CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61: JENSON FORREST FOUND OUT ABOUT THAT MATTER

Crystal watched Jenson, her eyes practically melting with affection, yet he didn’t step toward her.

"Then get some rest early," the man said flatly before turning and getting into another car, which then sped away under Crystal’s gaze.

"Miss Sutton?" Timothy Cohen asked.

Crystal forced a smile and finally pulled her leg back into the car.

Timothy shut the car door and went to the driver’s seat.

As the car started moving, Crystal said with a smile, "Assistant Cohen, you’re getting married soon, right? I still haven’t met your girlfriend. When are you going to introduce us? I’ve been out of the country for so many years that I’ve lost touch with all my friends. Your girlfriend must be gentle and serene; I’m sure we’d get along well."

Timothy smiled politely. "My girlfriend has social anxiety, and the doctor advised Miss Sutton to move less and rest more."

Crystal clenched her fingers. She subtly tried to win him over several more times, but Timothy was unmoved by either charm or persuasion.

Filled with frustration, Crystal finally gave up and pretended to be asleep.

***

After taking Julia Forrest home, Zinnia Lawrence told Nathan Nash he could leave, as she planned to take a cab back herself.

But Nathan insisted he was going her way and pulled Zinnia back into his car.

When they arrived at Violetwood Apartments, Zinnia got out, and Nathan followed.

"About the online abuse, should I recommend a reliable lawyer and a PR company to you?"

He was a fan of Zinnia’s, so of course he knew about the online hate campaign against her that day. The negative topic was still trending.

Zinnia was momentarily stunned. Meeting his sincerely concerned gaze, she smiled.

"Don’t you think I’m truly black-hearted and greedy for charging two million for a single performance?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "How could that be! You’re my idol; you’re absolutely worth that price. The fact that she was allowed to play your piece is a compliment to her!"

He said it so earnestly that Zinnia almost believed him.

The blind adoration from a fan was sometimes truly overwhelming.

Zinnia felt a bit embarrassed and waved her hand. "No need, I have a way to handle it. You should get going. Thanks for the ride home."

She turned to leave, but Nathan called out again. "Zinnia, do I really not look familiar to you at all?"

Zinnia turned back, looking at him with surprise and confusion. "Did we know each other before?"

She tried to recall when they might have met. Why did she have no impression of him at all?

Nathan put a hand to his forehead. "Forget it. If you ever need my help, feel free to contact me."

As he spoke, he gave her a casual two-finger salute to his forehead before flicking his hand in a cool gesture. He then opened the car door and slid inside.

"I’ll keep at it. Goodnight, sis."

He drove off, leaving Zinnia standing there for a moment. What was he going to work so hard at?

She turned around, only to find someone standing silently right behind her.

"AH!" Zinnia shrieked, stepping back in fright.

"What’s with the ’AH’?! Tsk, ’sis’? He called you so sweetly. Zinnia, you’re something else! I haven’t seen you for half a day, and you’ve already snagged the ’Nation’s Little Hubby,’ Nathan Nash?"

Yara Fairchild hooked an arm through Zinnia’s, her eyes wide with gossip.

Zinnia patted her chest. "Are you trying to scare me to death? What ’Nation’s Little Hubby’?"

Yara rolled her eyes. "Have you been living under a rock? Nathan Nash! He debuted as the number-one star from last year’s hottest talent show. He’s one of the top ’pretty-boy’ idols. He wasn’t even twenty last year, and he already had a huge following of ’girlfriend fans’ calling him ’Little Hubby.’ Now, whenever anyone says ’the Nation’s Little Hubby,’ they mean him."

Zinnia was shocked. No wonder he was wearing a mask and a hat at the amusement park, with a disguise as exaggerated as Finn Quinn’s. So when he said he’d ’keep at it,’ did he mean he thought he wasn’t famous enough? That because I didn’t recognize him, he had to try harder?

Zinnia chuckled helplessly. "’Little Hubby’... are you sure that’s not an insult?"

"How could it be? It’s a term of endearment, so cute. Now spill! What’s going on with you two?"

While Yara was pestering Zinnia for details, Jenson’s car pulled up in front of the old apartment building.

The man got out and walked into the building.

He went up to the top floor and knocked on the door.

He knocked for quite a while, but there was no response.

He withdrew his hand and turned, only to see a middle-aged woman from the fifth floor peeking cautiously up at him.

