Chapter 636: Today's Law

To be honest, the court domain of the Imperial Capital hasn't been this lively in a long time—

In fact, the combined attention garnered by all the cases their courts handled last year does not compare to the attention this single case receives today.

Zhou Yi's immense popularity placed tremendous psychological pressure on the relevant court staff; were it not for the fact that this case had irrefutable evidence and the culprit caught red-handed, they would truly not know how to respond to the surging public opinion from the outside world for the time being.

After all, following procedures also requires time, and it is hard to say whether Zhou Yi's die-hard fans would be willing to grant the court staff that time.

Especially after "Zhou Yi cried."

On major forums and news portals, Zhou Yi's "aggrieved" appearance was displayed prominently, creating a heat that was hard to describe with words through extreme contrast, while also ruthlessly tormenting his fans in the process—

The stimulation caused Zhou Yi's album sales, which had been declining over time, to rise again.

Regarding traditional media channels, more than 40 medium-to-large media outlets nationwide followed suit to report on "Why Zhou Yi Cried," further spreading this news among many groups who do not go online—

This bandwagon factor similarly caused the sales of many daily newspapers to climb briefly.

Since the sales of medium-to-large newspapers all rose, there were undoubtedly even more small tabloids willing to follow suit, which in a way also counted as a form of dissemination.

Most netizens who originally supported Yuan Li and others chose to shut up and stay silent, either deleting their accounts or abandoning them; a minority, however, still stubbornly retorted and refused to admit their mistake;

Those unwilling to give up their account follower counts and attention, such as the famous Zhou Yi hater "Free Beaver 13," could only feign sympathy like a cat crying over a mouse while furiously denouncing Yuan Li as inhuman for accepting black money to stir up trouble against Zhou Yi—

Couldn't they learn from him to take facts as the standard?!

"The imperialists' heart to destroy us never dies; I never expected that Zhou Yi had reached the point where Americans would specifically spend money to smear him. This should be unique in the domestic entertainment industry, right? Has Cheng Long ever had this? What about Li Lianjie?"

"Li Lianjie has been an American citizen for a long time; smearing him is pointless. Cheng Long did have it, but Cheng Long wasn't that arrogant in the West, so it shouldn't have reached the level of Zhou Yi. This time, even Xinhua News Agency reporters were dispatched. Good heavens."

"Yuan Li is considered a rising star; she polished her credentials as a foreign correspondent and went abroad on public funds for further studies to gild her golden image, yet she ended up turning traitor. The very first thing she did after switching to American citizenship was to smear Zhou Yi; it is hard to understand."

"Isn't it just because Zhou Yi is too arrogant? If he were a bit more humble and kind, there wouldn't be so many issues. Does he not understand that harmony is precious? Is he the only patriot?"

"Go sit at a table with dogs, you upstairs."

"Exactly. If Zhou Yi had learned to be broad-minded and inclusive, how could there be so many issues? This is all trouble he brought upon himself; he had to go provoke others. Even though Americans let him make money, he is still here arguing east and west."

"?"

"You damn..."

Blood pressure went up.

With heated discussions about the case that opened on New Year's Day online, Zhou Yi, who had made a show of himself at the court entrance, sat in the witness seat as wished, waiting for the judge's summons—

In this court, he saw Yuan Li, whose expression was slightly gloomy.

Born in 1971, she was only 33 years old this year, not yet having celebrated her 34th birthday, yet her entire mental state looked so decadent that she appeared to be in her forties.

In the instant she turned her head, she also noticed Zhou Yi, who was sitting in his seat with his legs crossed, a smile of a victor on his lips as he looked at her; countless amounts of venom immediately sprang up in her gloomy eyes.

She was beyond saving.

She had accepted all the money given by The Wall Street Journal; even the matter of changing nationality was processed through a fast track during her public-funded studies in the US.

Correspondence, account transactions; all evidence was complete.

Her American Dream had gone bankrupt.

And what made her even more furious was that Zhou Yi, that bastard, was actually mouthing words at her—

Idiot.

The lip movement was extremely standard; she knew at a glance what this outputted top-secret information was.

She was enraged.

If this can be endured, what cannot be endured!

After all, there was nothing left to lose.

"Zhou Yi! You—"

Zhou Yi, with his legs crossed, tilted his body slightly, propped his cheek with his right hand, and outlined a mockery known as a victor at the corner of his mouth: "Idiot, get lost."

"Ahem, Zhou Yi, pay attention; this is a courtroom..."

………………………………

"The Internet is Not a Lawless Zone; Zhou Yi Wins Lawsuit!"

"Conflict Suspected at Court Scene; Zhou Yi Furiously Denounces Yuan Li as a Traitor!"

"Eight Million in Black Money; A Shocking Amount"

"..."

Since the official media channels only announced the in-court verdict immediately, the newspapers hadn't even had time to rush typesetting and printing the relevant news yet, and the rapidly rising Internet was already flooded with a large amount of information regarding the result of Zhou Yi's lawsuit.

The eight million RMB was subcontracted layer by layer; Yuan Li, the big shot, took five million herself, and then distributed three million, showing how black-hearted she was.

Furthermore, due to Yuan Li's downfall, a batch of media reporters who had also taken money were exposed in their true forms, and the various cyberbullying Zhou Yi had previously encountered finally had the most perfect explanation—

How could there be so many who opposed him from the bottom of their hearts? Most were simply those who took money and stirred up trouble with undisclosed motives.

In this era where the Internet was still in a state of wild growth, Zhou Yi's victory in this lawsuit undoubtedly set an example for celebrity rights protection in the Internet field, marking the first time such a thing happened.

Precisely because of this, after Zhou Yi finished his first lawsuit, an acquaintance of his made a phone call—Sa Beining.

"I won't lie to you; after the meeting, the higher-ups indeed decided to use you as an example to produce an episode on Internet legal education. The main point is to make netizens know that the Internet is not a lawless zone; even virtual network accounts carry legal liabilities such as defamation and infringement of reputation rights.

"Your case has caused such a huge uproar; the evidence is irrefutable and the culprit caught red-handed, and the inside story is also very suitable to be brought out for legal education, while simultaneously serving to raise netizens' vigilance..."

On the other end of the phone, Sa Beining's voice of calm analysis sounded extremely organized: "Coincidentally, the station also plans to expand the boundaries of legal popularization; at that time, we can combine your past lawsuits together and discuss them all on the program."

The number of lawsuits Zhou Yi had fought since his debut was simply too many.

"Coincidentally, you also studied law; let's chat together on the program, treating it as a gathering."

Speaking to the end, Sa Beining imagined that scene and couldn't quite hold it back, laughing out loud: "At that time, we will do it together with Professor Tong Qiang from our academy, pointing out and commenting on your lawsuits."

A world music superstar sitting in a studio seriously educating on the law; this scene was somewhat hard to keep a straight face about.

Not to mention that Professor Tong Qiang, one of the guests on Today's Law, also hailed from Peking University Law School; this meant that this gathering was essentially a reunion of three Peking University alumni.

"It's just that the money isn't much; this is all for public welfare, so at most we can only give a little travel allowance as a token. Like Professor Tong, it's just one or two thousand yuan." In the end, Sa Beining still stated the biggest drawback, leaving it to Zhou Yi to decide freely.

Programs like Today's Law are news programs after all, not variety shows; it's not possible to say that because your star power is high, the payment will be based on your star power; the annual budget is fixed.