CH 17

Chapter 17: Public Opinion Subsides

Yin Dong had no siblings and his parents were a pair of ordinary teachers from a small city. When Yin Chang was very young, Grandpa Yin died. At the time, Yin Dong was very busy with work and was unable to stay by his side at the hospital. As a result, his mother was very dissatisfied with her son being an actor.

Last year, Yin Dong’s mother who was in her eighties also died from an illness. Without telling Yin Chang and thus, he didn’t return to China, Yin Dong had gone back to his hometown to quietly handle her burial.

Since he wasn’t close to his Grandparents as a child, their passing hadn’t impacted him that much. It wasn’t until the Lawyer told him that he was adopted that Yin Chang felt alienated and alone. The fact that he had no blood relatives was a surprise.

Yao Manhuai frowned and asked: “Do you think like that because of the comments on the internet?”

Many people on the Internet accused Yin Chang of stealing his Father’s legacy and then ignoring Shao Junling.  Yao Manhuai was worried that public opinion would influence him. She offered a reminder: “Didn’t I tell you before that being criticized as a public figure was normal? Don’t take their comments to heart.”

Shaking his head, Yin Chang admitted that when he first saw the news, he was really affected. He thought he had been deceived, betrayed, and neglected. He really felt like his father was a complete asshole.

Once he calmed down, he thought about it more carefully. Was Yin Dong the kind of person who would go out with just anyone and as a result, have a child out of wedlock?

Just because regular people didn’t understand his Father, doesn’t mean Yin Chang didn’t know either. If Yin Dong had known about Shao Junling, he would never have left him on the streets or in a Welfare home.

Perhaps, the child was kept hidden from Yin Dong and he didn’t learn about Shao Junling until fairly recently. This was a much more plausible reason for Shao Junling’s sudden appearance. Why Yin Dong hid the truth from everyone, Yin Chang didn’t understand. Not only did he hide it from himself, but also his agent, Yao Manhuai, and even the lawyer wasn’t aware of the details. These people were like yin Dong’s closest relatives.

The only explanation Yin Chang could think of was that the birth of this child was illegitimate and the fewer people that knew about him, the better. In Yin Chang mind, he thought his Father valued Shao Junling more than himself because the boy was his own son by blood and Yin Chang was not. In addition, when he consulted with Lawyer Wang about the positive paternity test he found in Yin Dong’s office, the Lawyer said that legally, Shao Junling could claim half of Yin Dong’s assets.

When Yin Chang saw the environment that Shao Junling lived in, he felt like a cuckoo bird who had taken over a nest from its rightful owner.

He talked to Yao Manhuai further: “The attorney told me that my father left a 30 million insurance policy for me. The other property can be given to him when he comes of age. In the meantime, I will be able to help take care of the money for him. We can decide on what to do with the inheritance later.”

“Little Chang, you know how much your father loved you! Don’t think so little of yourself….” It was hard for Yao Manhuai to know if Yin Chang was being too rash out of anger, or too proper and sensible.

“I’m not belittling myself.” Yin Dong was kind to him. That is sentiment, not duty. While Yin Chang’s tone was indifferent, his eyes revealed another emotion. He felt rejected. He said “I think, even if my father left his will when he was alive, it wouldn’t be distributed in this way. He might even take out more assets for charity. Besides, I’m 18 years old already and my dad has given me such a good education. If I want money, I will make it myself. “

Yao Manhuai sighed. She felt distressed over Yin Chang, but also admired him for being strong: “Well, you have legally inherited your father’s estate. What you want to do with it is up to you.”

Regardless, Yao Manhuai didn’t worry about his lack of money that much. Since Yin Chang agreed to become an actor, she knew it was just a matter of time before he started making a lot of money.

Next, Yao Manhuai discussed with Yin Chang about Shao Junling’s living arrangements.

Even though Yin Chang brought him back from the Welfare Institute, in her eyes, Yin Chang was also a child in need of care. Moreover, she heard from the people in the welfare home that Shao Junling might have suffered some injuries during his childhood. His temperament was very unstable and he was extremely unsociable.

Since Yao Manhuai was the official guardian of Shao Junling she couldn’t help taking responsibility and suggesting: ”Why don’t I take Shao Junling home to my place first?”

Yin Chang was also worried about where Shao Junling should live. When he witnessed how the other kids treated him, all he wanted to do was rescue the boy. It wasn’t like Shao Junling had to stay by Yin Chang’s side. Now that the boy was here, Yin Chang was feeling a little awkward about the situation he got himself into.

“Why don’t you ask him?” Yin Chang glanced at Shao Junling. As soon as he spoke to Yao Manhuai, Shao Junling opened the box of Lego and started playing with them. Yin Dong had taken him here before so he was familiar with the layout of the apartment.

Yao Manhuai walked over and asked softly: “Shao Junling, do you want to go home with your aunt?”

