At Qingya Media, Zhao Yanan was discussing the termination of Xia Zhu's contract with the head of the legal department when Xia Wei burst in in a panic, seemingly forgetting to knock.
"Zhao Zhao Zhao... Zhao President! This is bad!"
Zhao Yanan glanced up at her, coolly asking, "What's going on? Why the rush?"
Xia Wei, anxiously fiddling with her tablet, stammered, "Ch... Ch... President Chu is trending again!"
Zhao Yanan rolled her eyes. "What's the scandal this time?"
Xia Wei shook her head rapidly, spreading the tablet in front of Zhao Yanan. "Look, he... he... he's hit three international students from Jiangdong University! This is a video taken at the scene. The internet is full of criticism, accusing President Chu of abusing his power and acting recklessly."
Legal Department: "D*mn... another big mess! And it's a serious one! Is the salary really worth it?"
Zhao Yanan was taken aback. She took the tablet, watched the video from start to finish—just over ten seconds, with some parts cut off. The video started with Chu Yuxuan furiously charging at the three students, who only began to retaliate after he struck first. Other versions of the video, with a slightly delayed timeline, mostly showed Chu Yuxuan being taken away by the police.
"What is this b*st*rd doing!" Zhao Yanan felt a throbbing headache and, after a brief pause, told Xia Wei, "Tell the PR department not to make any urgent responses. Notify the security department to deploy all security personnel to the company entrance to prevent reporters from rushing in!"
"Understood, President Zhao!"
Before Zhao Yanan could give further instructions, the head of the legal department volunteered, "I'll arrange for some people to go to the scene and understand the situation."
"Alright," Zhao Yanan maintained her calm as a president should. "There must be surveillance footage in the store. Find a way to get a copy! Once you've arranged things, go straight to the criminal police team and find out exactly what happened with President Chu!"
"Okay!"
After they left, Zhao Yanan frowned deeply.
This situation was serious. How could the president of a company get into a fight with three international students?
Without a doubt, there would already be many marketing accounts eager to tarnish Chu Yuxuan's reputation, labeling him as someone who abuses his power, arrogant, lawless, and even racist!
There were too many potential accusations, and some people with ulterior motives could easily fabricate all sorts of details about Chu Yuxuan's life, adding fuel to the fire and elevating the incident to an uncontrollable level.
Zhao Yanan, well-versed in PR matters, knew the tactics and nature of such marketing accounts. Whenever a conflict occurred between a Chinese person and a foreigner, it was as if they were harming their parents and insulting their ancestors. Under the guise of upholding etiquette, they disregarded the truth and were determined to tear you apart online.
As Zhao Yanan looked troubled, Jin Shuhan, who was the trigger for the incident, called her with a panicked tone, "President Zhao, I just saw the news about President Chu."
Zhao Yanan feigned calmness. "It's not your concern, don't worry about it."
"But... if it weren't for my loose tongue, President Chu..."
"I've said it, this has nothing to do with you. Focus on your classes and rehearsals, and worry less about other things. I'm busy, so I'm hanging up now."
After ending the call, Zhao Yanan, deep in thought, went to the PR department. At that moment, the entire department was focused on Chu Yuxuan's situation.
"President Zhao, the online sentiment is very unfavorable to President Chu."
The PR department head turned the computer screen towards Zhao Yanan.
On the screen were countless insults and criticisms directed at Chu Yuxuan:
"Rich people's brats are so arrogant!"
"Such people are pests to society and should be severely punished!"
"Check out Chu's family and Qingya Media. They must be dirty!"
"The video is cut and edited, so it's hard to tell the truth. We'll wait for the police to reveal the facts."
"And some say the truth is hard to tell? Hitting people is wrong! It's embarrassing for us as Chinese!"
Seeing these fierce comments, Zhao Yanan's mood grew even heavier.
At the Criminal Police Team, the female officer who handled the altercation and ignored Chu Yuxuan's medical needs, finished taking statements and looked at Chu Yuxuan, who was sitting with his legs crossed and a slight bruise on his chin. She said sternly, "Put your legs down!"
Chu Yuxuan grimaced but reluctantly complied.
Chu Muhan closed the statement book and placed it aside, staring at Chu Yuxuan before saying, "Quite impressive, taking on three and still holding your ground. So, what happened today? You're usually not this impulsive."
Chu Yuxuan smiled lightly, "In matters of great importance, there's no such thing as impulse. My physique is solid enough, and I felt a bit embarrassed letting those three idiots get a few hits in. In reality, if I hadn't restrained myself, they wouldn't have even touched me."
Chu Muhan frowned slightly. "Don't give me that smirk. The three students are already at the hospital for injury assessment. The police officers just sent me a message—they deny making any inappropriate remarks, and the store's surveillance footage doesn't capture their voices clearly, only showing you hitting them for no reason. As it stands, the consequences for you are severe."
Chu Yuxuan didn't seem anxious, displaying an indifferent attitude. "Whatever the consequences are."
Seeing her half-brother's reckless demeanor, Chu Muhan felt a surge of anger. She knew that this spoiled brat didn't have to worry about the consequences because Chu Zhqing would handle it. But if this were an ordinary person, they'd face a hefty fine or even years in prison.
"Chu Yuxuan, do you know why I've always hated Chu's family? It's because they never follow rules!"
"What does that have to do with me?" Chu Yuxuan retorted. "I'm just an outsider, aren't I? You're annoyed, and I'm shameless."
Chu Yuxuan smirked. "Honestly, I also feel a bit sorry for that old man Chu Zhqing. He should have only had those two daughters, and we shouldn't have been born. Look at it—one person constantly trying to catch him and the other causing endless trouble. It's truly pathetic."
"If he hadn't done anything wrong, would I want to catch him? The law has no personal favors!"
Chu Yuxuan scoffed. "Upholding the law impartially, no relatives... My dear sister, we need more police like you."
"You're a suspect now. Don't call me 'sister.' We're not that close!"
Several surrounding police officers glanced at each other as they listened to the siblings bickering.
At that moment, a young officer holding a phone with a gossip app suddenly exclaimed, "Wow, Jiangda has big news again!"
"What's going on? Let me see."
"It's a video from some international students describing their experiences... Wow, it's quite explosive!"
Chu Muhan was stunned for a moment, about to get up to see what was going on, when an officer from the hospital called.
"Chu Team, several school leaders are here. They... they're asking these three students to sign a letter of understanding!"
"Have they signed it?"
"Two have already signed, and one is in the process of signing!"
"What about the injury assessment?"
"The school leaders said it's not needed. They want to resolve this privately."
Chu Muhan slammed the table and glared at Chu Yuxuan, angrily saying, "Your father's influence is great! He's already cleaned up your mess!"
Chu Yuxuan shrugged. "You might be mistaken about your father. This might not be his doing."
"Then who is it?"
"Hehe... Sister, you, like me, have been away from home for years. It seems you don't know many things."