Chapter 45

New Year’s Eve wasn’t quite the same as Lunar New Year’s Eve. Wen Jiu getting busy and missing this year’s countdown gala didn’t really bother her.
But Shen Xingzhou, who had grown up abroad, was clearly in a bad mood.
The plagiarism “evidence” against the young lady was still plastered all over the internet. To make communication with the Su Group’s legal department easier, Wen Jiu decided to take a late-night high-speed train to Haicheng.
An express train every hour, guess it was finally her turn to ride one.
Shen Xingzhou escorted her to the station but didn’t leave. He stayed close behind her, and under Wen Jiu’s puzzled gaze, reached into his pocket and took out his ID card.
“I’m going with you.” His voice was clear and light, not sounding aggrieved in the slightest.
Wen Jiu’s mind was occupied with Su Yaoyao’s situation, but she hadn’t actually neglected her boyfriend.
She’d already planned to pull him over and kiss him before entering the station to coax him a bit. What she never expected was that all his earlier “grievance” had been an act.
After walking for a bit, she realized she couldn’t even muster any irritation toward him. She slipped her fingers into his palm, interlacing them tightly.
It wasn’t often that he put this much thought into her.
All of a sudden, Wen Jiu understood the secret pleasure the young lady felt during her moments of smug satisfaction.
They arrived in Haicheng at 1 a.m.
The legal department’s lawyers had been urgently called back for overtime, and Su Tan and Su Heng were both present.
With the opposing evidence being so overwhelming, no matter how they looked at it, Su Yaoyao seemed nailed firmly to the pillar of shame for plagiarism.
Wen Jiu took a sip of American coffee that was bitter all the way down to her tongue coating and frowned deeply.
“But what if Su Yaoyao didn’t plagiarize?”
The moment she spoke, everyone’s gaze turned toward her.
“Look, those thirty thousand words were posted simultaneously, without going through the draft box. All the other chapters were written first, saved in drafts, and then scheduled for release.”
“What’s interesting is that before and after that point, every chapter from the other party was published exactly half an hour earlier. Only those thirty thousand words were released after Su Yaoyao’s update.”
“You mean… there’s a problem with the platform’s draft system?”
Once that unthinkable possibility was opened up, ideas began pouring out one after another. Everyone started offering their own theories.
“Could it be a hacker attack? But the platform’s firewall shouldn’t be that weak. And if someone really had that level of ability, they wouldn’t be stealing novels just to make this little money.”
Even selling a novel’s adaptation rights only brought in a few million at most. Anyone skilled enough in computing wouldn’t bother with that.
Prompted by this, Wen Jiu also fell into a maze of doubts.
That was true, if they were a tech genius, why steal novels instead of hacking games or developing one themselves? That would be far more profitable.
“I can guarantee that Su Yaoyao didn’t plagiarize. Similar blurbs don’t prove anything, the real issue lies in the release times of the chapters,” Wen Jiu countered.
“What she writes uses common tropes. The blurbs are well done but not especially novel. It’s the content itself that’s unexpectedly brilliant, and her writing is strong.”
She laid out the background calmly and logically.
She was completely serious, but Su Tan let the words go in one ear and out the other, and actually laughed.
Everyone, including Wen Jiu, looked at him as if to say: This is a serious situation, what are you laughing at?
Su Tan waved his hand. “Nothing. Go on.”
He just found it funny that Wen Jiu was suddenly praising his sister.
Su Heng rapped his knuckles lightly on the table. “If your intelligence drops at night, go back and sleep.”
His tone was as cold as ever. On the surface, he was telling his younger brother not to stay up late, but with that delivery, it sounded more like he was saying his brother had no brains.
Wen Jiu took another sip of black coffee.
She felt that Su Tan was actually worse off after coming back from the island. His values had improved, sure, but his sharpness hadn’t.
Once this was over, if they all had dinner together, she’d make Su Tan sit at the same table as Ji Yujing.
She continued speaking, no longer bothered by being interrupted.
“The expose posts we’re seeing all follow the same template, so I won’t go into detail there. I’ve already talked about the blurbs. The real focus should be on publication and update times.”
