After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future

Chapter 476: Chapter 471: The Big Shots’ Three-Headed Armor

Approaching noon, public opinion was continuously fermenting.

Related entries on Weibo’s trending searches had reached a level of heat that they could not be removed.

If it had only been a small-scale incident, they could have simply pulled it from the trending searches and played dead for a cold treatment.

But the situation had spread to the point where it was like having a dead body lying at home—even if you can’t see it, just staying inside the house felt chillingly cold.

Seeing public opinion spiraling out of control and spreading like wildfire, Lenovo swiftly stepped out to clarify, issuing a related announcement.

Regarding the 5G standards vote held by 3GPP, about Huawei’s proposed Polar proposal, both Lenovo and its subsidiary, Motorola Mobility, cast their votes in favor.

“We strongly condemn any behavior that spreads rumors and hope everyone will not believe in rumors to avoid being used by some malicious people. For those who maliciously spread rumors, we reserve the legal rights to pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.”

The implication was that they were being framed, the online messages were all rumors, full of groundless allegations and out of context interpretations.

As for who was framing them, they believed in the law, believed in the nation, to give them justice and vindication.

“Yu, what exactly happened at that time?”

When Lu Liang returned to the company, apart from instructing Xu Delin to collect materials, he also casually called Yu Dazui to inquire about the insider.

He didn’t care whether it was public opinion fermenting on its own or someone using this incident to stab him in the back, either way, he was set to take the blame.

Since the blame was set, why not kick them when they’re down and see if he can deal a heavy blow to the Liu family in the process.

The last thing he needed was Liu Qing creating trouble with DiDi’s IPO in the US, and the Bitcoin card could also be kept hidden for now.

Having learned the full story, Lu Liang’s lips curved into a smile: “Thank you, Yu. Remember to treat me to a meal next time you’re in Shenzhen.”

Yu Dazui was taken aback: “Mr. Lu, you must be joking, right? It should be you treating me to a meal.”

“No mistake, the server market has been monopolized for too long. Isn’t this an opportunity?”

Lu Liang smiled, his only conflict with the Liu family had been over the management rights of DiDi—it shouldn’t have extended to Lenovo.

Because damaging Lenovo wouldn’t bring him any benefits, but now that the situation had evolved to this point, he could only attack head-on.

The one exerting effort was him, but the beneficiaries would be Huawei, Xiaomi, Shenzhou, and other friendly competitors. Wasn’t Yu Dazui supposed to treat him to a meal?

Yu Dazui couldn’t help but laugh: “Well, if you say so, I hope Mr. Lu you can achieve a great victory.”

After ending the call, Lu Liang closed his eyes to rest, and after a while, he finally received Xu Delin’s investigation report.

He couldn’t fully trust Yu Dazui’s words, as being an insider, his expressions might be somewhat biased.

Lu Liang trusted third-party investigations more. After reading the report, he couldn’t help but be astonished: “I thought only celebrity studios would do such foolish things.”

Initially, he had some faith in the clarification announcement; after all, for so many years, such a large conglomerate had been standing steadfast, its public relations department should have had some intelligence, unlike some celebrities, who even when caught by the police station, would still stubbornly deny wrongdoing.

But now he realized he had overestimated Lenovo’s public relations; in fact, they were all the same, not much brighter.

Lu Liang smiled and squinted his eyes, decisively logging into Weibo and started searching in the comment section of the topic, soon finding a suitable mouthpiece.

“Yes, you did indeed vote for Huawei.”

“But last year there were three vote sessions, and you voted for Qualcomm, abstained, and then voted for Huawei.”

“The time you voted for Huawei, they already had a significant advantage and didn’t need your vote.”

“But when you voted for Qualcomm, that was the key reason Huawei lost to Qualcomm by one vote.”

Lu Liang happily reposted the comment with three smiling emojis, indicating he was about to fan the flames.

The most foolish part of Lenovo’s clarification announcement

was the attempt to shift the blame.

If they had candidly explained that Qualcomm’s solution had a longer history in the telecommunication industry and a broader patent accumulation,

while Huawei had some issues and deficiencies in data channel coding, and their system wasn’t mature enough,

they had thought it through deeply and chose to vote for Qualcomm in the interest of the industry’s long-term development.

If they had said that, the direction of public opinion would have been completely different. But they should never have tried to muddle through.

Upon Lu Liang’s repost, Little Wang, as Lu Liang’s most loyal supporter, decisively backed him up fiercely: “Where do they get the face to call themselves a national brand?”

With the addition of these two, it was like pouring oil on the fire—the public sentiment regarding Lenovo completely spiraled out of control, and the Liu family became a target for everyone.

While Lu Liang was busy fanning the flames, he suddenly received a call from Liu Qing: “Mr. Lu, why do you have to be so aggressive?”

