CHAPTER 83: CHAPTER 83: THE TRUTH REVEALED, ALL EYES ON VERA HANSEN

Serena Sterling and Jasper Ford walked backstage together.

As they passed through the staff corridor, they saw Vera Hansen standing aside.

Vera Hansen appeared sinister, her previously well-maintained expression management had completely failed.

"No wonder you were indifferent to my invitation all along." Vera looked at the masked woman and said, "So you were prepared all along."

Serena smiled lightly and said, "Even without preparation, I’m not interested in your proposal."

Jasper Ford gave Vera a curious glance.

He was really on the verge of bursting into laughter.

He suddenly realized that letting Serena wear a mask on stage was a brilliant idea.

Vera had actually intended to use Serena against Serena.

But he couldn’t laugh, he still had to pretend to be Irene’s benefactor, hold it in, hold it in.

But it’s really hard for him to hold in his temper!

So, he coughed, pretending to know nothing, frowned, and said, "What are you talking about, let’s go."

Serena glanced at him, nodded, and followed Jasper Ford.

The two hurried away, but Vera Hansen was so angry that she stomped her feet.

However, she no longer had the mind to care about the two, because Connor Goldsmith had sent her the latest news.

Ford Entertainment’s official account had posted an update.

Indeed, now the real battle was about to begin.

The stage was just a fact, and the subsequent public opinion battle was the main focus.

Serena Sterling, Jasper Ford, and Chloe returned to the contestants’ private lounge.

The group was prepared; they were typing continuously in a secluded spot, communicating with others in the group.

At this moment, online.

Ford Entertainment released two high-definition videos, one from "Yesterday Once More" and the other from "Us" live performances.

Along with the caption: Due to a technical glitch earlier, there was an issue with our artist Irene’s live performance. Now, coordination with all parties has been achieved, and relevant footage will be updated in a special edition of "Heavenly Sound."

These clear videos released by Ford Entertainment’s official account were beyond comparison to previous phone-recorded clips.

The stage effects were even more stunning.

This was the best sequence agreed upon by Serena and the others.

Official high-definition videos could be available, but there must be on-site recorded phone videos.

Because Vera’s team would definitely steer it toward capital operation, merely releasing the official high-definition video wouldn’t be convincing since it all belonged to the capital side.

First, phone videos appear; after some fermentation, the official account releases high-def videos to fill gaps in phone videos, serving as solid evidence of previous suppression.

When Serena saw the video on Sasha’s phone, she planned to synchronize it with this performance’s song release, enhancing the phone video’s credibility mutually.

But Jasper also managed to get Alexander Ford on board, making everything fall into place.

Online, public opinion was explosive.

Ford Entertainment spoke eloquently, a "technical glitch" covered everything.

But why didn’t other contestants experience glitches, and only Irene’s stage had issues?

"It’s really hard to guess, why did only Irene’s stage malfunction?"

"Yes, I had doubts before, considering Irene is under Ford Entertainment, they’d suppress no one but her, but now it seems true."

"Indeed, besides mentioning the official video from Ford Entertainment, just look at those two phone videos; even at such bad positions with poor equipment, it was steady, showing the broadcast did experience a ’technical glitch.’

"So today’s broadcast was normal, with one or two seconds of ’glitch’ at the start, adjusted later."

"Yeah, almost buried such a great singer!"

"I’m a live audience member, always silenced, every time I tried to comment, it would get deleted."

"Me too, whenever I watched Irene’s segments outside, they were vastly different, but no one would reply to me, later realizing my comments were visible only to me."

...

Many live audience members spoke out, venting all their pent-up frustration.

Then, everyone had a common question—

"So, who did it?"

...

The online discussions intensified.

First, they guessed through all other contestants of the same batch, but it was obvious that suppression started from the first live show; rumors said Irene hadn’t gone to rehearsal because of an injury, and others couldn’t see her stage, also being under Ford Entertainment, others had no reason to do so.

Then, people recalled and suddenly realized—

At that time, "Yesterday Once More" was very impressive, nearly overwhelming everything to become number one, but ultimately tied with Vera’s "Micro Love" as the white moonlight versus the cinnabar mark.

Thus, another voice emerged online—

"Could it have been Vera who did it?"

"Now that you say it, it fits perfectly."

"To overpower Ford Entertainment, the heaviest weight on site, it couldn’t be others but Vera? Her backing is Julian Lawson."

"Yes, during that time ’Micro Love’ almost couldn’t suppress ’Yesterday Once More.’

"True, ’Yesterday Once More’ experienced a technical glitch, so the two were tied; I remember hearing Vera wasn’t a professional singer, thus surpassing Irene."

"I also heard a rumor, before the first live broadcast, Vera’s team ’reminded’ the other contestants."

"Really such a thing?"

"Not sure, it’s a rumor, but if you look at the second live broadcast and this one, the quality of all contestants’ stages increased significantly!"

"True, true."

...

Online discussions were in full swing, and the pointed arrows were aimed at Vera.

Vera was already panicking there.

She continuously communicated with Connor, trying to come up with an appropriate plan.

Therefore, during the live broadcast, she was absent for a long time.

Seeing her absence, everyone speculated even more.

But she had no way; she couldn’t communicate with Connor during the broadcast.

Vera gritted her teeth, glancing hatefully toward Irene’s personal lounge.

"Now isn’t the time to settle accounts with her, solve the current matter first, then deal with her later!" Vera thought.

With that in mind, she made a phone call to Alexander Ford.

On the other side, inside Serena’s personal lounge.

Serena and Jasper Ford watched as Quinn and Bianca Lynch worked with the marketing team to gain an advantage, and both nodded in satisfaction.

Only now did they feel slightly relaxed.

They leaned back on the sofa.

"You say, is there a need for her to do this?" Jasper Ford said, "Hasn’t she already gotten what she wanted?"

This was also Serena’s question.

"I don’t understand her." Serena said, thinking of something, she asked, "By the way, do you have someone over there?"

"Where?" Jasper Ford asked.

Serena typed ’Cygnus’ on the covered phone.

Jasper Ford shook his head and said, "No, but I can contact some friends I know, what’s up?"

Serena shook her head, said it was nothing: "Go ahead and contact them, I’m just a bit curious."