Mia asked, “What is it?”
“If she dares to openly manipulate the votes, can’t we report her? Once exposed, ‘Baby Angel’ will be blacklisted in the gaming industry. If it loses the first place, the award will still be ours.”
Mia’s eyes lit up, ready to agree, when Jasper suddenly appeared behind them.
Seeing ‘Baby Angel’ comfortably leading the rankings, his expression was calm, even giving off a relieved vibe.
Witnessing this, Mia’s face momentarily darkened. She signaled Yulianna with her eyes and then grabbed Jasper’s hand.
As Jasper turned around, she forced a bitter smile and said, “Jasper, am I useless?”
Jasper paused, seemingly contemplating something. He didn’t immediately console her.
Feeling even more uneasy, Mia whispered, “I didn’t expect this outcome. Just twenty minutes ago, ‘Baby Angel’ was still at the bottom of the list.”
Jasper furrowed his brows slightly. Realizing what she was insinuating, Jasper’s brows furrowed even deeper. He asserted firmly, “She didn’t manipulate the votes.”
“Jasper! Why do you… trust her so much?”
Jasper glanced at her and was about to explain the situation on Twitter when the organizer stepped forward with a serious expression.
“Apologies for keeping the voting channel closed for so long without announcing the winner. It’s because we received a formal report. there was evidence of vote manipulation during this competition.”
Pausing for a moment, the organizer glanced at Mia and Evelyn, saying, “Our awards have always been fair and just. We won’t tolerate any form of vote manipulation.”
Everyone immediately turned their heads, following the organizer’s gaze, automatically skipping over Mia and fixing their attention on Evelyn. The recent drastic change in the vote count pointed unmistakably to ‘Baby Angel.’
Upon hearing the organizer’s announcement, those who suspected a system malfunction were instantly filled with disdain.
“How could the vote count change so wildly? Turns out, it was done through such despicable means.”
“I really want to curse, fools! Do they think we’re all idiots? Even if you want to manipulate votes, can’t you do it more discreetly over several days?”
“Shouldn’t we cut off such behavior at its root? Manipulating votes is a disrespect to others.”
As these comments grew louder, Zane became agitated.
“We earned the award based on our abilities. What right do they have to doubt us?”
“You, who’s usually so domineering, how can you endure such injustice?”
Evelyn squinted, “What’s the rush? They haven’t announced who manipulated votes, have they?”
Zane: “…Yeah, that’s true.” Zane forced himself to calm down.
Throughout the organizer’s speech, Jasper had been staring at Evelyn.
Seeing this, Mia anxiously explained, “Jasper, it wasn’t me. I didn’t report her.”
“Although she…” Mia seemed afraid that Jasper would get angry, and she hastily lowered her voice. After careful consideration, she cautiously added, “It’s okay. I hope Evelyn can enjoy both fame and wealth.”
Jasper looked at her with a gaze full of guilt. Just as he pulled her into his embrace, the organizer continued speaking.
“The game ‘The Dragon,’ which manipulated votes this time, will be permanently blacklisted by the gaming industry. Moreover, the company that owns the game will be permanently blacklisted by Hyper Game.”
‘The Dragon’ was the game Mia had been promoting this time.
Frozen in Jasper’s embrace, Mia stared wide-eyed and exclaimed, “How… how is this possible?”
“I didn’t do it, it wasn’t me.”
Jasper’s face darkened. Subconsciously, he glanced at Evelyn and whispered to comfort Mia, “I won’t let others tarnish your reputation.”
As he was about to go and talk to the organizer, he saw Yulianna already rushing excitedly onto the stage.
“Are you all out of your minds? I filed a real-name report against Evelyn, against ‘Baby Angel’. What’s the meaning of putting the vote manipulation accusation on ‘The Dragon’? Did she bribe you? How can you be so disgusting? Sheltering criminals and defaming others.”
The organizer’s expressions instantly darkened. Originally, they had some rapport with Mia and were planning to give her some face. However, now they couldn’t bear it anymore.
“Accusing me of sheltering criminals and defaming others? What’s this?” He pointed at the big screen, displaying transaction dialogues and payment records from the ticket purchase channel. Following that were the growth nodes of ‘The Dragon’s’ votes, perfectly coinciding with the transaction times.
Looking at Yulianna’s sudden change in expression, the organizer felt a momentary sense of satisfaction. He posted on the other side of the screen the reason for the increase in votes for ‘Baby Angel’ and Quetzal’s Twitter post. Contrasting the two, Mia’s side was utterly humiliated.
