Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Chapter 39 I'm Just a Security Guard

Penguin Hotel room in Shenzhen.

Jiang Fan registered a Weibo account.

ID: Fanyin Culture Studio.

The profile picture is a minimalist musical note, with a black background and white lines.

Li Cheng placed his laptop on the coffee table, the screen displaying real-time Weibo data.

"The total number of discussions across the internet has exceeded 100 million." Li Cheng said, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his fingers swiping across the touchpad.

"#ShenNianReturns#, #HuaXingYuPlagiarism#, and #FanXingCopyrightControversy# are the three hashtags that are stuck in the top ten trending topics. The live stream replay on Tencent Video has garnered 20 million views and is still rising."

Jiang Fan sat by the window, holding a USB drive in his hand.

"What tricks do you think they'll pull before nine o'clock tomorrow?"

Li Cheng leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

"They bribed media outlets to release press releases claiming that timestamps can be forged, thus muddying the waters from a technical standpoint. Once the truth becomes blurred, the hype naturally subsides."

"We'll try to settle this privately with Shen Nian right now. We'll set a price for her to drop the charges. If Shen Nian gives in, tomorrow's revelations will be a one-man show for you."

Jiang Fan placed the USB drive on the table.

"Anything else?"

Li Cheng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, his expression turning somber.

"The most ruthless tactic—they will investigate your background."

Li Cheng stared at him.

"Jiang Fan, Cao Qiming isn't stupid. A security guard suddenly writes works of the caliber of 'Sorrow,' 'Blue and White Porcelain,' and 'Under the Sea.' All he has to do is dig up your resume and throw it online, and public opinion will immediately shift."

From a "genius suddenly appearing out of nowhere" to a "fraudster of unknown origin".

"So you need to come up with a story tonight. Where did your songs come from? How did you learn them? If you're asked these questions, your answers must be watertight."

Jiang Fan looked out the window at the night view of Shenzhen.

"The orphanage director had an old-fashioned radio. I grew up listening to all kinds of songs. Everything I learned was self-taught."

Li Cheng was stunned for a moment.

"this one?"

He opened his mouth, but swallowed back the words, "Are you kidding me?"

"Okay." Li Cheng stood up. "A simple story is easier to remember; the more details there are, the easier it is to give yourself away. Send it out promptly at nine o'clock tomorrow."

He walked to the door, turned back, and asked a question.

Where is Shen Nian?

"Next door. Let her go to bed early."

Li Cheng nodded, closed the door, and went out.

The next day, at 9:00 AM.

Fanyin Culture Studio's official Weibo account posted its first blog post.

"The following is the complete release of the original creative materials for 'Stars'. All documents have been submitted to the legal team and the National Copyright Appraisal Center."

The original project files for "Nightfall" were created two months earlier than Huaxingyu registered the copyright for "Stars".

There is also a demo audio clip of Shen Nian recorded at Sheng Hai Recording Studio, and the data shows that the recording equipment serial number belongs to Sheng Hai Entertainment.

Seven scanned copies of handwritten lyrics, each with Shen Nian's signature and date in the lower right corner.

A lawyer's statement was attached at the end.

"Fanyin Culture Studio has officially commissioned Jincheng Law Firm to file a civil lawsuit against Huaxingyu for allegedly infringing on Shen Nian's copyright."

Within a minute of being posted on Weibo, it was forwarded over 10,000 times.

Five minutes, it broke 100,000.

The comments section exploded.

"The project files were created two months earlier than the copyright registration!"

"The recording device's serial number belongs to Sheng Hai! It's like Sheng Hai's machine acted as a witness for Shen Nian!"

"Seven handwritten drafts! Handwriting analysis alone would be an ironclad case! Huaxing Yu can't deny it!"

The top trending topic: #Original Evidence of Stardust Released#. Breaking news.

10:00 AM.

Hua Xingyu's Weibo followers began to plummet.

Eight hundred thousand were lost in one hour.

