Chapter 126: Backing Him Up
Ji Shuohan arrived quickly, which the higher-ups at DDTV hadn’t expected. From the moment they heard the Premier had entered the building, everyone scrambled from their office chairs to greet him.
“Which floor is Internship Group 8 on?” Ji Shuohan didn’t have time for their flattery. A senior manager hurriedly replied, “The fourteenth floor.”
When Ji Shuohan reached the fourteenth floor, Ye Zhile was standing by the elevators, lost in thought. Seeing Ji Shuohan, he immediately threw himself into his arms.
Ji Shuohan held him, stroking his head. “Tell me, what happened?”
“They accused me of plagiarism,” Ye Zhile said calmly, though the redness in his eyes betrayed his sense of injustice. “Did you bring my laptop?”
“I did,” Ji Shuohan said, gesturing for Wei Xichu to hand him the computer.
The senior management didn’t understand the situation, but they felt a chill run down their spines.
Ye Zhile took his laptop into the group office. The other members were stunned as a large group of people entered.
Ye Zhile walked up to Zhou Ziyu and began questioning him. “You say you didn’t steal my draft and that I plagiarized you. Then let me ask you: the draft mentions an outstanding soldier Colonel Wessel once led—who was he? What was the name of the lover who sacrificed their life alongside him? And where did you find all this information?”
Zhou Ziyu was stunned by the questions, his heart racing with panic, though he forced himself to stay calm on the surface. He said, “I didn’t pay much attention to those details when I was searching for information. I only wrote a general summary.”
“It’s not that you wrote a general summary; it’s that you stole my outline and didn’t know where the content within it came from.” Ye Zhile exposed him in one go. Zhou Ziyu gritted his teeth. “What evidence do you have that I stole your outline? I submitted mine first.”
“You’re still being stubborn.” Ye Zhile was furious. He opened his laptop and showed it to him. “My outline was drafted on Monday; the timeline is right here. You submitted yours on Friday. You still say you didn’t steal it?”
Zhou Ziyu’s heart skipped a beat, but he still refused to admit it. “That doesn’t prove anything. The timestamp on that file can be changed. Besides that, you have no evidence that you wrote it yourself.”
“You!” Ye Zhile was at a loss for words, not expecting him to be so thick-skinned. Tears of anger began to well up in his eyes.
“Zhile.” Ji Shuohan pulled him into his arms, cupping his face to comfort him. “Be good, don’t worry.”
“Pull up the surveillance footage for this area,” Ji Shuohan ordered. Someone immediately pulled up the footage from Wednesday. After Ye Zhile had left, Zhou Ziyu was seen standing at Ye Zhile’s computer, copying his file and sending it to himself, then deleting the record.
Zhou Ziyu hadn’t expected every moment to be recorded so clearly. He thought that at most they would see him touch the computer and he could talk his way out of it, but as soon as the footage was shown, everyone’s eyes turned toward him.
Ji Shuohan glanced at him coldly, then looked at Ye Zhile in his arms. “The soldier Colonel Wessel led was me. Everything mentioned was what I told my husband. None of this is recorded in any books. Where exactly did you find this information?”
Exposed like a clown for everyone to see, Zhou Ziyu was left speechless, his face flushed with shame, and he hurriedly fled the scene.
The other members of the group hadn’t expected the situation to be like this and didn’t dare to speak. Lin Xu buried his head even deeper, but Ye Zhile reminded him, “Apologize to me!”
Lin Xu stood up tremblingly. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have accused you without knowing the truth…”
Ye Zhile glanced at him, then looked at Rong Laoshi. “Rong Laoshi, I hope that if something like this happens again, you’ll investigate thoroughly first, rather than making an accusation without any basis. It’s unfair. Everyone has the right to defend their own interests.”
As a veteran anchor at DDTV, Rong Laoshi had always despised plagiarism. He hadn’t expected to be so headstrong as to falsely accuse an outstanding student. He felt deep remorse. “I’m sorry, Student Ye Zhile.”
Rong Laoshi immediately announced that Zhou Ziyu’s scores were voided and his assessment score was zero. The senior management, seeing Ji Shuohan’s expression, fired Zhou Ziyu on the spot. Someone who would plagiarize even during an internship would only be a menace if they stayed. They also submitted Ye Zhile’s draft for publication.
Seeing Ji Shuohan’s expression soften, the managers knew they had made the right call.
On the car ride back, Ye Zhile’s delayed sense of injustice surfaced, and he began to sob quietly in Ji Shuohan’s arms.
Ji Shuohan coaxed him, “Baby did a great job today. You were very brave.”
Ye Zhile sniffled. “Actually, I was panicking inside and felt lost for a moment, but as soon as I realized it wasn’t my fault, I wasn’t worried anymore.”
“Mhm. You have me behind you. I’ll help you solve anything you can’t handle.” Ji Shuohan massaged his head affectionately.
Ye Zhile leaned into his chest as Ji Shuohan patted his back. Then Ye Zhile remembered something. “I didn’t interfere with your work, did I?”
“No,” Ji Shuohan said. “I wasn’t very busy today.”
“Oh…”
The news of today’s incident spread like wildfire through the company. Zhou Ziyu was fired, and Ye Zhile’s original draft took first place in the group.
Star Forum was also buzzing with discussion.
#Zhou Ziyu Plagiarizes Ye Zhile’s Draft
[This guy is actually insane. He dared to plagiarize the Premier’s spouse!]
[That’s incredibly bold. This is DDTV we’re talking about!]
[I heard Ye Zhile defended himself, though their internship teacher originally thought he was the one who plagiarized.]
[What kind of teacher is that? Accusing someone without even checking.]
[Ye Zhile defended himself, but he had the Premier there to back him up!]
[Hahahaha… who the hell would dare to defend Zhou Ziyu after that?]
[Premier: I want to see exactly who’s falsely accusing my husband!]
[Hahahaha! Supporting his husband!]
[Is there any video from the scene? I really want to see it.]
[Just keep dreaming. No way anyone would dare record that.]
[Sigh~ Another day of shipping this couple through pure imagination…]
[+1!!]
Ye Zhile came out after his shower, and Ji Shuohan dried his hair for him. Seeing him looking a bit down, he asked, “Is work exhausting?”
“It’s fine,” Ye Zhile said. “Sometimes it’s tiring, but other times it’s very easy.”
“Rest when you’re tired. Don’t force yourself,” Ji Shuohan said.
“I know.” Ye Zhile’s head began to nod off.
Lying in bed, Ye Zhile looked at the time on the clock and suddenly looked at Ji Shuohan. “It’s almost New Year again.”
Ji Shuohan thought about it and replied, “Time passes so quickly. Is this our fourth New Year together?”
“Mhm!” Ye Zhile nodded, feeling a bit sentimental. “But we’ve only spent one Spring Festival together as a couple.”
Ji Shuohan set down his book and pulled him close, coaxing him gently. “We’ll have many, many more Spring Festivals in the future.”
“Okay!”
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