Chapter 18 — After Ten Years of Silence, the Whole Industry Sees Me

“I see.”

“Best Innovator of the Year!”

“There is only one person in the whole country!”

Ha Than almost shouted. All the employees in the office rushed over. Someone clapped. Someone shouted loudly. Some people's eyes are red. The first call came from Ms. Tan.

“Nhuoc Tinh!”

“I see!”

“If your mother in heaven sees this.”

“I wonder how happy she will be!”

I tightened my grip on the phone. Throat tight. Can't even say a word. The news quickly spread throughout the industry. My phone almost burned out. Congratulator. People want to cooperate. People want to interview. People want to meet. Among them. There was a text message from someone I least expected. Tong Chi Vien. Just one sentence:

“Nhuoc Tinh, congratulations.”

No explanation. No sorry. Do not try to close the relationship. I don't answer. Then there was another message. It belongs to Hua Uyen Thanh. She didn't send letters. Just send a screenshot. This is the awards page on the Advertising Association website. Right below. She sent another thumbs up emoji. I looked for three seconds. Then delete the conversation. That evening. All employees of Giac Chi Sang Tao went to the small restaurant next to the company. No champagne. There is no stage. There are only twelve people. Four tables combined. Full of food. Ha Than raised his beer glass.

“I give you a glass of respect.”

“From Thinh Hang to Giac Chi.”

“I followed you for three years.”

“I have only learned one thing in these three years.”

“Really good things don't get buried.”

“He who makes good things happen.”

“Whatever happens before or after will be seen.”

I raised my glass. Gently touched his glass.

“Not before or after.”

I smiled.

“But when you step into the light yourself.”

“Other people can see me.”

Twelve people drank from the glass together. Outside the window. Hai Thanh night stretches endlessly. The office buildings in the distance glowed in strips. This city is very big. So big that it can engulf a human. But big enough. Let a person begin to take root again from the beginning. One month after receiving the award. Hua Uyen Thanh finally took action. Not the type of public attack. It's the kind of trick hidden in the dark. Only when stabbed does it feel pain. She resigned from Thinh Hang. Join Cao Vuc Media. Not only that. She also brought half of the strategy department's staff with her. More important. She brought with her a list of three customers who were in the negotiation stage. Originally that had nothing to do with me. But Hua Uyen Thanh did one thing. Make it directly relevant to me. The first week after joining Cao Vuc. She used a set of image plans to participate in the bidding for the annual branding project of Hai Thanh's largest tourism group. That's the core idea of that set of plans. Extremely similar to an internal proposal that Giac Chi once built. When Ha Than received the news. He almost jumped out of his chair.

“She stole our plan!”

“It's not stealing.”

I opened her tender documents. Read carefully from beginning to end.

“She is very smart.”

“Changed visual style.”

“Change the illustration.”

“Adjust color and layout.”

“But the core logic and conceptual framework.”

“Almost identical to our internal proposal.”

“But that proposal can only be seen by the core group but?"

“How could it be revealed?”

I looked at Ha Than.

“Is anyone in the group still in contact with her?”

His expression immediately changed. Bend your head to check your phone for about a minute. When you look up. The face is extremely unsightly.

“Trieu Vien.”

“She quit her job last month.”

“Now in Cao Vuc.”

Trieu Vien. I miss her. Coming from the strategy department. Then move on to my core group. Professional capacity is only average. But works quite quickly. Previously, she was a colleague of Hua Uyen Thanh.

“What should we do?”

“Prepare documents.”

“What documents?”

"Proof."

I turned on the computer. Extract the entire version history of internal recommendations. Edit history. Group collaboration diary. Timestamp of each update. All are exported. I do one more thing. I called the Brand Director of the travel group.

“Hello Mr. Tran.”

“I am Tham Nhuoc Tinh of Giac Chi Creation.”

“I heard that your group's annual branding project is bidding?”

"That's right."

“Do you want to join too?”

"I want."

“But before that, there is something I want you to help me verify.”

“What?”

“I will send a document to your email.”

“After watching.”

“I will understand.”

I hung up. Then send the entire analysis comparing the two options. Attached is the original creation file. Ha Than stands behind.

“Are you sure you want to handle it like that?”

“Shouldn't you run online and argue with her?”

“But what if the tourism group doesn't recognize it?”

“They will acknowledge it.”

“Why are you so sure?”

I closed the computer.

“Because everyone in the profession understands.”

“The original file timestamp cannot be faked.”

“Her plan appeared after mine.”

"It's the truth."

“The truth is not in dispute.”

Three days later. The travel group's Brand Director called back.

“General Shen.”

“We finished watching.”

“Cao Vuc's plan indeed has a very high degree of similarity with your document.”

“We have disqualified them from bidding.”