69novels Chapter 146: The Explosion Completely Detonates! The Entire Internet Apologizes to Geng Zhi
Chapter 146: The Explosion Completely Detonates! The Entire Internet Apologizes to Geng Zhi
Chapter 146: The Explosion Completely Detonates! The Entire Internet Apologizes to Geng Zhi (8k)
In the large office outside, only Ma Tongtong, Yang Mingxia, Lü Siyu, and customer service manager Du Yixuan were watching the CCTV 3.15 Gala live, while everyone else was still busy with their own things.
In the CEO's office.
Geng Zhi sat alone in front of the computer, watching the live broadcast on CCTV's website. The light from the screen reflected on his face, and his expression appeared very calm.
From the moment he received that seemingly casual "Are you there?" message from reporter Zhou Haoran that afternoon, he knew it was a hint from the reporter that the chaos of online dating would definitely be exposed tonight.
On television, the 3.15 Gala, themed "New Rules, New Momentum," began on time.
The four hosts, Ouyang Xiadan, Chen Weihong, Wang Xiaoya, and Li Jiaming, took turns on stage, reciting their lines with clear pronunciation and commanding presence.
The first exposed case involves consumer electronics issues—the hidden rules of flat-screen TV warranty have been thoroughly exposed.
Next, the second issue is the problem of gutter oil returning to the dining table—the footage taken by reporters undercover is shocking, showing black oil being scooped from the sewer and, after simple processing, returning to the restaurant kitchen.
Thirdly, the chaotic practice of 4S stores making profits by overcharging for minor repairs —
The fourth, the fifth, the sixth ————————
Geng Zhi read through each item one by one, his expression calm, but the frequency of his fingers tapping on the table increased.
Eighth, disposable underwear has issues such as lack of sterilization, counterfeit materials, and secondary recycling —
At this time, many bloggers on Weibo have begun to report the issues exposed on March 15th with text and pictures, and netizens have also started to discuss them.
"March 15th has begun, and we're eating melons one after another."
"The efforts this year aren't very strong! They're all the same old issues."
"The post on Tianya (a Chinese online forum) was so popular before the Lunar New Year, yet the problems in the dating and marriage industry weren't mentioned?"
"Isn't the problem with the dating industry something that 'honest' guy fabricated? The fact that he's quiet online now is the biggest proof of that!"
"Exactly—people who only know how to boast! If there's something really wrong, why isn't it exposed on 3.15?"
At this point, the television program had already broadcast the ninth problem—the use of leftover ingredients in the kitchens of several well-known catering brands, resulting in substandard hygiene.
In the footage, the reporter captured images of a moldy cutting board in the kitchen, cockroaches crawling across the stove, and semi-finished ingredients placed on the floor.
The usually calm and straightforward Geng Zhi suddenly felt a strong sense of tension as his fingers began to gently rub against each other.
-
He checked the time—21:44.
The gala has been going on for almost two hours and has exposed nine cases.
"They're really not going to broadcast it anymore, are they?" he muttered to himself, then quickly picked up the cup on the table and gulped down two mouthfuls. The cold tea tasted bitter, but he was completely unaware of it.
Geng Zhi is becoming increasingly anxious, but others who watch the CCTV 3.15 Gala are becoming more and more relaxed.
Located far away in the capital city, at the headquarters of Baihe.com.
Although Mu Yan had previously determined, based on information from various sources, that the online dating industry would not be featured on CCTV's 3.15 Gala, she still cautiously kept Han Yulu, Li Li, public relations manager Guan Lixia, customer service manager, and a few others at the company, just in case they were named.
In Mu Yan's office.
At the beginning of the party, Mu Yan, Han Yulu, and the others were still a little nervous. But as the cases were released one by one, their tense nerves gradually relaxed.
"President Mu, just as I said, our industry won't be called out by CCTV, hahaha!" Li Li said triumphantly.
