This director is vindictive.

Chapter 241 Making an example of someone to scare others, censorship? That's just the crudest approach!
The fact that four of Chen Mo's female confidantes are pregnant, and there's even news that one of them has supposedly given birth, has naturally become the hottest topic right now.

Gradually, the conversation shifted to the babies.

"So being born into the right family really is a skill! These babies were born with a silver spoon in their mouths!"

"It really is true! I'm so envious! The key is, the guy is definitely handsome and the girl is beautiful! Their genes are just perfect!"

"And Chen Mo's fortune is still in the billions, no, it's almost a hundred billion now. Finally, there's someone to carry on the family legacy!"

"I feel inexplicably sorry for Yang Mi and Zhao Liying."

Meanwhile, businesses immediately capitalized on this surge in traffic, because any trending topic has value.

First, a maternity and baby brand launched "Top Celebrity Style Maternity Wear" with the tagline: "Wear it and you'll trend on social media, your pregnant belly will instantly become a spotlight!"

Even a private maternity hospital jumped on the bandwagon with its advertising slogan: "Give birth at our hospital and receive a birth certificate with the same 'See you on Monday' tagline as a top celebrity!"

A strawberry jam brand launched a "celebrity-endorsed sweet and sour pregnancy package" overnight, with the tagline: "Sour for a boy, spicy for a girl, sweet enough to announce your pregnancy!"

Pet supplies companies have launched a "Cat Paw Official Announcement Set," which includes a free cat tag printed with "My cat is going to be a big brother!"

Surprisingly, the effect was quite good, attracting a lot of onlookers.

Li Wei didn't come away empty-handed; despite not being able to capitalize on the massive traffic.

However, many netizens still went to Li Wei's Weibo to make sarcastic or sarcastic remarks.

"See you Monday? See what? You're such an unprofessional entertainment reporter!"

"Resign, my friend. You're really not cut out for this. Not every news story is suitable for a 'See you on Monday' announcement!"

"Learn more from @Zhuowei_small_account_268! See how they play!"

"See you on Monday? Are you stupid? I didn't expect that he's not afraid of being exposed at all. Doesn't he even know who Chen Mo is?"

"BIG, you've got guts. You've tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead. If you had leaked the information first, people might have respected you a bit more. If you don't have that ability, why bother with the Monday reveal? Go to hell!"

Li Wei also had his own unspeakable suffering.

He was completely baffled as to why he had messed things up this time, not only losing all the money he had invested but also getting himself into a lot of trouble.

Are we just going to let it go like this?
He was unwilling to accept this! So, he quickly released the "explosive news" that was originally scheduled to be released on Monday ahead of schedule.

He secretly took several photos of Gao Yuanyuan's clearly pregnant belly, which he then compiled into a nine-grid collage and posted online.

It can't be said that it was completely useless. After all, although Gao Yuanyuan and the others have essentially made an official announcement, they haven't actually posted any photos.

The photos that Li Wei secretly took became the most obvious evidence.

But the impact wasn't actually that big.

"That's it? That's it?"

"How dare you post such a blurry photo?"

"Why wait until Monday for this? What's the point of releasing it now?"

"I gave you a chance, but you failed miserably!"

"If it had been released immediately, it would have been somewhat interesting, but now it's completely bland!"

Netizens really don't care about these photos.

Of course, the main reason is that Chen Mo and his female confidantes are having more elaborate and extravagant fun.

Gao Yuanyuan has an artistic flair, Zhang Yuqi is bold and spirited, Fan Binbin is straightforward, and Jing Tian is simple and clear.

Aren't these more interesting than Li Wei's photos?

Li Wei has given up entirely. Although he didn't meet expectations, he's still being ridiculed and criticized by so many people.

However, his fan value did increase significantly, which helped him recover some of his losses.

Chen Mo originally didn't have any particular opinion about entertainment reporters and paparazzi.

After all, the existence of every industry is justified.

The entertainment industry certainly needs entertainment reporters. In the past, Chen Mo treated the reporters who followed him quite well, which may be why, in many cases, people have been much more restrained in reporting news about him and his female confidantes.

But this time it's different.

