Han Shuangshuang was in a dilemma when she suddenly felt a light tap on her cheek.
The gentle touch of a paw on her face wasn’t heavy, but it was enough to wake Han Shuangshuang up.
She turned to see Xiao Bai’s head poking out from her large backpack.
It barked twice and wriggled its body, seemingly wanting to come out.
Han Shuangshuang quickly returned to her workstation and let Xiao Bai out.
Seeing her colleagues engrossed in a heated discussion, with no one paying attention to her, Han Shuangshuang squatted down and asked Xiao Bai,
“Xiao Bai, do you think I should make a video to explain things?”
Dogs don’t suffer from online bullying; only people do.
If the matter ended there, and no one uncovered that one of the so-called “two vicious dogs” belonged to Han Shuangshuang, the situation would soon calm down.
But Xiao Man wasn’t optimistic about that.
In the blurry image, Han Shuangshuang’s face was too clear, almost as if it were premeditated.
It was possible that someone would soon release Han Shuangshuang’s information under the guise of being an insider.
And then there would be a flood of online bullying.
As for the actual dog that bit, it could just disappear from the scene.
Xiao Man worked in content creation at Shutu Media, so she couldn’t be unaware of these tactics.
She suspected that the owner of the biting dog was trying to shift the blame.
Of course, it could also be the media deliberately releasing information step by step to create a “twist” effect, hoping to gain multiple waves of traffic from the same incident.
The well-meaning person who accidentally hit her dog on the head while trying to save it also had some suspicion.
After all, solidifying her reputation as an “evil dog” would elevate his act from “a good deed gone wrong” to “a righteous strike,” leaving him with no points to criticize in this incident.
Xiao Man didn’t want to become a tool for others to harvest traffic; if anyone was going to harvest traffic, it should be her!
Thus, she called out to Han Shuangshuang in agreement.
Han Shuangshuang looked doubtful:
“Xiao Bai, do you really understand what I’m saying? Should I really make a video?”
Xiao Man barked once.
Han Shuangshuang blinked:
“Xiao Bai is a silly dog.”
Xiao Man gave her a light paw slap on the face.
Han Shuangshuang rubbed her cheek, which didn’t hurt at all, and muttered softly,
“You really do understand.”
She knew Xiao Bai was a very smart dog, but sometimes she felt dazed; being too smart made it seem like a fake dog.
She even doubted whether she had imagined Xiao Bai’s responses.
She remembered some short videos where dog owners would say things like “I’m going to stew you for dog meat” in the gentlest tones, and the dogs would wag their tails happily.
Dogs should understand tone and expression, not complex semantics.
When she had just called Xiao Bai a silly dog, she had used the gentlest tone while laughing, yet Xiao Bai ignored the tone and expression and directly understood her meaning.
Han Shuangshuang rubbed Xiao Bai’s head and whispered,
“Sometimes I really suspect there’s a person living inside you.”
Xiao Man: “…”
Who could argue with that?
Fortunately, Han Shuangshuang was just joking; after all, such things were too bizarre to happen outside of fantasy works.
Since she had received Xiao Bai’s approval, even if she might not truly understand, Han Shuangshuang was still ready to make the video to clarify things.
She initially wanted to use the company’s studio, but Xiao Man tugged at Han Shuangshuang’s pant leg and led her to the stairwell.
The studio was too formal; viewers would immediately suspect it was a premeditated publicity stunt!
Even if others knew about Han Shuangshuang’s job, they would still have doubts.
But at least in a video, which was a more direct presentation, there should be some avoidance of associations that viewers might make.
Han Shuangshuang didn’t think much of it and followed Xiao Man’s lead to the stairwell, set up her phone on a stand, and hugged Xiao Bai to start recording the video.
Just thinking about how many people would see this video made her a bit nervous, and she stumbled over her words.
It took nearly twenty minutes to finish a video that should have only taken a few minutes to explain.
Next came the editing, where she had to cut out many stumbles and repetitive content.
Xiao Man watched the whole process, and while she wasn’t very satisfied with the final product, it was the best Han Shuangshuang could do given her lack of experience.
Xiao Man thought for a moment, and while Han Shuangshuang wasn’t paying attention, she ran over to Chen Yao’s workstation.
In the midst of Chen Yao’s puzzled gaze, she bit her pant leg and dragged her over to Han Shuangshuang.
Chen Yao quickly said,
“Hey, hey, Xiao Bai, let go! I’ll go with you!”
Just don’t ruin her favorite pants!
Xiao Man released her grip and led Chen Yao to Han Shuangshuang’s workstation.
Chen Yao quietly stood behind Han Shuangshuang for a moment before suddenly speaking up,
“What are you doing?”
The voice startled Han Shuangshuang, who didn’t hide anything and explained the situation.
Chen Yao had come in late that day and was just learning about Han Shuangshuang being forced into the trending topic.
She nudged Han Shuangshuang,
“Move aside, let me take a look.”
Chen Yao was also trained by Xiao Man, and Xiao Man was always satisfied with her work capabilities.
Seeing that she was willing to help Han Shuangshuang, Xiao Man felt reassured and returned to her backpack.
Chen Yao pursued perfection, and after a long time of dissatisfaction, she had Han Shuangshuang re-shoot some parts to edit together.
Xiao Man was forced to come out of the backpack to join in.
The final product was over a minute long; in this fast-food era, who has the patience to watch a ten-minute clarification video?
At the beginning of the video, Han Shuangshuang stated that she was one of the witnesses to a trending video, briefly explaining the ins and outs of the situation.
