571: Chapter 571 Adults who sign must bear the consequences.

President Zhao leaned back into the sofa, his expression unchanged.

"Jiangping, emotions cannot solve any problems."

Shen Jiangping grabbed the paper bag and slammed it onto the coffee table again.

The trophy rolled out completely, its metal base pressing down on several documents.

"Stop putting on that act for me!"

Shen Jiangping's roar hit the closed conference room door; through the thick door panel, it still made Sun Tong, outside in the corridor, lift her eyes.

She glanced at the recording prompt on her tablet and said nothing.

Shen Jiangping stared at President Zhao.

"In all these years, how many projects have I brought to Huanyu Publishing Group?"

"Film and television rights, overseas licensing, youth salons..."

"And the collaborations negotiated using my name, have you counted those?"

"Now that I've lost just one round, you're throwing me away?"

President Zhao picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Seeing this action, Shen Jiangping found it even harder to control himself.

"You can still drink tea?"

President Zhao put down his cup.

"This defeat has long exceeded the scope of a single award.

The main text couldn't retain readers, Chen Jingzhi debunked your arguments, and Chu Pengshu voluntarily withdrew."

Shen Jiangping's voice hitched.

President Zhao spoke calmly, every sentence pressing down on the place Shen Jiangping least wanted to acknowledge.

"Huanyu Publishing Group can help you with exposure, help you pave channels, and help you generate discussion.

Whether readers continue reading after opening the main text is not something the group can do for you."

Shen Jiangping's hands pressed against the coffee table, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.

"Fine, fine, fine, now you're pushing the responsibility onto the text again?"

"The text is the primary responsibility.

If the work cannot support the traffic, all promotion will backfire."

"Bullshit!"

Shen Jiangping grabbed the trophy, the metal body flashing with a glaring light under the lamp.

"Without you, I wouldn't have reached this point."

"I could have written slowly; I could have admitted that this book wasn't good enough."

"It was you who told me that once I gave up my position, I would never get it back."

"It was you who said that the Program students had to be suppressed."

"It was you who made me stand out as the banner of the youth literary scene."

He used the trophy base to knock on the coffee table.

"Now the flag has fallen... No! It's just crooked, and you want to cut down the flagpole too?"

President Zhao finally stood up.

He walked to the conference table and pulled open the right drawer.

Shen Jiangping stared at his movements.

President Zhao took out a file folder from inside and casually tossed it onto the coffee table.

The folder slid through the spilled tea and stopped in front of Shen Jiangping.

"This is the promotion contract your studio signed with Xinghe Network; Huanyu Publishing Group only filed it as the party advancing the copyright prepayment.

The project confirmation form, the risk notification, and the authorization receipt all have your signature and the studio's official seal."

President Zhao flipped to the second page.

"Second page, the authorizer's signature."

In the bottom right corner of the page, the three characters Shen Jiangping were clearly visible.

Next to it was the stamp of the personal studio.

Shen Jiangping's throat went dry.

"When I signed this contract, you said it was routine promotion."

President Zhao continued to flip through it.

"Third page, risk notification."

"These terms cannot guarantee Huanyu Publishing Group's eternal safety, but they are sufficient to determine the first point of investigation.

The funds were deducted from your royalty prepayments, the authorization was signed by your studio, and the third-party accounts were verified by your side.

With the existing paper evidence, the person it first points to will only be you."

Shen Jiangping suddenly reached out to grab the file.

President Zhao was faster than him and pressed the file down.

"There is also the fourth page."

He opened it.

"Expense settlement."

"Promotion expenses are borne by Shen Jiangping's personal studio.

Huanyu Publishing Group may advance payments based on copyright prepayments and subsequent royalty earnings, with related expenses deducted from the share."

President Zhao looked up at him.

"Every page has your signature."

Shen Jiangping's lips turned pale.

"This, this is you tricking me into signing."

"It is written very clearly on the contract."

"You said at the time that this was for project compliance."

"It is indeed compliant."

President Zhao closed the file.

"So it is also compliant now."

Shen Jiangping took half a step back, his knees hitting the edge of the coffee table, his body noticeably swaying.

He forced himself to speak.

"I still have chat records in my hands."

