, and I know who's behind this. If you want to know the truth and get the key evidence that can turn the situation around, please come alone to the abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city at 3:00 PM."

An abandoned factory on the outskirts of town? It's so remote and desolate, usually devoid of people. They asked me to go there, weren't they afraid I'd call the police? I scrutinized the letter, trying to find any clues, but I found nothing. Who sent this letter? What were they trying to do? Did they really have evidence that William was framing us?

A series of questions swirled in my mind, and anxiety and fear wrapped around me like vines. I almost wanted to forget about this letter and pretend nothing had happened, but my reason told me that this might be my only chance.

"Lolo, what are you thinking about?" Chenxi's voice interrupted my thoughts.

I hurriedly stuffed the letter into my pocket and pretended to be calm: "Nothing, just thinking about company matters."

Chenxi looked at me worriedly: "Don't worry, we will find a way."

I forced a smile and said nothing. Chenxi didn't know about the letter, and I didn't dare tell her. I was afraid she would worry, and even more afraid she would stop me from going.

As time passed, I became increasingly anxious. My mind told me that I shouldn't go to the appointment, as it was too dangerous, but my intuition told me that this letter might be my only hope.

Finally, I made a decision. At two o'clock in the afternoon, I sneaked out of the company under the pretext of meeting a client and drove alone to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city.

Along the way, all kinds of terrible images kept appearing in my mind, but I told myself that I could not retreat and I had to find out the truth.

The car drove along a bumpy dirt road and finally stopped in front of a desolate ruin. I took a deep breath, opened the door and got out.

All around me was dead silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind adding to the eerie feeling. I clutched my phone tightly in my pocket and cautiously walked towards the factory gate, feeling uneasy, unsure of what awaited me.