"My dear—look—wow, Isa looks so beautiful today—" At the same time.
Tennessee.
The "dormitory area" next to Vanderbilt University was once again flooded by a high-pitched scream.
Milia Kaufman, who had been leaning on the sofa anxiously waiting for the trial to begin, suddenly sat up. With one hand she slapped the roommate beside her, and with the other pointed at the TV screen in front of her, shouting, "Oh—she looks like a female warrior today—"
Following her voice, the roommate looked at the TV. Isabella Haywood, who had just celebrated her 16th birthday a little over a month ago on March 19, was stepping out of her nanny van under heavy security.
Today, Isabella was dressed very professionally.
She had, quite unusually, chosen to wear her hair up instead of letting her golden hair fall softly over her shoulders like usual.
She wore a black-and-white business outfit. The crisp white top and slightly flared black pants made her look extremely capable, while the sunglasses perched on her nose and the low heels on her feet gave her the aura of a queen ruling Capitol Hill.
Perhaps she knew her look was a bit too sharp?
Or maybe, being underage, there was still a soft spot in her heart.
In any case, she had tied a white belt around her waist.
When the two-finger-wide belt draped like satin along the left side of her body and swayed leisurely like a willow branch as she walked, the fresh feeling it gave off added a touch of softness to her overall presence.
If one had to describe it, the current Isabella was like a perfectly rendered character stepping out of a high-end digital film
Yes.
She looked like herself.
If the enemy she faced next was unreasonable, she could instantly show professionalism;
If what came next was relatively relaxed, she could just as quickly display sunshine and warmth;
This was truly—
"Gorgeous—"
Isabella's appearance made Milia Kaufman's roommate's eyes light up instantly!
"Oh—I've never seen Isa in this style before—"
"My god—the internet was right—"
"She's grown up—she's not that little girl anymore—" Although everyone knew that the main cast of HP were gradually growing up and were no longer the cute kids from six years ago, most people's glimpse of their growth came through the HP series itself.
What were they like in real life?
So far, only Isabella had shown a bit. Because neither Daniel, who played Harry, nor Rupert, who played Ron, embraced the world as actively as Isabella did.
Even though Isabella's exposure was several times, even dozens or hundreds of times greater than the other two, compared to socialites like Paris Hilton who lived off media attention, there was still far too little information about her in the public eye. People only knew that she worked diligently.
As for anything else?
Nothing.
Because of that, even though a few months ago people had already seen a more mature side of Isabella through The Devil Wears Prada, that glimpse was still just a narrow view.
But now—
"Oh—Isabella is already a grown girl—she's just one coming-of-age ceremony away from adulthood—she's grown into herself beautifully! Cute back then, dazzling now!"
"If only she wasn't appearing in front of a courthouse right now—you tell me, why are those capitalists so disgusting? Why bully a little girl? Isn't all she did just invest in a website? And now they want her dead?"
"Exactly! It hasn't been easy for Isabella! She's never rested since her debut! One day filming for Time Warner, the next doing shows with Disney, then producing for Paramount, and then working with Sony! In the past six years, who knows how much money she's made for those capitalists! And now they're suing her? This is just—ugh—these capitalists make me sick! Absolutely sick!!!"
"…"
Human hearts are complicated. They can't stay the same forever.
Today I might really like you because I'm in a good mood, and tomorrow I might ignore you because I feel down.
When it comes to following celebrities, especially child stars, people's affection is basically like playing a massive nurturing game. If the person everyone likes keeps improving, both in appearance and character, then the game feels rewarding. But if the person keeps declining, becoming unattractive or going astray—
Then people can only say goodbye to someone they once liked.
To put it bluntly, the reason people think child stars lose popularity as they grow older is simply because many of them can only maintain the brilliance they had at debut. Their achievements don't keep up with their growth.
But what if a child star's achievements grow in direct proportion to their age?
Forty years ago, in 1958, the West had such a legend.
That was Michael Jackson.
