Chapter 135 Su Yingxue's Counterattack
Suddenly, Su Yingxue's phone rang sharply again. It was Zhang Yang, the marketing director of Longwu Hotpot, his voice filled with suppressed anger and accusation: "The whole internet is saying you plagiarized us! The CEO of Gaoguang Advertising even gave an interview to financial media, saying you've been 'stalking and stealing ideas for a long time,' and even released their so-called 'first drafts'! Our brand image has already been affected. If this drags on any longer, we'll not only terminate the cooperation, but we'll also pursue your breach of contract liability!"
Su Yingxue's temples throbbed. She pinched her palm hard, the sharp pain clearing her muddled mind somewhat. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—she had a strong obsession with "double backups." Every time the script was revised or the storyboard was adjusted, in addition to the team's shared drive, it would also be simultaneously saved to her private encrypted cloud drive.
"Chen Zhe, immediately open my encrypted cloud drive. I've sent you the account!" Her voice was tense but unusually firm. Her fingers tapped rapidly on the table, listing key evidence. "Find the earliest draft of the creative script—the one with the oil stains from October 23rd—as well as the first storyboard design, the full video recording of the opening ceremony on the 29th, which includes clips of our face-to-face conversations with the client confirming the core creative ideas, and the confirmation form signed on-site!"
She then dialed the phone with the production director, Ye Lu. Ye Lu, a well-known veteran in the industry, after hearing the whole story, immediately slammed his hand on the table: "These bastards are shameless! Luckily, when I went to Xiao Guang, he had all the shooting logs, down to the start time of each scene, camera setup, and the unedited original master footage, with timestamps accurate to the second. It absolutely proves we started shooting half a month earlier than them! I'll have my assistant compile it right now and send it to your email within half an hour. I'll also contact a few reliable industry media outlets for you. We'll go live to clarify things, leaving them no room for excuses!"
Just then, Qihang's technical department suddenly exclaimed, "President Su, Gaoguang has tampered with things! They're spreading fake links to our cloud drive online, guiding users to 'spontaneously verify' them, attempting to take the opportunity to implant viruses and tamper with files!"
Su Yingxue's eyes sharpened: "Immediately close public access, only open exclusive channels for platforms and industry associations, and simultaneously activate file traceability protection to prevent them from tampering!" Chen Zhe responded and operated accordingly, the code stream on the screen finally stabilizing. "It's done! The source code traceability record has also been retrieved; the IP address points directly to Gaoguang's technical department server, and it's even bound to their technical director's office equipment!"
Su Yingxue immediately instructed the legal department to compile the evidence chain: IP tracing report, association information of the accounts reporting the online trolls, and comparative analysis of the "fake draft" by Gao Guang and their own original materials, and sent them to the platform's review team and industry associations at the same time.
She personally organized the initial drafts of the ideas, storyboards, shooting logs, and start-up videos into a long diagram according to timeline. Each document was marked with its creation time, and accompanied by screenshots of online troll reports and IP tracing results, which were then directly published on the company's official Weibo account.
"We do not shy away from criticism, but we will never accept slander." The official Weibo post was firm and resolute. "We attach a complete set of original content certificates and evidence of malicious attacks, including timestamps. We welcome verification across the entire internet and urge the platform to handle this matter fairly, restoring a clean competitive environment to the industry."
Just 10 minutes after the copy was released, Lao Wang's live stream went live on time. He held up the original shooting log to the camera, flipped to key pages to show the signatures and dates, and then projected clips from the original master tapes. The dates on the clapperboard were clearly visible on the screen—a full 21 days earlier than the shooting time of Gaoguang's "pre-release bonus footage." During the live stream, he also connected with the director of photography and the head of the props team. The two of them talked about the creative process and even revealed details of how Gaoguang employees frequently used excuses to check the footage and inquire about the editing progress.
Public opinion instantly reversed. The comments section, initially swayed by online trolls, saw netizens posting comparison photos as evidence: "In the highlighted 'first draft,' there's a scene where the props are new products that only launched this November. They claim it was finalized long ago? They lie without even a draft!"
Many industry insiders have also spoken out. Zhang Jie, a well-known producer in the industry, reposted the official Weibo post and added: "This isn't the first time Highlight Advertising has stolen creative ideas. Last year, they snatched our project; luckily, we had evidence at the time."
After verifying all the evidence, the platform restored access to the promotional video within just 3 hours and issued an official statement: "Upon investigation, the plagiarism report was found to be false, and the relevant accounts engaged in malicious complaint behavior; these accounts have been banned."
The press release from the high-profile advertising campaign instantly became a joke. Their CEO's "accusation" interview was edited by netizens into a "massive face-slapping scene." The official Weibo account was filled with comments of "apology" and "boycott." Partner brands issued statements to terminate cooperation, and the stock price also plummeted.
Upon seeing the reversal in public opinion and the platform's statement, Long Meng, the general manager of Longwu Hotpot, immediately called, his tone completely softened: "Su Yingxue, we owe you a lot for your quick thinking this time! The cooperation continues, and we'll even increase the promotional budget to help drive traffic to the promotional video!"
Su Yingxue breathed a long sigh of relief as she watched the "Online Successful" message reappear on the screen. Outside the window, the bright lights of the high-rise buildings gradually dimmed, as if all their vibrancy had been drained. On her desk lay the draft paper filled with the initial ideas—the oil stains on the corners had dried, but they bore witness to the strongest resolve and unwavering perseverance in this desperate counterattack.
She picked up her phone and saw a message from Yan Yixi: "Do you need me to help you contact the platform's higher-ups?"
Su Yingxue replied with a smiling emoji, and added, "It's been resolved, thank you for your concern, Mr. Yan."
After sending the message, she finally leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. They had won this battle. Not by luck, but by every night of overtime, every meticulously saved document, and every act of dedication to their profession.
In the office, her colleagues were still whispering, but their tone was no longer panicked. Su Yingxue opened her eyes, looked at the darkening sky outside the window, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. Tomorrow, it will be a new day.
In the general manager's office on the eighteenth floor of Gaoguang Advertising headquarters, the air was almost frozen. Zong Guang loosened his dark blue tie, his chest heaving violently, his knuckles tapping loudly on the solid wood desk.
"A small company like yours, putting us in such a passive position?" He suddenly stood up, his nearly 1.8-meter-tall frame casting a huge shadow in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. "Are you just here to do nothing? Because of one mistake, we've lost all face!"
Manager He huddled in the leather sofa, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He glanced up furtively and caught a glimpse of the dangerous glint in Zong Guang's eyes, then immediately lowered his head again: "I...I didn't expect they would keep so much evidence..."
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