"Yes, I was overthinking it. It was a false alarm. We should be more careful in the future—"
Just then, TV host Wang Xiaoya spoke up: "Next up is an industry that hundreds of millions of people follow every day—marriage and dating services."
boom-!
Mu Yan's heart sank suddenly, as if it had been gripped tightly.
The other people in the room shuddered almost simultaneously.
Han Yulu's palms began to sweat, Li Li's smile froze on her face as she bit her lip, and PR manager Guan Lixia's expression was even more complicated, as if a tremendous burden had suddenly pressed down on her—
Mu Yan stared at the television, saying nothing.
The television screen switched to a recording of a reporter's undercover investigation at a training session for "wine scammers." A trainer was seen loudly proclaiming, "Remember this: after three days of chatting, you must arrange to meet in person. If you don't meet, immediately replace them—"
"The commission for these bar girls is 30%, and they need to guide users to buy expensive wines —"
Then there are the webpages displaying platform features designed to entice users to make purchases—such as those on Century Home Network, Baihe Network, and Zhenai Network.
He was called out by name.
Then, a video clip of a CCTV interview with Geng Zhi was played.
[When dating and marriage are turned into a business solely focused on financial statements, systemic risks arise.]
Algorithms themselves have no values, but the people who create them must. If the only performance indicators are the number of paying users and revenue, then deception and misleading practices will become the unspoken rules.
[This is the nature of business, something we cannot avoid, but perhaps we can act as alum in the industry, making the water a little clearer.]
pat!
Enraged, Mu Yan turned off the computer monitor, and the screen went black instantly.
But the computer's audio continued, and the host's voiceover persisted: "—The chaos in the dating industry has seriously damaged consumers' rights—"
Mu Yan ignored the computer, stood up, and decisively said, "Immediately summon the public relations, customer service, marketing, and operations departments back to the office, right now!"
Han Yulu and Li Li practically ran out.
Five minutes later.
Several senior executives who were working overtime at the company had already sat down in their offices and started discussing countermeasures.
Compared to the public opinion crisis that occurred earlier this year, which was primarily caused by netizens, this crisis, which was named by CCTV, is undoubtedly much greater. This is the biggest crisis that Baihe.com has encountered since its establishment.
"President Mu, what we need to do now is to issue a public apology to the entire internet as soon as possible. No excuses, no shirking responsibility, just admitting all mistakes and promising to immediately and drastically rectify the problems," suggested Guan Lixia, the public relations manager.
"No, Manager Guan, is it really necessary for us to apologize so thoroughly?" Han Yulu asked, puzzled. "This is having a huge impact on the image of Baihe.com!"
"CCTV exposed problems across the entire industry, not just our Baihe.com. Especially the issues of bar scams and marriage scams, those are problems of third-party fraudsters, not our platform itself. We still have a lot of room for explanation!" Li Li followed up.
"Yes, Manager Guan, we can still do what we did last time with the PR incident involving Geng Zhi: the three of us can work together, spend money to hire various influential figures, wingmen, and online trolls to speak on our behalf," the customer service manager added.
"Absolutely not!" Guan Lixia quickly shook her head to stop her. "Concealing the facts, shirking responsibility, delaying solutions, making empty promises, and using online trolls to whitewash the situation are all major taboos in crisis public relations, and will only lead to greater backlash."
Everyone chimed in with their own ideas and suggestions, and the group quickly split into two factions.
Public relations manager Guan Lixia was in one faction, while the rest of the people were in another.
Neither side could convince the other, and in the end, everyone looked at Mu Yan.
Compared to his previous extreme anger, Mu Yan had calmed down. After thinking for a long time, he looked at Guan Lixia and said, "Manager Guan, can't we really try to calm things down? Or perhaps try to pull some strings?"
"Mr. Mu, firstly, it wasn't ordinary media that exposed the problem, it was CCTV. Secondly, with the internet so developed now, it's very difficult to suppress. Thirdly, although I haven't seen the public opinion analysis report yet, I guess netizens are definitely outraged now."
