"You did exactly what I said, but it didn't have the effect I wanted." Su Mo said glumly that he hadn't even noticed.
"It didn't have the effect you wanted?!" Wu Xiuyuan knew he'd call him for nothing good. "So, what do you want me to do? Do you have any idea how bad my situation has gotten because of that? You are already like this. Do you still want me to end up like you?!"
"As long as I'm feeling bad, neither you nor Mu Jin will have a better time!!" Su Mo shouted angrily, "Because this is what you owe me!!"
"What do we owe you?" Wu Xiuyuan, who was also enraged, retorted, "All of this is your doing! Mu Jin would not have broken his relationship with you if it hadn't been for you copying Mu Jin's painting and giving it to me in order to compete in the competition. How could Mu Jin reveal evidence of your plagiarism if you did not publicize yourself after winning the prize and frame Mu Jin for plagiarizing your paintings? He gave you a chance, but you refused to admit your mistakes!"
"And what do I owe you?" Wu Xiuyuan yelled again, "You seduced me first, and when I tried to end our relationship, you refused. You still use those photos to threaten me with making up things that aren't there. Tell me, what exactly do I owe you?"
"I don't care!" Su Mo said loudly, "It is your fault that I have become what I am now, and you are the one who made me! You must pay the price!"
Wu Xiuyuan covered his face and told himself in his heart, 'Be calm, be calm.' He was aware that Su Mo had been shocked, and he was already half crazy, but he couldn't go crazy with him.
Wu Xiuyuan took a deep breath and adjusted his emotions before asking Su Mo on the other end of the phone, "So, what exactly do you want me to do? I have no control over how many netizens respond to the post I published."
"Since exposing Mu Jin's true face by an online post is ineffective, you should approach a reporter, face the camera, and tell the story one by one. You should exaggerate Mu Jin's filth. The larger the better, "Su Mo stated.
Wu Xiuyuan patiently said to him after a long time, "The school is investigating the situation. If I say these things in front of reporters out of nowhere, framing an innocent student, and the truth is revealed, you should know what will happen to me? How can I do something like this in this situation?"
"He has been supported by others. What an innocent person? I have nothing left to lose. What kind of end you will have has nothing to do with me, as long as I can get my revenge."
"Calm down and listen to me." Wu Xiuyuan tried to communicate with him while suppressing his anger. "You're not nothing, because you still have me. After a while, after the spotlight has faded, I can support you to study abroad, and when you return a few years later, not many people will remember this. It doesn't matter if someone remembers it. It'll be a long time already. No one can say no if you have a positive attitude and want to start over. But if my reputation suffers the same fate as yours, it is likely that my family will suffer as well, and we will be truly burned."
"If I go abroad now and wait a few years before returning, there is virtually no chance of retaliation, and Mu Jin must have already become famous by that time, and I don't even stand a chance of surpassing him. Whatever the outcome, as long as I can exact my revenge now. I don't care any longer. I'll tell you one more time, and if you don't do what I say, I'll publish those photos."
Wu Xiuyuan clutched the hung-up cell phone, unable to suppress his anger and frustration. He threw the cell phone on the bed and then beat the wall to vent.
He violently grabbed his hair and walked around the room. He was at a loss for what to do. Should he obey Su Mo's instruction? Su Mo, that lunatic, made him feel like he was going to go insane.
When he heard a knock on the door, Wu Xiuyuan raised his head, adjusted his hair, pressed his chest, and waited for his heartbeat to return to normal before walking over to open the door.
"Dad, why are you home at this time?" Wu Xiuyuan cautiously greeted his father, who had just entered the door with a particularly ugly face.
Father Wu became even angrier when he saw his son. He entered Wu Xiuyuan's room, looked at him, and said, "You feel at ease; don't you realize it's all because of you? Those painters took back all of the paintings in our gallery! The old customers who used to visit our gallery no longer come. I can't even get in touch with them. I went to meet them, and after a few hours of waiting, I couldn't even see them!!"
"What does this have to do with me?" Wu Xiuyuan was surprised, but he was even more puzzled. "Is it because I wrote that post? How is this possible?"
"You!" Father Wu said angrily, pointing at Wu Xiuyuan, "You have offended someone who shouldn't be offended, don't you know!"
"Someone who should not be offended? Who? Mu Jin?" Wu Xiuyuan was still puzzled. When did Mu Jin, an orphan with no father or mother, become someone who should not be offended?
"Aside from his own actual evidence, the most important reason Mu Jin can easily turn over after being unjustly plagiarized is that someone is protecting him. Otherwise, how do you think he was able to exhibit a painting that is so similar to other paintings in such an important exhibition, And why do you think that Su Mo is so miserable right now? Even his family refuses to care about him and openly disowns him. Do you not use your brain to think about why these things happen?"
Wu Xiuyuan had not given this much thought. He only felt that Mu Jin was conceited and supported by others, which was more than a source of shame and embarrassment. However, after being reminded by his father, he realized that the person who supported Mu Jin must have a unique identity and should not be a typical rich person.
Wu Xiuyuan was frightened when he realized what had happened. His father was also a very capable individual, who had a very extensive interpersonal relationship. He will never be able to deal with someone who can push his father to this level.
"Hurry up!" Father Wu stated, "Go ahead and delete the shit and revealing article you published. Then, write a public apology and consider what you want to say. In short, you must state unequivocally that all of your previous so-called disclosures were false!"
"What are you doing in a daze?! Have you not heard everything I've said?!" Father Wu has always been a gentleman, rarely yelling at anyone, but if he doesn't wake up his son this time, their family will be destroyed.
"I understand, Dad." Wu Xiuyuan responded submissively. On the outside, he appeared emotionless, but his internal organs were already entangled. He now regrets having a relationship with Su Mo the most. He would not be threatened by Su Mo if he did not have a relationship with him, let alone face such a difficult situation.
Wu Xiuyuan was caught in a bind. He was extremely embarrassed. He hadn't been able to eat or sleep for two or three days, and his face had become haggard. Now his father and Su Mo are both pressuring him, but he doesn't want to do either, and he can't keep doing this because he has nowhere to go.
In the last two days, whenever his father saw him, he urged him to make a public apology. He couldn't respond directly, so all he could do was hide in the room and not leave. He had been evading this for a long time, but both sides would eventually force him.
Sure enough, on the fourth day, he received another call from Su Mo.
Wu Xiuyuan was tired. He didn't say anything after getting on the phone, so he just held the phone to his ear.
"You're not going to do what I told you?" Su Mo's dark and hoarse voice could be heard over the phone. He's like Wu Xiuyuan these days, barely eating or sleeping and just sitting in front of the computer, waiting for the news. But by the fourth day, when there was still nothing on the Internet, he knew Wu Xiuyuan did not intend to do what he said.
Wu Xiuyuan remained silent and closed his eyes.
Su Mo knew Wu Xiuyuan was listening even though he didn't say anything. "Go online and look at the link I sent you. I've already uploaded those photos to the Internet."
"What did you say?" Wu Xiuyuan abruptly opened his eyes and stood up.
"First, take a look at it, and I'll call you later." Su Mo then hung up.
Wu Xiuyuan rushed to his desk, turned on the computer with trembling hands, and his heart kept pounding, he's finished, he's finished.
He followed the link Su Mo sent him, and after seeing the images above, his heart nearly stopped. He stared at the computer screen, and when he realized that the photos were indeed those secretly taken by Su Mo, only the faces were mosaicked, and their appearance was not visible.
Wu Xiuyuan's legs gave way and he slumped to the ground. He didn't know how to express his current state of mind, whether angry or relieved. He had been tortured by Su Mo and didn't know how to react.