Damn, dozens of cameras? How severe is your paranoia?
The elderly lady was so frightened that she stopped screaming. She dusted off her grayish-white sweater, picked up her vegetable basket, and was about to stand up. Trembling, she said, “It’s a misunderstanding, all just a misunderstanding. I was just tired from standing, so I squatted here to rest. I’m an old lady, and my legs and feet aren’t in good shape.”
“Let’s all disperse, please. It’s just a misunderstanding,” the elderly lady said while limping, leaning against the wall. Her face remained calm as she accepted the tomatoes from the passersby, waving her hand to disperse the onlookers while repeatedly mumbling about the misunderstanding. Now, everyone could see the situation. It seemed like a staged incident, and their expressions carried a mocking undertone.
Initially, when they saw an elderly lady with white hair and wrinkles lying on the ground, her vegetable basket crushed, they could imagine the force of the impact. The scattered vegetables hinted at her frugal nature, leading everyone to think of their own mothers who cooked chicken soup and mended clothes at home. This evoked sympathy. Not to mention the elderly lady’s moaning, which sounded so painful that compassionate passersby rushed over to help collect vegetables and assist the elderly lady. They kept asking where she was hurt and how serious it was. Some even called an ambulance.
“She looks seriously injured; she probably has a fracture and needs surgery.”
“No, I can’t afford the surgery; I don’t have the money,” the elderly lady wailed, covering her face. She went on to explain how difficult her family’s situation was. Her son was unemployed and searching for a job, her daughter-in-law had left, her grandson was starting elementary school, and so on. She claimed that if she had an accident, her family couldn’t afford the surgery, so she might as well just die to avoid burdening her family.
Her crying was so heart-wrenching that people couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. They comforted her, saying,
“Don’t be afraid, we’ll take you to the hospital, and the person who hit you will pay for it!”
“That’s right, if the car owner hit you, they have to compensate you. If they don’t, we’ll help you seek justice!”
In this area, there were no surveillance cameras, and everyone initially thought it was a luxury car that had hit the elderly lady. They quickly surrounded the car owner, but when they saw a rich kid stepping out of the car, they were slightly more forgiving, but still not willing to let it slide. When they saw the child leisurely inspecting the car, seemingly checking for scratches and damage, some impatient people shouted,
“What are you dilly-dallying for? The elderly lady is still lying on the ground!” At this moment, human life and the car, which was more important?
Unexpectedly, the child suddenly said that he had money, so he had installed dozens of cameras in the car.
People were confused and didn’t understand why the child was saying this. Then, they saw the elderly lady, who had just been complaining about pain, suddenly stand up as if nothing had happened.
Them: …
Faced with this turn of events, the elderly lady’s son, a burly man in his thirties, looked embarrassed. His pre-planned script was useless now. He had to push through the crowd, help his mother up, nod and bow to thank the people around, and then try to leave with his mother as quickly as possible.
At this moment, the young boy raised an eyebrow and said, “Wait a minute, can you just leave like that?”
Did he mean he didn’t intend to let this go and wanted to investigate further? People who had planned to leave couldn’t help but stop and watch the scene unfold.
The burly man and the elderly lady also hesitated and quickly turned back. They apologized, “Sorry, young master, it’s all a misunderstanding. Let me compensate you.”
“No need to apologize. Was it really a simple accident with my car?” The young boy yawned lazily and said, “I might sue you for extortion. All the evidence is in the car’s recordings.”
Hearing the mention of going to the police station and being accused of extortion, the burly man looked even more bewildered. He had thought the young man was easy to deal with, and even if he didn’t get any money, there wouldn’t be any trouble. He didn’t expect to encounter someone so difficult to handle.
To be fair, the young man from the wealthy family had jet-black hair, fair skin, and exquisite features. Even with his current irritated expression, he was still good-looking and impressive. People couldn’t bring themselves to dislike him.