President Zhao looked at him.

"Oh? Which ones?"

Shen Jiangping gritted his teeth.

"You told the Public Relations Department to watch the Program work area, told Chu Pengshu to adjust the article direction, and told the Technical Department to prepare the account matrix. All of these are recorded."

President Zhao picked up another file.

"You can submit them."

He spread the file open.

"The internal group communication terms are all about work promotion risk assessment, reader feedback analysis, and public opinion maintenance suggestions. Not a single word points to manipulating the selection."

President Zhao pushed one of the pages in front of him.

"The account matrix is registered under Xinghe Network, the script templates were confirmed by your studio via email, and the files left by the Technical Department are only risk assessments and data observations."

"You can explain the meaning behind them, but the investigation team will ultimately still look at the fund flow, authorization chain, and actual instructions."

President Zhao's tone was steady.

"The law looks at evidence, not your current emotions."

Shen Jiangping looked up at him.

"So you were prepared long ago."

President Zhao did not deny it.

"Huanyu Publishing Group has always had boundaries.

That boundary is written in the contracts, financial records, and authorization receipts.

The place where you signed is where the group stops."

Shen Jiangping laughed.

He laughed until his shoulders trembled.

"Boundaries?"

"President Zhao, you put all the dirty work into my studio, and then you talk to me about boundaries?"

President Zhao picked up his teacup and put it down again.

"Jiangping, adults must bear the consequences of their signatures."

Shen Jiangping grabbed the file.

"You just wait, I'm going to the Writers Association right now."

"Go."

President Zhao answered quickly.

Shen Jiangping froze.

President Zhao looked at him.

"The Writers Association will investigate."

"The investigation result will most likely be that Shen Jiangping's personal studio conducted improper public opinion guidance through a third-party company, affecting the public reading order of the Kunpeng Youth Award."

"Huanyu Publishing Group stopped relevant cooperation immediately upon discovering the risk, proactively submitted materials, and cooperated with the Writers Association to clean up the non-compliant chain."

President Zhao pulled the last page out of the folder.

"The statement has already been drafted."

The title of the paper entered Shen Jiangping's line of sight.

"Notice Regarding the Termination of Cooperation with Shen Jiangping's Personal Studio"

The main text below clearly listed three points.

"First, Huanyu Publishing Group will suspend all promotional resources for works under Shen Jiangping's name, effective immediately."

"Second, Huanyu Publishing Group will submit relevant outsourcing materials from Shen Jiangping's personal studio to the Kunpeng Youth Award Organizing Committee."

"Third, due to Shen Jiangping's personal actions causing damage to the group's business reputation, Huanyu reserves the right to pursue breach of contract liability and compensation for reputation loss."

Shen Jiangping stared at the third point.

"Compensation?"

President Zhao nodded.

"The liquidated damages for the existing three copyright projects, prepaid promotion fees, channel withdrawal losses, plus the reputation recovery stipulated in the contract, the first round of calculation is 36 million."

The file in Shen Jiangping's hand fell to the floor.

The pages scattered, covering the carpet next to the coffee table.

He opened his mouth.

"Thirty... six million?"

"This is just the first round."

President Zhao said.

"If the Writers Association's public notification leads to the suspension of Huanyu's relevant projects, there will be subsequent additions."

Shen Jiangping crouched down to grab those pages of the contract, flipping quickly to the breach of contract clauses.

The three copyright projects, two prepayments, and reputation recovery were listed line by line, and his signature was still at the bottom of the page.

When he flipped to the last page, his fingers completely lost their strength, and his body slid down along the edge of the coffee table.

He sat in the middle of those scattered pages, watching his own signature spread out page by page.

Every stroke was familiar.

Every stroke had turned into a rope at this moment.

He finally understood that President Zhao had never intended to argue with him.

President Zhao had set up the rules, contracts, and evidence chain, just waiting for him to lose the work, and then push him into the position that had long been dug for him.

Shen Jiangping looked up.

"You were prepared to use me as a scapegoat from the very beginning."

President Zhao looked at him, his tone without fluctuation.

"I gave you a chance."

Shen Jiangping's laughter turned hoarse.

"A chance?"

"If the data held up, the group would continue to treat you as a core project, and you would still be the banner of youth literature."

