"Chief Editor, your writing truly leaves me in awe, Iâm completely at your mercy."
A young man with triangular eyes, slicked-back hair, and glasses, was full of flattery, almost wishing he could stamp "sycophant" on his forehead.
This was in the office of Yun City Daily newspaper, and opposite the bespectacled man sat Sun Duhua, the editor of the entertainment section.
Sun Duhua looked pleased and said, "Your piece wasnât bad either."
The bespectacled man quickly responded, "Not at all, Chief Editor. Your skill in sarcasm is masterful. Youâve completely trashed Ning Xiaoyue. In front of you, I donât even deserve to lift your shoes."
This bespectacled man was the main writer of yesterdayâs report. Although Sun Duhua had also directed that article, todayâs report was personally crafted by him, making it more formidable compared to the bespectacled manâs piece.
Sun Duhua, slightly inflated by the manâs praise, chuckled and said, "Just a small fry company daring to threaten me. Iâm simply giving them a little lesson."
The bespectacled man chuckled, "This little lesson from you is no small matter. The netizens are all abuzz, and now everyone online is in an uproar too. Theyâre all praising your writing skills. Ning Xiaoyue is once again the target of widespread ridicule. Moreover, due to our reports these past few days, our newspaperâs sales have increased, and Yun City Daily is making waves. Here, Iâve picked out some comments for you to see."
The bespectacled man opened his phone to show Sun Duhua.
"Brilliantly written, truly sharp!"
"The Chief Editorâs writing is simply incredible!"
"If you can talk like this, say more. Is there more? Iâm eagerly following!"
Looking at these comments, Sun Duhua couldnât help but laugh heartily, "Not bad, not bad at all."
"However..." the bespectacled man paused.
Sun Duhua let out a sound, "However, what?"
The bespectacled man said, "Since weâve got this buzz and sales are up, Ning Xiaoyueâs fans are saying that weâre riding the hype and only became popular by blackening Ning Xiaoyue, like weâre eating blood-stained buns."
Sun Duhua snorted heavily, "What a bunch of brain-dead fans!"
The bespectacled man, feeling like an instigator, held back a laugh and said, "Exactly, these brain-dead fans, liking someone as worthless as Ning Xiaoyue, canât be normal people."
Sun Duhua looked sinister, "Since the audience is satisfied, letâs continue. Tomorrow weâll release part three. If theyâre saying weâre eating blood-stained buns, then Iâll eat them, and not only eat, but eat until Iâm a big, fat person. Our entertainment sectionâs sales boost will surely result in a hefty year-end bonus."
Sun Duhua and the bespectacled man laughed heartily.
Sun Duhua said, "Iâll leave this to you. From now on, your main task is to target Ning Xiaoyue. Finish the third article by today."
The bespectacled man laughed, "Alright, Iâll get on it right away."
The bespectacled man was about to leave.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
The bespectacled man went to open it.
An employee peeked in and said, "Chief Editor Sun, and you, the president wants to see you outside."
Sun Duhua and the bespectacled man exchanged a glance and smiled smugly, "The president must be here to commend us. No way around it, weâre just too outstanding."
"Exactly, the rise in newspaper sales is all thanks to our efforts, mainly the Chief Editorâs," the bespectacled man said.
The two walked out with smiles.
As they stepped out, they saw the president standing with his hands behind his back, looking at them sternly.
Beside him, a photographer was busy setting up a camera.
Colleagues around them were all watching.
Sun Duhua chuckled, "The president is here to award us, see, even the photographer is ready, the employee of the year is definitely mine this year."
Sun Duhua adjusted his clothes, preparing to receive a commendation.
The president calmly said, "You two, get ready. In a moment, youâll be recording an apology video."
Sun Duhua and the bespectacled manâs smiles froze instantly, looking at each other, bewildered.
What?
An apology video?
Did they hear wrong?
Wasnât the president supposed to praise them? Why an apology video?
Sun Duhua quickly asked, "President, whatâs going on, what do you mean?"
The president said, "You two, for the last couple of days, your reports on Ning Xiaoyue have severely tarnished an innocent young girl. You need to apologize to Ning Xiaoyue."
What?
Apologize to Ning Xiaoyue?
Everyone was stunned.
The president was actually asking for an apology to Ning Xiaoyue, did they hear it wrong? Yesterday the president said to ignore it, why the sudden change?
Sun Duhua was even more frustrated, urgently asking, "President, whatâs going on, why do we need to apologize to Ning Xiaoyue? Do we really have to fear her small company?"
The bespectacled man said, "And our sales have also increased in these past two days..."
Everyone was nodding, not understanding the presidentâs intention.
The presidentâs face darkened, "You two are shameless bringing up sales. You tarnished a young girl without evidence, spreading seriously unfounded rumorsâabsolutely outrageous! Our newspaper values truth-seeking, youâve blatantly violated our principles, bringing shame to our paper, youâve disgraced the newspaper, youâre undeserving of being journalists, youâre a disgrace to the industry!"
Everyone stood in shock.
Sun Duhua and the bespectacled man were hit with the presidentâs outrage like a tidal wave.
Sun Duhua and the bespectacled man were bewildered. The presidentâs rage indicated something was seriously wrong.
The president lambasted, "I told you yesterday, Wenyue Company has powerful supporters behind them, but you didnât listen and continued to tarnish Ning Xiaoyue. Youâve committed an unpardonable blunder! People like you should be swept out and blacklisted by the industry forever!"
Sun Duhua and the bespectacled man were shocked, finally realizing theyâd caused a huge mess. Being blacklisted in journalism was an extremely severe punishment!
"President, what is the background behind Wenyue Company?" Sun Duhua asked.
The president said, "I donât know, I only know that this person can shut our newspaper down at any time!"
"What?"
Everyone was terrified; the background behind Wenyue Company was so formidable!
"Shutting down the newspaper is the least of your worries. If this person decides to come after you, your entire life will be ruined," the president said.
Sun Duhua and the bespectacled manâs faces went pale, cold sweat dripping down; they couldnât believe theyâd offended such a powerful person!
"What are you standing around for? Get over here and record the apology video, or no one will be able to save you!" the president shouted.
"Yes, President."
Sun Duhua and the bespectacled man hurried over...
Not long after, an apology video appeared online.
In the video, Sun Duhua and the bespectacled man admitted they had tarnished Ning Xiaoyue and vowed never to do it again, hoping for her forgiveness. The two were tearful, almost kneeling to Ning Xiaoyue.
Soon after, Yun City Daily also issued an apology, apologizing to Ning Xiaoyue for Sun Duhuaâs and the bespectacled manâs actions, and stating that they would publish an apology statement on the front page for three consecutive days starting tomorrow.
As for Sun Duhua and the bespectacled man, due to their unforgivable errors, beginning today, they were fired by Yun City Daily, publicly reprimanded across the industry, and banned from journalism for three years.
This incident quickly made it to the trending topics, causing a stir online.