Chapter 494: Chapter 494: Nobody Expected It
At the same time, #HannahWinterVotesStolen shot to the top of trending topics across various domestic and international websites, with click-through rates still skyrocketing.
No one saw this coming.
The producers and George River alike had underestimated Hannah’s popularity and the wrath of her fans.
The vote swap had been agreed upon from the start. It was more convenient than vote-buying.
But George had no idea that Hannah’s votes were so high. He thought the difference between the first and second place scorer would be at most tens of millions of votes, but the result was a bitter slap in the face of everyone.
With 130 million votes against 50 million, the gap was too wide. The foul play was indisputable.
The producer, so panic-stricken he could barely stand, trembled as he asked, "River... Director River, what should we do?"
George’s face was somber. "Are we sure Hannah Winter didn’t manipulate her vote count?"
The producer quickly shook his head. "Absolutely not, we’ve checked. Not to mention that person... who else would have the money to buy her votes?"
No one would be foolish enough to manipulate the votes to one hundred million!
The producer rose from the floor, leaning against the door. "River, should I go announce that this was a mistake?"
This was the best solution he could think of, if it came to it, being accused by fans would be no big deal.
But if they actually did that, Tiffany Lynch would become a laughing stock.
George glared coldly, "You’ve done something like this before, what’s there to be nervous about?"
Indeed, the producer had done this during the first season. The victim back then was Hayes Edwards. But his voting numbers weren’t as "scary" as Hannah’s are now, so his fans only fussed for a while before quieting down.
The producer, his head fogged, only felt slightly relieved after thinking about this.
Looking at the familiar face on the screen, George sneered.
"Hannah Winter, see, Arnold Simmons can’t even protect himself. How could he protect you?"
He was filled with resentment at his discarded toy being picked up and cherished by someone else. He stubbornly wanted to prove he was better than Arnold, to prove Hannah had made a wrong decision.
Perhaps even George himself failed to realise that from the moment he agreed to Tiffany’s request, obsession ruled him.
*
Up until it was Tiffany’s turn to deliver her speech, the crowd was still continuously chanting Hannah’s name.
Stop shouting!!!
For a moment, Tiffany wished she could cover her ears.
Everything before her eyes became a blur, her face was pale and covered in sweat.
The mic in her hand was unbearably hot. Each shout felt like a mockery and a judgement, like a whip soaked in chili hitting her over and over, landing on her body, face.
"I..."
"Shut up, Celestial Clan! Vote dog!"
As soon as Tiffany spoke, there was an outburst from the crowd.
A man broke free from the crowd, rage burning in his eyes, as though he wanted to consume people. If the security hadn’t stopped him, he would have stormed onto the stage.
Most of the male fans were angry, but some of the female fans couldn’t help but shed tears.
For the fans, Hannah’s journey to today was certainly not easy.
She was demoted at her debut, maliciously edited, targeted during interviews, her advertisement shooting was abruptly halted, and during the public vote phase, she was pushed to finish a song within three days.
Yet, having come this far, she was still being targeted.
