Chapter 95

It seemed that Simple Plan was really going to take off this time. The band had just won the national championship, and immediately afterward, they received countless offers from record companies. Almost as soon as the final ended, representatives from several record companies came to the hotel where the four members were staying, blocking the door and begging them to sign contracts.

Each company offered very tempting contracts. In the domestic pop music industry, which emphasizes individual stars over teams, Simple Plan's contract was groundbreaking for mainland bands.

The contracts included excellent conditions such as base salaries, profit-sharing, packaging, album releases, MV shootings, national tours, and a specified number of annual appearances. However, no record company managed to secure a contract with Simple Plan.

The four members, Zhang Kexuan and his bandmates, were very clear that their victory was more than 60% due to Li Mu. If they wanted to go further, they had to closely follow Li Mu and listen to him.

Therefore, the four young men from Jinling, who had come to Yanjing to shake up the music industry, returned to Jinling by plane the day after their victory, right after the press conference.

Local Jinling media were well-prepared, surrounding Simple Plan at the airport. When facing the media from their hometown, the four members showed much more patience. They not only gave a brief interview at the airport but also agreed to be interviewed by the provincial satellite TV and the Jinling city TV. They even agreed to appear on a music program at the Jinling music radio.

That night, all four went to Zhang Kexuan's house, and their parents gathered there to celebrate. Zhang Kexuan found time to call Li Mu, wanting to ask him what the band should do next.

Li Mu gave him a simple answer: "Don't look for me these few days. Enjoy the glory of being champions."

Then Li Mu hung up.

He understood these four guys; playing music was all about showing off, right? This was a rare opportunity for them to really show off, so they should enjoy it for a few days. Sometimes, what people call pursuing ideals is just about satisfying their vanity.

Speaking of which, Li Mu didn't have the time to deal with them either. His specialty store was opening the day after tomorrow, and this was the biggest project he had ever undertaken in his two lifetimes.

However, Li Mu didn't completely ignore the band's affairs. With their victory, it was a good opportunity to promote them. The rest could be handled by Zhao Kang and his internet army.

Thinking about the 100,000 yuan promotion fee he had taken from Zhang Kexuan, Li Mu transferred 70,000 yuan to Zhao Kang, with 50,000 yuan for operational funds and 20,000 yuan as Zhao Kang's fee.

Just as the money was transferred, he received a call from Zhao Kang. Li Mu was about to tell him about the money, but Zhao Kang hastily said, "Xiao Mu, there's a problem."

"What problem?" Li Mu frowned, sensing it wasn't good news.

Zhao Kang said, "There was a hit-and-run accident in the city outskirts early yesterday morning. A couple of farmers were killed, and the driver fled. Now, the internet is flooded with posts about this incident. The scene photos have been exposed, and they are gruesome. Netizens are outraged! They are all calling for clues to catch the culprit. The attention of the netizens has been diverted to this, and no one is paying much attention to Guo Lin anymore!"

Li Mu had been instructing Zhao Kang to keep fanning the flames around Guo Lin to keep him from getting off easy. However, this didn't cause much more harm to Guo Lin. Li Mu had been trying to bring Guo Lin down but had been struggling to find a decisive move.

Public attention is limited. Once it is drawn to another hot topic, it naturally shifts away from the previous one. This was inevitable.

The most critical issue was that this hit-and-run case was severe, and the netizens were not just paying attention; they were actively participating by posting and gathering clues. Li Mu couldn't do much about it.

The internet army acts as a catalyst, but without a platform, it can't do much on its own.

Li Mu was troubled. Although he knew that Guo Lin had given up on his plan to harm his father, Li Mu was determined to see this through to the end. After all, Guo Lin had intended to harm his family.

After a moment, Li Mu's frown deepened. He had a vague feeling that the hit-and-run, the farmer couple, and their deaths sounded familiar.

After some thought, Li Mu recalled some information about this incident from his memory.

This accident indeed drew significant attention from Hai Zhou netizens for a while, but as the culprit was never caught, it gradually faded from public memory, becoming a cold case.

