Press On or Back Down

Opinions online kept shifting. Some supported Xia Luan, some believed Screenwriter Bai had been falsely accused, and some remained neutral.

But Xia Luan had never expected the rumor that hurt him most to come from his own mother.

Around eight that evening, while everyone was relaxing, a video quietly climbed the trending charts.

The woman in the video wore a long white dress. Her hair fell over both shoulders, and her delicate features gave her a frail appearance.

Her soft voice reached everyone watching.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Xia Luan's mother. About my son's claim that Screenwriter Bai plagiarized his work, I want to tell you that it isn't true. Screenwriter Bai didn't plagiarize anything. My son has had some disagreements with him, and perhaps that's why he came up with this way to slander him. I failed to keep my son in line, and I apologize to everyone."

She bowed deeply to the viewers. Perhaps she had wanted to reveal as little as possible: the video showed nothing but a white wall and the person standing before it.

The video was short, only a few sentences long, but it shot up the trending charts.

In no time, public opinion swung the other way.

"I told you Screenwriter Bai was innocent. How could he do something like that?"

"Where are all the people who said Screenwriter Bai plagiarized? Why aren't they saying anything now?"

"Hahaha, I'd love to see their faces right now."

"If his own mother says so, I don't think there's going to be another twist. Why would she falsely accuse her own child?"

Right. Who would falsely accuse their own child?

As if punishing himself, Xia Luan watched the video again and again. The person in it felt like a stranger.

The white dress, the white wall—such pure colors. Yet now they seemed monstrous to him, assaulting his eyes over and over.

His eyes hurt. He tried desperately not to cry, but he couldn't stop himself from collapsing to the floor. Clutching his chest, he felt for the first time what it meant to have his heart cut to pieces.

He couldn't understand why this had happened. He had imagined Screenwriter Bai using all sorts of tactics, but never his own mother.

Part of the reason he had done this was to take his mother away. Now he thought back to how Screenwriter Bai had always learned whenever he planned to expose him, and how he had managed to find his mother every time.

Xia Luan had always assumed the man had powerful connections. He had never imagined the reason was this.

Tears spilled down his face despite his efforts to hold them back. Xia Luan stifled every sound. How pathetic, Xia Luan. How did it come to this?

All at once, he felt like a joke anyone could laugh at.

Look. Even his own mother won't help him.

Gu Ze and Ye Qing were beside him. Gu Ze had known Xia Luan's mother was helping Screenwriter Bai, but he had never expected her to do it this way.

Neither of them knew how to comfort Xia Luan, so they stayed silent and kept him company.

At last, a phone ringing broke the silence.

It was Xia Luan's.

Xia Luan stared at the word "Mom" on the screen. He answered a second before the call would have disconnected.

Ye Qing and Gu Ze quietly stepped outside.

The call connected, but neither of them spoke for a long time. All that could be heard was Xia Luan breathing.

Eventually, Jiang He spoke first, her voice as gentle as ever. "Xiao Luan, I'm sorry."

"Why?" Xia Luan asked hoarsely.

"We can't do this. Screenwriter Bai has helped us so much. We..."

"Yes, I know he's helped us a lot. But what he gave us was nothing compared to what he earned. If it weren't for those scripts I wrote, he wouldn't be nearly as famous as he is."

"You say he helped us, but I paid that money back, didn't I? That's why I never said I'd written his first few shows."

That was also why some people still supported Screenwriter Bai. They couldn't believe someone who had written so well at the start would resort to plagiarism.

"Mom, after all that, isn't it enough?"

"No, Xiao Luan. You shouldn't have said anything. This isn't good for anyone."

"Why? I worked so hard on those scripts."

"Look what you've done. Now none of us can have any peace."

"But I'd already made arrangements for you, hadn't I? You were the one who insisted on coming forward. You chose to help him."

Xia Luan shouted, "But Mom, why? I'm the victim here, aren't I?"

"No, Xiao Luan. Screenwriter Bai said this won't affect you. In a few days, it'll all blow over."

"But then I won't be able to write scripts anymore."

"Then don't write them. Come home and do something else."

Xia Luan went numb. He hung up before she could finish. He understood now: his mother had never been on his side. She had been pushing him toward the abyss, step by step.

Not long after, another call came in.

Screenwriter Bai's smug voice came through. "I told you that you couldn't beat me. See? What are you going to do now?"

"Just be good and keep writing scripts for me. So what if you really wrote those others? Even your own mother isn't on your side."

"Are you going to tell the world? If you do, your mother will come under attack too. The entertainment industry can be vicious. Are you sure you want that?"

Perhaps some part of Xia Luan still held out hope. "Was it you? Did you threaten my mother?" he roared.

"Hahahahaha! Oh, I threatened your mother, all right. Though I suppose you'd call it a threat in bed." He made no effort to hide his glee.

"You have no idea what your mother..."

Screenwriter Bai didn't finish. He warned Xia Luan once more, then hung up.

Xia Luan's thoughts were in chaos, his gaze unfocused. Disgusting. He felt filthy all over.

At last, he ran to the bathroom and retched. It was too disgusting.

Hearing the noise, the two outside rushed in and found him collapsed in the bathroom doorway.

They helped him onto the bed. He barely moved, and though they knew what had happened, neither of them said anything.

Ye Qing came in now and then to sit with him.

"Ye Qing, do you still believe me?" Xia Luan stared blankly at the ceiling.

"I believe you."

"But even my mom doesn't 'believe' me."

"Well, I do. If you still want to go on, we have evidence to prove it."

Xia Luan gave a bitter smile. Even a stranger he had only just met believed him, but his own mother...

"But if we do that, we can't guarantee what will happen to your mother," Ye Qing said. He meant the abuse Jiang He might face afterward.

Xia Luan understood. Whether to press on or back down was up to him now.

If he pressed on, he would win!

If he backed down, he would lose—and never write another script again.