Chapter 12: You Were Supposed to Apologize, So How Did You End Up as the Plaintiff?

“Damn it, Bai Gao took the money but did nothing!”

Inside the nanny van, Chen Zhongyi held up his phone in a helpless fury.

“Isn’t that guy still live streaming?”

Public Relations Manager Feng Chong glanced at his phone.

Sure enough.

Wei Xiu’s live stream was booming, with over a thousand viewers.

He had clearly become a somewhat successful streamer.

Feng Chong couldn’t understand it.

Normally, once the platform had been paid, they should have shut down the stream.

He suspected the boss’s offer was too low and asked,

“Boss, what gift did you give the platform?”

Chen Zhongyi was instantly irritated.

“A whole bag of Maotai.”

“That’s hardly enough,” Feng Chong said, sounding clever. “At Bai’s level, Maotai probably isn’t worth much.”

“Bullshit! There were 100,000 yuan in cash in that bag,” Chen Zhongyi gritted his teeth fiercely.

Logically, 100,000 yuan should be more than enough to get the stream shut down.

After all, it was just a side task.

But!

Wei Xiu was still boldly welcoming his fans in the live stream.

The more Chen Zhongyi thought about it, the angrier he became.

He rolled down the car window and, looking across the road at Victory Home Appliance Repair, clenched his fist.

“Bai Gao’s debts will be settled later.”

“The most important thing now is that bastard Zhen Shi.”

“Damn it, just looking at the brat makes me furious.”

Three hours earlier.

Chen Zhongyi took the high-speed train himself from the provincial capital to Linyang, where Wei Xiu’s shop was located.

He had prepared a lawyer’s letter, ready to throw it in Wei Xiu’s face.

Recently, the Woodpecker platform had been causing too much trouble.

Wei Xiu’s live stream was a prime example.

Every time he went live, Woodpecker got cursed a thousand times over.

Too many fans loved to rant, making punishment impossible.

But punishing Wei Xiu was a piece of cake.

“Like streaming, huh?”

“I’ll make you eat shit right in front of your stream.”

“Damn it.”

Chen Zhongyi opened the car door, stepped out with a ruthless stride, and headed toward the shop.

...

“Stop spreading nonsense.”

“I just took a two-day break.”

“I didn’t get banned.”

Wei Xiu quickly denied the absurd speculations flashing across the chat.

The viewers were just joking around, unsure why the streamer had gone offline.

Fortunately, Wei Xiu resumed his stream.

The homeless army had their source of joy again.

The chat was lively.

“Wei bro, without you these days I can’t eat or sleep, my cycle’s all messed up.”

“Streamer’s got at least a hundred thousand fans now, be more professional.”

“Without you, my two free lollipops are about to expire.”

“Did the streamer get food poisoning? Why does he look so rosy?”

Time apart felt better than a new marriage.

Seeing familiar IDs joking around gave Wei Xiu comfort.

The key was that today’s viewer count was high.

Right at the start, there were over a thousand viewers.

Before, streaming for ages and gathering five hundred was a miracle.

Indeed, the harder you work, the luckier you get.

Wei Xiu guessed the platform had finally noticed his efforts.

Just as he was feeling good, two figures appeared outside the shop.

“Is Wei Xiu here?” a man in a suit asked arrogantly.

Seeing their hostile attitude, Wei Xiu responded flatly, “No, he died the day before yesterday.”

“???”

Chen Zhongyi was slightly stunned but walked straight to the counter.

“Stop pretending, you are Wei Xiu.”

“Why ask if you already know?”

Wei Xiu ran through the list of people who might have a grudge against him, but this suited man didn’t match anyone.

The chat also sensed something was off.

“So aggressive? On drugs?”

“Looks like there’s beef.”

“Live stream fight, new drama incoming.”

“Dude looks like a nouveau riche.”

“Streamer, speak up, I can’t hear you.”

“Garlic bird, garlic bird, no swimwear.”

