Chapter 100: Pt.1

Reporting a book for plagiarism required evidence. Simply put, one needed to list the similarities between the original work and the plagiarized work and submit the list to the platform for verification.

After encountering such a big problem, Xu Chuanchuan lost all mood to write. So, she announced that she would be halting updates for today in her book's comment section and her reader group. Fortunately, her readers were very understanding when they heard that she was preparing to report the copycat.

—Lord, just focus on getting this problem settled first. Everyone can tell that this author is copying you.

—That's right, that's right. We can't let such an immoral author run freely.

—Lord, I support you. I'll use all of my Moonstones to reduce that author's points to oblivion!

…

If it were in the past, Xu Chuanchuan would never have condoned her readers to reduce the points of other authors. However, the copycat author had truly angered her this time, so rather than stop her readers, she thanked them instead. Then, after closing off QQ messenger, she promptly began preparing the accusation materials.

Xu Chuanchuan had never reported another author for plagiarism before, so she didn't know how she should go about listing the evidence. Fortunately, Ange was experienced in this aspect, so after asking Ange for some details, Xu Chuanchuan was led to a related forum post. By the time she and Murong Shi researched the post, compiled the evidence, and submitted the report, it was already late in the night.

As for what would result from the report, only time could tell.

Before going to bed, Xu Chuanchuan complained to Ange: "I've been so unlucky this year. First, I got slandered multiple times. Now, I'm being plagiarised."

Ange: "If you look at it from another perspective, the fact that you're being plagiarised also shows that you're popular."

Me? Popular?

Xu Chuanchuan switched to the jjwxc application to check her author's profile.

Before writing After Being Bent by Reader, Xu Chuanchuan only had a little over 2,000 followers. Then, after writing the book, having it recommended on the front page, and getting slandered by Fragrant Citrus's sub-account, her author account now had over 5,000 followers. Aside from this, there was also the number of bookmarks her book received. For her past novels, she received an average of 10,000 bookmarks. In the case of After Being Bent by Reader, it received over 50,000 bookmarks.

If Xu Chuanchuan only looked at these statistics, After Being Bent by Reader was indeed a popular book. Moreover, more and more people were paying attention to it with each passing day. However, this popularity inevitably attracted jealous people who wished to trample over her success, such as Fragrant Citrus. Though, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't say for certain if she was being plagiarised solely because of her popularity.

Afterward, Xu Chuanchuan checked out the copycat work's homepage, and what she saw there dumbfounded her.

The homepage's comment section was practically flooded with point reduction notifications and negative comments. Many of these point reductions were given by reader IDs that Xu Chuanchuan was familiar with.

—Copycat! Ptui!

—You only changed the names and identities of the lead characters. You didn't even bother changing any of their personalities, scenarios, and plotline, yet you have the gall to say you're not plagiarizing?

—Not only are you copying another person's work, but you're even doing such a terrible job of it. Your writing is horrible, and there are so many typos. You're even abusing punctuation. Have you even graduated from grade school?

—Do new authors nowadays know no fear? My Lord's work is still on the popularity ranking list, yet you already have the gall to copy it? I commend you for your courage! Here, have some point reductions! No need to thank me!

…

Xu Chuanchuan's followers amounted to less than one-tenth of Ange's followers. She couldn't summon an army on demand. So, when she saw so many readers and passersby voicing their support for her, she couldn't help but be touched.

Xu Chuanchuan couldn't sleep well that night. Partway through the night, she woke up once and secretly checked her report status on jjwxc's website. However, the report status showed that it was still pending.

The intense light coming from Xu Chuanchuan's phone woke up Murong Shi. Knowing that her lover was worried over the plagiarism matter, she snatched the phone away and said, "Other people also need to sleep at night. It's pointless to stare at your phone, so go to sleep."

…

The report result came out in the afternoon the next day. However, to Xu Chuanchuan's bewilderment, the publisher had deemed the detailed evidence she provided to be insufficient for the accusation to take hold.

When her reader group's members found out about the result, they voiced out complaints on her behalf.

—Are the moderators blind?

—Why is the platform siding with a copycat?

—That's right! Anyone can tell it's plagiarised!

—That author is so shameless! She updated another chapter last night, and she is still copying Lord's scenarios! Argh!!! I already used up all of my Moonstones. Who here still has some? Hurry up and go reduce that copycat's points!

…

Xu Chuanchuan was surprised by this outcome, so she quickly talked to Ange about this situation.

Ange: "I expected as much."

Xu Chuanchuan: "But that person's plot and scenarios are all similar to mine. You don't even need a discerning eye to know she's copying my work. I don't understand this. Why is the platform not deeming it to be a plagiarised work?"

As a widely famous author who had many excellent works under her name, Ange frequently encountered people copying her work. So, she had plenty of experience dealing with plagiarism.

