Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Hot Tears
Thousands of miles away, deep in the mountains, shrouded in mist, Lin Jie waved his phone around in the air, only to receive a blank signal. Frowning helplessly, he tossed the phone into his pocket and walked over to a man nearby, who was busy pulling radishes. "Zhai Akuan, I'll give you three more days."
A man in a colorful apron and muddy rubber shoes peeked out from the field, his face dripping with sweat. He struggled to pull out a muddy radish and threw it aside, completely exhausted. He ignored the mud and collapsed on the ground. "Hey, why did my mother think of planting so many radishes? I'm so tired!"
Looking around, his house was surrounded by fields, and the fields were full of radishes.
Lin Jie rubbed his sore temples and made a split-second decision: "Is there any bus to town?"
"Where are you going? You're not going to run away, are you? My mother won't let me go back until all the radishes are pulled out." Zhai Akuan glanced into the room and trembled all over.
"I have to go back for something and will be back tomorrow afternoon." After answering this, Lin Jie didn't say any more nonsense and went straight into the house to pack up.
Zhai Akuan's home is in the village, or to be more precise, in the mountains. The only way for people without private cars to get to the town is to take the urban-rural bus, which runs once in the morning and once in the evening. If you go now, you can almost catch the last bus.
The bus was filled with the smell of chicken shit. A rooster, clucking non-stop, sat in the front and stared at the people on the bus. The bus was shaking on the uneven road, and it was so bumpy that I almost vomited the food I had eaten at noon.
Lin Jie zipped up his jacket to the top, covering his chin with it, leaving only a pair of dark eyes exposed.
It was a foolish thing to do to embark on a hasty return journey because of a statement that was difficult to verify, but he did it anyway.
From the village to the town, then from the town to the train, and finally from the train to the high-speed rail, after trying all means of transportation, I finally arrived home.
Lin Jie checked the time, which was almost the same as the company's closing time. He didn't go upstairs, but stood downstairs. The stuffed doll on the first floor was lying on the balcony, curiously watching this unexpected guest through the window.
It tilted its head, its fur was snow-white, and its round eyes seemed to be filled with water from the galaxy, clear and bright.
The dull pain covering the entire back of his head was relieved for a moment. The tall man stretched out his fingertips and tapped the cat's eyes through the window.
His index finger touched the mist on the glass, and the coldness emanating from him was quietly mixed with a hint of tenderness.
Half an hour passed, and the man who had been waiting calmly moved his feet. He turned and went upstairs.
Pushing open the door, he scanned the entire space and finally calmed down.
Zhong Xiumen was cleaning the kitchen. When she heard the noise, she hurried out and saw Lin Jie standing stupidly at the door.
"Why are you back? Weren't you on a business trip? Have you eaten? There are still some vegetables left. Can I make you a bowl of noodles?" She wiped her hands casually on her apron and hurriedly poured him some water. The steam slowly covered the walls of the cup.
Lin Jie moved his lips, a trace of frustration flashing in his eyes: "I'm not hungry. Have you all...eaten yet?"
There's something hidden in his words, I'm afraid they're not the only ones who are concerned.
"I've eaten. Zhihan didn't come today." Zhong Xiumen seemed to have guessed what he wanted to ask. She was no longer in a hurry to cook. She poured herself a glass of water and drank it slowly.
"Is it that he didn't come today, or he won't come in the future?" Lin Jie paused slightly, emphasizing the end of his words.
Zhong Xiuwen waved her hand leisurely: "I don't know either. Why don't you ask her yourself?"
"Mom." Lin Jie called her, with a crack on his calm face.
Zhong Xiuwen rolled her eyes at him and said, "You're such a joke. She hasn't been here for the past few days. She said her good friend is getting married and she's been very busy lately."
His anxious heart gradually settled down, and Lin Jie breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly. Then he put his cold hands on the warm cup.
Zhong Xiuwen observed every emotional shift on his face, and she grew increasingly curious about the dynamics between Lin Jie and Song Zhihan. Her son, a man of unwavering composure, rarely expressed strong emotions. His lack of a romantic life led Zhong Xiuwen to repeatedly wonder if he might end up alone.
