Chapter 157: Chapter 157: If You Care About These Things, You Lose
The comments were polarized. On one side were the celebrity fans; the various fan groups had united to viciously slander Claire Sinclair while passionately promoting their own idols. On the other was a united front formed by those against celebrity worship and by celebrity haters, who bashed the stars while supporting Claire Sinclair.
Undeniably, M2L’s marketing campaign was a massive success. The immense popularity and click-through rate of the topic were enough to generate huge buzz for their new product.
Claire Sinclair felt a knot in her stomach. Being reduced to a tool for someone else’s publicity stunt, she found that she simply couldn’t act as if nothing had happened.
’I really want to post something on Weibo about this... But even if I did, who would take it seriously? They’d probably just call me dramatic and accuse me of playing the victim for sympathy and attention, right?’
’Forget it...’
Claire Sinclair closed the trending topic and went to browse other content.
However, she had underestimated how hot the topic was. Even when she browsed other sections, she still saw things related to her.
After storming out last night, Selene Haw had furiously posted an accusation on Weibo: "Sleeping your way to a contract, that’s some skill you have. I can’t compete with that. I just can’t!"
Sharp-eyed netizens immediately aimed their attacks at Claire Sinclair, all of them cursing her for using her body to seduce Ethan Kingsley and snatching the endorsement deal from Selene Haw.
Seeing all this, Claire Sinclair couldn’t take it anymore. She sent a WeChat message to Henry Hartwell, asking for help: Teacher Hartwell, have you seen the trending topics on Weibo?
Journalist Henry Hartwell: If you let this stuff get to you, you’ve already lost.
ClairePot: But now so many people are calling me a homewrecker and accusing me of seducing Ethan Kingsley. I just attended a dinner party, I didn’t do anything! Besides, I don’t even know him that well.
Journalist Henry Hartwell: So, as long as your conscience is clear, what does it matter?
Reading that sentence, the knot of anxiety in Claire Sinclair’s heart inexplicably loosened.
’Teacher Hartwell is right. Since my conscience is clear, why should I care what anyone else says?’
ClairePot: You’re right. Why should I even bother with them? They don’t know anything; they just jump on the hate bandwagon.
Journalist Henry Hartwell: Have you thought of a pen name yet?
’Oh, right! I almost forgot about that!’
Claire Sinclair thought for a moment, then casually typed back a name: Black Dragon Treasure Saber!
Journalist Henry Hartwell: ...
’What’s with the ellipses?’
Claire Sinclair meekly typed, "Is it bad?"
Journalist Henry Hartwell: Dude, this is going to be published in newspapers and on our app. You’ll be using this pen name to conduct interviews and write articles in the future. Be serious. Something more professional.
ClairePot: Then how about Molly Sinclair!
Journalist Henry Hartwell: Are you sure?
ClairePot: Positive!
Journalist Henry Hartwell: Alright, it’s confirmed. No changes after this.
ClairePot: Okay!
The conversation ended there.
Claire Sinclair’s mood instantly brightened. First, she changed her Weibo name to "Molly Sinclair," then she posted a new status: "From today on, please call me Molly Sinclair."
She had just posted it when a comment came in.
@NotThatEthanK: Molly Sinclair. It has a nice ring to it.
’Claire Sinclair had a bad feeling. ’Don’t tell me my Weibo account has been doxxed...??’’
She cautiously clicked into the profile of "@NotThatEthanK" and immediately saw the gold verified "V" badge. Scrolling down his feed, she saw that it was filled with fucking updates about Ethan Kingsley.
Shit!
’How would a playboy like Ethan Kingsley know my Weibo account?’
’This is bad. If people see his comment on my post, I’ll never be able to clear my name.’
Claire Sinclair immediately deleted his comment and changed her privacy settings to disallow comments from anyone.
She thought that was the end of it, but to her surprise, the very next second, Ethan Kingsley posted a bizarre update on his own Weibo: "@MollySinclair You may have vowed to be an imposing queen, but you’re my little fairy. Remember to make time to shoot a good commercial for M2L. The breach of contract penalty is very high, you know~"
