Chapter 580: Lawyer Zhao’s Dirty Trick
After lunch, the leaders filed out one by one.
Liu Yutong was heading back toward the dormitory when Li Xiaohui, who’d been waiting there, stopped her midway.
“Sister Yutong, how’d it go? My dad didn’t give you a hard time, did he?”
Liu Yutong shook her head with a smile. “Uncle was actually quite reasonable.”
Li Xiaohui’s face clouded with suspicion at this. “My dad, reasonable? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?”
In her memory, her father had always been extremely stern. Sometimes she didn’t even dare breathe around him. And it wasn’t just her—even her cousin acted as docile as a well-trained puppy whenever he saw him.
“I’m not lying. Uncle even invited me to visit the provincial capital next week.”
Li Xiaohui’s eyes widened. “Seriously? Who’s his real daughter here? He seems to like you better than me!”
Liu Yutong was speechless, wondering if the girl was getting jealous.
But after complaining, Li Xiaohui added: “Well, this is good too. Dad’s biggest dream is to have a smart, capable daughter.”
“…….”
She suddenly wondered if this girl might one day try to set her up as Dad’s adopted daughter.
Actually, knowing her personality, it was entirely possible!
“Oh right, Sister Yutong, does Dad still oppose my esports venture?”
Hearing this, Liu Yutong deliberately put on a stern face and sighed dramatically without answering directly.
Sure enough, seeing her expression, Li Xiaohui’s face fell instantly. “It’s over, no chance. I knew it—he’s just like all the other old folks who think gaming is a waste of time.”
“If I were in charge, I’d be the first to support youth esports. Dad’s so behind the times. He should retire early and let young people take over.”
“…….”
She felt she couldn’t let the girl keep ranting like this, or who knew what outrageous things she might say next.
“Actually, Uncle said he doesn’t think this line of work is completely unacceptable for you.”
She quickly cut her off: “Your dad said he thinks you can do this, but as your father, he wants you to exercise proper judgment. In simple terms, your dad has tacitly approved.”
After a brief silence, Li Xiaohui suddenly jumped up and exclaimed excitedly: “Really? That’s great! Now I can game openly! Woo-hoo!”
“Did Dad say anything else?”
Liu Yutong smiled: “I mentioned that you often praise them as open-minded parents and that you’re very grateful. He thought you’d matured and was quite pleased.”
Li Xiaohui’s face flushed red. “Hey, when did I ever say such mushy stuff?”
Liu Yutong laughed: “But it worked well, didn’t it? Uncle was thrilled and stopped opposing your esports plans.”
“Woo-hoo, you’re amazing, Sister Yutong!”
Li Xiaohui happily linked arms with Liu Yutong: “Come on, I’m treating you to a feast. We have to celebrate today!”
Liu Yutong: “Sure, I’d be a fool to turn down a free meal. But I’m calling someone else over.”
Li Xiaohui paused, curious: “Who?”
Liu Yutong: “Lin Muyang.”
Hearing this name, Li Xiaohui suddenly covered her mouth, eyes wide: “You two aren’t…”
Lin Muyang’s relentless pursuit of Liu Yutong last year was common knowledge, so she deliberately acted gossipy.
Liu Yutong tapped her lightly on the head: “Stop with the nonsense. I just need to discuss something with him.”
“Besides, you’ll be dealing with him a lot in the future. If Purple Dragon Club needs promotional videos, event highlights, or video uploads and marketing, you can ask him for help.”
Li Xiaohui’s eyes lit up: “Really? That’s wonderful! I’ve wanted to shoot a promo video for ages!”
Twenty minutes later.
Lin Muyang hurried into a private room at Yuyuefang University City branch.
Liu Yutong and Li Xiaohui had arrived early and already ordered.
They were all acquaintances, so after greeting each other, Lin Muyang didn’t stand on ceremony and sat right down.
After they toasted:
Liu Yutong first asked about the streaming site’s launch.
“DragonPanorama Vision has been live for nearly a month. How’s it going? I checked the data when I had time—user growth seems slower than expected.”
Lin Muyang replied: “We’ve hit some bottlenecks. The major platforms already have a head start and user habits are pretty much set. Breaking through their moats isn’t easy.”
