The first wave of pressure
At 8:23 p. m., Yang Xiaoming received that phone call.
He was sitting at his desk editing a new video. On his computer screen was footage from his visit to a newly opened Sichuan restaurant yesterday. He tried five dishes, and grimaced as he ate each one—not because they were bad, but because they were incredibly spicy. He planned to edit this footage into the second installment of his "Extremely Spicy Challenge" series.
His phone vibrated, and the screen displayed "Unknown Number." He assumed it was a food delivery or a sales call and hung up.
Two minutes later, the same number called again.
Yang Xiaoming frowned, put down the mouse, and answered the call, "Hello?"
"Is this ' Taste Detective Xiao Yang '? Mr. Yang Xiaoming." The voice on the other end of the phone was a woman's, speaking at a moderate pace, with clear enunciation. She sounded to be in her thirties and had a professional politeness.
"Who am I? Who are you?"
"I'm Wang, a specialist from the legal department of Dongbei Catering Group," the other party said. "Regarding the video you posted on Douyin yesterday involving our service area stores, there are some issues we need to discuss with you."
Yang Xiaoming was stunned. He never expected Dongbei to come to him directly. He had been a food blogger for more than two years and had reviewed hundreds of restaurants, some praising and some criticizing. Occasionally, merchants would send him private messages asking him to delete posts or explain the situation, but this was the first time he had received a call directly from the company's legal department.
"Oh... that video." He cleared his throat. "Is there a problem?"
"The video contains factual errors, which have negatively impacted our company's reputation." Commissioner Wang's voice remained calm, but his wording became more formal. "The customer comments you cited in the video, accusing us of using 'frozen pre-prepared fish' and implying that we 'mask fishy smells with sauce,' are baseless and inconsistent with the facts."
Yang Xiaoming sat up straight. "Commissioner Wang, my video is just an edited version of the original footage. The customer did say those things; I didn't embellish them. As for whether those words are true or not—I was just a recorder, not a judge."
"Records also need to be verified," Commissioner Wang said. "Your dissemination of false information without verification constitutes an infringement of our company's right to reputation. According to Article 1024 of the Civil Code..."
She began quoting legal provisions. Yang Xiaoming listened while quickly searching his mind for these clauses. He wasn't a legal professional, but having worked in social media for a long time, he had some understanding of the boundaries of defamation disputes.
"Commissioner Wang," he interrupted her, "My video title and text didn't say ' Dongbei definitely uses pre-prepared dishes,' it only presented customer reviews and discussions. This falls within the normal scope of public evaluation of goods or services, and doesn't constitute defamation, does it?"
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.
"Mr. Yang," Commissioner Wang's voice deepened slightly, "We understand your position as a content creator. However, this video has already caused some negative impact. We suggest you proactively delete the video and issue a clarification statement, indicating that the video content only reflects the subjective feelings of an individual customer and does not represent objective facts, and apologize to Dongbei Catering."
"Apologize?" Yang Xiaoming frowned. "Why should I apologize? I didn't lie."
"If you insist on not deleting it," Commissioner Wang's tone remained polite, but a hint of coldness crept in, "Our company will have to consider taking legal action to protect its legitimate rights and interests. We may then file a lawsuit on the grounds of 'commercial defamation' or 'damage to business reputation.' You should be aware that the litigation process will consume a lot of your time and energy, and... the possibility of losing is very high."
Yang Xiaoming tightened his grip on his phone.
He heard the sound of papers turning over on the other end of the phone.
"Furthermore," Commissioner Wang continued, his voice soft but each word clear, "We have noticed that you have received paid promotions from restaurant brands such as ' Sichuan Flavor House ' and ' Harbor Fishing Village ' over the past year. These two brands are direct competitors of our company. If this is raised in court, it may cause the judge to have... reasonable doubts about the 'objectivity and neutrality' of your video."
Yang Xiaoming's back was covered in cold sweat.
He did accept promotional work from those brands, but those were normal business collaborations, and the videos clearly labeled them as "advertisements." Moreover, those promotions happened three or four months ago and have absolutely nothing to do with the service area video he posted yesterday.
But the other party had clearly investigated him.
"Commissioner Wang, are you threatening me?" He tried to keep his voice calm.
