Chapter 65 Public Opinion Beta Test Invitation
The afternoon of the meeting felt incredibly long. By the time Ye Yuying finished speaking, the song "Doing All Right" had been playing on repeat in the café for who knows how many times, probably until all the other customers were starting to have their complaints.
But when she was lost in her memories, her eyes were unusually lonely.
Everything she recounted in the calmest tone, all the trials and tribulations buried deep in her memory, all the malice and bullying she once thought could overwhelm her, now seemed nothing so terrifying.
She spent an entire afternoon telling her story of how she eventually became the "school bully".
Whether it was voluntary or forced by circumstances, it is a fact.
"The rumors on the internet are true. I was indeed a school bully, and I was also a poor student or a problem student."
She turned her head to look at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the coffee shop, watching the bustling crowds on the street. The brown glass filtered the light, and she spoke in a nonchalant tone.
This description had taken a lot of her energy, and the quiet moment was just to give herself a short rest. Leaning back on the soft cushions of the sofa, she casually reached into her bag, opened the metal box with one hand, and put a pill in her mouth.
She wasn't in much pain, but she subconsciously sensed that it was about to hurt.
Today, however, she personally dug out that rotten memory that had long since grown into her flesh and blood, and laid it bloody and raw in front of a stranger.
But these are not her biggest secrets. Her biggest secret is the love letter that gave her nightmares for months, and she still feels lingering fear when she thinks about it.
Especially considering that the person in the love letter had just had a conversation with me recently...
"Yes, it is true that he is a 'school bully,' but that's not the whole truth."
Bai Yi looked at her and said, looking at her somewhat pale face, not knowing whether it was because of those bad memories or something else.
Having worked as a journalist for many years, she had heard countless stories, but none were as filled with extreme pain, extreme resilience, and extreme loneliness as the one before her.
She remained silent for a long time before coming back to her senses. She took a sip of the now-cold coffee, the bitterness in her throat seemingly nothing compared to what Ye Yuying had witnessed in her youth.
She averted her gaze, looking back at Bai Yi, her tone still flat, but her eyes held a chilling clarity and understanding, her voice tinged with helplessness:
“Becoming a ‘school bully’ was not my wish. I tried to communicate and resist countless times, but to no avail. In fact, it only made the other party resent and retaliate more fiercely. In the end, I had no choice but to defeat them…”
“Reporter Bai,” Ye Yuying looked directly into Bai Yi’s eyes and asked, “If ending violence itself involves violence, would violence still be glorified? No…”
"In a place where there are no rules, if you don't want to be swallowed up, you have no choice but to create your own rules."
She delivered her final remarks in an almost self-deprecating tone.
“I understand that explaining these inside stories hastily won’t do any good for the public; on the contrary, it will only make the fire burn brighter,” Bai Yi said, expressing her agreement with her previous viewpoint.
Ye Yuying's throat bobbed slightly, she raised the corner of her mouth slightly, and nodded.
After a while, Bai Yi leaned forward slightly.
"Thank you, Yuying." Her voice was soft, filled with heartfelt admiration and tenderness. "Thank you... for being willing to tell me all this."
Instead of using honorifics, they addressed her by her name as if she were a peer or a friend.
She looked at Ye Yuying and solemnly reiterated her promise: "I assure you that I did not take any notes today, and not a single word you said will appear in my report without your permission."
Ye Yuying's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she nodded silently.
“However,” Bai Yi’s tone shifted, a dark glint flashing in his sharp eyes, typical of a seasoned journalist, “that doesn’t mean I’ll let those lurking in the shadows continue to influence your life with lies and framing.”
“You’ve given me the direction to the truth; the rest is up to me,” she said. “I will do my best to contribute to public opinion in my own way.”
Ye Yuying stared intently at Bai Yi, her gaze filled with curiosity. A warmth stirred within her for this stranger she was meeting for the first time.
She waved her hand dismissively, a hint of weariness in her voice: "It's alright, I don't really care about these things. As long as the investors don't withdraw, I don't care."
Bai Yi looked at her, suddenly smiled, and steered the conversation away from the heavy past and back to the equally severe and realistic predicament.
“Actually, your biggest problem right now isn’t the online public opinion. Those things will dissipate once the hype dies down,” she said. “The investors who choose to wait and see because of the public opinion are the ones who are giving you the biggest headache.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Yuying's empty eyes finally regained a few inches of clear and sharp light.
Bai Yi is right.
All her stories and all her suffering could not sway capital. What would make them willingly part with their hard-earned money were only cold, hard values, data, and rates of return.
"I had already thought about what to do before I came to see you." Ye Yuying's waist was a little numb and painful, and she carefully and laboriously sat up straight.
Her spine, which had been slightly hunched as she recounted the past, seemed to be bearing an unbearable burden, ached even more at this moment.
But she could still hold back.
She looked at Bai Yi and gave a very faint smile.
"Reporter Bai, thank you. I know it's not easy to get you to help me. Could you tell me which party has commissioned you to do this for me?"
Bai Yi smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
Ye Yuying pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows slightly, noticing Bai Yi's politeness and embarrassment. She immediately stopped asking questions and simply brushed it off.
*
That evening, just as the public opinion surrounding "Ye Yuying, the school bully" reached its peak, the Weibo account registered by Ashera posted its first and only post since the incident began.
That was neither a press release nor a clarification statement.
That was... an invitation to the product beta test.
