Chapter 78
“A fan sent me a private message. A movie just wrapped up filming recently, and in the exposed behind-the-scenes video, the main actor described a plot. The reason I’m bringing this up today is because the description of this plot is very similar to a plot in a novel I once wrote. I don’t want to say much more. Thank you all for your support and love.”
This was the Weibo post Bo Muyu saw after Su Man turned the computer screen towards her. The author was a web novelist with a major IP, who had been famous in the web novel industry for many years.
And the content of her post was very clear. The movie that had recently wrapped up filming and had a behind-the-scenes video exposed, with the main actor giving a simple plot description in the video, could only be God of War.
The chirping of the cicadas in the hot summer was shut out. The office was terrifyingly quiet.
Su Man stood up from behind her desk and leaned against it with her back to Bo Muyu. Bo Muyu saw her tilt her head back and heard her let out a long sigh.
“This author has a huge fan base accumulated over many years. She doesn’t need to be attached to any literary website. As long as she finishes a book, a publisher will come to her to discuss cooperation.”
Su Man’s voice came faintly, sounding tired and helpless.
She turned around, her face as usual, but her gaze was a little complicated.
Bo Muyu stared at her and said with certainty, “I did not plagiarize.”
“I haven’t read her novel, so I can’t judge this matter,” Su Man’s brow was in pain. She pulled out a chair and sat down, then continued, “The top priority now is to take countermeasures. I’ve already had the official Weibo of God of War issue a statement saying that we will take this matter seriously.”
Bo Muyu’s vision suddenly blurred, her mind filled with Su Man’s words, “I haven’t read her novel, so I can’t judge this matter.” She pressed her lips together firmly, her voice very low. “Then what do I need to do? Should I provide my plot summary? Or the research materials I looked up when I wrote this script?”
Su Man shook her head and sighed again. “None of that will work.” She then gazed at Bo Muyu, her lips moved, and only after a long while did she say softly, “Before this matter is resolved, you should rest at home for now.”
This matter had to be handled by the company. Bo Muyu was silent for a while, then slowly nodded.
“Go back,” Su Man’s gaze held a hint of heartache.
Bo Muyu left her office in a daze. Her steps were very slow, her expression so calm it was as if nothing had happened. She slowly walked back to the screenwriting department. As soon as she entered, a few male screenwriters burst out laughing unscrupulously.
“Look, what did I tell you? Look at her, hahahahahaha!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… this seat hasn’t even been warmed up, and she’s about to be kicked out.”
“Little Yang said she has a very bad temper. Let’s see how bad it is… hahahaha, she dares to plagiarize a famous author’s plot. Does she really think President Su can back her up?”
The sarcastic remarks pierced Bo Muyu’s heart like needles, and also like huge rocks crashing down, almost numbing her.
“That’s enough, you guys! Can’t you be a little more decent!” The female colleague who had informed Bo Muyu that something had happened stood up and shouted angrily.
It was some man who replied in a thuggish tone, “The one who should be decent is this big supervisor, right? The original author has already spoken out. She should hurry up and admit her mistake. Doesn’t she want to stay in this industry?”
Bo Muyu’s eyes were sinister. She clenched her fists and faced everyone, her voice deep. “Where’s the evidence? Where’s the evidence that I plagiarized?”
The room was quiet for a moment. A few people whispered to each other, and then a man suddenly said with disdain, “Evidence? The original author has already spoken out. Doesn’t she know what she wrote?”
“So whatever she says is true?” Bo Muyu asked with a sneer. “Then what gives her that right? Money? Fame? So she can accuse me of plagiarism without any evidence?”
The other person was at a loss for words and stammered, “Why are you arguing with me? If you have the guts, go and argue with the author!”
Bo Muyu’s sharp gaze shot straight at him. “You just wait.”
Everyone present could feel her uncontainable anger, her gaze as sharp as a knife. The few men who had been gloating just now also shut their mouths and said no more.
Bo Muyu returned to her office. After closing the door, her whole person deflated like a punctured balloon, only her fists were still tightly clenched. She was not afraid. She was angry. Why did such things always happen in this society?
