Chapter 478: How Could Charlie Possibly Be a Poor Person?

No one expected that in such a short time, so many public apology letters would appear online.

And everyone had their reasons: "I'm a university student, and I went through so much hardship to finally get into a good university."

Or, "My family is in such a difficult situation, so you must forgive me..."

There is only one reason: you, A Yi, are such a big internet celebrity now, so you should go and be serious with those big companies, with those institutions that cannot be named.

Instead of being serious with ordinary people who just talk trash online.

At this point, many people got a bit excited: "A Yi, do you still dare to persist now? Aren't you afraid of being roasted into a sieve by everyone?"

However, those who truly understand A Yi, such as the Self-Media in Jingzhou, or those who have dealt with A Yi, said nothing.

To use the words of a certain leader at Chengdu Company, if A Yi could change his mind just because more people cursed him online, then companies like theirs...

Forget it, I won't mention it; talking too much is just tears. The iron fists of the "biological father" and "godfather" still have aftershocks even now.

That wasn't just a simple fine; if it were really just a fine, that would be one thing, but it was accompanied by a whole series of combo punches.

In short, if someone really does roast A Yi into a sieve because of this matter, then it is obvious that even more people will end up inside...

Zhou Yi had no intention of saying anything at all, even though the heat of this topic was getting higher and higher, and even though many people were saying they would unfollow him and boycott the internet department of Tenda.

Tenda is now constantly transforming, and the proportion of its internet business is constantly expanding; short videos, web dramas, and games all account for a large share.

So some people are now shouting slogans: "If you, A Yi, don't forgive others, we will boycott your games, boycott your web dramas, and so on."

In the mouths of some people, this has grasped A Yi's Achilles' heel!

In the past, Tenda was basically doing offline business, so they could only curse a few times and couldn't do anything else.

Doing business these days is all about your service quality; if the quality isn't good, then even if you brag to the heavens, it's unlikely to work.

After having internet business, everyone felt that A Yi was desperately trying to bring traffic to the company.

So if everyone stops watching their company's web dramas and stops playing the games their company makes, then A Yi will definitely compromise.

He is a company boss, after all; he can't possibly not value his own company's business.

Zhou Yi naturally saw these remarks; sitting in his office, thinking about his dividend that had just risen to twenty percent, he almost laughed out loud...

Is he, Zhou Yi, living off this twenty percent dividend?

He didn't take a single cent of the dividend he was supposed to get all of last year, okay? And he hasn't even decided whether he wants to take it in the future.

This isn't like before; before, he was short on money.

Now he isn't really short on money, so he tries not to be tied to the company; the money he earns is either used for expansion or given to the Employees as benefits.

So if you threaten me now by saying you'll boycott Tenda... go ahead and boycott.

As long as the quality of the things the company makes is sufficient, it's not something you can boycott just because you want to.

And so, Zhou Yi magnificently chose to ignore it.

Of course, there are still many sensible people; among those who were sued in a Private Prosecution, quite a few came to Jingzhou in person.

This lawsuit was also based on the situation; for example, in the Ningchang District of Modu, there were more people, so a portion was placed in the local Court.

Those who came to Jingzhou all had very good attitudes, like the family Zhou Yi met today; the parents were particularly reasonable.

They felt that it was indeed their child's fault, and they accepted whatever compensation was needed and how they should apologize; their attitude was incredibly good.

The most important thing is that they never said, "We apologized to you, so you must accept it." They just apologized and said nothing else.

This is actually enough!

For people like this, Zhou Yi naturally chose to withdraw the Lawsuit; he isn't actually a pervert, and Private Prosecution Cases are allowed to be settled through Mediation under the law.

It's just that even if they settled, Zhou Yi didn't post it online. It doesn't matter; let those who gave "void apologies" keep waiting.

Although according to the regulations, it seems there is no need for detention, which gave them the illusion that this Litigation was useless.

But... by the time the court session starts, it will be too late.

The focus now is on that man named Charlie Rosen and that Han Juan.

Although Zhou Yi thought that there would definitely be trouble before he prepared to be serious, what he didn't expect was that his being serious would actually produce a so-called "international influence"!

It is said that some foreign media have already reported on it, and this has also created some pressure.

Inside the Old Place Cafe, Zhou Yi looked at Fang Dazhuang in front of him and said, "So, someone has already found you?"

Fang Dazhuang nodded and said with a matter-of-fact expression, "That goes without saying; after all, I know a lot of people."

"They also know that this seems a bit shameful, so they didn't come to me directly; they went around in circles to have others talk to me, saying to try and mediate as much as possible and not to really take it to the end."

