Sober and beautiful, my husband and son begged for my forgiveness on their knees.

"Let's see if you dare to cause trouble again!"

Lu Mingjin had never been hit before, especially not on the buttocks.

He was both ashamed and angry, and opened his mouth to bite Ning Yao's arm.

Ning Yao reacted quickly and dodged. Seeing that he was incorrigible, she slapped his buttocks hard again, this time one slap after another. She was too lazy to waste words on him!

"Ah! Waaaaah! Someone's being killed! Daddy! Help me!"

Lu Jingmo heard the commotion downstairs from his bedroom and quickly hung up the phone and went downstairs.

He immediately saw Ning Yao hitting her son, and the butler and servants dared not step forward, as it was the first time they had ever seen the young mistress like this.

"Ning Yao, stop!"

Lu Jingmo rushed forward and snatched his son away. Seeing his son crying with tears streaming down his face, he felt very sorry for him. Without asking any questions, he scolded Ning Yao, "What are you doing? Why are you arguing with a five-year-old child like this?"

“If you have any grievances or complaints, just tell me. There’s no need to take it out on the child.”

Ning Yao reached out and tidied her messy hair, also calming herself down, and snorted coldly, "Stop trying to make yourself look good. I don't even care to hold a grudge against you."

"Then why did you hit your son? He's still young, can't you talk things out?"

"Talk nicely? Your precious little son first called me useless, then pushed and hurt me. If I hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been killed today!"

Lu Jingmo's face darkened, and he glared angrily at his son, "Mingjin, is this true?"

Lu Mingjin was startled by his gaze and instinctively wanted to deny it.

Ning Yao added coldly, "Why are you asking him? All these people were here just now. At the very least, there are security cameras at home, right? Just take a look and you'll know."

Lu Mingjin's face paled, and she whispered to Lu Jingmo, "Dad, I didn't mean to..."

Lu Jingmo's expression changed slightly, realizing he had misunderstood Ning Yao, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Ning Yao, Ming Jin said he didn't do it on purpose. As his mother, why do you have to hold it against him? Besides, you're alright now, aren't you? If you hadn't ignored Ming Jin before, he wouldn't have done these things to you, you..."

"Alright, alright!" Ning Yao applauded his forced attempt to make amends. "I won't ask any questions, but you've asked a lot. Go ahead and ask!"

Lu Jingmo realized she was being sarcastic about him, and his handsome face suddenly darkened again.

"Do you have to talk to me like that? If you're not satisfied, I'll have Mingjin apologize to you, but you also have to apologize to your son and promise to be a good mother in the future."

Ning Yao finally lost her temper. "Stop disgusting me, okay?"

She straightened her clothes and said coldly, "Whoever wants to be the mother of the young master of the Lu family can be. I'm definitely not good enough for that role. From now on, let's keep to ourselves and be dutiful exes."

In this lifetime, no one can morally blackmail her!

Lu Jingmo's anger was hard to contain, and he said in a low voice, "Ning Yao, I didn't allow you to leave."

Upon hearing this, the butler and servants immediately blocked the doorway.

Ning Yao shook her phone. "Okay, then I'll ask the police to come pick me up."

Lu Jingmo froze, not understanding how the once meek and submissive woman had become so difficult. Like a hedgehog, she was prickly all over!

Seeing that he was silent, Ning Yao then snapped at the butler and the others blocking the doorway, "You dogs, make way!"

Butler and others: ...

They glanced at Lu Jingmo and saw that he didn't stop them anymore, so they stepped aside.

After Ning Yao left, Lu Mingjin hugged his father somewhat lostly and whispered, "Dad, Mom seems to have changed. She doesn't seem to care about us at all anymore, unlike Auntie who used to care about me. Dad, why don't we let Auntie take care of me..."

"Mingjin." Lu Jingmo interrupted him impatiently, reminding him in a deep voice, "Dad will handle Mom's matter, you don't need to worry about it, but don't keep mentioning your aunt in the future."

Lu Mingjin could tell her father was unhappy, so she didn't dare to say anything more.

While Lu Jingmo went to his study to handle work, Lu Mingjin immediately and secretly informed Ning Yan with his phone watch.

"Auntie, I told Dad I wanted you to come and take care of me, just like you said, but Dad got very angry and won't let me mention you again..."

Ning Yan thought that Lu Jingmo's special appearance with her at the company today was a signal that she could rise to a higher position, but she didn't expect Ning Yao to ruin it again!

But she still patiently comforted Mingjin, after all, he was her biggest bargaining chip for joining the Lu family, and she couldn't afford to lose him.

After calming Lu Mingjin down, she vented her anger.

That Ning Yao is truly hateful! On the surface, she supports her joining the Lu family, but behind her back, she plots against her!

She will not give up until she gets her revenge!

But Ning Yao is not easy to deal with now; she needs to think of a good way to deal with her.

Her gaze shifted and she noticed the gradient dress hanging in the center of the dressing room. Its distinct layers resembled a dazzling starry sky.

The next second, a calculating glint appeared in Ning Yan's eyes...

Following the list of materials provided by Xingyi Group, Ning Yao prepared all the materials and checked them repeatedly before uploading them to her email.

Just as she was about to send the message, a voice call from a major client popped up on her phone screen.

"Designer Ning, please come to my clothing store right away. There's a problem with your starry sky series design."

Upon hearing the news, Ning Yao rushed to the scene immediately. As soon as she got out of the car, she saw a large crowd gathered in front of the owner's clothing store.

A woman with curly hair, holding a gradient dress in her arms, was angrily complaining to a reporter.

"Look, this dress is exactly the same as the one my best friend wore to an independent designer brand abroad. Even the details are identical. You could say the inspiration was the same, but it's impossible for them to be 100% similar, right? Isn't this plagiarism?"

The girl next to the curly-haired girl chimed in, "Yes, I bought this dress in May, but this gradient dress didn't hit the shelves in this store until the end of June. That time difference is quite subtle, making it hard not to be suspicious!"

The boss immediately explained, "Impossible. Every new product design by our designers is verified. There is absolutely no way they would plagiarize."

"You can't prove it with just words. Do you have any evidence?" the curly-haired girl retorted.

“Of course,” the boss immediately showed the design draft filing. “Look, our design draft was filed back in April, and it even has the official seal of the relevant authorities.”

The short-haired girl laughed and said, "What a coincidence, I have one too, and it's exactly one day earlier than yours."

As he spoke, he showed a screenshot.

The boss's face instantly turned ugly, not understanding how such a thing could have happened.

Ning Yao raised an eyebrow slightly. Only one day earlier? What a coincidence!

Reporters, as if sensing explosive news, excitedly swarmed around—

"It really was only one day early! What a coincidence!"

"The details are similar, and the dark patterns are also reproduced one-to-one. It's really hard to say who copied whom."

"Boss, do you have any other evidence? If so, bring it out quickly, otherwise we'll be in trouble, and we might even lose the shop."

The boss's face darkened further. If she had other evidence, she would have presented it long ago. Why was she still silent? Why hadn't Designer Ning arrived yet?

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, the curly-haired girl said, "Boss, I sympathize with you. If the designer wanted to hide it, you would definitely have a hard time finding out. I can let go of the rest, but you must reveal the designer's identity and fire her!"

The short-haired woman immediately voiced her support, saying, "Yes, this kind of industry cancer must not be tolerated! Exposing her is also protecting other good brands. Don't feel guilty; the reporters are all here today, and we must dig out this cancer!"

The reporters echoed their sentiments, and the boss, seeing the situation deteriorating and almost out of control, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

At that moment, a calm and composed voice came from behind the crowd—

"Who said there's no evidence?"