QT: The Rescue Of The Miserable Bigshots-Chapter 343 - 11.16

Lawyer Zhang smiled amiably, his hands lightly crossed in front of him.

"Don’t worry, the private compensation won’t be much. Since Mr. Jiang hasn’t published the manuscript yet, and you’ve only plagiarized his ideas, concepts, and outline, you only need to compensate for the income you’ve earned since publishing this book..."

Seeing Li Zhe’s miserable appearance and the despair hidden beneath his swollen eyelids, Lawyer Zhang paused slightly. Then he smiled again, raised one hand, spread his fingers apart, and slowly flipped his palm over. "Ten times."

"Ten times?!"

Li Zhe was so shocked that he almost jumped up. The moment he moved, intense pain surged through his body, causing his face to contort before he collapsed back onto the bed, utterly helpless. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Ten times.

Since publishing this book, he had only written a few hundred thousand words, and it hadn’t been on the shelves for long. Without the backing of the pen name Lone Sword at the World’s Edge, his income was nowhere near what that person had earned in his previous life.

Even so, he had still made ten or twenty thousand.

Ten times that...

Wouldn’t that mean one or two hundred thousand?

Where was he supposed to get that kind of money?

"Why ten times?!" Li Zhe shouted, his voice trembling with anger. "I didn’t plagiarize him on purpose! I just bought it online as writing material! If he wants compensation, he should go after the person who stole his outline! Why is he targeting an innocent writer like me?!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became, his voice rising uncontrollably.

"And if he comes after me for compensation, then I’ll sue him! You don’t really think I can’t guess that the people who beat me like this were hired by him, do you? Let me tell you, this is illegal. I’ll call the police!"

Lawyer Zhang maintained his polite smile, as if he hadn’t heard the accusation at all. "I’m sorry, Mr. Li Zhe, I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Since we are unable to reach a settlement regarding the plagiarism issue, please rest well. We will proceed with the legal process as planned."

He paused briefly, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Oh, I almost forgot to remind you, if this goes through formal legal proceedings, the compensation may be more than ten times. And if we win, all legal fees will be charged to you as well. My own fees aren’t high, just a few tens of thousands."

"Tens of thousands?!" Li Zhe’s eyes widened in shock. "Why don’t you just rob me?!"

Lone Sword at the World’s Edge must have deliberately hired such an expensive lawyer!

But no matter how furious he felt, he knew the truth.

If this lawsuit really went to court, he had no chance of winning.

Silence filled the ward.

Seeing Li Zhe lying motionless, Lawyer Zhang seemed ready to leave. Just as he turned around, Li Zhe finally forced out a weak, hoarse voice.

"I... agree."

Lawyer Zhang stopped and turned back to look at him.

"You agree? So you’re willing to apologize publicly and provide compensation, without waiting for legal proceedings?"

Li Zhe clenched his teeth and nodded. "Yes. I agree. But I need time. I don’t have any money right now. I need time to raise it."

Lawyer Zhang’s tone remained polite and calm. "Of course. Then please sign this settlement agreement, Mr. Li Zhe."

He pulled out a folder he had been carrying under his arm, followed by a pen and a red inkpad. Everything had been prepared in advance.

Seeing Li Zhe’s face stiffen, looking utterly miserable, Lawyer Zhang continued smiling.

"Although you’ve agreed verbally, words alone aren’t enough. In situations like this, we need a signed settlement agreement before withdrawing the lawsuit. Wouldn’t you agree?"

"Uh."

Li Zhe felt completely numb.

Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he accepted the agreement with trembling hands. His mind was a chaotic mess, he couldn’t even focus on the words in front of him.

After a long time, he finally signed his name in a daze.

"Please place your fingerprint here, Mr. Li Zhe."

Lawyer Zhang had even prepared the red ink. He opened the lid and pressed it toward Li Zhe’s finger.

Li Zhe weakly moved his aching hand and pressed his fingerprint onto the paper, like a soulless shell.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Goodbye."

Lawyer Zhang turned and left with the documents.

Li Zhe lay alone on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, unmoving for a long time.

"Book title: QT: The Rescue of the Miserable Bigshots, pen name: Lone... wait."

Jiang Jiamian muttered to himself as he filled in the information on the submission page, fingers tapping against the keyboard. But just as he was about to enter the pen name, his eyes suddenly flicked to the side. He paused, then abruptly turned to look at the butler behind him, who was quietly organizing the wardrobe.

