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8pm. Another difficult amount of waiting.

The author paced back and forth at home in honest fear. He realized Crown Empire wasn't easy to deal with and that he shouldn't have agreed to Song Xin's suggestion from the start because of greed.

He had actually believed Song Xin's words and thought that Crown Empire would never discover the truth. Who would have thought...

...Crown Empire was Crown Empire for a reason. A person like him should have never underestimated them!

"What should I do? What should I do?" Due to guilt, the author once again gave Song Xin a phone call. However, Song Xin did not answer his call.

Even though she doubted that Crown Empire would be able to find any more information, she was sneaky enough to avoid the author's phone calls to reduce her risk of being discovered.

In reality, the fact that Crown Empire got screenshots and discovered the novel was written by multiple people, was already beyond her expectations. She never imagined that they had even more.

Soon, 8pm arrived.

As nosy observers, the netizens were ready to welcome new revelations. They were curious if Crown Empire had anything else to show them.

However, they never expected to witness a spectacular catfight. But wait, this was no ordinary catfight, it had become a suspenseful mystery.

The time was right and Crown Empire's website had a new update. And this newest update contained a video.

Appearing on the video was a famous editor of an online literary website and beside her sat a laptop that was logged into a website management system. Of course, all that she wanted to show the public were a few things that those within the industry already knew about.

Within the video, she made an edit to a chapter of a novel that had been published a few years ago and replaced the old chapter with completely new content. This demonstrated the flexibility of the industry in this regard.

It had nothing to do with its contract; the content could be easily changed at a later date!

After watching the video, the public quickly understood what Crown Empire was trying to demonstrate.

Why did everyone focus on the date of the contract and not consider that 'The Tracker' may have been completely replaced with new content at a later date? This explained why there were multiple writers.

Because, if multiple people worked on it, it was possible to produce an entire novel in a short period of time.

Oh God!

So, this was the truth! The culprit had merely used an illusion to almost get away with a huge crime.

Observers of the incident were shocked. They originally thought that it was a simple case of plagiarism, but they never imagined that it involved so many schemes and secrets.

After the truth was revealed, everyone fell silent!

It didn't take long before Chanyeol accepted an interview with the media and provided a conclusion for the entire incident.

"Crown Empire believes that everyone can already determine the truth. Regarding the plagiarism between 'The Tracker' and 'The Lost Relative', I'm sure everyone has come to a reasonable conclusion."

"Crown Empire promised that they'd prove Elder Wu's innocence, so Crown Empire has achieved that. What about the author of 'The Tracker'? If I remember correctly, you confidently accused Elder Wu of plagiarizing your work and if he didn't, you'd break your hands. I hope you remember your promise. I will be waiting to see the results."

"Then, there are the aggressive netizens. Of course, Crown Empire is already accustomed to it. After all, the majority of people in the world are heartless and brainless. We can't blame those that can't think for themselves. If medicine had deemed them as mentally retarded, we can't do anything about that."

"Oh, by the way, I need to give a special mention to the 'righteous' people that slandered 'The Lost Relative'. We really can't underestimate the power of this army of 'original' authors. Unfortunately, all you've done is acted as an accessory to someone else's crime! In the end, you are all intelligent, educated people. But, because of your constant pressuring, Elder Wu almost responded by killing himself! What a bunch of trash!"

"If you still have a bit of conscience, you should dig a hole and hide yourself inside!"

Chanyeol's words were bone-piercingly direct, without restraint!

After all, there were some things posted online that really stirred up one's anger. Because, a sentence that appeared harmless, was actually capable of destroying a person's future or even their life.

As a human, couldn't they keep their mouths shut? Couldn't they analyze a situation properly before they gave their opinion?

"Crown Empire will not follow up on this matter from this point forward. But, regarding the reason why the author created such a scheme and whether anyone instigated them to do this, Crown Empire will not let them off the hook. As for those that tried to stop 'The Lost Relative' from screening, don't worry, it will be officially released tomorrow. Everyone is welcome to go watch it and show their support."