Ange: "It is incredibly difficult to protect the rights of literary works. There are also many ways to define the definition of plagiarism. The person copying you is smart. She only copied your general plot and scenarios; she did not copy and paste your text as well. She also added a lot of original content, so the platform doesn't dare to judge her work as a copy. Seeing how this person dares to test the boundaries of plagiarism, I don't think this is her first time writing a novel."

After hearing Ange's analysis, Xu Chuanchuan inadvertently thought of someone. "Could it be Fragrant Citrus again?"

Ange: "I already checked that author's IP. It's completely different from Fragrant Citrus's IP. If it's one of Fragrant Citrus's sub-accounts, it should've been created long ago, so there's no way the book would get recommended on the newcomer's section. So, I can't say for certain."

However, Xu Chuanchuan's current concern wasn't whether the other party was Fragrant Citrus or not. Instead, it was that the platform had denied her plagiarism accusation.

Afterward, Xu Chuanchuan contacted her editor and asked for help. However, the editor simply repeated what Ange told her, saying that the overlapping content did not meet the criteria for the platform to consider it as plagiarism.

Faced with this situation, Xu Chuanchuan didn't know what she should do.

Hearing about Xu Chuanchuan's problem, Ange used her own experiences to guide her and told her to make a Weibo post.

Thus, Xu Chuanchuan spent some time writing a long Weibo post to call out the copycat plagiarising her work. And as soon as she published the post, Ange immediately helped her by sharing it.

Some time ago, the drama version of Ange's novel The End of The World began broadcasting on television. As a result, the follower count on Ange's Weibo account had skyrocketed past 500,000. Shortly after Ange shared Xu Chuanchuan's post, the post started trending on Weibo, and many netizens stood out to show Xu Chuanchuan support.

As the copycat author did not have a Weibo account, her plagiarized work's comment section had become a disaster zone filled with curses and point reduction notifications. However, the copycat author remained calm and continued updating every day. To make matters worse, the number of bookmarks her work received was continuously increasing.

In the end, left with no better choice, Xu Chuanchuan decided to stop updating her book.

After Being Bent by Reader was only half-completed. Xu Chuanchuan wanted to see what that copycat would do once there was nothing left to copy.

In the past, Xu Chuanchuan had thought that not having to write anything was an occasion to celebrate. However, now that she was forced to stop writing because someone was plagiarising her work, she couldn't help but feel suffocated.

Unfortunately, no matter how angry Xu Chuanchuan felt about the situation, she could do nothing about it. Even though innumerable people were showing her support through her novel's comment section, reader group, and Weibo, the copycat author was simply too cunning for the platform to judge her work as a copy.

However, while the platform failed to give Xu Chuanchuan a satisfactory answer, Ange's promotion had ended up increasing After Being Bent by Reader's popularity.

Ange: "Now that your novel is so popular, you can use this opportunity to make a quick buck."

Xu Chuanchuan: "No, I refuse to update."

Ange: "Are you dumb? Why are you refusing easy money?"

It was indeed dumb to refuse money when offered. Seeing Ange's message, Xu Chuanchuan suddenly remembered a joke Murong Shi told her before.

Because of her past circumstances, Xu Chuanchuan had already made it a habit to be frugal and save money as if her life depended on it. At one time, she picked up a one-yuan coin while out shopping with Murong Shi. After picking up the coin, she happily said, "If I can pick up a yuan every day for a year, that'll be enough to cover a month's utility bills."

Looking at Xu Chuanchuan's miserly expression, Murong Shi joked, "You might as well change your pen name to I Love Money."

Xu Chuanchuan felt her heart softening when she thought of Murong Shi. This situation also strengthened her thoughts.

After Being Bent by Reader was a story about her relationship with Murong Shi. Initially, Xu Chuanchuan had only written the book to record the things that happened between them. While money was indeed important, she did not wish to let a copycat taint her fond memories.

With her mind made up, Xu Chuanchuan immediately announced that she would halt releases. As to when she would resume releases, that would depend on when the plagiarism ended.

As soon as the announcement appeared, Xu Chuanchuan's readers wailed in agony.

—Lord, why must you do this to me? I like this book very much! Uuuu, my heart hurts!

—I'll support you no matter what, Lord! Keep on fighting!

—That copycat deserves death. If it wasn't for her, Lord wouldn't have had to stop releases.

—What a pity. Lord, I'll be waiting for you. I'll work hard to reduce that copycat's points in the days without you and Darling Shi accompanying me.

…

Ever since the platform refused to acknowledge her plagiarism accusation, Xu Chuanchuan had hoped that the copycat would stop her actions after getting bombarded with curses and point reductions. However, the copycat showed no signs of regret at all, her actions making it seem like she was deliberately out to oppose Xu Chuanchuan.

Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but suspect the other party to be Fragrant Citrus. However, she lacked concrete evidence to prove it.