Li Xiaohui, nibbling on ribs, interjected: “All my friends use BeanStream. They say it has more content. Brother Muyang, what’s different about your site?”
“Actually, not much. Technologically, we’re not at an advantage. Our only edge right now is our massive copyright library.”
“My next step is to leverage these copyrights, pushing the concept of ‘classic revisits’ to position DragonPanorama Vision as a hub for nostalgic classic content. Simultaneously, I’m planning a ‘Classics Reimagined’ initiative. We’ll open our copyright library to users, encouraging them to create derivative works using these classic film and TV materials—like mashups, dubbing, parodies, anything goes. This will attract young creators while giving old content new life, maximizing the value of our copyright holdings.”
Liu Yutong nodded at this: “That’s a good approach, but it’s not enough on its own. How much do you know about web series?”
Lin Muyang was slightly taken aback: “Web series? What do you mean?”
Liu Yutong explained: “You can think of them as series produced specifically for online platforms, with shorter episodes and themes that cater more to young audiences. We can invest in exclusive web series to attract users.”
Lin Muyang said thoughtfully: “Sounds a bit like TV dramas, but lighter?”
Liu Yutong: “Exactly. I’ll send you some names later. See if you can poach them—some might still be in college. We can sign them early.”
Lin Muyang smiled: “That would be fantastic!”
Anyone recommended by Liu Yutong would surely be top-tier.
After briefly discussing the site’s future plans, Liu Yutong asked about the copyright issue.
“Have you discussed the copyright matter with Zhao Tianyi?”
Lin Muyang: “We talked. I have to say, that lawyer’s a real pro. He really opened my eyes.”
“At first, I had people contact those platforms, demanding they take down some unlicensed films and shows. But they claimed users uploaded them without permission and cited the Safe Harbor Principle to shirk responsibility, which infuriated me.”
“Lawyer Zhao later told me to ignore them and stop contacting them. Then he gave me an idea: send some people undercover onto those platforms. Once they’re hired, we’d upload large amounts of our exclusive copyrighted content as regular users. After accumulating enough content, we’d suddenly send lawyer’s letters demanding immediate takedowns and huge compensation.”
“If the platforms don’t comply, we can hold press conferences publicly condemning their infringement while promoting DragonPanorama Vision as the legitimate content hub. Then we’d deploy some paid posters to stir up buzz and attract users to our platform.”
“Of course, even if they agree to compensation, we’d still promote and create buzz.”
“On top of that, Lawyer Zhao said that since they’re harming a Pearl City enterprise’s interests, we can file suit in Pearl City. Since our company’s registered and primary operating location is in Pearl City, it fully complies with civil procedure jurisdiction rules. And with sufficient evidence, Pearl City courts can freeze the opposing company’s assets.”
“In short, no matter how many lawyers they bring, once they’re in Pearl City, Lawyer Zhao is confident he’ll give them one word: defeat!”
“I have to admit, Lawyer Zhao is brilliant!”
Lin Muyang recalled another part of the plan: “From what I understand, those platforms are currently operating at a loss. Having their assets frozen could be fatal. We could take the opportunity to acquire them outright.”
“Your plan is thorough. Proceed with it.”
Liu Yutong emphasized: “But remember, we’re not trying to deliberately crush competitors—we’re pushing the entire industry toward standardization.”
Lin Muyang nodded: “Understood. We’re a legitimate company.”
“Exactly right!”
The meal was nearly over. As everyone was about to leave, Liu Yutong suddenly said to Lin Muyang: “I didn’t see the leader at school today. I feel I must remind you: your surname is Lin.”
The smile on Lin Muyang’s face vanished instantly. He finally nodded heavily and said three words: “I know.”
Liu Yutong: “Don’t worry. We’re still friends. That won’t change.”
Lin Muyang’s eyes reddened instantly: “Thank you!”
To be honest, this was what he’d feared most lately.
When Liu Yutong had called him out of the blue today, he’d felt uneasy, worried she’d distance herself, look down on him, or abandon him like others had.
Only after losing his original identity did he realize he’d been nothing.
He’d also come to see how formidable this girl Liu Yutong was—rising to a position he had to look up to despite having no background whatsoever.
Thankfully, she was still willing to be his friend!