Hearing his voice and noticing his gaze, Zhou Mushen paused slightly, the clothes hanger still in his hand. Meeting Jiang Jiamian’s mischievous stare, a strange feeling crept into his heart. He lowered his voice and asked, "Wh-what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jiang Jiamian raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. You can continue."

Then Zhou Mushen saw him move his leg and swiftly turn the chair back toward the computer.

"Pen name..." Jiang Jiamian said casually. "Zhou Mushen."

Zhou Mushen: "..."

His expression stiffened. "You’re starting a new book under this pen name? Wasn’t it supposed to be ’Lone Commander’?"

Jiang Jiamian continued typing without turning his head. "That was the original plan. But the name Zhou Mushen represents my deep love for you, doesn’t it?"

Zhou Mushen pressed his lips together. "What if my surname actually isn’t Zhou?"

Jiang Jiamian raised an eyebrow.

Tsk, tsk tsk tsk.

Is he about to confess?

He spun his chair around, crossed his legs, clasped his hands together, and rested them on his lap in a relaxed posture. His gaze locked onto Zhou Mushen’s unfathomable yet unnervingly calm face.

"So what’s your surname, then? What’s your name? If it’s not Zhou, not Zhou Mushen... are you going to reverse it and call yourself Shenmu Zhou? Shen Muzhou? Something like that?"

Zhou Mushen: "..."

Jiang Jiamian caught the flicker in his eyes, and the slight tremble of his lashes, and his smile deepened.

"But if that’s really the case..." He continued lightly, "Then what a coincidence! I already told you my book’s title. You wouldn’t... Well, there’s a big fan of my book named Shen Muzhou. He’s my number one fan. You wouldn’t happen to share the same name as my number one fan, would you?"

He tilted his head. "Oh, right. When is your replacement ID card coming out? If you don’t have an ID card yet, you must have other documents, right? Why don’t you show me one?"

Zhou Mushen’s expression remained indifferent as he calmly hung the clothes hanger back into the closet. "I’m just here to work as a housekeeper. As for our relationship, whether I’m called Zhou Mushen or Shen Muzhou, the outcome is the same."

"Yes. Of course..."

Jiang Jiamian almost developed a toothache from how calm he was.

The name had already exposed him. This housekeeper, no, this number one fan, was standing right in front of him, playing dumb without missing a beat or changing his expression.

This level of mental fortitude must have been forged by a devil.

He was comparable to Jiang Jiamian himself.

But Jiang Jiamian had honed his composure through countless small worlds. This man, whose soul was unclear but whose memories were clearly those of a native, could remain so steady, his talent alone was terrifying.

Yet if he were truly faking it, he wouldn’t have exposed himself when he barged into the room earlier. And even after being exposed, he remained perfectly composed.

The system, listening to Jiang Jiamian’s thoughts: "..."

Its host was frighteningly smart, yet oddly confused at this moment.

The reason Shen Muzhou had given himself away was simply because he cared too much. Such a simple explanation, yet its usually flawless host was completely missing it.

Could it be... that love really does make people stupid?

Even its host wasn’t immune?

Just as the system was spiraling internally, Jiang Jiamian’s icy voice echoed in its consciousness, "Next time you criticize your host internally, don’t mutter it out loud. Otherwise, I’ll format you, turn you into a rabbit, and stew you in a pot."

System: "..."

"I was wrong, my host!" The system wailed. "You are wise and mighty, intelligent and sharp, supreme, domineering, and cool, and you would never be blinded by mere love!"

"Good boy!"

While intimidating the system in his sea of consciousness, Jiang Jiamian didn’t forget to exchange glances with Zhou Mushen.

"Of course there’s a difference." He said leisurely. "A very big one."

Zhou Mushen’s lips curved slightly. "Oh? What difference?"

Jiang Jiamian spread his hands. "Zhou Mushen is my free butler. Shen Muzhou is my number one fan. If I had to choose, I’d obviously prefer the number one fan who showers me with money!"

He smiled lazily. "But as the saying goes, only children make choices. I’m an adult. I want both, the fan who throws money at me and the butler who makes my bed, does my laundry, cooks for me, and warms my bed!"

Zhou Mushen: "..."

Greedy.

And not only greedy, but shamelessly honest, so honest it was impossible to dislike him.

Was he sincere... or was he so sharp that he was already certain Zhou Mushen wouldn’t be offended?

Jiang Jiamian looked straight into his eyes, amusement and ambiguity intertwined in his gaze.

He asked softly, "So, are you Zhou Mushen, or Shen Muzhou... or are they all you?"