TL: Hua
Extra 16: Campus Life 10
Qin Chaoyan’s legal team was extremely efficient. That same evening, the artist online received a physical lawyer’s letter.
However, lawyers’ letters are quite common nowadays, and due to some celebrities, they’ve been dubbed a joke by netizens.
That artist probably didn’t take it too seriously or perhaps wanted to gain clout through this incident. That night, he posted the lawyer’s letter online, tearfully complaining in a pitiful tone, implying that he had already apologized, but the other party was still relentlessly pursuing him, bullying an ordinary person by relying on their vast wealth and power.
He claimed that many of his commercial commissions had been canceled, and some collaborations were withdrawn, suggesting that President Qin of Rongchao and the young master of the Ye family were trying to force him into destitution.
The “little essay” sparked another wave of public opinion. Some continued to watch the drama unfold, while others mocked him for being manipulative, failing to frame someone, and then resorting to crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide after being exposed.
Of course, there were also those who stood with this artist, feeling that Qin Chaoyan and Ye Rongxu had gone too far. These people weren’t all fans of the artist; there were also some envious, anti-rich individuals.
[This artist named Yun Yang was indeed wrong at first, but he already apologized. What more do they want? One is the CEO of a famous company; the other is the son of Jiangcheng’s richest man. They’re relentlessly pursuing an ordinary person, trying to completely ruin him? Seriously, being rich is amazing, respect.]
[Exactly! Besides, the artist initially only questioned the fairness of the fan art competition. Has the sudden surge in votes for Rong Yan’s work on the last day been explained clearly? They just came out strong with power, impressive.]
[They even caused the artist’s commissions to be rejected and collaborations canceled. We can only say that capital is powerful. What, are they trying to blacklist him?]
Lin Jiaojiao was utterly stunned and furious when she saw these comments.
“Are these people crazy? Do they have no brains? That artist first slandered you and then wrote a ‘little essay’ implying you got first place through connections? He has gone this far, and sending a lawyer’s letter to sue him is called bullying?”
She angrily typed away on her phone, unleashing a torrent of words.
Ye Rongxu, sitting beside her, calmly drank tea, seemingly unconcerned, and said, “There are all kinds of people online. If you only look at those comments, you’ll definitely feel bad. It’s not like there aren’t neutral comments or comments criticizing that artist.”
After her rant, Lin Jiaojiao turned and saw him calmly drinking tea. She couldn’t help but be surprised, her tone hesitant: “Brother…”
She started to speak but then paused for a long time, unable to finish the second half of her sentence.
Ye Rongxu “hmm”-ed and turned to look at her.
Seeing this, Lin Jiaojiao cautiously asked, “Aren’t you angry?”
Ye Rongxu: “…”
He took a deep breath, swirled the flower tea in his cup, and said, “Do you want to see what kind of tea I’m drinking?”
Lin Jiaojiao quickly glanced at it, let out an “er,” and cautiously replied, “Chrysanthemum tea.”
“What are its benefits?”
“…Clears the mind and reduces internal heat.”
“Good that you know.” Ye Rongxu was expressionless.
Who said he wasn’t angry? It’s just that if he didn’t look at those comments, he wouldn’t get too angry.
As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.
His health had only just improved in recent years, almost to the level of a normal person, so he didn’t want to get so angry he ended up in the hospital again.
“You shouldn’t look either,” Ye Rongxu, not wanting his mood to be affected, instructed Lin Jiaojiao.
Lin Jiaojiao belatedly realized this and quickly nodded, saying, “Okay, okay.”
Her cousin hadn’t been frequenting the hospital these past few years, so she had almost forgotten that his health wasn’t actually that good and he couldn’t handle getting upset. Thinking that she had just mentioned the upsetting online comments in front of him, she guiltily hurried back to the guest room.
Then, hugging her phone, she continued her “Ancestral Demolition” output, her expression at one point becoming distorted.
Ye Rongxu sat on the living room sofa, holding his chrysanthemum tea, taking a light sip. He thought of the artist online and frowned slightly again.
Qin Chaoyan emerged from the study. Seeing only Ye Rongxu in the living room, his brow twitched slightly, and he quickly walked over, sat down beside him, and held his empty hand, caressing it comfortingly. “Don’t worry, it’s already being handled. Those bad comments will be deleted.” Then, afraid Ye Rongxu might overthink it, he added, “It’s late. Let’s go to bed. By tomorrow morning, everything will be fine.”
