Not long after the press conference of Longyao S1 ended, a storm swept across the Internet.
On major digital forums, Tieba (Chinese equivalent of Reddit), and Weibo, the discussion posts about Longyao S1 were refreshing at a rate of hundreds per second.
"I'm stunned by Longyao S1's move. They registered the appearance patent ahead of Fruit and even demanded a public apology from Fruit. Isn't this like rubbing it in Jobs' face? But why am I so excited about it?"
"I feel the same way! It's so exhilarating!"
"To be honest, at first, I thought Longyao copied the design when I saw the appearance. But when they showed the patent application date, I was completely convinced. They applied for the patent in 2008, a full six months earlier than Fruit 4. That means this design is originally from Longyao. The evidence is irrefutable."
"What's going on with Fruit then? A coincidence? It's impossible. In industrial design, there's no such a coincidental clash. Even the arc of the buttons and the number of holes at the bottom are exactly the same. No one would believe it if they said they didn't copy."
"Either someone inside Fruit saw Longyao's design drawings, or Fruit's product managers were all possessed by Longyao's designers. Anyway, the fact that Fruit 4's appearance patent is later than Longyao's is beyond doubt and can't be whitewashed."
"Does anyone still remember Fruit's press conference? Jobs said on stage that the design of Fruit 4 was revolutionary and unprecedented. Looking back at that speech now is like a public humiliation. It's so embarrassing that I could dig a three - bedroom apartment with my toes."
"Jobs: We're going to redefine the phone. Longyao: Sorry, we defined it earlier than you."
"Hahaha, the one above is so witty!"
"Anyway, Longyao's configuration is really top - notch. The LX - A1 chip is developed by their own Longcore. This is unique among domestic mobile phones. Other domestic phones are still using MediaTek and Qualcomm."
"The configuration is just one aspect. What really impressed me is the price of 2,999 yuan and the trade - in program. I have a three - year - old Nokia 6300 at home with a cracked screen, and it can still be traded for 1,000 yuan. Isn't this almost like getting the phone for free?"
"Friendly reminder to the one above. You can take away the Longyao S1 for 1,999 yuan, and the additional benefits they offer are worth more than 2,000 yuan. There are supermarket cards, Internet café hours, video memberships, lottery tickets for the Voice of China, free delivery for takeaways, milk tea vouchers, and screen - break insurance. Calculating this way, buying the phone is like getting money back instead of spending it. I even suspect they're here to give out freebies."
"I declare that Longyao S1 is the most worthwhile phone to buy this year. No objections!"
"I agree too!"
"Take your time to agree. I've already placed an order!"
"Wow! So fast! I'll go and make a reservation right away!"
"........"
In sharp contrast to the overwhelming positive reviews of Longyao S1, the reputation of Fruit 4 has collapsed drastically.
Within just a few hours, the discussion about Fruit 4's alleged copying of Longyao S1's appearance design has topped the Weibo hot search list, with a dark red "Hot" label next to the topic.
"A plagiarist doesn't deserve to sell at 4,999 yuan. Fruit 4 should lower the price quickly. I'll consider buying one if it drops to 1,999 yuan. Otherwise, goodbye."
"Fruit copying the design of our Longguo phone is the funniest joke I've heard this year. And the problem is, it's actually true."
"Jobs, come out and apologize! Stop pretending to be dead!"
"I have a bold guess. Why was the domestic version of Fruit 4 suddenly taken off the market? Is it because Longyao obtained a protection order for the appearance patent? The timing is too coincidental. It was just a few days after Fruit's press conference that the sales were suspended."
"Very likely. Just a few days after Fruit's press conference, the official announced the suspension of sales. This can't be a coincidence. I think Longyao took legal action and the court issued an injunction."
"The most amazing thing is that the beautiful female CEO surnamed Yu of Longyao said at the press conference that as long as Fruit makes a public apology, they'll authorize the appearance patent for free. This move is really a killer one."
"Of course, they can't apologize. Apologizing means admitting to plagiarism, and Fruit's brand reputation will be ruined. But if they hold out, a patent lawsuit will take several years. During this period, they won't be able to sell a single phone in the country, and the losses will be astronomical. Either way, they're in huge trouble."
"This is a masterful conspiracy. They're doomed no matter what choice they make!"
"I'm really curious about Jobs' reaction when he saw the press conference video. Will he fire the entire design team?"
"Above, I bet he's already smashing the table."
".......... "
Under such an overwhelming public opinion offensive, the scalper price of Fruit 4 has suffered a disastrous collapse.
Before the press conference, it was approaching 20,000 yuan. Right after the press conference, it was around 10,000 yuan. After the public opinion fully fermented, it plummeted to about 6,000 yuan, almost being halved twice. The drop was extremely appalling.