And forty years later, Isabella has embraced the biggest traffic booster in the world.
Harry Potter allows her to escape the troubles of growing up without pain.
As countless people sighed in front of their TVs;
As figures like Rupert Murdoch, Barry Meyer, and Robert Iger followed the trial;
Many other North American capital forces were also watching the live broadcast.
For example, Microsoft. As Isabella appeared, Bill Gates, sitting in Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, puffed out his cheek slightly—using his tongue to push against it.
Behind his small lenses flickered a look of appreciation. "Isabella really is quite popular."
"Maintaining that level of attention for years isn't easy."
After a sigh, he shook his head again.
"Public appeal can win her countless fans, but it won't easily help her win the lawsuit."
"I think she'll lose today. What do you think, Steve?"
Steve Ballmer sat in the same office with him.
Looking at the TV screen, he nodded. "Indeed."
"I also think she'll lose today."
"Although YouTube's lawyer is one of Peter Thiel's people and handled Napster's case five years ago, the lawyers hired by Hollywood companies are also the ones who won against Napster back then."
"When YouTube's lawyer has already lost to Hollywood's lawyers—"
"The chances of YouTube winning are actually very, very small."
"But for us, that's actually a good thing, isn't it?"
"YouTube? If it wins, how are we supposed to develop Zune Marketplace?"
"Hahaha—" Gates laughed at his old friend's words.
He picked up the water glass from the table and took a gulp.
Yes.
The reason Microsoft was paying attention to Hollywood's lawsuit against YouTube was because YouTube's fate would determine their future direction. If YouTube died, they could comfortably develop Zune Marketplace. But if YouTube survived? How many people would pay for legitimate content when pirated versions were easy to find?
Amazon thought the same way.
At that moment, Jeff Bezos was also watching FOX's live broadcast in Amazon's lounge.
When he learned that YouTube hadn't hired a top-tier lawyer, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
But when he heard that Isabella had her own private lawyers—and three QCs at that—
His eyes narrowed.
"How does she have three QCs?"
Jeff Bezos looked at his wife.
MacKenzie Bezos replied, "It's said J.K. Rowling helped her hire them."
"The least prominent one is Lord Robert Carswell, Chief Justice of Northern Ireland."
QC stands for "Queen's Counsel."
Translated directly, it means the Queen's appointed barrister.
Officially, they are royal legal advisors.
Lawyers with the QC title are the most powerful in the Commonwealth. Not only because there are only a little over a thousand of them, but also because they carry a kind of buff.
In the Commonwealth judicial system, judges all come from lawyers, and only those recognized by the Crown can become judges.
If you don't get that recognition—
You'll remain a lawyer forever.
So when a lawyer has a royal title, they're no longer just a lawyer, but almost like a "mage."
This logic should be easy to understand, right?
For example, if A and B go to court, and A hires a QC while B only hires a regular lawyer, even if A isn't in the right, the court might still favor A. Why? Because the judges are all QCs!
All insiders!
Right.
There's basically a fast-track method in the Commonwealth judicial system. Whoever can take the case up to the Crown wins.
But this doesn't apply in the United States—
"Too bad. YouTube isn't a British company."
"If this case were in the UK, Isabella would win for sure. But this is California."
"The home base of Hollywood capital."
Although Jeff Bezos's words were full of regret, his face showed clear satisfaction.
No helping it.
After all, Amazon wanted to develop Amazon Unbox.
Of course, there were still people hoping YouTube would win.
That was Google.
For two reasons:
First, if YouTube lost, Google Video would never take off.
Second, while YouTube might be a business threat to Microsoft and Amazon, for Google, it could actually become a powerful ally.
So—
"Don't lose too badly."
"You absolutely can't lose too badly—"
Sergey Brin and Larry Page prayed for YouTube and Isabella at Google's headquarters.
And all of this—
Isabella could feel the goodwill from everyone.
The moment she stepped out of the car, she heard overwhelming cheers—it was fan support.