President Zhao looked down at him.

"If the data collapsed, the risk would return to the signing entity according to the contract."

"The rules were always written there, you just didn't read them carefully."

The conference room went quiet.

This sentence was uglier than any angry scolding.

Shen Jiangping sat on the floor, surrounded by contracts, tea, the trophy, and that impending statement of severance.

He remembered that when he grabbed the trophy in the study just now, he still felt it was his last bit of confidence.

Now that trophy lay by the side of the coffee table, its body stained with tea, its base pressing down on a risk notification form.

The applause from three years ago now left only a recovery notice.

President Zhao walked back to the sofa and pressed the internal line.

"Little Sun, come in."

Sun Tong walked in.

"President Zhao."

"Notify the legal department, the statement will be released in twenty minutes."

"Understood."

"Submit the attachments to the Writers Association Data Monitoring Center as well."

Sun Tong lowered her head to record it.

"Do you need to synchronize the media talking points?"

"Synchronize."

President Zhao glanced at Shen Jiangping on the floor.

"Use the first version for the talking points. Respect the fairness of literary awards and oppose any form of improper public opinion interference. The group has actively severed ties with the non-compliant personal studio."

Shen Jiangping looked up, his voice squeezed out from his throat.

"President Zhao."

President Zhao looked at him.

Shen Jiangping braced himself against the floor, trying to stand up.

"You will get your retribution."

President Zhao did not respond to this sentence.

He spoke to the security guards outside the door.

"Escort Teacher Shen downstairs."

Two security guards walked in, grabbing Shen Jiangping's arms, one on each side.

Shen Jiangping struggled for a moment, but his strength had already dissipated.

As he was dragged up, the documents at his feet were trampled and scattered.

"Let go of me."

No one responded.

"President Zhao, if you dare to issue the statement, I will hand everything over."

President Zhao sat back on the sofa and picked up his teacup again.

"You certainly have the right to submit any materials, but Huanyu will also respond in accordance with the law and reserves the right to pursue accountability."

The security guards dragged Shen Jiangping out of the conference room.

Sun Tong followed behind, her expression unchanged.

When Shen Jiangping was dragged through the corridor, several employees working overtime on the top floor poked their heads out from their cubicles to watch.

Some quickly pulled back.

Several overtime employees heard the commotion and glanced through the glass.

Some quickly withdrew their gaze, some turned off their phone screens that had just popped up with industry news.

A low sentence, "The statement has already been issued."

Those words floated in the corridor.

Shen Jiangping heard it clearly.

He suddenly wanted to turn back and get the trophy.

It was the one he had brought.

But the security guards did not stop.

At the doorway of the conference room, that old paper bag was bumped by someone.

The gold-plated trophy rolled out of the bag, spun half a circle along the smooth floor, and hit the door frame.

There was rainwater and mud at the doorway that he had brought in on his shoe soles.

The trophy stopped in that small patch of dirt.

The golden body was stained with mud.

The elevator door opened.

Shen Jiangping was taken inside.

Before the door closed, he saw President Zhao's figure for the last time.

That person sat by the tea table, as calm as if nothing had happened.

The elevator went down.

The numbers got smaller floor by floor.

Shen Jiangping leaned in the corner of the elevator, his hands hanging down.

He suddenly remembered Chu Pengshu's "Apology Statement."

Admitting to being wrong, withdrawing from the commentary.

That person at least kept his pen.

And what about him?

He had even handed his pen to someone else.

The elevator reached the first floor.

The lights in the lobby were blindingly bright.

The security guards escorted him to the entrance.

Sun Tong chased after him and handed him a paper bag containing the scattered private documents and the trophy.

"Teacher Shen, don't forget your things."

Shen Jiangping looked down.

The mud was still on the trophy base.

He reached out to take it, but the paper bag slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

The paper bag fell at his feet, making a muffled sound.

Outside the building, the rain had stopped, but the ground was still wet.

Shen Jiangping stood below the steps, the revolving door behind him slowly turning back into place.

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out.

A notification from the literary forum popped up.

[Huanyu Publishing Group issues statement: Termination of all cooperation with Shen Jiangping's personal studio effective immediately]

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