Chapter 55: Li Chen Takes the Blame
Li Chen's classic line, 'The Chinese have been crowned for a thousand years,' resonated perfectly with Jay Chou's 'Chinese Pop is the Best.'
It was featured on the entertainment headlines of major portal websites.
What Li Chen said to Yang Siwei in the car also proved to be prophetic.
This world is never short of people who sing a different tune.
Especially clowns who are desperate for attention.
What Li Chen didn't expect was that Song Gou was the one who jumped out.
How dare he! Did he think he was Yang Meiren or Princess Jin?
After a second thought, Li Chen found himself a little dumbfounded; it seemed he had taken the blame for Miss Liu?
It seemed his arrival had indeed subtly changed Miss Liu's trajectory.
She neither fell into the water in 'Return of the Condor Heroes' nor would she likely be bitten by a dog this year.
If that were truly the case, then so be it.
He would just corner the dog, and any repercussions could come straight to him.
Li Chen called for Yang Siwei.
Yang Siwei had seen the online posts early that morning.
Entering her boss's office, Yang Siwei suppressed her anger: "Boss, this guy is asking for death."
Li Chen, however, was very calm and smiled, "What do you plan to do?"
Yang Siwei was confident and sneered, "Don't worry, Boss, just watch."
"I'm going to make him stand up and slap his own face!"
Li Chen nodded, "Then go ahead and do it."
"I've already spoken to Wang Dong and General Manager Cao; you can contact them if needed."
Yang Siwei nodded and turned to leave decisively.
Back in her office.
Several of her subordinates and the company's legal director were already waiting.
Yang Siwei crossed her arms and looked at the people in front of her.
"Xiao Yu, Xiao Cai, Da Xiong, I won't say any more unnecessary words."
"Train soldiers for a thousand days to use them for an hour. I don't need to tell you how the boss treats everyone on a daily basis."
"Now, some audacious person is trying to target the boss."
"If we let him succeed, do we, who study media, still have the face to earn a living?"
"Don't be afraid of making a big deal out of it; go all out!"
"You got it, Boss!"
Yang Siwei's small team each performed their duties.
Connecting with media, writing short articles, and tracking down the opponent's IP and the mastermind.
The company's legal director wasted no words: "Director Yang, the legal department is ready."
"Director Li told us to follow your instructions."
Song Gou's posts were getting hotter and hotter online.
"Li Chen is a very secretive person."
"I have reliable information that he has done many shady things behind the scenes."
"I suggest the relevant departments investigate thoroughly."
"Otherwise, Splendid Diamond, plus several properties under Rongchen Film and Television, are worth nearly 200 million."
"Where did all this money come from?"
"A grand press conference was actually just for promoting 'crossing the guandong'."
"Kidnapping public opinion, fishing for fame!"
The internet immediately exploded again; although most netizens didn't buy it.
A small number of people chose to support Song Gou.
While discussions were raging online, an anonymous post on Tianya was widely shared.
Soon, its popularity quickly caught up to Song Gou's post.
"These two brothers started in 2002."
"One Porsche, left hand to right hand, speculated for four years."
"They spread rumors that Yang Meiren was pregnant, but Yang Meiren ignored the two of them."
"Then they targeted Huang Shengyi, a Star Girl who became famous overnight."
"They filmed a movie, and I heard there was even a kiss scene. Did they bully her because she was mute and couldn't refuse?"
"Now they're green with envy again, trying to piggyback on the 'crossing the guandong' press conference's popularity."
"No wonder they say they're a 'catfish' in the entertainment industry."
"They really are! They never speak human words, and they never do human things."
Netizens forwarded and commented in droves.
"Director Li, don't bother with this guy. He's not a catfish; he's a dung beetle, specifically there to disgust people."
"He says people are promoting 'crossing the guandong,' but it's a legitimate historical drama that cost 32 million. Doesn't it deserve promotion?"