Ye Rongxu nodded gently. After putting down his teacup, he suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around Qin Chaoyan’s neck.
Qin Chaoyan was slightly stunned, then chuckled softly, carrying him horizontally back to the bedroom.
—
At the same time, an announcement was posted on the account of the online artist Rong Yan:
Firstly, it is he who is suing the artist Yun Yang, not Rongchao Group nor Ye Group. This matter is his personal rights protection; Yun Yang doesn’t need to involve others, just wait for the court summons.
Secondly, he is not a powerful figure and did not blacklist Yun Yang. He’s unaware if Yun Yang was truly dropped from commercial commissions or lost collaborations; in any case, he doesn’t accept defamation.
Finally, the surge in votes for his work in the fan art contest on the last day was because many fans who had semi-retired from the art scene specifically went to vote for him after learning he had announced his intention to retire earlier.
Of course, this Weibo post was edited by Qin Chaoyan after communicating with Ye Rongxu and then published using Ye Rongxu’s account.
Explanation was just the first step. Court summonses wouldn’t be delivered that quick, but a court hearing would also need to be scheduled. During this time, Qin Chaoyan wouldn’t allow this artist to continue making trouble.
Especially since the other party seemed to think he had nothing to lose.
Therefore, Rongchao Game’s official account also simultaneously released all winning entries, reiterating that there was no foul play in the competition.
Because the skill gap between the first and fifth place was too significant—even to the point where people who didn’t understand art would clearly see the first place as superior—the haters were momentarily speechless.
This Weibo post immediately topped the hot searches, hanging conspicuously in the front row, just like Ye Rongxu’s post.
Rongchao Game’s General Manager Ding was very pleased. Since President Qin was paying for the hot search anyway, their game could also ride the coattails of the popularity, killing two birds with one stone.
“If we could cooperate with Mr. Ye again, we might even earn some goodwill from President Qin,” General Manager Ding said excitedly, rubbing his chubby, short hands.
The game planner next to him looked helpless. If Mr. Ye were an ordinary artist, it might be possible, but he clearly wasn’t, and he was even retiring.
“Let me see, his resume… sigh, I knew his painting and design skills were clearly a cut above the rest. Look, he started learning painting from famous teachers at a very young age, won many major awards both domestically and internationally, and even held art exhibitions.”
Planner: “I heard he’s also a student at Jing University’s Academy of Fine Arts, specializing in oil painting. Drawing original art and illustrations for our anime-style games is just a hobby for him.”
“Alas, what a pity! Why didn’t you recruit him back then?” General Manager Ding lamented. Professional ability aside, just for his status, it would have been good to recruit him as a mascot to worship! Then President Qin would surely pour money into their department all the time, wouldn’t he?
The planner’s mouth twitched: “I already told you, he only paints these as a hobby.” Being able to get him to accept commissions was already good enough, let alone recruiting him? Dreaming would be faster.
These resumes and works also appeared online, dug up by an anonymous “enthusiastic netizen,” who sighed with admiration:
[To be honest, does Teacher Rong Yan need to rig a game’s fan art contest award? He’s won countless major domestic and international awards, even while being hospitalized with severe illness for years. Later, he even got into Jing University’s Academy of Fine Arts, and he did it after taking a three- or four-year break from school for treatment. He’s simply an inspiring role model!
I’m not trying to belittle anyone, but that artist named Yang really overestimates himself. The quality of his paintings is only enough to fool young online fans and earn their money; they’re far from Teacher Rong’s level. Besides, these game fan art and illustrations are just Teacher Rong’s amateur, self-taught hobbies. His professional oil paintings are even more incredible. I won’t say more; everyone can just look at the awards he’s won.]
Below were official website links and screenshots of various awards Ye Rongxu had won.
Because this matter was already very popular, and someone specifically bought hot searches for it, there were many people watching in the comment section.
[Wow, isn’t this the legendary ‘child of someone else’s family’?]
[Little brother is handsome and excellent. His only flaw is that he got married young.]
[Took a three-year break from school for treatment, and his schooling before that was also intermittent. After recovering, he studied for half a year and got into Jing University’s Academy of Fine Arts. So amazing, I’m crying with envy.]
