Someone else paying the bill for her naturally made her happy, and she couldn’t help but feel delighted.
However, the situation escalated far beyond what she had imagined.
These netizens were not to be underestimated. They couldn’t simply rely on time passing to let this matter fade away.
Meanwhile, Jane took no public relations measures, and Alex tried to hide whenever possible. As a result, her accumulated popularity and fans were greatly disappointed by her actions.
Soon, netizens started sharing all of Alex’s information online, and discussions erupted.
“This seemingly innocent information feels fake!”
Another fan commented, “It feels like this information was fabricated, but Alex signed with Star Entertainment, which is a big company. They wouldn’t easily accept someone of unknown origin.”
“You can’t say for sure. Didn’t Jane do unethical things before, all for money?”
Netizens engaged in heated discussions, expressing various opinions.
Jane sat in her office, watching the discussions unfold on the screen, with no intention of taking action.
“Aren’t you going to do anything about it?” April came over upon hearing about the situation.
Jane nodded, “Do you think I need to pay attention to this matter?”
The situation was meant to escalate like this, and besides, Alex was so proud and arrogant. There was no need for Jane to offer her help or bother with her life.
“That works too. Let’s see how people online react. As long as it doesn’t harm the company, anything goes.” April had no other tasks these days and stayed at the company, keeping Jane company.
The lack of response from Star Entertainment only fueled suspicions among netizens.
“Are they scared now? Maybe they dare not respond anymore. Maybe Alex is just a product created by Jane.”
April looked at the discussions below, where people were saying all sorts of things, even dragging Jane down and criticizing her.
Unfortunately, Jane didn’t care about any of it.
“Boss, a journalist from the newspaper wants to see you.” An assistant came to report.
“Let them in. I have to meet them.”
Jane arranged for the person to be seated in the conference room, and she and April went over.
The visitor was not an ordinary journalist but the editor-in-chief of the newspaper.
Jane couldn’t help but inwardly sigh. Had this matter disturbed even the editor-in-chief of the newspaper?
“I thought it was one of your reporters coming over. I didn’t expect you to personally come. I’m quite surprised,” Jane said, sitting across from the editor-in-chief with April.
The editor-in-chief smiled faintly and looked at Jane. “As the boss, I thought it would show my lack of sincerity if I didn’t come personally.”
Jane didn’t waste time and asked directly, “Since you’ve come in person, there must be a result you’re expecting from this matter. So, tell me, what do you want to know?”
The editor-in-chief’s lips curved slightly, revealing a smile. “Since you’re so straightforward, I won’t beat around the bush either.”
Jane signaled to her assistant with her eyes, asking her to guard the door.
“Before I came to see you, your artist Alex paid me a visit. She wanted me to help clarify this matter. But I always felt that this matter required your consent before any action could be taken. After all, she is an artist under your company.”
Just as Jane had suspected, Alex couldn’t find a breakthrough with her. Naturally, she had to find someone else to help resolve these rumors, and the newspaper was her best choice. Unlike entertainment journalists, they weren’t as gossipy and could also increase her own visibility. Conversely, they could also discredit Jane.
It was a well-calculated move indeed.
“I’ll tell you the truth. I have no intention of helping or getting involved. If you can’t bear to stand idle and want to take action, I won’t stop you. As for what you’ll face, I think you should already know.” Jane wouldn’t intervene as long as she didn’t have to, regardless of what others said.
“What do you mean? Isn’t she an artist under your company?” The Editor-in-Chief couldn’t quite understand.
April stepped in to explain, “Our company has always nurtured ethical and high-quality artists. Someone like her, with such a tainted reputation, do you think our company would still want her?”
April’s words resonated with Jane.
“Are you planning to give up on her?” The Editor-in-Chief was still unwilling to let go and kept asking.
“You’ve seen the situation yourself. While she may have come from our company, she doesn’t belong to us. Until now, she’s a free agent. If your newspaper wants to meddle in the entertainment industry’s affairs, I believe you’ll have a difficult future ahead.”
After all, newspapers have always had a respected image, especially in government circles.
If they openly meddled in the entertainment industry and defended a morally questionable artist, wouldn’t it damage their own reputation even more?
“As an Editor-in-Chief, it’s good to consider the newspaper’s interests, but I advise you to stick to what you should manage and refrain from interfering in matters that are not your concern. This is an internal affair for us!” Jane made herself clear, and she couldn’t believe this person couldn’t understand.
The Editor-in-Chief smiled knowingly, suddenly realizing the current state of the entertainment industry. “Initially, I thought your company lacked the strength to face such problems, but today it seems I was overthinking it!”
Originally, the Editor-in-Chief wanted to take control of this matter. With Star Entertainment as a backer, it would increase their newspaper’s interests.
Now it seemed that it was merely an internal adjustment for them.
“As long as our company needs the support of the newspaper in the future, I will definitely come to you directly!”
Jane immediately called her assistant and asked for the Editor-in-Chief’s contact information.
She personally escorted the Editor-in-Chief out of the company building and even provided him with a lot of company-related merchandise and benefits before parting ways.
Once she returned, the Editor-in-Chief immediately published an article about the internal adjustment at Star Entertainment.
This article was impartial, not favoring anyone, and objectively presented the facts.
This once again pushed Alex to the peak of public opinion.
Unable to stay idle in her hotel room and seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Alex had to step up and resolve it herself.
So, she released a voice recording on her private social media platform, exposing the insider information about the unspoken rules that Jane had helped her navigate.
The implication was that everything she had done was solely due to Jane’s behind-the-scenes manipulation.
As soon as the voice recording was posted online, it caused an uproar.
All netizens began overwhelmingly supporting Alex, and even those who had doubted her began to waver.