Chapter 98 I only promised he would leave a note…
Fang Xingu's reply was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, instantly turning the once bustling online world into ruins.
Everyone carefully read and pondered Fang Xingu's short sentence, and it took them a long time to be sure what he meant:
"Why is it that I can understand Fang Xin's comments word by word, but I can't understand them when they're put together?"
"??? Is that what I mean?"
"Holy crap, my comprehension is perfect, right? Fang Xin is deliberately confronting Tan Zhi, saying that the lyrics and music for 'Please Listen to His Defendant' weren't written by Tan Zhi, but by him?"
No wonder Fang Xin always had a dark expression when he looked at Tan Zhi [in fear]
"But Tan Zhi's attitude is quite firm... It's so weird."
"This is amazing! Everything is connected to the next part, just like watching a TV series!"
"That doesn't make sense. I remember that the production team of 'Us Without Tomorrow' sent Tan Zhi a song invitation, which is why Tan Zhi wrote the song. Moreover, the lyrics of 'Please Listen to His Defendant' are very close to Qin Zhe. If it was really written by Fang Xingu, he hadn't debuted yet at the time, so he shouldn't have been involved in the movie plot. How could he have written such close lyrics?"
"...Have you forgotten a key figure, Jing Yitong? Given this relationship, he could very well have told Fang Xingu about the plot of this movie or Qin Zhe."
"Oh my god, I completely forgot about Jing Yitong!"
"Whether it's Fang Xingu or Tan Zhi, come out and explain things clearly right now! And you two are not allowed to settle this privately, you have to confront each other online! I'll be restless if I don't get to the bottom of this today, sob sob."
Regardless of the netizens' reactions at this moment, the person most shocked is undoubtedly Tan Zhi himself.
Holding his phone with its shattered screen, Tan Zhi trembled as he looked at Fang Xingu's latest reply. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his body stiff and unable to move, as if he were trapped in a nightmare—
Was the gunman he hired back then Fang Xin Gu?!
How could such a coincidence happen? Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Tan Zhi was certain that the gunman had gone abroad, and he later confirmed this. In the past few years, the other party had been very quiet and had never extorted a single penny from him. How could he suddenly transform into Fang Xin Gu and stand up to reveal the truth?
If the gunman really was Fang Xin Gu, why didn't he speak out sooner?
Even though Tan Zhi had many doubts about Fang Xin's identity, it did not prevent him from knowing that something was wrong. At this moment, Tan Zhi's body was trembling like a leaf, and even his pupils were trembling violently.
At this moment, he had lost the reckless courage he had before, because he knew very well that Fang Xingu dared to speak out now, which meant that he must have evidence, while Tan Zhi had no evidence to prove that the song "Please Listen to His Defendant" was written by him.
From inspiration to the final lyrics and music, a song goes through countless revisions and changes. A normal creator would definitely keep a draft of their own revisions. Tan Zhi wasn't sure how much Fang Xin had, but he knew he had no evidence.
Just as Tan Zhi was panicking, his front door was suddenly banged on. Tan Zhi was startled and realized that it was his manager's voice outside: "Old Tan, open the door!"
Tan Zhi immediately stood up, his movements so swift that he suffered from insufficient blood supply. The moment he stood up, everything went black, and he stumbled and fell to the ground. His arm was cut open by a shard of broken ceramic on the ground, leaving a deep gash. Blood gushed from the wound, but he seemed oblivious to it and hurriedly ran to open the door for his agent.
The agent, Cao Wenbin, was shocked by what he saw behind the door. Tan Zhi's clothes were disheveled, blood was still seeping from his arm, and the room was a mess, with broken ceramics and glass shards scattered all over the floor, and furniture was also smashed.
The agent asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Tan Zhi dragged Cao Wenbin into the house, slammed the door shut, and stared intently at him: "Did you see Fang Xingu's Weibo post? He's the gunman from back then!!"
Cao Wenbin had just gotten out of the car when he saw this bombshell news on his phone. He obviously hadn't expected that Fang Xingu was the one who wrote "Please Listen to His Defendant". He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down: "I know, I just saw it."
