Zhao Dong had disgusted Wen Ying many times, and she felt she ought to do something about it.
She could not openly criticise Silan products for being poor, since she had never used them and it would be unwise to speak out publicly.
After thinking it over, Wen Ying used her own blog to repost the beauty blogger’s article.
“Support the fight for rights!”
The beauty blogger was surprised. Wen Ying rarely accepted advertisements, yet she had helped by reposting. The blogger even called Wen Ying specially to express her thanks.
The beauty blogger already had high popularity. With Wen Ying’s repost adding fuel, even more netizens paid attention to the matter.
The “Four Proud Sons of Heaven” always advanced and retreated together. Li Mengjiao, Yun Chen, and Zhang Yangning all followed Wen Ying’s lead and reposted the article.
The public opinion snowballed at once.
Jiang Youjia was overjoyed. That very night he released the material he had prepared earlier. In no time, every major forum was exploding with revelations about Silan.
This time, Silan’s PR team found it far harder to delete the posts.
In just two or three days, the entire internet was discussing the allergenic nature of Silan products. More and more victims came forward with their own stories, joining the beauty blogger in denouncing the unsafe products.
Such expensive products could not even guarantee safety. Why should anyone buy them?
Many international big-name brands might not deliver instant results, yet they were invariably stable.
Silan’s allergies were not isolated cases. There must be a serious problem with the product line.
Fight for rights. They absolutely had to fight. No one should be swayed by a few discounts from beauty salons.
The outrage fermented online first, then quickly spread offline.
Some impatient consumers, unwilling to wait for negotiations with salons, smashed Silan products right at the salon entrances.
“Refund!”
“Yes, refund and compensation!”
“We demand compensation!”
The allergic consumers caused major scenes. Those who had not reacted watched the public sentiment and immediately dared not continue using Silan products.
No reaction now might mean one in a few days. The products belonged to someone else, but the face was one’s own.
In major cities like Shanghai and Beijing, multiple consumer rights incidents targeted Silan.
Several of the larger protests were secretly filmed by bystanders.
Zhao Dong was still basking in the glow of seemingly excellent publicity when the sudden tidal wave of criticism against Silan caught him off guard.
Was that brat He Zhen behind it?
No, it could not be He Zhen. He Zhen did not have that kind of influence.
Even if He Zhen borrowed the entire He family’s power, it made no sense. Silan had a 40 percent stake from the He family. Dai Chenglan quietly allowing He Zhen to go independent was normal. Zhao Dong did not believe the couple would help He Zhen destroy Silan.
No one turned against money, especially such a large sum.
If not He Zhen, then who?
Zhao Dong racked his brains and never once suspected Jiang Youjia. He had never rated Jiang Youjia’s abilities highly.
Having ruled out He Zhen, could it be Xie Qian?
Zhao Dong felt uneasy and suspicious.
He could not afford to provoke Xie Qian, so he picked soft targets instead. He raged online against Wen Ying for reposting. “That woman surnamed Wen dares to kick a man when he is down!”
The man was truly laughable.
Previously he had looked down on Wen Ying from on high. Later, seeing her gain both fame and wealth, he had secretly tried to use Xie Jinghu to break her and Xie Qian apart.
Zhao Dong considered harming Wen Ying perfectly justified. Yet when he fell into the well himself, Wen Ying throwing stones down was only natural, was it not?
Zhao Dong fumed impotently. Zhao Qian listened obediently for a while, then wanted to ease her brother’s worries.
Zhao Dong thought for a moment, whispered instructions in her ear. Zhao Qian’s eyes lit up. “Brother, will this really work?”
Zhao Dong nodded. “If you succeed, you can shift the focus of public attention.”
Even if it failed, it would confuse the public and buy him more time to respond.
Fearing his sister was too foolish, Zhao Dong personally rehearsed with her several times until she was completely fluent in the entire process. Only then did he send her off.
Zhao Qian chose a time based on Wen Ying’s class schedule and intercepted her on the Zhendan campus. In front of other students, she demanded, “Why are you targeting my family company?”
In an instant, countless ears pricked up, eager to hear what it was about.
Wen Ying looked surprised. “Which company is your family’s?”
Zhao Qian gritted her teeth. “Don’t play dumb. You posted on your blog. Have you ever used Silan products?”
Wen Ying smiled. “So Silan belongs to your Zhao family. I wouldn’t dare use products that ruin faces. And I know you wouldn’t use them either.”
So it was Silan.
Whispers began around them.
Silan’s target customers were not university students. Everyone knew about the scandal, yet none had used the products.
Whether they were good or bad, no one could say for sure without trying them.
Wen Ying had never used the products yet had reposted someone else’s article. No wonder someone from the Silan company had come looking for her.
Overall, Zhendan students were quite fair-minded. They did not automatically side with Wen Ying simply because she was famous.
They too questioned whether her actions were reasonable.
Seeing support, Zhao Qian grew bolder and declared loudly, “Of course I have used our company’s products. How come I didn’t have any reaction? All those ‘consumers’ posting complaints online were hired by you, weren’t they? If you have a personal grudge against my family, take your revenge on us however you like. But you shouldn’t damage our company’s reputation. Silan is a newly established company. We invested huge sums in research and development. If Silan collapses, my family will go bankrupt, and everyone working there will lose their jobs.”
Zhao Qian articulated the cause and effect clearly.
The looks directed at Wen Ying changed.
Ruining a company over personal resentment. Students in their ivory tower had never witnessed such a spectacle.
Company bankruptcy, employees unemployed.
It sounded extremely serious.
Everyone’s attention fixed on Wen Ying. They wanted to hear her explanation.
Wen Ying suddenly asked Zhao Qian, “With your memory, reciting that whole speech can’t have been easy, can it?”
“It’s fine… How dare you!”
Zhao Qian nearly slipped up, but having rehearsed many times with Zhao Dong, she recovered quickly.
In Zhao Dong’s script, Zhao Qian was supposed to kneel before everyone at this point, weeping bitterly and begging Wen Ying to spare Silan, to give the Zhao family a way to live, to give all Silan employees a way to live.
If the person confronting Wen Ying today had been Zhuo Yue, Zhuo Yue would have knelt without hesitation.
Zhao Qian was not as bold as Zhuo Yue. She hesitated slightly before kneeling.
Wen Ying seized the opening and retorted loudly to Zhao Qian.
“Stop talking nonsense. I don’t particularly like you, but I have no grudge against your family. You claim all the recent exposés against Silan were orchestrated by me. Have you been reading too many novels? I am just a moderately famous writer. If I had the power to decide a company’s fate, would I still get abused online every day? I don’t believe you’ve used Silan products. No use, no right to speak. How about this: I will personally pay to buy a full set of Silan products and give them to you. All the students here today are witnesses. If you can complete one full course without any allergic reaction, I will delete that blog post and apologise to you.”