But Song Zhihan appeared, and Lin Jie's emotions were affected by her more than once. This was very strange, but if the object was Song Zhihan, it seemed reasonable. She seemed to have a magical power that could make everyone fall in love with her.
After calculating the time again, Lin Jie ate a few bites of food and took a taxi to the company.
He did not get out of the car, but asked the driver to continue using the meter. He parked the car on the side of the company and quietly watched the people coming in and out of the gate.
There were still three minutes before the clocking-in time. He saw Song Zhihan downstairs and got out of the car. She talked to the people in the car for two minutes and twenty seconds before hurriedly running into the building.
The weather in Yuhang has also changed. Today she wore a goose yellow coat, which made the gloomy sky look much brighter.
Lin Jie pressed his floating heart back firmly, but the small bubbles that kept popping up on the surface of his heart were quietly rebelling against him. The corners of his pursed lips finally curved up, and his tense brain relaxed. Lin Jie relaxed his back and leaned back in the back seat.
"Master, let's go to the airport."
The tail of the taxi disappeared in the thick fog, which continued to spread thousands of miles away.
Lin Jie found the car going to Zhai Akuan's village among the pile of private cars that were shouting continuously. After several hours, when he arrived at the village, smoke from the Zhai family's cooking was already rising.
Zhai Akuan, sitting in the main hall, greeted him: "So late? My mother made some radish cakes, they're still hot, come and have some."
Lin Jie frowned and raised his phone: "Why don't you answer the call?"
"You didn't know it when you left, but the village party secretary just said that the village's communication base station was smashed. They called a repairman to come and fix it, but the earliest it can be repaired is the day after tomorrow."
The village is different from the city, not to mention the rugged mountain roads here. The signal outage is far less serious than the water and power outage. It would be considered fast if it can be repaired the day after tomorrow.
Lin Jie clenched his phone tightly and remained silent.
...
The online discussions have been fermenting continuously during this period, which has kept the publicity team busy. Cheng Yang is on the verge of death and urgently needs sweet water to save her life. She takes her mobile phone to find Song Zhihan and Becca to fill the order.
I happened to see two people discussing the plot of Yue Ru Gou, so I pulled a chair over and listened curiously.
Each department had a different division of labor. Cheng Yang was in charge of publicity. From a publicity perspective alone, she felt that Yue Ru Gou had the potential to be a hit, with both popularity and buzz. But after listening to their analysis, Cheng Yang felt that this wasn't the case.
After the two finished their discussion, they looked at Cheng Yang's puzzled face. Becca pushed her glasses and explained, "To put it simply, based on the current plot, Zhihan and I both believe there are major problems with their script. If these bugs can't be closed within the next month, the plot of Yue Ru Gou will collapse in the later stages."
Cheng Yang asked: "So what's their situation now?"
Song Zhihan considered his words carefully: "They invested a huge amount of money in publicity and promotion in the early stage, probably because they wanted to wear out Lingdong first. Once Lingdong's popularity dies down, they can harvest all the audiences. Even if there are problems with the plot then, there will be a huge amount of denominators to cover it."
Therefore, Jujiang used this ruthless tactic, spending money to recruit people, and his target was small companies like Mengying.
The three of them looked at each other, and Cheng Yang said tentatively, "So, in other words, as long as we can withstand this wave of pressure, Yue Ru Gou will collapse on its own without us having to do anything."
Becca and Song Zhihan answered at the same time: "Yes."
This was exciting news. Cheng Yang waved his hands, confident in his decision. "Then when President Lin comes back, tell him about this. Then get that rich guy James to invest some money. It's all about public opinion warfare, right? Let's learn from them."
Song Zhihan's expression faltered when she mentioned Lin Jie. She hadn't replied to that voice message yet, but the sour tone and possessiveness in Lin Jie's words lingered in her ears, bringing home a clear truth to her.