Tan Zhi roared in despair, "We paid for the lyrics and music of this song back then. I am the lyricist and composer of this song now, and we've lived peacefully for so many years. How can he deny it now!"
Cao Wenbin's eyes darted around: "Old Tan, if we really go over this issue of authorship rights, we're not in the right. And do you remember, back then we only paid the outsourcing company five thousand yuan, and we don't even know how much kickbacks they took, or how much money Fang Xin received."
Upon hearing this, even Tan Zhi himself was speechless. So, this song that had brought him countless wealth and fame, he had only paid a buyout fee of five thousand yuan for it in the beginning?
Countless memories flooded back, and Tan Zhi recalled many things from the past. In fact, he knew in his heart that, judging from the quality of the lyrics and music of the song "Please Listen to His Explanation," the price of five thousand yuan was definitely too low.
But it was his first time hiring a ghostwriter, and he wasn't sure how much to pay, so he subconsciously quoted a low price, hoping to negotiate with the other party through the outsourcing company.
As a result, the other party readily accepted the money without any intention of haggling, quickly accepted the offer, and never appeared in Tan Zhi's world again in the following years.
The other party didn't seem to care about the money or how many awards the lyrics and music of "Please Listen to His Explanation" won. They simply disappeared quietly, which made Tan Zhi gradually lower his guard and become complacent in the world of fame and fortune.
Only now did Tan Zhi realize how foolish he had been. The cheaper something is, the more expensive it is. Every gift that fate bestows has a price tag attached in secret. A chilling despair washed over him: "So what do you suggest we do now?"
Cao Wenbin sighed, "Let me first ask Qi Qiu if he's willing to settle privately."
He took out his phone and dialed Qi Qiu's number.
.
Beep—
Fang Xingu answered Qi Qiu's call, and Qi Qiu said, "Tan Zhi's agent just called me, but I didn't answer. I guess he wanted to ask if we could reach a settlement."
At this moment, Fang Xingu was on his way back to Jiangcheng with Jing Yitong. He was comfortably leaning back in the passenger seat. Judging from his relaxed posture, no one would guess that he had just caused such a big uproar online: "No need to answer, I will not accept any reconciliation anyway."
Qi Qiu: I know. Anyway, we'll continue to proceed as planned. I'm all ready.
Fang Xin hung up the phone, turned his head to look at Jing Yitong who was driving attentively in the driver's seat, and suddenly smiled as he looked at him.
Jing Yitong glanced at him, puzzled, then wiped his face with his hand: "What are you laughing at?"
Fang Xingu stared at him intently, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons as she smiled: "I just think you're exceptionally handsome."
Jing Yitong immediately straightened up, looking proud and stern: "How come you only realized how good-looking I am today?"
Fang Xingu laughed heartily: "I just wanted to praise you. If it weren't for you, I might not have made up my mind to resolve the Tan Zhi matter."
“Without me, none of this would have happened,” Jing Yitong patted Fang Xingu’s hand. “Go for it this time, I’ll always support you.”
"good."
Fang Xin picked up his phone again and sent out a pre-edited blog post.
@Fang Xin Gu: Five and a half years ago, after visiting the set of "Us Without Tomorrow," I started writing the song "Please Listen to His Defendant" for the character Qin Zhe. However, since I hadn't debuted yet, I submitted the lyrics and music to Tan Zhi Studio, which was writing songs for "Us Without Tomorrow." Unfortunately, I didn't receive a reply from the studio, so I naturally assumed I had been rejected.
However, a few months later, when I returned from my study abroad trip, I discovered that the song "Please Listen to His Defendant" had become a well-known theme song for the character Qin Zhe, and Tan Zhi's name was prominently listed as the lyricist and composer in the song's credits. I contacted Tan Zhi's studio to inquire whether there was any misunderstanding, but received no response.
In the following years, due to recording "Star Journey" and some personal reasons, I did not choose to expose this matter until "New Voice" sent me an invitation. Coincidentally, the song I needed to sing this time was "Please Listen to His Defend". Therefore, I took out the arrangement that had already taken shape in my mind and should have belonged to "Please Listen to His Defend".
