After Zhuang Yan left, the lawyer called Xia Qingshan to relay Zhuang Yan's words, and even sent him the video in case he couldn't hear clearly.

In short, Zhuang Yan will not withdraw the lawsuit and will continue to pursue legal proceedings, demanding that Xia Qingshan pay him 100 million yuan in private compensation. If he does not want to pay, he can expect to go to jail.

Zhuang Yan has evidence that Xia Qingshan hired online trolls to spread rumors and cyberbully him, but Xia Qingshan has no evidence to prove that Zhuang Yan killed someone when he was five years old.

Xia Qingshan spent tens of millions of yuan hiring online trolls, which is a criminal case because the cost of spreading rumors is high and the whole internet knows about it.

This case is no small matter, and Zhuang Yan is clearly trying to make a big fuss about it. If he is not satisfied with the first instance result, he will immediately appeal and apply for a second instance, in short, he will keep Xia Qingshan waiting.

"Mr. Xia, Zhuang Yan doesn't care about his reputation at all. Even if there is evidence that he killed someone when he was five years old, it is impossible to file a case regarding Zhuang Yan killing his sister." The lawyer explained seriously, "A five-year-old child is not mentally mature enough to bear criminal responsibility for illegal acts. At the scene of the incident, the first person to be held accountable should be his guardian who was taking care of him."

Xia Qingshan knew, of course, that he couldn't file a case. He had only intended to intimidate Zhuang Yan so that he could control him and make him submit.

Since he won't face criminal charges, let's ruin his reputation, let him rot and decay under the attacks of netizens, and ideally, let him commit suicide because he can't bear the cyberbullying. That's what Xia Qingshan wants to see.

The lawyer kindly reminded him, "Mr. Xia, have you paid the outstanding taxes for your company recently? We need to avoid any further problems."

"You don't need to tell me." It was because of the back taxes and fines that he lost a lot of money. He had just won the bid for West City and was in dire need of funds.

If he were to give Zhuang Yan another 100 million, his finances would become even tighter.

The upcoming projects will cost money everywhere, but if we don't pay for them, and Zhuang Yan's lawsuit leads to his imprisonment, who will take responsibility for the company? The stock price has already plummeted enough because of these messy things. If this continues, it will affect the company's shareholders and lead to an investigation.

Xia Qingshan has no chance of winning against Zhuang Yan's legal team. If the allegations are confirmed, the company's stock price will fall, the risk assessment will fail, and the financing for the Xicheng project will be difficult to advance.

So, Xia Qingshan's efforts were in vain, and the final result was still to settle the matter privately and pay 100 million in compensation.

That 100 million is like a huge chunk being gnawed into his heart; just thinking about it hurts.

Xia Qingshan could only console himself that the 100 million was only temporarily held by Zhuang Yan, and that he would eventually have to return it.

“Tell Zhuang Yan that I’m willing to pay compensation privately, it’s only 100 million, so ask him to withdraw the lawsuit as soon as possible.”

The lawyer took out his phone to send a text message, and soon received a reply from Zhuang Yan. The lawyer looked pale and hesitated before saying, "He said... now we have to pay more."

Xia Qingshan gritted his teeth: "How much more?"

"One hundred and twenty million."

The veins on Xia Qingshan's forehead were bulging, but he still pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Here, I've already given you a hundred million, what's twenty million?"

Xia Qingshan was very unhappy that he had lost another 20 million for no reason and wanted Zhuang Zhongming to step in and suppress Zhuang Yan.

To everyone's surprise, Zhuang Zhongming, who was usually obedient, did not listen this time, and as a result, their relationship soured.

Zhuang Zhongming has been on tenterhooks these past two days, fearing that Zhuang Yan might say something he shouldn't have online.

Fortunately, things calmed down, and Zhuang Yan did not mention the dealer online.

Thinking about it carefully, 19 years have passed. Although Zhuang Yan has guessed what happened back then, he has no evidence to prove that he did not kill anyone. So he can only let Tang Jing go crazy.

With this in mind, Zhuang Zhongming gradually calmed down.

Upon receiving the money, Zhuang Yan immediately invested it in the current bull market, which was experiencing a significant upward trend and was performing exceptionally well.

Zhuang Yan would occasionally glance at the internet and see that the topic of him killing his younger sister was still gaining traction. Although it wasn't on the trending search list, people were discussing it every day.

At this time, the official account of "Love on the Journey" announced the release date of the full movie and then released some behind-the-scenes footage, including Xia Wan's words in the observation room that smeared Lu Yan.

"Lu Yan is a woman who loves to have fun. She spends all day doing nothing, likes to go to bars and pick up male models, and has countless men around her."

The video sparked heated discussions.

[Watching the live stream, I realized Lu Yan is quite adept at seducing men. She's like this even on TV shows; she's probably even more promiscuous in private.]

[What's wrong with the production team? Who did they invite? How can they invite someone so immoral in private to a dating show? This show is doomed.]

Is it true that Zhuang Yan killed his younger sister at age five out of jealousy? Why doesn't he come out and explain? I really liked him while watching this variety show. I don't usually follow celebrities, but I finally watched a variety show featuring a non-celebrity, and I don't want my image to be ruined!

Xia Wan is Lu Yan's niece and has seen what Lu Yan is like in private, so it might be true.

If Zhuang Yan doesn't come out to explain, then it means it's true.

Can a five-year-old child really kill someone?

Human nature is inherently evil; the good behavior people exhibit is the result of later education and upbringing. Children are prone to doing bad things. Anyway, I believe what Zhuang Yan's mother said, and I finally understand why Zhuang Yan was kicked out and left to be raised by his grandmother when he was six years old. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to accept such a child either.

[This is terrifying. Killing someone at five years old—does Zhuang Yan have a hidden violent gene? Would he still want to kill now? Someone like that is far too dangerous.]

[People like this should be locked up. Why isn't a five-year-old criminally liable for murder?]

[I felt sorry for Zhuang Yan after reading about his experiences online, but now that I think about it, there's always a reason why someone is pitiful. The truly pitiful people are his parents.]

[Let's forget about Zhuang Zhongming; there's no denying his infidelity. The most pitiful one is Tang Jing. She had a son and a daughter, but then her son killed her daughter, and she fell ill from the shock. Her supposedly good husband cheated on her. It's so tragic.]

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