The once ubiquitous cheering slogan "The Milky Way will never fall" has become a template for ridicule across all platforms.

Meanwhile, Sheng Hai Entertainment launched its counterattack.

An official statement with extremely precise wording.

Regarding the recent false accusations online, the following statement is issued:

First, the timestamps of so-called 'original creation files' can be altered through technical means, and their authenticity is questionable.

Our company has commissioned a third-party digital forensics agency to conduct the authentication.

Second, Shen Nian was a former trainee of our company, but was legally terminated due to serious breach of contract.

He conspired with Jiang Fan to create hype and maliciously smear our company's reputation. Our company reserves all rights to pursue legal action.

Third, according to the investigation, Jiang Fan, the legal representative of 'Fanyin Culture Studio', was originally a security guard at Tianyu Media and has no music education background or professional training experience.

The source of many of the so-called "original works" that Jiang Fan performed on the "Rising Star" program is questionable. Our company has reason to suspect that Jiang Fan is suspected of plagiarizing other people's unpublished works.

A photo was attached at the end of the statement.

Jiang Fan, wearing a faded security guard uniform from Tianyu Media, stood next to the guard post at the building entrance.

His expression was blank, and his posture was stiff.

He was completely different from the Jiang Fan on stage.

The photo spread across the entire internet within ten minutes.

"Worry Bro used to be a security guard???"

"A security guard wrote 'Blue and White Porcelain'? To be honest, that's a bit outrageous..."

"Sheng Hai has a point. A complete novice suddenly becomes a genius? That doesn't make sense."

"But the original version of his song cannot be found in any database. Is he really a once-in-a-century genius?"

"It's chilling to think about; who exactly is writing songs for him?"

"Wait, I support Brother Xiaochou, but he really needs to explain this issue."

"I don't want to hear explanations, I just want to know if he has any new songs."

Two opposing voices clashed simultaneously in the comments section, neither able to suppress the other.

hotel room.

Li Cheng stared at the photo of the security guard in uniform on the screen, his temples throbbing.

"We're not afraid of the evidence; the lawyers and the forensic institutions will speak for themselves." Li Cheng turned his head. "But your identity—"

"If you can't answer the question of why a security guard could write a song like this, then Shen Nian's irrefutable evidence will be swept away by public opinion and sink into oblivion."

Jiang Fan looked at the photo on his phone.

With a hunched back and vacant eyes, he stood beside the guard post, with the gleaming golden gate of Tianyu Media behind him.

"Brother Li, can you help me schedule an interview?"

"What?"

They wanted to know why a security guard could write songs.

"Then let everyone know. I'm just a security guard."

Li Cheng's mouth, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, remained half-open for a long time.

He has seen countless crisis management tactics in the entertainment industry.

Those who try to whitewash their image, those who try to shift blame, and those who try to gain sympathy.

I've never seen anyone willingly put the tip of a knife into their own chest.

"Are you serious?"

"I've never been more serious than I am now."

Li Cheng looked into his eyes and remained silent for ten seconds.

"I know the producer of Pengcheng TV's 'In-Depth Dialogue'. This program has a national viewership rating of one of the top three, and its audience is mainly urban middle-class people aged 20 to 40, which happens to be the core audience of your songs."

"What's the earliest?"

"If they're willing to expedite things, it can be broadcast live tomorrow night at 8 PM, during prime time."

Jiang Fan nodded.

"about."

Li Cheng went to the balcony and dialed a phone.

They were back in less than three minutes.

"It's done. They cut the already scheduled program at the last minute. Jiang Fan, do you know what you're gambling with?"

"It's not gambling." Jiang Fan leaned against the window, his gaze fixed on the distance.

"Whether it's a security guard or an orphan, these are all real. I don't need to fabricate a false identity to win."

Looking at his profile, Li Cheng suddenly realized that this kid understood him better than he did.

Jiang Fan's phone lit up.

It is Xu Qingya.