After Chanyeol's interview, the internet overflowed with sounds of apologies.

As the population became more and more educated, most people knew how to self-reflect.

_"Sorry, Elder Wu! We are truly sorry!"

_"We never thought that Elder Wu was innocent. We are so sorry."

_"Although it's a bit awkward, we should all go to the theater and show our support. This is the best form of apology!"

_"You're right. We will go to the theater tomorrow. I will also like to point out that the author of 'The Tracker' is shameless."

Perhaps to protect his hands, the author went into hiding and did not respond. He completely dismissed his previous arrogance. A little while later, a netizen named 'Small Dagger' admitted online that she was one of the writers of 'The Tracker', but she had no idea that such a big conspiracy was involved and that she'd be used in such a way.

She explained that she did what she did because she had no choice and needed to survive. But, after seeing Elder Wu attempt suicide, she felt so guilty that she couldn't eat or sleep.

In addition, she presented everyone with evidence of her involvement, which included the portion she worked on and the drafts.

With this, the truth was obvious.

Everything was clear as ice.

"Elder Wu is innocent. I would like to give my sincerest apologies!"

Even though the truth had been revealed, another question still existed: why did the author plan such a thing? Was it simply to get a cut of the profits?

But, 'The Lost Relative' had nothing to do with him, how did he think of creating a scheme against it?

This was the question that Crown Empire left the public with.

Of course, when Crown Empire said that they'd investigate into a matter, they would definitely investigate it!

"Everything has been clarified. Elder Wu's innocence has been proven."

"It's not enough," hearing Sunny's complaint, Tiffany's expression did not lighten. "Don't forget, even if Elder Wu wakes up, he will still be affected by dementia. I will definitely expose the mastermind behind this entire incident no matter how she tries to hide."

"Do you have a follow-up plan?" Sunny asked in surprise.

"She's managed to resolve the problem. What a hopeless bunch of trash." Song Xin was at home reading through the news. When she saw what had happened, she threw the glass of red wine in her hand onto the floor. This was her way of releasing her anger. But, as she watched the red liquid spread, it only made her even more annoyed.

Her original intention was to stop Tiffany's film from screening. But, to her surprise, not only did she not succeed, she helped her with a crazy round of free publicity.

Now, how great was 'The Lost Relative' going to perform in theaters tomorrow?

Song Xin simply thought that her scheme had failed, but she had no idea that Tiffany had already set her as a target. This time, Tiffany was going to reverse the roles and play a little game with her.

...

Meanwhile, the author of 'The Tracker' went completely missing. It seemed, not only was he afraid that Crown Empire would come looking for him, he was also worried that they'd force him to break his hands. So, he hid away and did not dare to make an appearance.

But, tracking down a person wasn't a hard task for Crown Empire. Especially with the help of the online community which consisted of people from all walks of life. So, it didn't take long before Crown Empire found the author.

Tiffany couldn't be bothered meeting with the scum. Instead, after finding the man, she spoke to Chanyeol on the phone for over half an hour. The content of their phone call was confidential; apart from Chanyeol, Taeyeon and herself, no fourth person would ever know what they discussed.

Soon, the author was invited to the meeting room in Crown Empire. Although the author had already prepared himself for what was to come, he still couldn't help but shudder as he arrived at the building.

Chanyeol put aside a little bit of time to see the shameless scum; mainly because he and Tiffany would not be rest assured if they left the responsibility to someone else.

"I am the Vice President of Crown Empire, Chanyeol," Chanyeol said as he entered the meeting room. However, he did not stretch out his hand for a handshake; he obviously did not hold any regard for the man.

"I...I know what to do." The man was 24 to 25-years-old with a skinny build and a buzz cut. He simply looked like a college student, but no one expected that this man was the person that caused a huge commotion in Korea's entertainment industry.

