CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 79: EACH DOING THEIR OWN THING

"What do you mean, ’doing your own things’?" Timothy Cohen asked, glancing at Miles Chase’s phone screen. His expression changed slightly.

Two topics were trending, one right after the other.

#President Forrest’s Romantic Flower Gift#

#Hottest Racer Winston Forrest’s Rumored Romance#

"Young Master Chase, I won’t see you out. Take care," Timothy Cohen said hurriedly to Miles Chase before rushing toward the CEO’s office.

Before entering, he had already skimmed the trending content.

"President, both you and Mrs. Forrest are trending. You went to Miss Sutton’s solo concert yesterday, and didn’t your mother ask you to hold a bouquet for her for a moment? Who knew a photo of you holding the flowers would be taken and uploaded online? It’s generating a lot of buzz now."

"Mrs. Forrest went to see the Fifth Young Master’s race last night and was misunderstood. Some photos that look intimate have also started trending..."

Timothy Cohen’s heart pounded with unease as he handed the phone over. The photos of Zinnia Lawrence and Winston Forrest did look quite intimate. Although their technical relationship was aunt and nephew-in-law, the netizens didn’t know that. They were shipping them, which meant the President was essentially trending for being cuckolded.

I wonder if Jenson Forrest will be furious when he sees this.

However, Jenson Forrest seemed completely uninterested in the online gossip. He only said calmly, "Isn’t the video conference about to start? Go and prepare."

A little stunned, Timothy Cohen took his phone back. "What about the trending topics?"

"Take mine down," Jenson Forrest instructed.

Timothy Cohen nodded. "Understood. Then Mrs. Forrest’s, of course..."

He instinctively assumed the gossip about Winston Forrest and Zinnia Lawrence would be removed at the same time.

But Jenson Forrest’s cold voice cut in again. "Don’t bother with anything else. From now on, you don’t need to report her affairs to me."

"Huh?" Timothy Cohen was completely dumbfounded.

Jenson Forrest looked up, clearly displeased with his slow reaction.

"Did you not understand?"

Timothy Cohen quickly shook his head. "I understand."

But as he left the office, he couldn’t help but turn back for another glance, finding it hard to believe. Behind the desk, Jenson Forrest’s expression was impassive, as composed as ever. Yet, the President was now turning a blind eye to his wife’s affairs.

This was a huge problem!

「」

In the dance studio, a sweat-drenched Zinnia Lawrence sat down to rest and drink some water. Beside her, Yara Fairchild was stretching while scrolling through the trending topics.

"Zinnia, you’re a natural at trending, aren’t you? One topic after another. And netizens are saying you and Winston Forrest are a perfect match! A defiant, roguish racer and a cool, stunning campus belle. Wow, this generation of netizens is incredible! They’ve already dug up that you were a campus belle in college, and even found the video of you winning the Lotus Cup championship."

Last night, Zinnia Lawrence and Yara Fairchild had gone to watch Winston Forrest’s race. Zinnia had only exchanged a few extra words with him, yet someone had snapped photos from clever angles to make them look intimate and posted them online. Winston Forrest had just returned to the country and was incredibly popular, so Zinnia was swept up into the trending topics as well.

She didn’t think much of it. She was just an ordinary person; the hype would die down soon. Yara Fairchild, however, was enthusiastically eating up the gossip.

"Thank goodness we went to the race yesterday! Otherwise, we’d just have to watch Sutton the Bitch and That dog Forrest trend together today, which would have been so frustrating. Now it’s one topic apiece. It’s all about fairness, which is great! But I bet the topic about Sutton the Bitch and That dog Forrest was arranged by the bitch herself. She’s so dramatic! She’s hyping herself up every day; sooner or later, she’s going to get burned!"

Zinnia Lawrence had also seen the trending topic about Jenson Forrest and Crystal Sutton. In the photo, he was holding a large bouquet, seemingly having gone on stage to give it to Crystal Sutton personally. In their two years of marriage, she had never once received flowers from Jenson Forrest.

The photo also captured Crystal Sutton’s parents sitting with Katherine Rhodes. Netizens were all saying a wedding was imminent. They gushed about how perfect childhood sweethearts were, how harmoniously the parents got along, and some had already listed this year’s auspicious dates to rush the wedding.

"Hah! That dog Forrest is so impatient. The ink on the divorce agreement is barely dry over here, and he’s already planning a wedding with that bitch over there! The bastard is cheating so hard, isn’t he afraid of tearing his balls off!"

Zinnia Lawrence, "..."

