Against the Light - Chapter 59
Chapter 59: Hitting Rock Bottom and Bouncing Back
Gu Xinran immediately dialed Fang Yi's number.
"Hello, Sister Ran, what's up?"
"Something's happened on Weibo. A girl is threatening to commit suicide. Can you find her address?"
"What? Hold on, I'll go take a look."
At the same time, in the company group chat where people had just been grabbing red envelopes, someone posted a screenshot of that Weibo post. The group instantly exploded.
Someone also posted the news in the cast group chat for The Ode to Mountains and Rivers. Qi Qiuyan was suddenly tagged, leaving her completely bewildered.
Gu Xinran immediately called Qi Qiuyan.
"Xinran, what's happened?"
"There might be a problem with the script. Don't respond for now. I'll handle it. I'm sorry for dragging you into this."
"Okay, got it."
After hanging up, Gu Xinran called Qu Qi.
"What's going on with Weibo? I'm looking at it right now," Qu Qi asked as soon as she picked up.
"The script for The Ode to Mountains and Rivers might be plagiarized. The original author is threatening suicide, and I don't know the situation. Qiuyan has been dragged into it. For now, release a statement saying Heart Entertainment bought the rights. Let's draw the fire over to us."
"What!? Plagiarized? I… okay, I'll handle it. But getting Heart Entertainment involved at this point, isn't that just ruining our own reputation?"
"Netizens are firing randomly right now and have already started attacking Qiuyan. We can't let her take the fall for this." Gu Xinran was grateful to Qi Qiuyan. When she had first approached Qi Qiuyan about this drama, her team didn't want her to take the role. First, the pay was low. Second, the investor was too obscure, so the follow-up promotion might not be sufficient. Without good promotion, even the best film would be dead on arrival.
But at the time, Qi Qiuyan had read the script and thought it was good. Coupled with her faith in Xinran's abilities, she had insisted on participating.
At a time like this, she absolutely couldn't pass the buck to the actor.
Gu Xinran had just hung up with Qu Qi when Fang Yi's call came in.
"How is it?"
"Sister Ran, I found her address! She's right here in the city. My aunt and I are heading over now!"
"Send me the location," Gu Xinran said as she grabbed a jacket, picked up her car keys, and headed out the door.
On the way, Gu Xinran called the police and also requested an ambulance.
Fifteen minutes later, Gu Xinran, Fang Yi, and the others arrived at almost the same time. Luckily, since it was the New Year, there was less traffic.
"Sister Ran," Fang Yi called out, leading the two of them quickly inside. She carefully checked the building numbers, then stopped and pointed at a building ahead. Every household had its lights on, except for one apartment on the fourth floor, which was completely dark.
"That's it!" Fang Yi exclaimed, and they all hurried over.
"Jinghai, wait here for the police. Fang Yi, come up with me." Reaching the entrance to the stairwell, Gu Xinran gave the instruction and charged in first.
"Okay, be careful!"
The two of them climbed to the fourth floor and found apartment 401. They rang the doorbell and knocked, but there was no response.
"Hello, are you Ye Xiaobei? I'm Gu Xinran. Please don't do anything rash. I can help you!"
"Hey! Xiaobei?" Fang Yi was so anxious she was about to kick the door down.
Suddenly, with a click, the door to the next apartment opened. "What are you doing?"
"Hello, does a girl in her twenties live here?"
"Yeah, seems she's an orphan. She doesn't even go home for the New Year, just stays in this rental. Are you her friends? No, that's not right. She's always been a loner, doesn't have any friends."
"Then, sir, did she go out today?"
"I don't think so. I haven't heard any noise."
The two exchanged a look. This was bad!
"Sir, do… do you have a spare key to her place?" Fang Yi was getting desperate.
"…"
Gu Xinran knocked again, then suddenly froze. She listened closely and heard what sounded like police sirens. The two of them rushed downstairs just in time to see a police car pull up. They quickly explained the situation, and the officers broke down the door. When they went inside, they were hit by the pungent smell of gas. A girl was lying on the kitchen floor.
The ambulance arrived just then. They got the girl into the ambulance and followed it all the way to the hospital, watching as she was taken into the emergency room.
Gu Xinran sat on a bench and let out a breath. Her hands were still ice-cold, her heart was pounding, and her scalp was tingling.
Fang Jinghai and Fang Yi exchanged a look. Neither of them had ever experienced anything like this, and they were both completely shaken.
"Sister Ran, don't worry. She'll be okay," Fang Jinghai comforted Gu Xinran.
Just as Qu Qi and the others arrived, the light above the emergency room door went out. Everyone quickly gathered around.
"Fortunately, she was brought in just in time. Her life is no longer in danger for now, but she'll need to be kept under observation."
Everyone exchanged glances. Fang Yi and Fang Jinghai were so emotional they nearly burst into tears.
Gu Xinran took a step back, her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the bench. Thank god. Thank god her actions hadn't indirectly cost a life.
"Fang Yi, thoroughly investigate the author of The Ode to Mountains and Rivers. Find out what's really going on."
"Okay, got it."
"Everyone's been through a shock. If there's nothing else, you can all go."
"Sister Ran, you go back and rest. I'll stay and watch over things here," Fang Jinghai said.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It's no problem."
In the car, Gu Xinran rested her forehead in her hand. Qu Qi was driving, while Fang Yi wasted no time investigating the script issue.
"Sister Ran, I found it. On the forum of that website, they're saying The Ode to Mountains and Rivers plagiarized Never Parting. The author of Never Parting is that Ye Xiaobei. She's an obscure author, not even signed with the site. She writes purely out of passion. A reader posted a 'color palette' comparison to prove the plagiarism. There are indeed many similarities, and the plot points line up one after another. It's definitely plagiarism, but the website didn't rule that The Ode to Mountains and Rivers was plagiarized."
