Smiling at Tammy, Debbie tucked a few strands of her loose hair behind her ear and said, "The news reported that I had plagiarized one of your songs. This affects my career in the music industry, so I need to sort this out with you as all our fans watch. Let them see for themselves if I've plagiarized your work or not." She shifted her gaze to Ruby. "Ruby, show Tammy to everyone. She wants to say hi to our audience."
Ruby then aimed the phone camera at Tammy, who was flustered by the sudden attack. But she was a trained on-stage performer. She quickly collected herself and faced the camera. "Hi, everyone! This is Tammy, a singer under Star Empire. Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for your attention on this issue. This might be just a misunderstanding. We'll get a clear picture soon."
The three of them then walked into Tammy's studio. Shortly, Tammy's assistant came in with a pile of documents.
Debbie smiled towards the camera and told her fans who were watching the online live video, "Okay, now that Tammy's assistant is here, I think we can start the discussion."
Ruby kept the camera aimed at them. Tammy's assistant brought the original copy of the lyrics which they had already posted on the Internet as evidence. "Everyone, please look at this. Tammy wrote this song about two and a half months ago all by herself. We also have an electronic copy stored in the laptop. Please wait for a minute."
The assistant then turned on her laptop and showed a copy of the lyrics.
Debbie didn't think that it was convincing enough, so she asked, "Do you have any other solid proof?"
At that moment, the assistant general manager of the company knocked on the door and walked in. "Debbie, Tammy, what are you doing here together?" he asked anxiously.
Noticing the obvious anxiety on his face, Debbie knew that he must have seen the live video. It was no use hiding anything now. "She accused me of plagiarism. So, I have come to confront her."
"But Debbie, I told you that we could solve this in private. I have already asked someone to look into it," the assistant general manager said in a low voice as the camera was still rolling. Besides, he didn't want to offend Debbie. She was the cash cow of the company. Her popularity was boosting and her new album was a hit.
Debbie shook her head. "All that round-about investigation takes a long time. The most efficient way is to solve this face-to-face. The truth will surface very soon."
The assistant general manager glimpsed at Ruby's phone camera and turned his back to it. He winked at Debbie, signaling to her to end the online live broadcasting. "Debbie, let's solve this internally. We'll announce the result to the public later. There's no need to—"
"No!" Debbie refused bluntly. She knew that her decision would affect the company's reputation, but she was not the one who had started this. So, what was wrong in wanting to prove her innocence? Debbie said coldly, "Mr. Zhang, this concerns my reputation and it's an insult to my painstaking effort. I hope you understand."
The manager held back his anger and forced a smile. "I promise you that we'll solve this right away. But it's not a good idea to have everyone's eyes on us. It will only harm your public image."
"Actually, I think this is a very good idea. Mr. Zhang, I'm the one being accused here, but I'm not afraid of having a public debate. What are you guys afraid of?"
Offended by her words, the manager explained in a righteous tone, "I'm not afraid of anything. I just think that your way of solving this issue is kind of..." He left the sentence unfinished, trying to be euphemistic.
Debbie understood. But she wasn't angry with him, knowing that he was speaking only in the company's interest. She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang. You know, I'm already plagued by all sort of gossips, and a lot of people are out to defame me. I'm very busy with the preparations for my concert tour, and I've signed a few endorsements too. I'm up to my neck with work, so it's really necessary that I handle this issue simply and quickly."
More and more netizens entered the live chat room. The viewers fervently commented on the video. They marveled at Debbie's courage and straightforwardness. Never had they seen a singer with such strong individuality. Moreover, each time, she was able to produce convincing proof to handle the scandals around her. Debbie's loyal fans expressed their heartache for her being the target of cyber-bullying.
Mr. Zhang couldn't find words to retort. After a pause, when he was about to say something, his phone rang. Annoyed, he pulled out his phone from his pocket. When he saw the caller ID, he froze, and quickly walked to the corner of the room to answer it. "Mr. Huo!"
"Leave it be. Just let her continue," Carlos' cold voice came from the other end.
Mr. Zhang hesitated. "But sir, they are both our singers. This'll have a bad impact on the company."
Mr. Zhang was genuinely concerned about the company's welfare. Since Debbie and Tammy were both from the same company, this internal dissension would bring loss to the company.
"The deed is done. One of them must take responsibility for the loss we incur today. I want to know who that would be. Once the truth surfaces, she'll be punished without mercy," Carlos said sternly as he put away the copy of the lyrics in question.
"Yes, Mr. Huo. Got it."
After ending the call, Mr. Zhang stayed in the room and witnessed their discussion.
The online viewers had increased to a million in no time. Meanwhile, to support Debbie, a lot of the netizens tipped coins and online presents to her chat room account. The whole situation ended up being a fortune-making deal for Debbie.
Tammy excused herself to go to the ladies' room. After
confirming that she was alone inside, she quickly dialed a number. "What should I do now? Debbie Nian is confronting me in a live Internet broadcast. I'm running out of excuses. I can't take this anymore."
"What? She's confronting you in a live broadcast?" James was caught by surprise. He had thought that Debbie would have someone look into it, and he had made sure that no clues would be found that would lead the incident back to him.
"Yes. She also said that she had a witness. What should I do now?" Tammy asked anxiously, tears threatening to roll out of her eyes. Regret filled her heart. Tempted by the man's promise of money, she was now on the brink of ruining her entire career.
James kept his cool and suggested, "If she does trot out solid proof, then you must admit that you lied and take the blame."
"What?! If I do that, my career is finished!" Tammy shouted, her eyes wide in shock.
James sneered, "You should have thought about the consequences earlier. It's too late now. You've already accepted my money and promised to do this job. You can't chicken out now. Rest assured, I'll give you thirty million after this is done. You can take the money and start a new life in some other country." An unknown singer like Tammy could hardly earn a million annually at most. So, she couldn't resist the temptation of thirty million dollars.
Meanwhile, Debbie had calmed down a little. Indeed, she was being too impulsive.
She wasn't feeling guilty about confronting Tammy, but she did feel bad because this would get Carlos involved.
He was her witness. When she had written the lyrics of the said song, Carlos was sitting by her side at her apartment. She had read the lyrics to him that day. If she told everyone this and he acknowledged it, then the public would doubt their current relationship.
But on second thoughts, Debbie wasn't worried much. That was what she wanted. She wanted to put their names together.
While Tammy was in the ladies' room, Debbie quickly came up with the solution to the issue at hand.
When the rumor monger came back to the room, Debbie put aside the proof they had given and stared at her coldly. "Tammy, are you going to tell the truth now?"
Pretending to be confused, Tammy retorted, "I should be asking you that."