"No, I'm just stating the facts and the possible legal consequences," Commissioner Wang said. "We hope to resolve this matter peacefully and rationally. Delete the video, issue an apology, and that's the end of it. Otherwise, further developments may be beyond your control."
There was a few seconds of silence on the phone, with only a slight static sound.
Yang Xiaoming's mind raced. Two hundred thousand followers wasn't considered a big influencer on Douyin, but it had been built up over two or three years. He used this account to take on some promotions and earn a little extra money—not much, but enough to pay for rent, food, and occasionally send some money home. If he were to be sued, regardless of winning or losing, the legal fees and time costs alone would be unbearable.
Not to mention the other party's implication of "taking money to smear competitors"—although he didn't do it, once he gets involved in such an accusation, it's hard to explain within the fan circle.
"I need to think about it," he said.
"Okay," Commissioner Wang said. "We hope to see your decision by noon tomorrow. If the video is still not deleted by then, we will formally initiate legal proceedings."
The call ended.
Yang Xiaoming put down his phone and stared at the still unfinished footage of the sizzling hot challenge on his computer screen. Suddenly, he felt a churning in his stomach.
He opened Douyin and found the service area video he posted yesterday. The data was better than he expected: 28,000 likes, over 4,000 comments, and nearly 2,000 shares. The comment section was filled with heated debate:
"I've eaten fish from Dongbei before, and it certainly doesn't taste like it was freshly killed."
"I support the blogger for speaking the truth!"
"Isn't Dongbei going to come out and explain this?"
"What's there to explain? They didn't break the law. Pre-cooked meals are very common now, aren't they?"
"But Dongbei advertises that their products are freshly made. If they are truly pre-made, wouldn't that be considered false advertising?"
He scrolled down and saw a newly posted top comment:
[Dongbei Catering's official Weibo: Our company always adheres to the business philosophy of "fresh ingredients, cooked to order," and all stores use fresh ingredients delivered daily. We reserve the right to pursue legal action against any false statements circulating online. Thank you for your continued support and trust.]
It was posted 30 minutes ago.
There are already over a thousand replies to this Weibo. The top-voted comments are:
"We reserve the right to pursue legal action... So, is it actually a pre-made dish or not?"
"This response sounds too official, like they're a little guilty."
"They just said, 'It's normal for the quality to be a little lower,' is that really a big deal?"
"Is Dongbei getting anxious? Did they guess right?"
"Support Dongbei's rights protection! The cost of spreading rumors online is too low these days!"
Yang Xiaoming turned off the comments section, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.
His initial motivation for becoming a food blogger was simple: he loves to eat and enjoys sharing. He praises delicious restaurants and criticizes disappointing ones. He never intentionally bashes any particular restaurant, but he's not afraid to offend people either. He believes that authenticity is the most important thing.
But this time... it seems different.
Dongbei isn't a small street-side shop; it's a chain restaurant group. They have a legal department that investigates its past collaborations and uses legal clauses to exert pressure.
The phrase "the chances of losing the case are very high" echoed in his mind.
There's also the "receiving promotional fees from competitors" accusation—although he hasn't done anything wrong, the other party is clearly implying he has commercial motives. If this goes to court, what will the judge think? What will the fans think?
He picked up his phone, intending to message other bloggers he knew in the industry to ask for their opinions, but his finger hovered over the screen before stopping.
What's the point of asking? Who can take the blame for him?
The distant sound of car horns drifted in from outside the window, muffled and strained. The only sounds in the room were the hum of the computer fan and the static from the video footage still playing in his headphones—his slurping sounds from the spiciness, which sounded somewhat comical.
He reopened the service area video and pressed pause.
The image freezes on the young man in the jacket. It's a profile shot, so you can't see his whole face, but you can tell he's calm, even a little nonchalant. When he speaks, his tone is as if he's just talking about the weather.
"That's normal."
"It's normal for the quality to be a little lower."
Yang Xiaoming stared at that face for a long time.
Then he moved the mouse, and the cursor landed on the "Delete" button in the lower right corner of the video.
My finger hovers over the left mouse button, but I don't press it.
He glanced at the comments section again; the latest comment was posted five minutes ago:
["Hang in there, blogger! Don't be intimidated by capital! We need the truth!"]
The number of likes is rising rapidly.
Yang Xiaoming closed his eyes.
The light from the computer screen shone through my eyelids, turning into a blurry red.