Chapter 138 - 137: Don’t Act On Your Own Initiative

Chapter 138: Chapter 137: Don’t Act On Your Own Initiative

At nearly 8:00 PM, Yu Zhiming, accompanied by Yu Xiangwan and Gu Qingning, met with the lawyer of the superstar Rao Yi at a coffee shop near the Zijin Garden District.

Her name was Qu Xin, a very capable-looking professional woman in her thirties with short hair that fell past her ears.

As soon as they met, Qu Xin said with a serious expression, "First, on behalf of my client, Ms. Rao Yi, I would like to make an official statement..."

"Ms. Rao Yi has been in the industry for eleven years and has never once lip-synced during an official performance."

Yu Zhiming couldn’t even be bothered to refute this so-called official statement. He raised an eyebrow and asked directly, "Lawyer Qu, what does your dispute with Qianyu Culture have to do with me?"

Qu Xin chuckled coldly and said, "Dr. Yu, you know perfectly well. Don’t play dumb."

"The evidence Qianyu Culture is using to accuse Ms. Rao Yi of lip-syncing—wasn’t it provided by you, Dr. Yu?"

Her words confirmed the suspicions of Yu Zhiming and the others, and Gu Qingning’s expression darkened.

’She had promised she wouldn’t cause any trouble for Yu Zhiming, but now trouble had come right to his door.’

Yu Zhiming gave a faint smile and said, "I consider myself a fan of Rao Yi. Is there a problem with me making an objective comment and expressing a personal opinion?"

"If you were just an ordinary fan, that would naturally be fine," Qu Xin said icily.

"But, Dr. Yu, you are now a celebrity with considerable public influence, so you can’t just make baseless comments."

"Once these false statements get out, they will cause extreme disruption to my client’s work and personal life."

"At that point, we will pursue legal action against you..."

Yu Zhiming disliked her threatening tone. He stood up, cutting her off. "Then take me to court."

"The truth won’t come out without a proper hearing. If it turns out my judgment about the lip-syncing was wrong, I will take full responsibility."

"Fourth Sister, Gu Qingning, let’s go..."

Seeing Yu Zhiming and his two companions get up to leave, Qu Xin was suddenly flustered.

’He wasn’t following her script at all.’

’She’d thought that because Yu Zhiming was young and had relatively little life experience, she could intimidate him with some tough talk first.’

’But unexpectedly, he seemed to have something backing him up and wasn’t afraid of her threats in the slightest.’

’Qu Xin was here on a mission. If the negotiations fell through, she’d be the unlucky one taking the blame.’

At this thought, she quickly rose to stop Yu Zhiming.

"Dr. Yu, our people have always valued harmony. We don’t want to meet on the battlefield of a courtroom, especially not with a highly skilled and respected doctor like yourself."

"Why don’t we sit down and properly discuss other ways to resolve this?"

"This is a dispute between you and Qianyu Culture," Yu Zhiming said coldly. "I don’t want to get involved, and I don’t have the time."

Qu Xin gave a wry smile. "The problem is, Qianyu Culture’s demands are rather excessive."

"If our two sides can’t reach an agreement and this ends up in court, you’ll likely be dragged into it anyway, Dr. Yu."

Yu Zhiming sat back down.

"Explain it to me. What exactly is going on?"

No longer daring to play games, Qu Xin briefly explained the negotiations between Rao Yi’s company and Qianyu Culture.

Qianyu Culture had originally only intended for Rao Yi’s side to drop the lawsuit regarding the non-compliant advertisement, but they hadn’t expected them to agree so quickly.

This made Qianyu Culture feel that they had some serious leverage, so they decided to press their advantage with more demands.

They demanded the rights to host Rao Yi’s large-scale concerts in Binhai for the next three years, at a rate of at least one per year.

Rao Yi’s company flatly refused.

The two sides have been deadlocked over this issue ever since...

Gu Qingning interjected, "Qianyu Culture wouldn’t dare to burn that bridge, not unless they want to get out of the business entirely."

"You just need to keep negotiating. You’ll eventually reach a compromise that both sides can accept."

"So why come to us specifically?"

Qu Xin sighed softly and said, "Through some of our connections, we learned that Dr. Yu was the one who made the call about the lip-syncing."