If it were just about himself, he wouldn't care. But this time, his actions almost caused his women, especially Gao Yuanyuan, to have a major emotional upheaval, which was unacceptable.

Yes, that's right, it's such a double standard!
To Chen Mo's surprise, when the wall falls, everyone pushes it down. Before he could even make a move, someone actually stepped in for him.

Zhuo Wei, the first paparazzi in the entertainment industry who had been out of the public eye for a long time and whose Weibo account had been suspended, suddenly used a secondary account to release irrefutable evidence that Li Wei had snatched the injured person's phone and deleted photos when he followed them to a car accident scene in his early years.

The caption read: "Paparazzi aren't hyenas, have some decency."

Although entertainment reporters and paparazzi don't usually attract much attention, unless they are "industry leaders" like Zhuo Wei who often break juicy stories!
As for public opinion, paparazzi don't seem to need it.

But this time was different. Li Wei could be considered to have "turned misfortune into blessing," as he attracted a lot of attention.

Although most of the comments were sarcastic, critical, and abusive, it was still a case of "showing promise."

However, the post from Zhuo Wei's alternate account quickly turned these jokes and complaints into insults.

"Holy crap, I never knew this bastard had such a dark past!"

"They haven't even cleaned up their own mess, yet they come here to say 'See you on Monday,' shameless!"

"I figured the top paparazzo in the entertainment industry probably already knew about these things, right? It's only because you're jumping around like this, playing the Monday reveal game!"

"It suddenly occurred to me, Chen Mo is a billionaire, no, a hundred billionaire! How dare you?"

"Furthermore, to secretly photograph pregnant women is frankly going too far. What if it frightens them and something bad happens?"

"Heh, for them, that's just walking traffic. What wouldn't they do for traffic?"

However, this was only the beginning.

Zhuowei was the first to take action, "kicking someone when they're down."

Soon, some of Li Wei's past "dark history" was gradually exposed by some of his colleagues.

Netizens couldn't help but exclaim, "Look up and see, who can escape the wrath of Heaven!"

Look, Li Wei himself is an entertainment reporter and paparazzi. His job is to dig up celebrities' privacy, and a lot of it is dirt on them.

But he probably never imagined that one day he would be put under the spotlight and stripped naked!
He always dug into other people's private affairs, but he never expected to experience the same thing himself.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, after all, black and red are still red.

He was thinking of taking advantage of this opportunity to create a buzz and boost the number of followers on his social media account and Weibo account.

It can be considered a compromise, a way to make up for some of the losses.

He felt a little better when he saw that his Weibo account had gained a million followers. Although it was far below his expectations, at least it wasn't a complete loss, right?
As for his colleagues exposing his dirty secrets, he doesn't seem to care much. After all, in this line of work, who hasn't crossed the line?

Take his attempt to secretly photograph Gao Yuanyuan, for example. The other party was very vigilant and guarded against it. How could he have taken the photos without using some special methods?
Li Wei felt that his biggest mistake this time was being greedy and wanting to let things play out for a while, which resulted in a "Monday reveal" ending.

Of course, the main problem is that Chen Mo and those female celebrities' actions were a bit bizarre. What kind of celebrity would expose themselves like that?

He just hasn't realized why he was the only one to expose this incident; did his colleagues really not notice the massive amount of traffic it generated?

Zhao Ming was called over by Chen Mo.

"What are you planning to do?" Zhao Ming knew Chen Mo too well and knew that Chen Mo wouldn't let this go so easily.

Actually, being exposed isn't a big deal, otherwise Chen Mo wouldn't have let Gao Yuanyuan and the others expose themselves. But the problem is that Li Wei secretly filmed the heavily pregnant Gao Yuanyuan this time. Although nothing serious happened, there will definitely be some impact.

Therefore, he didn't think Chen Mo would let the other party make such a fuss so easily.

"What do you think?" Chen Mo asked.

“Actually, I don’t recommend taking any measures against him at this time.” Zhao Ming was still quite rational. “Reasons?” Chen Mo remained noncommittal.

"After all, you and they are public figures, so it's normal for you to be reported on. Although the other side has crossed the line this time, if we take strong measures, especially at this time, it could easily reverse public opinion."

