There was no escaping this. Unless... they could stay off the internet!
"Jiayu, what do we do now?" Liu Die rubbed her somewhat messy hair, on the verge of tears.
They had wanted to offer twenty thousand yuan as compensation to seek the familyās forgiveness, and then explain everything clearly to the netizens. But now, the family wouldnāt forgive them and were asking for two hundred thousand. The netizens were doing the same; the situation was escalating without any sign of abating. Every day brought new insults hurled at them.
"I... I donāt know either." Yan Jiayu bit her lower lip, lost in confusion. With her limited knowledge of the law, she had no idea how to handle this.
Why could Qin Mu deal with such cyberbullying so casually, so effortlessly, while she was at a complete loss?
"Just now I checked, and several netizens have doxed us, posting our information online." Liu Die opened her phone and scrolled to several widely circulated videos. Beneath the videos, in the comment sections, someone had posted private information about the two of them. This included their names, genders, addresses, workplaces, and relationship statuses. Many netizens expressed their intent to congregate at their residences and throw rotten eggs.
"This... this is too much! Isnāt this an invasion of our privacy?" Yan Jiayuās eyes widened with anger, her chest heaving. She trembled all over. These people engaging in cyberbullying were completely out of control! They had even made public crucial private information like their names and addresses!
But in the face of this situation, they were powerless. What the others were doing certainly bordered on illegal, even criminal, but they had no money to sue! As plaintiffs, they would need to pay the court fees upfront. And there were at least hundreds of people spreading their information online. Suing one person would be futile. Their situation of being cyberbullied couldnāt possibly change unless they could, like Qin Mu, sue the whole internet! But that was obviously unrealistic.
While they were sighing and lamenting, "RING RING RINGā" The phone suddenly rang.
Startled, both of them froze for a moment. Yan Jiayu realized it was her phone; the caller was her boyfriend. He was her childhood sweetheart, innocent and close since they were kids. They had always had a good relationship. After graduating from university, they had reached the age of considering marriage and were planning to meet each otherās parents.
"Hello? Jiayu, letās break up." As soon as she answered, a cold voice came through from the other end.
Yan Jiayu was taken aback. "What... what did you say?"
"I said, letās break up. Weāre not suitable for each other," the voice on the phone repeated.
"Why?" Yan Jiayu was utterly bewildered. The two of them had always been seen as an exemplary couple. They had never fought. Her boyfriend had always been considerate and loving. He couldnāt bear to see her suffer even the slightest grievance. But now, when she was frantically dealing with a mess, he abruptly pulled this stunt.
"To be frank, I saw the comments online. Youāre too famous. Being with you, I feel a lot of pressure. Iām not good enough for you." Upon her persistent questioning, her boyfriend could only answer truthfully.
But this answer once again dazed Yan Jiayu.
Being famous, too famous... it sounded strangely off.
"Letās leave it at that." The person on the phone seemed unwilling to say more and hung up quickly.
"BEEP BEEP BEEPā"
Listening to the dial tone, Yan Jiayu collapsed onto the sofa, her complexion rather pale.
This breakup had come so unexpectedly. She hadnāt braced herself for it at all.
"Jiayu, donāt be too sad. Itās normal for relationships to come and go." Liu Die, seeing her best friend so stricken, hurriedly comforted her, "Look on the bright side, things canāt possibly get any worse for us. Next up is when our luck turns around."
Yan Jiayu slowly raised her head, skeptical.
At that moment, her phone rang once again. She looked at her phone with surprise, thinking maybe her boyfriend had changed his mind. Unexpectedly, the caller was her supervisor at workāher superior.
Heās probably calling to urge me to get back to work,
Yan Jiayu forced a smile, feeling somewhat disheartened.
After answering the phone, she took a deep breath and adjusted her demeanor. Quickly, she began to explain, "Hello? Supervisor, please listen to my explanation. Iāve encountered some difficulties these last few days..."
"Difficulties?" From the other end of the phone came the voice of a middle-aged man, sounding somewhat angry. "Are you the one with difficulties, or is it the company? Youāre busy dealing with that dog rescue case, arenāt you? Now, that case has blown up, and even the company has been implicated! Do you have any idea how much loss our company has suffered because of you? How much criticism weāve faced? Alright, I canāt be bothered to say more. Iām calling to notify you that you are fired for unbecoming behavior and warped values. Come to the company tomorrow and take your things."
The middle-aged man seemed to be speaking through gritted teeth, his words like rapid gunfire. After saying his piece, he hung up immediately, not giving Yan Jiayu a chance to speak.
"BEEP BEEP BEEPā"
Listening to the dial tone, Yan Jiayu stood there in shock. For a moment, she didnāt understand what had happened. Only after about ten seconds did she realize she had been fired.