“`
At this moment, Zheng Shuqi had already become one of the onlookers, a smile involuntarily spread across his face as he scrolled through the comments.
After watching for a while, he sent a message to Zhang Kun on Weixun, informing him about Zhu Siyao’s video update.
Just as he entered his home, Zhang Kun hadn’t even had time to change his slippers when his wife, Wang Yan, came to the entryway, “Don’t bother changing your shoes, let’s go to the hospital. Auntie has been admitted; we should go and see her.”
“What was she admitted for?” Zhang Kun asked instinctively.
“Acute appendicitis, she just had surgery.”
While saying this, Wang Yan picked up her purse and walked towards the door, then casually asked, “Where’s the car parked?”
The parking situation in the residential complex where they lived was always tight, and Zhang Kun didn’t have an assigned spot. He usually parked wherever there was a space available.
“Uhh…..”
Zhang Kun hesitated before saying, “I had a few drinks at a social event, so I left the car at the office.”
“You were drinking?”
Wang Yan leaned in close to Zhang Kun to sniff, “Doesn’t seem like there’s any smell.”
“Only had a little.”
“So, you shouldn’t risk it, right!” Zhang Kun replied unflinchingly.
“That’s true.”
Wang Yan nodded, not making much of it, “Then let’s just take a taxi.”
“Right.”
Zhang Kun followed his wife out of their home, glancing at the Weixun message from Zheng Shuqi as they descended the stairs.
Upon hearing that Zhu Siyao had updated her video, Zhang Kun inexplicably felt nervous. He really wanted to see what she had posted, but with his wife by his side, it didn’t seem appropriate to check.
“What’s wrong?”
“Got something on your mind??”
Wang Yan knew her husband well, and she could tell that something was off with Zhang Kun.
“Just some work stuff, it’s a bit frustrating!”
Zhang Kun gave a perfunctory response.
“Did they assign you another challenging task at work?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Zhang Kun could only go along with his wife’s line of questioning, but in his mind, he was thinking that this matter needed a quick resolution. Although he and Zheng Shuqi maintained that it was a loss for the owner of the million-dollar car to go against his twenty-thousand-dollar one, such a “loss” for the other party was only on paper. In a war of attrition, it was the bottom line that mattered.
Twenty thousand might be all you have, while a million is but a mere fraction of the other person’s bank balance.
So what could he compete with?
Zhang Kun’s family only had that one car for getting around. It was fine to be without it for a few days, but any longer would inevitably cause trouble, let alone explaining the situation to his wife.
If it really came down to it, it might be best just to give in.
Maybe later he could send a private message to that female internet celebrity and apologize…
Zhang Kun silently contemplated this plan.
What he didn’t know was that the situation on the internet had fermented far beyond his expectations.
It wasn’t just Zhu Siyao who had posted about the incident. Shortly after her video, a Kuaiyin account named [Mr. Yang in the Midst of Renovations] also released a similar video.
Currently, [Mr. Yang in the Midst of Renovations] had over 3.03 million followers. Although the account’s owner had never shown their face, they had amassed a large following through a brutally lavish style.
Three million followers, all highly active, meant the influence was substantial. The video brought about widespread discussion as soon as it was released.
And that wasn’t all. Shortly after [Mr. Yang in the Midst of Renovations] posted their video, [Jiangcheng Observer], with over 5 million followers, also released a commentary video.
The incident itself hit a nerve with many because almost everyone has encountered improperly parked cars in their daily lives. With major influencers stepping into the fray, the event’s visibility grew even higher and even made it to the trending list on Kuaiyin.
“The incident took place in Binjiang Park’s parking lot, I pass by there every day!”
“The video is legit, I just passed by and saw it myself!”
“Here’s the pic, the red Cullinan really stands out!”
“Tried calling you to move your car, and you wouldn’t. Look who’s stuck now!”
“The Camry owner is really asking for trouble. Of all people to offend, they picked someone with a Cullinan!”
“This is too awesome, the big shot did something I’ve always wanted to do but never had the guts!”
“Hahaha, I saw that some influencers have already gone to the scene to live stream, they really know how to ride the hype wave!”
In the hospital corridor.
Zhang Kun made the excuse of taking a phone call to leave the ward.