You say they have ulterior motives? That's definitely not it; they are just afraid of trouble. If it's settled and the Lawsuit is withdrawn, that's definitely good for everyone.

"Then did you agree?" Zhou Yi asked.

Fang Dazhuang sipped his coffee and smiled, "Do you think I look like someone who would mediate? The more they are like this, the less I want to mediate."

"Using a Criminal Private Prosecution to get a foreigner inside—you have to say, this is much more high-end than what I used to play with."

Then it's fine; Fang Dazhuang isn't afraid, and he, Zhou Yi, isn't afraid either.

At worst, what can they do? He hasn't broken the law or committed a crime, and with the system, there is nothing to worry about at all.

Days passed one by one, and there was still no progress; some people started to get anxious.

Inside the Guangming District First Detention Center, Charlie looked at the Defense Attorney in front of him, his face even darker.

This Defense Attorney of his was found by the United States embassy; he didn't accept legal aid because they said they felt their legal aid wasn't good enough.

This Defense Attorney's surname is Le, and he is also a Lawyer, but he is someone who has stayed abroad, studied abroad, and speaks fluent English.

"Why is it still not working? Le, didn't you say that as long as the other party withdraws the Lawsuit, I can leave this place?" Charlie was almost shouting.

Lawyer Le's expression was very serious as he said, "I have already found someone to pass a message to the other party, and I have also applied pressure through some methods."

"But they haven't responded at all, and they haven't even proposed any conditions."

The content reported by an unknown media outlet in the United States—even if their own people went to look for it, it would be tough.

The result was that it inexplicably appeared on the domestic internet, along with the corresponding translated content.

This was naturally done by Lawyer Le finding someone.

On Zhihu, and in many places across major platforms, some accounts had already begun setting the rhythm.

"Look, they've already reported it abroad; this is a disgrace that's reached foreign countries. Hurry up and let A Yi mediate and withdraw the Private Prosecution Case..."

These were the kinds of things being said.

The level of Netizens online is clear; they parrot what others say, never bothering to look at the original English reports, taking content that was translated haphazardly and posting it everywhere, all while feeling quite superior.

This also had some heat, but unfortunately, several days passed, and the other side didn't make a single move.

"And..." Lawyer Le looked at Charlie and said, "And now it's not just that charge of Embezzlement."

"You are now facing a new charge: Assaulting a Police Officer!"

This was yet another hot topic; many people left comments under the posts of major official media outlets, saying that if this still isn't classified as Assaulting a Police Officer, then all the previous cases should be retried.

After all, cases with lighter circumstances than this in the past were already counted as Assaulting a Police Officer!

Comprehensive national strength has been rising steadily these past few years; although there are still many "worshipers of foreign lands," there are also quite a few people who have their own ability to judge.

People might not know much about the law, but everyone has eyes.

And so, there was one more charge: Assaulting a Police Officer.

This is not a Private Prosecution Case!

Lawyer Le didn't know what to say anymore; the news kept getting worse, and with the United States side constantly applying pressure, he could only do his best.

"Forget it, I'll contact the other party myself. If that really doesn't work, we'll make our move during the court trial."

Lawyer Le belongs to the "returned from overseas" faction, identifying extremely strongly with foreign countries, especially the legal system of the United States, and subconsciously looks down on his domestic peers.

Even though he is currently making a living in the country...

He had already thought of several points of defense for the other party's case.

…………

Meeting with Fang Dazhuang naturally meant another meal.

As it turned out, he and Fang Dazhuang were drinking happily when his phone rang; he picked it up and saw it was an unknown number.

"Hello, I am Zhou Yi, may I ask who you are..."

"Oh, that Charlie's Lawyer, right."

Having said this, Zhou Yi had already turned on the speakerphone.

Fang Dazhuang and Zhou Xinran in front of him both started listening, especially Fang Dazhuang, who was bleary-eyed from drink at this moment, yet seemed extremely clear-headed.

On the phone, Lawyer Le's voice rang out: "Mr. Zhou, my client is indeed very sincere about wanting to mediate with you, but when contacting Lawyer Fang, the other party wouldn't agree no matter what, so I had no choice but to come to you."

"You also know that my client is from abroad; the education they received is different from ours, not to mention that this matter has now caused an international impact..."

As a result, he was interrupted directly by Zhou Yi before he could finish.

"So the education he received is that if someone leaves something on a table, he can just take it, and he doesn't have to return it, right? Is this what you call Zero-Dollar Shopping?"

"And 'international impact'—what does that have to do with me?"

Hearing this, Lawyer Le said directly: "Mr. Zhou, I feel you have a prejudice against my client. Just because he is Black, he must be doing something?"