"But we can explain it to the public!"
"Even if our explanation is entirely true, no one will listen; it will only backfire!" Guan Lixia quickly added, "The only thing we can do now is apologize, sincerely apologize, apologize to the core, without any perfunctory or wishful thinking! Then, we should proactively contact the Industry and Commerce Bureau and accept the investigation."
After Guan Lixia finished speaking, no one in the meeting room offered any more suggestions, but some people were still unconvinced.
Everyone was waiting for Mu Yan to make a decision.
Mu Yan slowly stood up, took a deep breath, and said, "In terms of public relations, I respect Manager Guan's professional advice. But I don't think it's appropriate for us to admit our mistakes so thoroughly."
Once they accept it all, Baihe.com's reputation built up over five years will be wiped out overnight.
"Agreed! Agreed with President Mu's point of view! We still have the reputation of [Jiaotong University Matchmaker] to back us up, and we are the first online dating platform in the industry to implement real-name registration, so we will definitely be much better than Century Home Network and True Love Network!" Li Li echoed immediately.
"Exactly, this is a problem across the entire industry; the law doesn't punish everyone—"
Han Yulu, the customer service manager, and several others also agreed with Mu Yan's point of view.
Guan Lixia was a little embarrassed, but she didn't dare to object too much. She could only sigh and shout in her heart: Sincerity is the best approach, and actions speak louder than words!
With time of the essence, Mu Yan didn't hesitate any longer and decisively instructed, "Manager Guan, prepare an apology statement immediately and publish it simultaneously on Xinlang Weibo, Baihe.com's official website, and other platforms. The attitude must be sincere, promising to rectify some of the problems and explaining the reasons for others. Produce the draft within half an hour."
"Li Li, immediately contact NetEase, Xinlang, Sohu, Tencent News, and more than a dozen other well-known newspapers —"
"Yu Lu, you are responsible for organizing all operations staff to keep a close eye on online public opinion. Once you discover anything—"
After hearing Mu Yan's instructions, the executives immediately dispersed and began to work. It was already 22:02 PM.
Mu Yan, who was usually full of energy, suddenly felt exhausted.
"Sigh, I've done everything I could. The rest is up to luck," Mu Yan sighed.
He slowly returned to his office from the conference room, walked to the window, and looked at the ever-flowing traffic outside, feeling a mix of emotions.
-
Five years ago, Lao Tian and Lao Qian co-founded Baihe.com with the aim of [helping millions of Chinese people have happy marriages and families].
Taking it as their own responsibility, they were full of vigor and ambition at that time.
He asked himself honestly, and even five years later, his original aspirations were still there, but he was too tightly bound by performance targets.
Thinking of this, he turned back to the table, picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and called Zhu Xiaohu.
The call was connected.
"What's wrong, Lao Mu? It's so late, are you craving some pig brains to boost your brainpower again?" Zhu Xiaohu's teasing voice came through the phone.
"Old Zhu, your online dating service was called out by CCTV's 3.15 Gala."
"Huh?" The other end of the phone went silent.
After a long while, Zhu Xiaohu's voice came again: "Have you arranged all the public relations actions?"
"Yes, everything's arranged. The rest is up to fate."
Mu Yan calmly explained Baihe.com's public relations efforts to Zhu Xiaohu, then launched into a heart-to-heart talk: "Old Zhu, Baihe.com was the first in the industry to launch a unique matchmaking service model of '[Mind Matching, Achieving Happy Marriages].' Not long ago, we were also the first platform in the industry to implement a real-name registration system."
"Our Baihe.com has done a pretty good job, hasn't it?"
Zhu Xiaohu hummed in agreement and then listened to Mu Yan's rambling. He knew that Mu Yan just needed a listener at this moment.
