Moral Blackmail? Sorry, I Have No Morals

While state agencies sprang into action, the internet was equally abuzz.

Murder plus an acid attack had achieved a one-plus-one-greater-than-two effect online. The topic's popularity remained sky-high. The Ji family had tried to suppress the trending searches, only to find themselves unable to cope in the end.

As a result, it stayed at the top of the trending charts for several consecutive days.

Of course, Ji Lan's parents had also added fuel to the fire.

They knew their daughter had committed a crime and nearly ruined someone else's life. As her parents, if they had come forward to apologize, played pitiful, and sold a sob story, perhaps fewer people would have cursed them. At the very least, they could have stayed hidden and kept quiet. But what did their family do?

Father Ji and Mother Ji stepped forward.

Their family posted an explanatory article.

Not a single word in either its title or body was an apology. The article could be boiled down into three key points—

First, their daughter had a mental illness. Therefore, no matter what she did, she had not broken the law, and even the police had no right to detain her.

Second, their family was poor and miserable, and their daughter was already like this, yet Jiang Fang's fans were still cursing her. They were simply inhuman. The article also hinted that Jiang Fang should pay some compensation for emotional distress.

Third, Jiang Fang was perfectly fine now, while their daughter was only seventeen and still a child with a bright future ahead of her. They were trying to morally blackmail Jiang Fang.

Oh, and the most outrageous part was—

This explanatory article required payment to read.

The moment this came out, the entire internet exploded.

Even though the article was paywalled, people kept coming over to "pay their respects" to see what kind of person could possibly be this shameless.

Thus, charging for it seemed utterly absurd, but it really did earn Ji Lan's parents a tidy sum.

Of course, this situation was stopped soon afterward.

It was not because Ji Lan's parents had been scared by the criticism, but because some gossip-loving netizens did not want later readers wasting their money and directly copied the article for public release.

Father Ji, who noticed that the day's earnings had plummeted, frowned unhappily. "What's going on? Why are there only a few hundred yuan today? It was several thousand yesterday!"

Sensing that something was wrong, Mother Ji searched online and found that their explanation was being circulated all over the internet—for free.

"Old Ji! This is bad!" She handed her phone to Father Ji.

Watching his source of income get cut off, Father Ji gritted his teeth and hated those meddlesome netizens to death.

Besides that, plenty of people enjoying the show tagged Jiang Fang, clearly eager to stir up more trouble.

As for Jiang Fang's reaction?

Naturally, he would not spend a single cent on the Ji family, even if the sum was nothing to him. So, when he saw that Father Ji's article charged money, he immediately went elsewhere to find a free version.

He wanted to see what the Ji family had written.

Yet before he could finish reading, he had no idea what happened when his account was tagged so frantically that it lagged until Weibo directly kicked him out.

Looking at his phone screen, which had glitched into a mess from the lag, Jiang Fang fell into deep thought.

Curiosity made him log back in. This time, it lagged for a full ten minutes before the page finally moved.

[@Jiang Fang Qin Yan spoke up for you, sob sob sob.]

[I knew you two were real @Jiang Fang]

[They're absolutely awful! Qin's fans support you just like Brother Qin does! Keep it up @Jiang Fang]

There were countless messages like these.

Jiang Fang:?

Once he noticed the keyword and clicked over to Qin Yan's account, he learned what Qin Yan had done.

[@Qin Yan V: There must be boundaries when following celebrities in the entertainment industry. Artists should set good, positive examples for their fans, rather than acting like this. Mental illness is not an excuse for crime, and one's child is not a tool for making money. The law will dispense fair and impartial justice.

If she truly has a mental illness and poses a serious threat to public safety, she should be sent to a psychiatric hospital as soon as possible. Also, @Today's Daily @Surging Waves Daily @Legal News... Court summonses will be delivered soon. I hope you enjoy this surprise.]

Qin Yan had publicly spoken up for Jiang Fang.

One had to know that celebrities were better off avoiding matters that crossed into other fields like this.

One wrong move and they could become targets of public attack, let alone Qin Yan, who had spoken so decisively. Even his fans were stunned.

[Holy shit, I knew Old Qin was tough, but I didn't know he was this tough! Old Qin, let's keep a low profile. The haters will come sniffing around soon.]

[Awesome! Old Qin is still the best. Fuck, the Ji family is way too shameless. I've truly witnessed the diversity of lifeforms.]

[Holy shit, why did Old Qin tag all those dailies? Oh—I remember now. They were the people who blocked Jiang Fang that day, right? They're obviously reporters, yet they're as annoying as paparazzi.]

[Hehe, one wave of summonses takes them all away. Brother Qin is awesome!]

When Jiang Fang scrolled further down, he found fan-made artwork.

In the picture, a chibi Jiang Fang had red-rimmed eyes and looked horribly bullied. Chibi Little Qin Yan made a domineering entrance, shielded Little Jiang Fang behind him, and unleashed everything he had, knocking down a whole crowd.

Jiang Fang could not help laughing when he saw the picture.

These fans really were talented.

He gave it a like, saved the image, and then reposted Qin Yan's Weibo.

[@Jiang Fang V: Brother Yan is mighty! [Kitty bows in thanks.jpg] [Chibi Qin Yan protecting chibi Jiang Fang.jpg] //@Qin Yan V: There must be boundaries when following celebrities...]

As for the fans who had previously asked for his opinion on Father Ji's article.

Jiang Fang responded rather brutally with three memes.