“Although Su Yaoyao’s updates before and after the thirty thousand words were later than the so-called ‘victim,’ the first, second, and third chapters were published at the same time. And the other party’s actual novel launch was a full two days later than Su Yaoyao’s.”
“From the third day onward, every chapter of theirs was earlier than Su Yaoyao’s.”
“If you insist that Su Yaoyao plagiarized, then how do you explain the first three chapters? Did she time-travel back and forth just to fine-tune those chapters and the thirty thousand words so she wouldn’t be accused?
There shouldn’t be anything as magical as a ‘shared brain’ in this world.
So we’re back to square one, the platform’s draft system must have a problem. If it’s not a hacker attack, then we can’t rule out internal betrayal.”
Internal staff at Green River have permission to access the draft box. Su Yaoyao types fast, today’s fifteen thousand words hadn’t even been sent yet when the next thirty thousand caught up, all neatly stored in the draft box.
As Wen Jiu spoke, her fingers tapped rapidly on her phone.
When her final word fell, she pushed the phone toward everyone.
On the screen was an internal Green River forum post.
Title: Is Green River glitching??? It published all my drafts for me, now I have to lock the chapters! How am I supposed to explain this to readers?!
She’d found it by logging into the internal forum using Su Yaoyao’s author account. There wasn’t just one such post, there were several similar ones, all complaining about the platform glitching and emptying the draft box.
But compared to the endless discussions in the internal forum, these “platform glitch” posts, spanning five or six years, had all sunk without a trace. And there weren’t that many of them to begin with.
“Green River’s headquarters are in Beicheng. It’s a self-made private company, not owned by any major conglomerate. Since it’s in Beicheng, it can’t run. I suspect there’s an internal content thief, we can go straight to them and make them investigate themselves.”
After she finished speaking, her eyes were still bright.
Then it suddenly hit her, she’d gone out of her way to rush over from Beicheng…
She abruptly felt that video conferences were actually a great invention.
Though, to be fair, Beicheng and Haicheng weren’t that far apart.
Wen Jiu’s theory was adopted.
Compared to her still-uncertain hypothesis, the legal team crowded around the table, typing away on their laptops, drafting more concrete plans that allowed room to advance or retreat.
Su Tan strolled over leisurely. With the hostility washed off him, he’d reverted to the annoying, mischievous look of an eighteen-year-old. He leaned over the back of Wen Jiu’s chair and said, “Your idea is good, but it’s not realistic. If someone internal really stole content and stirred up this kind of public mess, corporate legal order would completely collapse.”
Wen Jiu silently rolled her eyes at the young master.
“Very often, the truth is the thing that makes the least sense.”
The people who bought the trending topics couldn’t compete financially with the Su family. But Su Yaoyao’s novel was simply too popular, after the Su Group removed the trending topic once, passersby and fans who’d jumped ship boosted it right back up.
Luckily, the Su Group had money. They removed it several times.
Still, the matter had grown too big to keep hidden from Su Yaoyao indefinitely.
After thinking it over, Wen Jiu decided to return to Beicheng overnight.
On the way back, she dozed lightly for a while.
After transmigrating, her schedule had normalized, and she’d escaped her past life of being an overworked wage slave. Staying up late now, even for a bit, felt unbearable. Both her body and spirit had grown delicate.
She thought she’d only slept briefly, and lightly at that.
Only Shen Xingzhou knew just how deeply she’d fallen asleep.
A hand large enough to cover half her face reached from behind, gently drawing her closer so her fluffy head rested against his shoulder.
Having his New Year’s plans interrupted did leave him dissatisfied.
The confession, the surprise, the gifts, the fireworks, none of it got used. Shen Xingzhou didn’t care about the money or the time he’d spent preparing. What stung was realizing that in Wen Jiu’s heart, his place was far below that of her friends.
He knew that if he argued with Wen Jiu over this, she would draw a clear boundary on her own.
And then, he would lose her.
Shen Xingzhou rested his cheek against the top of her head. Her black hair spilled down from the back of her head, brushing closely against his arm.
The night deepened. The excitement of New Year’s Eve gradually quieted.
At this moment, the world returned to stillness.
Shen Xingzhou thought, this was nice too.
As if they were holding onto eternity.
Wen Jiu slept deeply, showing no sign of waking at all.
When they arrived in Beicheng, Shen Xingzhou gently woke her.