"It's good that you know. I won't ask you about other things since Crown Empire is running its own investigation, I simply want you to tell me who instigated this incident and who taught you what to do," Chanyeol asked as he sat on the corner of the coffee table and leaned forward. "I'm sure you know what the consequences are for lying. It's extremely easy for Crown Empire to make you suffer."

The man was obviously scared speechless; his hands remained behind his body the entire time, afraid that Crown Empire would remember his promise.

"A...a woman contacted me online and gave me a sum of money to do it. I simply followed her orders. I honestly never knew things would end up like this. I beg you not to break my hands."

"Break your hands?" Chanyeol laughed as he shook his head, "We are civilized people; we don't resort to such violence. But, weren't you the one who suggested it from the start?"

"I was just joking...It was a simple joke."

"Then, let's make other jokes from now on." After speaking, Chanyeol gave the man a piece of information. He still remembered the grudge he had with Shinhye deeply.

After meeting with the author, Chanyeol was about to take the information he received to the CEO's office. But, the stylish sunglass-clad Song Xin ended up looking for him first.

"How long are Crown Empire planning to disregard me for?" Song Xin asked as she entered Chanyeol's office and removed her sunglasses. "My manager is still in the hospital. Has Crown Empire completely forgotten about me?"

"As you are aware, your manager is a thief, so the public are bound to tie you two together. The reason why Crown Empire has done what they've done is because they're hoping for the situation to die down as soon as possible. You don't want your fans to look at you with prejudice, do you?" Chanyeol asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I knew you would say that. That's why I want to cancel my contract with Crown Empire," Song Xin said as she tapped on Chanyeol's desk. "I will pay the compensation."

"I've already spoken to President Kim about this. He said that he wants to wait until your fate with Crown Empire comes to an end. But, that time has definitely not come yet." After giving his response, Chanyeol asked, "I'm going to the CEO's office, what about you?"

"Does Crown Empire plan to continue treating me like this?"

"Don't worry, President Kim has already said that he'd hire a new manager and schedule new jobs for you. Just go home and wait for notification."

Song Xin glared at Chanyeol and gave a loud snort before she put on her sunglasses and left the office.

Chanyeol's expression turned icy cold as he watched Song Xin leave. She was a talented person, but she was vicious and held no regard for other people's lives. It was hard to tell what her heart was made of.

Was she waiting for more jobs?

She should be waiting for her retribution because that would definitely arrive faster!

...

Of course, today was also the first day of screening for 'The Lost Relative'. According to real-time statistics from the box office, the box office had already surpassed $100 million in ticket sales by 4 pm. This was the fastest crime film to ever break the $100 million mark in Korea. Of course, this was all thanks to the publicity created by Song Xin.

_"Only after watching the film did I realize that Elder Wu couldn't have possibly plagiarized. The film is completely in the 'Wu Style'."

_"We really need to apologize to Elder Wu and Tiffany. Elder Wu honestly put his heart into writing the script and Tiffany acted out her character seriously. Both of them deserve to be respected."

_"I am once again stunned by Tiffany; three movies, three characters, and she fit every single role perfectly without showing any traces of acting. What a shock!"

_"It was so exciting to watch. My God, I've got goosebumps! Tiffany has amazing explosive power! Even though her character ran into her husband a good few times in the film without recognizing him, the fight scenes were much too enjoyable."

_"It's extremely rare to see such a serious actress. I would love to see all my favorite novels being portrayed by Tiffany. I'm sure she would live up to expectations."

_"The film deserves praise and is worthy of watching twice!"

_"I'm going to watch it again with my boyfriend tonight!"

Because the film got off to a great start, 'The Lost Relative' no longer needed to spend money on publicity. With the additional guilty conscience of the public, the box office continued to soar, leaving other films in the dust...

Tiffany proved her abilities and her status.

_"Are there any characters that Tiffany can't play?"