The general response from listeners to this new version—or rather, the original version—of "Please Listen to His Explanation" has been positive. I believe that people like the song and this new arrangement, which makes me very gratified. However, Mr. Tan has distorted the facts and repeatedly smeared me and my supporters.
Therefore, I believe it is necessary to restore the whole truth. This time, I am doing this not only for myself, but also for my fans and listeners who have always supported me, and for those who have always been by my side. Below is a timeline of evidence compiled by my staff. The relevant content is stored on my other Weibo account, @言万物, and everyone is welcome to review and verify it. If Mr. Tan Zhi also has any evidence, he is welcome to confront me. [Long image ×6][Link ×9]”
At the same time Fang Xingu posted this long Weibo post, netizens and fans who had been following the matter rushed into the comment section, with the number of comments increasing by tens of thousands every second.
"This chain of evidence looks very clear, and I'm on Fang Xin's side this time."
"Leaving aside these six pictures for now, those nine links are absolute proof, right? They all redirect directly to Xin Gu's Weibo side account from five and a half years ago. These links clearly show how this song gradually took shape from scratch. Is Tan Zhi still going to try and fight back? [crying emoji]"
"What's the point of struggling? Unless he can come up with an earlier timeline. But that's unlikely. I think Fang Xingu started writing songs before New Year's Eve that year. At that time, 'We Who Have No Tomorrow' was still being filmed. It's impossible for Tan Zhi to have been invited to write songs at that time. But given that Fang Xingu has Jing Yitong around him, he probably knew about the plot of Qin Zhe's character back then."
"Is this considered blood sugar? Can I take it? So Fang Xin visited the set because of Jing Yitong, and he also wrote a song for the character Qin Zhe because of Jing Yitong..."
"Tan Zhi, I'll beat you to death!! You plagiarized our Gu Gu's hard work [angry] So we should have known Gu Gu long before 'Star Journey'!"
"fxg has been swallowing his anger for so many years, what was he after? [shocked] This personal reason is quite intriguing."
“Jingyi, come out with me! Just tell me, wasn’t Fang Xin Gu afraid of affecting your chances of winning the lottery, so he decided to take this loss…”
"My head is buzzing, I'm so angry I could cry! Tan Zhi, how are you going to repay Fang Xin Gu for what you owe him?!"
"Is it really true that Tan Zhi hired Fang Xingu as a ghostwriter before, and then Fang Xingu got angry and flipped the table because he was being criticized?"
"Let's have a standoff between the two sides. Anyway, it's basically confirmed that the song was written by Fang Xingu, but we don't know if there are any vested interests involved."
"Have you guys noticed that Tan Zhi's musical style used to be quite consistent, but since a few years ago his style has become more and more varied? Could it be because he's been hiring ghostwriters, and different ghostwriters definitely have their own styles, which is why it's like this?"
"Holy crap, that makes a lot of sense... I'm going to look into it."
Meanwhile, Tan Zhi and Cao Wenbin received some surprising news from the outsourcing company.
"What?! You're saying you outsourced your work to others back then too?!"
The person from the outsourcing company said guiltily, "It's not uncommon for outsourcing to be done in layers. Not long after, the next level of outsourcing company went bankrupt. Before they ran away with the money, they only told us hastily that the gunman had gone abroad. We went to confirm, and at that time, the other party was indeed not in the country for quite a long time."
But now it seems there are significant differences between going abroad and going abroad. Fang Xin had only been studying abroad for a few months, but this group of people made it seem like he had settled abroad.
Tan Zhi slumped onto the sofa in despair. No wonder he couldn't contact Fang Xingu afterward. No wonder he could buy the lyrics and music of "Please Listen to His Explanation" for only five thousand yuan. It turned out that he was just a link in the outsourcing chain that went bankrupt and ran away with the donation. Perhaps Fang Xingu really didn't know about the five thousand yuan from beginning to end.