He hated seeing her this tired, but he knew very well that if he didn’t wake her and delayed her matters, the consequences would be far worse.
She stirred groggily awake, only to be met with a magnified handsome face.
Despite staying up all night with her, his eyes were still clear and bright, as if he’d secretly gone to apply eye drops.
Wen Jiu grabbed the collar of his cotton shirt and planted a kiss at the corner of his mouth.
The next second, she suddenly realized that even a short nap counted as sleeping, and sleeping meant brushing your teeth. If you didn’t brush, your breath would smell,
She reached out, cupped the face that had flushed red from being kissed, and silently covered his mouth and nose with her hand.
That way, all he’d smell was her perfume!
Wen Jiu felt very clever and hurriedly jumped off the train.
Snow had fallen on New Year’s Eve. Fine flakes drifted down, settling on Wen Jiu’s head.
She raised her hand, catching a few white flakes in her palm. She quickly closed her hand, rubbing them apart, then patted her face with the clear, icy meltwater.
She must have embarrassed herself terribly just now.
On second thought, when she remembered why she had rushed back to Beicheng again, that faint, hazy sweetness was instantly thrown to the back of her mind.
At this hour, sleeping wasn’t realistic, and it was still too early for Little Green River’s headquarters to even open for work.
So Wen Jiu dragged Shen Xingzhou out for breakfast.
Being full made people sleepy. Luckily, after forcing herself through the night, the body memory of her former working-slave days finally kicked back in. She wasn’t sleepy at all. Breakfast filled her right up, and she felt like she could stand up and lift iron bars.
Little Green River’s two bosses had built the company from scratch, treating it like their own child.
They didn’t come to the office every day, but this plagiarism scandal had exploded so badly that they had made a special trip in to discuss the matter with Su Yaoyao’s editor.
Early in the morning, the editor, who hated overtime, arrived even later than the bosses. Wen Jiu followed closely behind and finally met this “online acquaintance” in person.
Upon entering the meeting room, the two bosses briefly swept their gazes over Wen Jiu, barely sparing a glance for Shen Xingzhou beside her.
If it had been someone like Chu Yan, young, handsome, and frequently featured on financial channels, they might have recognized him. But Shen Xingzhou? Forget the two bosses, even Chu Wen herself hadn’t necessarily recognized the Shen family’s only son when they first met, given that he’d lived abroad all these years.
Chu Wen had once complained privately to Wen Jiu about it:
“If you didn’t know better, you’d think someone was trying to assassinate the Shen family’s only heir. They sent him abroad for twenty years, he was only two when he left. Even within the Chu family, my foster mother didn’t have a single photo of Shen Xingzhou. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have recognized him at all.”
Wen Jiu: “……”
After what happened with Chu Wen, Wen Jiu felt that even if this world was formed from a novel, it was still absurdly dramatic. After all, every guess she’d made about what Chu Hong planned to do had been completely wrong.
“You’re Su Yaoyao herself?” One of the Little Green River bosses spoke, pulling Wen Jiu back to reality.
Her body memory had returned, leaving her energetic, but it also made her a little prone to zoning out.
Wen Jiu patted her head and caught sight of Shen Xingzhou leaving the room from the corner of her eye.
Probably going to the restroom. She didn’t pay much attention. Shen Xingzhou was fairly normal, he wasn’t going to demolish the company or anything.
“I’m not Su Yaoyao,” Wen Jiu said, choosing an appropriate role. “I’m Su Yaoyao’s assistant.
I can guarantee that Su Yaoyao did not plagiarize. I suggest your company investigate your internal staff.”
The two bosses had built their company from nothing, so regardless of their personal character, they were courteous and patient on the surface when it came to work. They were willing to listen as Wen Jiu explained everything from start to finish.
They weren’t like Brother Lin, the type she’d encountered right after transmigrating, typical of a tiny temple breeding monstrous chaos, handing down judgments on a whim and refusing to hear explanations.
Wen Jiu repeated the analysis she’d discussed with the legal team in Haicheng the night before.
The Su Group’s legal department had no direct ties with Little Green River, so even if they found the theory absurd, they hadn’t taken it too seriously. But when the two self-made bosses heard it, a chill ran down their spines.