To all friends who care about the Ashera project:
Ashera exists to give everyone who is unable to walk freely due to injury or illness the strength to stand again.
We have changed our original plan to hold a small-scale, closed product launch event next month to "'The Power of Walking' - Ashera v1.0 First Batch of 100 User Experience Beta Test Meeting".
We will randomly select 100 people from all applicants who have lower limb motor dysfunction for various reasons to become our "Chief Experience Officers" and experience our first-generation electromyography exoskeleton product for free.
We will be live streaming the entire event without any editing, presenting the product's true performance to everyone.
stay tuned.
—Ashera Team
This invitation was like a drop of water thrown into boiling oil; instantly, it splattered hot oil and ignited the internet.
Yeh Yu-ying's choice is the most straightforward: she wants to separate her good Ashera into two parts. No matter how the public views Yeh Yu-ying, it cannot stop the development of the team and the product.
Moreover, public opinion has brought her brand a lot of attention, and now is the time to communicate the company's core ideas to the public. She will throw all the hard work of herself and her team directly into the spotlight and let the world judge the most real and brutal results of the product itself.
This was like a high-stakes gamble, but it also reflected her complete confidence in the product.
As soon as the news broke, online opinions immediately polarized, and discussions about her and Ashera topped the charts.
*
Meanwhile, in the Cloud Top Tea Room, a private club in Jiangcheng, Cheng Mingdu was sitting opposite Feng Ting.
At midnight, on the top floor of the building, the air was filled with the fragrance of agarwood, and outside the window was the neon skyline of a bustling metropolis shrouded in night.
Feng Ting pushed the tablet computer in front of Cheng Mingdu. On the screen was Ashera's invitation that had ignited public opinion.
"Your sister has really given me a huge surprise." Feng Ting's tone was half teasing and half admiring. "I've invested in so many projects, who taught her this suicidal PR tactic? Is she really crazy? What if the test goes wrong?"
Cheng Mingdu's gaze remained fixed on the screen for a long time.
He simply picked up the cup of premium Wuyi rock tea that had already been brewed and took a small sip.
He put down his teacup, looked up at Feng Ting, and said calmly, "Normal."
"What?" Feng Ting didn't hear clearly.
“She’s been fighting these kinds of battles since she was thirteen, battles that everyone thought she would lose.”
"But ironically, I always ended up being the survivor."
Feng Ting looked at him and paused for a moment, then laughed: "Anyway, with you backing her up, it's good to have a big tree to shelter her. She can go ahead and make bold moves."
Cheng Mingdu did not respond to his sentiments, intending to deny them, but then felt it was unnecessary, and simply turned his head to admire the night view.
*
After sending out the internal test invitations, Ye Yuying went to bed early and turned up the air conditioner temperature a bit so that she could sleep more soundly.
I woke up the next day still with a fine, throbbing pain in my body.
She didn't get up immediately. Instead, she picked up her phone, took a deep breath, prepared herself for a hail of bullets, opened Weibo, and checked online opinions.
As expected, Ashera's beta test invitation has completely exploded across the internet after a night of discussion. The hashtags #AsheraOpenBetaTest# and #YeYuying'sSuicidalPRS# are trending high on social media.
Ye Yuying scrolled through the hostile words expressionlessly. Her heart had long been tempered by reality, making it impervious to all harm; the noise on the internet could no longer cause her any damage.
She was simply calmly assessing the pros and cons of this war for Ashera.
Suddenly, she noticed a name she had never seen before among the top three trending topics.
A singer named "Zino" posted a blog post in support of Ye Yuying.
This singer never shows his face, but with his ethereal voice and original lyrics full of stories, he enjoys immense popularity in the niche music scene.
#I support Ashera# I believe that all she wants to do is help more butterflies with broken wings to relearn how to fly together.
Zino's Weibo account only features new song promotions and album events; the only blog post from the singer's own perspective is quietly pinned to the top.
I was a victim of bullying at Laishan Middle School back then. It was Ye Yuying who ended it all. No matter what public opinion turns against me, I support her and Ashera.
Ye Yuying couldn't even remember who Zino could be, but she was still moved by his public support as a public figure, which took a lot of courage.
In return, Ye Yuying decided to click on Zino's paid album and give her some feedback in her own way.
For many years, she hasn't taken the time to listen to any new generation singers' songs. Her aesthetic taste in art is singular and loyal; she always listens to old songs and watches old movies.
As the car drove up to the company building, Ye Yuying put on her earphones before getting out, wanting to use the time to go upstairs to enjoy the singer's voice.
The underground parking garage was empty and quiet, with only the cold sound of her light cane tapping on the concrete floor. But at this moment, this lonely sound was drowned out by the music in her headphones.
A clear, pure female voice, devoid of any impurities, began after the piano prelude.
How I wish I could go back to that alleyway and tell you, "Don't be afraid."
But I myself broke your wings and stole your light…
Although the voice was more mature, more skillful, and more sorrowful than she remembered, she recognized Ji Zi's unique, fragile undertone in an instant!
Zino, a mysterious and ethereal singer with countless fans online…
It's even possible that someone like the one who betrayed her, and whom she utterly rejected with the coldest hatred—
"bite--"
The elevator's arrival announcement sounded like a thunderclap, abruptly waking Ye Yuying from her immense shock.
The elevator doors slowly opened, and a tall figure stepped out.
She looked up as if startled awake, and her eyes met directly with that familiar yet aloof face.
She stood still, motionless.
Cheng Mingdu.
-----------------------
Author's note: 50~
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