Striving for Science C24 pt1

There are people in the world who would willingly give their lives and fortunes for their partners, and there are also those who despise their partners for being sick and a burden, wishing they would die sooner.

Shen Chang'an didn't know at first that the man of the house had a problem, but as he passed by the front door, he seemed to hear a woman's cry for help, faint and unclear, as if real and unreal, which was why he knocked on the door.

A few days later, Shen Chang'an heard the whole story from Chen Panpan. After the woman of the house fell ill, the man heard that it would cost a lot of money, so he locked her up at home, found some superstitious remedies, and often cursed her for being a burden.

"This ugly trash man, his salary isn't as high as his wife's, he eats more than his wife, and he still has the nerve to say his wife is a burden." Chen Panpan was disgusted to the core, "People like him, living is a waste of air, dying takes up a grave, neither dead nor alive, just makes people angry to look at, calling him trash is an insult to trash."

The other men in the room didn't dare to speak, they only dared to nod occasionally to show agreement, then clap and praise her for saying it well.

"Auntie Juan hasn't been here for a few days, is the matter with her sister's family still not settled?" After Chen Panpan finished scolding the trashy man, Shen Chang'an glanced at Auntie Juan's desk.

This week, Auntie Juan was absent, and their office wasn't as tidy as before.

"I called Auntie Juan yesterday, but I couldn't get through." Chen Panpan raised her chin towards the director's office, "Maybe the director knows, Auntie Juan has been on leave for so many days, she must have gotten the director's approval."

"The director didn't say anything, which means it's not a big deal." Ding Yang sat on the chair carelessly, playing with his phone, "There hasn't been much work lately, except for handing out flyers, it's still handing out flyers." And most people didn't even look at the flyers they handed out, they just threw them away as waste paper.

But these tedious tasks had to be done, the feudal superstition in Wuming City was quite heavy, even in this day and age, there were still people who got sick and didn't go to the hospital, instead they went to seek divine help, and in the end, they delayed treatment and died.

"Looks like you want to go to the rumor scene again at midnight." Chen Panpan threw a form at Ding Yang, "Import these data into the system, you won't feel bored then."

Their Civil Service Department was a newly established department, it was rumored that their top department was the Ministry of State Security, but this was just a rumor, anyway, their daily work content was not much different from the neighborhood committee.

But every time there was a rumor about feudal superstition, after they dealt with it, they had to organize the events and relevant personnel into a report and import it into the Civil Service Department's dedicated office software.

"Sister, why is it always me?" Ding Yang looked at the report and felt a headache.

"Because besides you, no one else says they have nothing to do."

The two were arguing happily, when the office phone rang, Chen Panpan picked up the phone casually, "Hello, this is the Wuming City Civil Service Department, is there anything you need help with?"

She didn't know what the other person said, but Chen Panpan's face turned very ugly, she turned to look at Shen Chang'an, "The facts are not like that, please don't believe the rumors."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Panpan cursed, "A bunch of scum."

"What happened?" Shen Chang'an noticed that Chen Panpan's mood was off.

"That scum who didn't let his wife see a doctor, went online to spread rumors, saying that you were having an affair with his wife, he wouldn't let his wife see you, so you went to his house and beat him up." 

Chen Panpan gritted her teeth, "What's even more disgusting is that this scum's parents told the reporters that their son is honest and reliable, and he loves his wife dearly, but this wife doesn't want to have children and spends money recklessly, now many people are calling you an adulterer, the person who called just now claimed to be a reporter, saying they wanted to understand the situation."

"This man is crazy, right?" Ding Yang was shocked by this shameless operation, "I've seen people who would rather die than wear a green hat, but I've never seen someone who doesn't have a green hat, but weaves one for himself and wears it."

"This matter has blown up, it's not good for Chang'an." Xu Ze spoke up, "Many ordinary people don't know the truth, after being misled by some unscrupulous media, it's possible to cause a public opinion storm, then Chang'an might even lose his job."

"I think you guys don't need to think so seriously." As the person involved, Shen Chang'an didn't expect that man to have such a magical operation, but he felt that things weren't that bad, "Now all the statements are from the man's family, netizens aren't that easily fooled."

Because the Civil Service Department people were nosy, Zhang Qiang not only had to pay  a sum of money to his wife for medical expenses, but was also educated and criticized by the police, after returning home, he became angrier and angrier, thinking that he had a distant cousin who was doing some kind of self-media, so he contacted him.

This cousin who was worried about not having enough hot topics, seeing Zhang Qiang automatically come to his door, he embellished the story and put it online. To stir up conflict, he portrayed Zhang Qiang's wife as a spendthrift, unfilial, lazy, and heartless image, instantly causing emotional resonance among a certain group of male netizens.