At this moment, Tan Zhi clearly realized what it meant for the situation to be hopeless. Faced with this series of evidence, he had to admit that Fang Xingu was the lyricist and composer of "Please Listen to His Defendant" back then.
He looked at Cao Wenbin, his eyes filled with confusion and helplessness: "What should I do... what should I do now?"
Cao Wenbin ripped off his glasses and breathed heavily, "Let me try to contact Fang Xin Gu again."
Cao Wenbin and Qi Qiu knew each other. Although Qi Qiu did not answer Cao Wenbin's calls, Cao Wenbin still persistently sent Qi Qiu a series of messages. After much pleading and cajoling, Qi Qiu finally agreed to answer Cao Wenbin's call.
Cao Wenbin tried his best to remain rational: "Hello, Professor Fang. Regarding the matter of the lyricist and composer of 'Please Listen to His Explanation,' there are some things we need to clarify. At the time, we did indeed solicit lyrics and music from an outsourcing company..."
Fang Xingu didn't bother with any of that beating around the bush and went straight to the point: "I have never agreed to be a ghostwriter, nor have I ever received any message from you that you want to negotiate with me."
“Yes, yes, yes,” Cao Wenbin said, sweating profusely. “It was the outsourcing company that ran away with the money. We had already paid them a fee.”
At this moment, Fang Xingu was leaning casually against the car, clearly not wanting to say much to them: "I haven't received it. How much money did you pay?"
Cao Wenbin hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Five thousand..."
Fang Xingu burst out laughing: "Five thousand? I wrote songs for other singers under pseudonyms back then, and without infringing on my right to attribution, I never received less than five figures in compensation. You only gave me five thousand yuan and you have the nerve to say that? You must have been overjoyed back then, thinking you had met a newbie and thought you had gotten a great deal."
Tan Zhi and Cao Wenbin didn't respond because Fang Xingu had indeed hit the nail on the head. They did feel that they had gotten a good deal. Who wouldn't like a partner who is quiet, skilled, and inexpensive?
Tan Zhi gave Cao Wenbin a wink, and Cao Wenbin swallowed hard and immediately said, "Teacher Fang, don't be angry. This is definitely our fault. Can we resolve this peacefully and not drag everything into the public eye?"
Just as Fang Xingu was about to speak, he felt his fingertips being pinched. He looked in the direction of the hands and saw Jing Yitong smiling at him with gentle encouragement and support on his face.
Fang Xingu also laughed. He grabbed Jing Yitong's hand and pressed it against his face, then rubbed his cheek against Jing Yitong's palm.
He had backed down before, and that backed down for five years. But this time, with Jing Yitong and so many other people supporting him and standing by his side, he will not back down an inch again. The truth should be revealed to the world, and the song that belongs to him should be named after him.
He said coldly to Cao Wenbin, "I do not accept any form of reconciliation."
Tan Zhi panicked and snatched Cao Wenbin's phone, urgently saying, "I'm willing to return all the profits I've made over the years from 'Please Listen to His Defendant' to you!"
Tan Zhi thought this was the most sincere thing he could do, but Fang Xingu just chuckled and said in a tone that sounded relaxed but was actually quite sarcastic: "That money should have been mine to begin with, and do you think I'm short of money now? If you apologize to me publicly online now and donate all the profits you've made from 'Please Listen to His Defendant' over the years, I'll leave you a way to continue working in the industry, how about that?"
"……Hold!"
Tan Zhi cursed and hung up the phone.
Seeing the call being cut off, Cao Wenbin was furious: "What are you doing! I finally got this call opportunity!"
Tan Zhi roared, "Listen to what he said! He's gone too far!"
Cao Wenbin hurriedly grabbed Tan Zhi's shoulder: "Old Tan, just do as he says. As long as we can stay in the industry, anything is possible in the future."
Tan Zhi angrily shook off Cao Wenbin and stormed out the door, refusing to agree to Fang Xingu's demands.
Meanwhile, Fang Xingu was in a good mood, humming a song in the car, and casually instructed Qi Qiu to continue guiding public opinion.
