Chapter 581: The calm before the storm
Lu Yan’s brazenness stemd from the fact that she was already dead.
Who would speak up against claiming the possession of sothing from soone who had passed away?
In this world, only the dead never speak.
But Lu Yan had surely never anticipated that she would live on in another identity, that she would live on as Chu Jin.
In this life, she was determined to make Lu Yan suffer complete defeat and pay for her actions in blood!
The plagiarism scandal caused a major stir in the literary circle, even making it to the trending topics on Weibo.
But during that period, Chu Jin was in military training and was unaware of the situation, hence she did not give any response.
Taking advantage of this, Lu Yan bought a bunch of internet trolls to attack Chu Jin on Weibo.
She also admitted publicly on Weibo that she was "Blue Smoke," and feigned pitifulness by posting photos of her increasingly frail figure. Since Lu Yan was already very popular on Weibo, her fans supported her wholeheartedly when they found out she was "Blue Smoke," believing that she would not plagiarize.
Lu Yan posted on Weibo claiming that "The World and You" was completed a year ago, but the submission was delayed because of her good friend Qin Jie’s accident. Therefore, in a sense, "The World and You" was completed even before "Blooms like Brocade."
"The Return of the Past" stole her manuscript and took advantage of her grieving period to publish the article.
Before this, Lu Yan had crafted an image of gentleness and kindness in the hearts of the public by using Qin Jie’s incident.
As such, most of her fans were true fans who refused to believe that Lu Yan had plagiarized.
They also accused "The Return of the Past" of being shaless for taking advantage of soone else’s misfortune.
Moreover, Lu Yan shared a handwritten draft that recorded inspirations that ca to her by chance, all of which were written by Qin Jie in her previous life.
Because of this handwritten draft, and due to Chu Jin not having issued any response, more and more people sided with Lu Yan.
After all, "The Return of the Past" was just a new author, whereas Lu Yan was a well-known public figure in Capital City. When comparing the two, it was normal for people to trust Lu Yan.
After the incident, the book gained massive exposure and attracted many onlookers eager for gossip.
Chu Jin read through the comnts on Weibo one by one.
Essentially, the readers who had followed her all this way believed in her unconditionally.
"Sister ’The Return,’ the innocent are innocent, and we all trust you."
"’The Return’, your words have helped
through the toughest tis of my life; don’t be afraid, we have always got your back."
"’Blue Smoke’ the plagiarist has no sha! Our ’Blooms like Brocade’ has been published for nearly two months now! Her ’The World and You’ has just finished. Who gave this plagiarizing dog the face to say that we plagiarized?"
"The above
1, ’Brocade’ has been published, and ’The World’ has just finished, it’s clear who plagiarized whom, yet there are still people here talking nonsense without any clue."
"Sister ’The Return,’ we will always trust you."
"Shout out for sister ’The Return.’
"We strongly demand ’Blue Smoke’ to publicly apologize and remove the plagiarized work!"
"We believe that justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent!"
...
"’The Return of the Past’ is a plagiarist! Once a plagiarist, always despised!"
"Our Yan Yan is so troubled by this matter that she can’t even eat or drink! Can the plagiarist please leave her alone?"
"A bunch of idiots, brain-dead fans! Your ’sister ’The Return’ is now too guilty to face anyone!"
"Exactly! If she’s so bold, let ’The Return of the Past’ co out! Just a piece of trash that only deserves to live in darkness."
...
"Ding! Tour group checking in!"
"Not a fan of either side, just waiting to see when ’The Return of the Past’ will co out with a statent."
"This circle is really chaotic!"
"To be honest, ’The Return of the Past’ avoiding this forever is not a solution."
...
"What’s there to avoid? Isn’t that what plagiarists are best at?"
"Ti-wise, ’The Return of the Past’ has the advantage, after all, her work was published so many days earlier than ’Blue Smoke.’ In terms of evidence, ’Blue Smoke’ has the advantage, since she is already outstanding and doesn’t need to plagiarize to gain fa."
"Ti is not the issue at all, our Yan Yan already explained in her statent that ’The World and You’ was completed a year ago, and has always been stored on the computer. With such a major incident happening recently, how could our Yan Yan be in the mood to submit it! It’s clear that ’The Return of the Past’ took advantage of her vulnerability and stole Yan Yan’s manuscript!"
"It’s clearly ’The Return of the Past’ who plagiarized! And now they are trying to sar our Yan Yan!"
"I reckon ’The Return of the Past’ knows our Yan Yan in real life too! Otherwise, why would she act like a shrinking turtle, not daring to make a peep! Probably afraid of exposing herself, right? Such shalessness!"
...
"I just want to see how ’The Return of the Past,’ the plagiarist, will try to whitewash herself."
"Damn! Stealing manuscripts! That stain will never wash away."
"Plagiarize if you must, but not daring to make a statent, what’s up with that? Who the plagiarist is, I think ’The Return of the Past’ is very clear about it in her heart."
"’The Return of the Past’ took advantage of soone’s misfortune, utterly shaless."