The audience’s gossip fire blazed.

They would stop to watch any street fight, let alone one inside a live stream.

What they didn’t know was that Wei Xiu bore the brunt for the viewers.

Because from start to finish,

He never badmouthed Woodpecker on stream; all the insults came from the fans.

So faced with this baseless attack, he was dumbfounded.

“Who are you?”

Chen Zhongyi’s gaze was cold. “Don’t care who I am. I’m officially notifying you now.”

“Your live stream has infringed on our company’s reputation.”

“This is a lawyer’s letter. Read it yourself.”

With that, Chen Zhongyi pulled out the document from his briefcase.

It was a lengthy sixteen-page file,

Packed with evidence Chen Zhongyi had gathered from the live stream.

Especially when Wei Xiu read the last line about compensation, he was stunned.

“Four million yuan? What the hell did I do?”

“Mind your manners!”

Chen Zhongyi nearly cursed but restrained himself for the live stream.

“Your stream has been spreading lies about our company for a long time.”

“It has caused irreversible damage to our reputation.”

“As the stream owner, you bear legal responsibility.”

Wei Xiu looked back at the live phone.

His speechless mom opened the door for him.

He was utterly speechless.

“Family, shouldn’t you be the ones paying this four million?”

Only then did the chat piece it together.

Turns out this well-dressed guy was from the Woodpecker platform.

They never would have guessed.

This company had such a petty mind.

To poke them in the stream, and this guy actually showed up with a lawyer’s letter.

Since the opponent came on strong, the stream didn’t back down.

It threw the blame back.

“That’s right, he’s Wei Xiu.”

“The streamer really insulted your platform badly.”

“Support defending your rights with the law.”

“The streamer’s mistake was unintentional; I’ve met him privately. He’s a good person, very gentle, but territorial.”

“Since things have come this far, the streamer should apologize.”

The chat messages flew by, all in jest.

Wei Xiu just shook his head.

When insulting, a bunch were foul-mouthed, but when the lawyer letter came, it was all on me alone.

This group of schemers couldn’t be relied on.

Wei Xiu put the lawyer’s letter on the table: “Defamation, huh? So what do you want me to do? Just pay four million?”

Chen Zhongyi glanced around the shabby room.

Looking quite impoverished.

“Looks like you don’t have four million.”

“If you sincerely repent, I might not pursue this.”

“The condition is you publicly apologize in your stream for thirty days.”

Chen Zhongyi had already decided this while drafting the letter.

The lawsuit amount was just a number.

How could a lousy repairman like Wei Xiu ever scrape together four million?

The main goal was to vent.

Say what needed to be said.

Wei Xiu’s stream still had viewers.

That was far more effective than an apology on the news.

“If you’d said so earlier.”

Wei Xiu curled his lips, thinking it was no big deal.

Coming from humble origins isn’t shameful; being flexible is what makes a man.

“I’ll apologize for you right now.”

As he spoke,

Wei Xiu picked up his selfie stick, his expression instantly sorrowful.

“Family, here’s an apology video.”

“I just received a complaint from Woodpecker platform, saying I seriously damaged their reputation.”

“I sincerely apologize for this.”

Chen Zhongyi was slightly surprised.

This kid had a soft backbone.

His expression and words were perfectly measured, smooth as silk.

Was this guy a professional apologizer?

The more Wei Xiu spoke, the sadder he looked, as if something terrible had happened at home.

“I shouldn’t have called Woodpecker 'repair assassins' in my stream.”

“I shouldn’t have said they charge 450 yuan just to fix a plug.”

“I shouldn’t have said they exaggerate minor issues and neglect serious ones.”

“I shouldn’t have said they get over 150,000 complaints in half a year.”

“I shouldn’t have said they take 95% commission on every order.”

“I shouldn’t have said—”

Hmm?

Chen Zhongyi suddenly realized.

Wait a minute.

You’re supposed to apologize, but why are you turning into the plaintiff?