Chapter 28 Encounter
Having been in the entertainment industry for many years, Xu Ziqi is well-versed in how to use scandals to ruin someone's career.
The first wave of attacks targeted her academic foundation.
"Academic Daji," "Genius Girl? Or a Product of Academic Fraud?"—sensational headlines began to flood the internet.
The criticisms focus on Ling Wei's doctoral degree given at such a young age and the high-quality journal articles she has published.
The online trolls made definitive statements, implying that the source of his research was illegitimate and that his relationship with his supervisor was ambiguous.
They precisely chose the area in academia that is most difficult to prove: you wrote the paper, but who can prove that you completed it independently?
The shadow of the sex scandal, like thick ink, spilled onto that pure academic sanctuary.
The second wave of attacks targeted the family's vulnerabilities.
A photo of Ling Wei's brother, Ling Yang, from his high school days, showing him with flamboyant blond hair and an arrogant look in his eyes, has been unearthed.
"Can a thug become a policeman?" "How did he pass the background check?"—Malicious speculations were everywhere.
Fortunately, Ling's parents have deep roots in the local area, and their influence has only increased after the business contraction. Xu Ziqi cannot directly target them for the time being, but this is enough to stir up a wave of questions about Ling Wei's family background in the public sphere.
Online trolls were mobilized to smear China across the entire internet.
Xu Ziqi's hired online trolls swarmed across various platforms like locusts, flooding social media with comments, controlling online discourse, and stirring up controversy.
They portrayed Ling Wei as a scheming "academic fraudster" and a "connected person" who rose to power through improper means.
The reactions of netizens who were unaware of the facts were like a pot of boiling oil.
Negative reviews prevailed:
[A thorough investigation is necessary! This kind of corrupt official cannot be let off the hook!]
[Publishing in so many top journals at such a young age? Haha, those in the know understand.]
[This kind of person has infiltrated the police force? It's terrifying to think about!]
[So this is the kind of character the MV's female lead is supposed to be? Disgusting! Boycott!]
Some fans who have a good impression of Ling Wei also voiced their support:
[Making baseless accusations like this? How are those who genuinely work hard supposed to feel about that?]
[My daughter is working so hard, and you're still slutting her like that? That's too much!]
[How much effort must someone with aphasia have to put in to get a doctorate? Let's all be rational!]
Zhou Zhou, a big fan of You Xingye, became a fan of Ling Wei at that concert. She watched Ling Wei and You Xingye's music video many times. If Ling Wei hadn't stayed out of the entertainment industry, she would have switched allegiance long ago.
She was currently fighting against negative comments with her fans who were building their own fanbase, but she was still trembling with anger from the malicious comments.
[Get lost, you sanctimonious saint! Aphasia? Never heard of that. Who knows if she's just faking it to gain sympathy.]
[Strive? Strive to get into your advisor's bed? Hilarious!]
Adding fuel to the fire were the "explosive revelations" from the entertainment industry.
An account claiming to be an entertainment industry agent suddenly posted screenshots of a phone chat with Ling Wei, claiming that Ling Wei had been actively contacting the entertainment industry in private, and that her previous music videos and live streams were all publicity stunts for her debut.
Netizen comments:
[Haha, got your comeuppance now? You were so aloof before, refusing to open an account, turns out you already had a manager!]
[Is he desperate for fame? Unable to make it in academia, he's trying to cash in on the entertainment industry?]
Some radicals even went to Ling Wei's school's official website to accuse her of academic misconduct and demand the expulsion of this academic cancer.
Xu Ziqi's moves are ruthless; her academic scandal has sparked public outrage, and her plans to enter the entertainment industry are even more drastic.
Public opinion is immediate, while clarification is delayed.
People tend to believe more strongly in things that are exciting, and when the calm and uneventful clarification comes, very few people are willing to apologize for their previous behavior.
Many others simply thought, "Oh, I see," and casually scrolled past the post, ignoring the struggles and pain of those caught in the vortex of public opinion.
Xu Ziqi is playing the time difference game.
Even if Ling Wei sues him, as long as his agent explains afterwards that it was a fraudster who contacted him using Ling Wei's family's identity, he can clear himself of any wrongdoing.
By the time she gathers all the evidence, she'll have already been played to death several times over.
Ling Wei was instantly thrust into the very center of the media storm, surrounded by a torrent of malice.
Those who care about her are extremely worried.
The younger students in the lab were furious when they saw the foul language. One of them even threw her mouse on the spot, yelling, "That's too much! My senior sister works so hard! I'm going to fight them!"
Several boys rolled up their sleeves, eager to find the rumor-mongers online and give them a good beating.
My mentor, Academician Zhang, the usually smiling old man, was now so angry that his beard was trembling. He slammed his fist on the table and was about to contact a lawyer to issue a statement: "Outrageous! This is too much! How dare they slander my students like this?!"
Ling Wei calmly pressed her mentor's hand and typed on her phone: "Teacher, thank you. But let me clarify, it's not time yet. Let me handle it."
Her eyes were firm, carrying an undeniable power.
She packed a few things, asked her advisor for leave, and went home.
She was greeted by her parents' worried faces and her brother Lingyang's deep self-blame: "Weiwei...it's all my fault, I've dragged you into this..."
Ling's parents have already asked their lawyer to collect evidence. They said that even if it means going bankrupt and spending their entire lives, they will hold those responsible accountable and make them pay the price for their cyberbullying.
Ling Wei simply shook her head, gave her family a reassuring hug, and her eyes remained calm.
Mom and Dad, brother, this time I won't run away.
We need your help.
The counterattack begins.
She contacted Lin Yue. The call connected, and Ling Wei went straight to the point: "Lin Yue, I know you have the video. I need it."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Lin Yue's obviously guilty and flustered voice came through: "Wh...what video? I...I didn't!" She then hurriedly hung up.
The system was frantic: "Host! What should we do?"
Ling Wei chuckled softly: "She did indeed have it."
She only said "video" but didn't specify what kind of video it was.
What Lin Yue subconsciously denied was the cell phone camera footage that Ling Wei had glimpsed while being pinned to the floor tiles, which she had taken from the cubicle.
That was also the reason why Ling Wei asked her to be her witness in the first place.
Ling Wei no longer hesitated and had Ling Yang start the live stream.
The moment the live stream started, a torrent of malice and vile insults filled the screen.
Ling Yang immediately took on the role of administrator, quickly muting and blocking users.
Ling's parents sat silently behind Ling Wei, offering her strength through their unspoken companionship.
The first thing she did was log into the China Higher Education Student Information System (CHESICC) in front of all the audience members.
Access your electronic transcripts—from high school to university, and then to graduate school and doctoral studies.
Year after year, the results were excellent and the records were clear.
The online trolls haven't even arrived yet; most of those who have come are netizens who want to expose the darkness and seek justice.
Holy crap! This report card... this student is amazing!
[They even dare to access the China Higher Education Student Information System (CHESICC), so their academic qualifications seem to be fine.]
[Those who criticize academic qualifications, come out and say something!]
[Trolls: It must be photoshopped! China Higher Education Student Information System (CHESICC): Are you being rude?]
Public opinion has shifted slightly.
Next, Ling Wei opened her thesis writing software.
The mouse began to move and click silently and rapidly, and the title of the live stream consisted of only four words: "Welcome to expose fakes."
She pulled up the revision history of each core paper, where dense timestamps, word count changes, and version iterations were clearly visible.
She opened the key data support documents, the complex program editing scripts, and even began to demonstrate the operation and debugging process of some key algorithms on site.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com