"If this case goes to court, it will have a superstar on one side and a celebrity doctor who’s a public sensation on the other. It’s guaranteed to attract massive public attention."

"We’re confident we’d win, but a lawsuit of this nature would inevitably cause significant damage to Ms. Rao Yi’s reputation."

"That’s why we were hoping for an amicable resolution through negotiation."

Yu Zhiming scoffed inwardly. ’It’s mostly because you’re not confident and know your chances of winning are slim.’

Qu Xin put on a candid expression and said, "Unfortunately, Qianyu Culture’s appetite is simply too big. We can’t satisfy them!"

"That’s why we thought we’d try approaching this from your side, Dr. Yu, to see if a solution could be found."

Gu Qingning contemplated for a moment, glanced at the silent Yu Zhiming beside her, and spoke again.

"Dr. Yu is a doctor. He won’t get involved in messy affairs that have nothing to do with medicine."

"You shouldn’t bother him again. Just go back and continue your negotiations with Qianyu Culture."

"I will tell Qianyu Culture not to push things too far. Of course, your side needs to show the utmost sincerity as well."

"May I ask who you are?" Qu Xin was suspicious of Gu Qingning’s identity.

Gu Qingning answered vaguely, "My family’s elders have some connections to Qianyu Culture. They can put in a word."

Feigning understanding, Qu Xin gave a soft "oh" and said, "We are very sincere about resolving this as quickly as possible, as long as Qianyu Culture knows when to stop."

"We all work in the same industry. We have to maintain its harmony and development."

Her words struck a chord with Yu Zhiming.

’Every circle has its competition and sordid affairs, its unmentionable inside stories and unwritten rules. But to outsiders, they all tacitly keep their mouths shut and protect one another.’

’It was just like the much-criticized practice of doctors protecting their own in the medical field...’

Monday arrived in the blink of an eye, marking the start of another busy week.

Yu Xiangwan was taking the car to get its license plates registered, so Yu Zhiming had to ride his bike to work again today.

At the fork in the road near the shantytown, Yu Zhiming once again ran into Luo Qing, who was waiting there.

"Dr. Yu, these are the imaging films and some of the test reports from Ning’an Hospital."

Luo Qing handed the bag of films and test results to Yu Zhiming and said gratefully, "Dr. Yu, thank you for your help."

"At Ning’an Hospital, not only did I receive a significant discount on my examination fees, but I was also treated like a VIP."

"Also, I heard from the doctors at Ning’an Hospital that you’re not just any young doctor."

Yu Zhiming smiled faintly. "I was just lucky enough to gain some undeserved fame. At the end of the day, I’m still a young doctor who needs to continue learning and growing."

After this modest remark, Yu Zhiming added, "I’ll have an expert take a close look at these new scans and test results and will get back to you as soon as I can."

He added, "I’ve bought a car, so I’ll rarely be biking to work anymore. I won’t be taking this route again."

"If you need anything, let’s just keep in touch by phone!"

A flash of disappointment crossed Luo Qing’s face but was quickly replaced with a smile. "Congratulations on becoming a car owner, Dr. Yu."

"We’ll keep in touch by phone then..."

After a smooth ride to Huashan Hospital, he arrived at the main office of the Qi Yue Medical Research Center. Yu Zhiming was surprised to find that his desk had been moved.

"Dr. Yu..."

Qiao Lei, who had arrived bright and early for work, said energetically, "How can you be working at a desk right by the door?"

"That spot should be mine."

Yu Zhiming first let out a dry laugh at the smug young man, then his expression darkened.

"Don’t take matters into your own hands!"

"Did it ever occur to you that I chose this desk for a reason?"

"Move it back right now."

After a pause, Yu Zhiming looked at Qiao Lei, who was standing at attention and taking the dressing-down, and gave him more instructions. "I have two small errands for you."

"Go to the hospital’s logistics department and apply for a parking space for me."

"And go to a mobile service store and get me a new phone number..."

After giving Qiao Lei his instructions, Yu Zhiming glanced at Zhou Mo, who was trying to stifle a laugh nearby. He then took the scans out of the bag and placed them on the light box...