"Wait, why can’t I post my comment? Huh, looks like the trending topic was removed." Yara Fairchild refreshed the page a couple more times. Not only was the topic gone, but the web had been scrubbed clean. All related news, posts, and comments were now 404 errors. Now that was impressive.

"The work of That dog Forrest?" Yara Fairchild asked.

Zinnia Lawrence nodded. "Probably."

Only Jenson Forrest could have something wiped so thoroughly.

Yara Fairchild clicked her tongue. "What is That dog Forrest thinking? Won’t the bitch be furious? That scummy pair is hilarious. They aren’t even officially together yet and they’re already at odds."

Zinnia just smiled faintly, not surprised at all.

"Jenson Forrest has never liked being high-profile. Taking down the trending topic doesn’t mean he’s going against Crystal Sutton. We aren’t officially divorced yet. Maybe he doesn’t want her exposed so soon and branded as a homewrecker. It’s his way of protecting her."

Zinnia’s analysis was calm and logical, devoid of sadness or pain. For a moment, Yara Fairchild didn’t know whether to be happy for her or sad. It just made her heart ache for her.

She waved her hand. "Let’s not talk about that scumbag and bitch. I’m going to go ship you and Winston Forrest to cleanse my eyes. You don’t think That dog Forrest will take down your topic too, do you?"

Seeing that Zinnia and Winston’s topic was still up and had even climbed a few spots in the rankings, Yara Fairchild declared, "This trending topic is That dog Forrest’s cuckold hat! We must protect our trending topic!"

Zinnia’s gaze fell on the screen, her eyes quiet for a moment.

Since Jenson Forrest removed his trending topic with Crystal Sutton, he must know about hers with Winston. His lack of action clearly means he has let go, that he no longer sees her as Mrs. Forrest. That’s good. Very good.

"Zinnia? What are you thinking about? Did you hear me?"

Yara Fairchild’s voice snapped Zinnia back to reality, and she realized she had been lost in thought.

"Hmm?"

"I was saying that anti-fans are everywhere. Look, this one is mocking you for having no fame, saying you’re not worthy of Winston Forrest."

Seeing her friend’s face flush with anger, Zinnia rubbed her head, amused. "You’re being silly. Winston and I don’t have that kind of relationship, so talk of being worthy or not is meaningless. Why are you even paying attention to them?"

"That’s not the point! I can’t stand anyone saying bad things about you! There’s even someone here pretending to be a dance expert, bringing up how world-class dance master Lise is arriving in Veridia this afternoon. They’re saying that *Lise* is the real treasure, the kind of master that domestic dancers rarely even get a chance to meet."

Yara excitedly grabbed Zinnia’s arm. "Aren’t you going to the airport to meet Master Lise this afternoon? Quick, let’s prepare our battle outfits! We’ll go shut those anti-fans up!"

Master Lise was in the country for a world tour with her national treasure-class ballet troupe. The performance venue was not Veridia, but the Crestfall Art Center. She was only stopping over in Veridia for half a day to have a brief exchange with a few local dancers. Her schedule was tight, but she was willing to interview Zinnia Lawrence during her break. Zinnia had already contacted her assistant, Anna, to arrange for an airport pickup and to accompany Master Lise back to her hotel.

Zinnia picked up the flowers she had ordered and was nearing the airport when Winston Forrest called.

"Zinnia, I just got out of a three-hour simulation training and found out about the trending topic. I’ve already had my assistant contact them to take it down. Are you okay?"

"I’m fine. But Winston Forrest, you’re more like a celebrity than an athlete." Just watching him race had unexpectedly landed her on the trending list, which she hadn’t anticipated.

"Can’t be helped. My good looks always overshadow my talent. It’s such a headache."

Zinnia chuckled. "Your talent is clearly overshadowed by your thick skin! As for the trending topic, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine whether it’s removed or not."

After all, removing a trending topic costs money, and Zinnia didn’t want Winston to go to extra expense and trouble on her account.

Winston, however, heard something more in her tone. "Zinnia, you and Third Brother aren’t really getting a divorce, are you?"

Zinnia didn’t hide it. "Yes, but please keep it a secret for now. I’m busy at the moment, so I have to go."

The airport pickup went smoothly. Master Lise was nothing like Zinnia had imagined; she wasn’t cold or aloof at all. Her personality was very approachable, even a little naive and romantic. On the way back to the hotel, Zinnia acted as a tour guide, introducing her to the sights and culture of Veridia and Crestfall.

Master Lise and she got along wonderfully, and she insisted on having Zinnia stay by her side even after they returned to the hotel.

However, Zinnia never expected that right at the door of Master Lise’s hotel room, she would run into Jenson Forrest, Crystal Sutton, and their entourage.