Chapter 9 — After Ten Years of Silence, the Whole Industry Sees Me

“She brought along a photographer, who was sitting in the second row of the media area.”

“There's one more thing.”

Ha Than lowered his voice.

“Hua Uyen Thanh also came.”

“Sit in the last row of the guest area.”

“There is someone next to her.”

“I just checked, I'm the operations director of Cao Vuc Media.”

I nodded.

“Aren't you nervous?”

“What's stressful?”

I adjusted my collar.

"If you don't even dare to reveal your own work to everyone."

“Then I don't deserve to stand here.”

The lights in the hall gradually turned off. The big screen lights up. I walked onto the stage.

“Gentlemen.”

“Cam Hoa has been gone for thirty years.”

“Thirty years.”

“Enough for a tree to take root deep into the ground.”

“And grew into a great tree.”

Images began to appear. Those are photos Ha Than took at Cam Hoa's old factory area. Old looms. The walls are colored by time. Sunlight filtered through the factory window. A pair of hands are quietly threading each thread between the vertical and horizontal lines. No special effects. No fancy techniques. Only genuine images. And a story told in a calm tone. Three and a half minutes passed. The franchise drama ends. The whole hall was silent for two seconds. Applause rang out. Not the kind of social clapping. But strong applause. The people sitting straight on their chairs clapped their hands with all their might. Vuong Kien Binh was the first to stand up. Then the second person. Third person. More than three hundred people in the hall stood up simultaneously. The applause continued endlessly. I stand on stage. The light shined directly on my face, making it difficult for me to clearly see the expressions of the people below. But I heard something hidden in those applause. It's not just recognition. It's about being seen. The host walked onto the stage.

“Thank you for the excellent presentation by director Tham Nhuoc Tinh.”

“Next, please…”

“Please wait a moment.”

A voice rang out from the media area. It's Ton Van. She stood up.

“Director Tham.”

“I am a reporter for Hai Thanh Newspaper.”

“May I ask how you respond to the accusation that the Cam Hoa project shows signs of plagiarism?”

The eyes of the entire hall immediately turned to her. Vuong Kien Binh frowned. I hold the microphone. Calmly said:

“I've been waiting for this question for a long time.”

I pressed the remote control. A document appears on the big screen.

“This is my original creative draft.”

“Full timestamps, edit history, and auto-save data from the design software.”

I move on to the next page.

“This is the work that was said to be ‘plagiarized’ in the denunciation file.”

“The concept film Return to the Origin was made by Xiangxin Media in Shenzhen three years ago.”

The next page appears. The two works are placed next to each other.

“About image.”

“They use industrial plants.”

“I use the textile factory.”

“About the content.”

“They wrote: ‘Return to the beginning’.”

“I wrote: ‘Where the roots are is the direction’.”

“About the name.”

“They use ‘Return to the Origin’.”

“I use the word ‘Original’.”

I put the remote down.

“Let's use Chinese characters to create.”

“I can write ‘Original’.”

“Other people can also write ‘Original’.”

“That's not called plagiarism.”

“That's called the basic ability of professional person.”

My eyes scanned the entire hall.

“But I want everyone to pay attention to one detail.”

I opened the last page.

“The comparison analysis in the denunciation file is presented in the correct internal format of Cao Vuc Media.”

The whole hall immediately stirred. I looked towards the last row of seats. Hua Uyen Thanh sat there. The blood on her face drained away little by little. The man next to her, the operations director of Cao Vuc Media, suddenly stood up. Seems like he wants to say something. But finally sat down again.

“Everything I create can be verified.”

“Every image.”

“Every word.”

“Frame by frame.”

“All have full creative records and original data.”

My voice is not loud. But the more than three hundred people in the hall were all listening.

“If anyone has any doubts.”

“After the event ends.”

“My team will make all original documents public for comparison.”

Applause rang out again. This time it's even bigger than before. In the second row. Chu Hac Minh did not clap his hands. But he is smiling. Vuong Kien Binh tilted his head and said something to the person next to him. I don't hear it. Ha Than later recounted. He only said one sentence:

“This person must definitely be kept.”