Jiang Jiamian was watching the exciting developnts on the computer screen in high spirits, lazily sprawled in the chair that had accompanied the original owner for who knew how many years.
Sudden, hurried footsteps sounded outside the bedroom door, followed by it being pushed open.
"Are you alright..."
Zhou Mushen’s voice cut off halfway.
Looking closely, he saw Jiang Jiamian sitting with the relaxed air of a big shot, eyes full of amusent as he watched the screen.
Zhou Mushen let out a quiet breath of relief.
He had been cleaning up the dishes earlier. When he finished, he intended to check his phone for any updates to the novel, only to find the entire website in an uproar.
The person in front of him was one of the victims.
The book that was supposed to be published in the future... had already been written by soone else.
It was that book.
Legacy of the Fallen Gods.
Coincidentally, he had added it to his bookshelf a few days ago after seeing an interesting synopsis, planning to read it when he had ti.
He never expected it to belong to Jiang Jiamian.
Even though he had only skimd the online gossip before rushing over, without carefully examining the evidence screenshots, he still believed it without hesitation.
If Jiang Jiamian said it was his, then it must be his.
There was no reason for him to fabricate sothing so pointless and foolish.
"What’s wrong?"
Jiang Jiamian turned his head, raised an eyebrow, and smiled faintly, mockery glinting in his eyes.
"Who told you to barge in without knocking? Where’s your professionalism?"
Zhou Mushen t that teasing gaze and felt his heart skip a beat.
But he quickly reined himself in.
So things might already be tacitly understood, but his composure remained intact. He pretended not to notice anything, cald himself, slowed his movents, softened his expression, and put on his usual professional smile.
"I just wanted to ask whether you’d like so tea or water. I was worried you might be too tired from writing and forgot to drink."
Jiang Jiamian: "..."
Everyone already knew what was going on. Why keep pretending?
Tsk.
Impressive self-control.
He tapped the desk lightly. "Drink. Pour so tea."
Hmph.
He wanted to see how long this man could keep acting.
"Alright."
Zhou Mushen nodded calmly and turned to leave the bedroom.
It was as if he hadn’t just been exposed at all. His ntal fortitude was truly exceptional.
Jiang Jiamian didn’t bother to expose him directly. This kind of tacit sparring wasn’t new to him. Coincidentally, it always seed to happen with the sa type of soul-bound figure.
He turned back to the screen.
Reborn from the Ashes, Li Zhe, still hadn’t shown up. The onlookers, however, were growing increasingly furious, their indignation spiraling out of control.
Jiang Jiamian’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. Just as he was about to add sothing or declare his stance, his phone chid and lit up.
He picked it up casually and saw a ssage from his editor, Snippy.
"Holy crap, what happened?! I just logged in and it’s gone viral! You got plagiarized?! That new author actually stole your unreleased novel?!"
Jiang Jiamian pressed the voice ssage button.
"Yes. Don’t worry. I have solid evidence, there’s no doubt about it. I’m planning to issue a statent and pursue legal responsibility. I was just about to contact you. This kind of thing definitely requires the platform to step in."
Snippy replied almost instantly.
"Absolutely. As long as you’re confident, the website will never protect a plagiarist. Send the evidence screenshots. I’ll report it imdiately, and his book will be taken down soon."
"Okay." Jiang Jiamian replied. "I’ll send them right away. If the platform handles it, that saves even more trouble."
"Our stance is very clear." Snippy said. "We absolutely don’t protect plagiarists. You can rest assured. But honestly... How did you only notice after it passed 100,000 words? I always thought it was just a talented newbie, who would’ve thought it plagiarized yours?"
Jiang Jiamian sighed.
"It didn’t stand out at first, so I didn’t pay attention. But recently it’s been way too eye-catching and popular. I checked it out of curiosity and was shocked to find it was the book I was planning to publish, just with the details polished and the text written out."
"It’s good you found out now. With evidence, justice will be done. But how did he even get your outline? That’s worrying. You should switch writing software."
"I already did." Jiang Jiamian replied calmly. "It’s more secure now. But this book... I don’t feel like starting it again. I’ve already written, and I’m too lazy to rewrite this one."
"No way!" Snippy protested. "That was yours to begin with! You don’t need to throw it away just because a thief touched it! After this incident, if you reopen it, it’ll definitely explode in popularity!"
"No."
Jiang Jiamian refused without hesitation.
"I’ll finish the one I’m currently serializing first. After that, I’ll write a new story. I guarantee it won’t be worse than Legacy of the Fallen Gods."
Snippy hesitated, then sighed. "Alright. I trust your ability. You’ll definitely write sothing even better."
"Mm. Don’t worry."
"Finished talking?"
A deep voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Jiang Jiamian frowned and turned around, only to see Zhou Mushen standing there, teapot in one hand and teacup in the other.
"Damn, you scared !" Jiang Jiamian spun the chair around. "When did you co in? You didn’t knock last ti, and you didn’t knock this ti either! This won’t do, I’m filing a complaint!"
Zhou Mushen: "..."
His lips twitched slightly as he handed over the teacup. "I knocked three tis. You didn’t hear , so I ca in. I saw you were busy and didn’t want to interrupt. I waited until you finished talking. Sorry if I startled you."
Jiang Jiamian’s expression twisted. "So... you heard everything I said to Snippy?"
Zhou Mushen blinked, looking innocent. "Snippy? Who’s Snippy? As for what you were talking about... I wouldn’t say everything, but I heard most of it."
Jiang Jiamian: "..."
Thank you for your honesty.
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