Bankrupt Tycoon? No Problem – This Villainess Will Make Him Rich Again

Chapter 173: Chapter 176: Let’s Take Action

It was already two in the afternoon by the time she came out of Siren Bar.

Sonia Quincy first hailed a ride on her phone, only opening WeChat to check the group chat messages after she got in the car.

In the time it had taken her to find Miranda Morgan, the three people in the group chat had gone wild, sending over five hundred messages. Sonia Quincy scrolled frantically through the chat history, her hand starting to ache by the time she finally reached the top.

But their conversation was actually quite simple. First, they cursed out Cecilia Quincy. Then, they cursed out Cecilia Quincy. And finally, they cursed out Cecilia Quincy some more.

Cecilia Quincy’s name appeared in their chat no less than a hundred times.

Sonia Quincy quickly skimmed through the five hundred-plus messages and then opened a video-sharing app.

Two hours later, the video she’d posted accusing Cecilia Quincy of plagiarism had already shot to the top of the trending list. And with the boost from a mega-influencer like Julia Dawson, the "Cecilia Quincy Plagiarism" topic’s popularity score had quickly surpassed twenty million.

Cecilia Quincy’s status was a sensitive one; the moment the topic went viral online, it was immediately reposted by Aethelburg’s local news outlets.

Now, Cecilia Quincy’s name had replaced Sonia Quincy’s, making her the hottest topic and most talked-about influencer in Aethelburg.

BUZZ—

BUZZ—

Mina Jennings and the others were still chatting away in the group. Sonia Quincy’s phone wouldn’t stop vibrating as notifications popped up one after another.

Seeing how lively their conversation was, Sonia Quincy decided to jump in and join the fun.

MissGoody: YES! YES! YES! Oh, this is so damn satisfying! The popularity score for the Cecilia Quincy plagiarism topic just broke twenty-five million! She’s really famous now!

GotMyPopcorn (PissedOffEdition): I spent over ten thousand on boosts for your video. Of course she’s gonna be famous, duh.

Mina Jennings (War Mode): Right now, everyone on the video app and Spudster is mocking her, demanding she come out and explain herself. A bunch of Aethelburg news outlets have reported it too. She’s probably running around like an ant on a hot pan.

Bloom Preston: Do you guys think she’ll come out and respond to this?

Sonia Quincy had suddenly sent a message in the group.

The other three immediately jumped in to reply.

MissGoody: Ooh, Master Bloom is back!

Mina Jennings (War Mode): I don’t think she’ll respond. Her "debut work" has been proven to be plagiarism beyond a shadow of a doubt. She has no ground to stand on.

GotMyPopcorn (PissedOffEdition): With Cecilia Quincy’s rotten personality? She’d never just turtle up and stay quiet! I bet you she’ll definitely come out with a response!

MissGoody: She’s already been flattened into a pancake, what’s she going to respond with? That it was all a coincidence?

GotMyPopcorn (PissedOffEdition): Cecilia Quincy’s specialty is playing the weak, pitiful victim. Even when she’s dead wrong, she can twist things to make herself look right and then fight you to the bitter end. This plagiarism thing is huge now; she definitely knows about it. The only reason she’s holding back is because she’s busy fabricating an excuse. Just you wait, she’ll definitely say something.

Bloom Preston: I agree with you. I also think Cecilia Quincy will come out with a response.

Mina Jennings (War Mode): If she dares to respond, we’ll crush her!

MissGoody: HAHAHAHA! The comments roasting her on the video app are hilarious. I’ll send you guys some screenshots.

"Oh?" Sonia Quincy’s eyes lit up, and she eagerly replied.

—Quick, send them! I want to see!

MissGoody: On it!

Julia Dawson was quick. In less than a minute, she had sent several screenshots of comments to the group chat.

Sonia Quincy tapped on a random one—

LeaveMeBe: Playing with copy and paste, are we... How interesting.

ILuvBananas: You’re so screwed. You pissed off Bloom Preston. Bloom Preston is gonna show you who the nicest, most patient person in the world is! Just you wait! Bloom Preston will make you wait forever!

The Cuddle Puddle’s Mr. Krabs: Our girl Bloom Preston just likes to gossip and post weird stuff, she’s not an actual idiot, hello! You can’t just bully her like that! When you were copying her shit, you could’ve at least changed it a little, damn it!

WipingMustardOnAPigsButt: Girl, if you can’t design, then just don’t. You spent all those days hyping this up on Spudster, I thought you were about to drop something big. Turns out you just dropped a big ol’ deuce, and it stinks to high heaven.

IcyBelle: And you have the nerve to call it your "debut work"... So shameless... PTUI!

Online commenters always had mouths dipped in poison; they never held back when it came to tearing someone down.

The torrent of abuse Cecilia Quincy was facing now was no less severe than what Sonia Quincy herself had endured just a few days prior. As Sonia scrolled through the comments in the chat, a sense of profound satisfaction washed over her.

She exited the group chat and opened a private chat with Mina Jennings, sending her a direct message.

—Ms. Jennings, let’s make our move tomorrow.

Mina Jennings replied instantly: Are you sure?

Sonia Quincy: I’m sure. Nine o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ll come to your studio.

Mina Jennings: Alright. I’ll have my people get things ready beforehand.

Sonia Quincy: OK.

New messages kept flooding the group chat, but Sonia Quincy didn’t bother to look at them.

She put her phone away and turned to watch the streetscape blurring past the window, her heart suddenly beginning to race.

’It’s here. The day I’ve so carefully planned for has finally arrived...’

Hannah Sutton had been right. Just as she’d predicted in the group chat, Cecilia Quincy did indeed come out with a response within a day. Her response just happened to come in the middle of the night, when Sonia Quincy was fast asleep and completely unaware.

It wasn’t until she woke up the next morning and saw the trending topics that she learned Cecilia Quincy had responded to the plagiarism controversy.

While eating breakfast, she clicked on the trending topic and immediately saw the long-winded post Cecilia Quincy had written.

The post was too long, and Sonia Quincy couldn’t be bothered to read the whole thing, so she found a summary someone had posted in the comments—

[I did not plagiarize. My debut work is entirely my own original creation. I don’t know who this Bloom Preston is; some third-rate influencer designer isn’t even worthy of being copied by me. Even though my design was released after Bloom Preston’s, it’s all just a coincidence! I didn’t copy anything. I’m the one being wronged here.]

Cecilia Quincy’s response was more or less exactly what Sonia Quincy had expected. Sonia scrolled through the comment section for a bit, let out a few derisive laughs at Cecilia’s expense, and then put her phone away to focus on her breakfast.

CLICK—

The study door clicked softly shut, and Felix Preston emerged, carrying his laptop bag.

With a cane in one hand and the bag in the other, he looked a little clumsy and overwhelmed.

Sonia Quincy quickly pushed back her chair and stood up, moving to help him, but he sidestepped her again.

"I can manage on my own."

With that, he walked straight past Sonia Quincy and headed for the door.

Watching his retreating back, Sonia Quincy asked quietly, "Are you still going to the studio today?"

Felix Preston paused. "Yes."

Sonia Quincy: "Can you maybe not go today? There’s something I need to talk to you about."

"..." Felix Preston hesitated for a couple of seconds. "Whatever it is, let’s talk about it when I get back. It’s a busy day at the studio."

"...Do you really have to go?" Sonia Quincy asked, her tone insistent.

Felix Preston nodded. "I have to. We have an important guest visiting the studio today."

"...Alright, then." If there was an important guest, Sonia couldn’t very well keep him.

"Be safe."

Felix Preston: "Mm."

And with that, he left without a backward glance.