"But Baihe.com faces pressure from competitors, from investors like you, and from the company's performance! With so many pressures combined, it's inevitable that some actions will be distorted, you understand?"
"I understand."
"Yes, I admit to misleading members into spending money, and we are preparing to rectify the situation. But those scammers, those alcohol scammers, and those fake marriage scammers—this isn't just Baihe.com's or any dating platform's responsibility! It's a common problem in the broader environment!"
"After all, wherever there are people, there are scammers. I can't decide that!"
Mu Yan poured out his heart, and Zhu Xiaohu listened quietly, occasionally replying with "hmm," "yes," or "I understand."
However, when Mu Yan mentioned that CCTV had also broadcast a clip of Geng Zhi's interview, Zhu Xiaohu was suddenly startled.
As if suddenly realizing something, he quickly asked, "Old Mu, what did CCTV broadcast about my junior brother?"
"What [junior brother]?" Mu Yan asked, puzzled.
-
"I meant [mortal enemy]. Isn't Geng Zhi your mortal enemy?" Zhu Xiaohu reacted quickly and explained.
"Oh, I wouldn't call him a mortal enemy, more like a business rival," Mu Yan explained. "And I've defeated him now."
"Old Mu, how did you become so narcissistic! Compared to my junior brother, you're nothing but a small fry!" Zhu Xiaohu shook his head but didn't refute him. Instead, he continued to press, "So, what did CCTV interview about your defeated opponent?"
"Old Zhu, why are you making such a fuss? It's still that old interview video of Geng Zhi! The one that netizens later called the [industry alumnus]." Mu Yan said casually.
"Oh! I get it, I know what's going on!" Zhu Xiaohu slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing what was happening.
"No, Lao Zhu, what do you know now? You mean that the online dating service being named by 3.15 was promoted by Geng Zhi?" Mu Yan was very puzzled.
"Of course not! He wouldn't have that kind of ability!" Zhu Xiaohu said.
"That's true." Mu Yan then asked, "Old Zhu, what projects is Geng Zhi working on next? Did you invest in him?"
"Absolutely not!" Zhu Xiaohu said decisively. "He's a defeated opponent of yours, not even as good as you. Why would I invest in him!"
"Huh? Old Zhu, why do I feel like you're insulting me?"
"Old Mu, you can be sad for now. I'm hanging up. I'm suddenly feeling a bit dizzy, probably from staying up too late. Talk to you later."
As Zhu Xiaohu spoke, he hurriedly hung up the phone, muttering to himself:
My junior colleague may not have the ability to get the 3.15 Gala to name and shame the marriage and dating service industry, but he has the ability to use this event to create hype. He began to connect the previous clues in his mind.
No wonder my junior colleague said that Momo's initial user acquisition cost could be less than 3 yuan, and no wonder he dared to promise that it could acquire 100 million new users in just over a month.
So that's what he was waiting for! He must have known the inside story beforehand.
Zhu Xiaohu could imagine that with CCTV's endorsement, the online criticism against Geng Zhi would be reversed once again. Geng Zhi would inevitably seize this opportunity to launch Momo.
He began to mutter to himself:
Brilliant! My junior brother's move was truly brilliant!
It's a pity that I missed another chance to bet on a unicorn!
Sigh, indecisiveness really makes things worse! I'll definitely change next time!
Zhu Xiaohu's analysis was absolutely correct; at this moment, online public opinion has begun to show a significant change.
Tonight, CCTV's 3.15 program named and shamed consumer electronics, food safety, health consumer products, automobile services, and food processing.
Problems related to disorder in ten industries, including clothing/daily necessities, aquatic products, catering services, and marriage and dating services.
But what's most talked about online is the chaos in the dating and matchmaking service industry.
The high level of attention generated by events such as the white paper release conference and the viral post on Tianya before the Lunar New Year, coupled with the polarized public opinion surrounding the "If You Are the One" dating show, has led to a renewed surge in interest in dating services.