Jing Yitong had previously suspected that Tan Zhi could not have only hired a ghostwriter for the song "Please Listen to His Explanation". Later, he asked around and found some evidence that proved that Tan Zhi did not write many of his own songs in the later period.
Jing Yitong handed all the evidence over to Fang Xingu, instructing his studio to use it as effectively as possible, depending on the circumstances.
Now this evidence comes in handy; initially, Qi Qiu had people release a lot of seemingly irrefutable information—
"Look what the blogger discovered... It seems that Tan Zhi's song wasn't written by him either."
"Friends, we've uncovered another song that wasn't written by Tan Zhi himself!"
"Holy crap, Tan Zhi's song was definitely ghostwritten, wasn't it?"
However, Jing Yitong had limited time to collect evidence, and they didn't find much solid evidence. But after these few pieces of real information were released, they had already laid the foundation for netizens' perception, making everyone habitually doubt everything Tan Zhi did.
After that, the studio continued to release information, some true and some false. Eventually, netizens became too lazy to read each message carefully. It seemed that as long as someone questioned the originality of Tan Zhi's song, then that song was definitely not written by Tan Zhi. In the end, almost all of Tan Zhi's songs were questioned.
Tan Zhi felt a sense of frustration as he watched the waves of criticism against him. After issuing two denials with little effect, he was at his wit's end. He knew perfectly well that if things continued like this, the reputation he had built up over the years would be completely ruined, and he would really have no chance to stay in the industry.
Having no other choice, Tan Zhi could only bow his head and admit his mistake. As Fang Xingu had requested, he recorded an apology statement online. In the video, Tan Zhi lowered his eyes and appeared to be sincere as he said:
"Today, I would like to express my sincere apologies to Mr. Fang Xingu, the lyricist and composer of 'Please Listen to His Defendant.' Five years ago, I was indeed out of my mind. Because I had not produced any works for many years, I wanted to find a ghostwriter to write songs for me. As a result of a series of misunderstandings, I ended up using Mr. Fang Xingu's 'Please Listen to His Defendant.'"
For the past few years, I have considered myself the original creator of this song and have received numerous honors because of it. My actions have caused great harm to Mr. Fang Xingu, and I would like to apologize to him. I am also willing to make amends for my mistakes. After consultation with Mr. Fang Xingu, I will donate all the copyright proceeds from "Please Listen to His Defend" to society.
Finally, I want to apologize again to Mr. Fang Xingu, whom I hurt, and to all netizens. I'm sorry. From now on, I will stay true to originality and continue to strive to create music that the public loves.
Netizens angrily cursed him in the comments section:
"You only realize you were wrong now?? If it hadn't been exposed online that you didn't write so many of your songs, were you still not going to apologize?!"
"Now I know what it means to be disrespectful to one's elders. My mother has been your fan for decades, and she was so upset after finding out about this that she couldn't eat. How can you do something like this to them?"
"I can't even imagine how Gu Gu must have felt when he returned to China and found that the song he wrote for JYT had been plagiarized by someone else [crying]. He was only twenty years old at the time."
"Get out! Who wants to listen to your songs? I'll never forgive you."
"Tan Zhi is retiring from the entertainment industry!!!"
Actually, the weather wasn't very good today, with dark clouds, but given that it's the end of July and the outdoor temperature is nearly 40 degrees Celsius, the gloomy weather actually made the temperature drop a few degrees. There was no need to sunbathe in the car, so Fang Xingu felt that the weather was actually quite nice today. Especially after playing the apology video outside, he felt even better.
Jing Yitong also heard Tan Zhi's "sincere" apology video. He laughed and said to him, "You're getting worse and worse, digging a pit for Tan Zhi like this."
Fang Xingu shrugged: "Why didn't he just apologize honestly earlier? Instead, he made us spend so much time and effort, and in the end, he still had to apologize to me."
Jing Yitong drifted the car to a stop in the Jing family's courtyard, then leaned closer to Fang Xingu and asked, "If he honestly apologizes, what will you do?"
Fang Xingu's eyes flickered, and he said with a wicked smile, "I only promised to leave him a way out, but others may not."
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