...
"Gu Gu, no matter what they say, we believe you are not evading, but just temporarily away. All of us in the Gu Family believe in you! Don’t be afraid, we’ll always stand by you. During that ti, you were our sunshine; now, it’s our turn to be your sunshine."
"Yes, we are all your little suns, trusting that justice will eventually arrive."
"..."
Ever since the plagiarism controversy erupted, fans of "Blooms like Brocade" ford a fan group nad "Gu Family." They encouraged each other in the group, made color palettes, gathered evidence, and were resisting against the fans of Lu Yan.
Because they all believed that the person they had always had faith in would never plagiarize.
As Chu Jin read these comnts, there was a slight redness in her eyes—it would be a lie to say she wasn’t moved.
Thinking of those she had never t, who had put so much effort into supporting her and trusted her so deeply, her heart felt incredibly warm.
At such a ti, if she didn’t step forward and say sothing, she would be letting down those who had always supported her.
Chu Jin’s latest Weibo post gathered nearly two million comnts, half of which were attacking "The Return of the Past."
The public opinion was now overwhelmingly one-sided.
Under Lu Yan’s deliberate guidance, many people believed that "The Return of the Past" had stolen her manuscript and published it early, painting her as the victim of plagiarism.
Half a month had passed since the incident.
Both works beca very popular.
Lu Yan claid that "The Return of the Past" had stolen her manuscript, but this was just her side of the story with no concrete evidence; and since "The Return of the Past" was indeed published much earlier and its author had not made any statents, the literary world was temporarily unable to judge who the plagiarist was.
Chu Jin placed her hands on the keyboard and started typing, one letter at a ti.
"The Return of the Past" V reposted Lu Yan V’s Weibo:
"Regarding what Ms. Lu has ntioned above, it is purely fabricated. I have taken screenshots for evidence and handed them over to my lawyer for handling.
I’m sorry that it has taken
until now to make this statent, and I appreciate everyone’s trust! "Blooms like Brocade" is my first work, a piece that took
three years to complete. It holds imnse significance to , and I will not allow anyone to tarnish it.
Lastly, to borrow a line from Shakespeare: however long the night, the dawn will break."
Thank you to all who believe in ."
She didn’t cry about her hardships to gain sympathy; she simply stated the facts and made it clear she intended to let her lawyers handle the matter by directly tagging Lu Yan.
As soon as this Weibo post was published, it imdiately hit Weibo’s trending search.
"’The Return of the Past’ makes a statent."
The post attracted a new wave of spectators.
In just 10 minutes, the comnts on the Weibo post had reached six digits and continued to soar.
"Sister Return, you finally ca back!"
"Ah, I’m so excited! Love you, Sister Return!"
"However long the night, the dawn will break!"
"Add one for the above."
"Plus 2 for the above."
"Plus N for the above."
"I knew Sister Return wouldn’t bow down to the filthy forces of evil so easily."
"Sister Return, we will always be your strongest support!"
...
"How shaless can a plagiarizing dog be! Leave our Yan alone, she’s in the hospital now!"
"Our Yan has had such a hard ti already!"
"I trust that the law is fair! It will surely bring justice for Yan!"
"Heh, plagiarizing dog, you finally showed up!"
...
"Ding! Sightseeing group checking in!"
"Here for the trending search sightseeing."
"Front row seats with sunflower seeds, bench, and tea all ready!"
"Sitting back and waiting for the drama!"
...
The comnts were essentially divided into three groups: fans of both sides and neutral onlookers.
In an era where sensationalism prevailed, onlookers loved a big scene.
After posting on Weibo, Chu Jin responded to so fan comnts and then picked up Mo Zhixuan’s phone to log into WeChat, only to realize that her editor had sent her countless ssages.
Linglong dice: "Old Return! Weibo is exploding! You need to make a statent quickly."
Linglong dice: "I believe you wouldn’t plagiarize!"
Linglong dice: "Are you there?"
Linglong dice: "The editor responsible for ’The World and You’ ca to , but don’t worry, we won’t be taking down your work!"
Chu Jin looked through the ssages the editor had sent, one after another, and replied, "Thank you, Editor, for your trust. I’ll handle this matter well. Peace."
Linglong dice: "Old Return, I’ve finally reached you! I thought you’d gone to Mars!"
Brocades and Mountains: "I was on military training the past few days and just got off yesterday; sorry for making you worry."
Capital University prohibits mobile phones during military training to cut off contact with the outside world, and the editor was aware of this.
Linglong dice: "Understandable, can you handle this on your own? If you need my help, just say the word."
Brocades and Mountains: "Thank you, I can handle it on my own."
On Lu Yan’s side.
Seeing Chu Jin’s post, she fell into a state of extre panic.
She had thought "The Return of the Past" had vanished from the literary world for good, yet there she was, making such a statent. Was she ready to confront her head-on?
Who is this "The Return of the Past"?
Why does she also have Qin Jie’s brilliant creation?
What on earth does she want to do?
"The Return of the Past
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