Lin Jie also liked her. This was terrible, and the consequences were unimaginable. She could never have imagined that things would come to this point. Wasn't it just a simple case of a real and fake daughter? Why did Lin Jie have to be involved?
Song Zhihan was lost in her own fantasy. When she came to her senses, she found that Cheng Yang and Becca were looking at her with an expression of anger and pity.
"What's wrong?"
When she asked this question, she found that all her colleagues in the office were looking at her vaguely.
"Look at the trending searches." Cheng Yang handed her the phone.
Song Zhihan took it blankly, and the entry at the top of the hot search list caught his eye.
"Spiritual Purple Sheng"
"Spiritual Pure Love"
"Smart Screenwriter"
...
It was frightening to see. Song Zhihan clicked in with trembling fingers and saw the entries constantly refreshing.
An unknown netizen exposed the script of the Lingdong Xuanyuan Realm adventure part. With the help of technical means, several blurry pictures became extremely clear, and the intimate scenes between the male protagonist and Zi Sheng were clearly described, which were not much different from the original work.
This means that the single-line emotions and pure love that Lingdong has been promoting are lies.
Netizens were in an uproar, with indignant condemnations and extreme and irrational insults. The main target of the attack was the assistant screenwriter Song Zhihan, who flashed by at the end of the film, because some time ago, Qia Da had praised Song Zhihan, the editor who mainly wrote the love line, on Weibo, and the photo of the whistleblower seemed to inadvertently include Song Zhihan's personal information.
In addition to insults, some people were digging up Song Zhihan's personal information, even including her past educational background.
The overwhelming amount of remarks came at her with an irresistible force. Song Zhihan looked at the words used to greet her and her parents, and her head couldn't help but feel dizzy. Having lived a wealthy and praised environment since she was a child, she had hardly seen such...dirty words, and she never thought that these words would be used to attack her one day.
The incandescent lamp in front of him turned into a shadow, and Song Zhihan trembled. He was not able to fall down because Cheng Yang supported him in time.
Becca was not so panicked at this time. She kept browsing various comments and posts, piecing together useful information amidst the scolding.
"First, the whistleblower is from within our company. This picture shows our office system. Second, I believe your information was intentionally included. Third, I suspect the whistleblower's purpose is likely to counter Yue Rugou's impact."
These inferences are not groundless. At least now, Yue Rugou is no longer on the hot search list, and all the searches are about Lingdong.
Combined with the secret rivalry between the two companies during this period, it is not difficult to see that this is a hype method used by insiders to save themselves, but this method is too cruel, and it is simply using Song Zhihan as a sacrifice.
Cheng Yang's mind was spinning rapidly. "It couldn't have been Liu Zhenyu's idea. He would have informed us of any developments in the publicity team."
“The modeling team’s hands can’t reach that far.”
It could only be someone within the writing team, Koike? Julie? Or perhaps someone they hadn't guessed.
Everyone's attention was on Song Zhihan right now. Zhao Wendi looked at his phone for a while and came over from his place.
"Song Zhihan, it's not me. My methods are not so low-level."
She was trying to distance herself from the matter, but there was always a hint of gloating in her words. It was a rare opportunity to see Song Zhihan being roasted in a frying pan. Later, she would screenshot a few more comments cursing Song Zhihan and send them to her good sisters.
At this moment, Song Zhihan had calmed down. Those dirty words floated in her mind like a barrage of comments. She could only avoid them and organize her thoughts.
"I know it's not you."
The conflict between Zhao Wendi and her mainly stems from their disagreement in high school. When Mengying made trouble for her, Zhao Wendi didn't get any benefits. She also hardly participated in the Lingdong project, so Song Zhihan never thought about her at all.
She directed her suspicions towards Julie and Koike. The former had a deep grudge against her, and the latter... was unfathomable.
As public opinion continued to erupt, Liu Zhenyu and Zhu Li came out of the office together and called Song Zhihan over for a meeting.
In the room were the leaders of each group and Song Zhihan.
She was pushed to the very center, facing various gazes and accepting silent judgment.