Even though it was a workday and not a holiday, many people still came to support her in person.
That made her happy.
But she didn't give much of a response, only nodding toward the crowd.
No choice.
A courthouse is a serious place.
What lay ahead was a serious matter.
This wasn't the time to interact with fans.
So keeping their concern and support in her heart was the only option.
Surrounded by security, Isabella entered the Los Angeles District Court:
Meeting her people in the waiting room;
And as it was time to enter, she followed the group into the courtroom.
Yes.
The Los Angeles District Court had listed her as a potential witness.
But at the same time, it granted her special permission to observe the trial in full.
And as she took her place in the gallery—
"Hello, Miss Isabella. Nice to meet you, my daughter loves you."
"Really? That's wonderful to hear, but this isn't the right setting. I'm sorry I can't give you an autograph or take a photo."
"That's fine, I told my daughter about it. She asked me to tell you to do your best!"
"Oh, thank you."
"… "
"Hello, Miss Isabella. It's a pleasure to meet you, though it's unfortunate we meet here."
"Same here. I didn't really want to come to this place either."
"But there's no choice, right? So, good luck? I'm your fan. My best friend is an even bigger fan. She actually wanted me to ask about your album plans today—she really loves your songs—but I think… that's not necessary…"
"Oh—thank you—thank you for not putting me in a difficult position—so… good luck?"
"May good luck always be with you as well."
"Hi, Miss Haywood. I'm Evan Dalton. My son is a huge fan of Harry Potter. He owns every book, and when Prisoner of Azkaban premiered in North America two years ago, he even had me take him there in person."
"Oh—Mr. Dalton—thank you, thank you for your support, and please thank your son for liking me—"
"No need to be polite. I know you can't sign autographs today, so… could we shake hands?"
"Uh—sure. So, are you planning to go back and 'share' the handshake with your son?"
"No, no, no—my son is watching the live broadcast right now. Trust me, FOX's cameras are only focused on you at the moment. So when he sees his dad bravely sending blessings to his idol, I think he'll be very happy."
"What? Oh—your ingenuity amazes me!"
"… "
When Isabella followed Evan Dalton's hint and found the live broadcast camera in the courtroom—
That dark, cannon-like lens made her smile.
Just as Dalton had said, as the biggest star in the courtroom, before the trial officially began, FOX's cameras would only focus on her. And when she revealed a bright, delighted smile, the viewers watching the broadcast captured that beautiful moment—
"Oh—looks like Isa is in a good mood—"
"She seems pretty relaxed—"
"Everyone in the gallery looks like her fans—"
"Hey, do you think if the plaintiff's lawyer starts being unreasonable, the people in the gallery will just rush up and take him out?"
"…That's an interesting thought, but maybe don't think that far. Are you trying to get Isa killed?"
"Exactly! That's just asking for trouble!"
"… "
The discussions on the other side of the signal were unknown to Isabella.
After chatting briefly with the people in the gallery, the time reached 10 a.m. on the West Coast.
The court clerk shouted, "All rise—" and the judge presiding over the trial entered right on time.
Taking his seat at the center of the courtroom, the trial began—
In Western courts, the adversarial system is used.
The first phase is the court investigation.
Its core purpose is to fully establish the facts of the case and provide an evidentiary basis for the judgment that follows.
This phase generally has four steps:
"Plaintiff presents evidence":
That is, the plaintiff submits evidence such as witness testimony, physical evidence, and documents.
"Defense cross-examines":
The defense lawyer questions the plaintiff's witnesses, looking for inconsistencies and challenging the credibility or legality of the evidence.
"Defense presents evidence":
If the defendant has proof that the plaintiff is making false accusations, it can be introduced here.
"Plaintiff cross-examines":
If the plaintiff believes the defense's evidence is nonsense, they can challenge it at this stage.
In plain terms—
The adversarial system is basically the plaintiff and defendant arguing it out in court.
