Yu Qiu said this sentence with a smile, appearing exceptionally composed.
The man choked a little, and Yu Qiu said, “Shen Huai, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go attend to other matters.”
Seeing Yu Qiu about to leave, the man quickly stood up and said, “Take a look at these photos.”
Yu Qiu halted his steps and looked at the stack of photos on the table.
He flipped through them one by one, his expression becoming increasingly cold. His fingers hooked onto the photos and picked them up.
All the photos were from last night, capturing their intimate moments in the kitchen kissing in the morning and by the floor-to-ceiling window at night. In the photos, Yu Qiu was embracing Xuan Yun’s neck, with a tender smile in his eyes. If it weren’t for the situation, Yu Qiu might have wanted to keep these photos as mementos.
“Where did they come from?” Yu Qiu asked softly.
“I want to make a deal with you,” Shen Huai took a deep breath.
Yu Qiu playfully sized him up and asked, “What kind of deal?”
“Someone anonymously sent me these photos by email today, and I just printed them out,” Shen Huai couldn’t meet his gaze and turned his face away, saying, “He said that I should protect my rights, post a Weibo to denounce you once again, and they will release these photos. They want to bring down Xuan Yun.”
“I see,” Yu Qiu replied nonchalantly, “So what?”
“Who sent them?”
“A virtual network, no address can be traced.”
“I can choose not to post them,” Shen Huai’s voice trembled uncontrollably, he swallowed hard, “but you need to… post a Weibo with a simple statement.”
“What Weibo?” Yu Qiu rubbed his hair and asked.
“Just admit… that your book ‘Peach Blossom Lane’… is plagiarized,” Shen Huai said.
“How do you know I plagiarized?” Yu Qiu looked at him with a smile, “I remember your pen name is ‘Jiu Lin Xia,’ right? What’s your relationship with ‘Shui Qing’?”
“I know you’ve been looking for lawyers to sue for your rights. I advise you to stop,” Shen Huai said, “Otherwise, it won’t benefit anyone.”
He actually guessed wrong.
Yu Qiu was currently struggling financially. Not to mention hiring a lawyer, he couldn’t even afford a Weibo membership. He wondered where Shen Huai heard such news.
Before he could respond, Yu Qiu interrupted him and dropped a bombshell.
“I know you took the USB drive,” Yu Qiu said with a smile, looking at Shen Huai standing there, his mind blank.
“I’ve known all along,” Yu Qiu said, “Did you think I kept this to myself because of our past relationship?”
“…” Shen Huai remained silent.
“You’re mistaken,” Yu Qiu leaned down, showing a smiling face before him, “I just didn’t find the right opportunity to bring it up.”
“The USB drive was accidentally left at the company, right?” Yu Qiu said, “I went to deliver my manuscript that day, and besides you, there was no one else. I checked the registration records – Shen Huai, don’t think others are that foolish, such a straightforward logic. How could I not see through it?”
“But…” Shen Huai tried to say something.
“But that room doesn’t have surveillance,” Yu Qiu didn’t bother continuing his smile, he just stared into his eyes, “If it did, you would’ve been exposed long ago.”
“You write online novels, and I don’t know when you posted them,” Yu Qiu said, “It was my negligence.”
“Did you change your pen name?” Yu Qiu suddenly asked.
“No,” Shen Huai said, “I have two pen names, one for writing novels for women and the other for men…”
Catering to the male and female markets simultaneously.
“You’re making a lot of money.”
Shen Huai turned away.
“You can follow what they told you to do,” Yu Qiu straightened up and walked behind the counter, “Look, see who will have the last laugh.”
“Why didn’t you… when you posted that headline article, why didn’t you say anything,” Shen Huai said, his voice strained, “You had the chance to defend yourself.”
“I had no evidence,” Yu Qiu said, “If I were a bystander, I would have cursed ‘Yu Qiu’ too, instead of standing by his side. And at that time, even if I had said something, it would have been too absurd, no one would have believed it.”
He suddenly took out his phone, and the phone’s screen lit up.
“How about finding evidence now? It’s more practical.”
The phone was recording, and the audio on it slightly fluctuated.
