CHAPTER 174: CHAPTER 174: FINN YOUNG’S FIRST APPEARANCE

The fans in the game live stream constantly wanted to stand up for Finn Young.

Some people even cried because Finn Young was in such a miserable situation.

The backstage control was completely unmanageable.

They made numerous phone calls to Morgan Sloan, anxiously pacing around.

Even having security drag away the woman claiming to be Finn Young would be futile now; the situation had already escalated.

Amidst the public’s attention.

A tall man entered the room, surrounded by bodyguards.

The media rushed forward, asking questions all about Finn Young and Poppy Hale.

Declan Hawthorne’s gaze swept over the woman who was crying her heart out.

"I remember, for this press conference, we invited Finn Young. If she is indeed Finn Young, where is the invitation?"

With those words.

The media were stunned.

The woman’s face flashed with a hint of panic.

The comment section remained unchanged, becoming even more chaotic with many bots entering the scene.

Declan Hawthorne’s cold gaze swept over, "Security, restrain her."

Today, he wore a black overcoat, paired with a hand-embroidered shirt inside, standing out elegantly and handsomely. Even more dazzling than the game protagonists on the poster behind him.

A sense of severity lingered in his eyebrows.

Facing the array of media cameras, Declan Hawthorne was calm and authoritative.

"Welcome everyone to the press conference. Today, we have invited Finn Young to the event. You all wouldn’t want your favorite artist to be impersonated and have her reputation tarnished, right? Whether the Hawthorne Group paid for the manuscripts or condoned the theft of game data by employees, we will reveal the truth to everyone shortly."

No one present expected that the Hawthorne Group had actually invited Finn Young!

Rachel Rivers, who was watching the live stream, clenched her phone, her face twisted.

She looked at Matthew Sutton beside her.

"Didn’t you say that Finn Young hadn’t accepted any platform invitations since her debut? Why did she agree to come out this time?"

"How would I know, maybe Declan Hawthorne is lying. If you thought of getting someone to impersonate Finn Young, he could have thought of it too."

Rachel Rivers gritted her teeth angrily.

"That damned Finn Young is just a lousy illustrator, what’s she acting so proud for! We invited her to join our company, and she actually refused!"

Matthew Sutton, having mingled in the gaming world for years, knew of Finn Young.

He sneered, "Do you know how much one of her manuscripts is worth? Her most expensive one is over a hundred thousand."

"Eldest Miss Rivers, don’t overestimate your resources. Finn Young might not even look at the price you offer."

Rachel Rivers didn’t think Finn Young was anything special.

"She’s just an illustrator, easily replaceable by AI now. Sooner or later, she won’t be able to make money, and I’d like to see what makes her so smug then."

Her words were full of anger.

Tinged with bitterness.

Looking at Declan Hawthorne on the screen, Rachel Rivers was gritting her teeth.

Why.

She had liked him for so many years, always following him, even buttering up to Jackie Barrett and Old Master Hawthorne for his sake.

But he went and married Poppy Hale, that woman, who brought a child along, second-hand goods discarded by another man!

She wouldn’t let Poppy Hale have it easy.

At the press conference.

The woman claiming to be Finn Young was restrained, but public opinion was not one-sided, continuing to argue between criticizing the Hawthorne Group and waiting for explanations.

The central control room, watching the increasingly uncontrollable live stream, looked at Morgan Sloan with a bitter expression.

"Secretary Sloan, what should we do?"

Morgan Sloan rubbed his knee and looked at Declan Hawthorne.

On stage, Declan Hawthorne was sitting on a single-seat sofa, one leg crossed over the other, his long legs nonchalantly placed there, gazing calmly at the media below.

Next to him stood a sign with Finn Young’s name, but the person hadn’t arrived yet.

Morgan Sloan suddenly felt reassured.

"No worries, go buy some trending topics today, draw more people in. Think of it as increasing the game’s popularity."