The burly man forced a smile and said, “Forget it, young master. Look, my mother is fine, and your car is undamaged. It’s early in the morning, and everyone is busy. You don’t need to go out of your way to deal with this misunderstanding. It would also show your magnanimity, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right. My grandson is waiting for me to go back and cook. I need to hurry home,” the elderly lady added, struggling to speak about her difficult life. She said her grandson was worried about her, and if she didn’t return soon, he’d be anxious. While speaking, her voice was choked with emotion, and she appeared on the verge of kneeling down to beg for mercy. This scene made the onlookers unable to bear it, and they advised the young man not to be aggressive. After all, he hadn’t suffered any losses.
The young man glanced at the pretentious mother and son duo, and the corners of his lips curled slightly, as if he were smiling but not really. “It’s okay. I not only have money but also plenty of time. Going to the police station won’t take much time.”
Seeing that the crowd seemed to disagree, the young man immediately changed his approach and sneered, “I advise you not to be overly kind. Both mother and son are habitual offenders. They’ve been lying in wait here since before dawn. Take a closer look at her pants. It’s either mud or dew. How long do you think she had to wait to find a target? Her mother had an accident, the script was exposed, and her son conveniently appeared by her side. How coincidental is that? It’s obvious they planned this staged scam. Whether it’s me or someone else, those of you who are speaking up for them now, when your car gets hit and you have to pay a fortune, will you still show them mercy? Don’t pretend to be righteous.”
No one wanted to experience being scammed themselves. When these words were spoken, no one dared to argue further.
When the police car arrived, the burly man was taken away, his face pale and sweat on his forehead. He didn’t dare to resist. The elderly lady, on the other hand, suddenly tried to rush towards the young boy with great strength, attempting to strike him, but she was stopped by Jiang Mingyao.
Jiang Mingyao looked at the young boy, who seemed tired and powerless, with a complex expression. He had thought of him as a sheltered flower, but beneath that gentle smile, there was also a strong-willed side. Not only was he intelligent, but he was also articulate. This authentic portrayal made Jiang Mingyao like him even more.
Especially when the young boy had stood in front of him earlier, calmly reassuring him that everything was okay, his composure, elegance, and poise had a calming effect. It inadvertently soothed Jiang Mingyao’s anxious and desperate heart.
Ordinary families couldn’t raise such a child, but thinking about the dozens of cameras, Jiang Mingyao couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He realized that this was a child from a wealthy family, someone who could afford to install so many cameras because he was paranoid about staged accidents happening to him. It was an unwarranted fear.
This mindset was problematic. If he had the chance, Jiang Mingyao wanted to advise the young boy, tell him that the recent incident was just an accident, and not to view people so negatively. There were still good people in the world.
As the incident concluded, the two of them left separately. However, they were unaware that the entire scene had been secretly recorded and posted online with the headline: “Arrogant Rich Second Generation, Yin Minglu, Crashes Luxury Car into Pedestrian and Arrogantly Declares ‘I Have Money’!”
This news article’s attention-grabbing headline, combined with Yin Minglu’s recent popularity, caused a sensation online. It quickly climbed to the top 30 trending topics, although most of the comments were critical.
The article stated, “This morning, I witnessed an incident that exposed the ugliness of human nature. It involved the power struggle between the privileged and the common people, money versus morality. It’s unbelievable that someone from such a privileged background, relying on family connections, could utter such arrogant words. Everyone knew that since winning the first game design competition, Yin Minglu, the only son of the Yin family, had become many people’s darling. He was a talented, approachable, and well-connected young man, a rare find in this world. However, after this morning’s incident, I can no longer view him with the same innocent eyes. For more details, click the video link below.”
Many people clicked on the link, initially curious to see how Yin Minglu’s image had been tarnished and how he had fallen from grace. But after watching the entire video, they were shocked.
After watching the video from start to finish, countless people criticized the article for being shameless clickbait. It was clear that the elderly lady had staged the incident, exposed, and then acted like the victim. In the article, it was portrayed as if Yin Minglu had arrogantly crashed his luxury car into her, showing an indifferent attitude, saying “I have money.” However, in reality, Yin Minglu had been the victim from beginning to end.
Due to the overwhelming criticism, this trending topic continued to rise. As the comments poured in, various perspectives emerged.
