Rose Stamp

After Zhi Hei left, Susu's attention focused on her bag where the invitation was placed. Lily sighed, "Hun, if you want to look at that invitation, you could always take it out. You're obviously interested in it. I wouldn't mind even if you took out a magnifying glass to inspect every word of it in front of me."

Susu smiled, "Thanks, but I'm not particularly interested in his offer. I am only interested in the rose stamp that his company used on the envelope."

"The stamp? What's so unique about it?" Lily asked as Susu took out the envelope and showed it to her.

"The unique part lies here." Susu pointed at an extremely small leaf on the corner of the rose stamp that is barely noticeable.

"If you hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have known that there was a leaf there. But still, what's so special about this corner?" Lily repeated her question as she squinted on the small design.

Susu took a picture of the stamp and opened it in one of the editing applications that she used to view images in a high resolution on her cell phone. She zoomed in and adjusted the settings until the stamp is visibly clear enough for Lily to see.

Lily's eyes widened as she blinked multiple times. She played around with the image and zoomed in and out of it to make sure her eyes weren't making tricks. "This.. but how? Wait, no, but then.."

"I'm the owner of the design. It isn't a coincidence for that leaf to shape out my initials, and I have many other ways to prove that this design belongs to me. I am just curious as to how my design ended up in his hands." Susu clarified her reason for spacing out earlier.

"Maybe your design leaked out accidentally? Where did you keep your files?" Lily handed the phone back to her and took a look at the envelope.

"It is impossible for this design to leak because the original source had been destroyed. The laptop I used for this design was damaged, and none of the files were recoverable. This should have been destroyed years ago.. unless.."

"Unless somebody took your designs before your laptop was damaged..." Lily finished the sentence for her.

"Or..my laptop was never damaged to the point that my files were unrecoverable. Either way, I think I know who it was who could've done this. Forget this whole design thing for a second, how did Huang Corps get this design? Is it just a coincidence that they used it for my invitation for me to see?" Susu thought of countless possibilities and decided to talk about this with Chen Mu later.

"Seems like we have a lot of questions and very little answers. What do you want to do now? Are you going to look for Mister Huang? Or are you going to wait for Chen Mu to come home and discuss this with him?" Lily could tell that Susu had a plan in her mind.

Susu opened the invitation envelope and smiled, "No need to contact him after all. The person who could answer all my inquiries is Professor Luo Xia." She flipped the invitation card towards Lily.

"Hmmm? When you see this message, you must have recognized the rose stamp on the envelope. If you want answers, attend the event. I look forward to seeing you there. Signed... Professor Luo Xia?!" Lily read the note on the invitation card and then looked confusedly at Susu.

Susu nodded, "Seems like Professor Luo Xia has something for me to see. I guess I will have to attend the event after all."

"But isn't it weird? If we try to connect the dots, right? Think about it. Even if this invitation card is from Professor Luo Xia, how would he have known about your rose design? How did he get his hands on the rose print? It doesn't really add up." Lily tried to set out the clues and hints that they have so far. No matter how she listed out the order of events, it didn't make sense.

"I guess we will have to see then. I still have a month until the event takes place. The theme for this year's design is nature. Hmmm...I guess any design related to nature would do and it doesn't have to specifically be for a certain category." Susu started brainstorming thoughts for her next design.

"Hey! Are you going to start designing and neglect the fact that these clues don't make sense?" Lily tried to raise Susu's awareness on this matter, but failed.

Susu smiled, "What can I do now? Even if I find out where Professor Luo Xia got the stamps and stuff, isn't it going to be useless if I don't catch the person red handed? Which is more fun? Watching an enemy struggle while slapping hard evidence to their faces or finding out everything behind the scenes and not being able to do anything about it?"

Excitement sparked Lily's eyes as she clapped her hands, "You're right! How could I forget such an important point! Hehehe, no matter what you'll get to the bottom of this, but trapping an enemy is something else~"

"Hahaha if Professor Luo Xia really wanted to tell me about my design, why would he run around in circles just to give me this invitation? He must have something in mind. So, I should play along and see what he is trying to do. It wouldn't hurt to join the event regardless of whether I get to the bottom of this. Plus, I have confidence that I will figure out everything."

Lily nodded in agreement, "I see. Heh, well, all I know is that whoever it was who decided to take your design as theirs, that person is heading towards doomster. Pffft, if not, then at least you'll find out how your design ended up being used. Who knows? Maybe you'll get compensated for your design."

Susu laughed, "I don't count on that idea, but I think I already know who it is who took my designs. I just need to confirm it by attending that event. My invitation mentions that I could bring a few guests. Want to come along to see a good show?"

"Of course!! Always! Anything for you~~ Hehehe, since our shopping is done~ Do you need any help brainstorming? I've got plentiful ideas that might inspire you to come up with something extra special for the event." Lily winked with a mischevious grin on her face.

"Sure thing. I don't mind all the lacey panties patterns and wild stripping husband thoughts of yours to give my designs some exciting sparkles." Susu teased as they walked to the parking lot. Lily cupped her cheeks, "Geez! Not just those, okay? There are also XXX and XXXX...."