CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 71: OLIVIA SONG’S SCHEME, TOP IDOL DISFIGURED

"Olivia, Weibo won’t budge," Rae Zander looked towards the sofa with a displeased expression.

Only to find Olivia Song’s face twisted, showing a hint of ferocity.

"Did they give a reason?"

Olivia Song tried her best to control her emotions and asked in a deep voice.

Rae Zander shook her head, "No, they told you to think about whether you’ve offended someone."

Her words fell.

An image immediately came to Olivia Song’s mind, and she gritted her teeth, "Claire Green."

"Are you saying Claire Green did it," Rae Zander questioned, doubtful, "Does she have that kind of power?"

Olivia Song sneered.

Of course, Claire Green doesn’t, but that man certainly does.

"Other than her, I can’t think of anyone else."

Rae Zander frowned, expressing concern, "What do we do now, with the trending search staying up like this, it’s having a terrible impact on you."

Olivia Song pressed her lips together; she wasn’t wrong, a minute of trending search affects her greatly.

Since Weibo won’t remove it, she has to find someone to take the fall.

Olivia Song thought about the recent rookies in the entertainment circle, and finally, her eyes lit up with a malicious glint.

"Go buy some news on top trending celebrities in the entertainment industry, let those marketing accounts and bot armies lead the narrative, make sure my trend gets suppressed."

Olivia Song’s voice was indifferent, not the slightest bit feeling that there was anything wrong with what she was doing.

As long as big celebrities burst out some news, the public’s attention will naturally shift from her. By then, she can whitewash her image again.

Thinking of this, Olivia Song gave a smug smile.

"Okay," Rae Zander agreed without a second thought.

...

Rae Zander moved quickly, making calls to reporters from major news outlets to buy trending celebrity news.

After a few calls, she indeed uncovered some explosive news.

"Are you sure about what you’re saying?" Rae Zander spoke excitedly.

On the other side of the phone, a short, wretched-looking man sat on a chair, legs crossed, constantly shaking.

Hearing the question, he grinned, "Absolutely true, there are photos and videos. If you want them, it’s one million flat rate."

The next moment.

Rae Zander raised her voice, "One million, why don’t you go rob a bank."

Thinking she didn’t know the market, usually, these kinds of news at most cost half a million.

"If you don’t want it, I’ll sell it to someone else."

The man’s eyes shone with confidence as he replied.

He had been in the circle for so long, he’d seen all kinds of people. He surmised that the person on the other side must be Olivia Song’s people after seeing this morning’s trending.

With a rich target delivered to his doorstep, how could he not exploit it?

Rae Zander clenched her fist, "I’ll buy, just hurry and release the news."

"Alright," the man immediately agreed.

...

The crowd watching the scandal suddenly noticed a trending topic rising quickly, and seeing the headline, they were in disbelief.

[Top Celebrity Edward Monroe Suspected of Facial Disfigurement]

That was Edward Monroe, after debuting with a hit original song "Me," he quickly gained fame and won the Best Singer award that year. Since then, his songs dominated the top of major music charts.

And this year, at only twenty-five, he had already won countless awards, becoming an iconic benchmark for singers in the local entertainment industry.

[Impossible, my brother is preparing a new song, how could he be disfigured.]

[Exactly, what is wrong with you marketing accounts, trying to ride on my brother’s popularity.]

[Marketing accounts, get lost!]

In no time, Edward Monroe’s fans overtook the front rows, filled with various accusations and comments of disbelief.

Soon after.

The bot armies Olivia Song bought started making efforts.

[No way, these days telling the truth is called riding on popularity.]

[Total outsider, I’ve listened to Edward Monroe’s songs and they’re not that great. Why is he being praised so much?]

[I agree with the previous comment, better to listen to other people’s songs than his.]

Soon fans and bots started arguing.

Everything was just as Olivia Song anticipated; her topic gradually got suppressed, and the public’s attention wholly shifted to whether Edward Monroe was disfigured.

"Olivia, it’s done." Rae Zander observed the online trend and said with a smile.

Olivia Song glanced over and smiled lightly.

...

"What the heck, that’s impossible."

Isabella Xyler widened her eyes, blurting out a swear word.

It startled John Sinclair and Sebastian Winn, causing them to fumble, and their game characters quickly got killed.

"Isabella, are you crazy?" John Sinclair’s brow twitched a few times, and he spoke irately.

"Shut up, I got mad looking at Weibo," Isabella Xyler put her phone down on the table, tapping the screen.

"Just this, they’re saying Edward Monroe is disfigured."

The two exchanged a glance and responded with an understanding ’oh’.

They weren’t into stanning celebrities, Edward Monroe’s disfigurement had nothing to do with them.

Isabella Xyler rolled her eyes at the two, her cheeks puffed as she looked at the girl opposite.

"Olivia, say something!"

Claire Green finished the game, picked up the phone, and skimmed through, "Using someone as a scapegoat, such a low-level tactic."

As soon as the words fell.

Isabella Xyler understood instantly, realizing the sudden news about Edward Monroe wasn’t an accident.

"It must be that little white flower, so selfish."

Just then.

The marketing account that leaked the news posted a video. In the video, Edward Monroe’s right cheek clearly showed a particularly large scar, stretching from the corner of the eye down to the chin.

Looking at the person in the video, fans seemed to be paused, staring blankly like puppets mechanically replaying the video.

Originally, many people became fans of Edward Monroe because of his looks, and now with his handsome face ruined, he looked frightening and ferocious.

In a moment, fans who couldn’t accept it began to unfollow in large numbers.

[I’m sorry, I became a fan because of your looks, now I’m leaving because of them.]

[Brother, I once loved you too.]

Seeing these comments online, Isabella Xyler wished she could crawl through the cables and slap them a few times.

"Are looks really that important?" she asked, disheartened.

"What do you think?" Claire Green raised an eyebrow and asked back.

Isabella Xyler was taken aback, her gaze scattered.

After a while.

She came to her senses, her voice light yet determined, "I don’t think it’s important, because a singer’s main job is to sing, an actor’s is to act, just like us students, our main job is to study."

"Your view is too naive," Sebastian Winn interjected, "You can’t survive in the entertainment industry without looks, nowadays young people don’t care whether you sing or act, in their eyes, looks are everything."

"But..." Isabella Xyler wanted to refute but found herself speechless.

Claire Green raised an eyelid, speaking indifferently, "Do you like Edward Monroe?"

"Sort of," Isabella Xyler supported her chin, "he sings quite well."

Claire Green didn’t reply, merely gave her a meaningful look and lowered her gaze.

"Look, your favorite just posted on Weibo." John Sinclair’s voice carried a hint of coolness, reminding her.

What’s so great about that star, it’s just singing, as if no one else could.

[Edward Monroe: I apologize for taking up public space and causing such a huge discussion.

Since my disfigurement, I’ve been thinking about how to tell you but hadn’t settled on the words before it was exposed.

During this time, I was in despair, lost confidence, even found singing difficult, unsure of what I could still do, maybe never getting a chance to appear in public again.

Today, posting this Weibo is just to let everyone know I’m indeed disfigured, and to ask everyone to stop discussing such things.

Lastly, I apologize for disappointing those who liked me.]

Isabella Xyler quietly watched the Weibo post, her heart gradually calming down.