After Zhuang Nainai said this, the entire conference hall grew silent.
Everyone held their breath as they stared at Zhuang Nainai.
After it had gone quiet for a moment, someone asked, straight to the point, âMrs. Si, what do you mean by that?â
âYou arenât going to confess that youâve committed plagiarism?â
âMrs. Si, are you trying to threaten Ms. Mi to stop?â
âMrs. Si, what do you mean by a âface-offâ? Do you want Ms. Mi to take back whatever she had said right in front of you?â
Zhuang Nainai: â...â
The questions swarmed toward her endlessly, and Zhuang Nainai clenched her fist.
She took in a deep breath. She was so nervous that even her fingers were shaking.
Ever since she had been a young child, besides being surrounded by the reporters last time, she had never seen such a huge spectacle. But she couldnât succumb to stage fright at this moment. Yes, she couldnât be scared.
She said this to herself on the inside, then spoke into the microphone. âIâve never plagiarized anything before. Why would I admit to doing it?â
Before the crowd of people could bombard her with more questions, she continued, âIâve been thinking about how the Internet has now become so accessible to everyone and how there are now a lot more news reports out there. But this has also caused people to become more impulsive. Iâve also been thinking about how, as reporters, you should be reporting facts with sufficient evidence to back them up instead of blindly following the crowd. Youâve outrageously announced that the Imperial Group is suppressing its employees, and youâve been making such a big fuss based on the words of one person. Youâve hurt the Imperial Groupâs reputation so badly. May I ask if doing so is in line with your professionâs ethics?â
The murmuring among the reporters grew into a loud outburst.
âWeâre just calling a spade a spade! Mrs. Si, what do you mean by that?â
âMrs. Si, are you angry with us for going public with what your company has done?â
âMrs. Si, youâre being too subjective!â
Zhuang Nainai pursed her lips and said, âIf you want to prove that what you did was fair, why donât you quiet down and listen to what I have to say next?â
The reporters were taken aback. It was only then that they realized that they had fallen for Mrs. Siâs goading tactics.
They each pursed their lips. They werenât too happy about this, but they couldnât say anything more at the moment.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Zhuang Nainai continued, âSince she has the guts to go on television and to post on Weibo, why canât she come here and engage in a face-off against me? And with all of you reporters present, I canât possibly do anything to her, can I?â
The reporters fell silent.
Zhuang Nainai glanced at the clock on the wall. âI believe that Mi Nuo is now monitoring whateverâs going on here. This conference is not going to be broadcasted live on television but on the Internet. Sheâll definitely be able to watch it. So, Iâll wait for her for half an hour. If she doesnât rush over or doesnât give us a call, donât you think that thereâs no point to this reportersâ conference?â
No point?
That was right. If she didnât come over, then it didnât matter if whatever she was alleging about the Imperial Group suppressing her was true or false. There would be no point.
The reporters held their breath. Zhuang Nainai walked to the side and Si Zhengting warmly helped her sit down.
Ji Chen walked out at this moment. A smile was always on this benign manâs face. âAlright, we also need to give Ms. Mi some time to rush over, so weâve specially prepared some refreshments for everyone. Please keep calm and wait for a moment.â
The conference room was loud with murmuring.
The reporters were seated beneath the stage. As they murmured among themselves, they pointed at Zhuang Nainai and Si Zhengting, who were seated in the corner of the room.