"People always subconsciously sympathize with the weaker party and reject the stronger and more domineering party. In this case, it can be said that people criticize Li Wei because, to some extent, Li Wei, who has firsthand information and uses it to gain more attention, is the 'active' party, while we are the passive ones."

"But once action is taken, the situation reverses," Zhao Ming analyzed rationally.

Chen Mo nodded. Indeed, given Chen Mo's current status and position, it would be incredibly easy for him to blacklist a paparazzi like Li Wei. He only needed to make a call, and several major domestic platforms would give him face.

After all, they've been working together, so the other party naturally wouldn't refuse him that favor.

However, as Zhao Ming said, it is easy to damage public image because the public assumes that celebrities enjoy high income and social resources. If they use capital to crush individuals (such as Li Wei's account being banned), it is easy to be interpreted as "abusing power" and arouse "hatred of the rich".

Chen Mo was aware of this, of course, so he wouldn't be so simplistic and crude.

“I think you should use the method you are best at, why don’t you consult Attorney Ouyang?” Zhao Ming quickly added with a smile.

Chen Mo was still willing to listen to advice. What was his best approach? Of course, it was using legal means to protect his rights.

The company does have a legal department, but it's obviously not appropriate to handle this matter in the company's name.

Chen Mo immediately called Ouyang Jing.

"Director Chen, you want to consult on how to use legal means to help Gao Yuanyuan protect her rights, right?" Ouyang Jing was naturally also paying attention to the recent news. The matter of Chen Mo and Gao Yuanyuan could be said to be the hottest topic at the moment.

As Chen Mo's long-term collaborator, Ouyang Jing has benefited greatly from Chen Mo's cases, so she naturally pays special attention to Chen Mo's affairs.

So as soon as Chen Mo called, she asked him.

“That’s right. Although banning him would be easy, it would be too simplistic and crude, and it would also have a negative impact. So, I’m wondering if we could achieve this through legal means,” Chen Mo said.

Ouyang Jing was clearly prepared for this.

"Director Chen's idea is correct. If he simply uses his power to intimidate others, it would be easy for someone of his status to do so. However, this would indeed have a negative impact, causing the other party to be sympathized with by the public."

Regardless of right or wrong, this approach will inevitably give people the impression of an abuse of power,” Ouyang Jing calmly analyzed.

“I think this matter can absolutely be sued on the grounds of invasion of privacy. The advantage of doing so is that the victim’s perspective can be released at the same time, such as the fear of being followed and the impact on their family, turning ‘banning’ into ‘rights protection’,” Ouyang Jing continued.

"Explain in detail! Does the other party's behavior constitute an invasion of privacy?" Chen Mo also became interested.

"Whether we win the lawsuit or not is not important!" Ouyang Jing said with a smile.

"First of all, I learned that Ms. Gao Yuanyuan is a pregnant woman, and she is about to give birth, so she can be considered a high-risk person."

The neighborhood where she lives is a very safe community, and it is rare for paparazzi to sneak in and take photos like this in the past.

"Then we must let the public know how they did it! I think this shouldn't be difficult for Director Chen, right?" Ouyang Jing said.

This is indeed not difficult. In fact, this incident has put the property management of the community where Gao Yuanyuan lives on high alert.

Therefore, they quickly found out how Li Wei entered the community.

Even the surveillance footage was completely pulled up; these days, there are surveillance cameras everywhere.

Once Li Wei's behavior is made public, it will definitely instill fear in many people.

They're all like spies, which makes people realize that Li Wei's so-called "See you on Monday" is not such a simple matter at all.

"The advantage of doing this is that all actions are based on the legal framework, such as privacy and portrait rights lawsuits, avoiding the use of capital relationships to directly delete posts or ban people."

Releasing materials from the victim's perspective, such as how Li Wei sneaked into the community and the footage of Ms. Gao Yuanyuan being harassed while being secretly filmed, can help the public take a stance of "protecting the vulnerable."

“Blocking paparazzi is essentially a war of public opinion, not just a technical maneuver. The key to success lies in transforming ‘private revenge’ into ‘public justice,’ making the public feel that the crackdown is not about covering up secrets, but about protecting broader social values,” Ouyang Jing continued.

Chen Mo nodded: "Okay, then I'll leave this to you to handle. But you'd better act quickly."