Yulianna’s face extremely ugly, she hurriedly sought help from Mia.
Mia noticed but ignored her. Her mind was filled with the collapse of her public image and how Jasper would perceive her.
Jasper’s expression was neither angry nor disappointed, but it left her in a state of panic.
Nervously, she looked at him, “Jasper, let me explain. I didn’t mean to…”
“Mean to what?” Jasper’s tone turned cold, “Intentionally defame Evelyn? Intentionally lie to me? Intentionally let Yulianna report Evelyn?”
Mia was taken aback, lowering her voice. “I really didn’t do it intentionally.”
“If it weren’t for your peculiar reactions every time Evelyn is mentioned, I wouldn’t have felt jealous, and I wouldn’t have done such a thing. Jasper, I know I was wrong. Can you forgive me?”
Her words felt like a heavy blow, brutally striking Jasper’s head.
He stared at Evelyn for a moment, suddenly realizing that since the time he heard her play the piano, his mind had never been calm when facing her.
Why?
For all these years, he clearly only had affection for Mia’s piano. How could he suddenly be attracted to someone else out of nowhere?
The sense of guilt deep within Jasper was successfully triggered by Mia. He irritably pulled her into his arms.
“Mia, if you have any misunderstandings, it’s all my fault. I won’t let it happen again, but you have to remember, you’re the only one in my heart.”
Mia tilted her head, then nodded obediently, choosing not to bring up the events of today again. She was taken away by the Jasper and left all the doubts behind her.
Seeing this, the organizer smiled satisfactorily and announced the winner of tonight’s award, Evelyn’s ‘Baby Angel’.
No one dared to question it anymore, and the embarrassment and dissatisfaction were redirected towards Mia.
“Accusing others of being thieves is truly nauseating. Luckily, the organizer saw through it.”
“Heh, I was a ‘The Dragon’ player before, now I’m uninstalling and exposing them on Twitter.”
“Exposure, we must expose them and let all players see clearly.”
“I think we owe Evelyn an apology…”
Some turned their gaze towards where Evelyn was, only to find she had already left.
At this moment, Evelyn was on her way to HL Company. Spencer, somehow getting wind of her intention to use HL Company’s reagents, went straight to the company’s laboratory to cause trouble.
Knowing Spencer’s influence and not daring to provoke him, the CEO had no choice but to seek Evelyn’s help.
When she arrived, Spencer was about to throw the top-tier reagent on the ground.
“Spencer, this, this can’t be thrown.” Mr. Robinson from the company nervously said.
“Can’t? There’s nothing, I, Spencer, can’t afford to throw in this world.” Spencer smiled triumphantly, raising the reagent high.
As he prepared to let go, Evelyn walked in slowly, holding her phone and aiming it at Spencer.
Spencer was taken aback. He pointed at Evelyn angrily, “What are you filming? Put it down.”
“Evelyn, let me tell you, violating my image rights is illegal. Don’t force me to sue you. Do you really think that scumbag Gavin can protect you?”
“Oh! Gavin is a scumbag?” Evelyn paused, tapping the screen, “Tell me, if I show him this video, what do you think his reaction will be?”
“Will he fire you in a fit of anger? Perfectly, your disturbance at HL Company can serve as grounds for his legitimate dismissal of you.”
Being expelled from the research institute left Spencer with virtually no prospects in the national scientific community, and his previous research achievements were unlikely to be recognized by anyone.
“How dare you??” Spencer panicked at Evelyn’s words.
“The internet speed here is quite fast. If Spencer doesn’t believe it, let’s give it a try, shall we?” She found Gavin’s chat box, and paused before sending, “If I press this button, there’s no turning back.”
“No, don’t, please. Everything can be discussed,” pleaded Spencer.
“So, does Spencer still want to throw the reagent?”
Watching her smug expression, Spencer felt the pain in his chest, which had just healed, flare up again. His intuition told him that Evelyn was ruthless; she dared to operate in front of him, and she would truly send the video.
He didn’t have the courage. He couldn’t gamble with Evelyn.
Spencer’s face darkened. He muttered, “No.”
“What is Spencer saying? Why can’t I hear?” Evelyn turned to the nearby HL Company staff and Mr. Robinson, “Can you hear that?”.
They shook their heads, and Spencer’s expression grew increasingly grim, “Not throwing it. I promise I won’t cause trouble for HL Company again.”