Chapter 45: CH 049

TL: Moonlit

The news about Yi Wusheng had caused a great uproar. Shortly after Father Yi and Mother Yi issued their statement, it was quickly reposted by various popular accounts and made it to the hot search rankings.

The netizens didn’t know Father Yi and Mother Yi, nor did they care about their reputation or connections. Most of the comments were made casually.

⌈”They’re still trying to defend Yi Wusheng even with everything that has happened.”⌋

⌈”He is Yi Wusheng’s father, our professor at the university, a very good person… It’s not hard to understand a father’s unconditional love for his child.”⌋

⌈”Yi Wusheng concealed it so well that not even his own parents knew what kind of person he was in private. It’s pitiful for this respected and esteemed old professor couple to have their lifelong reputation destroyed by their own son.”⌋

⌈”Speaking of which, Professor Yi said that this whole thing was orchestrated by another son, Yi Qinglou. But who is Yi Qinglou?”⌋

⌈”Yi Wusheng is not a good person, and if his own father is criticizing him like this, Yi Qinglou probably isn’t a good person either…”⌋

The netizens had extensive abilities to gather information, and they quickly dug up Yi Qinglou’s identity. Most of the information came from people who knew Father Yi at the university, and their descriptions of Yi Qinglou aligned with how Father Yi and Mother Yi saw him.

⌈”I know this person. I heard he’s a useless and extravagant playboy who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun.”⌋

⌈”Not only that, but he also street races while drunk and bullies others. I went to the same school as him, and he was definitely a school bully. When he graduated, the school even celebrated with firecrackers…”⌋

⌈”Poor Professor Yi, both of his children turned out like this. Is there something wrong with their upbringing?”⌋

Father Yi and Mother Yi had a good reputation, and any doubts were quickly suppressed by their students and followers, leaving a screen full of questions and insults directed at Yi Qinglou.

A mixture of true and false information was intertwined, and most netizens would forget what they had read and not pay much attention to this stranger, at most leaving a comment before moving on.

Qi Fenghua was well aware of the nature of netizens. He looked at his phone with a conflicted expression, wanting to leave a comment in defense of Yi Qinglou but then realized that he himself was currently in an awkward situation online. He couldn’t help but pause.

Since the exposure of Yi Wusheng’s deeds by the victims, not only had Yi Wusheng’s reputation plummeted, but Qi Fenghua had also been implicated.

He was the first person to question Qi Yuyu’s plagiarism and the main cause of this wave of controversy. Even if he didn’t release any more videos, countless people demanded an apology in the comments, bullet comments, and private messages every day.

The overwhelming public sentiment was a handy weapon when used against others, but it wasn’t so fun when it backfired on oneself.

Qi Fenghua didn’t have such a strong heart to remain indifferent to the overwhelming insults and abuses.

While hesitating and feeling conflicted, Qi Fenghua suddenly noticed an active account in the comments section, leaving comments under every criticism directed at Yi Qinglou.

⌈”He was the top student and the valedictorian of our school. The firecrackers were to celebrate his achievements, not because he was a school bully.”⌋

⌈”Not every parent is a qualified parent. Being criticized is not his fault.”⌋

⌈”The truth of the matter is not yet revealed, so please refrain from insulting him.”⌋

⌈”Yi Wusheng is not worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as him. Please don’t insult him.”⌋

These overly gentle and refined comments on the internet stood out and soon received replies from other netizens.

⌈”Who the hell are you to defend Yi Qinglou like this? Are you Yi Qinglou himself?”⌋

It didn’t take long for the person to reply: ⌈”I am Qi Yuyu. I’m very grateful for your past defense of me, but I hope you won’t speak ill of him anymore. Thank you.”⌋

Qi Fenghua’s gaze froze, fixated on the three words “Qi Yuyu,” and he remained lost in thought for a while.

He watched as Qi Yuyu engaged in a fierce debate with the angry netizens who were provoked by his comments, systematically refuting their emotional insults… Somehow, Qi Fenghua felt like he had lost.

Lost completely.

“Don’t pay attention to what people say online.” Unexpectedly, it was Lin Hanchuan who said this. The background of him uttering these words was not when Qi Yuyu was being accused of plagiarism, but when Qi Yuyu himself was being attacked.

Qi Yuyu responded with a perfunctory “Mm” and continued typing.

It was both amusing and touching. Lin Hanchuan rubbed Qi Yuyu’s hair in a helpless manner.

“You guys have such a good relationship.” The painter sitting across from them, who had been watching for who knows how long, suddenly spoke up.

Lin Hanchuan remained calm and asked, “Have you made up your mind?”

The painter fell silent after being asked that question by Lin Hanchuan. In the end, he simply said he needed to think about it again. The rest of them accompanied him, sitting there for several hours.

The painter was at a loss for words.

Yue Hong clicked his tongue beside them. “Regardless of what others say about you, right is right. If you keep hesitating like this, we won’t wait for you here. There will always be other victims.”

Lin Hanchuan glanced at Yue Hong without refuting.

