15: Chapter 015 Taking the initiative and winning against fate.

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.

Everyone stared at Qin Xun in stunned silence.

Some with hot tempers clenched their fists, a few individuals gripped their thermos flasks, and some even stood up, intending to go on stage and give Qin Xun a piece of their mind.

Seeing this, Qin Xun quickly gripped his slide clicker as if it were a dagger.

"Hey! I say!"

"Calm down, everyone. We're all on the same side!"

From below the stage,

someone immediately cursed.

"Who the hell is on the same side as you!"

Qin Xun pressed the slide clicker.

The PPT on the large screen flipped, and a bold title appeared.

《Entering the Game as a Pawn, Winning Against Heaven by Half a Move》

He began to explain his reasoning concisely, detailing his train of thought.

Finally, he looked down at the crowd and concluded in a deep voice.

"I don't dare to bet on the kindness of the world, but I do dare to bet on the world's malice."

"They might not necessarily want her to live, but they definitely want me to die."

As soon as he finished speaking,

Xia Ning took the lead in applauding.

Cheng Wan followed suit.

Gradually, everyone began to clap.

Thunderous applause echoed throughout the conference room.

It took a full minute for the applause to subside.

Cheng Wan walked onto the stage and patted Qin Xun on the shoulder. "Good job!"

Then, she looked at everyone.

"Attention all departments! Everyone, fulfill your duties and get moving!"

"Those who need to contact the media, contact them; those who need to film videos, go film; those who need to pretend to be onlookers, go be onlookers."

"Before 9:50, everyone gather secretly at Huacheng Avenue."

"Be careful not to be discovered."

...

9:50 AM.

Wearing sunglasses and a hat, Qin Xun sat on a bench not far from Huacheng Avenue with Xia Ning.

After the short video spread last night,

a crowd of onlookers had already gathered around a simply dressed woman who was cradling a baby only a few months old.

They were all trying to persuade her.

"Ma'am, don't believe that Haicheng Rich Young Master."

"He's lying to you!"

"We can find other ways; there's no need to degrade yourself like this."

...

The woman was somewhat at a loss, not daring to look anyone in the eye.

Various media outlets from Haicheng also went up to interview her.

"May I ask how you are feeling right now?"

"Why did you choose to believe him?"

"If you've been deceived, what can you do?"

The woman just kept her head down, not knowing what to say.

She had knelt at the hospital entrance for so many days, yet how many media outlets had interviewed her then?

Now...

Heh—

It was as if all the 'good people' in the world had suddenly appeared!

As soon as it struck 10 o'clock,

the woman knelt down!

Followed by the lenses of various media outlets and escorted by the crowd of onlookers,

she held her child and performed a kowtow every three steps.

Over an hour later,

she finally reached Xianer Bridge.

The woman stood up, holding her child, and looked around, only to find that the young man from last night had not appeared.

What met her eyes was a crowd of onlookers, all wearing expressions as if they were watching a play.

The woman murmured,

"Where is he?"

Seven or eight microphones were thrust toward her as reporters asked questions all at once.

The woman only felt the noise was overwhelming. She sat down weakly, carefully placed the child on her lap, took out her phone, opened Douyin, and went to the comment section of her pinned video.

Only to find...

The Haicheng Rich Young Master's comment was gone!

Her face filled with sorrow, and her hands trembled as she searched for "Haicheng Rich Young Master."

She discovered...

The account had been deleted!

The woman looked up at the cameras and microphones surrounding her, her eyes filled with painful despair.

"Waaah, waaah, waaah!"

The infant in her arms began to cry.

Tears streamed down the woman's face.

...

That afternoon, the incident made the front page of Haicheng News on Douban.

It reached the top of the local short video rankings on Douyin.

The woman's video views had reached a staggering 5 million, with over 400,000 likes.

In the comment section, public indignation was boiling over.

"What a piece of trash! He'll definitely be struck by lightning!"

"How can such a beast exist in this world!"

"Dox him! I need an address! I have a criminal record anyway, I don't care about spending another year or two inside!"

...

This group of people seemed ready to tear Qin Xun to pieces.

Others offered words of comfort.

"Ma'am, the baby will definitely get better."

"I don't have much money, but I can spare 500. Donated."

"20, donated."

"300, donated."

"I'm a student, don't have much, but here's 50. Donated."

Below was a dense series of donation comments, neatly lined up, most with screenshots attached.

One of the comments with a relatively high donation amount was pinned to the top.

"Oak Company, 100,000, donated."

It also included a screenshot of the donation.

...

The matter fermented further, gradually reaching the trending list on Douyin and the front page of Weibo.

Three days later.

The woman had raised over 500,000 in donations.

She closed the donation channel and recorded a video.

In the video, her eyes were filled with tears as she bowed to express her gratitude while holding her child.

"Thank you everyone for your kindness. We've raised enough money for the child's treatment!"

After bowing, she looked at the camera and spoke sincerely.

"To that 'Haicheng Rich Young Master,' I don't know your real name, but I know you were helping me. Thank you."

"And thank you to your girlfriend."

For a moment, netizens were baffled and left messages one after another.

"Thank him for what?!"

"Even if the final result helped you, his starting point was malicious; he just wanted to humiliate people."

"Someone like that doesn't deserve thanks!"

"Even someone like that has a girlfriend? Any child they have will surely be cursed!"

The online public opinion did not subside.

later,

a piece of news surfaced from somewhere.

The Haicheng Rich Young Master was an employee at Oak Company, the one that gave the highest donation—a marketing planner.

The media in Haicheng swarmed toward Oak Company.

In the conference room,

over a dozen reporters were seated.

Qin Xun sat behind the front table, with Cheng Wan seated to his left.

Outside the glass walls of the conference room, a dense crowd had gathered, all pressing against the glass to watch the spectacle.

Xia Ning stood alone in a corner, keeping some distance from the others.

She had always disliked people standing too close to her.

She saw Qin Xun in the conference room, facing the dozen or so reporters with his head bowed, looking like a criminal.

She found it a bit amusing.

This kid Qin Xun really knew how to act.

Right now, he was probably thinking about whether to add a fried egg or a marinated egg to his ramen for lunch.

Inside the conference room,

a reporter asked,

"Mr. Qin, are you really that 'Haicheng Rich Young Master' who everyone online is condemning?"

Qin Xun looked up, appearing completely harmless and very honest.

"It's me!"

The conference room erupted in a commotion.

Camera flashes went off incessantly.

Qin Xun was so blinded by the flashes he could hardly keep his eyes open.

Another reporter asked: "May I ask why you did this? To make a suffering mother kowtow every three steps?"

Qin Xun said,

"I saw that mother at the hospital entrance that day and saw how pitiful she was... At that moment, I thought of my own mother."

As he spoke, his eyes grew moist.

"Since I was a child, my mother told me that children of the poor must take charge of the household early..."

At this point, his voice choked up.

The conference room fell silent.

A sorrowful atmosphere filled the air.

Standing in the corner outside the door, Xia Ning watched Qin Xun through the glass, her heart tightening.

Just then, a reporter asked,

"Excuse me... is your mother dead?"