Song Zhihan swallowed all the emotions in his throat for the time being and defended himself: "I didn't post it. I was never responsible for Zisheng's part. Everyone in the writing team knows this."
Julie was the only one present from the screenwriter team. Song Zhihan looked at her and saw the pride flash in her eyes.
Her heart suddenly sank into an ice cellar. It was Julie who did it.
"Song Zhihan is indeed not responsible for Zisheng's line. I wrote Zisheng's part, but who knows if she will direct and act in a play for the sake of popularity." Julie said truthfully.
The other responsible persons looked at each other in confusion.
Song Zhihan didn't know, but they all knew that today's revelations and subsequent tactics coincided with Julie's proposal back then. She was just repeating her strategy back then, only finding someone to take the blame for her.
"It really wasn't me. The software I used has a text history record. You can check whether those things have ever appeared on my keyboard." Song Zhihan stared at Julie, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
Is Julie just doing this for the sake of popularity or simply to take revenge on her? Is she going to kill her just because of the previous work disputes?
The modeling team leader said, "Why not... wait for President Lin to come back?"
Liu Zhenyu continued, "I called Mr. Lin several times, but no one answered. Things on the internet spread quickly, so we must give a reasonable response as soon as possible."
Song Zhihan moved his lips, wanting to say something, but was interrupted by Liu Zhenyu before he could open his mouth: "Song Zhihan, go out first."
"Can you give me some time to prove my innocence?" She reluctantly tried to get another chance, but Liu Zhenyu urged her again: "You can prove yourself, but don't act rashly. Inform me before posting anything online."
Song Zhihan bit his lip and walked out quickly.
The room fell silent for a moment, and Julie spoke first: "No matter who did it, our goal has been achieved. My opinion is that we should not respond directly and let this public opinion continue until next week's update."
Putting aside the issue of morality, the purpose of maintaining Lingdong's popularity has indeed been achieved, even to an unprecedented high, despite a lot of criticism.
Liu Zhenyu hesitated: "But Song Zhihan will definitely speak out himself, and we can't stop him."
"Let her say it. Words aren't enough, and even her online rants won't help." Julie shrugged, unconcerned. Her patent leather high heels scratched the conference room carpet. She felt quite happy, watching those discussing Song Zhihan.
"Team leader Liu, don't be too sympathetic to her. These insults are only temporary. When the update comes next week, all the grievances against her will be cleared up. It's just a few unpleasant words. Just don't go online for the next few days." Julie said lightly, and Liu Zhenyu began to waver.
In the end, they really listened to Julie's advice. The modeling team leader sighed inwardly and screamed frantically: "Boss Lin, please come back soon! This house is in chaos!"
Outside the conference room, many people were still paying attention to Song Zhihan.
Since she left the office, she has been looking for something on the computer. The typing software has historical records, and she can find the complete records to prove her innocence.
Cheng Yang was so anxious that he was running around in circles. He leaned on the door of the meeting room and eavesdropped with his ears. Finally, he was dragged away by Liu Zhenyu with an unexpected look on his face.
Becca glanced at Julie, then at the anxious Song Zhihan, and silently opened her cell phone.
Another hot search that has gone viral.
@BKAA: Editor Song and I are daily colleagues. She fought hard for the role of Luo Qing, the only female lead in Lingdong, and it was also Editor Song who suggested the transition of Zi Sheng and the male lead's romance into friendship. She's a very dedicated person, and she dedicated herself to crafting the relationship between the male lead and Luo Qing, putting in a tremendous amount of effort and taking pride in it. Therefore, I absolutely do not believe the screenshots in the leak came from Editor Song's pen. Harsh words can be hurtful, so please be patient until the matter is fully clarified.
@Disappeared Eggplant: I admire Song's writing and am proud of the richer Luo Qing she has portrayed. Harsh words are hurtful. Please be patient and wait for the results of the investigation. Reposted from @BKAA:.....
BKAA is a leading writer of female-oriented novels. One of her works was adapted into a movie and won multiple awards. Her royalties once reached tens of millions.