This report was spread by many "righteous people", the comments were full of attacks on women.

Shen Chang'an opened the news article and found that some people in the comment section were suggesting that he, the "adulterer," should be beaten to death. There was no shortage of terms like "throw him into a pond," "scumbag," and "XX."

Some female netizens commented that the matter hadn't been investigated clearly yet and that it was wrong to be so decisive, but they were cursed by "righteous people" for every part of their bodies, and even their ancestors for eighteen generations were not spared.

"They all think they're righteous people, but in reality, most of them are just venting their own resentment and anger." Shen Chang'an scoffed and threw his phone aside. "If they don't go online to scold people and show off their sense of justice, how else can they live?"

Spreading such easily debunked lies was simply a sign of stupidity. In the end, the platform that promoted this kind of thing would get some scolding, but they'd still get traffic and attention, because everyone's anger would ultimately be directed at the person involved. For example, this trash man who weaved a green hat for himself and finding it warm.

"Little Shen." Du Zhonghai came out of his office. "The online public opinion has been a bit extreme these past two days. For your safety, you should go home and rest for two days. You can come back after things are cleared up."

Although many people would only scold online and get their fill of verbal abuse, what if some impulsive and brainless people actually come to harm people maliciously? Wouldn't Little Shen be the one who suffers?

"Okay." Shen Chang'an understood Du Zhonghai's concerns. He packed up his things on his desk and left work efficiently.

As he went downstairs, he heard the leaves in the courtyard rustling, sounding very cheerful.

He stopped and turned his head to look at it: "Are you watching me make a fool of myself?"

The big tree dared not move anymore and explained cautiously: "Big brother, I'm helping you scold those people online who are picking on you."

"Heh." Shen Chang'an raised an eyebrow. "Is there a dog in your soul?"

What do you mean?

"Why else would you be such a lapdog?"

The big tree: "..."

He hadn't gone a few steps out of the gate when Shen Chang'an saw a car parked beside him. Liu Mao leaned out of the passenger seat: "Mr. Shen, what a coincidence, where are you going?"

"Going home to avoid trouble." Seeing Liu Mao's honest smile, Shen Chang'an couldn't help but smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I just happened to be passing by with the master, and we ran into you."

Shen Chang'an glanced at the back of the car and saw Dao Nian looking at him with his beautiful eyes. He quickly waved to Dao Nian.

"Get in." Dao Nian was always so concise.

"Alright." Shen Chang'an didn't hesitate to open the car door and get in, beaming a big smile at Dao Nian. "I was just about to find a bicycle to ride back."

"Stay at my place for the next few days." Dao Nian paused. "They don't cook well."

Shen Chang'an stared at Dao Nian for a few seconds: "Dao Nian, did you also hear the rumors online?" Otherwise, why would he suddenly invite him to stay?

"The words of fools are not worth your attention. It will be resolved soon." Dao Nian reached out and patted Shen Chang'an's shoulder. Perhaps he didn't do this often, so he felt a little awkward.

"Don't worry, I'm not taking it to heart." Shen Chang'an stretched comfortably in the car. "It's just online chatter, it doesn't exist if I don't look at it. Besides, I don't have to worry about my lover or family being affected by me, so I don't have so many concerns."

Dao Nian noticed the faint shadows under his eyes. "Haven't you been getting enough sleep lately?"

"Can you tell?" Shen Chang'an touched the area below his eyes. "Looks like I should put my glasses back on, at least they can help hide the dark circles."

Ever since his worldview was shattered last weekend, he'd been trying to figure out what was going on with his ten-life merit body every night. But every night he went out, he didn't encounter a single ghost, and instead got chased down half a street by stray dogs.

In his opinion, dogs that could bite were far scarier than ghosts that couldn't be found.

But he couldn't tell someone who was an atheist about looking for ghosts at night, so he just chuckled dryly, "I've been having some trouble sleeping lately."

"Then come to my place, you'll be able to sleep." In that moment, Dao Nian exuded the aura of a domineering CEO. Shen Chang'an hesitated for 0.33 seconds before nodding his not-so-noble head.

Dao Nian's house was so beautiful, with a garden, comfortable sofas, and delicious food. His bed must be very comfortable to sleep on too.

"Dao Nian, you're truly my best and most considerate buddy." Shen Chang'an patted Dao Nian's shoulder a few times. "What do you want to eat later? I'll cook it for you."

"Anything." Dao Nian's expression was calm. "I'm not picky."