HPDBC Chapter 81 A cornered dog will jump over the wall
Chapter 81 A cornered dog will jump over the wall
Zhou Yang was "invited" to the student affairs office from his dormitory at noon by his counselor and two student leaders.
His right eyelid kept twitching the whole way.
As soon as he entered the office, he sensed something was off. The dean, the deputy secretary, the director of the student affairs office, and the teacher from last time were all there.
Everyone's face was grim. On the table sat a familiar blue "SoundJoy" MP3 player and a stack of documents.
The deputy secretary spoke first, "Zhou Yang, you've been organizing the sale of infringing products on campus. Did you ignore what we said last time?"
"Teacher, I... I've stopped selling them, I've returned all the goods..." Zhou Yang was panicking, but still wanted to explain.
"Returned? What happened? Did Liu Wei, Zhang Qiang, and Li Lei get their goods from you? Did the machines leave through your channels?"
Zhou Yang was speechless, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.
The dean spoke up: "Zhou Yang, all your commercial activities on campus must cease immediately, effective immediately."
All "Shengyue" MP3 players in your possession, as well as those of your agents, must be handed over to the Student Affairs Office by 5 PM today! Not a single one is allowed to remain!
"Dean, those machines... are from my dad's shop, and they cost a lot of money..." Zhou Yang said anxiously.
"Capital?" The deputy secretary slammed his hand on the table. "You still want capital? Let me tell you, Zhou Yang, your problem is very serious! Selling counterfeit goods is egregious and has a very bad influence! The school is considering your punishment; probation is the least of your worries. If you keep arguing, you can expect to be expelled!"
The word "disciplinary action" struck Zhou Yang like a hammer blow. His face turned pale, and his legs felt weak.
He then truly realized that this was different from the previous minor incident. The school was serious.
"Also," the student affairs office director added, "go back and rewrite a thorough self-criticism, clearly explaining the entire incident and your understanding of the situation. Submit it first thing tomorrow morning. And that proxy network you set up on campus is to be disbanded immediately!"
Amidst the reprimands, Zhou Yang walked out of the office in a daze.
The light in the corridor was a bit too bright.
He pulled out his phone; there were over a dozen missed calls, some from his father, and some from his agents. His fingers trembled as he called his father back first.
Zhou Yang's ears were ringing, the sounds of his father's voice mixed with the reprimands from the dean and deputy secretary. He leaned against the cold wall and slowly slid down to the floor.
"Dad...the school...the school has banned me from selling MP3 players. All my stock is going to be confiscated...and I'll get punished by the school..."
There was a deathly silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, followed by Zhou Kun's even more furious cursing and the sound of something being smashed.
After a long while, Zhou Kun's panting voice came through: "Go find Lin Feng right now! Apologize to him, talk to him! No matter what, make him drop the charges, make him plead with the school! Hurry up!"
Zhou Yang hung up the phone with his father, his fingers trembling as he searched through his contacts.
He discovered that Lin Feng's name was not in the list of people with the surname Lin. Only then did he realize that he had never saved Lin Feng's number.
He remembered that Xu Qiang had once told him to go to the second floor of the business incubation center to find Lin Feng.
He had completely ignored the other party at the time, and now he could only beg Lin Feng to drop the lawsuit and plead with the school. This was his and his father's last hope!
Zhou Yang suddenly stood up from the ground, but because he moved so fast, his vision went black and he almost fell.
Ignoring his dizziness, he pushed open the stairwell door and ran downstairs like a madman.
In the afternoon, students strolled leisurely in twos and threes towards the cafeteria or dormitory. Only he, like a raging wild beast, rampaged through the crowd, drawing stares from everyone.
His mind was in complete chaos, with only one thought remaining: find Lin Feng and beg him to let him go.
The corridor on the second floor of the startup incubator was quiet. The door to room 207 was ajar.
In the Fengchi Digital office, Lin Feng sat at his desk, chatting with Wang Peng, Tan Zhao, Xu Qiang, and others.
Su Wan and Shen Jingyi were organizing documents at another table.
The door was suddenly pushed open, startling everyone, who all turned to look.
Zhou Yang stood at the doorway, his eyes bloodshot, his face deathly pale, and his chest heaving violently.
"Zhou Yang?" Xu Qiang was the first to stand up, his face darkening.
Zhou Yang didn't even look at him; his gaze was fixed on Lin Feng, and he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Lin Feng!"
Lin Feng looked at the disheveled Zhou Yang without any surprise on his face, simply looking at him calmly.