And precisely because it's essentially a verbal battle, most of the time, spectators find it incredibly exciting.
Human society is basically made up of billions of gossip-loving creatures.
Watching people argue and feasting on the drama is human nature.
And today—
The tension in the courtroom was so intense it felt like it could flip the entire North American continent.
As soon as the "plaintiff presents evidence" phase began, the lawyers representing the Hollywood giants brought out a pile of evidence accusing YouTube of infringement:
"Your Honor, esteemed members of the jury, these are photographs and videos we recorded while preserving evidence—"
"Because our clients used digital cameras in snapshot mode, the timestamps are clearly visible—"
"…And now, we would like to call our witnesses—"
"These include employees from our companies' anti-piracy departments, as well as independent third parties. In fact, even before March 2006, we had already received reports from concerned individuals stating that YouTube was infringing on our copyrights—"
"… "
"Finally, we request permission to use a computer and the internet in court—"
"Because even now, at the very moment this trial is taking place, YouTube is still filled with a large number of infringing videos—"
"And some of those videos are even featured on its homepage—"
Before the proceedings even reached the "defense cross-examination" phase, YouTube's lawyers had already begun shutting everything down—one objection after another:
"Objection!"
"We object to the plaintiff submitting photographs and videos as evidence!"
"As we all know, timestamps on digital cameras can be manually altered—"
"So the plaintiff cannot prove that the recording time matches the actual time of the events!"
"… "
"Objection!"
"We do not recognize the qualifications of the plaintiff's witnesses!"
"The plaintiff intends to call employees of their own companies as witnesses? That is neither legal nor reasonable, because these witnesses have a direct interest in the outcome!"
"Such individuals should not be allowed to testify!"
"… "
"Objection!"
"We find the plaintiff's request to log into YouTube in court absurd!"
"We believe most people in the United States already know that YouTube is a platform where users can upload videos. While our platform continues to serve the public, how can logging into YouTube in court prove that our client infringed on the plaintiff's rights?"
"Because no one can guarantee that the plaintiff hasn't arranged for people to upload pirated content onto YouTube at this very moment!"
"And even if they didn't, can they guarantee that competitors of our client won't flood the platform with pirated videos after hearing these accusations?"
"Let's not forget—this trial is being broadcast live nationwide!"
"And the broadcaster responsible for that nationwide broadcast is one of the plaintiff's own parties!"
"When the plaintiff controls the flow of information, we strongly oppose their request to access our client's platform in court and strongly protest this kind of behavior that appears to involve outside coordination!"
"… "
If the Hollywood giants' attack was like a barrage of bullets, trying to tear YouTube apart—
Then the righteous, forceful voice of YouTube's lawyers was like a giant wielding a massive bat, smashing every incoming strike back with overwhelming force.
Their almost magical counterattacks sparked waves of cheers across North America—
"YouTube's lawyers are amazing! Their arguments make so much sense!"
"Listening to them, I feel even more like Hollywood is just being unreasonable!"
"This is exactly how the defense should fight back!"
"YouTube, keep it up! Kick those evil capitalists flying!"
"Let FOX, who wants to be both plaintiff and evidence-maker, go to hell!!!"
But unfortunately, what thrilled ordinary people only looked ridiculous to capital.
Microsoft: "YouTube has already lost, because they don't even dare let Hollywood present their evidence."
Bill Gates shook his head.
Steve Ballmer nodded.
Amazon: "If YouTube doesn't even dare to engage in cross-examination and only keeps objecting—"
Jeff Bezos took a sip of water.
His wife continued, "Then the judge will think they're guilty and afraid."
Google: "OMG—was YouTube incapable of handling Hollywood from the start?"
Sergey Brin sighed. "If that's the case, why even go to court?"
"Wouldn't dragging things out for a settlement be better?"
"So… was this a strategic miscalculation?"
Larry Page sighed deeply. "They shouldn't make such a basic mistake, right?"
In the adversarial system, judges and juries are supposed to remain absolutely neutral.
