The Plagiarism Accusation

“Huh?”

“Plagiarism?”

“You plagiarized this novel, didn’t you?”

Rinzi stated with conviction.

This caused Gao Ruixue, who had only just processed the accusation, to nearly stomp her foot in a fit of rage.

However.

The young woman quickly reined herself in, managing only an awkward smile.

“Are… are you joking… Teacher…?”

“I’m not joking. You are a plagiarist.”

This time, her words were even more definitive.

Rinzi’s words sparked a wave of murmurs and gasps from the audience below; had the live television broadcast included a bullet screen (TL Note: ‘Danmu’ or ‘bullet screen’ comments, common in live streams and videos in China, where viewers’ comments fly across the screen, allowing for real-time interaction), the viewers at home would surely have ‘participated in the interaction’ with overwhelming enthusiasm.

The host beside her was also dumbfounded.

Seeing Rinzi’s stern expression, the young, beautiful host found herself at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.

‘What was going on?’

As it was a live broadcast, it was impossible to cut off abruptly due to such an unexpected turn.

Moreover, there was no need to; if the broadcast were cut, viewers might accuse the television station of shielding a plagiarist.

‘She wasn’t familiar with this girl at all.’

The host even shot a resentful glance at Gao Ruixue, thinking, ‘Everything had been going so smoothly, so why did trouble have to start with her?’

Meanwhile, the program director on set was absolutely thrilled, signaling with his eyes for the host to quickly pick up the conversation and continue.

A famous, beautiful author publicly accusing a new-generation young author of plagiarism during a live television program.

How incredibly newsworthy!

This was practically tomorrow’s front-page headline, wasn’t it?!

Explosive, explosive, explosive!

Thus, prompted by the program director’s subtle cues, the host quickly turned to Rinzi and spoke.

“Miss Rinzi, are you suggesting that student Gao’s novel is a work of plagiarism?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

The beautiful woman’s unequivocally affirmative stance left the other guests beside her somewhat speechless, or rather, utterly bewildered.

This sudden turn of events disrupted their previous praise for the novel.

Some found Rinzi to be utterly unreasonable; as people who circulated in the same literary circles, they had, to varying degrees, heard about Rinzi’s eccentric personality, her lack of friends, and her solitary life.

Of course, reclusive individuals were not uncommon in the author community, and even stranger personalities could be found.

In fact, until just moments ago.

Rinzi had presented herself as a gentle, dignified, and mature beauty.

Therefore.

Now, all the guests were puzzled, wondering why Rinzi had suddenly erupted, insisting that this young woman was a plagiarist.

‘Was there any evidence?’

It was well-known that plagiarism was rampant in the literary world, yet authenticating it was an incredibly troublesome process.

Many years prior, a highly acclaimed young author had plagiarized a novel by an unknown writer; the outcome was that even after winning the lawsuit years later, the plagiarist paid the compensation but stubbornly refused to apologize, continuing to write and profit from books without any hindrance.

Such incidents were far too numerous to count.

Everyone detested plagiarists, but…

“Is there any evidence?”

Most of the guests, still quite rational, looked towards Rinzi, hoping to understand the full story.

However.

The silver-haired beauty merely shook her head, stating blandly.

“It simply doesn’t look like something she would have written herself.”

“Huh?”

“Ah?!”

“???”

In an instant, not only were the audience members caught between laughter and tears, but even the program director and host on set struggled to maintain their composure; a nearby guest even let out a ‘pfft’ of laughter, thinking, ‘Was Rinzi intentionally trying to be humorous?’

‘Was she trying to lighten the mood?’

Only Gao Ruixue remained guilt-ridden, for… she truly had plagiarized, having copied and pasted it word for word.

Yet.

‘It was impossible for there to be any evidence, right? That idiot’s book was handwritten, while she had transcribed it onto her computer, word by word, saving it as a document.’

‘While computer documents had creation timestamps, handwritten text couldn’t be definitively dated, so from an evidentiary standpoint, it was utterly impossible to accuse her of plagiarism!’

However, just as Chen Ran had once said, there was no need to reason or lay out logic with an unreasonable person.

“In this book, you wrote that you were deeply influenced by Richard Yates, that you meticulously researched the lifestyle of Western nobility, and that you highly admired his work, *Deep River*, believing that what was written in the book…”

Rinzi, holding the manuscript, began rattling off these details.

To Gao Ruixue’s ears, these words sounded utterly alien, like an incomprehensible celestial text.

‘Who was Richard Yates?’

‘Which book was *Deep River*?’

‘Since when was she interested in the lifestyle of Western nobility?’

She couldn’t even recall if such content was actually in the book.

Though she had once transcribed these very words onto her computer, letter by letter.

Yet, Gao Ruixue had never actually read these books thoroughly; initially, she had submitted the manuscript to a literary magazine with a ‘what if’ attitude, never expecting it to be published.

Therefore.

In truth, she hadn’t seriously read any of the novels written by Cold that she had plagiarized, and now, under pressure, she couldn’t remember what was written in them at all.

Facing Rinzi’s questions.

Gao Ruixue could only nod with a smile, while uttering ambiguous phrases such as, “That’s right,” “I believe writing it this way is more…”, and “It might not be entirely suitable, but I feel…”

However, Gao Ruixue didn’t understand why.

The more she answered Rinzi’s questions, the more the guests beside them shook their heads.

‘What?’

‘Were her answers all wrong?’

But it was more than just being wrong.

“Richard Yates is indeed a writer, but he is not the author of *Deep River*; that book is a work by Shusaku Endo. The core themes of the two authors’ writings are also distinct.”

“Richard Yates primarily explores human loneliness and the disillusionment of ordinary people’s dreams, whereas Shusaku Endo’s theological theories…”

Rinzi spoke softly, making Gao Ruixue realize the exact nature of her recent mistakes.

“But in reality, this book does not mention any of the authors or books I just referenced.”

“I was merely testing you just now.”

Patting the manuscript in her hand, Rinzi suddenly stood up and declared loudly.

“You can’t even remember the content of your own supposed work, yet you claim it’s not plagiarism?”

“I…”

Gao Ruixue stood frozen, unable to conjure any rebuttal.

“I just… for… forgot…”

Her voice trailed off, utterly devoid of confidence.

In truth, from the very moment Rinzi spoke and directly accused her of plagiarism on live television, Gao Ruixue had been utterly stunned.

The young woman felt waves of dizziness wash over her, her vision blurring to black before she simply fainted.

But it wasn’t over yet.

What Gao Ruixue couldn’t have imagined was that upon waking, even more shocking news awaited her.

Namely.

As Rinzi loudly declared her plagiarism on the television program, Chen Ran, having witnessed the scene, once again sent a message to his subordinate, Nishiki.

He then instructed Nishiki to post the pre-prepared photographs online.