Spreading rumors without any evidence, from small things like daily work interactions to big things like her reputation now. After she had rejected him, Yang Qian had spread rumors everywhere that she had hurt him, and also that she had a very bad personality, and had slept with Su Man, and so on. Now it was even more speechless. A famous author had made a statement against her just by listening to her fans’ one-sided story.
The main point was, Bo Muyu had never been able to understand why anyone would believe such a groundless thing.
She wiped her face, wiping away the fatigue, and packed her things, leaving the company with her usual natural demeanor.
Ye Xialan and Bo Mingliang did not have the habit of reading novels, so they did not pay attention to that author. But they definitely paid attention to the movie their daughter had written, and with special attention. So after the official Weibo of God of War issued a statement, Ye Xialan didn’t care if Bo Muyu was at work and quickly called her.
Bo Muyu said that she was on her way back to Jiang Chenyin’s place. Ye Xialan, still on the phone, waved at Bo Mingliang and kicked him to hurry up and get the car.
Back at Jiang Chenyin’s house, Bo Muyu threw her briefcase on the living room sofa and went to the kitchen to get a can of iced beer, chugging down several mouthfuls. The cold liquid flowed into her body, making her feel much more comfortable.
She had thought she would continue to be angry, but in fact, she was not angry for that long. Last winter, when Yang Qian had forced her to say her hobbies, she had been so angry that she didn’t even feel warm drinking milk. But today was different. Perhaps the fire in her heart had been blown out by the wind on the way.
After a while, Bo Mingliang and his wife arrived.
As soon as Ye Xialan entered, she grabbed Bo Muyu’s arm and asked, “Xiaoyu, what’s the situation now? Did the company fire you?”
Bo Muyu shook her head and comforted her, “No, they won’t fire me. I’m just back to rest and lie low.”
The three of them went into the living room. Bo Muyu poured tea for her parents and then sat down on the single sofa.
Bo Mingliang frowned. “I’ll have someone control the situation first. If it continues to develop like this, Xiaoyu will be scolded to death before Hongsheng’s final result comes out.”
“Yes, you should hurry…” Ye Xialan couldn’t sit still. She stood up, her hands on her hips, and paced back and forth. “I’ve seen the Weibo post by that author. Who gave her the right to accuse my daughter of plagiarism without any evidence? Does she think she’s an emperor just because she’s a little famous?”
“Dad, no!” Bo Muyu immediately leaned over and pressed down on Bo Mingliang’s hand, which was about to make a call.
“What do you mean, no!” Ye Xialan’s eyes were wide with anger. “By the time the company’s procedures are over, you’ll have been scolded to your eighteenth generation of ancestors! Don’t you know how badly those who have truly plagiarized and are unrepentant are scolded now? Good heavens, you’ve done nothing and you deserve to be framed?”
“Mom, no,” Bo Muyu still held Bo Mingliang’s hand, her gaze on Ye Xialan full of determination. “If we control the public opinion now, it will definitely be noticed by some people. At that time, the matter will be even more out of control. They’ll say that I have a background and connections and don’t respect original work.”
Without a second thought, Ye Xialan said, “You do have a background and connections.”
“Then what should we do? Just wait?” Bo Mingliang’s tone was deep with anxiety.
“Yes, we can only wait,” Bo Muyu nodded and withdrew her hand. “The thing that can slap her in the face the most now is evidence. As soon as the comparison result comes out, we can slap her hard in the face. I believe my senior can handle this matter well.”
Ye Xialan sat down beside Bo Mingliang and let out a sarcastic laugh. “I’m speechless. She questions others, and she wants others to prove their innocence. Shouldn’t her side be the one to produce the evidence of plagiarism? Even a court verdict needs evidence, right? Can you win a case just by being the ‘plaintiff’?”
She was so angry her chest was heaving. Bo Mingliang patted her back to calm her down.
Bo Muyu bit her lip, her expression helpless and tired. “The most important thing is that many people just follow along without asking any questions. Her fans thought it was similar and told her, and then she believed their one-sided story and made a final judgment. After that Weibo post was published, a large number of fans were united in their anger and directly labeled me.”
“Birds of a feather!” Ye Xialan almost gritted her back teeth. “What’s her name? Have Teacher Jiang’s company blacklist her. No matter what novel she writes in the future, it won’t be produced! And your Hongsheng, you should kick this kind of thing out if there’s a chance for cooperation in the future. So blind!”
