The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 194: 3,000 in royalties, 100,000 for retraction.

After Gu Xiaobai finished making a phone call to Hao Yi in the corridor, he returned to his room but did not sit down immediately. Instead, he gestured to Yang Muye, who had also just finished a phone call, to have a private conversation.

Yang Muye followed Gu Xiaobai into the corridor.

"What, Hao Yi didn't agree?"

"He should be on his way by now."

So anxious?
Yang Muye gave Gu Xiaobai a meaningful look.

Gu Xiaobai pretended not to see it.

He told Hao Yi over the phone that there was a directing job available.

The investor is a clueless newbie, gullible, rich, and easy to get involved—come quick!

Gu Xiaobai didn't mean to say that; he just heard a woman's voice on Hao Yi's end of the phone.

This guy is either chasing girls or messing around with women.

If Hao Yi were to make a wasted trip just to satisfy Yang Muye's curiosity, he certainly wouldn't agree.

That's why Gu Xiaobai came up with this idea.

Let's lure people here first.

Yang Muye's voice continued, interrupting Gu Xiaobai's reverie.

Is this all you wanted to tell me?

Gu Xiaobai immediately shook his head.

"It's something else, but don't be offended if I tell you."

Seeing that Yang Muye remained silent, Gu Xiaobai then explained the whole story.

"The day after Xifeng's wedding, I didn't come to see you; instead, I bumped into you and—"

Seeing that Yang Muye's gaze had turned somewhat unfriendly, Gu Xiaobai quickly changed her tune: "I didn't see anything, and then after I got back, I was curious and investigated your identity."

It wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't investigated, but the investigation gave Gu Xiaobai a real shock.

Leaving aside what Yang Muyi did, the key point is that he is only eighteen years old this year.

Compared to this, Gu Xiaobai felt that he had wasted the last thirty years of his life.

"so what?"

Yang Muye looked at Gu Xiaobai with a puzzled expression.

He hadn't originally intended to deliberately conceal his identity; it was only a matter of time before people found out.

Gu Xiaobai hesitated for a moment.

“I not only investigated you, but I also told others about it.”

Just say it, is it really worth calling me out for a private talk about something so trivial?
Just as Yang Muyi was thinking that Gu Xiaobai was making a mountain out of a molehill, a possibility suddenly occurred to him.

"Don't tell me that the 'other person' you're talking about is Duan Xifeng!"

Gu Xiaobai explained apologetically:
"I really didn't mean to complain. I thought Xifeng knew your identity, but I never expected—"

Yang Muye frowned.

No wonder Yang Tao seemed a bit strange these past two days, like she was deliberately avoiding me.

It turns out that the lie I told my family before was exposed.

Despite his frustration, Yang Muye didn't blame Gu Xiaobai.

The forged identity couldn't be kept secret for long anyway.

Yang Muye still didn't know how far things had progressed, so he decided to send Yang Tao a text message to ask her what was going on.

"There's one more thing—" Gu Xiaobai's voice rang out weakly.

besides?

Yang Muye frowned.

Gu Xiaobai hurriedly explained, "It's actually the same thing, but it's also a little different."

It turns out that Gu Xiaobai not only told Duan Xifeng about investigating Yang Muye's identity, but also told another good friend, Luo Shuquan.

"It's that guy you jokingly suggested he learn to cook at New Oriental. I told you about him. He's a computer instructor at a training center, and he always feels like he's not getting the recognition he deserves. Besides his regular job, he also works part-time as a reporter, writing articles for a website that specializes in reporting IT news. You know DoNews, right?"

A news community website focusing on the internet and IT, high-tech industries, business, and entrepreneurship.

Unlike BBS, DoNews has always wanted to create a real-name social ecosystem for the IT industry.

Whether they are journalists, columnists, or users of the website, they are all professionals in the IT industry.

It can basically be understood as the Autohome of the IT industry, although it is not as "out of the mainstream" as Autohome.

It's a website that's well-known within the industry but unknown to outsiders.

If it weren't for Luo Shuquan, Gu Xiaobai wouldn't even know that such a website existed.

Luo Shuquan heard about Yang Muye's situation from Gu Xiaobai. Shocked, he felt that this would be explosive news in the IT circle. He wrote an article overnight and sent it to Liu Ren, the editor-in-chief of DoNews.

The next day, Luo Shuquan received a reply from Liu Ren. His manuscript had been accepted, and Luo Shuquan received a fee of three thousand yuan.

Luo Shuquan treated Gu Xiaobai to a meal to express his gratitude, and that's how Gu Xiaobai found out about the incident.

Although Gu Xiaobai was very angry that Luo Shuquan had exposed Yang Muye's identity to the media without her consent, the article could not be retracted. Gu Xiaobai could only explain and apologize to Yang Muye on Luo Shuquan's behalf.