“No problem, but what level of achievement does Director Chen hope to reach?” Ouyang Jing asked again.

"Isn't this just a reason to blacklist him?" Chen Mo said calmly.

Ouyang Jing immediately understood that Chen Mo was simply looking for a reason that the public could accept to blacklist the other party.

The outcome was actually predetermined long ago.

The evidence was quickly sent over.

After some editing, the property management of the residential complex where Gao Yuanyuan lived released a video showing how Li Wei broke into their "Waterfront Mansion" complex.

Furthermore, property management personnel also accepted an interview with reporters.

At the same time, Li Wei's behavior was condemned immediately.

The video of "paparazzi reporter Li Wei sneaking in" and the detailed explanation given by the property management in an interview were quickly forwarded by Chen Mo and Gao Yuanyuan.

For a moment, many netizens were "shocked".

After all, people weren't really paying much attention before about how paparazzi managed to take so many photos of celebrities.

But this time, it was presented directly to the public from beginning to end.

"Holy crap, so being a paparazzi is no different from being a thief! Using someone else's identity to rent a house, getting approved by the property management, and then stalking them—doesn't that count as violating the safe distance?"

"It's terrifying to think about. It feels like something out of a foreign spy movie. If this is malicious, wouldn't our safety be threatened at any moment?"

"That's really going too far. She's an older pregnant woman, and he didn't even consider what would happen if she got seriously injured from being scared?"

"Hehe, they don't care about that at all. They just want to use others to achieve their own goals and make profits!"

"Zhuo Wei is right. Paparazzi aren't hyenas; they still need to have some boundaries, right?"

"Is Chen Mo backing down this time? With his status, he could easily blacklist this paparazzi, right?"

"That's why Chen Mo is so popular. His professional skills are one aspect, but more importantly, he doesn't abuse his power!"

"Isn't Chen Mo quite adept at using legal means? Shouldn't this constitute a violation of the law? Shouldn't we issue a lawyer's letter as a warning?"

"Support banning these unscrupulous paparazzi! Are they even human, secretly filming pregnant women?"

In an instant, public opinion overwhelmingly sided with Chen Mo and Gao Yuanyuan.

Gao Yuanyuan was an older pregnant woman, which put her in a high-risk group, and Li Wei's actions, as shown in the edited footage, did indeed appear particularly terrifying.

Soon after, Gao Yuanyuan's studio and Hongjing Law Firm jointly issued a statement.

While condemning the actions of paparazzi reporter Li Wei, the court filed a formal lawsuit against Li Wei for unauthorized use of Gao Yuanyuan's portrait rights for profit (increasing her Weibo followers) without her consent, thus infringing on Gao Yuanyuan's privacy rights, portrait rights, and other rights.

The key point is that, while the situation surrounding Gao Yuanyuan may not be so obvious or profound for ordinary people, it has resonated with many celebrities in the entertainment industry, who share a common sense of indignation.

Immediately, many celebrities posted messages in support of Gao Yuanyuan's rights protection efforts.

Huang Bo: "I support Yuanyuan's rights protection efforts. Nothing should cross the bottom line!"

Liu Yifei: "It's terrifying! Celebrities are people too, and they need their own private space!"

Yang Mi: "Everything has its limits. Li Wei's behavior is simply outrageous, especially since Sister Yuanyuan is pregnant!"

Tang Yan: "."

Suddenly, almost half of the celebrities in the entertainment industry came to support Gao Yuanyuan's rights protection efforts.

Li Wei became famous, but the way he became famous was something he had never expected.

It's like I've stirred up a hornet's nest.

However, he had no time to pay attention to that at the moment, because Gao Yuanyuan's lawsuit was real, and it wasn't just a lawyer's letter warning.

The key point is that Weibo froze Li Wei's Weibo account immediately, citing suspected illegal activities. You see, they didn't say it was a ban, but that he was sued, and the content of the lawsuit was even published on the platform, so freezing the account is reasonable, right?
Although they didn't directly use the "disappearance trick," Weibo's actions at this moment are even more upsetting to him than a direct ban.

Because he could only watch as the account grew to millions of followers, he couldn't do anything about it.

Now he was truly panicked!
(End of this chapter)