The fastest response and the most interaction from the public was undoubtedly from Xinlang Weibo.
"Holy crap, Geng Zhi was wrongly accused??"
"So what he said was true!! Even CCTV has cleared his name!!"
"During that interview, the few seconds he was silent made me cry."
"I've said it before, being straightforward is like being a 'middleman' in the industry! And you're still criticizing him?! Apologize now!"
-
"I'm sorry for being so straightforward!"
At 22:22 PM, following Century Home Network, Baihe.com's official Weibo account also issued an apology statement:
Regarding the issues exposed by CCTV's 3.15 Gala tonight, Baihe.com has immediately extended our sincerest apologies to our users and the public! We will join forces with [Jiaotong University Matchmaker] to […].
However, this apology statement on Weibo just happened to become a punching bag for some netizens who had wronged and were straightforward.
Three minutes later, Baihe.com's official Weibo account was flooded with comments: "Still making excuses for yourself???"
"That's it? Why didn't you say anything last year? Why didn't you say anything at the beginning of this year? Did you have to wait until it was exposed?"
"Weren't all those people online trying to clear your names? Was that a PR stunt?"
"You still have the nerve to mention [Jiaotong University Matchmaker]? Isn't Ma Chunmei the one who calls the shots now? Gengzhi has been so criticized by you guys he's almost quitting the internet!!"
Initially, many netizens left comments such as "Support!", "Keep it up, Gengzhi!", and "Sorry, Gengzhi!" on the official Weibo account of [Jiaotong University Matchmaker].
The comment section of the official Weibo account of [Jiaotong University Matchmaker] only changed after a comment from someone claiming to be an insider appeared.
wind.
[I'm an insider. Actually, Mr. Geng has already been kicked out of [Jiaotong University Matchmaker]. [Jiaotong University Matchmaker] now belongs to Ma Chunmei and has long been an appendage of Baihe.com!! If you want to support Mr. Geng, just go to his personal Weibo!]
The comment quickly became the most upvoted comment, and many new comments immediately followed.
"Damn! So CEO Geng got kicked out?"
"Absolutely! The industry's chaos has been exposed, and Ma Chunmei has also succumbed to capital. President Geng's fate was sealed long ago—"
"We're asking [insiders] to reveal more of the story behind this!" This comment became the most upvoted second-level comment.
Inside the office of Mingfan Technology.
A small group of people had already left work, but the remaining four—Yang Mingxia, Lü Siyu, Ma Tongtong, and Du Yixuan—cheered when they saw CCTV name and shame the online dating industry.
In the CEO's office.
When he saw that the last problem CCTV called out was the online dating industry, Geng Zhi's tense nerves finally relaxed, and a smile appeared on his lips.
He had expected to be overjoyed, but instead he was surprisingly calm.
Without hesitation, Geng Zhi sent the prepared message to his father, Geng Youcai, immediately, so that his family would no longer worry about the negative online comments.
Then, Li Haipeng sent a QQ message.
[Li Haipeng]: "Boss, they called out names! CCTV really called out names! This is awesome!!"
[Straightforward]: "President Li, you've been working tirelessly behind the scenes, thank you for your hard work! You are the one who truly deserves the title of [Industry Elite]!"
[Li Haipeng]: "Without the boss's guidance, I wouldn't know anything. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction, giving me the opportunity to do something for this industry, and making my undercover work worthwhile."
[Li Haipeng]: "Besides, didn't the boss say this is 'silent glory'? I'm just waiting for the day you vindicate me! Hehe!"
[Li Haipeng]: "I just realized that CCTV's undercover investigation skills are far superior to mine! I'm truly impressed!"
Li Haipeng excitedly sent several messages in a row.
[Straightforward]: "President Li, you've worked hard. Let's join forces in the future to continue developing alum!"
Geng Zhi only replied to Li Haipeng with this one sentence, and then didn't reply again, because more than a dozen text messages and QQ messages came in one after another.