While sitting with his back towards her, Shao Junling continued to play with the Legos. He kept silent and ignored her as if he heard nothing.

Yao Manhuai walked around to face Shao Junling and calmly tried to coax him: “Auntie’s house is also very big. You will have your own beautiful room with all the toys you want, okay?”

This time, Shao Junling reacted. He pivoted his butt a half circle and placed his back towards her.

Yao Manhuai’s mouth twitched: “…” Damn. This bear kid dares ignore me!

Yin Chang had the impression that women were better at dealing with children then men, but after witnessing Yao Manhuai’s attempts at conversation with Shao Junling, he realized she wasn’t any better at it than he was.

Yao Manhuai reluctantly withdrew: “Do you want me to find a temporary nanny for you?”

Yin Chang frowned. Since there was going to be one unknown child living at home, he was uncomfortable with having another unknown person here as well. If Shao Junling was really going to stay here, he much rather makes a request for Fiona, the nanny he grew up with, from abroad.

“Don’ worry about it. I’ll just try to get along with him for the next few days.” Yin Chang looked at Shao Junling’s and thought, at least the child was not very noisy. “We will think of something else if need be.”

Since Yin Chang’s thoughts were very reasonable, Yao Manhuai didn’t debate the issue. After she offered some advice, she gathered her things and left. She needed to go meet with the PR department and work on an official statement and announcement for the media to publish.

That evening, Yin Chang packed his things up and moved them to Yin Dong’s room. He prepared the guest bedroom for Shao Junling to sleep in. When it was time to rest, not knowing if his father had already taught Shao Junling proper bed time etiquette, Yin Chang gave him instructions he expected Shao Junling to follow. To his surprised, he very obediently followed through and went to bed without a fuss.

The drama of the day hadn’t quite passed. Early the next morning, in order for Shao Junling’s formal adoption to proceed, Yao Manhuai contacted the Welfare Institute and with the representative, they met at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Even though they met for the first time, the four were able to sign the necessary documents and proceed with the adoption without a problem.

The next day at noon, the Welfare Institute made an official announcement and explained the misunderstanding about the adoption to the media.

They also expressed their deep regret for the misunderstanding. The Institute confirmed Yin Dong’ intention to adopt Yu Junling before his death and apologized for the confusion because of Yin Dong’s sudden death. Fortunately, Yao Manhuai contacted them and at present, with all of Shao Junling’s health records in order, all parties agreed to the adoption.

Not long after this news was published, the official blog of Yin Dong’s Studio published a statement.  They apologized to the Welfare Institute and Yin Dong himself. Due to his sudden death, the studio was in chaos. The lack of organization resulted in misplaced emails which ultimately led to a misunderstanding. The damage it caused to Yin Dong’s reputation was great.

Since then, several highly credible media outlets had forwarded the statements from the studio. In addition, some of them have followed up on this matter. When they interviewed the Welfare Institute, they learned that before his death, Yin Dong had personally funded the center for nearly five million.

In private, Yin Chang and Shao Junling also conducted a DNA test. The results proved that they weren’t related by blood. This evidence further solidified Yin Chang’s thought that Shao Junling was Yin Dong’s biological son. However, the public knew nothing about it. The only acknowledge son of Yin Dong out in the open was Yin Chang and thus, the masses had made baseless assumptions.

According to the media’s opinion, there wasn’t a special reason for the adoption. Yin Dong simply wanted to adopt a boy. Now that public opinion has changed, all of those who complained about Yin Dong and Yin Chang felt punched in the face.

Subsequently, the media also published the fact that Shao Junling will be adopted by Yao Manhuai in name only.  Parenting needs and expenses will be borne by Yin Chang. Not only that, Yin Chang delayed Yin Dong’s inheritance until Shao Junling becomes of age so they can decide together on how best to handle the assets.

As soon as the news came out, the whole network was boiling again.

“What does that mean? Even without a blood relationship, Yin Chang is going to make Shao Junling his brother and give away his inheritance?”

“…and who said he was keeping it all for himself? Come and get a slap!”

“This is true wealth. When people are raised in an environment where there is no shortage of money, they don’t care about it at all.”

……

Finally, Attorney Wang’s law firm countered Fast Dog Entertainment and sent a letter of liability for the damages to Yin Chang and Yin Dong’s reputation.

Despite this, since the news that was released by Fast Dog Entertainment was carefully worded to mislead and incite people only, it was difficult to actually convict them. As a result of the constant fact-based news statements that explained Yin Dong’s controversy, the public now believed that Yin Chang was wrongfully accused.

As a result, public opinion has once again turned its back and shifted the blame towards the irresponsible news outlets which had been propagating rumors and slander. However nasty it was for Yin Dong and his son, the remarks that the public made towards the media outlets and paparazzi were much worse.

It took about a week until the tumultuous public opinion storm completely settled down.