Chapter 292 Long Time No See_3
It was around eleven in the morning when the lawyer called him.
"Mr. Xu, there has been progress in the case," the lawyer said.
With that one sentence, Xu Qingyan was instantly brought back to that afternoon when he was mobbed by trolls. It started with a small entertainment company trying to stir up trouble, hoping to step on Xu Qingyan to promote their own artist.
In the end, they overplayed their hand and were crushed by Xu Qingyan's counterattack.
At the time, to deter the malicious posters of ugly and funeral photos, he had spent a significant sum on a lawyer to sue each troll individually. Usually, this approach was useless.
Even though the internet was not lawless, it wasn't exactly a place for reasoned debate either. Fortunately, the law firm Xu Qingyan engaged was somewhat unique, employing rather thuggish methods.
In short, they were litigation bullies.
Even without any key evidence, as long as the money was right, they could make the other party's life miserable. Throw more money at the problem, and no difficulty was insurmountable—they played a game of offline realities.
Not to mention, Xu Qingyan's case had key evidence, and plenty of it. It was just time-consuming and energy-draining, something most public figures didn't have the time to fuss over.
But Xu Qingyan was the exception, instructing his lawyers to pursue relentlessly, regardless of the cost. His philosophy was simple: either don't do it at all, or do it to the extreme.
"What do they say?"
"They're willing to make a public apology, record a video apology online," the lawyer explained, "This is the greatest extent we can fight for, considering the other party is young and a girl."
"What if I want to continue?"
"Then we will continue to follow through for you, until we win the greatest possible restitution for your reputation," the lawyer agreed amicably, willing to earn money when the opportunity arose. It didn't matter to him that the opposition was barely an adult.
"Good," Xu Qingyan hung up the phone.
During lunch, he first recounted the situation with the Dianan film crew. Pei Muchan was just as outraged after listening. Anyone with a sense of right and wrong couldn't stay calm.
"Are these even human words? What does 'it's all in the past' mean? Our historical hatred with the Japanese pirates has never ceased. These people are just despicable," she raged.
"Tell me about it, they're all too well-fed," Xu Qingyan nodded. He didn't tell her the exact words; otherwise, Pei Muchan would have been even more infuriated.
"Speaking of which, the lawyer called me this afternoon."
Upon hearing this, Pei Muchan paused for a second, "Is there a result for that incident last time?"
"Yeah," Xu Qingyan briefly repeated the lawyer's words, "I don't want to let it go so quickly. They dragged it out thinking the heat would die down.
"Even if they make a video apology now, with a real person, I doubt many people would watch it. After it's over, they'll delete the video and then continue with their snide comments on new accounts."
"That may be so, but there's not much you can do about such things," Pei Muchan responded with concern, "Will keeping this in mind affect your state of mind?"
"To be honest, it will," he admitted, "But letting it slide would affect me more. I'd regret it whenever I think about it later, and besides, someone in this world needs to be serious."
"But what if they become desperate and accuse you of inciting cyberbullying from your fans?" Pei Muchan's face was etched with worry, her brows furrowed, "Many things can't be clearly explained."
"You have work at hand now, which affects your future. It's not worth wasting your time and energy on these people."
"Uh, I actually..." Xu Qingyan hesitated for a moment but still spoke with a frown, "I don't really believe that my future will be all that smooth. Who knows when someone might accuse me of sexual harassment."
"These things are even harder to argue, with my kind of traffic and controversy linked to my background. Because I have a young face that gained fame notoriety, I look easy to bully."
Pei Muchan looked uncertain, "Really?"
"To be born in ease is to die in anxiety, you really can't predict these things," he explained, "That's why I consider the future even more of a reason to be serious."
"The future is definitely important, and now is indeed a critical time. That's all the more reason not to give up. I need to be serious so that after I succeed, others will speak for me."
"It's hard to correct stereotypes, I've kept a low profile. You know this, but still, it's unavoidable. The petty fear might rather than virtue."
"Fine," Pei Muchan sighed.
The next day.
Lin Wanzhou arrived alone in Xinghai, stepping out of the airport with joy.
Xu Qingyan came to pick her up, driving the black jade-colored Panamera. He had left the keys at Lin Wanzhou's studio, never using it, which now worked out in his favor.
There were many luxury cars at the airport, and one Panamera didn't attract much attention. Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire
However, when Lin Wanzhou took off her sunglasses, she caught the eyes of a few onlookers. Her doe-like eyes curved up, and without waiting for him to speak, she jumped right onto him.
"It's been a while!"