The painter’s presence confirmed that Yi’s parents had done something wrong. Even if he didn’t speak up, there would surely be others who were willing to speak out… With a direction in mind, finding a breakthrough wouldn’t be difficult.

Looking down at his slightly deformed hands, the painter took a deep breath, thinking of the online insults. Finally, he made up his mind. “I’ve decided.”

Lin Hanchuan’s gaze sharpened, Qi Yuyu withdrew his attention from his phone, and Yue Hong eagerly awaited the painter’s answer.

After Yi’s parents released their statement, they received numerous phone calls. After dealing with them for a while, they finally had time to see the reactions of netizens.

Looking at the comments, Father Yi expressed some dissatisfaction. “Why don’t these people believe in Wusheng’s innocence?”

Mother Yi chimed in at the same time. “Why is Qi Yuyu speaking nonsense?”

“That brat from the Qi family.” Father Yi gritted his teeth and sneered. “Neither the older one nor the younger one are good people.”

Even Qi Fenghua had become someone they hated.

“We shouldn’t have agreed to the Qi family’s proposal for a marriage alliance. If it weren’t for Qi Fenghua crying and insisting on marrying into the Yi family, none of this would have happened,” Mother Yi cursed.

“I heard that the Qi family suffered a big loss and lost a lot of money. It’s truly karma,” Father Yi gloated.

They conveniently ignored the fact that they pursued the marriage alliance because they valued the Qi family’s connections and business acumen, which would help them sell their paintings at sky-high prices.

While complaining that the online public opinion didn’t meet their expectations, they looked at the comments. When they saw praise for themselves, Father Yi smiled happily, but when they came across comments insulting them, his brow furrowed.

After reading for a while, Father Yi’s anger was pacified by the plethora of compliments on the screen. “Although these people don’t believe in me, they still show some respect.”

Mother Yi glared at him. “The matter with Wusheng hasn’t been resolved, and you’re here enjoying yourself.”

Father Yi paused, then chuckled dryly. “I’m just following what the lawyer said, observing the online public opinion.”

He continued scrolling and pointed to a new comment. “Look at this person. They’re insulting me.”

As he spoke, he read the comment aloud: “As the tree leans, so grows the twig. I always wondered how Yi Wusheng dared to be so audacious. It turns out he has a good dad standing behind him, providing him with protection…”

As he read further, Father Yi’s voice grew softer, and his expression became unpleasant.

Several consecutive comments were all insults directed at him.

⌈”This kind of person can actually be a professor. Who knows what kind of students he would produce?”⌋

⌈”It’s terrifying. As a professor, he stole students’ works, put his name on them, and entered them into competitions, winning awards…”⌋

⌈”For decades, they lived a life of luxury, but they have no idea how much hard work they took away from students. Such people are unworthy of being teachers! @Art Academy, come and deal with this.”⌋

While reading, Father Yi sensed that something was amiss. He felt a sense of unease and wondered what had happened. Then someone provided an answer to his confusion.

⌈”Professor Yi participated in competitions with students’ works, taking away their creative achievements. He went even further than what Yi Wusheng did. For details, visit @OrdinaryPainter.”⌋

With trembling nerves, Father Yi followed the link.

The account didn’t have many followers, just a few hundred. It was evident that they didn’t use this account frequently. However, the latest post had already received over a thousand comments.

In the post, the person shared photos of their ID card and graduation certificate, detailing their experiences. They described being ridiculed due to their poor family background, and how Yi’s parents noticed them and provided support, but then took away their paintings… There were chat screenshots and photos of their artwork.

In the end, Father Yi’s name was signed on them.

Once this post was made, those who had previously sympathized with Yi’s parents exploded in anger.

Father Yi suddenly realized that he knew this person.

His face darkened, and he closed the app. In his long contact list, he found the person’s name and dialed the number.

“Hello?”

The call was quickly answered, and Father Yi asked in a deep voice, “What do you mean?”

Neither side revealed their names, but in that instant of speaking to each other, they recognized each other’s identity.

“Teacher,” the voice on the other end sounded somewhat distorted through the phone, perhaps due to the passage of years or the lack of recent contact. “I am very grateful for your help back then, but I made a painting for you and the teacher. You received the gold prize at the Spring Breeze Art Exhibition, and the teacher received the silver prize…”

Mother Yi interrupted him, “If it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go to school. Not only are you ungrateful, but you also stab us in the back?”

There was silence from the other end.

Father Yi, unlike Mother Yi’s emotional outburst, maintained his dignified image as a mentor and calmly said, “The past is in the past. I won’t blame you. Please delete that post.”

There was no response from the other side for a long time.

Hearing the silence, Mother Yi became anxious and tried to coax him gently, “Now that you have achieved success, you must remember that we lent you a hand back then. It was just for two paintings. Are your teacher’s reputation and your future not important enough to you?”

They heard a burst of laughter from the other end of the phone. “Is that your justification for stealing from others?”

Father Yi and Mother Yi’s faces suddenly changed. “Who are you?!”

“No remorse.”

Finally, they heard those two words in a calm tone before the call was abruptly ended.

The voice in the end sounded familiar. After thinking for a while, Father Yi and Mother Yi finally remembered—it was their own son.