Inside the ancestral hall in Zhoujia Village
All the Zhou family members gathered here.
"Second Uncle, Zhou Chen is being condemned online right now. More and more people are on our side, and his reputation is about to be ruined."
"The vice presidents of Tsinghua and Peking Universities have publicly stated that they will not admit students like Zhou Chen."
"If this trend continues, I believe that more prestigious schools will soon join in, and Zhou Chen may become the first person in history to have the score of the top scorer in the provincial college entrance examination but no school is willing to recruit him."
"If you have to blame someone, blame him for not taking a chance. We gave him a chance, but he didn't appreciate it. He brought it all on himself."
Sitting in the main hall, Zhou Lao Er and several elders of the Zhou family listened to the younger generation's chatter and all showed satisfied expressions.
Zhou Chen attempted to fight against the entire family on his own, and was extremely selfish by refusing to hand over the business to the family. All these original sins should be punished.
They exposed Zhou Chen's misdeeds to the public, and the results are now significant.
“Dad, I think we should continue to give interviews and add fuel to the fire so that the netizens will make a bigger fuss. This will put pressure on Peking University. Once Peking University expresses the same attitude, Zhou Chen will become the biggest joke.”
Zhou Nan said to Zhou Lao Er.
“I agree. Zhou Chen is too arrogant. I told him to come over here and apologize, but he actually called me an idiot.”
“I was also scolded. It’s outrageous. When the reporters arrive, I will make sure they know how rude he is.”
"Yes, we have to let him know how powerful we are. The injuries I sustained when I was pushed down are still not healed, and it was all his fault."
The younger generation of the Zhou family all hated Zhou Chen. They had suffered at Tang Wu's hands before, either getting beaten to a pulp or covered in bruises. They didn't hate Tang Wu, but instead focused all their hatred on Zhou Chen.
Hearing the attitude of the family members, Zhou Lao Er raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.
“This kid is truly arrogant and domineering. Now everyone is shouting to beat him, but he still refuses to bow his head and compromise. Let him suffer even more. Third brother, continue to contact the reporters and have them come again.”
Zhou Laosan nodded, and his second aunt, third aunt, and others all looked expectant.
"Next, let's think of some bad things and pin them all on him."
"Let's brainstorm and agree on a unified story when we meet with reporters in the future. No one is allowed to let anything slip."
"Second Uncle, I've thought of one. It's about Zhou Chen, who used to visit relatives in our village and secretly watch girls taking a bath."
"We could also add the charge of stealing eggs to his name."
One fabricated charge after another was laid out, gaining everyone's approval, ready to be pinned all on Zhou Chen.
Just then,
Suddenly, a young junior ran in from outside the ancestral hall.
"Something terrible has happened!"
Um?
This shout caused a flicker of surprise in the expressions of everyone from the Zhou family present.
"What happened?"
Zhou Lao Er frowned and asked in a deep voice.
"Second Uncle, this is what happened. I was surfing the internet at an internet cafe just now and saw an audio and video recording of Brother Zhou Nan talking to Zhou Chen on the phone. The video is very bad for us, and I have already downloaded it."
"Speak," the young man said, taking out the video from his phone and showing it to Zhou Lao Er.
Zhou Lao Er played the video in public.
Soon, Zhou Nan's voice and Zhou Chen's voice came to mind.
After all of them have been placed...
The scene fell silent, and many eyes turned to Zhou Nan. Zhou Nan gritted his teeth; he hadn't expected to be tricked. Zhou Chen had secretly recorded his phone call—how despicable!
"This is not Xiao Nan's fault. We asked Xiao Nan to pass on the message, but no one expected that Zhou Chen would be so insidious and shameless as to record it."
An elder from the Zhou family said.
"Indeed, we were careless."
"The most important thing now is that this recording has been leaked. It's clearly a counterattack against us. If he proves his innocence, all our efforts will have been in vain. We must not let him succeed. We must think of a way quickly."
Auntie San got anxious and reminded them that Zhou Chen might turn the tables and win the battle, at which point they would be the ones being blamed.
The contents of the recording, in particular, so bluntly stated that the Zhou family wanted to extract benefits from Zhou Chen, which was extremely detrimental to the Zhou family.
"Third Aunt, actually, some people are already suspecting us and have started speaking up for Zhou Chen," said a younger member of the Zhou family who was reporting the news.
Upon hearing this, everyone present changed color once again.
The group looked at each other, then turned to their leader, Zhou Lao Er, hoping he would make the decision.
"Don't worry, everyone. It's just a recording. To expect him to fully prove himself is just wishful thinking. Who can guarantee that this video wasn't staged by that little brat himself?"
Zhou Lao Er said with a sneer.
Um?
Upon hearing this, everyone present was taken aback at first, but then their eyes lit up after they realized what was happening.
“Yes, we can deny it, the recording is fake.”
"It was all directed and acted by Zhou Chen himself."
"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, Second Uncle, your response is absolutely brilliant."
The crowd, who had looked worried just a moment ago, were instantly relieved. As long as they remained convinced that the recording was fake, public opinion would still be on their side.
Even if the evidence Zhou Chen presents is true, so what? They insist and won't budge. Zhou Chen has no way to back down. As for those netizens who don't know the truth, is it Zhou Chen who believes one word, or dozens of their words? The answer is clear.
As the Zhou family decided to further accuse Zhou Chen of fabricating a recording,
Zhou Ling tied a rope to her daughter and secured her to the headboard to prevent her from running around or crawling. Then, she left the house alone.
Arriving back at the long-missed neighborhood, at the doorstep of my former 'home',
Zhou Ling had mixed feelings, but she quickly cleared her mind, pulled down her hat and mask, ignored the elderly people chatting downstairs, and walked straight into the stairwell.
only,
Zhou Ling came looking for Zhou Chen, only to find him gone.
I knocked on the door for a while, but no one answered.
Realizing that Zhou Chen was not home, and not wanting to wait at the door for too long in case the neighbors recognized her, Zhou Ling had no choice but to turn around and leave.
"That person looks kind of familiar."
"She looks a bit like Zhou Ling."
Is it Zhou Ling?
Upon hearing someone mention her name, Zhou Ling was afraid of being recognized, so she quickened her pace and left the residential area.
Once she was sure no one was chasing after her, Zhou Ling secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as Zhou Ling was wondering where to find Zhou Chen, she noticed a figure walking towards her from not far away.
Immediately,
His expression flashed.
...
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