There are those from the father, Geng Youcai; those from Aunt Qin Hongfang; those from Gu Wanning; those from Zhang Xuhao; and those from Zhu Xiaohu, among others.
After quickly replying to everyone, Geng Zhi called Gu Wanning.
Gu Wanning congratulated him again on the phone and then hung up. She guessed that Geng Zhi must be very busy at the moment, and not wanting to delay his work, she arranged to chat again the next day.
With a slight smile on his lips, Geng Zhi stretched and prepared to leave work.
The moment I opened the CEO's office door, I was stunned.
A group of people who hadn't yet left work were already standing in a row at the office door, waiting for him to come out.
The office erupted in enthusiastic and prolonged applause, and one student, who was easily moved to tears, even began to shed tears.
"Congratulations to the boss! CCTV has cleared his name and exonerated him!"
Geng Zhi was very touched: "It's so late, everyone should go home and rest! We're fighting a war of attrition, there will be many more opportunities to work overtime in the future, let's go!"
As he spoke, he waved his hand, forcing everyone to leave work early.
"Boss, have you checked your Weibo account? Your follower count is slowly picking up again! And it's going to skyrocket!"
At 22:30, Geng Zhi's Weibo followers were still 33.
At 22:55, the number of followers returned to 47, matching the peak number of followers Gengzhi had before the Lunar New Year.
At 23:15, the number of followers has exceeded 50.
[When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked. When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away. When the enemy state is destroyed, the strategist is killed!]
[The innocent will be proven innocent; time will tell!]
The number of comments under these two Weibo posts he made before the Lunar New Year is increasing at a rate of twenty to thirty per minute.
The comments section was filled with unanimous praise: "Sorry for being so straightforward!", "I'll always be your fan!", "A true industry leader!", "Looking forward to your triumphant return to continue purifying the industry!", "I'll support all your products from now on!"
Other comments were angry rants against Ma Chunmei and Baihe.com.
有的热心网友，开始整理耿直成立[交大红娘]的时间线：2009年10月底成立，2009年11月11日第一场动————2010年1月底他被全网骂————
The night is deep.
Many media professionals who watched the 3.15 Gala are still frantically rushing to finish their articles, waiting to be the first to publish them tomorrow morning.
Beijing, NetEase.
Tang Yan, the deputy editor-in-chief of NetEase, is still working overtime.
Originally, routine review work was handled by the chief editors and editors of each channel, while Tang Yan was only responsible for controlling the direction and formulating strategies.
But there was a hot topic to report on today's 3.15 Gala, which was quite crucial, so he stayed at the company, watching the program while working overtime and keeping an eye on the 0.
When Tang Yan saw CCTV name the online dating industry and saw clips of Geng Zhi's past interviews being broadcast, he immediately realized what this meant for Geng Zhi and the Momo app.
It turns out that Geng Zhi had more than just a long article to promote Momo; he also had the endorsement of CCTV!
Moreover, the latter is the trump card that plays a crucial role in stabilizing the situation!
While he was amazed by Geng Zhi's strategic planning, he hurriedly pulled out his already finalized 3-word article and began to readjust and revise it based on the content of today's 15 Gala.
The next day, I woke up.
Social media, with its more immediate and dynamic nature, remains vibrant, and traditional media outlets are also beginning to voice their opinions.
[Beijing News] Front Page Headline—"Uprightness Rehabilitated: The Truth and Cost Behind the Reversal of Public Opinion"
[Southern Weekly] Cover Story – “49 Days of an Alum”, Introduction: “When the entire industry was chasing profits, he chose to stand up. Then he was criticized for 49 days. After March 15th, people finally started to listen to what he had to say.”
The Youth Daily's commentary section featured a headline article titled "The Meaning of Honesty," with the core excerpt: "In this era, we've become accustomed to following the crowd and judging others arbitrarily behind our keyboards. But honesty tells us that even if everyone remains silent, someone will always stand up. Even if everyone criticizes you, the truth will always come out."