She emphasized that her dog was wearing a muzzle at the time and could not have bitten anyone; instead, it had bravely saved someone, expressing her outrage and protest against the malicious fabrication by a certain media outlet, demanding an apology and clarification.
After finishing the video and checking online, Han Shuangshuang discovered that in just that short time, people had dug up her personal information, including her name and workplace, as well as the fact that one of the so-called vicious dogs was hers.
Han Shuangshuang’s surprise was met with Xiao Man’s “as expected”; she had anticipated this development.
Chen Yao asked Han Shuangshuang,
“Do you want to wait until the public opinion spreads before releasing the clarification video to harvest a wave of traffic, or should we post it now?”
She paused and suggested,
“If you want to gain followers, I recommend waiting a bit. It’s easier to stir public emotions and harvest traffic that way.”
Xiao Man thought to herself that focusing on gaining followers and not fearing rumors could indeed work.
But in reality, public attention is limited.
Often, when public opinion spreads, those who initially received information about an event may not see the subsequent clarifications.
In their minds, the truth of the event is just as they initially received it.
If Han Shuangshuang used this to gain followers, there would always be people who believed she was a terrible person who condoned her vicious dog biting others.
Even after clarifying once, there would be a new wave of uninformed people coming to insult her.
Some people care about this, while others do not; it all depends on personal choice.
Xiao Man could still discuss this with Han Shuangshuang if she were a person, but now she was a dog, so this matter had to be decided by Han Shuangshuang herself.
Han Shuangshuang was very conflicted, but she was still young and couldn’t stand the unfairness.
She said to Chen Yao,
“Sister Yao, I can’t stand being insulted. Someone has already found my phone number to insult me. If I wait any longer, I won’t even be able to sleep.”
Chen Yao nodded,
“Then go ahead and post it. I’ll find some familiar influencers to help you share it and expand its impact. But I have to tell you in advance, some people just aren’t reasonable. Even if you present solid evidence in front of them, they won’t believe it.”
“Moreover, right now, it’s just your video testimony. I estimate that your video can only counteract a bit; there will still be people who insult you.”
Han Shuangshuang nodded, “I understand.”
Chen Yao said,
“You should try to find the surveillance video, testimonies from those involved, and the police report. Any follow-up evidence you can release will help.”
Han Shuangshuang agreed.
As for suing the media that spread the rumor about the “two vicious dogs,” she decided to let that go.
They hadn’t actually spread rumors; only deliberate fabrication is a crime.
What evidence do you have to prove that the other party acted with intent?
As for Han Shuangshuang’s personal information being released by so-called well-meaning people in the comments, hey, what does that have to do with the media?
If she were to seriously pursue this and spend time on a lawsuit, it would be time-consuming and labor-intensive, ultimately resulting in a bland apology and minimal compensation, which wouldn’t be worth it.
Moreover, by that time, most people would have already forgotten about the incident.
Chen Yao was very familiar with this situation; it was better to use evidence to confront them directly.
But the best outcome would be for the other party to delete the posts and play dead.
That’s just how the internet works now.
But that was still better than letting the other party continue to expand their influence.
Han Shuangshuang quickly posted the video on several platforms.
Marketing accounts would carry the video across the internet, so she needed to post on multiple platforms and then send the links to Chen Yao.
The subsequent expansion effect would be up to Chen Yao to help with; otherwise, a regular account’s video wouldn’t create much of a stir.
While Han Shuangshuang was thinking about taking leave to gather evidence, she remembered she had the contact information of the involved girl’s boyfriend.
Feeling a bit anxious, she sent a message briefly explaining the situation.
After the other party called her back, she formally stated her request.
Fortunately, the couple was very reasonable and grateful for Han Shuangshuang and her dog’s help at the time.
They were willing to help her shoot a short video explaining the situation and even shared the surveillance video they obtained from the police, saving her a lot of trouble.
Han Shuangshuang expressed her immense gratitude, but the other party said,
“I’ve watched the video more than ten times. Thanks to your dog, the one that bit was forced to let go. My girlfriend is doing well now; she will have a scar after the stitches on her leg, but thankfully it won’t affect her function. I have to thank you and your dog.”
Han Shuangshuang felt her eyes welling up; there are still so many good people in this world!
Having those two video proofs was enough!
Xiao Man glanced at Han Shuangshuang’s excited face, thinking that this girl was really lucky to encounter a victim who was grateful.
In her years of working here, she had seen many victims unwilling to bear the medical expenses of their rescuers and then turn around to lie.
She knew the most despicable thing was when a good Samaritan saved a drowning person, and after getting to shore, the person ran away without even telling anyone that someone was in the water.
As a result, the good Samaritan drowned from exhaustion, and if it weren’t for the surveillance footage restoring the truth, no one would know how malicious that drowning person was and how wronged the good Samaritan died.
Just as Han Shuangshuang was about to upload the new video, she was tagged in a message in the work group.
She quickly checked and found that Assistant Yuan was tagging her, Chen Yao, and Su Mingxuan, asking them to go to General Manager Xu’s office and to bring the dog.
At first, Han Shuangshuang thought that her public relations crisis had affected the company and that she was going to be fired.
But seeing that Chen Yao and Su Mingxuan were also tagged, she felt a bit more at ease.
The three of them, along with one dog, went to General Manager Xu’s office.
Xu Yan sat in the boss’s chair, behind a large desk, with enough distance from the dog, so he wasn’t intimidated by calling the dog over.
He even casually glanced at the dog with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
What an ugly thing.
Xiao Man, who was being held by Han Shuangshuang, was like: “?”
What kind of look was that?
Do you believe I’ll jump on your desk and let everyone know you’re afraid of dogs!