Initially, news of this incident only spread over a small area and no one believed it. But, Superstar Media helped add evidence to the mix and the incident quickly exploded in the industry.
No one could accept that their beloved novel was created in this way.
Especially since it was so popular.
It was too much of a disappointment.
The author quickly tried to rectify the matter online, but the other writers already hired a lawyer and handed their evidence into the court. So, this evidence was quickly presented to the public. Afterwards, Hai Rui began their anti-slandering PR.
Hai Rui officially announced that they had taken over Luo Sheng’s contract and began to explain the situation with ‘The Pirate Doctor’.
They explained that Luo Sheng knew there were problems with the copyright from the start and that the author was so despicable that Luo Sheng rejected partaking in something that was so immoral.
He made that decision even though he knew that he’d be criticized online.
“We’re not ‘good enough’ for a super IP drama like this. We simply want to do good solid work. There are a lot of temptations in this world with many ways to gain benefits, but, when one chooses to lie and use ruthless methods, they are bound to be exposed sooner or later and have the situation turn on them. We hope everyone can respect creativity and intellectual property rights. We also hope that ‘The Pirate Doctor’ can stop mentioning Luo Sheng. We refuse to let them use our name for sales.”
As soon as this statement was released, everyone finally realized why Luo Sheng rejected such a great opportunity. It turned out, this IP had so many existing issues.
And Luo Sheng couldn’t possibly ignore his conscience and partake in a production like this because he knew his bottom line.
“Only now do I know that Superstar Media’s artists all have strong morals.”
“That’s right. Although he was slandered like crazy before, we can now see that he is actually a good actor with a strong bottom line. He is definitely praiseworthy.”
“He makes my heart ache. From now on, I’m going to watch all his dramas.”
Soon, everyone’s opinion of Luo Sheng made a 180-degree change for the better. After all, the truth made people feel bad for him. This was the reason why Tangning and Hai Rui were in no rush to rectify things. If they had done it earlier, he wouldn’t have received as much sympathy as he did now.
Not only did President Fan’s plans get destroyed, he now faced a huge loss. Whenever he thought about the way that Tangning tricked him, he was overcome with anger.
“What do I need to do to get rid of this b*tch? I am officially declaring war on her.”
…
During this time, Luo Sheng and Xing Lan’s careers began to get back on track, while Luo Yinghong gradually created a name for herself in the fashion industry. So, Tangning finally returned her focus to the production of ‘The Ant Queen’. By this time, Mo Ting and Coco Li’s scenes were already nearing its end.
The pregnant Tangning now had time to visit the set. After watching Mo Ting film a scene in a cave, she couldn’t help but give Qiao Sen a thumbs up.
Qiao Sen was extremely excited with the outcome, especially since, at 7-years old, Coco just kept getting better. It was something that most young actors couldn’t do.
“It’s been a while. Let’s have dinner together. It’s about time we reward the staff for their hard work.”
“OK,” Qiao Sen nodded. “Tangning, I’m becoming more excited by the day because my anticipation level just keeps increasing. I reckon the finished product is going to be a huge hit.”
“I know that you are loving the results, but you can’t continue working day and night like this,” Tangning reminded. Qiao Sen was working way too hard. Whenever filming finished, he also supervised the post-production because he felt like he needed to oversee it.
“Why are you nagging me like my daughter?”
Qiao Sen laughed before he returned his focus to filming the next scene.
Tangning looked at the busy staff and also felt a sense of anticipation. There were many sci-fi films in the overseas market, but China had yet to produce one that truly belonged to them. So, she refused to believe that a big entertainment industry like theirs wouldn’t be able to produce a proper one.
However, a phone call the next day put her into complete shock.
The phone call was from Qiao Sen’s daughter. As soon as Tangning picked up the phone, she was met with the woman’s sobs, “Tangning, my father suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage and passed away!”
Tangning had just finished feeding breakfast to the two rascals. As soon as she heard these words, everything felt completely surreal, “How’s that possible? I was just chatting to him yesterday.”
“It’s true…no one noticed last night, and by the time they discovered him this morning, his body had already turned hard,” Qiao Sen’s daughter cried. “I couldn’t accept it, so I sent him to the hospital to make sure, but the doctor’s confirmed that he had passed away at roughly 2am last night.”
Tangning was speechless. Only yesterday, this childish old man was smiling in front of her, yet one night had only passed and he was gone.
“Tangning, can I see you?”
“Which hospital are you currently at? I’ll come right away,” Tangning asked as she headed for the door. After receiving the hospital’s address, she hopped into her car without notifying anyone and sped towards the hospital, almost running over a few people along the way.
Soon, she arrived at the hospital and saw the frozen corpse of Qiao Sen in the mortuary. Next to him stood his hysterically crying daughter.
“You…You’re here.”
Tangning slowly approached Qiao Sen and his daughter. Eventually, only two words managed to leave her mouth, “I’m sorry…”
“No, it was my fault for not caring enough. I wasn’t a good daughter. You did nothing wrong. You helped my father experience the happiest days of his life. I’ve never seen him that happy before.”
“However, I feel sorry that ‘The Ant Queen’ couldn’t be completed before he passed away…”
After speaking, Qiao Sen’s daughter handed some manuscripts and planning notes to Tangning, “These are some of the things he left behind. Tangning, you need to complete ‘The Ant Queen’ to console my father’s soul in heaven.”
Tangning received the huge stack of documents as tears rolled down her cheeks.
She never expected something like this to happen so suddenly. It was almost like an overexaggerated soap drama.
Worst of all, Qiao Sen anticipated ‘The Ant Queen’ so much, but all of that was gone now.
All Tangning could remember were the last words he said to her: “Why are you nagging me like my daughter?”
Why did this old man leave so suddenly? Tangning held back her tears as she pulled out her phone and gave An Zihao a phone call, “Zihao, I have a problem that only you can help me with…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Help me continue filming ‘The Ant Queen’. Director Qiao Sen is gone…” Tangning said her last few words between sobs, surprising An Zihao.
He had never seen Tangning cry!
Never!