In front of the Fruit flagship store in the imperial capital, those scalpers who were beaming with joy a few days ago now all had extremely ugly expressions on their faces.
Who could have thought that the once - hard - to - get Fruit 4 would suddenly become a dud?
What should they do with the remaining stock in their hands?
They're not willing to sell at a reduced price. But if they don't, they're afraid they'll lose everything.
They've all suffered huge losses and are squatting on the roadside, swearing at Longyao phones.
After all, most people at this time aren't as crazy about Fruit phones as they will be in the future. To put it bluntly, most people buy Fruit phones because of their powerful functions, good looks, and high popularity at the time.
Now that there's a more cost - effective Longyao, and most importantly, Longyao's design is the original one. Now no one will think it's low - class to buy domestic phones, right?
If I can't buy Fruit 4, I'll buy Longyao S1!
I can also support domestic products.
Of course, the additional benefits don't really matter.
In front of the Fruit store.
"Damn it! I bought it for 10,000 yuan, and now no one wants it even at 7,000 yuan. I've lost more than 100,000 yuan on this batch of goods," a scalper cursed.
The scalper next to him was in no better situation. He still had several Fruit 4 phones in his hand that couldn't be sold, all stuck in his inventory.
Although a silly girl bought one from him for 12,000 yuan last night, making him earn quite a bit, now he's lost all that profit.
Of course, that silly girl is probably dumbfounded now. She paid so much for a phone and will probably cry her heart out.
At this moment, the girl he called a silly girl was sitting alone on the hotel bed, staring blankly at the phone news.
"Domestic version of Fruit 4 suspended from sale due to patent dispute, recovery time undetermined."
"Longyao S1 released, shocking the entire digital circle. The rise of domestic mobile phones!"
"Fruit 4 copied Longyao S1's appearance design, patent documents exposed!"
"Scalper price of Fruit 4 drops below 6,000 yuan, stockpilers lose everything!"
"Longyao S1 launches trade - in program, old phones worth 1,000 yuan. The first batch of users are scrambling to buy!"
"....... "
What? The price has dropped?
And Fruit 4 copied?
Then what about the fact that she had spent a full three days in the queue, endured so much hardship, and finally paid twelve thousand yuan to buy this mobile phone from a scalper?
It had only been one night, and now they were telling her that this thing was only worth six thousand yuan?
No, it was probably not even worth six thousand.
Because most people were not willing to buy a mobile phone that had been labeled as a copy.
The girl's heart was bleeding, and her head was buzzing. She couldn't accept this reality for a moment.
Just then, she suddenly thought of that scalper. She thought that since she had just bought it not long ago, it should be returnable, right?
Thinking of this, she couldn't sit still anymore. She directly grabbed the phone and rushed out of the hotel, running all the way back to the entrance of the fruit shop.
Fortunately, the scalper, worried that the phone would be unsellable, had appeared at the entrance of the fruit shop early in the morning, loudly hawking the phones to passers - by.
When the girl saw him, she rushed towards the scalper who had sold her the phone like she had caught a life - saving straw.
"Big brother! Big brother! I want to return the phone!"
The tall and thin scalper looked up, and his face obviously changed when he saw her.
"Sister, it's impossible to return the phone. You checked the goods at that time, and there was nothing wrong with it. We've already settled the deal."
The girl's face instantly turned pale.
"But... but you said at that time that the price would rise after the ban on sales, and you said it could reach twenty thousand! You said so! I spent twelve thousand to buy it!"
"Just because I said it would rise, you believed it?"
The scalper rolled his eyes: "I also thought I could make a fortune out of this, but what happened? I've lost so much that I'm almost penniless. Who can I complain to? If you want to return the phone, go to the fruit company. It's useless to come to me."
"Then what should I do? I spent twelve thousand to buy something worth only six thousand... Wuwuwu..." The girl's voice began to choke, and tears were falling one after another.
The scalper was a bit annoyed by her appearance and directly shooed her away, saying, "Alright, alright, stop getting in the way of my business. If you really want to get your money back, there is a way. Sell it quickly while you can still get more than five thousand. Losing seven thousand is better than losing everything. In a few more days, you probably won't even be able to sell it for five thousand."
Seven thousand.
Hearing this number, the girl suddenly felt dizzy.
Seven thousand yuan was the salary of her parents for almost half a year.
But she had lost it all overnight.
She couldn't accept this result.
She couldn't!
The girl suddenly turned around and ran towards the flagship store like a madman, slamming on the glass door frantically.
"Frauds! You're all a bunch of frauds!"
"I queued for three days! Three days! And now you say you won't sell it! Stop selling it!"
"Refund my money! Give me my money back!"
"...."
The girl slumped on the ground, holding the newly - bought phone and trembling all over.