[Thanks everyone for looking at my wife. Honestly, I just found out my wife is so outstanding, hehe.]
[Upstairs, aren’t you afraid President Qin will hunt you down?]
[Seriously, with this level, there’s absolutely no need to manipulate a game fan art contest award.]
[@Yun Yang’s fans, come and see, does this level need rigging?]
[To be honest, even I, a passerby who doesn’t understand painting, think it is completely a slap in Yun Yang’s face.]
[My art academy teacher even praised Teacher Rong’s paintings. P.S. My teacher is a big shot in the domestic art scene!]
[Where are Yun Yang’s fans? Why aren’t they speaking up?]
[His fans are all crazies.]
[Teacher Rong was truly a victim of being exploited this time. Being forced to compare himself to that Yang is simply lowering his own prestige.]
Many of Yun Yang’s fans were still young. They had blindly charged in before, but now, seeing so much evidence, some gradually calmed down and finally realized something was wrong—they weren’t dragon-slaying heroes fighting against capital, but rather, they had been used.
Of course, there were also some who went all the way down the wrong path and still believed in Yun Yang, but many of them, like some haters, were muted or had their accounts banned for using foul language.
When Yun Yang himself saw these comments, his head buzzed, and his face burned.
He wasn’t unaware that his skill level was actually inferior to Ye Rongxu’s, but he confidently believed there wasn’t much difference.
In this competition, he took fifth place and was very unwilling to accept his loss. Because online votes also had a certain influence on the ranking, and he had a large number of fans, he originally thought he would be first.
But unexpectedly, not only was he not, he was far from it. The actual first-place winner was his arch-nemesis.
Of course, this arch-nemesis was only in his own mind; Ye Rongxu had never actually paid attention to him.
Initially, it was just people in his fan group comforting him, saying that Rong Yan’s votes surged on the last day because he bought them.
Yun Yang outwardly told everyone not to guess wildly, but inwardly, he hoped it was true.
Later, when the photo from the comic con came out, people in the group speculated, “I can’t believe Rong Yan and President Qin have this kind of relationship. His fans are even shipping them; it’s hilarious. Don’t tell me he’s being kept. He probably won this award through connections too.”
When Yun Yang saw the photo, he was immediately filled with intense jealousy. He had always regarded Rong Yan as his arch-nemesis, an imaginary enemy. In earlier years, he actually couldn’t surpass Rong Yan until he did a live stream and showed his face, and fans praised him for being handsome, which is when he found the key to becoming popular.
After that, he relied on marketing his looks and indeed gradually became more popular than Rong Yan, with more fans. People in his group said that Rong Yan didn’t show his face because he wasn’t good-looking, and he secretly agreed, feeling that he had finally surpassed Rong Yan.
However, once the comic con photo was released, he was instantly devastated. Even some people in his fan group said Rong Yan was handsome, and it was only after a few of his major fans kicked those people out and brought up topics like “being kept” that they managed to steer the conversation back.
But Yun Yang was still bitter. He couldn’t surpass Rong Yan in skill, he was crushed in the competition rankings, and now even his looks were inferior. Was this Rong Yan naturally destined to torment him?
Especially after learning that the person standing next to Rong Yan in the photo was President Qin of Rongchao, he felt waves of jealousy. Coupled with the comfort from his fan group, he also believed that Rong Yan could only have won first place through connections.
Thinking this way, he felt a subtle surge of excitement and growing indignation, which led to last night’s Weibo post.
Actually, when Ye Group and Rongchao Group issued their statements, he should have apologized. But when he learned of Rong Yan and President Qin’s relationship, he had sworn in his fan group that “Rong Yan relies on connections,” and his fans all believed him. How could he turn around and slap himself in the face? He couldn’t bear to lose face like that.
So, he only apologized for spreading the rumor that “Rong Yan was a mistress,” and while apologizing, he subtly brought up the issue of the fan art contest ranking again.
Anyway, he didn’t directly say there was foul play; he only hinted at it, which also gave his fans an explanation. He thought that a huge conglomerate like Rongchao, and big figures like President Qin and Young Master Ye, wouldn’t notice these things. After all, he apologized, even though he hinted at a few words during the apology.
Who knew that a lawyer’s letter would be delivered to his residence that very night?