When Song Zhihan saw this blog post, she immediately equated this person with Becca. She turned around abruptly and saw the gentle smile on Becca's face. She held Song Zhihan's hand and said, "Zhihan, I believe you."
"I'm sorry Becca, thank you." Song Zhihan's eyes were red. She knew that Becca had been hiding her incompetence and just wanted to have a stable nine-to-five job, but now in order to buy her some time, she was willing to take the initiative to stand up and break the peace.
She really didn't know what to say, so she could only work harder to organize her evidence and prove her innocence as soon as possible.
Time passed quickly and it was already evening, but Lingdong officials had not yet responded.
Song Zhihan had already learned from Cheng Yang about the decision they made after the meeting, and made Song Zhihan the scapegoat, letting her be scolded until the day the episode was broadcast next week.
No one objected, because Lingdong had indeed gained unprecedented popularity. The truth would be revealed next week anyway, so what could Song Zhihan do if he just endured it?
It was time to get off work, but Song Zhihan didn't leave. Becca and Cheng Yang stayed with her.
After finishing her document package, Song Zhihan registered a new Weibo account and posted everything she had on hand that could prove herself. Then she uninstalled Weibo and gave the two of them a bitter smile: "I've done everything I can."
She knew that the company would not help her in this matter and she could only save herself, even though the credibility of those testimonies was not high.
Cheng Yang put his arm around her shoulders, feeling distressed: "Then let's go eat, okay? Are you hungry?"
Song Zhihan shook his head, stood up from the chair he had been sitting on all day, and looked towards the rooftop not far away: "I'm not hungry, thank you for accompanying me, but I want to calm down alone, can you give me some space?"
She wanted to go to the rooftop to feel the fresh air and blow away all her troubled emotions.
Cheng Yang was worried: "Don't go, okay? Or we can accompany you."
She was afraid that Song Zhihan would commit suicide because of this, but Song Zhihan was amused and smiled his first real hearty laugh of the day.
"Cheng Yang, you always say I'm a young lady, so let me tell you right now. My family is indeed very rich, probably... I can't even count how much, so don't worry, this matter is nothing to me. I just don't like being wronged, and don't worry that I'll commit suicide. This is nothing at all."
She just felt wronged and sad because she had never been scolded like that before.
Cheng Yang could hear her sadness and teased her deliberately: "Okay, I understand, Miss, then you go, Becca and I will wait here for you, okay?"
Beca nodded, "Yeah, we'll wait for you. Go get some fresh air and come back."
"Okay, you wait for me here." Song Zhihan smiled and went to the rooftop alone.
The wind was very cold at night, and it was even stronger on the rooftop with a panoramic view. Song Zhihan's long hair was flying in the wind. She used both hands to gather her hair, but she couldn't get it in order. The more she tried, the more tangled it became, and it was all stuck to her face.
Tears soaked her messy hair. Song Zhihan sniffed and roughly combed them all back.
Those words, deliberately ignored but glaring at the mere sight of them, finally magnified in her mind, bit by bit, in the dead of night, then seeped into her body, every word insulting her. Then there was Julie's smug expression, and Liu Zhenyu's indifference.
Song Zhihan felt a sharp pain in her heart, she mechanically gathered her hair again and again, tears flowing quietly like a calm river.
Until a piece of clothing with body temperature was draped over her back, with a familiar scent on it.
I could no longer control my tears, and they streamed down my cheeks like a violent storm.
Song Zhihan turned around and saw Lin Jie with a hurried look on her face. Her shaky body found a place to support itself, and the support she had been holding up collapsed. The endless grievances overwhelmed her, and her silent tears turned into painful sobs.
Lin Jie saw the fatigue and paleness on her face, as well as her wet collar.
The tears were hot and burned his heart. He could no longer control himself and poured out all his emotions. He held Song Zhihan tightly in his arms, his voice hoarse.
"I'm sorry I'm late."
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The author has something to say: Confess tomorrow [glasses]
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