"Do you have money to promote your movie 'Heaven'?"
"Upstairs, if he had money, would he be posting to piggyback on Director Li's popularity?"
"Director Li isn't mute; I don't believe he'll let this go easily."
At the same time, Yang Siwei, the publicity director of Rongchen Film and Television, announced externally.
"Citizens' legitimate private property is protected by law."
"In the General Principles of Civil Law, private property has privacy rights!"
"Director Li's property does not need to be disclosed to the outside world."
"In response to malicious defamation and rumor, Rongchen Film and Television has filed a lawsuit with the court."
"The internet is not a lawless place; Rongchen Film and Television will not condone malicious defamation and rumor by petty individuals!"
Yang Siwei posted the court's receipt online.
At this, netizens applauded.
"This idiot thought Director Li was a pushover! He wouldn't even speak up when defamed."
"He's treating Director Li like Yang Meiren and putting himself on the same level as Director Li."
On the other side, Song Gou appeared calm, but his heart was already in a panic.
It was his first time being sued.
The two brothers immediately used their connections, claiming to be cultural figures.
They actually had some connections in various associations.
Finally, someone from the Writers Association called Director Tian.
Director Tian directly replied, "I don't care."
"I've done my best. You caused this, so you fix it yourself."
"My surname is Liu now, not Song."
"I told you early on, I'm not participating in this!"
"Hello, hello..."
Multiple requests for help were fruitless; some elders in the associations merely put on a show.
The big shots in the industry were all smarter than monkeys; who would personally get involved and give others a handle like Song Gou?
They were all happy to watch the show.
If Song Gou really dragged Li Chen down, they would at most secretly gloat.
But if something went wrong, who the hell would know who Song Gou was?
Unable to do anything, Song Gou called another person.
"I can't do anything either."
"For Starlight's matters, without you, I can find someone else."
"Given this situation, you should clean up your own mess first."
"If this matter isn't resolved, Starlight won't need you anymore."
The call was hung up again.
Song Gou was truly anxious.
Even the school called, asking if he truly had evidence or was just speaking carelessly.
Song Gou completely panicked now.
He hadn't expected to hit a brick wall this time.
Yang Meiren, Jin Qiaoqiao, Cecilia Cheung, Zhang Yimou—which of these people didn't have backing?
Which of them wasn't tougher than a fledgling Li Chen?
He had trampled them all underfoot, but he never thought he'd encounter a hothead like Li Chen this time.
Before the incident could even ferment, Li Chen counterattacked with lightning speed.
Not only was he caught in a backlash of online bullying, but now he was also facing a lawsuit.
If he really ended up with a lawsuit.
The consequences would be unimaginable; his current doctoral degree might even be ruined.
A slight misstep could lead to complete ruin.
In less than a day, Yang Siwei received an apology call from the other party.
Yang Siwei refused to budge, demanding either a formal public apology in the newspaper, admitting he fabricated facts.
Or they would meet in court.
She hung up the phone.
Yang Siwei smiled, "Boss, do you know what he just said?"
"He said he wanted to apologize to you personally over the phone, claiming he believed rumors from a friend."
"It's hilarious; he's not worthy!"
Li Chen also smiled, "Not bad, Siwei, you're growing very fast."
"You even know how to use internet trolls and track IPs."
Yang Siwei showed no modesty, smiling.
"It's all thanks to the boss's excellent teaching."
"If I hadn't made any progress, I might as well have found a piece of tofu to smash my head against and die."
"However, Wang Dong also helped a lot this time. I only now understand what the boss said that day."
"My methods are truly insignificant compared to Wang Dong's!"
Yang Siwei also felt emotional; her team's Da Xiong hadn't even found the IP addresses of the other party's posts yet.
Wang Dong had already given her the results.
In terms of internet trolls, if she called herself the '800,000 Internet Troll Instructor'.
Then Wang Dong was on the level of the Four Dragon Kings.
