When Gu Bai returned to school, he couldn't avoid the pointing and whispering throughout the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Regarding the Li Gang incident, in order to minimize negative impact, the school did not make a big fuss. Even though these students were inside the Academy, they didn't know much more than outsiders.

There were even some people hoping for Gu Bai to get into trouble.

Never underestimate human jealousy.

On his way back, Gu Bai received a call from Wu Changyong, and accompanied by Gu Yi, he headed straight to the school meeting room.

In the meeting room, all the department heads were present. Wu Changyong, sitting at the head table, remained silent until Gu Bai knocked and entered, prompting Wu to speak, "Now that Gu Bai is here, let's start the meeting."

Responding to Lu Ang's greeting, Gu Bai sat beside him.

"Everyone knows classmate Gu Bai, the donor of our new teaching building, the chief planner of our school anniversary, who also invited Mayor Cui and Secretary Wang to attend our Academy's celebration.

Moreover, he is a distinguished alumnus recorded in our Academy's register!

Such a student, who has given so much to the school without ever asking for anything in return, has been slandered on the internet on a large scale by one of our own, a former vice director of the reception office! If the school can't show some stance on this, it's not just Gu Bai's heart that will grow cold, but the hearts of all students from the past 72 years of our Academy!"

Wu Changyong's voice was not loud, but the anger in it was unprecedentedly strong.

Huang Liang, the Director of School Affairs, spoke up directly, "Regarding the grievances suffered by classmate Gu Bai, our School Affairs Office takes the primary responsibility. I failed to remove the troublemaker Li Gang from the Academy sooner. As the Director of School Affairs, I deserve punishment."

Huang Liang stood up to review and criticize himself.

The cause and effect of the Li Gang incident were very clear to them. Although Gu Bai's handling of the situation at the time was inappropriate, there was nothing wrong if really pursued, and now that Li Gang blatantly distorts the truth, it's not only targeting Gu Bai; if mishandled, the entire Academy could be implicated.

"You definitely need to review your actions! I initially proposed to dismiss Li Gang and publicly criticize him, but you, taking advantage of your personal relationship with Li Gang, repeatedly pleaded on his behalf, causing the delay in issuing the criticism, resulting in the current public opinion storm involving the entire Academy. This entire morning, I've received several calls, all from higher-level departments, and there are already uninformed netizens complaining about us to higher authorities!"

Huang Liang, full of shame, remained silent.

After the school anniversary ended, Wu Changyong had asked him to explain the Li Gang incident to the school and issue a public criticism, but out of consideration for an old friend, he covered it up. Yet he didn't expect such an incident would arise in just a few days, directly implicating himself. If handled improperly, his position as Director of School Affairs might come to an end.

After Wu Changyong finished speaking, he no longer looked at Huang Liang but instead stood up and said to Gu Bai, "Classmate Gu Bai, this matter is the school's responsibility. If the school had seen through Li Gang's nature earlier and made the situation public then, you wouldn't have suffered these grievances. Here, I apologize to you on behalf of the school."

Gu Bai immediately stood up.

"Dean, there's no need for that. This matter has not affected me as much as you think, and the responsibility doesn't lie with the school.

Think a little bit more: could a mere Li Gang have orchestrated this entire online media storm? The minimum cost for this kind of public opinion is in the millions; do you think Li Gang would be willing to spend this much money targeting me?

So, you don't need to worry. In this matter, Li Gang is just a prop. Even without Li Gang, there are Zhao Gang, Ma Gang; there are plenty of people who dislike me and want to dig up dirt on me."

"Rest assured, the school will not let you suffer injustice for nothing. Regarding this matter, I've already reached out to several authoritative alumni in the media to clarify the real situation to the public."

Gu Bai was surprised Wu Changyong would take this matter so seriously, and with a wry smile, he said, "Dean, really, there's no need. If we want to make a statement, the influence of our group is not inferior to that of the school. This issue is actually easy to resolve.

Just now, Secretary Li from the municipal committee sent me a lengthy message; they've already instructed the police to place Li Gang under control. Once they control Li Gang and he reveals the mastermind, the official media needs only to issue a brief statement, and it will be resolved immediately."

As soon as Gu Bai finished speaking.

The group in the meeting room was suddenly taken aback.