It wasn't until several years later that the culprit was revealed. To everyone's surprise, the hit-and-run driver turned out to be Wu Dong, a well-known energy tycoon in the province.

Wu Dong was from Hai Zhou and started with coal. In a few years, he became the leading coal tycoon in the province. A few years later, he competed in Jinling and hired hitmen to kill three competitors, thinking he could get away with it and become the top coal tycoon in the province. However, he offended someone in the upper echelons, and the police worked hard to solve the three murder cases, eventually catching Wu Dong.

Wu Dong spent tens of millions to negotiate, ultimately avoiding the death penalty and receiving a suspended death sentence. At this time, someone reported that Wu Dong had driven drunk and killed a couple of farmers in Hai Zhou several years ago. They claimed that after the incident, Wu Dong gave 3 million yuan to the deputy head of the city police, Li Jiawei, who helped destroy evidence and instructed his subordinates to handle the case ambiguously. Li Jiawei also advised Wu Dong to get the accident vehicle to Wencheng, alter its appearance, and sell it as a stolen vehicle to destroy evidence, which turned the case into a cold case.

In the end, Wu Dong was sentenced to death for multiple crimes, and Li Jiawei, who had been promoted to the head of the Hai Zhou police, was also sent to prison.

Li Mu's mind raced. Wu Dong and Guo Lin had a very close relationship, with Guo Lin treating Wu Dong like a god of wealth. Eighty percent of the coal from Xiling Mine was monopolized by Wu Dong, and Guo Lin's main source of gray income was also Wu Dong. These were well-known secrets in Hai Zhou. Since Wu Dong had caused such a big problem, why not light a fire and tie Guo Lin and Wu Dong together?

Silently making up his mind, Li Mu waited for the right moment. He needed to wait for the situation to develop.

The online discussions about the hit-and-run spread like wildfire within a day. The culprit became the target of public condemnation in Hai Zhou. That afternoon, Hai Zhou TV and the Hai Zhou Daily reported on the incident, and the evening news that night featured a video interview with the victim's family, pushing the event to a new level of public attention.

The couple had two children, a daughter in high school and a son in elementary school. Additionally, two elderly relatives lived with them. With the couple's tragic death, the family's main support was gone, and their economic source was cut off. The four family members' helpless and painful appearance on camera moved countless Hai Zhou residents.

By the second day, citizens and netizens began to donate money to the victim's family voluntarily. The calls for donations and the search for the hit-and-run driver were widespread online, leaving little attention for Guo Lin's affairs.

Guo Lin was completely relieved and silently thanked the hit-and-run driver's family. At a critical moment, the driver had diverted public attention, helping him a great deal.

At this point, Guo Lin didn't know that the hit-and-run driver was Wu Dong, who was closely related to him.

On the day of the incident, before dawn, Wu Dong, under Li Jiawei's instructions, had his confidant alter the accident vehicle and load it onto a container truck, which was then taken south overnight.

After delivering 3 million yuan to Li Jiawei, Li Jiawei assured him that the entire Hai Zhou traffic system had fewer than 100 cameras, with a limited coverage area. There were no cameras within five kilometers of the incident site, and since it happened in the early morning, there were no eyewitnesses. With the limited evidence at the scene, it was impossible to identify the vehicle, let alone trace it back to him.

After two days of anxiety, Wu Dong was relieved. The accident vehicle was the key evidence, and without it, he didn't have to worry about the police. Even if the media reported daily, it was just a matter of people cursing the driver; they couldn't connect it to him.

Feeling more relaxed, Wu Dong secretly cursed Guo Lin for his good luck. Not long ago, Guo Lin had asked him to help delete posts, but now that this incident had occurred, no one was paying attention to Guo Lin anymore. It seemed that he had inadvertently helped Guo Lin out, but unfortunately, he couldn't ask for any favors in return.

Just as Wu Dong was sighing about Guo Lin's good luck, he never imagined that someone was planning to use him as a scapegoat to bring down Guo Lin.

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