HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter 39: Distorting Right and Wrong
Volume 1: The Road to Fame
Chapter 39: Distorting Right and Wrong
"Being kept by someone, it shouldn't be a false accusation," Huang Youru sipped her tea.
"The lady who claimed to have kept me, I also checked her specific information. Saying that she kept me is very unrealistic, and since she is also a victim, I cannot disclose her specific information," Chu Zhi said. "In public, without permission, it is not appropriate to disclose others' privacy. We abide by the law."
Huang Youru shrugged. "Even if secret marriage and extramarital affairs are false accusations, it's hard for me to believe that being kept is false. Firstly, how could all the bad things befall you, and secondly, regarding something I once believed in myself, without accurate evidence to refute it, I will continue to maintain my previous belief, especially since there are photos as evidence."
"Photos as evidence..." Chu Zhi realized a flaw in the tea party. After selecting coconut cookies and Earl Grey tea, the tea was quickly served, but the coconut cookies were nowhere to be seen.
"I have a USB drive, I hope the tea party program team can play it," Chu Zhi handed it to Huang Youru.
"Otherwise, the audience here will have objections too," the host gave the USB drive to the staff.
The contents of the USB drive were straightforward, divided into two parts. The first part was surveillance footage from the restaurant, of course, it's impossible to install cameras inside private rooms, so it was footage from public areas like the lobby and corridors.
"The news was released by the account 'Balemen Famous Mouth', using a photo to claim that the female director was intimate with me throughout the dinner," Chu Zhi said. "But in fact, there wasn't anything like that. The surveillance footage from the restaurant shows that our behavior was very normal business socializing."
"That could indeed serve as evidence. But why is there a photo of you hugging in the private room?" Huang Youru questioned.
"The female director of the advertising department said she was a fan of mine and wanted a hug. I couldn't refuse," Chu Zhi said. "In the private room, I had my two personal agents and my main agent, Feng Jie, present. It was also a group dinner, so I didn't think much of it."
The surveillance footage on the USB drive moved on to the second part. It showed Chu Zhi leaving the hotel entrance, and from then until 9 o'clock the next morning when the female director checked out and left, Chu Zhi did not reappear.
"This part should be clear enough. 'Balemen Famous Mouth' claimed to have filmed us staying in the same hotel. Sofia Hotel only has one entrance. Unless I climbed through a window, I had no other way to enter," Chu Zhi said. "I didn't stay at Sofia Hotel that night. More precisely, because I had a commercial shoot the next day and a flight at 11:30, I flew overnight to Su Province."
There were records of the flight information and the hotel where he stayed. Chu Zhi added, "These records are absolutely genuine, and I bear all legal responsibility." Chu Zhi said.
"Even if you didn't stay at the same hotel this time, what evidence do you have to prove that you weren't at the same hotel at other times when you weren't photographed?" Huang Youru asked.
Huang's words reflected the inner reaction of a small portion of the audience, who already believed Chu Zhi was guilty.
"I can only use my daily schedule auxiliary table to prove the times when I wasn't kept," Chu Zhi raised a question. "But... does being unable to prove one's innocence mean one is guilty?"
The host of the tea party didn't respond immediately, but passed Chu Zhi's question on to everyone present, with a line of text on the screen: "Does being unable to prove one's innocence mean one is guilty?"
There was a lot of discussion because many people believed that if you couldn't prove you didn't do something, then you must have done it.
"When you were in school, if someone suspected you of taking the class funds, you had to prove you didn't take them. If you happened to be alone with no one to vouch for you, then you must have taken the funds."
"If the company's secrets were leaked and the boss suspected you, demanding to check your phone, and coincidentally, your phone broke during an argument with your girlfriend, then you must be the corporate spy who leaked the secrets."
"Is that acceptable?" Huang Youru casually gave two examples.
