Me! A disgraced celebrity! Starting by seeking justice for impoverished students.

As the incident gained traction in Jiang Chen's live stream, it quickly spread from the live stream to local forums in Xucheng and various short video platforms.

It has become a hot topic, albeit not a major one.

This is a social issue, and many people are paying attention to it.

Especially local netizens.

Someone edited together clips of Lin Xiaoyu's live stream and her visit to someone's home for help.

Coupled with the title "Pei Group owes wages and refuses to pay, migrant workers have no way to protect their rights," it garnered hundreds of thousands of views in less than half a day.

Pei Group is a well-known large corporation in Xucheng, with hundreds or even thousands of employees, providing numerous job opportunities for Xucheng residents.

Its CEO, Pei Zhenbang, has extensive connections.

He has many connections in Xucheng's business and political circles.

As the news broke, two opposing camps quickly formed online.

Some people are speaking from the perspective of the rules.

[The contract was signed, and the year-end salary payment details are clearly stated. Whose fault is it if you signed it without reading it?]

[Since the worker's actions during the workplace were incorrect, they shouldn't have received any compensation in the first place.]

To put it bluntly, it's a lack of contractual spirit. Once a contract is signed, it must be honored. Just because someone is in a vulnerable position doesn't mean they can disregard the rules!

However, such comments were quickly suppressed by more rebuttals.

[Contractual spirit? First, ask the company if they even have a contractual spirit. They promised monthly salaries, but the contract secretly changed it to the end of the year. That's not a contract, that's cheating people.]

"Why don't they eat meat porridge?! What do migrant workers know about contract terms? They say one thing when hiring, but write another on the contract—clearly taking advantage of people's ignorance of the law!"

[They broke their arm and blamed the other person for violating safety regulations, but why don't they point out the inadequate safety measures on the construction site?]

[If we're really going to follow the rules, why aren't they paying workers' compensation insurance?]

Public opinion was almost unanimously in favor of the migrant workers.

Most people complained that the Pei Group was a big company that bullied its customers and took advantage of ordinary people's lack of legal knowledge.

The news quickly reached the headquarters of the Pei Group.

The secretary stood in front of Pei Zhenbang's desk, phone in hand, looking somewhat troubled: "Mr. Pei, there's a lot of discussion online about our industrial park's unpaid wages, and the comments aren't very nice. Many people are saying we're bullying migrant workers..."

"Someone even brought up the young master's past!"

"Bullshit!" Pei Zhenbang slammed his hand on the table, his face turning ashen.

"It must have been Jiang Chen who deliberately instigated this!"

"Trying to win the lawsuit by resorting to media manipulation? I knew he didn't have any legitimate methods!"

He grew increasingly angry and picked up the internal phone to call the legal department: "Zheng Kun, come up here!"

A few minutes later, Zheng Kun pushed open the door and came in, still with that composed demeanor, his suit perfectly pressed.

"President Pei."

"Did I hire you to be a freeloader?!"

Pei Zhenbang was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, but Zheng Kun remained calm, as if he had guessed why Pei Zhenbang had called him here.

"Mr. Pei, is it because of the online public opinion?"

"You know?" Pei Zhenbang frowned, suppressing his anger.

"Look at the mess this has made online, it's caused a huge uproar, and it's severely damaging the company's reputation!"

"You'd better think of something quickly, either issue a statement or get someone to suppress it!"

How could the Pei Group, which has weathered so many storms in Xucheng, be suppressed by such means?

Online public opinion has also affected the image of their group.

Because of Pei Yanzhou's previous incident, he spent a lot of money to suppress public opinion.

Now there are reports of unpaid wages owed to migrant workers.

The more scandals a group has, the more detrimental it is to its expansion and development!

Zheng Kun shook his head, his tone calm: "President Pei, there's no need."

"Online discussions are all based on emotions and shouldn't be taken seriously."

"Labor arbitration looks at evidence and legal provisions, not who comments the most or who has the loudest voice."

"No matter how much noise netizens make, it won't affect the arbitration tribunal's ruling."

Compared to Pei Zhenbang, Zheng Kun seemed to be in no hurry at all.

It seems that everything is under control.

He smiled and comforted Pei Zhenbang: "President Pei, once we win the lawsuit, these rumors will naturally disappear."

"For the company, the final verdict is more important than anything else. If we win the case, all doubts will be dispelled."

"Trying to argue with netizens now will only make things worse!"

He spoke calmly and deliberately, and every word hit the mark.

If we try to refute the rumors now, wouldn't that play right into their hands?

There was nothing wrong to begin with, but if we keep trying to refute the rumors, things will probably only get worse.

It's better to do nothing and let the results speak for themselves!

Once the court's verdict is released, will these indiscriminate netizens still target the court?

This is of course impossible.

As Pei Zhenbang listened, his expression gradually softened.

He leaned back in his chair and nodded.

"That makes sense, you guys are really professional."

"Unlike me, I get angry as soon as I hear these kinds of gossips!"

He snorted, his anger vanishing completely, replaced by a hint of smugness.

"That's true. We're dealing with Jiang Chen through the law, not through a war of words."

"Let's wait until the arbitration results are in, then let's see how he tries to incite public opinion!"

With Zheng Kun in charge, Pei Zhenbang seemed to see his victory in sight.

He was finally completely relieved.

Immediately afterward, Pei Zhenbang looked at Zheng Kun: "Go ahead and get busy. Just follow your own plan from now on, don't worry about what's being said online!"

Zheng Kun nodded, turned and left, his face expressionless.

In his eyes, public opinion is the most useless thing.

The true test is in court; a lawyer's duty is to rely on evidence and the law.

Meanwhile, Chen Qiaowei was also scrolling through her phone.

After seeing the online comments, he took the initiative to approach Jiang Chen.

"Jiang Lawyer, the internet is in an uproar. Many people are supporting us, while a few say we are using vulnerable groups to gain attention."

"Do you want to say something in response?"

Jiang Chen was looking down at the details of the workers' compensation calculation, his fingertips tracing the lines of legal articles and numbers. Without even looking up, he casually said, "No need to respond."

"Which side netizens take doesn't affect whether the workers get their wages."

"The arbitration tribunal will not award a larger sentence just because more people support it, nor will it award a smaller sentence just because some people criticize it."

He looked up and pointed to the neatly stacked evidence on the table: "What truly determines the outcome is this evidence, not the online arguments."

"Public opinion cannot support the verdict, nor can it stop the compensation."

"Focusing on completing the procedures correctly and getting our money back is more important than anything else!"

Jiang Chen understood this as well.

Public opinion won't send bad people to prison, nor will it conjure up money out of thin air.

Chen Qiaowei nodded and put her phone away.

That's true... Jiang Chen has never been one to rely on public opinion to win lawsuits.

Pei Yanzhou's case last time was won through solid evidence, not through online voting.