Before Jenson could speak, the woman said, "You’re looking for the two young ladies upstairs, aren’t you? They moved out. A couple of days ago, one of them nearly got into serious trouble. The police even came, and the apartment was sealed off for a day. Didn’t you know?"

Jenson’s eyes narrowed. He stood there emanating a menacing aura, like a beast lying in wait.

The woman suddenly regretted her loose tongue and wanted to leave quickly, but Jenson started descending the stairs.

"What happened here?"

The man was tall, and his shadow seemed to engulf her as he descended the stairs.

The woman’s face paled, and she wanted to run. But she felt as if she were being stalked by a predator; staying silent would only hasten her demise.

Nervously swallowing, she stammered out what had happened.

***

Zinnia got home, freshened up, and chatted with Yara for a bit before returning to her room.

She was just about to go to sleep when Yara burst in with her phone.

"Zinnia, your ’Little Hubby’ just defended you on Weibo! Look!"

She leaped onto the bed, holding the phone up for Zinnia to see.

Zinnia saw Nathan Nash’s Weibo post.

[Offering 3,000,000 for the debut performance of Adverse’s next song. Please notice me, @Adverse!]

Nathan Nash had over thirty million followers on Weibo. With Zinnia trending for all the wrong reasons all day, the topic was already hot.

As soon as Nathan posted this, it sent shockwaves through Weibo.

His fans rushed over, initially thinking he was being sarcastic.

But then Nathan replied directly to a fan.

[Adverse has truly been my idol for two years. Be good, everyone, stop causing trouble. I don’t joke about my idol.]

This had all happened just five minutes ago. Now, her Weibo account had been completely invaded by Nathan’s fans.

"Ahh, look at how fast your follower count is growing! Nathan’s fans are all coming over to speak up for you. The fighting power of the Stellars is insane! Zinnia, look! The haters are being torn to shreds!"

Stellar was the nickname for Nathan’s fans.

Yara was ecstatic. Zinnia saw it all, too, but her feelings were complicated. She had never expected Nathan to do something like this.

I owe him a huge favor now.

"Tsk tsk! Nathan Nash is really something. A young man with a big heart! He’s a good one," Yara nodded in approval.

She had been battling haters all day, and the suffocating frustration in her chest finally dissipated. Thinking about how Crystal Sutton was probably furious enough to spit blood, Yara found Nathan all the more admirable.

Zinnia’s fingers slid across the screen, pausing when she saw some of the negative comments.

[Adverse is just hiding like a coward, too guilty to respond. Nathan Nash must be delusional to get involved in this mess. Isn’t he afraid of getting dragged down too?]

[Siding with a talentless, unethical composer who only cares about money... Nathan’s move is just brainless!]

[Little Hubby, if you’re being held hostage, blink twice.]

...

Zinnia frowned. She had originally planned to address this tomorrow, but Nathan’s public support had stirred up the controversy even more. If she didn’t respond now, there was no telling how the situation would develop, and she couldn’t risk dragging him down with her.

She got up to get her laptop. "I’ll respond now."

"Yes, yes! Time to shut those haters up! But Zinnia, how are you planning to respond...?"

Yara leaned in beside Zinnia, staring at the computer screen.

Three minutes later, Zinnia posted the evidence she had prepared long ago. When Yara saw what it was, she slapped her thigh in realization.

"Right! Crystal Sutton accused you of being a greedy money-grubber, but you didn’t even keep the money, so what’s there to be afraid of?! Once you post this, it pulls the rug right out from under them! The haters won’t have anything to attack you with! Argh, I’m so dumb, why didn’t I think of that?!"

The evidence Zinnia posted was a series of bank transfer screenshots.

The two million from the Forrest Group had been in her account for less than ten minutes before it was transferred out to an account belonging to a welfare center for people with disabilities.

At the same time, Zinnia also posted records of her annual charitable donations.

Over the past three to four years, the total amount she had donated under this alias reached twelve million. She hadn’t spent a single cent of the income from this alias on herself.

Crystal Sutton’s accusations that she was greedy and unethically grabbing money were now an absolute joke. Zinnia’s response was like a resounding slap across the faces of the haters and Crystal Sutton herself.

"Ahhh, the comments are exploding! The tables have completely turned! This is great!"

Yara was so overjoyed she hugged Zinnia, pouncing on her to plant a kiss on her cheek. Infected by her excitement, Zinnia started laughing too.

Just then, a sudden pounding echoed from the front door.

BANG BANG. BANG BANG BANG!

The frantic knocking signaled that the visitor was not only in a hurry but also likely hostile.