“`
Then he couldn’t wait to open the most recent video posted by Zhu Siyao, and when he saw the current stats of this video, he went numb!
With only a little over an hour since it was uploaded, the video had already received 230,000 likes and over 50,000 comments!
These were the numbers of a massively viral video.
Zhang Kun scrolled through the comments and found they were overwhelmingly filled with denunciations of him, comments like “Well done,” and even some that had managed to dox him based on his license plate, revealing his name and place of employment.
As he read, Zhang Kun’s legs gave out, and he slumped onto a bench in the hallway.
“Sir, are you feeling unwell?”
A passing nurse noted Zhang Kun’s pale complexion and approached to ask.
“No.”
Zhang Kun shook his head, his expression numb; he had never dreamed the incident would blow up so quickly. He hadn’t even had time to concede when he had already become the subject of a hot online controversy.
Taking a deep breath and adjusting his breathing, Zhang Kun hurriedly sent a private message to Zhu Siyao, apologizing and backing down.
However, there was no response to his message.
Struck by an idea, he redialed the number that had called him during the barbecue.
Since he had been convinced that the person who had blocked his car was called by Zhu Siyao, Zhang Kun hadn’t thought to contact the “ride-share driver” at first.
But now that things were out of control, he had to take the initiative to contact the other party.
To his dismay, when he dialed the number, he kept getting the message “The number you have dialed is currently on another call.”
Zhang Kun was experienced enough to know that this message meant his number had been either blacklisted or blocked.
Enjoy more content from empire
In the hospital room.
Wang Yan’s elderly aunt was in good spirits; her daughter Feng Jia and her son Feng Ye were both there.
Wang Yan was chatting with Feng Jia about family matters, while Feng Ye idly browsed Kuaiyin: “Eh, the follow-up came out so quickly!”
Feng Ye had come across Zhu Siyao’s rant video earlier, and now, upon seeing the follow-up, he burst out laughing, “Haha, that feels good, really good. Serves him right for showing off, what’s there to flaunt with a lousy Camry!”
“Xiao Ye, what are you talking about?”
Feng Ye’s unusual behavior caught the attention of both Wang Yan and Feng Jia, who looked at him with puzzled expressions.
“Somebody parked recklessly and wouldn’t move their car even when they were called.”
“Then someone came with a Cullinan and a Panamera and blocked his car in!”
“So satisfying!”
As Feng Ye spoke, he continued to browse the comments, then suddenly, his gaze froze because someone in the comment section had already doxxed the car owner’s information.
Although the Camry’s license plate was blurred out in the video, someone had been to the scene and uploaded a picture of the unobscured license plate to the comments. Then, someone had used the license plate to dig up the owner’s information.
“Having your car parked illegally is really aggravating!”
“He deserved to be blocked in!” Wang Yan casually remarked.
At her words, Feng Ye’s expression turned peculiar, and he tentatively asked, “Sister Yan, how did you and Brother-in-law get here?”
“We took a taxi!”
“Your brother-in-law had been drinking, so he left the car at his workplace,” Wang Yan responded nonchalantly.
“Uh…”
Feng Ye, who had been somewhat skeptical of the veracity of the comments, suddenly believed them almost entirely.
“What’s wrong?”
“Xiao Ye, you look like you have something on your mind,” Wang Yan remarked, sensing her cousin had something more to say, and immediately pressed him for information.
“Sister Yan, it’s better if you see for yourself!”
Not knowing quite how to explain, Feng Ye showed Wang Yan the two videos from Zhu Siyao and the comments related to Zhang Kun.
“This…”
“I knew he didn’t smell of alcohol; turns out he caused trouble!”
Wang Yan clenched her teeth and then shouted down the hallway at the top of her voice, “Zhang Kun, get in here!!”
“Sister Yan, let’s talk this over calmly, no need to get worked up,” Feng Jia interjected, trying to calm her down.
“Let’s ask Brother-in-law what exactly happened. Knowing him as I do, he wouldn’t do such a thing without a good reason…”
Feng Ye also tried to defuse the situation, but inside he was looking forward to seeing how things unfold, always a bit resentful of his better-off brother-in-law Zhang Kun who tended to show off both openly and subtly.
This time, it seemed the tables had turned!