[User A: Hmm, the young boy was a bit too pushy even though the other party was kneeling. Maybe he’s genuinely struggling in life? After all, people who have never experienced poverty don’t understand what it’s like to be pushed to the brink. You haven’t suffered, so you don’t know how desperate life can make you. You haven’t suffered any losses anyway.]
[User B: Exactly, it seems like he went a bit too far. It’s his choice to drive a luxury car, but doesn’t he know that flaunting wealth isn’t wise?]
[User C: So, if someone kneels down when accused of extortion, should we just let them go? What kind of logic is this, ‘You’re right because you’re weak, I deserve it because I’m wealthy’? Whether he drives a luxury car or not is his freedom. Should he be targeted for extortion just because he’s wealthy?]
The online debate continued, and many voices criticized the young boy. Jiang Mingyao worried that the negative sentiment against money was gaining momentum. Even though the young boy was the victim, people painted him as “cold-hearted,” “abusing power,” “disregarding the weak,” and “using harsh words.” His previously excellent reputation had taken a hit.
However, these negative voices could be easily suppressed. All it took was for Yin Corporation’s public relations team to step in. Jiang Mingyao was anxious and felt guilty. It was all because of him that the young boy had been dragged into this situation for no reason.
Unexpectedly, the young man glanced at him and continued in his calm and confident tone, “It’s okay. I, your boss, am very rich. Any problem that can be solved with money isn’t a real problem. From now on, just stick with me and you’ll enjoy the best life has to offer.”
Although he wasn’t tall enough, the young boy still stood on his tiptoes and patted Jiang Mingyao’s shoulder like an adult. Jiang Mingyao couldn’t help but smile wryly. He was about to say that he was still too young and that public opinion could be fickle, especially when you had money. Suddenly, there was a “ding” sound as a push notification rang from his mobile phone.
He opened it and found that the young boy had shared the most scathing tweet using his account.
[Yin Minglu V: [Retweet] Users who write 100 short essays for me will receive a 5,000 yuan red envelope, 200 users who praise me will receive a Yin brand smartphone, 300 users who send me rainbow hearts will receive a 3,000 yuan luxury store voucher, and 400 female fans who call me ‘Little Brain’ and have always supported me will receive a 1,000 yuan international lipstick. Lastly, 500 random users will receive 500 in-game currency for Deer Factory games. @Official Lottery Platform, this lottery is absolutely fair and valid, ending in three days.]
This sensational lottery tweet instantly caught everyone’s attention.
On the surface, it didn’t contain any explanations or defenses for himself; instead, it was a straightforward diversion of the topic. But wealth had its allure, and it was clear that people were buying into it. They marveled at the young boy’s wealth and recklessness. Some jokingly said they were jealous, while others enthusiastically called him “Little Brain.”
What was even more surprising was that more than half of the users who called him “Little Brain” and expressed their love for him were male. They seemed even more enthusiastic, calling him “Little Brain” with greater charm and expressing their admiration in beautifully written essays.
Even the users who had previously criticized Yin Minglu, like User A, User B, User C, and User D, quickly deleted their negative comments and enthusiastically retweeted the tweet, eager to participate in the lottery.
Anti-wealth sentiment? It didn’t exist anymore. They all wanted to be “Little Brain’s” fans!
For a moment, almost the entire internet was buzzing about the young boy’s lottery tweet. The overwhelmingly positive comments drowned out the negative ones, and likes and comments flooded in, almost causing the Weibo platform to crash. Such top-tier traffic could only be matched by the sudden marriage announcement of an international movie star.
Sitting in front of her computer, An Meijun was dumbfounded by the young man’s sudden turnaround in public opinion. She had initially thought that if her daughter’s reputation was ruined, she could also drag down the young man’s reputation. This way, they would be even, and she could start making plans for her daughter’s return. But now, everyone was passionately praising the young man. The 500,000 yuan she spent on hiring internet trolls was wasted, which was half of her fortune. Even the internet trolls she had hired were criticizing one side and secretly praising the other with alternate accounts.
That darned brat, why didn’t he play by the rules? Having money doesn’t make you better than others!
Author’s note: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrients~
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