Just when she was falling into despair, a familiar black motorcade appeared at the intersection.
The middle one was still a black Maybach, and the rest were all Mercedes - Benz. The grand occasion was quite impressive.
The girl recognized this motorcade at a glance.
It was Liu Yutong.
It was the woman who had outshone her from the very first day of college.
It was the existence that she had been jealous of for a full three years but felt powerless even when being jealous.
Now it was this woman who had personally pushed her into the abyss.
She had also seen those news. The real culprit behind the sharp drop in the scalper price of the Fruit 4 was this woman.
It was because of this woman's ban on the sale of Fruit phones that she had ended up in such a miserable state.
In an instant, all the unwillingness, anger, grievance, and despair erupted in her chest like a volcano.
The more the girl thought about it, the more hatred she felt. Finally, she completely lost her mind. She suddenly got up from the ground and rushed onto the road, spreading her arms and blocking the way right in front of the motorcade.
"Stop! Stop for me!"
Fortunately, the leading driver reacted quickly and stepped on the brake hard. The front of the car stopped abruptly less than half a meter away from her.
The black - clothed bodyguards on both sides almost rushed out of the cars at the same time. Several figures instantly surrounded the girl, with cold looks in their eyes.
How dare she block The Young Lady's motorcade! She really didn't want to live anymore!
"Step back! Step back immediately!"
The girl was startled by this scene and instinctively took half a step back. But when she thought of all the hardships and grievances she had endured these days, her anger welled up again, and she just decided to take the plunge.
"Liu Yutong! Come out for me!"
"I know you're inside! Come out!"
The window of the middle Maybach slowly rolled down, revealing a delicate side profile.
Liu Yutong slightly turned her head and looked at the girl blocking the motorcade, with a calm expression.
"What do you want?"
She didn't ask who the girl was. It wasn't that she didn't recognize her, but that she didn't want to waste her time on such a person.
The girl was completely enraged by her calm attitude. With red eyes, she said:
"You know who I am!"
"You know who I am! We were classmates in college and lived in the same dormitory!"
"But you've ruined me! You made me buy the Fruit 4! You made me spend twelve thousand yuan! Do you know that it was my parents' hard - earned money?"
"Tell me, why did you ban the sale of Fruit phones? You can just sell your own phones. Why don't you let others sell them? Why?"
The more she spoke, the more excited she became. Her voice was hoarse in the end, as if she wanted to pour out all the jealousy and unwillingness she had accumulated over the past three years.
Liu Yutong quietly listened to her rant, and her expression remained calm, even a bit indifferent.
After the girl was tired of scolding, she slowly began to speak.
"Ling Yan, do you think the whole world owes you?"
Ling Yan was stunned by her words.
"Is... isn't it?"
"You chose to buy the Fruit phone by yourself, right? No one put a knife to your neck to force you to buy it, and no one made the decision for you, did they?"
"Actually, the price of one phone is 4,999 yuan, but you insisted on paying twelve thousand. I know you wanted to wait for the price to rise and then sell it to make a profit. I just didn't expect that this investment would end up in a loss."
"However, is it really appropriate for you to block my car just because you lost money?"
"Moreover, the ban on the sale of Fruit phones is because they infringed on the appearance patent of Longyao. This is a legal issue and has nothing to do with you."
"You're standing here shouting at me because you can't accept that you made the wrong choice and that your greedy attempt to make a profit by gambling has failed. You're not hating me; you're hating yourself, but you just dare not admit it."
"You just want to find someone to vent your anger on."
Ling Yan: "I..."
Liu Yutong: "You don't need to explain. I know what you're thinking. Do you think I'm better than you in every aspect and you feel it's unfair? But Ling Yan, have you ever asked yourself what you've been doing in school these three years?"
"You've been staring at me, comparing, being jealous, and fantasizing about the day when you would see me fall, right?"
"It's a pity to disappoint you. My Wanlong Association and I are getting stronger and bigger, while you're still the same as before, or even worse than when you first entered college three years ago."
"To be honest, I didn't even think of your existence until you rushed in front of my car today. Does that really hurt you?"
Ling Yan trembled all over, and tears welled up in her eyes again. This time, it was not out of anger but humiliation.
Liu Yutong looked at her appearance and finally softened her tone a little.
"Ling Yan, for the sake of our schoolmate relationship, I'll give you one last piece of advice. Give up your ridiculous vanity and jealousy! Learn to let yourself go and make peace with yourself. You're only a junior in college. You have plenty of opportunities in the future."
"Besides, call your parents and apologize to them when you have time."
After Liu Yutong finished speaking, the car window slowly rolled up.
The motorcade restarted, drove around Ling Yan, and headed in the direction of the airport.
Ling Yan stood there alone, watching the black motorcade leave with tears streaming down her face.
