Chapter 102 Public Opinion
All kinds of negative information about Gu Hongyuan, chairman of the Gu Group, was like opening Pandora's box, sweeping across major social platforms, news portals and financial forums at an alarming speed in a very short period of time.
The content was explosive and the details were absurd, far beyond the imagination of ordinary people, causing a violent shock across the entire network.
The initial leak was a grainy, private video. Its extravagant scenes, the sheer number of participants, and the outrageous behavior instantly ignited the first wave of public opinion. The title, questioning "Who says there are no emperors in modern times?", struck a chord with the public.
"Wow... I just exclaimed wow! This is really the 'Three Thousand Concubines in the Harem', he is still strong despite his old age!" Some netizens were shocked and sarcastic.
"My friends, I'm so upset. Working 996 every day to pay off my mortgage is called carrying a heavy burden. Is it because someone is ensuring my peaceful life?!" The huge gap between the rich and the poor and the moral impact have aroused strong indignation among many netizens.
"Is this what they call high society? I think it's low society! It's disgusting!"
Soon after, more explosive revelations were released in a steady stream. Information about Gu Hongyuan's long-standing mistresses and his illegitimate children spread across the country was uncovered one by one. The timeline was clear, but the relationships between the characters were as chaotic as a pulp novel, completely subverting Gu Hongyuan's carefully maintained image as a "successful entrepreneur."
Public outrage was ignited, and public opinion was overwhelmingly critical. Gu Group's official social media accounts were also overrun by angry netizens, with the comments section under every historical post filled with appalling comments. Even some companies with business ties to Gu Group were implicated, being asked to disassociate themselves and conduct self-examinations.
The chairman's office on the top floor of Gu Group.
Gu Hongyuan's face turned pale, veins bulging on his forehead, and he nearly crushed the tablet in his hand. The obscene headlines and comments on the screen were like poisoned daggers, piercing his heart.
"Useless! All of you!" He slammed the tablet onto the expensive mahogany desk with a loud bang, and roared at the PR director standing before him with his hands hanging down. "Contact the PR department and get rid of this immediately. I don't want to see any more news about this!"
The PR director shuddered, his voice filled with despair. "Director Gu, this outburst of public opinion was too sudden. There's clearly someone behind the scenes fueling the fire... The trending searches on major platforms are simply not enough to suppress it, and the rate of post deletions is far outstripping the rate of postings... If we continue to forcefully delete and control comments, it will only trigger an even stronger backlash from netizens."
"Then what do you say we should do? Just watch it?!" Gu Hongyuan's chest heaved violently.
"Right now...right now we can only issue an emergency announcement to calm the public, express that the group attaches great importance to it, and is urgently verifying the situation...At the same time, contact lawyers and send lawyers' letters to those accounts that spread the most information, indicating our attitude of pursuing legal responsibility. Perhaps this can temporarily deter some people..." The public relations director tremblingly proposed the industry's standard crisis public relations steps.
Gu Hongyuan was stunned by what he heard, but he couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal. He knew better than anyone that the things that had been exposed were most likely true. The so-called lawyer's letter was nothing but a joke in the face of such solid evidence.
He slumped back into his large executive chair and waved his hand, "Go ahead. Guide public opinion as quickly as possible..."
However, before Gu's evasive statement could take effect, a second, more deadly blow followed.
Amidst the surging tide of public opinion, some "enthusiastic netizens" followed the clues and unexpectedly focused their attention on Gu Ye.
A well-known marketing account with millions of followers suddenly published an in-depth exposé: "Tired of all the gossip, let's change the subject and talk about the 'victim'? Does anyone know Gu Ye, the young deputy general manager of Gu Corporation? I just checked his background when I was free, and it's even more exciting than a novel~ #GuShiStorm##Gu Hongyuan's illegitimate son#"
The post detailed Gu Ye's life story: his mother was Gu Hongyuan's legitimate wife, but shortly after giving birth, she discovered her husband had been infidelity and had an illegitimate child who was older than Gu Ye. The long-term mental torture and pain eventually led to depression, and at the age of fifteen, Gu Ye chose to jump from the top floor of the Gu family villa, ending his young life. Gu Ye himself was expelled from the Gu family shortly after his mother's death, and for many years he fended for himself.
This revelation pushed the already boiling public opinion to a new climax.
"Fuck, Gu Ye is so miserable? His mother was forced to death, and he was kicked out of the house?"
"I used to think he was young and promising, the hope of the Gu family... Now I just feel heartbroken. What kind of beautiful, strong and tragic story is this!"
"Gu Hongyuan is worse than an animal! He forced his first wife to death and abused his own children? How dare he live in this world?!"
"He's as heartless as a wolf and as ruthless as a dog. Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. He's worse than an animal."
"@Gu Group, who would dare to trust a company led by such a morally corrupt scumbag?"
"I feel so sorry for Brother Gu Ye... How did he survive all these years?"
Public opinion became increasingly complex and intense. Voices sympathizing with Gu Ye and condemning Gu Hongyuan became the mainstream, even dragging the Gu Group itself into a deeper moral quagmire. Gu Hongyuan's already precarious reputation plummeted to an irretrievable low.
Just as public opinion was in an uproar, another heavy blow struck the crumbling Gu Group.
An "informed source" suddenly "inadvertently" revealed in the core circle of the Gu family's side branch that Gu Hongyuan's younger brother Gu Hongjian was secretly in contact with Jinshi Investment to discuss introducing strategic investment through a targeted share issuance in order to "consolidate the main family's control."
This news was like a bolt from the blue for the Gu family's side branch, which was already uneasy due to the impact of public opinion.
"What? Is Gu Hongjian crazy? Letting a wolf into the house at this time?!"
"Consolidating the main family's control? That sounds nice, but isn't it just a plan to further dilute our shares and kick us out completely?"
"Gu Hongyuan can't even clean up his own shit, and now he wants to drag us down with him? No way!"
"We can't wait any longer. The Gu company is about to sink. We must find a way to save ourselves!"
Panic spread rapidly. The collateral shareholders, already harboring ulterior motives, were completely uneasy. They began selling their Gu shares through various channels, attempting to recover as much of their losses as possible before a complete collapse.
The massive sell-off triggered a chain reaction. The stock price of Gu Group began to plummet like a kite with a broken string, triggering the circuit breaker mechanism continuously. The market value evaporated wildly in just a few trading days.
The huge Gu Empire seemed to have reached its end overnight, with the building on the verge of collapse and in turmoil.
And in this chaos and despair, Gu Ye stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, overlooking the reporters gathered downstairs, his eyes cold and sharp, and a cold arc at the corner of his mouth. It was time for him to clean up the mess.
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