E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World-Chapter 47 - Episode 47 Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism 9

Chapter 47: Episode 47 Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism 9

Chapter 47: Episode 47 Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism 9

“It’s said that he’s one of the few in the industry who was able to snatch readers from the internet… a prodigy… He even miraculously saved a bunch of magazines that were on the verge of closing down…” Ya Rui said resentfully.

“If he saved those magazines, why did he quit then?” Zhou Xueyin asked curiously.

“Unscrupulous conduct, his project had a high turnover of people, so he couldn’t sit still…” Ya Rui said helplessly, shaking her head, “He issued an ultimatum to the group, claiming he would achieve results within three months. It’s only been one month, and you guys have already shown up…”

“Three months, so he just wanted to try a probation period? If successful, the credit is his, if not, it’s yours, right?” Li Jiniang rolled her eyes, having heard her family complain about this kind of thing way too often and knowing the drill all too well.

“You’re young, but you know quite a bit,” Ya Rui said with an admiring smile.

“I’ve seen this happen far too often… Was Luo Haojun’s magazine-saving method just about copying popular content from the internet?” Li Jiniang continued to ask.

“I’m really not too sure about that,” Ya Rui said with an awkward smile, “Luo Haojun told me not to interfere with the content, that he would take full responsibility, otherwise it’s hard to say whose merit it was.”

“And you just agreed to that?” Zhou Xueyin asked as she took a bite of her oyakodon, “So this is what oyakodon tastes like! Delicious!”

“That’s called dan… not a well, there’s a slight difference. Pronounce it as dan…” Ya Rui corrected Zhou Xueyin with a smile.

“Sorry, just exposed myself as an illiterate…” Zhou Xueyin said embarassedly with a smile.

“Let’s get back to the point… Since Luo Haojun didn’t want me to get involved, I didn’t. Actually, I had my own selfish reasons, too; I really wanted to see what this guy could come up with,” Ya Rui said with a laugh, “Now that you guys have come, I’ve just realized his means were indeed plagiarism.”

“It seems it’s not just a simple case of plagiarism…” Zhou Xueyin glanced at Li Jiniang, “I told you so…”

“Hmm…” Li Jiniang thought for a moment and nodded, “Go on!”

Zhou Xueyin shared her guess that the forum being overwhelmed and the smear posts on the Little Sky Blue forum might be the doings of someone hired by Luo Haojun.

After hearing this, Ya Rui pondered for a long while, her expression turning grave. Then she stood up solemnly, bowing deeply to Zhou Xueyin and Li Jiniang, “I’m truly sorry, I had no idea Luo Haojun would cause you so much trouble.”

“No, no… You’ve already treated us to such lavish Japanese cuisine…” Zhou Xueyin and Li Jiniang quickly pushed Ya Rui back into her seat.

“I’ll investigate this, and if what you’re saying is true, I will consider requesting a personnel change from the group! I don’t want to see mine and Wang Xin’s efforts ruined by him!” Ya Rui thoughtfully stroked her chin.

“Your best friend’s name is Wang Xin? Wang Xin of the daily newspaper?” Zhou Xueyin exclaimed as if she had made a new discovery.

“Yes! That’s why our magazine is named Xinrui! But to clarify the genre, we added the word ‘fashion’ to it,” Ya Rui explained with a laugh, “By the way, this restaurant was also jointly invested in by me and Wang Xin. Chef Huang, one of the founders in the kitchen, was also involved. I just thought, if one day the magazine business becomes unsustainable, there’s still a restaurant to fall back on.”

“The thinking of experienced people is different from us recent college graduates…” Zhou Xueyin reflected admiringly.

She had impulsively dived into the internet, without thinking of a backup plan.

But looking at Ya Rui sitting across from her, barely less than 10 years older but seeming so much more mature, she had already prepared a backup in case the print media really didn’t make it.

However, now being the era of the booming internet, she certainly couldn’t start thinking about the end before even beginning.

“Come on, eat quickly. After eating, I can go back to start the investigation! I’m really sorry about this!” Ya Rui apologized again.

After the meal, the three of them went their separate ways.

Zhou Xueyin just received a call from the Haidian Police Station, informing her to collect the recovered illicit money.

“The case was solved so quickly! Should we call KK and Shanbao to meet up? How about that?” Zhou Xueyin asked for Li Jiniang’s opinion.

“Yes, great! Then we can celebrate getting the scammed money back. How about another meal?” Li Jiniang can’t go three sentences without mentioning food.

“Such expensive Japanese cuisine, and you haven’t had your fill?” Zhou Xueyin said disdainfully.

“Because it was too expensive… I felt embarrassed to eat it… You know how much I can eat, this was just to lay a foundation…” Li Jiniang laughed awkwardly.

“Alright, alright, let’s go! Let’s go get the money!” Zhou Xueyin happily linked arms with Li Jiniang and they headed to the subway station,

As soon as Ya Rui returned to the magazine office, she heard Luo Haojun lecturing someone with an air of superiority in the office area, “Hey, I’m telling you, why are you here? To help solve problems! If you can’t copy and paste, then search online for a method! Or ask a colleague who knows how. Why come to me? Are you paying me?”

“Luo Haojun! Come to my office!” Ya Rui was not afraid to embarrass him; she called him out loudly in the office area.

Everyone saw Ya Rui’s attitude and guessed that Luo Haojun was about to be scolded.

Normally, Ya Rui was polite to everyone, and she spoke just loud enough to be heard. But if someone annoyed her, she really could roar like a lioness in the office area.

Today, it looked like Luo Haojun was in for it.

As soon as Luo Haojun stepped into Ya Rui’s office, a stack of papers appeared in front of him with a “snap.”

“What’s this now?” Luo Haojun asked, feigning ignorance.

“Don’t play dumb, explain this to me,” Ya Rui sat like a boss, looking down at him.

“What’s going on? I mean, Ya Rui, we’re supposed to be equals, aren’t we? What’s with this attitude? You believe me or not if I…” Luo Haojun pulled a chair from the side and sat down confrontationally.

“Believe you what exactly? Who told you to sit? Stand up!” Unable to lose in terms of presence, Ya Rui shouted loudly, “You’ve been managing content for just a month, and there’s already a complaint about you plagiarizing! We’ve been doing magazines for 5-6 years, every word and sentence is thoughtfully original!”

“Sister, what era are you living in? Can’t you keep up with the trends? The trend is moving online now. No one reads these nitpicky intro articles anymore…” Luo Haojun picked up a previous magazine, flipped through it disrespectfully, then tossed it onto the sofa behind him.

“Fine, let’s do it your way, moving online. But that doesn’t mean you can plagiarize content from the internet, does it?” Ya Rui pressed on.

“Oh dear, my beloved boss Ya, did you forget? When I came here, we had an agreement, I’m in charge of all the content. You just handle the business side! Don’t forget, we are equals! Nothing else, I’m going back to work, it’s busy this afternoon…” Luo Haojun strutted out of Ya Rui’s office.

He completely avoided discussing the plagiarism issue, implicitly forbidding Ya Rui from meddling in his work.

‘Bastard… don’t think I can’t handle you…’ Ya Rui, who had struggled in the magazine industry for many years, had never been looked down upon like this. If you’re unkind, don’t blame me for being unjust!