Zhou Yang rushed in, urgently calling out, "Lin Feng... Lin Feng, I was wrong! I was wrong before, I was out of my mind, I shouldn't have gone against you! Please let me go, let my dad go, okay?"
At this moment, veins bulged on his forehead: "Just say a word to the school and don't punish me! We're willing to pay compensation if you withdraw the lawsuits from the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the court! Please? I'm begging you!"
Shen Jingyi, Su Wan, and the others exchanged smiles.
Xu Qiang questioned, "Why didn't you come sooner? I went to find you before and asked you to come and talk. I gave you a chance, but you were useless!"
Wang Peng and Tan Zhao stood beside Lin Feng, watching Zhou Yang, who was losing control of his emotions, with vigilance.
Lin Feng's gaze lingered on Zhou Yang's despairing face for a moment, then he shook his head slightly:
"It's too late."
The three words, like three blocks of ice, struck Zhou Yang's heart.
All his pleas were instantly frozen in the face of those three words.
Zhou Yang's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and the last thread of his reason snapped.
All the frustration and resentment found a hateful outlet at this moment. Right before their eyes stood Lin Feng, eternally calm, seemingly in complete control of everything!
"I'll fight you to the death!" He let out a beastly growl and swung his fist recklessly, aiming it at Lin Feng's face!
At that moment, all thoughts of school punishment and his father's shop vanished from his mind; only madness remained.
However, his fist failed to touch Lin Feng.
Just as he moved, Tan Zhao, who had been staring intently at him, suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist as he threw a punch. The immense force brought Zhou Yang's momentum to an abrupt halt.
Almost simultaneously, Wang Peng and Xu Qiang rushed forward. Xu Qiang grabbed Zhou Yang from the side and hugged him around the waist, while Wang Peng grabbed his other arm that was flailing wildly.
"Zhou Yang! You're fucking insane!" Xu Qiang roared.
The three men worked together to hold Zhou Yang down firmly. Zhou Yang struggled desperately, uttering incoherent curses and kicking his legs wildly.
"Let me go! Lin Feng! If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one!" Foul language and desperate screams mingled together.
Tan Zhao, who was holding him down, turned cold and tightened his grip, causing Zhou Yang to cry out in pain.
Wang Peng didn't hold back either, using his knee to push against Zhou Yang's knee. Zhou Yang's legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground, his struggling strength immediately weakening.
Lin Feng remained standing still, without taking a single step back, simply watching Zhou Yang's ferocious expression.
He slowly began, "You chose this path yourself. You should have thought about the consequences before you acted. What's the point of coming here and acting crazy now? Su Wan, Jing Yi, go find the school security office; there's trouble here."
The two of them immediately ran out.
A short while later, two security guards from the startup incubator arrived and took Zhou Yang, who was pinned to the ground, away.
The news that Zhou Yang attempted to assault Lin Feng at the startup incubation center, but was subdued and handed over to the security department spread like wildfire throughout every corner of the Xichuan University of Technology campus that afternoon.
This is no longer a simple student dispute or business friction.
Lin Feng is now an outstanding student whom the principal has publicly praised. He is also a campus partner of Xunji Digital and China Mobile's strategic cooperation. The "Fengchi Digital" and "Promotion of Genuine Music" that he represents are closely integrated with the school's advocacy of innovation and integrity.
Zhou Yang has not only been previously confirmed to have organized the sale of pirated and infringing products and was criticized by Tang Lei without being named during a performance, but now he has openly committed violence (attempted) against a classmate in a place like a startup incubator.
The nature of it has suddenly escalated!
"Have you heard? Zhou Yang went to Lin Feng's office and beat someone up!"
"Is he crazy? He thinks he's justified in selling pirated goods?"
"The security department was mobilized and they took him away directly. I heard that many people saw it."
"This is it. Selling pirated goods was bad enough, but now with this act of violence, they'll be punished for multiple offenses."
"Serves him right. I've disliked him for a long time. Just because he has a small business, he acts like a complete idiot."
Rumors spread rapidly and quickly escalated. The pressure on the School of Computer Science increased dramatically. Previously, the dean and deputy secretary were only criticized by the school leaders, but now that the matter was known to everyone and involved personal safety, the impact was much worse.
The school responded swiftly. Upon learning of the situation, the principal immediately gave instructions:
Led by the Student Affairs Department, a joint investigation team composed of the School of Computer Science, the Security Department, and the Youth League Committee will conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation into Zhou Yang's suspected violations of laws and regulations. The team is determined to ascertain the facts, clarify responsibilities, and deal with the matter seriously in order to uphold the school's integrity.