Of course, the main responsibility for this matter still lies with Gu Xiaobai, which is why he was willing to help Yang Muyi adapt the script of the short film "Old Boys" for free.

Keeping promises is just a facade; the real issue is a guilty conscience.

Gu Xiaobai thought he was going to get a good scolding, but after hearing his explanation, Yang Muye just snorted coldly.

"The news that exposed my identity is only worth three thousand yuan? With such a narrow perspective, you still have the nerve to say you're underappreciated?"

Gu Xiaobai stood there, stunned.

Does this mean the other party paid too little in royalties?
"Has that article already been published online?" Yang Muye then asked.

"Not yet. The website should verify the authenticity of the news again," Gu Xiaobai replied.

Yang Muye nodded, thinking that if all else failed, he would find someone to contact DoNews and see if they could get the article removed.

It's nothing more than giving a public relations fee.

Build walls high, accumulate grain, and slowly become king.

Yang Muye wanted to develop his career in a low-key manner for a while and didn't want to become famous in the IT circle so quickly.

Just as I was pondering this matter, I saw Ma Qiushan come out of the room.

"Have you finished talking? I have something I'd like to discuss with you privately."

Gu Xiaobai spoke first: "You two can continue your conversation. I'm going back to my room now."

After watching Gu Xiaobai enter the room, Ma Qiushan turned around with a serious expression: "I just received a call from Liu Ren, the editor-in-chief of DoNews. He said he received a submission that completely exposed your identity."

What a coincidence?

Say Cao Cao and Cao Cao will arrive.

Yang Muye remained calm: "What does he mean by calling you?"

Ma Qiushan was taken aback.

"You already know about this?"

"I don't know, but I do know Liu Ren, the number one online troll leader."

what?
Ma Qiushan was stunned again.

Liu Ren is known in the industry as the "Number One Internet Media Person" because of his excellent writing skills and profound understanding of the Internet industry.

How come Yang Muye has become the head of the naval forces?
"What, did I say something wrong?"

Yang Muyi glanced at the stunned Ma Qiushan: "Or have you not been paying attention to internet news lately?"

The hottest news in the IT industry recently has undoubtedly been the fierce war of words that broke out between Zhou Hongyi and a number of paid antivirus software companies after Zhou launched his free antivirus software.

The recent popularity of cow/sheep games and the news of the launch of "Happy Farm" have not attracted as much attention as the battle between free and paid antivirus software.

That's at least true for people in the industry.

Ma Qiushan was only in seclusion developing "Happy Farm" recently, not working in isolation. He was aware of the fierce competition between 360 and a host of antivirus software companies.

"Do you know what the relationship is between Liu Ren and Zhou Hongyi?" Yang Muye asked again.

"It is said that the two are very close, like brothers." Although Ma Qiushan speaks in a literary style, his choice of words this time is not an exaggeration at all.

Two years ago, 360 launched a poll among users across the internet to vote on anti-malware software. With the users' consent, 360 would forcibly uninstall the software that received the most votes.

The most eye-catching item on this list of malware is 3721, which has since been renamed Yahoo! Assistant.

Ironically, 3721, known as the first and largest piece of malware in China, was founded by Zhou Hongyi.

Zhou Hongyi invented malware back then, and now she's leading the charge to kill malware. I have to say, she's really playing this game brilliantly!

He played both the bad guy and the good guy.

While it's fair to say that 3721, now renamed Yahoo! Assistant, deserves its place on the list, this ranking is somewhat influenced by Zhou Hongyi's personal grudges.

There's definitely a reason for it to be used to vent personal grievances.

During that period, 360 uninstalled Yahoo! Assistant a staggering 600,000 times a day.

At that time, Yahoo China had been wholly acquired by Ali, and Ali had also received a $10 billion investment from Yahoo.

Yahoo! Assistant was relentlessly uninstalled by 360, directly wiping out 2 million yuan of Alibaba's annual revenue.

Meanwhile, 360 also poached a large number of Yahoo China's search talent.

With both financial losses and poaching of employees, Ali, the backer of Yahoo China, is naturally not going to sit idly by.

Jack Ma personally got involved and engaged in a verbal battle with Zhou Hongyi.

He even publicly stated that Ali would permanently ban Zhou Hongyi and called on industry insiders never to cooperate with Zhou Hongyi again.

Back then, the two companies were engaged in a fierce war of words, which was just as exciting as the current battles between 360 and major antivirus software vendors.

At the time, Liu Ren and DoNews both sided with Zhou Hongyi and cheered for her.

Zhou Hongyi and Liu Ren thus became what Ma Qiushan called his "beloved brothers and sisters".