"Huh? Positive or negative trending topics?"

Morgan Sloan smiled slightly, "Buy them all, whichever is cheaper, buy more of those."

Sometimes, negative trending topics work better than positive ones.

"Alrighty."

Soon, social media was flooded with all sorts of negative news about the Hawthorne Group hitting the headlines.

On the road, Poppy Hale glanced at her phone.

Raised an eyebrow, such excitement.

Traffic was a bit congested, and outside the hotel was filled with media, so the car couldn’t get through.

Poppy Hale texted Morgan Sloan, but it wasn’t him who came out; it was another member of the secretary team.

Upon seeing Poppy Hale, they were a bit surprised.

"Poppy, what are you doing here?"

Poppy Hale raised her phone, pulling up and handing over the electronic invitation.

"Invited to come."

The secretary team member Evan glanced at the invitation, then looked up at Poppy Hale, and glanced at the invitation again.

Then he stuffed his fist into his mouth.

Poppy Hale was actually Finn Young!

"You, you, you, you’re, you’re... Please follow me!"

Evan forced himself to calm down, patting his chest several times, maintaining composure and professionalism.

He led Poppy Hale into the venue through the back entrance.

In the conference hall, media questions remained sharp.

"Isn’t this inhumane of the Hawthorne Group? How can you be sure she’s not Finn Young?"

"Isn’t it too much for the Hawthorne Group to withhold the artist’s manuscript fees? President Hawthorne, please respond!"

The woman continued to complain to the media about her difficulties.

Spoke about things Finn Young had mentioned on a platform before.

A couple of years ago, Connor Lynch fell ill, and Finn Young mentioned pausing commission due to her father’s illness.

The woman’s current words caused outrage among fans.

In the venue, the spot marked with Finn Young’s name suddenly lit up.

At the entrance, a woman wearing a white dress stood gracefully, removing her coat and handing it to Evan beside her.

Her hair was styled in waves like ocean waves swaying in the wind, and every cut of her dress fell perfectly. With the air conditioning breeze blowing in the venue, the raised hem of her dress looked as beautiful as a flower.

Her skin was dazzlingly fair, and her lightly made-up face appeared beautiful at first glance, even more charming at a second look.

Sophisticated and elegant, drawing attention.

Declan Hawthorne’s eyes lit up.

His hand, placed on his knee, was immediately lifted as he stood up from his seat.

His gaze was slightly flustered.

He never expected that his Poppy was Finn Young.

Morgan Sloan’s initial surprise turned into delight.

Seized the moment to buy more trending topics badmouthing Finn Young and Poppy Hale.

If it’s cheap, it’s foolish not to buy it, because soon the hype would be gone.

The super illustrator genius Finn Young is actually the wife of their President Hawthorne!

As soon as Poppy Hale appeared, the media’s shutters were nonstop.

Not to mention, she walked towards Finn Young’s spot and sat down.

Smiling, she said, "Hello everyone, I am Finn Young, thank you to the Hawthorne Group for the invitation, and thank you all for your unwavering support over the past ten years."

The fans in the comments section were also shocked.

Their beloved Finn Young turned out to be so beautiful!

So that woman just now was a fake?

A media person asked, "How can you prove you’re Finn Young?"

Poppy Hale chuckled softly, pulling out her phone to open Finn Young’s social media homepage, "Do you want me to log in now to show you? I can display the drawing traces of those few pictures at the back, each layer can be made public, is that enough?"

On the screen behind, videos of Finn Young drawing all of the Hawthorne Group’s commissioned images appeared!

Her work traces were preserved to an almost outrageous extent.

Poppy Hale stood before the media.

Facing the lights in front of her, she indeed felt nervous.

Her calves were trembling, luckily the dress was long enough.

"I initially didn’t want to attend this time, but my personal life has indeed been greatly affected."

"In my own name, Poppy Hale and Finn Young, I am suing Sutton Games, as defamation is also a crime."