Chapter 373 - 369: Rumors?! My Forceful Response
"What about Brother Jiang Xia? I see a lot of people online are cursing him out now."
Lin Yanwan glanced around cautiously. When she was sure no one was eavesdropping, she whispered, "He had something to do today, so he didn’t come to school."
’Jiang Xia had said at breakfast that he would issue a clarification, but she still didn’t know what he was going to do.’
"I agree, he shouldn’t have come." Qiuting nodded emphatically.
’Of course, she wasn’t like those people online who thought Jiang Xia was a coward who just hid behind a woman. If even he wasn’t good enough for Lin Yanwan, then no one in their generation was.’
A few minutes later, candid photos of Lin Yanwan attending class at school, taken from multiple angles, were already spreading all over the Tsinghua University forum.
Just like in her video, she was beautiful from every angle. Many people were asking in the comments below the post, "Where’s that coward boyfriend of hers? Why isn’t he here? What about his classmates? Does anyone have any dirt?"
At this moment, a user with the ID "Clown" posted a picture with the caption: "This is the practical skills class for animation techniques. That gutless coward who only knows how to hide behind a woman and doesn’t dare to speak up has, unsurprisingly, skipped class again."
The moment this news broke, people flew into a rage, all of them feeling it was a great injustice to Lin Yanwan.
This was the "outstanding" man she spoke of? Someone who frequently doesn’t even go to class?
Besides, what kind of man lets his girlfriend face the court of public opinion alone?
Did he think this whole thing would just blow over if he gave it the cold shoulder and didn’t respond?
A total and complete coward.
However, just as public opinion continued to ferment, the official accounts of Qitian Animation and Dili Dili both issued a joint statement to the public at the exact same time.
"Recently, some internet users have been spreading negative information about our company’s president, Mr. Jiang Xia, on various forums and message boards. All of this information is false and constitutes malicious rumor-mongering and slander. Some parties have even launched personal attacks against Mr. Jiang Xia based on these false statements, severely damaging his personal reputation and potentially infringing upon his right to reputation. Our company now issues the following clarifications. We hope all netizens will understand the truth of the matter and refrain from believing or spreading rumors:"
"First, Mr. Jiang Xia and Ms. Lin Yanwan have not violated national law by marrying young. Instead, on the fifth day of the first lunar month this year, they held an engagement ceremony witnessed by both of their parents and elders."
"Second, Mr. Jiang Xia has not been maliciously skipping classes. He took leave with his professor’s approval. Mr. Jiang Xia’s GPA last semester was 3.68, with excellent grades in all subjects. He even proactively turned down a scholarship from the university. The external rumors that he is a poor student are false."
"Finally, *Cat and Mouse* is an animation created by Mr. Jiang Xia during his high school years. He is also the founder of Qitian Animation and Dili Dili. Our company urges the general public to stop spreading false statements. Furthermore, do not intentionally defame or slander others with irrational or subjective false statements that may infringe upon their legal rights. Do not test the law."
This statement is hereby issued!
Imperial Capital Qitian Animation Co., Ltd. & Imperial Capital Dili Dili Culture Communication Co., Ltd.
April 22, 2010
To enhance the authenticity of this statement, the official accounts also posted their engagement photos, as well as pictures of Jiang Xia’s academic transcript, his leave request form to his advisor, scenes from the early days of founding Qitian Animation Company, and its business license.
Once this statement was released, the entire internet was stunned. Who would have thought that Lin Yanwan’s "coward" boyfriend wasn’t ignoring the situation, but was preparing a massive counterattack.
The most crucial part was that he was actually the original creator of *Cat and Mouse*, and the boss behind Qitian Animation and Dili Dili.
This... This fucking guy is the "loser" from the rumors?
Which fucking idiot started this rumor and stirred up all this shit? If a guy like this is a loser, then what does that make them, the ones who jumped on the bandwagon? Single-celled paramecia?
This shocking reversal was just a little too huge.
