Chapter 594 What Evidence Do You Have?
This year's Qingyuan Literature Award was very fair, as two of the five winning works were by newcomers to the literary world: Gu Siqing's "Knowing the Way" and Jiang Yuquan's "Life."
But no one expected that Jiang Yuquan would directly expose Ling Pingying for plagiarizing his work at the award ceremony.
A tall, thin, bespectacled, and very refined man in his twenties stood on the podium, his voice trembling as he said, "Other people thank many people when they give their acceptance speeches, but I don't want to say anything because something has been weighing me down for a long time, a depression that nearly made me give up literary creation."
Jiang Yuquan looked down at where Ling Pingying was sitting and said, "Ms. Ling Pingying, the famous writer, do you still remember me?"
His words caused a commotion in the originally quiet meeting room. Many people turned to look at Ling Pingying. She was tense, her elegant face distorted.
Looking at Jiang Yuquan on the podium with fire in her eyes, she said, "Slandering others will lead to legal consequences."
Jiang Yuquan on the stage sneered, "Whether I will bear legal responsibility is not something you can say with your own words. However, I think you know very well what it feels like to bear legal responsibility. After all, you have experienced it yourself."
This statement drew many people's attention to Gu Siqing. Most people in the literary world knew about her lawsuit against Ling Pingying. Gu Siqing pretended not to notice the gazes, sitting there leisurely, watching Jiang Yuquan on the podium.
She believed what Jiang Yuquan said. After all, Ling Pingying's character had always been bad, and she was capable of plagiarizing.
"On June 23, 1984, I submitted a short story to Blue Ocean Magazine. It was 25,000 words."
Jiang Yuquan's voice was calmer this time. He continued, "The famous writer Ms. Ling Pingying was an editor at Blue Ocean Magazine at the time. After I submitted my novel, it fell into oblivion. I thought it hadn't been accepted, and I was very disappointed for a while.
But what I didn’t expect was that two years later, the famous writer Ling Pingying published a novel "Wilderness". The overall story was exactly the same as my short story. She just expanded on my short story.
I was furious and wrote to Blue Ocean Magazine to question the matter, but again, my response fell on deaf ears. Later, I went to Kyoto to confront Ling Pingying, but how could she admit it? I was outnumbered and ultimately returned home in despair.
For a long time afterwards, I couldn't pick up a pen. I felt that there was no point in writing. It wasn't until Ling Pingying and another award-winning author today, Gu Siqing, had a debate in the newspaper, which ended with Ling Pingying's defeat, that I finally let out some of the anger in my heart.
At that time, I was thinking that one day I would stand in the spotlight and expose her true face. Today I did it!
There was another uproar in the audience. "Wilderness" was Ling Pingying's most successful work to date, and yet it was plagiarized. Many people present believed Jiang Yuquan because if it wasn't true, he wouldn't have announced it in such a grand occasion.
However, everything requires evidence, but I don’t know whether Jiang Yuquan has any evidence.
At this time, Jiang Yuquan continued, "Ms. Ling Pingying just said that I would bear legal responsibility. Now I want to tell you, Ms. Ling Pingying, you will soon be held legally responsible again.
I will sue you for plagiarism immediately, and I certainly have evidence. See you next time in court, renowned writer Ms. Ling Pingying. Finally, I apologize for taking up everyone's time. I conclude my remarks here.
Jiang Yuquan walked off the stage with the trophy, but the audience began to talk, and more eyes turned to Ling Pingying. At this time, Jiang Yuquan sat next to Gu Siqing and whispered to her, "Can you recommend a good lawyer for me?"
Gu Siqing did not answer his question, but asked: "What evidence do you have?"
As Ling Pingying's sworn enemy, Gu Siqing naturally wanted to see Ling Pingying suffer misfortune. Therefore, she had to confirm whether Jiang Yuquan's evidence was reliable.
The venue was a bit chaotic at the moment, making it difficult to talk. Jiang Yuquan moved closer to her and whispered, "I'll tell you after the meeting."
Gu Siqing nodded.
The host was very capable. He took control of the venue with just a few words after coming on stage. The award ceremony continued, but it was obvious that many people were no longer interested in the awards, but in the big news of Ling Pingying's plagiarism.
Half an hour later, the awards ceremony concluded, and Ling Pingying hurried out. If Jiang Yuquan proved she had plagiarized, she would be completely undone in the literary world. She was terrified.
Meanwhile, Gu Siqing and Jiang Yuquan had met at Xu Yusen's club. Gu Siqing and Han Zhengping arrived first; Han Zhengping was accompanying her to receive the award. Ten minutes later, Jiang Yuquan arrived.
After sitting down and exchanging a few pleasantries, they got down to business. Gu Siqing asked Jiang Yuquan, "What evidence do you have?"
"Before submitting my short story to Blue Ocean Magazine, I had submitted it to another magazine, but it was not accepted. Some time ago, I found that magazine, and luckily they still kept my submission." Jiang Yuquan's voice was filled with excitement and sarcasm. He could finally vent his anger.
"Can I take a look?" Gu Siqing asked.
"Can."
Jiang Yuquan pulled an envelope from his bag and handed it to Gu Siqing. She took it and took out the manuscript to read. She didn't read it carefully, just a quick glance. It took a while for her to finish reading it, but she still understood the general content of the manuscript.
Just as Jiang Yuquan said, this short story, from its plot to its characterization, is a near-condensed version of Ling Pingying's novel "Wilderness." If it's confirmed that Ling Pingying accepted the novel he submitted to Blue Ocean Magazine, then the lawsuit is highly likely to win.
However, plagiarism lawsuits are difficult to win, which is probably why Jiang Yuquan asked her to introduce a lawyer. Gu Siqing whispered the situation to Han Zhengping, and Han Zhengping said, "Have him leave his contact information and have the company's lawyer contact him later."
Han Zhengping's lawyers were naturally formidable, and Gu Siqing believed that Jiang Yuquan would win the case with just a little evidence. She was delighted that Ling Pingying was in trouble.
Jiang Yuquan had been following Gu Siqing for a long time, so he naturally knew the background of her fiancé. Minghe Technology wasn't well-known in China a few years ago, but with the rapid development of mobile phones and computers, Minghe has become a representative of domestic technology companies, and almost everyone knows it.
If Minghe Technology's lawyers help him with the lawsuit, Jiang Yuquan believes that he will definitely win the case.
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