"No! Before evidence is provided, one cannot demand that a person prove their innocence," Huang Youru said. "So, besides this photo, does 'Balemen Famous Mouth' have any other more substantial evidence? Just now, we checked that 'Balemen Famous Mouth' is affiliated with the institution Change Green Culture Communication, and we also found their phone number. We will now make a call."
Hmm? Even a live call, Chu Zhi wasn't nervous about this move, mainly because he didn't expect Huang Youru to do this.
In Su Shangbai's investigation materials, there was information about the Change Green Culture Communication Company, which controls three Weibo accounts with millions of followers, as well as a WeChat public account with over a hundred thousand readers. They also have several TikTok and Kwai (Kuaishou) accounts with millions of fans. It's a media company with considerable influence. Su Shangbai's investigation went even deeper, uncovering that one of the major shareholders of Change Green Communication, Mr. Wang, is also a major shareholder of Jianghai Film and Television Company. Another shareholder of Jianghai Film and Television Company is the chairman of Dahua Entertainment.
Dahua Entertainment, you can wait, Su Shangbai thought to himself. He had never been one to take a beating without fighting back, nor did he believe in the entertainment industry's principle of "harmony is precious." In his previous life, he had conflicts with companies on the road to IPO. Either he poached their talent and brought them down, or he sabotaged and destroyed them.
Returning to the topic at hand, the information that follows is something Huang Youru didn't uncover, which is impossible. To be precise, she did uncover that the "Balemen Famous Mouth" is the mouthpiece of Dahua, but as someone backed by Mango TV, she didn't consider it worth pursuing.
Soon, contact was made with Change Green Communication.
"Hello, welcome to the front desk of Change Green Culture Communication Co., Ltd. What can I help you with?" The connection was made directly through the speakerphone, so the sweet voice of the receptionist came through clearly.
"We are recording the live broadcast of Mango TV's interview program 'Little Mango Tea Party Invitation.' I am the host, Huang Youru. I would like to speak to the person in charge for a telephone interview," Huang Youru got straight to the point.
Whether the receptionist had heard of the Tea Party Invitation interview was another matter, but she knew Huang Youru and immediately said, "Please wait a moment, I'll transfer you to the person in charge."
About half a minute later, the receptionist informed the person in charge, and a man who introduced himself as Manager Zhao answered the call. They exchanged introductions.
"Reporter Huang, what can I help you with?" Manager Zhao said.
"There is something I need to consult your company about," Huang Youru said.
"We are very willing to cooperate with Mango TV. Reporter Huang, anything you want to ask, except for my bank card password, I will definitely tell you," Manager Zhao said enthusiastically, even making a small joke.
"Is 'Balemen Famous Mouth' one of your company's accounts?" Huang Youru's question was more of a confirmation, and she got straight to the point. "The 'Balemen Famous Mouth' account published an article titled '[Behind the scenes of popular star Chu Zhi: The appearance of a mysterious backer?]'. Apart from the published photos, do you have any more substantial evidence?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds before Manager Zhao responded, "Our organization does not report on groundless news. The photos of Chu Zhi and the middle-aged woman in the hotel are authentic and have not been edited in any way. The news we report is based on actual events captured in photos and reasonable inference."
"And, Reporter Huang, from a personal standpoint, considering the resources Chu Zhi has gained since his debut, such as endorsements from various international brands, who would believe there's a mysterious backer behind him?" Manager Zhao's tone was very sincere.
Huang Youru was quite familiar with the method of speaking in fragments, a common public relations tactic. For example, when a certain celebrity is exposed (and the exposure is true), they immediately make all sorts of noise, even showing a receipt for filing a police report. What use does that serve? It only means that the police have accepted the case, not necessarily that they have filed it.
This kind of behavior is just a celebrity's way of covering their ears and stealing the bell from their fans. "See, I dare to file a police report, and the police have filed a case," in essence, it's a very insidious use of official administrative impartiality to whitewash oneself.
Of course, Kangfei Company didn't even resort to such tricks back then. Manager Zhao's response sounded noble and righteous, but in reality, it was as good as saying nothing.
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