Their role is to evaluate which side has the stronger case based on the evidence and arguments presented.
Of course, absolute neutrality doesn't truly exist, but that's not the focus here.
The key point is:
If one side prevents the other from presenting evidence, the balance of victory naturally tilts toward the weaker-looking side.
It's simple logic.
If you're confident you're right, why wouldn't you let the other side present everything and then dismantle it all at once?
Only someone with something to hide—
Would be afraid to let the other side present evidence.
To put it even more bluntly, it's like a company constantly raising jurisdictional objections just to increase the cost of being sued—
Because it knows it can't win.
So it creates obstacles, hoping the high litigation cost will force the other party to give up.
That's why, even though YouTube's aggressive stance from the start looked fiery—
It was only surface-level momentum.
And as for this—
Sitting in the gallery, Isabella curled her lips into a faint smile.
She thought her side's lawyers were doing quite well.
As for why?
Bang, bang, bang—
As the judge repeatedly struck the gavel, either agreeing with or dismissing the defense's objections, the plaintiff gradually finished presenting all the evidence the court accepted.
Since the defense had already raised most of their doubts during the plaintiff's presentation phase, when it came time for cross-examination, they had very little left to question.
This immediately shifted the momentum in the courtroom.
And when the proceedings reached the "defense presents evidence" stage—
The moment YouTube's lawyers brought up the "safe harbor" clause of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, before they could even argue their client's innocence, the plaintiff's lawyers unleashed their ultimate weapon:
"Defense counsel, please note—"
"The first video on your client's platform to exceed one million views was Nike's 'GG' featuring Ronaldinho. When the uploader's account was not Nike, surely your client could determine whether this video infringed copyright, correct?"
"Indeed, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act does not require service providers to actively combat piracy—but it clearly states they must not condone its spread."
"So—we believe your client no longer qualifies for protection under the DMCA."
The moment those words were spoken—
An uproar swept across North America.
Viewers watching the live broadcast frowned anxiously:
"So… YouTube really was condoning piracy?"
"Oh no—YouTube can't be shut down—I love it—"
"How did things end up like this…"
Meanwhile, laughter erupted in Microsoft and Amazon's lounges.
"It's over."
"It's all over."
In New York, at News Corp headquarters, Rupert Murdoch swirled his wine glass.
"YouTube is finished."
"It's finished."
"It's finished!!! Hahahaha—"
In California, Robert Iger and Barry Meyer sat across from each other, both convinced the outcome was inevitable.
"I really don't understand what Isabella was thinking," Meyer shook his head.
"This is… quite an ugly scene," Iger sighed.
And just as everyone believed YouTube's defeat was certain—
"Your Honor, the defense would like to request a witness."
YouTube's lawyer suddenly spoke.
"Objection!"
Before he could finish, the plaintiff's lawyer immediately shouted, "We are currently discussing whether the defendant's actions fall under the 'safe harbor' clause of the DMCA!"
"This discussion does not require a witness!"
The judge nodded at that.
But he didn't immediately strike the gavel.
Instead, adjusting his glasses, he looked at the defense lawyer and asked, "Is the witness you're requesting from Nike? If your client contacted Nike upon discovering the widespread distribution of the 'GG' video, I may allow them to testify."
"No." The YouTube lawyer shook his head decisively.
"Then I'm afraid I must reject your request—" The judge raised his gavel, ready to rule.
But then—
"Your Honor, the witness we wish to call is our client's investor, Isabella Haywood."
"We believe she can prove that our client's actions are protected under the DMCA."
"… "
The gavel froze midair.
The old judge narrowed his eyes at the defense lawyer, as if finding the idea somewhat absurd.
But in the next second, he lifted his head and looked toward the gallery—
At that striking figure.
At almost the same moment—everyone, including FOX's cameras, turned their gaze in her direction.
At that instant, the composed figure seemed to become the center of the world.
No—
At that moment, she was the center of the world.