[Moral blackmail? Sorry, I have no morals.jpg]

[Still a child until death.jpg]

[Kick them straight into the police station/psychiatric hospital.jpg]

Jiang Fang was not going to stay in the entertainment industry anyway, so he could do whatever he wanted. But given his personality, he would probably act this way even if he did enter the industry later.

After posting that Weibo, he felt great.

The fans... the fans felt great too!

And the bystanders? They felt even better!

That was so bold! No cowardice, just go for it! The entertainment industry was always so roundabout—where could they find people as gutsy as Jiang Fang and Qin Yan?

By that logic, it was like reading two satisfying webnovels. After all, the internet had suffered under spinelessness for far too long.

[Hahahaha, holy shit, no wonder Jiang Fang and Qin Yan get along. They're both equally tough!]

[I'm dying. Moral blackmail? I have no morals, so what are you blackmailing? Watch your manners? I have no manners, so what am I supposed to watch?]

[That woman who threw acid supposedly just graduated from high school. Even if she isn't an adult, she's almost there... Wait! Our Brother Fang just graduated from high school too! He's also an incoming freshman at B University this year, so they should be in the same grade, or at least around the same age, right?]

[I'm dying, Kitten is so mature that everyone forgot he hasn't even started college yet. What, does the Ji family have double standards? Their daughter is still a child, but our Kitten is a child too!]

[Hehe, since she doesn't want to go to the police station, she can stay in a psychiatric hospital for the rest of her life. If someone who can casually throw acid at people gets released, who wouldn't be scared? I don't want to get acid thrown on me out of nowhere and be disfigured.]

The netizens overwhelmingly sided with Jiang Fang. Seeing that they might not get any money and could even lose their daughter, Ji Lan's parents finally panicked.

The two of them whispered together for a long time before finally coming up with a solution.

--

Apartment.

Jiang Fang himself was a computer expert, and hacking was even less of a challenge for him. If he wanted to, he could make it impossible for anyone to find him, but that was not the purpose of his email.

He had only put a few simple measures in the email to prevent the state's technical personnel from immediately locating him. Still, they would take no more than a day or two.

"Knock, knock, knock—" Slow, steady knocking sounded at the door.

Jiang Fang subconsciously checked the time. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he walked to the window, pulled back the curtain, and cast a brief glance outside. He understood.

They had come pretty quickly.

He had thought they would not find him until that night.

The technical staff who had been forced to stay up all night cracking the location clutched their bald heads and cried like two-hundred-pound babies.

"They're here."

Jiang Fang opened the door. When he saw the person before him, his pupils contracted slightly in surprise.

Qin Tang? The Minister of Science and Technology had come personally?

But when he considered the technology in his hands, he understood. It was too important.

When Qin Tang looked at the young man before him, his first reaction—along with that of his colleagues—upon receiving the information had been: Could there be a mistake?

The technical department had repeatedly confirmed that there was no mistake. This was the place.

They exchanged looks, but in the end, Qin Tang had decided to make the trip himself.

They would not give up even if there was only the slightest possibility.

In fact, the technical department had decoded the location even earlier than Jiang Fang expected. After all, they had worked through the night.

For that slim possibility, before dawn had even broken and while Jiang Fang was still asleep, the building had already been surrounded by official personnel.

The moment they met Jiang Fang, his surprised yet unsurprised reaction gave them their answer.

It was him! Jiang Fang was the person who had sent the email! Even if he was not, he was definitely connected to it!

Qin Tang had not expected things to go so smoothly, but it also made him raise his guard to the highest level. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Especially not a feast this lavish.

"Student Jiang, please come with us."

This was not the place to discuss confidential matters. Besides, who knew whether there was a trap? He got straight to the point.

Jiang Fang naturally had no objection. A quick battle and quick resolution suited him perfectly; he wanted to deal with the Ji family. After changing his shoes, he was about to leave when something suddenly grabbed his ankle.

Jiang Fang looked down.

Kitten pitifully bit the hem of his pants, wrapped both paws around his ankle, and looked as though it were saying, "Wherever Big Kitty goes, I'm going too."

"You can't come. I'll be back soon." Jiang Fang tried to reason with Kitten.

"Meow~" No, no, I'm not listening!

Looking at the little fellow, he could neither hit it nor scold it.

Qin Tang found it amusing from the side. "It's fine to bring it along."

Jiang Fang looked at him in surprise.

Then he went along with it. Since they allowed it, Jiang Fang naturally would not make Kitten suffer.

Ever since bringing Kitten home, Jiang Fang had left it at the police station while he dealt with matters on the first day. On the second day, it had been sent to the pet hospital while he went to the police station again. Kitten had been angry with him ever since.

"Good baby, let's go!"

Understanding that Big Kitty would not abandon it, Kitten felt alive again. It let out two sweet little cries and obediently curled up in Jiang Fang's arms, nuzzling against him.

--

Ministry of Science and Technology conference room.

Following behind Qin Tang, Jiang Fang heard fierce arguing inside the conference room before they even reached the door.

"This is simply absurd! A student who has not even attended university—you're telling me he can build a lithography machine? Then I can build a spaceship too!"

"We don't even know where this email came from. A high school graduate? Could this be a conspiracy?"

"I have reason to suspect this is an enemy plot."

"The few of us old men have studied lithography technology our entire lives and researched it for decades without success. What is Jiang Fang? A genius? Has a lithography machine become sentient?"

"This operation of yours was far too rash!"