Did this matter actually disturb the municipal committee?

Gu Bai noticed their confusion and, smiling, explained, "This is also the reason why I came to the school today. I would like to take a leave from school as I've been selected as one of the Top Ten Youth Leaders of 2017 and need to attend the Hua Country Ceremony held in Kyoto in two days."

The award list for the Hua Country Ceremony is a top-secret in the publicity department.

Except for major figures like Cui Hong and Wang Rengang, who have the authority to recommend and might know some information in advance, someone of Wu Changyong's rank wouldn't receive any news at all.

After the initial shock, Wu Changyong quickly broke into a smile.

"Great, great, great! I approve this leave, go participate in the ceremony with peace of mind. Classmate Gu Bai earning this honor is our Academy's fortune!"

Wu Changyong repeated "great" three times.

"If there's nothing else, I'll leave now."

"Then classmate Gu Bai, go and make your preparations."

The title of Top Ten Youth Leaders is among the most prestigious awards in the Hua Country Ceremony. Since its inception in the millennium, it has been hosted for 17 years. The Academy has never had anyone receive such an honor, and for Gu Bai to achieve this as a current student, it's no wonder Wu Changyong was so pleased.

Once Gu Bai left the meeting room, the smile on Wu Changyong's face disappeared once more.

"For the network opinion incident this time, Director of School Affairs Huang Liang assumes major responsibility, and he is temporarily suspended. The follow-up handling plan will be issued by the higher-level department."

If not for Huang Liang's dereliction of duty, Li Gang wouldn't have the opportunity to reverse black and white; regarding internal punishment, Huang Liang didn't dare to have any dissatisfaction.

"Additionally, notify all departments in the school to conduct self-examinations! We must prevent the recurrence of similar incidents! Also, establish a student complaint mailbox, and every faculty member and leader at the Academy must accept student supervision!"

"Meeting adjourned!"

Within the meeting room, no one dared to dissent.

They knew, Wu Changyong was truly angry.

.................

Upon returning to the dormitory, Deng Bo and the others hurriedly gathered around.

"White Pieces, what's going on? I see the whole internet has exploded, all cursing you, and your phone is unreachable."

Deng Bo asked Gu Bai with a concerned expression.

Gu Bai casually smiled, leaning back in a nearby computer chair.

"What could happen to me? So many people are calling my phone that I turned it off to avoid the hassle."

"I see the internet is all about cursing you and boycotting your company, yet you're still able to laugh!"

Deng Bo's concern for Gu Bai was absolutely genuine. In a previous life, when Gu Bai had nothing, Deng Bo was the one who always supported him. Seeing Deng Bo's earnest expression, Gu Bai jokingly punched him in the chest.

"I'm not a celebrity. Can the internet opinion make my bank account balance decrease by a single cent?"

Seeing Gu Bai still joking around, Deng Bo gradually calmed down. Gu Bai's expression indicated that in his eyes, this incident wasn't a big deal.

Suddenly, Gu Bai turned to Lou Xun and Wen Cunming, who didn't get a chance to speak.

"Now you two are employees of my company. Are you afraid of being boycotted even before debuting?"

Lou Xun, not very talkative, just shook his head looking at Gu Bai without saying anything, while Wen Cunming said directly, "Cut the crap. Even if boycotted, it doesn't matter to me. After all, the salary you give me is enough to live on. At worst, I'll never debut and just live off your company. I don't believe a billion-dollar group can't afford to pay a small employee like me."

"Alright, these are minor issues. Don't worry about them. By tomorrow at the latest, it'll be resolved. You guys just eat and drink as usual, no need to worry about me."

Hearing Gu Bai's words, they were reassured.

After a few casual chats, Deng Bo couldn't help but continue, "White Pieces, I really think this matter isn't that simple. We also know Li Gang doesn't have that kind of guts. Surely, someone's targeting you behind the scenes. You should be careful."

Hearing Deng Bo's words, Gu Bai first smiled and said, "Even a straightforward guy like you can see someone's targeting me. Do you think I don't know?"

Then his face slowly turned cold, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"No matter who it is this time, I will make sure the mastermind pays."

Deng Bo and the others couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines at Gu Bai's serious tone.

(PS: There's no such event as the Hua Country Ceremony, purely fictional.)

"""

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