Everyone Regrets It After My Death - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: He Lost the Will to Fight

Su Mingran only learned of the situation when he arrived at the coffee shop and the manager pulled him aside.

“People online are saying you’re a plagiarist. An account called ‘Qi Xinghe’ tagged you, saying you stole his work and he’s going to sue. Is it true?”

“Plagiarism?”

Su Mingran was exhausted. Between the coffee shop and his delivery jobs, he barely had enough time to sleep, let alone monitor social media. However, as the gravity of the situation sank in, he forced himself to stay calm.

Qi Xinghe was using the old playbook: steal the work, cry victim, and claim plagiarism. Why this time? To step on Mingran’s neck on his way to fame?

Knowing Qi Xinghe’s tactics, Mingran’s hands shook slightly as he contacted his professor. With the professor’s support and Li An as a witness, he believed he wouldn’t be as helpless as he was years ago.

He reached out to the professor first, who readily agreed to help clarify the situation; Mingran’s other manuscripts were still stored at the professor’s office. Then he tried to contact Li An, only to find that Li An had blocked him on every platform.

The store manager prompted him, “Can’t find Li An? He’s hosting a livestream right now.”

In Li An’s livestream, tens of thousands of viewers were flooding the chat with questions about Su Mingran.

Why is Su Mingran’s music identical to Qi Xinghe’s? Who actually stole from whom? Host, say something!

Li An sat before a bowl of instant noodles and sneered. “Is it even a question? Su Mingran isn’t even a music major. It’s obvious who stole from whom.”

The viewer count skyrocketed at his words.

True, he’s not a music student.But that doesn’t mean he can’t compose, right? Host, you’re his friend. Isn’t it wrong to backstab him like this?

Li An glanced at the chat. “We went our separate ways long ago. The guy is a pathological liar; he even cons his classmates. He claimed to be a ‘poor student’ to get sympathy from teachers and students, but in reality, his family is incredibly wealthy. Working at the coffee shop was just an act. He barely knows a thing about the piano—the other day, fans asked him to play at the shop and he refused because he actually can’t play. Why else do you think his latest video had to be a duo shot? Don’t you think his sudden fame is suspicious? It’s all controlled by a talent agency. Watch—his next move will be ‘resolving’ the scandal and jumping into show business. The real victim is Qi Xinghe. He worked so hard on that music only for it to be stolen. Maybe it leaked while Xinghe was filming his own process.”

Clips of Li An’s stream were instantly circulated. Simultaneously, photos of Su Mingran entering and leaving a luxury villa were leaked, along with more “exposure” from anonymous sources.

I went to high school with him. He entered an essay contest once, didn’t even get a participation prize, then claimed the student who won the provincial award stole his work. Hilarious. He had a terrible reputation in high school, skipped class constantly. I don’t know how he got into a top university. I’m a music student at his uni. He’s definitely not in our department. I’ve never even heard of him. I’m in his actual major, and I’m disgusted. He always wore old, yellowed clothes and a bag with holes in it. We all believed he was poor and looked out for him. I wanted a scholarship, but my comprehensive score was lower than his. To think he’s a rich kid… he’s stealing resources from people who actually need them!

Public opinion shifted violently. People assumed his “hand injury” was a lie to hide his lack of talent. Qi Xinghe’s follower count exploded, cementing his status as a top-tier influencer.

When Mingran’s professor tried to post a video to prove Mingran’s innocence, the video was shadow-banned, and the comment section was flooded with vitriol. The video was eventually taken down after being mass-reported.

Where did this ‘professor’ come from? Su Mingran isn’t even a music major! Qi Xinghe has the same manuscripts, so Mingran must have stolen them through some other means? So embarrassing that he goes to my school… Qi Xinghe’s professor spoke up and said he helped Xinghe revise this piece countless times. Plagiarism confirmed!

To the public, Su Mingran was a clown. The truth was buried by the Su family’s money. That night, the professor called Mingran, his voice trembling with rage, encouraging him to sue for defamation. He offered to provide a lawyer. He told Mingran that even if he wasn’t a music major, he was his student, and he had witnessed the composition process personally.

The call was abruptly disconnected. When Mingran called back, the professor’s son answered.

“You’re his student, right? My father has a heart condition. Someone leaked his phone number, and he’s been harassed and insulted all night. I don’t know who you offended to get this kind of retaliation, but my father is innocent. Why should he suffer for you? The department didn’t even want to take a non-major, but he saw your talent and took you in. Now he’s being dragged through the mud. I want this to end. My father needs to rest.”

Su Mingran stood by the riverbank after work, watching the dark, still water. “Okay,” he whispered. “Can you tell the professor… thank you for believing in me?”

After hanging up, he searched for the cost of defamation lawsuits.

Buddy… a celebrity lawsuit takes over a year to reach a verdict. Rich people can afford to wait. For a normal person, the legal fees are insane. Just send a lawyer’s letter to scare them. Besides, if a star wins, they buy a trending search to tell the world. If you win, are you going to pay for a trending search too? Unless you’re rich, my advice is useless.

Su Mingran let his hand drop. He had no money. He couldn’t afford to wait.

A new message arrived: the coffee shop owner told him not to come in tomorrow. They would settle his wages, but the scandal was too big, and they feared people would vandalize the shop.

Mingran replied: I’m sorry for the trouble.

He sat by the river all night, the wind chilling him to the bone. He couldn’t understand why Li An had betrayed him.

The next morning, his university counselor called him into the office. As he walked through campus, students pointed and whispered. Inside the office, the Dean of Students sat waiting.

“I’ve received many reports from students regarding your character. This plagiarism scandal is a mess. Did you do it?”

“No,” Mingran said quietly.

“And the reports that you are actually wealthy but pretended to be poor to take scholarships?”

Mingran’s face flushed a sickly red. He opened his mouth but closed it again. How could he explain? Who would believe he lived in a mansion but had a life worse than a commoner?

“I see. So it’s true. You deceived your classmates and the school to steal scholarship funds. The school must take disciplinary action. You will be given a formal demerit and placed on academic probation. The notice will be posted online tomorrow.”

The Dean waved him away. Mingran wanted to speak, but the words died in his throat. He felt weaker than his high school self; back then, he would have fought back. Now, he was like a hedgehog whose quills had been plucked—every sharp word pierced him to the core.

His head was buzzing as he stumbled out. The gazes around him were filled with loathing and disdain. He had no one. The only person who had helped him was now in the hospital because of him.

He accepted his fate.

In a daze, he wandered to the sports field and saw Gu Pei and Qi Xinghe. Xinghe was laughing and running, seemingly filming a video while a crowd watched. Gu Pei looked toward him, then looked away as if he hadn’t seen him.

The pain in Mingran’s head intensified. He collapsed onto the grass. He saw Qi Xinghe trip and fall; Gu Pei rushed to help him with an anxious expression, and the crowd swarmed around them. No one noticed the boy lying alone on the grass.

People passed by, giving him a wide berth as if he were something taboo.

Su Mingran slowly closed his eyes. Let it be, he thought.

Before he lost consciousness, he sensed someone walking toward him. He struggled to see who it was, but the darkness finally claimed him.