Chapter 358 Anxious Bystander
Audrey Swann was filming enthusiastically on the set. During a break, Kim Morris rushed in, looking extremely anxious. Audrey felt a bit flustered seeing his worried expression.
“Kim, what’s the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?” Audrey asked.
“Audrey, did you gather your fans to vote for Catherine Swann?” Kim asked seriously. Audrey hesitated momentarily and nodded, “Yes, Kathy has recently been participating in a university event. Thus, I asked my fans, Ava, to support and cheer for her.”
Ava was a senior member of Audrey’s fan club who regularly communicated with Audrey and helped promote various publicity matters.
This time, Audrey wanted to show her support for Kathy’s competition and even made announcements on Twitter. Ava had also helped with the promotion.
Kim frowned and looked at Audrey with a great deal of resentment. “I told you to consult with me before making decisions. Why don’t you listen? Can you gather votes so casually?”
Audrey didn’t understand and looked puzzled.
“What’s going on?” asked Audrey.
Kim Morris handed her the phone. ” Take a look for yourself!”
Audrey was puzzled and looked at the Twitter app on Kim’s phone. There were several popular posts about Catherine.
They accused her of seducing her mentor to cheat and claimed she took advantage of her sister’s celebrity status and fans for votes.
The accusations against Catherine were severe, and Audrey was furious. She clenched her phone and exclaimed, ” This is absurd! How can these people slander Kathy like this?”
“No way, I need to clarify this on Twitter immediately. My sister would never do such a thing!” said Audrey.
Kim snatched the phone away from her as she saw she was about to log in to Twitter. “That’s enough, Audrey. Do you even realize your current situation? Just because of this vote-pulling thing, you’re already losing fans.”
“I was negotiating a national endorsement deal this morning. They just called and said they want to wait a bit longer. I had a sure thing within reach, and now it’s slipping away!” said Kim.
Audrey was starting to grasp the impact this situation had on her. In the age of social media influence, it was truly a “make or break” case by the fans.
However, after thinking for a moment, she made a decision. “Kim, you don’t need to worry about this anymore. Catherine is my sister, and I’ll definitely help her. Even if I lose that endorsement deal, I don’t care.” said Audrey.
Realizing the potential consequences, Kim regretted bringing up the matter with Audrey. He changed his approach to persuade her,
“I understand your concern for your sister, but why don’t you contact Catherine first to understand the situation before taking action?” said Kim.
Audrey was now calmer and found merit in Kim’s suggestion.
“You’re right. I should call Kathy now!” said Audrey.
Meadow Restaurant.
The group was still in the private room and had all seen what happened on Twitter.
The most popular post was made by a user named “Righteous Dude” on a forum called True Journal. She claimed to be a staff member of the event organizer and alleged that Catherine had colluded with Grayson.
She asserted that Catherine had prior knowledge of the event’s theme, which gave her an advantage and even suggested a romantic connection between her and Grayson.
Furthermore, the post accused Catherine of being the pre-determined champion due to her alleged relationship with Grayson.
It also claimed that Catherine had forced her sister, Audrey, to use her fans to vote for her and effectively took advantage of her sister’s followers.
They were mocking Audrey for exploiting her fans and alleging that the two sisters joined forces to take advantage of their fans’ support. The detailed post included several backstage photos confirming the author’s claims.
The photos were clearly taken without permission and showed Grayson assisting Catherine with a mandolin. The angle they found was quite tricky, as it looked like the two of them really had something going on!
Apart from the newcomers, Rodge and Scott, who did not know about Catherine’s relationship with Branden, this post was openly trying to humiliate him.
Could he tolerate this?
Triston and Aidan, eager to join in the gossip, were hesitant due to Branden’s intimidating presence. They dared not make a fuss and sat obediently, waiting for Branden to take action. Grayson read the entire post with a serious expression.
“Catherine, I’m going to explain right now. I’ll let the management company handle the public relations. I won’t allow these people to defame you!” said Grayson.
The entertainment industry was a big cauldron, and Grayson had been in the entertainment industry for many years.
He had seen all sorts of disgusting situations.
He had even encountered all kinds of dirty tricks. He didn’t care about most things. However, he would never agree if someone tried to use him to harm Catherine. All eyes were now on Catherine and waiting for her decision.
Ronin was itching for action and preparing to take drastic measures. Whoever dared to defame Catherine was looking for trouble!
Catherine calmly finished eating the shrimp that Branden had peeled for her. She was about to say something when her phone started ringing.
She glanced at it and saw it was Audrey calling.
She answered the call. Audrey’s voice sounded anxious through the receiver. “Kathy, it’s me. Where are you now? Are you okay? Have you seen the messages on your phone?”
A string of questions followed, leaving Catherine almost no chance to speak. She waited quietly until Audrey paused before slowly responding, “I’m in Oceanvile. I already know about the situation. You focus on your filming and leave the rest to me.”
Then, a sycophantic voice from Kim came through the phone, “Catherine, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to take care of your sister and won’t cause any trouble for you.”
“I’ll contact you later!” After saying this, Catherine hung up the phone. She had already seen the comments Audrey had posted under the announcement of her competition on Twitter. She knew this situation would have some impact on Audrey and didn’t want her to get involved.
After hanging up the phone, Catherine picked up her fork and continued eating. Her calm attitude left the others dumbfounded. Ronin couldn’t contain his impatience and said, “Catherine, why aren’t you doing anything? People online are cursing you!”
Catherine glanced at him, and Ronin immediately fell silent.
“Grayson, will the online situation affect the competition’s results?” Catherine asked Grayson.
Grayson understood what Catherine was asking and looked at her with certainty as he responded.
“Catherine, don’t worry. The results of this competition will be absolutely fair. Dirty tactics like this won’t affect it in any way.”
The competition would lose meaning if every little disturbance could tarnish a contestant’s performance. Grayson, as a mentor and with some authority, could ensure the competition’s absolute fairness.
With the assurance she wanted, Catherine remained calm and called out to everyone, “Come on, let’s continue eating!”