“Alright, alright, we won’t produce any of them, we won’t produce any of them. Honey, calm down…” Bo Mingliang kept patting Ye Xialan’s back.
After a while, Ye Xialan calmed down a little and asked, “What about Teacher Jiang? Does she know what happened?”
“No, she’s on a business trip. She can only come back tomorrow,” Bo Muyu said. She didn’t want to bother Jiang Chenyin with this kind of thing, and besides, she didn’t think it was a big deal.
As long as the company compared her script with the other party’s novel, everything would be clear. It wasn’t worth making Jiang Chenyin worry. The only thing she was angry about was that the current trend was really skewed. Without any evidence, they were judging whether it was plagiarism just based on opinions like “I think it’s very similar” and “I think it’s very similar.”
But she had had a moment of a daze in Su Man’s office just now. She had thought that Su Man would believe her.
She knew that Su Man had not said or done anything wrong. From the standpoint of a manager, Su Man could not show favoritism or make a conclusion based on her own feelings. But when she had heard the words, “I haven’t read her novel, so I can’t judge this matter,” she had still been a little disappointed.
“Then let’s not bother Teacher Jiang…” Ye Xialan patted her husband’s thigh. “Daddy, let’s take our baby out for a walk. She’s on a break. We can’t waste it. We’ll have dinner together after we’ve had enough fun.”
Before Bo Mingliang could answer, Bo Muyu smiled and said, “Okay. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone shopping with Mom and Dad.”
She had a smile on her face, not a hint of perfunctory. For her now, she shouldn’t be troubled and dejected. She was not the one who was wrong. She just had to wait for the final result to be announced. She was very clear that she had not done such a thing, so why should she be sad with such negative emotions?
The one who should be sad, the one who should pay the price, why should it be her, the victim who was framed?
It should be the person who had spread rumors and slandered without any evidence.
While Weibo and Hongsheng were in a state of chaos, Bo Muyu spent a day playing with her parents. In the evening, they even went to Jiang Gaojun’s restaurant for dinner. The family didn’t finish until nine at night.
Bo Muyu still went back to Jiang Chenyin’s house. Not long after she got home, she received a call from her.
Jiang Chenyin’s tone was as usual, just a little tired. “I’ve finished my meeting. I’ve just gotten back to the hotel.”
Bo Muyu’s lips curved up slightly. “Then you should take a shower and go to sleep. You’ll be home tomorrow. I’ll cook for you when you get home.”
Jiang Chenyin didn’t answer her, but instead asked, “What did you do today?”
Bo Muyu paused, not knowing what to say. If she said she had spent the day with her parents, how would she explain why she wasn’t at work? And if she explained that, it would make her worry.
“Hmm?” Jiang Chenyin’s placid voice reminded her that she was still waiting for a reply.
“I…” Bo Muyu bit her lip and said softly, “I didn’t go to work today. I went shopping with my parents. We had dinner at Little Uncle’s place in the evening. I just got back.”
“Oh…” Jiang Chenyin’s voice was long and drawn out, sounding gentle and alluring. “Then why didn’t you go to work? It’s not the weekend today.”
This time, Bo Muyu was completely at a loss for words. She paced back and forth in her room, but couldn’t come up with a single word in reply.
Jiang Chenyin finally couldn’t bear to tease her anymore and let out a soft laugh, her tone helpless. “You’re still not going to tell me the truth? You still want to hide it from me?”
“Auntie Yin…” Bo Muyu stopped in her tracks and lowered her eyes. “I was just afraid you would worry.”
Jiang Chenyin said, “What did I tell you before? You’re not allowed to hide anything from me. Did you hear me?”
This time, Bo Muyu answered quickly, “Of course I heard you. I was just afraid of affecting your work. Look how late you’ve been working.”
It was quiet on Jiang Chenyin’s end for a moment, and then there was some movement, as if she had taken a few steps in her room, and then the sound of a window being opened. The sound of traffic immediately became clear.
“Since you’re on a break, then you should have a good sleep tomorrow,” Jiang Chenyin said with a low laugh. “Wait for me at home when you wake up. Don’t run around.”