During this time, the author of 'The Tracker' couldn't withstand the pressures anymore, so he decided to reveal the ins and outs of the entire plagiarism incident to the public. While he was getting ready, Song Xin was completely unaware of the imminent disaster that was headed her way...

For his own safety, the author accepted an interview from a famous reporter and did not meet with too many other people.

During the interview, he had his head down, but he managed to explain the entire incident in detail, including the moment when he first received a phone call from the instigator.

"I was indeed instructed by someone, but I never saw who she was, nor was I told of her identity. All I know is, she is also an author and she is part of the entertainment industry."

"She is young; roughly 22 to 23-years-old and she is very cautious about what she says."

"Her final motive was to prevent Tiffany's 1 from screening."

"I investigated her phone number and IP address, but all I discovered was that she is located somewhere near the national university. I couldn't find anything else."

The instigator was an author from the entertainment industry; she was 22 to 23-years-old with a deep grudge towards Tiffany; and most importantly, she lived near the national university. With so much information, finding this person wasn't going to be hard. And with the amazing research abilities of netizens, they quickly produced a list of candidates which matched some of the given criteria. But, in the end, only one person ticked all the boxes: Song Xin!

Song Xin did not expect to be locked on as a suspect so easily. In fact, she wasn't even given any time to react before the internet began its scolding.

_"Is this the Song Xin that has a thief for a manager?"

_"Isn't she the artist that was very famous in Korea just a few days ago? But, because of her manager, she began to lose fans. I never imagined her to be so evil."

_"I can't believe it. They are both in completely different fields. Why would she treat Tiffany in this way? She even caused Elder Wu to attempt suicide."

_"Haha, this woman has always been arrogant. I assume she couldn't stand that Tiffany was more famous than her and that she had access to more resources than her. It's not that strange at all."

_"If it's really Song Xin, I hope she dies!"

_"What a bitch and a piece of trash! She's too evil!"

_"I used to think the songs written by her were good, but from now on, I will have to wave goodbye to her. There are plenty of people in this world that write good songs; I will leave my support for the ones with a kind heart."

_"Could Crown Empire please ban her from taking any more jobs, so this crazy woman can stop harming others."

The internet was filled with scolding and, of course, Song Xin was notified of this. As soon as she realized what was going on, she was shocked.

She never expected that she'd be discovered and exposed. How was this possible?

So, a minute later, Song Xin gave Chanyeol a phone call and asked in a stern voice,

"What's with the scolding from the public? How did I suddenly get slandered? Why hasn't Crown Empire done any PR? What are you planning to do about this?"

"Crown Empire is in the process of uncovering the truth."

"The truth? The truth is, you should first protect the reputation of your artist. Unless this is how Crown Empire treats their artists? I've seen that Tiffany's reputation has been well-maintained. Is she perhaps being treated differently?"

"Even when something happens to Tiffany, Crown Empire won't do anything PR related until they've uncovered the truth. If you're innocent, why should you be afraid of being investigated?" Chanyeol asked calmly.

"Great, that's great! From what I see, the entire Crown Empire has been opened for the sake of Tiffany." After speaking, Song Xin hung up the phone and called Xiao Yuhe, "I'm being slandered, it's terrible."

Xiao Yuhe had already found out about everything online. Even though Song Xin was a suspect, there wasn't conclusive evidence, so he didn't think that she deserved to be attacked.

"Song Xin, tell me honestly, did you do this?"

Song Xin was caught out by Xiao Yuhe's question. Although she didn't know what Xiao Yuhe had planned, she ended up denying everything after a short pause,

"What are you talking about? What has something like this got to do with me?"

"Even with me, you can't be honest? I can only protect you if you are honest."

"I really didn't do it," Song Xin continued to deny, "Trust me..."

"Fine. I hope you remember everything I've done for you," Xiao Yuhe said before he hung up the phone.

Song Xin was a little stunned. After hanging up the phone, she reached for her chest and felt her heart

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net