Lu Liang chuckled: “When the drum beats, all hands strike, when the wall falls, everybody pushes, Mr. Liu, this is perfectly normal.”

If he were facing this predicament, would the Liu family show him any mercy?

Clearly not!

Liu Qing remained silent for a long time before leaving a message, “Mr. Lu, we will meet again on the proverbial winding path.”

Then a busy tone came from the phone, and Lu Liang chuckled with a hint of irony, “They’re starting to talk tough now.”

Humming Xiao Qu’s tune, he was in a good mood,

irrefutable evidence left no room for choice.

Night fell, and online public opinion had been fermenting all day, with news of the 5G vote sweeping friend circles, Weibo, and Douyin.

Just as netizens were indulging in the spectacle, condemning Lenovo, and blaming the Liu family, it was about to morph into a prevailing sentiment.

A storm began to howl through the entertainment world as the famed host Xiao Cui, tore into International Fan by exposing their sky-high Dual Contract incident.

Not only a four-day 60 million piece rate but also one big one small, one for internal use, one for public display – two contracts in total.

Normally, an artist’s piece rate is taxed based on personal income tax and business tax; a 10 million piece rate often means paying 4.2 million in taxes.

Thus, the Dual Contract came into being, the ‘Yang’ contract with a lesser amount for tax declaration, and the ‘Yin’ contract with a larger amount for actual engagement.

Officially giving her 10 million, they’d normally pay 4.2 million in tax, but in reality, they quietly give her 60 million, evading 21 million in taxes.

International Fan’s studio quickly issued a clarification, but Xiao Cui, as if commanded, directly uploaded the detailed contracts and declared they had been sent to the State Taxation Administration.

“Everyone, have a look. This is the star you all adore.”

“Earning 60 million in four days, yet still thinking of evading taxes.”

“It seems it isn’t an isolated case, but a common practice.”

“The domestic entertainment industry is utterly corrupt; it’s high time for a clean-up, Old Cui is a true warrior.”

“Tsk tsk, the entertainment industry once again serves as a big shot’s scapegoat.”

The entertainment industry, after all, has a broader audience base,

and with Xiao Cui furiously shredding International Fan, things escalated.

Netizens, loving a big story, joined Old Cui’s charge, no longer focusing solely on International Fan.

Post-85’s Four Big Flower Dandies, Post-90’s Four Little Flower Dandies, the Four Returning Stars, lead actors and actresses, none escaped the difficulty; comment sections were completely overrun.

As a result, topics related to Lenovo, the Liu family, 5G voting, Goldman Sachs’ foreign influences, and supported compradors saw a steep decline in popularity.

Gradually, they fell from the hot search rankings.

The Tax Bureau issued a notice stating they were highly concerned about the tax-related issues in “Dual Contracts” within the entertainment industry as reflected online, and the relevant departments would conduct investigations according to law. If any violations of tax laws and regulations were discovered, they would be dealt with sternly according to the law.

After that, unless actively sought out, there was virtually no news about Lenovo’s 5G issue to be found online.

Nighttime came, and Little Wang asked Lu Liang out for drinks and late-night snacks.

By mid-November, Modu’s weather was getting cold, and he was dressed in a down jacket, wrapped up like a brown bear.

“What’s up? Someone’s come looking for you,” Lu Liang spoke with a smile and profound meaning as he took a sip of beer.

When Little Wang went out, he was always surrounded by girls eager for fame, striving hard; he never lacked the company of ambitious young women.

Little Wang responded with a serious nod, preemptively shielding himself, “Lu, rest assured, no matter what, I’m firmly on your side.”

Lu Liang couldn’t help but chuckle, cutting off Little Wang mid-sentence, “I’m heading to Tokyo tomorrow. I won’t interfere with domestic affairs for now.”

Little Wang brightened up, hurriedly saying, “Actually, people do take you seriously, at least no one’s been calling you, right?”

“Moreover, look at such a big conglomerate; it can’t just be wiped out because someone says so.”

“Now the heat is gone, but the impression remains in the hearts of numerous netizens; it’s just a matter of time before it fades.”

“Letting it go is undoubtedly the best choice.”

Lu Liang glanced over and said, “Who said I’m letting it go? As long as Liu Qing doesn’t withdraw from DiDi, it’s absolutely impossible to let it go.”

With such a huge storm already brewing in the entertainment circle, there was no point for him to make any statement or to fan the flames.

He would at least wait for the entertainment circle’s current tempest to pass,

to avoid offsetting the heat and diminishing the impact.

Little Wang forced a dry laugh, paused to ponder for a moment, and with a demeanor of ready to lay down his life for his friend, he declared directly, “If there is anything I can help with, just say the word, and I will not shy away from death.”

Over the years, following Lu Liang, he’d been marked; if Lu Liang suffered, his own days wouldn’t be easy either.