Chapter 222: Avalanche
The sudden trending topic was, ultimately, due to the recent collaboration video between Black Cat Fatty and Chef Liu.
Both of them had put considerable effort into promoting this collaboration video to boost their popularity. They even deliberately directed the focus towards traditional culture, hoping that, like Qing Yatou, they would gain attention from the higher-ups.
However, instead of receiving attention, they ended up with an exposé.
In recent years, Chef Liu had gained significant fame in the domestic culinary world, mainly due to winning an international culinary award.
To put it simply, he was the most down-to-earth chef among the award-winning chefs and, among the down-to-earth chefs, the one who won the highest award.
The exposé’s first point mentioned that the dish Chef Liu won the award for was “stolen.”
“The dish he won the international award for was stolen.”
“The enmity between him and Zhuge Song can be traced back to Zhuge Song’s parents’ generation.”
“That dish, called ‘Biying Shuangfei’ (Flying in Pair), was a signature creation of Zhuge Song’s parents. Anyone who had tasted the original dish would be disgusted to see the version Chef Liu made, even if they had eaten the leftovers from the night before.”
“The imitation only captured five percent of the essence of the original, but still managed to win the international award. This shows how brilliant Zhuge Song’s parents were.”
The exposé wasn’t baseless but cited numerous past pieces of evidence, even including endorsement from top figures in the chef association.
There was also a video from that time as evidence.
If Chef Liu had merely copied the recipe, it might not have caused such a huge impact. It would have just been seen as helping Zhuge Song change public perception. But what truly ruined Chef Liu’s reputation were his disciples.
In recent years, Chef Liu had taken in many apprentices, each paying a high tuition fee.
They paid the money but didn’t learn anything useful. Instead, they were manipulated and gaslit by Chef Liu, leading them to believe their lack of success was due to their own limited talent.
Simply collecting the tuition wasn’t a big issue, but Chef Liu’s true nature was far worse.
One of his female disciples came forward with accusations of being sexually harassed by him.
What made matters worse was that some people even pointed out that Chef Liu’s scandals involved underage girls who hadn’t yet turned sixteen.
This bombshell created a massive stir online, overshadowing even the top trending male star who had released a new song that day.
Black Cat Fatty and Chef Liu’s collaboration video gained new attention. Initially praised for its father-daughter-like atmosphere, the video was now scrutinized with suspicion due to Chef Liu’s tainted reputation.
Chef Liu was in no position to defend himself. With so many witnesses and evidence, the police had already come to question him.
Black Cat Fatty was in her studio, fuming. “This is all your fault! If it weren’t for your suggestion, I wouldn’t have collaborated with such a scumbag!”
Her staff, chastised, dared not speak up, even though it had been Black Cat Fatty herself who had eagerly wanted to collaborate with Chef Liu, drawn to his popularity. Now that things had gone south, she was blaming her employees.
Black Cat Fatty had built a cute, slightly plump, lovable image online, but in private, she had a fierce temper. Her employees had long been used to this behavior and didn’t dare contradict her. They could only bow their heads and accept her anger.
After angrily smashing one of her staff’s cups, she stormed off to her office, slamming the door behind her.
Her employees exchanged glances and sighed. One of them spoke up, “Can we really keep working here? We’re already working overtime, and our salaries were never high. Now, if they cut our bonuses, we’ll barely make three thousand a month. It’s not even worth it. We might as well work as waitstaff in a restaurant.”
Everyone agreed with this sentiment, though another added, “We didn’t join this industry for money. We came here to make our dreams come true, to get our work seen by more people.”
“If we can’t even survive, who has the energy for dreams?” another person replied.
There was a brief silence. They were all recent college graduates, free of family burdens, quick-thinking, and had, within just a year, helped Black Cat Fatty rise from an unknown blogger to her current position.
Suddenly, a young girl jumped up excitedly. “Great news, guys! I’ve got something awesome to tell you!”
Her colleagues, who had been looking lifeless, responded with disbelief. “What good news? Did Chef Liu’s reputation flip around?”
The young girl shook her head. “No, it seems like he’s going to prison. I don’t know for how long, but it’s happening.”
Everyone sighed in unison.
The young girl didn’t keep them waiting any longer and smiled as she continued, “Yoyo Entertainment reached out to me. They want to recruit our whole team. The conditions they offered are great—starting salary of 15,000, and there’s even a profit-sharing scheme if we perform well. Who’s in?”
“15,000! Yoyo Entertainment really has money!”
“Who wouldn’t want to go? I’m definitely in!”
But then, someone asked, “What about our non-compete agreement?”
When they joined Black Cat Fatty’s studio, they had been persuaded by her brother, who was also her manager, to sign non-compete agreements. These agreements stated that if they left the studio, they could no longer work in the same industry.
Everyone looked worried at this.
The young girl who had been handling the communication spoke up again. “Don’t worry, Yoyo Entertainment’s legal team looked at our contracts. They’re confident they can resolve the issue perfectly. If they can’t, the company is willing to pay to settle the non-compete clause.”
With their worries eased, everyone finally cheered. “Awesome! Yoyo is rich! We’re saved!”
Outside, Black Cat Fatty, hearing the noise, opened the door in anger and scolded them, “Quiet down! All of you! Stop thinking about how to avoid trouble for the company. What good is having you around if you’re not contributing?”
The employees had tolerated her spoiled behavior for a long time, but now, with a tempting offer in hand, they weren’t willing to put up with it anymore.
“Pay for my cup! That was a limited edition I bought for 300!” one of the staff members finally spoke up after being the victim of Black Cat Fatty’s temper earlier.
Others chimed in to support.
Black Cat Fatty stared wide-eyed in disbelief. “What kind of attitude is that? Is that how you speak to your boss? Do you not want to work here anymore?”
“Yes, we don’t want to work here anymore! We’re quitting today!”
Black Cat Fatty had only intended to threaten them, but she never expected her entire team to walk out. She pointed at them in disbelief. “You all want to quit? Have you forgotten the non-compete agreement you signed?”
The group wasn’t intimidated at all.
It was the young girl who had handled the communication earlier who spoke up again. “The legal team from Yoyo Entertainment said they’d help us get justice for the cup incident. If we have any other evidence, like proof of mental abuse or anything else, the company is willing to fight for us.”
Black Cat Fatty only heard part of the conversation before turning to angrily accuse, “What company? You’ve already found a new job, you’ve betrayed me! Did you plan all of this from the beginning?”