If Little Green River was their child, then an internal betrayal, stealing manuscripts, was like someone secretly poisoning that child.
Before the poison took effect, or before it was truly discovered, they clung to disbelief. Not only doubting whether the poison existed, but fearing that their child might really die.
A lifetime of hard-earned achievements facing destruction, no one could remain calm in that situation.
After some deliberation, the two bosses decided to follow Wen Jiu’s suggestion and search for this suspected “tumor.”
They planned to close the doors and handle their family matters internally. As for an assistant to a Ziwei Star author, they didn’t take her too seriously.
Just as they were about to urge Wen Jiu to leave, Shen Xingzhou walked in carrying coffee.
There were no extra cups, just one, specifically for Wen Jiu. He could tell she was tired and needed a pick-me-up.
Hearing the bosses preparing to dismiss Wen Jiu, he asked her, “Do you need help?”
As he spoke, he inserted the straw and handed the coffee to her.
Wen Jiu took a big sip and lifted her eyes, staring at Shen Xingzhou without blinking.
Generally speaking, not using privilege when you have it is just foolish.
Wen Jiu could have called Assistant Li or Butler Qin… but occasionally, she could also give her boyfriend a chance.
Shen Xingzhou could sense her emotional shifts, and she wasn’t emotionally blind in their relationship either.
She knew he wanted her to rely on him, just once.
Not to show off his power, but out of simple affection, afraid that he might slowly lose his place in her heart.
Wen Jiu swallowed the coffee, her eyes curving into a smile. “Okay.”
If it weren’t for staying awake, she didn’t even like coffee.
Casually, she handed the rest to Shen Xingzhou.
He took it and, out of habit, finished it.
Barely a minute after Shen Xingzhou ended his phone call, one of the Little Green River bosses’ phones rang.
The speed was astonishing.
Wen Jiu lingered instead of leaving, just in time to hear both bosses exclaim in shock, “What?! You want to acquire the company?!”
Founders raising a company like a child didn’t feel the same about selling it. No matter what, the two bosses initially refused.
“Ten times the market value?!”
But the offer was simply too much.
It was like a fool showing up to throw money at them, refusing would feel like disrespecting a gift from the heavens.
If they sold the company, the two of them would instantly leap into the ranks of hundred-billionaires. More importantly, this money wouldn’t be company funds anymore, it would go straight into their personal pockets.
Things like “traitors” or “poison,” future company development, none of that would concern them anymore.
The two bosses, torn but resolute, sold the company.
Wen Jiu was dumbfounded: ?
Didn’t you say the company was your child and you’d never sell it?!
Was money inflating, or had she just never interacted with this social class online? Why did everything feel so unreal?
She’d thought only poor people like herself would be unable to move when faced with money. Who would’ve guessed that even the two bosses of Little Green River, owners of a company with over 400 million in annual net profit, couldn’t resist the call of cash?
Wen Jiu shut her mouth, unable to utter a single word, stunned into a daze.
She pushed open the door and went to find Shen Xingzhou. The two bosses were drowning in sudden fortune and didn’t even notice her leaving.
“Shen Xingzhou, did you have someone acquire this company?”
“Doesn’t Jiujiu like it?” he asked. “It’s a gift for you.”
Wen Jiu instinctively took a step back.
The young lady’s one-billion investment had already been excessive. Shen Xingzhou had directly bought a top-tier novel platform at ten times its market value for her.
“Are you insane? Did staying up all night scramble your brain?” Wen Jiu blurted out, reaching up to touch his forehead.
Because they were supposed to eat together for New Year’s, Wen Jiu had even sprayed a little of the custom perfume the young lady gave her. From yesterday until now, the scent hadn’t faded.
A soft, warm fragrance drifted over. Shen Xingzhou bent down on his own, cooperating with her so she wouldn’t need to tiptoe.
“Not crazy.”
They knew each other too well. Shen Xingzhou offered a reason Wen Jiu couldn’t reject in the slightest.
“Marriage needs a betrothal gift. New Year needs a New Year’s gift. I’m afraid that one day I might change my heart, so I’m giving you the breakup gift in advance.”
If he’d said something tender and romantic, Wen Jiu would’ve covered her ears and refused the gift outright. But this reasoning…
She accepted happily. “When do we sign the contract?”