Subsequently, the four major portal websites, Xinlang, NetEase, Sohu, and Tencent, also used special features to push public opinion to a wider audience.
Xinlang designed the homepage headline—"3.15 Special Report: The Hunting Ground Logic of Dating Websites," NetEase created the homepage focus image, Tencent did a "Apology Day" special feature, and Sohu...
Around noon, with major news outlets reporting on it one after another, social media was completely abuzz, turning into a nationwide movement.
On Weibo, the hashtags #StraightforwardnessIsSorry#, #IndustryAlumnusStraightforwardness#, and #StraightforwardnessBeingScoldedFor49Days# dominated the top three trending topics.
Some celebrities and tech industry leaders have started to use the buzz to praise Geng Zhi, and a newly registered account called "@those who used to criticize Geng Zhi" gained 16 followers in half a day.
In contrast, Baihe.com, on the advice of its public relations manager Guan Lixia, adopted a strategy of "playing dead and waiting for the storm to pass".
The official Weibo account of Xinlang has stopped commenting, and the official Weibo account and website have remained silent all day. Century Family Network has also chosen to remain silent. Zhenai.com posted a Weibo post unrelated to the Gengzhi incident, which was immediately criticized and deleted.
More than 30 influential Weibo accounts and marketing accounts deleted their previous posts criticizing Geng Zhi that day. Five marketing accounts issued apology statements, claiming they were "deceived by a public relations company." Three marketing accounts simply deleted their accounts, while the majority of the rest chose to remain silent.
17:55 PM, Beijing, NetEase Corporation, NetEase News Editorial Department.
Tang Yan stood behind the tech guy, staring at the release countdown on the computer screen.
"Is the front page changed yet?"
"Mr. Tang, it's done. The whole page has been replaced, no glitches left." The other party said, switching the screen to the pending send page.
The large screen display had no pictures, no "GG" (a slang term for a person who is outspoken or critical), only a single line of large text in the center: "I am straightforward, and this is what I want to say."
Subtitle in smaller print: "Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet venturing into the tiger's den—155 days in the life of an industry veteran."
Editor in charge: Tang Yan (Deputy Editor-in-Chief of NetEase)
Tang Yan nodded, checked the time, and took out his phone to send a message to Geng Zhi.
[Tang Yan]: "Sent in 4 minutes."
[Straightforward]: "Okay, thank you."
At 17:59 PM, Tang Yan took a deep breath: "Send."
The tech guy clicked the mouse, and the page refreshed.
The front-page news was quickly pushed to NetEase News' massive user base.
In the article, Geng Zhi recounts his experiences, from why he started "Jiaotong University Matchmaker" to discovering the industry was murky, to becoming an "industry insider" at the white paper launch, to being turned into a "fraudster" after touching certain interests, and finally being kicked out of the company he founded.
"I've seen many people apologize to me, but you weren't wrong; you were just misled. In this age of information overload, it's too difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood —"
"Business can pursue profit, but it cannot be without principles. Public opinion can be noisy, but it cannot be without truth. And each of us can be alum, making the muddy water a little clearer."
At the end of the article, Geng Zhi gave a preview of the press conference.
"After I was eliminated, I received a sum of money."
-
"During the period of being criticized and remaining silent, I worked with a group of college students who had dreams to develop a new product, but because of the non-compete agreement, it was not a dating product."
"To find out more, I would like to invite you to join us at the Shanghai International Convention Center at 2 PM on March 18th for the launch of our new product."
"At that time, it will be broadcast live on multiple platforms across the entire network. We look forward to your participation in witnessing a new beginning."
Within just half an hour of its publication, the article had garnered over 120 million views, and the number was still surging, pushing public opinion to its peak.
All eyes were on the upcoming new product launch.
I've caught a cold.
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