Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Wang Xing was currently monitoring Weibo. Since returning from the amusement park, his follower count had exploded once again.

He had started with just over a hundred thousand, but now he was nearing five hundred thousand.

The Amusement Park’s silence during this period had only made Wang Xing more brazen.

However, as a specific Weibo post appeared, Wang Xing’s face suddenly turned pale.

Having investigated the amusement park, how could he not know that his information was entirely based on speculation?

According to his original plan, he would simply delete his Weibo posts as soon as the Amusement Park produced evidence. He would still have his nearly five hundred thousand followers, and taking on just a couple of advertisements would bring in a massive amount of income.

But he never expected that the Amusement Park would take him directly to court.

After thinking for a long time, Wang Xing decided to first contact the others who were being sued alongside him.

Combined, these people had tens of millions of followers. Together, they could surely exert some influence.

Zhang Bei sat in the Toy House, his fingers scrolling through the comments.

Zhang Bei was well aware of the impact tens of millions of followers could have. Yet, he had done it without hesitation. If the slander had been directed at him personally, perhaps he could have endured it. At most, it would take a month for the rumors to collapse on their own.

But they were targeting the Amusement Park-the place where he had grown up bit by bit.

Thirteen days had passed since Zhang Bei sent out that Weibo post.

The finals of the Designer Competition had arrived.

This time, however, Zhang Bei did not set off for Yanjing. He had the others send over the site data and sat alone in the Toy House to begin his design.

Qingqing sniffled. It had rained recently, and the weather had turned chilly. Nevertheless, she still came to the amusement park for a stroll whenever she was free, even if she didn’t get on any rides.

Listening to the screams of the crowds and eating completely homemade snacks-there was no more pleasant way to spend her leisure time.

Although Zhang Bei kept saying there was no need to worry, the Amusement Park’s popularity had visibly declined.

Sniffling her itchy nose, she soon approached Zhang Bei.

“Boss, what are you doing?”

Zhang Bei didn’t even look up. “A competition. I’m designing a house.”

“The Amusement Park is about to start losing money, and you’re still in the mood to enter a competition?”

“It won’t lose money. It’s still profitable right now.”

“Well, it won’t be for long. Do you have any idea how many people are attacking the Amusement Park right now?”

Zhang Bei nodded. “I know.”

Over fifty big influencers had united to boycott the Amusement Park. A drop in popularity was to be expected.

But the actual situation wasn’t as dire as Qingqing imagined.

There were only two days left until the court date, and Wang Cheng had already gathered all the evidence. In his words, a case like this was like bullying children-there was no difficulty at all.

Seeing that Qingqing still wanted to ask more questions, Zhang Bei waved her off.

“Go play somewhere else. Don’t disturb my work.”

Qingqing’s face darkened. “So much for my concern!”

But she still headed toward the Ski Resort. She needed to go comfort You Bai, who had been spiraling into a state of endless self-blame lately.

You Bai felt that if the boss hadn’t stood up for her, the Amusement Park wouldn’t have run into such big trouble. Consequently, she was working incredibly hard now, hoping to lighten the burden on her conscience.

Zhang Bei finished his design drafts much faster than expected this time. With a construction area of less than seventy square meters, there was actually very little Zhang Bei could do structurally. A house like this ultimately depended on interior design and spatial planning skills.
The most Zhang Bei could do was reduce the number of load-bearing walls, bringing the interior space as close as possible to the total floor area.

After bundling the design plans and sending them to his teammates in Yanjing, Zhang Bei turned his attention to monitoring the Amusement Park.

Two more tourists had successfully cleared the Drop Tower, and some visitors were currently reaching the final stages of the Maze.

The Ski Resort remained highly popular, with most people who had traveled from afar managing to squeeze in a session.

Time flew by, and two days later, the day of the court hearing arrived.

As the plaintiff, Zhang Bei took his seat in the courtroom.

On the defense side, only Wang Xing appeared as a representative, accompanied by a team of lawyers.

“The plaintiff may now present their testimony.”

Wang Cheng cleared his throat and began to speak slowly.

“Given that the fifty-seven defendants published false statements that caused damage to my client’s reputation and financial losses, we are seeking compensation for business losses and defamation.”

…

Everything went smoothly-smoother than Zhang Bei had imagined. Wang Cheng truly lived up to his reputation as a top-tier lawyer.

With just a few words, he left the opposing counsel speechless.

Zhang Bei was very satisfied with the final verdict.

Wang Xing and the others were ordered to pay a total of over 8.9 million yuan in compensation.

Lost revenue accounted for only a small portion of that; the bulk of it was for damages to his reputation.

In the original plan, they only expected to receive a little over a million yuan.

However, knowing that Zhang Bei had operated the Amusement Park for over twenty years, Wang Cheng had pushed the claim for reputational damage to its legal limit.

As the trial concluded, Wang Xing slumped to the floor, his eyes vacant.

They could scrape the money together if they pooled their resources, but once they returned, they would have to issue a formal public apology.

Not one of the fifty-seven people would escape it.

With five hundred thousand followers, Wang Xing knew that after this, he might be left with fewer than ten thousand.

Well-versed in the power of public opinion, Wang Xing watched Zhang Bei walk out of the courtroom, his eyes turning bloodshot.

It was all because of him. If it weren’t for Zhang Bei, he would still be taking sponsorships and negotiating business deals.

If Zhang Bei hadn’t insisted on driving them into a corner, he wouldn’t be at a dead end!

Driven by a sudden surge of malice, Wang Xing quietly slipped out of the courtroom, his eyes burning red.

Zhang Bei offered a sincere thank you to Wang Cheng before seeing him off and heading toward the parking garage.

Just as he stepped into the underground level, a sudden sound reached his ears.

Zhang Bei recoiled as Wang Xing lunged forward, clutching a fruit knife and breathing heavily.

“Walk away now, and I can act like nothing happened,” Zhang Bei said.

A cold light flashed in Wang Xing’s eyes. “Shut the hell up!”

As he spoke, he thrust the fruit knife toward Zhang Bei again.

Zhang Bei pivoted, grabbing Wang Xing’s wrist with one hand and giving it a sharp pull.

Dropping into a slight crouch, he threw Wang Xing over his shoulder. In the blink of an eye, the man slammed into the ground, his small knife skittering away.

Zhang Bei narrowed his eyes and dialed the police.

The trial had ended in the afternoon, but by the time he finished giving his statement at the station, night had fallen.

Looking up at the dark sky, Zhang Bei grinned.

Most of the mess was finally handled, leaving only the secondary hearing in half a month.

Feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders, Zhang Bei drove home.

Before he could even settle into his seat, Heizi called.

“Holy crap, that son of a bitch actually tried to stab you?”

“I’m fine. With my skills, he couldn’t even get close.”

“True. Well, get some rest. The amusement park should be back to normal tomorrow.”

“How’s that joint petition coming along?”

“Don’t worry, it’s already been accepted. We should have results in a few days.”

“Got it. Thanks.”