In their eyes, Qian Tao had never argued with anyone before, and even quarrels were rare. He had always been a well-behaved child. How could he possibly slander someone?
After hearing from Mr. Qian and Mrs. Qian, Shen Dao also fell silent for a few seconds. Mr. Qian and Mrs. Qian did not seem to be lying. But their understanding of their son was entirely different from the "Learn English Every Day" persona who spewed hate in Qin Mu's video comments.
The internet, it seemed, had put a mask on Qian Tao. This perhaps was why he dared to smear Li Weiguo so brazenly online. Had Qin Mu not decisively called the police, if it had been someone else with weaker psychological resilience... the consequences could have been unimaginable. In the news, people driven to desperate measures by cyberbullying were not uncommon.
"Both of you, we have already obtained conclusive evidence that Qian Tao is indeed suspected of the crime of slander." Afterward, Shen Dao looked at Mr. Qian and Mrs. Qian again, patiently explaining, "He posted false statements on a social platform, tarnishing a 77-year-old elder. This led many netizens unaware of the truth to start a cyberbullying campaign, which spread far and wide. Its nature was particularly vile, and the circumstances especially severe. The other party has already directly gone to the police to press charges for slander. The internet is not a lawless place, nor is it his backyard. His actions are very serious; he might... face three years."
After Mr. Qian and Mrs. Qian heard this, their faces turned instantly pale, as if the sky had fallen. They only had this one son, and suddenly they were told he might be jailed for three years. For a moment, neither of them could accept it. They hurriedly grabbed Shen Dao, continuing to plead.
"Could... could this be a mistake?"
"Although he likes to chat online, he would never do such a thing."
"Officer, please, can you talk to the other party? We can settle this privately. We'll compensate with money, we will pay..."
The two of them surrounded Shen Dao, their expressions filled with entreaties. Though they were heartbroken and upset about their son's actions, he was still their son. They could not stand idly by and watch him go to jail.
Shen Dao looked at Mr. Qian and Mrs. Qian, whose hair was streaked with white, and sighed softly. He shook his head. "The other side said they won't settle privately."
When Qin Mu filed the report, he had already made this point clear in advance.
"Moreover, he is an adult now; he needs to pay for the mistakes he has made." After a pause, Shen Dao went on to say, "Think about it. If the other party couldn't bear the pressure because of his words and entertained the idea of jumping off a building to end their life, then who should we hold accountable?"
Listening, Mr. Qian and Mrs. Qian bowed their heads in shame. Indeed, Shen Dao was right. No excuse could justify harming others.
"Go see him. Leave him some money for living expenses; he'll need it in prison." After a long while, Shen Dao watched the two, who seemed to have aged several years in an instant, and spoke softly.
Mr. Qian and Mrs. Qian shuddered. They entered the temporary detention room with heavy hearts.
"Dad, Mom, why have you come?"
"Save me, save me, please save me..."
"I didn't slander them! I just posted a few words online, and then they arrested me."
"I thought in situations like this, just paying some compensation and a fine would be enough. Dad, go pay the fine quickly..."
In the detention room, Qian Tao stood up agitatedly, repeatedly urging them.
Mr. Qian, disappointed that his son had not lived up to expectations, glared at him. "Shut up!"
No one knows a son better than his father. From Qian Tao's reactions, he could already confirm that the incident was true.
He looked deeply at his son before him, sighed heavily, and said in a weighty tone, "I just asked the officer. He said your situation is quite serious. You might... face three years."
"What?" Qian Tao's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. "I... I just questioned the other party! How could that result in a three-year sentence?"
"Dad, Mom, please help me talk to the officer. I really didn't slander them..."
At this moment, he completely panicked. Gone was his previous online grandstanding, where he pointed out faults and issued scathing criticisms. After being taken into the detention center, he had thought that at most he would be fined and detained for a couple of days before being released. But now... he was actually going to be sentenced, and for three years at that!
"Sigh... once you go in, make sure to reform yourself well, strive to become a better person, and afterward... don't stir up trouble recklessly anymore." Mrs. Qian wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and gazed at her son. She quietly urged him, "Three years will pass quickly. We will be here waiting... waiting for you..."
At this point, her tears couldn't help but flow again.
And at this time, Qian Tao had no mind to care about his mother's sadness and sorrow. He swallowed nervously, his face full of dread and panic.
Sentencing, imprisonment, three years... He had never imagined these things would come so close to him.
"I just questioned the other party... Could there be a mistake somewhere..." he slumped in the chair of the detention room, murmuring to himself continuously, his heart filled with regret and despair.
The title of Qin Mu's second video surfaced in his mind again: You can eat anything carelessly, but you can't speak recklessly...
He had originally thought his accusations had hit home, which was why Qin Mu had never responded directly to him and hadn't even deleted his comments. Unexpectedly... Qin Mu had actually sued him!
「Jin City.」
「Nursing Home.」
Qin Mu hung up the call from Shen Dao. Then, he looked toward Li Weiguo, who was playing chess with Zhang Qingyuan after dinner.
"Mr. Li, good news. The person who insulted you has been put away."
Upon hearing this, Li Weiguo immediately lost any desire to continue the game and put down his chess piece. He turned to look at Qin Mu and couldn't help but ask, "That fast? There are quite a few people who insulted me. How many were caught?"
A few dark lines appeared on Qin Mu's forehead. What the hell, 'how many were caught'?
"Oh, just one, huh..." Upon learning the truth, Li Weiguo seemed somewhat disappointed.
Qin Mu's mouth twitched. Sitting to the side, he took out his phone. He noticed that the views on his second video had also reached 3,000,000. While not as many as the first video, it was still considerable.
In the comment section below, there were still many cyberbullying comments that he hadn't deleted. The most conspicuous among them were the remarks made by "Learn English Every Day." Only now... He probably wouldn't be able to make any comments.
Afterward, he posted a pinned comment in the comment section:
"I want to inform everyone about the follow-up developments of the incident: the perpetrator 'Learn English Every Day,' who spread rumors and maliciously slandered others, has been arrested by the police. The posts were made in the morning; the person was in custody by the afternoon."
As soon as the comment was pinned, a flurry of responses emerged on this new comment thread.
"Is it true? The creator is so fierce! He actually sent someone to jail?"
"This creator is reliable; they actually sued someone when things got serious!"
"This is unbelievable! This guy was still posting two hours ago. I was wondering why he suddenly went offline. It can't be real..."
"Let me timidly ask, did the creator only sue this one person?"
"..."
For a moment, the buzz around this one comment surpassed that of the video itself. Everyone was paying attention to this pinned comment.