Chapter 43: Public Opinion Fermentation

"I'm filing a formal complaint against a rich kid in Suzhou who bullied us! He beat two of my classmates so badly they were seriously injured!"

"My brother was beaten by him! He even has black eyes now, and no one from the law enforcement bureau is doing anything about it? Is this still a society governed by law?"

"Suzhou is so corrupt! I hope the higher-ups can investigate!"

"..."

Such comments were spreading rapidly online.

People are always quick to sympathize with the weak, and seeing those girls lying in hospital beds, they instinctively wanted to cyberbully them.

A group of people were making sarcastic and mocking comments.

Within two days, the incident truly went viral across the entire internet.

Fang Chang's face was blurred, but that didn't stop everyone from seeing his arrogant demeanor.

After all, his words were incredibly arrogant, fitting the stereotypical image of an arrogant rich kid.

This incident also drew the attention of the Fang Group.

Fang's father immediately issued orders to reverse public opinion.

Don't forget, besides Fang Chang, there were many other rich kids present that day, including Kong Long.

Therefore, after the Fang Group took action, other groups also acted simultaneously, resulting in a complete reversal of public opinion online.

The elderly man who was pushed down at the airport was hospitalized, and his son spoke out.

“I’m also filing a formal complaint. These brainless fans pushed my father down in their pursuit of their idol! They even verbally abused me. My father is still in the hospital!”

“And when these people pushed my father down, the airport security turned a blind eye. I only said a few words to them, and I was tackled to the ground by security!”

“I want to ask, don’t we men need protection? Aren’t we a vulnerable group?!”

“Do you know that the Fang Group is paying for my father’s hospital bills? I think the Fang family beat these people up because they were standing up for us!”

“Why should an actor be able to cause traffic jams and disrupt the lives of ordinary people like us?”

Following this person’s words, some street vendors also spoke up.

“I’m just an ordinary office worker. I don’t know anything about celebrities. I’m tired after a long day at work, and all I want to do before going home is have something hot to eat.”

“I’m not trying to elicit sympathy, but my wife… she and our child died in a car accident. That street food stall was our last memory.”

“Every day after get off work, I would go there for a meal, as if they were still with me, but…”

“To be honest, I don’t want to live anymore…”

At this point, the man was already sobbing uncontrollably.

Besides him, everyone else seemed to have conspired to speak out all at once.

“I don’t know why, are they really fans? Are they sure they’re not gangsters? I even think they’re some kind of cult!”

“Otherwise, why would they start clearing the area as soon as they arrived? These people have no concept of the country, no concept of the law; they only care about their idol!”

“In other words, if that idol casually said something like, ‘Let these fans become terrorists,’ would they really do it?’”

"Is that really an idol? Are you sure it's not a spy? He's brainwashing our younger generation! What is he trying to do?!"

"Even after kicking me out, I had to pay for the snacks myself!"

"..."

These comments immediately sparked a frenzy of online criticism!

Previously, the fans lying in hospital beds were considered vulnerable, but what about this time? One man's 80-year-old father is in the ICU! A man who has lost his wife and children, even his only solace is being taken away?

He's even contemplating suicide!

And the idol blocking roads and brainwashing fans—isn't this pure espionage?

Not only were they kicked out, but they didn't even pay! He hadn't even finished his meal!

The magnitude of the public outcry is matched by the severity of the online harassment these fans are facing now that the situation has reversed!

Some hospitalized fans have even had their oxygen tubes repeatedly pulled!

The fans' families, unable to withstand the pressure, are pleading for mercy, but the netizens, caught up in the moment, don't care how pitiful they are!

All the emotions were vented on these people.

Ling Ziyao was so heavily criticized that he had to disable comments on all major platforms.

...

Inside the hospital ward.

Ling Ziyao, his eyes swollen with panda eyes, slammed his phone to the ground.

He yelled at his assistant, a fellow patient, "What is our PR department even doing?! Can't they use online trolls to clear my name? Are they short of money?"

Hearing this, the assistant struggled to sit up, weakly replying, "Brother Ling, it's not that the company doesn't have the money to hire online trolls, it's that we dare not!"

"Dare not?"

Ling Ziyao was taken aback. "Why wouldn't you dare?! No matter how powerful that rich kid is, can he be more powerful than our company?!"

Hearing Ling Ziyao's words, the assistant replied with a wry smile, "This time we've really bitten off more than we can chew. That person is the second young master of the Fang family, Fang Chang, and also the Kong family, the Wan family..."

"These rich kids are all among the top in Suzhou!"

"Even our company wouldn't dare to provoke such a group of powerful figures at the same time! You're an artist in the company, but those rich kids are the children of big shots!"

"The Fang family?"

Upon hearing the name "Fang family," Ling Ziyao's eyes widened. "The Fang family? The Fang Yajun family's conglomerate?! This is terrible! I was hoping to find a chance to sleep with her! Now I've offended her brother?"

The assistant looked at Ling Ziyao with a hint of disdain.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, and spoke again, "Brother Ling, it's actually not a problem. I heard that the heir to the Fang family is Fang Yajun."

"And Fang Yajun is the eldest sister in the Fang family, which means that if you can really win her over, her brother is nothing compared to you."

"This time, to apologize, the company is having you endorse the Fang family's products for free. This will send a signal to the outside world that we've reached a settlement."

"Of course, if the Fang family doesn't want you, that's fine too. We've also given them an extra contract that will definitely satisfy them."

"Why wouldn't they want me?"

Ling Ziyao coldly said, "A free endorsement? That's something countless people would kill for. And I don't even need to do it. Tell the company to leave it to me! Once I've dealt with Fang Yajun, the company is nothing!"

"Okay, okay... I'll contact the company right now."

The assistant made a call to the company's leader.

"President Li, we plan to..."

"Beat your mother!"

Before the assistant could finish speaking, a furious roar came from the phone.

"What are you and Ling Ziyao thinking? Are your brains full of shit? Who gave you permission to cause trouble in Suzhou?"

"I'm telling you, if you can't appease the Fang family, don't even think about coming back. Ling Ziyao is with you, right? Tell him that if he doesn't want to be blacklisted, he has to beg for forgiveness from the Fang family, even if he has to kowtow!"