"I believe you have a suspicion of racial discrimination..."

Zhou Yi was suddenly amused; although he had long known that "race," "environmental protection," "homosexuality," "vegetarianism," and so on had become buffs abroad, he hadn't expected this lawyer to actually talk to him about it here.

It was just that he couldn't think of how to refute the other party for a moment.

Just at this moment, Fang Dazhuang, sitting opposite, spoke up.

"Lawyer Le, that's not right, is it? He came to our country, so he must abide by our laws. Doesn't international law have a provision that in whatever country you are in, you must abide by that country's laws!"

"Everyone is equal before the law, so we handle things according to the law here."

"Now you're saying that if he should be forgiven because of his status, isn't that discriminating against him?"

Isn't it? Why should a Black man be treated specially? Everyone must be equal before the law, otherwise, it's discrimination!

Slap! Zhou Yi and Fang Dazhuang high-fived; no flaws there.

What the hell, Lawyer Le was stunned for a moment...

He could naturally tell that the person speaking later was not Zhou Yi.

Lawyer Le naturally didn't recognize that it was Fang Dazhuang's voice, because he had never contacted Fang Dazhuang himself.

Therefore, he was completely dumbfounded.

"No, what you said... that's not quite right, this..."

Fang Dazhuang shook his head and said: "Alright, Lawyer Le, stop trying to pressure us with 'international impact.' Even if your President came here... mmph mmph mmph"

His mouth was covered by Zhou Yi, because Zhou Yi felt that what Fang Dazhuang was saying now was too dangerous.

The call hung up, and Lawyer Le's head was full of question marks; who exactly was on the other end, what was I going to say...

How could he encounter such stubborn and difficult people? Still talking to him about international law, just you wait!

After thinking about it, he called the United States side; he had to tell them that the path of Mediation was a dead end, and the other party was immune to both soft and hard tactics.

Then he would just fight the lawsuit; he didn't believe it—what kind of famous lawyers could there be in this country? They didn't even count as lawyers.

On Charlie's side, the United States embassy had already issued a statement that they would continue to pay attention to the verdict.

This in itself was a form of pressure.

Charlie's case had become a huge sensation, but many people had forgotten one person: Han Juan.

When she had just entered the Detention House, she was still crying there, but after a few days, she had "adapted."

Really, in here, you adapt very quickly.

She really couldn't imagine that she had just complained about the other party a few times online and was now facing imprisonment.

Someone notified her that her Lawyer had arrived, so she hurried to see him, but the result she received made Han Juan collapse.

"No, why won't he agree? I only said a few words, didn't my dad pay the compensation?" Han Juan roared there.

The Lawyer opposite said helplessly: "I've thought of every possible way, but as for you and that Charlie, the other party hasn't agreed to a single one!"

The Lawyer also could not understand, because that Zhou Yi said, they must be made to receive an education.

No money, and no need for an apology, just like a stone in a latrine, both smelly and hard.

This is Zhou Yi's decision.

If one were to say that Charlie, that black man, is merely bad, then Han Juan is both stupid and bad; Zhou Yi has long been sick to death of such people.

Therefore, he simply will not accept an apology; let them go inside and experience it properly, the other party is just a black man after all.

"What? Charlie and the others didn't agree? Could it be, could it be that Charlie's embassy didn't step in?"

This is something Han Juan cannot understand; in her eyes, the treatment of foreigners must be different, and perhaps if their embassy stepped in, this would be fine.

"They stepped in, and even helped contact people in various ways, but it was useless; it still requires that Zhou Yi to make the decision. If he doesn't agree, no one can force him."

Speaking up to this point, the Lawyer hesitated for a moment, but still said: "Right, your father asked me to tell you something."

What could it be? Han Juan looked at the Lawyer in front of her with some confusion and said: "Then just say it, what is there to hesitate about?"

"After your incident happened, your father specifically spent money to look into the identity of that so-called Charlie; over there, he grew up in the slums, very poor, especially poor."

"Compared to you, it's like one is in the heavens and the other is in the dirt..."

What? Han Juan was stunned: "No, he is a person from the United States, how could it possibly be like this..."

All along, the only thing that made Han Juan care about the other party was that foreigner status, but now upon hearing this, he is just a poor wretch who couldn't survive in his own country and could only come here to look for opportunities.

Han Juan was suddenly unable to accept it; she felt that all the things she had said and done in the past were like a joke...

The first update is here, thanks to Brother Xiaoyan, another new brother, and Brother Feimaowuyu, thank you to the three brothers for the tips, thank you. There is one more chapter, very soon.

(End of this chapter)