She turned around enthusiastically to greet the registration staff, completely missing how Shen Xingzhou’s eyes dimmed, then lit up again.
His voice was very soft. If Wen Jiu hadn’t run off, if she’d stayed where she was, she would have heard him.
He said, “…We won’t break up.”
The earlier words were swallowed by the warm air rushing past, perhaps they had been their names.
The company handover process was lengthy, but Wen Jiu already held internal management authority. The two former bosses handed things over decisively, even calling all employees together for an impromptu meeting to introduce the new boss, Wen Jiu.
When Wen Jiu had assisted Su Yaoyao with miscellaneous tasks, she’d already heard about some internal loopholes within Little Green River that never got fixed.
She planned to collaborate with Lin Yu and have her side send over spare manpower to help openly. Management issues and anti-theft measures could wait, she was the boss now and could change them anytime.
The urgent priority was finding the “termite.”
Specialization mattered. Wen Jiu couldn’t do it herself, but she could borrow people from the Qin family.
The young lady’s family dealt in jewelry, where design confidentiality was paramount. To prevent leaks, the group had a department dedicated to this.
Those were the people Wen Jiu contacted.
Catching thieves was their specialty.
She also borrowed a computer expert from Lin Yu to coordinate with that department.
After all, Little Green River was a website, mountains of outdated code. Relying on one department alone might not uncover the flaw.
Even with people working, Wen Jiu still felt uneasy.
Su Yaoyao hadn’t touched her phone all night or all morning, she shouldn’t be suspicious yet, right?
The trending topics had been taken down, but long reviews under the novel were surging. If Su Yaoyao went online, she’d definitely see them unless she was blind.
“Ding, ”
A message arrived on her phone, from the editor handling Su Yaoyao’s film and television rights.
Editor: Due to the public opinion storm, negotiations for the film and TV rights are temporarily suspended. We can’t proceed for now. Once things calm down, I’ll update you on the results.
Wen Jiu scanned the area, found the copyright department, and walked in. Putting away her phone, she asked, “Who’s in charge of Su Yaoyao’s project?”
They’d just finished a meeting, and everyone knew this was the new boss who’d acquired the company out of nowhere. Not knowing her temperament yet, they were extra cautious, and obedient.
Soon, someone raised a hand. “I am.”
Wen Jiu said, “Don’t worry about the public opinion surrounding Su Yaoyao’s novel. The tech and legal departments will resolve it shortly. Negotiate the price as usual.”
Wen Jiu was exhausted, yet mentally, she was bursting with energy.
She returned to the meeting room and watched a group of professionals comb through traces and clues in search of results.
She checked her account balance, then checked it again, several times, just to be sure.
501,589.54.
Mm. No mistake. Five hundred and one thousand, five hundred and eighty-nine yuan and fifty-four cents.
Five hundred thousand. Tonight, she could treat everyone in the meeting room to a slightly upscale buffet.
But she’d once been a working stiff herself. She knew that after a full day of work, most people didn’t like continuing to socialize with coworkers, even if the meal was free.
Besides, everyone present was either elite talent from Lin Yu’s company or carefully selected staff from the Qin Group. None of them were short on money for a meal.
Covering the bill was fine, but eating together wasn’t necessary. Time was more valuable to them. Sitting through a pointless meal with people you weren’t close to, or didn’t particularly like, was genuinely a waste of time.
After thinking it over, Wen Jiu decided to directly contact a buffet restaurant and buy vouchers instead. One voucher per person, to be used individually.
She’d give two vouchers to each person. Just in case someone wanted to bring a friend. And if they ate alone, no problem, two meals it was.
She chose a buffet priced at 1,599 per person. Based on the number of people in the meeting room, she bought twenty-two vouchers in one go. Two of them were for herself and Shen Xingzhou, their New Year’s Eve dinner last night had only been half-used, so today they’d make up for it.
Spending 35,178 all at once nearly broke her heart.
But then she thought about it from another angle, if her boss gave her two 1,599 buffet vouchers, she’d be so happy she’d take off flying.
She wondered if they’d be happy too.
Wen Jiu felt a little melancholy.
So it turned out that giving money away wasn’t all happiness, it came with its own troubles.