It turned out Lin Yanwan’s reply below her video was true. Her boyfriend was even more outstanding than she was.
Afterward, Jiang Xia’s employees began a massive counter-offensive of clarifications on D Station. They all talked about how great their boss’s personality was, how talented he was, and how hard and conscientiously he worked. Finally, they threw in a round of advertising for Qitian Animation and Dili Dili, sincerely inviting all talented individuals to join!
And then, public opinion completely exploded.
"Any normal person who owned two companies like that would definitely focus their time and energy on them. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of yuan per second. Who would still bother running off to school for no reason? The key thing is, he still got excellent grades in every subject. Truly badass."
"This is kind of hilarious. Did President Jiang’s classmates not even know his true identity? There was a huge thigh right there to hug and they didn’t, and even kept offending him. They completely wasted a chance to reach the pinnacle of life. All I can say is, what a bunch of fucking idiots."
"You’ve got to admit, President Jiang is low-key. If the public opinion hadn’t involved his fiancée, he probably wouldn’t have even bothered to come out and explain. After all, would a billionaire give a second glance to a rat in a stinking gutter?"
"He’s really, really low-key. I’ve been following all the drama online, and not a single person knew President Jiang’s real identity. If it were me, my ass would have been sticking up in the air long ago."
Finally, the official D Station account posted a video. It had no visuals, only a voice could be heard.
"Hello, fellow netizens. I’m Jiang Xia. I apologize for taking up public resources over a rumor, and thank you all for your concern. My work keeps me very busy, so I haven’t been able to attend many of my classes. I had no choice but to request leave from my advisor. However, this doesn’t mean I look down on my studies. The specialized courses at university have benefited me greatly. Therefore, whenever I have free time, I do my best to make up for what I’ve missed and work hard to catch up with the professors’ curriculum. This is a promise I made to my advisor."
"Actually, before Yanwan posted the video, I had already guessed that she might become the center of attention. But I never, ever expected the problem would end up being me. When *Cat and Mouse* was first created, she was the one who always supported me. Without her soulful music, I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today."
"At the same time, thank you all very much for your love for *Cat and Mouse* and *Slam Dunk*. I promise you all that in the future, Qitian Animation will continue to produce even more outstanding animations. Dili Dili may go out of business someday, but it will never sell out."
"Let me just quietly reveal a little something: there’s a *Cat and Mouse* feature film planned for this year. I expect it will be meeting you all on the big screen in the near future."
"Finally, I hope that in the future, everyone will keep their eyes peeled in life, and not be led astray by those with ulterior motives."
"Thank you all for your support. Thank you."
The joint statement from the two companies, coupled with this audio-only personal statement, completely and utterly crushed the rumors. It also showcased Jiang Xia’s high emotional intelligence. This was what a brilliant and talented young boss should be like, not the weak, cowardly loser from the rumors.
The reason for not showing his face was also simple: he wanted to maintain his mystique. Attracting too much attention was not a good thing.
After doing all this, Jiang Xia immediately noticed that traffic on D Station had once again hit a peak. The view count on his and Lin Yanwan’s video was skyrocketing.
The bullet comments were also a uniform wall of support. Many people were also saying, "President Jiang’s voice is so nice! For Teacher Lin to like him, he must be really handsome!"
Jiang Xia just smiled faintly. ’The things these netizens focused on were always so strange.’
Song Qingshu silently scrolled through the online comments, completely dumbfounded.
’How was this result so different from what he had imagined?’
’How could that guy who was always skipping class be the creator of *Cat and Mouse*?!’
He inexplicably recalled the disdainful looks Jiang Xia often gave him, and his skin instantly felt scorching hot as sweat beaded on his forehead.
He had previously been so pleased with himself for starting to create animation as a freshman, but Jiang Xia had already achieved fame and success long ago. It was just as those netizens, who were overwhelmingly calling him a fucking idiot, had said: he had completely wasted a golden opportunity.
’How had he not noticed sooner?’
Song Qingshu suddenly felt that he truly was a clown.