Of course, these are all superficial reasons. The real reason is that Zhou Hongyi must have been "paying" Liu Ren during that period.

If you provide ample public relations funds, we'd be more than brothers; you could even become my godfather.

Given their close relationship, Liu Ren should definitely side with Zhou Hongyi in the current war of words between 360 and a host of antivirus software companies.

The reality is quite the opposite; during this period, the harshest criticisms of 360 came from Liu Ren and DoNews.

The reason is simple: Zhou Hongyi's "membership" with Liu Ren has expired.

That's why Yang Muye referred to Liu Ren as the head of the navy.

Because what Liu Ren did was no different from what an online army did.

Making a living is nothing shameful.

But it's shameless to pat yourself on the back and call yourself a media person.

Yang Muye knew very well that Liu Ren approached him at this time simply because he wanted him to become a member as well.

As long as the PR budget is in place, retracting articles or embellishing and praising them are no big deal.

"Liu Ren sent a reporter over, saying he wanted to interview you, but I guess he actually wanted to discuss the editing fee with you."

Ma Qiushan, speaking with the tone of someone who's been there, said...

He also gave an interview to DoNews and paid them a so-called "editing fee".

The amount is quite substantial, a full five thousand yuan.

Yang Muye glanced at Maqiu Mountain:
How much do you think I should give?

"It'll cost at least ten thousand," Ma Qiushan quoted a figure.

"What if I want the other party to retract that article?" Yang Muye asked again.

Cancelled?

Ma Qiushan was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood Yang Muye's plan.

The key difference is that the fee has changed from "polishing fee" to "hush money," so the price is definitely different.

Ma Qiushan reminded Yang Muye to be prepared for the other party to make exorbitant demands.

"I reckon this matter definitely won't be resolved without at least 100,000 yuan."

Ma Qiushan finally gave his conclusion.

Money is a minor issue; the main problem is quite disgusting.

When will the reporter sent by Liu Ren arrive?

"We're almost there. They know you're staying at the Fairfield Hotel."

Yang Muye sneered inwardly after hearing this.

This investigation is incredibly detailed.

"Tell the reporter Liu Ren sent that I'll wait for him in the lobby bar downstairs."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No need. Go back and tell Gu Xiaobai that the director named Hao Yi has arrived and should wait in the lobby bar first. I'll come find them after I finish meeting with the reporters sent by Liu Ren."

After saying that, he walked towards the elevator.

Something about Maqiushan felt off.

Yang Muye's reaction to this matter seemed overly calm.

I took the elevator to the lobby, but didn't see Yang Tao.

I went to the front desk and found out that Yangtao was closed today.

Yang Muye sat down in the lobby bar and had just ordered a coffee when he saw a man in his early thirties walk in.

With a camera slung across his chest and wearing a khaki photography vest, it was clear at a glance that he worked in media photography.

Upon seeing Yang Muye, the man walked straight over.

"Hello Mr. Yang, I am Liu Feng, a special correspondent for DoNews. I am very pleased that you can accept my interview."

Yang Muye looked up at Liu Feng.

They say you can't hit someone who's smiling, but he did anyway: "If I don't give the interview, will DoNews not report my news?"

Liu Feng's smile froze instantly.

"Didn't you understand? Let me put it another way: how can DoNews get the report about me to be retracted?"

"Mr. Yang, you must have misunderstood. Our interview with you hasn't even started yet—"

"You even know exactly which hotel room I'm staying in. Stop pretending in front of me, okay?"

Liu Feng was rendered speechless by the rebuttal.

“I have an appointment to meet someone later, so I don’t have time to beat around the bush with you. You can’t make this decision yourself. Call your editor-in-chief and ask him to tell you what to do.”

Liu Feng could only take out his phone and walk to the side to call Liu Ren.

About two or three minutes later, Liu Feng returned to his seat.

"Mr. Yang, our editor-in-chief said that out of respect for you, DoNews can temporarily refrain from reporting on your news. However, we in the media rely on news for our livelihood, so—"

"Name your price, how much?"

Liu Feng extended one finger from each hand, forming a cross.

"One hundred thousand?"

Yang Muye asked.

Liu Feng nodded.

"Give me a bank account number, and the money will be transferred within a week."

Liu Feng was taken aback when Yang Muye agreed so readily.

"Mr. Yang, isn't a week a bit too long? The main problem is that I won't be able to explain it to the editor-in-chief when I get back."

"Is it long?"

Yang Muye glanced at Liu Feng indifferently:
"Then I'll transfer the money within ten days."

Liu Feng was taken aback for a moment, then stood up from his seat with a forced smile:
"Mr. Yang, it'll be a week then. I'll send you the bank card number via text message later. If there's nothing else, I'll leave now."

(End of this chapter)