"Originally, this issue was just a small ripple in the online novel forums. It only blew up after the author of Never Parting's suicide attempt became a trending topic."
"But this is definitely my oversight. When I bought the rights, I should have checked if the novel had any negative history. I'm sorry," Fang Yi said apologetically.
"But we bought the rights from the website. Even if it was plagiarized, that doesn't have anything to do with us, right? We bought the IP for The Ode to Mountains and Rivers, after all," Qu Qi said.
"If Ye Xiaobei hadn't been saved today, we would be the demons feasting on human-blood buns," Gu Xinran said coldly.
The two exchanged a look and said no more.
That night, Gu Xinran found the novel Never Parting and read it all night.
The next morning, Gu Xinran opened her phone. On Weibo, Heart Entertainment was being torn to shreds by netizens.
This was within her expectations, and she had no time to deal with it. She quickly washed up and headed straight for the hospital.
When she arrived at the hospital room, she saw Fang Jinghai talking with Ye Xiaobei. She stood at the door and watched for a moment. She had read Ye Xiaobei's work the previous night and felt that this was a talented and sensitive kid with a gift for writing, just a bit melancholic.
Upon seeing her, Ye Xiaobei grew a little flustered and tried to get up.
Gu Xinran walked closer. "Hello, Xiaobei. I'm Gu Xinran. I'm one of your readers."
"I know who you are. You… you're my reader?"
"Mhm." Gu Xinran smiled and nodded. Just as she expected, the moment her writing was mentioned, the girl's entire demeanor changed.
The two chatted for a while about the novel. This brief interaction showed Gu Xinran that this kid had a special affection for every character she created, and her plotting was incredibly strong, deeply impressing Gu Xinran.
Finally, Gu Xinran took a deep breath, her eyes shining as if she had just discovered a treasure.
"Xiaobei, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Please, go ahead."
"I didn't know beforehand that The Ode to Mountains and Rivers had plagiarized your work, so I bought the rights and have already started filming."
Hearing this, Ye Xiaobei's eyes dimmed. She had a sinking feeling she knew what was coming next. It would be nothing more than some hush money to keep her from speaking out and ruining the IP's public appeal. Heh, that's how capitalists were, only caring about fame and profit. And to think she had actually believed Gu Xinran genuinely liked her work.
"I want to ask you…"
After hearing her question, Ye Xiaobei was completely stunned!
Two days later, Heart Entertainment held a press conference.
"President Gu, is it true that the author Ye Xiaobei attempted suicide because of plagiarism?"
"President Gu, what role did Heart Entertainment play in this matter? Did you know beforehand that The Ode to Mountains and Rivers was a plagiarized work? You yourself have fought a lawsuit over your own work being plagiarized, so why would you let something like this happen?"
The reporters fired off a series of questions. Gu Xinran listened attentively, and only when they had finished did she speak in a clear voice.
"It is true that Ye Xiaobei attempted suicide. She has been rescued and her life is not in danger."
"I was not aware that The Ode to Mountains and Rivers was plagiarized. The rights were purchased through negotiation with the website, not directly with the author. Failing to notice this was my dereliction of duty, and I apologize to the victim of the plagiarism." Gu Xinran bowed to the cameras.
"Furthermore, I hereby announce."
"Production of The Ode to Mountains and Rivers will be terminated. A plagiarized script is not worthy of the big screen, and it certainly shouldn't be whitewashed by its actors!" Gu Xinran's every word was forceful and righteous.
"Terminated?" The audience was in an uproar.
"As far as I know, filming for The Ode to Mountains and Rivers is already halfway done. Are you really going to terminate production?" The reporters were astonished, not expecting her to be so decisive.
"Not stopped. Terminated," Gu Xinran corrected.
Hearing her words, the reporters looked at each other in dismay. Others might not know, but they certainly did: this was Heart Entertainment's biggest investment of the year. To declare it a failure like this meant she wouldn't even be able to recoup her initial investment!
"In addition, I have two pieces of good news to announce."
??? There was good news after all this?
Gu Xinran smiled. "First, Heart Entertainment has purchased the rights to Never Parting from the author, Ye Xiaobei, and we will begin production soon."
"Second, the author Ye Xiaobei has signed with Heart Entertainment. She has joined us as our company's first screenwriter. In the future, I hope everyone will give her their full support."
"Finally, I want to take this opportunity to call on everyone to respect copyrights, because every work is poured from the author's heart and soul."
Gu Xinran gave a slight bow and made a grand exit, leaving behind a crowd of dumbfounded reporters.
Three hours after the press conference ended, discussions about Heart Entertainment and Gu Xinran remained a top trending topic.
However fiercely the public had cursed her two days ago, they were now praising her to the heavens.
Those who had accused her of feasting on human-blood buns came forward one after another to apologize. They wildly cheered her on for daring to speak up for the victim and for taking concrete action to boycott plagiarism!!
She was even hailed as a goddess by the authors on the online novel forums. After all, in an era where copyright awareness was weak, having someone stand up and take copyright issues seriously was something they had only dreamed of seeing.
Someone even estimated the losses she had incurred. Between the copyright fee for The Ode to Mountains and Rivers and the costs for the cast and crew, she had likely lost nearly ten million!
Using ten million to take real action and call on the public to respect copyrights—wasn't a person like that worthy of admiration!?
Heart Entertainment's reputation, which had hit rock bottom, skyrocketed because of Gu Xinran's decision!
It was also worth mentioning that Ye Qihan and her team, who had previously rejected the olive branch she'd extended, took the initiative to approach her after seeing how she handled the matter. They expressed their willingness to sign with Heart Entertainment, which was an unexpected gain.
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