To be honest, he was a little scared at the time, but the people in his group all comforted him, saying that a lawyer’s letter was nothing and that everyone on the internet nowadays sends lawyer’s letters.
Then they helped him curse the other side for being bullies and stood up for him.
So, Yun Yang’s fear disappeared, and swept up by his excited fans, he posted another Weibo, implying that Qin Chaoyan and Ye Rongxu were abusing their power.
In fact, being coerced was only one aspect. On the other hand, he cleverly hoped to rely on public opinion to force the other side to stop making things difficult for him.
If he had been a bit smarter, or if there had been a slightly more experienced elder by his side to guide him, he wouldn’t have come up with such a foolish idea.
This move completely blew up the internet, but the other side responded quickly, and the situation reversed again in no time.
He also didn’t expect that Rong Yan, besides having connections, was actually very skilled. He even felt some resentment and injustice; since the other party was so good, why didn’t they say so earlier?
If they had said so earlier, would he have posted those Weibo messages and ended up being mocked by everyone now?
But fortunately, he only subtly hinted at a few things. It should still be possible to apologize now and claim that he misunderstood about the ranking issue. Also, in the fan group, he needed a few of his major fans to help explain and control the narrative.
He took a deep breath, just about to edit his Weibo post, when a fan in his group suddenly sent him a flurry of messages, along with a link.
He instinctively clicked on it, and the color drained from his face with a “whoosh.”
—
Ye Rongxu woke up early the next morning and sat down to eat in the dining room.
Lin Jiaojiao walked over mysteriously, hugging her phone. “Brother, let me tell you about what happened yesterday…”
“Good news or bad news?” Ye Rongxu cautiously interrupted first.
“Good news, good news,” Lin Jiaojiao said with a smile. “That online artist has been exposed for plagiarism!”
Ye Rongxu was slightly surprised at the news and paused in the act of picking up food.
“I saw it. Four or five of his drawings have been accused of plagiarism, and one of them even copied the composition of your award-winning work from when you were fifteen! He probably doesn’t even know he copied you,” Lin Jiaojiao gritted her teeth.
Ye Rongxu had never seen Yun Yang’s work. After a moment of daze, he turned to look at Qin Chaoyan.
Qin Chaoyan calmly picked up the dish Ye Rongxu had just been about to pick up and said, “Eat.”
Ye Rongxu blinked and asked, “Is it true?”
Qin Chaoyan nodded. “Last night, I had experts compare all of his works.”
He could have directly silenced the other party, but then some people would accuse him of persecution. So, he had to take a multi-pronged approach and act comprehensively.
Presumably, from now on until he receives the court summons, the other party won’t have the energy to bother them again.
As for why he was having this idea, it was because when he used to help Ye Rongxu fight back against negative comments in Ye Rongxu’s comment section, he saw some people who were arguing with Yun Yang’s fans mention a few times that a certain painting by Yun Yang resembled someone else’s work.
He didn’t expect that after the authentication, the other party had indeed plagiarized.
However, for this matter to escalate to this point, it proved the saying, “It’s easy to see the King of Hell, but hard to deal with the little ghosts[mfn]The unknown is difficult to deal with.[/mfn].” Qin Chaoyan had initially only intended to sue some overly defamatory media and individual accounts and had not specifically targeted this person. It was truly because the other party had been relentlessly pestering them first.
Lin Jiaojiao couldn’t help but give Qin Chaoyan a thumbs-up. “Brilliant!”
Then she gloated, “Now he really will be dropped from commercial commissions and collaborations, but it wasn’t us who did it.”
Ye Rongxu hadn’t expected things to turn out this way, but… it wasn’t an important person, so since it was resolved, he stopped paying attention.
He picked up a piece of food and continued eating.
Less than a week later, Yun Yang received a court summons. He hadn’t expected the other party to actually sue. Weren’t the lawyer’s letters just for show? His face turned pale. It was too late to apologize again.
Ye Rongxu had almost forgotten the online turmoil. After sending his cousin off, he had another important task to do—the “bare leg artifact” he ordered online had arrived. How should he convince Qin Chaoyan to wear them?
If you like what I’m doing, consider supporting me on ko-fi for bonus chapters (๑☆‿ ☆#)ᕗ
That guy got face slapped so badly he deserved it 👏😂 Omg I can’t believe xuxu actually bought that 🤭