CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99: PUBLIC OPINION – DID HOLLY CROWE CHEAT?

Holly and Blake hurried back to the Lunar Lotus Studio.

The store was tightly closed, with a "Temporarily Closed" wooden sign hanging at the entrance.

She sent a message to Celia, and after a while, Celia quietly opened the back door and peeked through.

Celia was very surprised to see her, "Senior, you returned from Brelond so quickly?"

Holly briefly explained to her and started asking about the situation in the store.

Celia also put away her playful demeanor, her expression serious, "Since this morning, people have been leaving negative reviews for the store. I didn’t pay much attention at first, but then, when several customers in a row asked for refunds, I realized something was wrong."

While speaking, she took out the store’s phone and hesitated before handing it over, "Senior, do you... really want to see it?"

Celia’s hesitation made Holly realize it must be related to her.

Holly gave her a reassuring smile, took the phone, and started looking at it.

The screen was filled with negative reviews, and the more she looked, the deeper her frown became.

User238293718: [Can a homewrecker be a teacher? Messy personal life, seducing men, using pottery as a guise to engage in inappropriate activities.]

Happy Person: [What a trash pottery shop? I can’t believe the store manager is like this. I want my money back! My child went there to experience it a few days ago, won’t they be influenced badly!]

Guardian of the Best Mia: [Isn’t she the one seducing Zion Pence? Looks so innocent but is so scandalous behind the scenes?]

Chatterbox: [Using pottery as a guise to do such things, can such a person even teach students? She’s bringing shame to Beldon’s Thirteenth Lane!]

Every comment read was similar in essence, all accusing her of a messy personal life, each comment strikingly harsh!

Holly didn’t understand and noticed that all the comments started from this User238293718.

Celia tapped her phone a few times and found the online post to show her.

Three hours ago, User238293718 posted a long article: [The female owner of the pottery shop in Beldon’s Thirteenth Lane has a messy personal life, involved in multiple affairs].

The eye-catching headline had already amassed hundreds of thousands of views.

Clicking into the comments revealed the poster’s malicious rumors about her, continuously updating with "solid evidence," and they posted a few photos as proof in the comments section.

User238293718: [Is this what they call a pretty store owner? Going into hotels with different men at night. Image.JPG]

User238293718: [Pretends to be an innocent pottery artist by day, meeting sponsors at night. Image.JPG]

User238293718: [Latest scoop, knowing the deal and still interferes in relationships. Image.JPG]

User238293718: [Shameless gold-digger. Image.JPG]

Holly opened those photos, her hand trembling slightly.

The photos were indeed of her.

There were photos of her being led into the hotel by Frederick Fletcher at night.

Photos from a few days ago outside the Riverwatch Pavilion with Aiden Jenson supporting her.

And photos of Zion Pence harassing her in the mall.

Plus, photos of her coming and going from a townhouse with Blake Sinclair.

Every photo had a tricky angle, seemingly deliberately chosen, where she always appeared to be the one initiating with the men.

Except for the first photo, where Frederick Fletcher’s face was unclear, the rest showed their clearly impatient expressions.

This was obviously targeting her.

Who could it be?

"Damn! Senior, you’re trending," Celia exclaimed.

"A big influencer shared this post on a video platform, synced it to Weibo, and then... Mia Chapelle responded."

Holly frowned.

Mia Chapelle?

She quickly opened Weibo and found the tag #Lunar Lotus Studio Owner Mistress#, #Blake Sinclair#, #Zion Pence# climbing steadily.

Below, a group of netizens were watching and gossiping.

[These days, anyone can trend? Who are these people anyway? Trending so fast, must be bought, right? Too many words, someone please summarize.]

[Wow, I don’t know these people, but I know Blake Sinclair!]

[Here comes the summary! In short, Holly Crowe, the manager of Lunar Lotus Studio in Beldon, got entangled with four men within just two months. Now, one man’s current girlfriend has come forward with concrete proof. Here’s the girlfriend’s Weibo account for more details.]

[Is the art scene this chaotic now? Enjoying the gossip.]

Holly clicked into the Weibo account mentioned and recognized Mia Chapelle from the profile picture.

Ten minutes ago, Mia had posted three words: "Trust him." Along with a selfie, eyes slightly red, as if she’d been crying.

The comments were filled with "Hugs, sister," "Rich lady, don’t be sad, mistresses won’t end well!", and "Mia, don’t cry. We all support you! Such mistress’s stores deserve to be boycotted and shut down by the entire internet!"

Holly scrolled through Mia’s Weibo and found that in recent years, she had been cultivating an image of a wealthy woman, occasionally posting her new bags and clothes on Weibo, gaining a stream of followers.

She had also recently announced on Weibo her plans to marry Zion Pence.

That’s why netizens exposed her as Zion Pence’s current girlfriend.

The three words Mia just posted seemed to say nothing but in fact said everything, clearly confirming that Holly was indeed seducing Zion Pence.

Netizens in the comments continued to scold Holly as shameless for seducing men, while Mia hypocritically replied, "I think there might be a misunderstanding, let’s wait for her explanation."

Fans flocked with "Poor thing, hugs," "Heartache," "Sister is too kind."

Blake Sinclair had been frowning since he saw those comments. He called Cole Tanner, took the phone from Holly’s hand: "Stop looking, I’ll handle it."

He looked at Celia, reverting to his usual seriousness, "Close the store for now. For safety reasons, I’ll send someone to take you home. If you need anything, call Cole Tanner."

Celia was intimidated by his stern demeanor and nodded straight, "Okay!"

Blake Sinclair sent a message to Cole Tanner, then retraced his steps back through the back door with Holly Crowe.

On the way home, Holly Crowe couldn’t stop thinking about who could have planned all this. Blake Sinclair saw her silence and assumed she was hurt by the harsh words of the netizens.

He held her hand, "I’m here."

Holly Crowe smiled lightly, "I’m fine."

Back at home, Holly Crowe opened the Weibo post again, only to find all the tags related to her were gone.

She asked Blake Sinclair, "Did you handle it?"

"Yes," Blake Sinclair replied with a furrowed brow.

Still, Holly Crowe felt uneasy.

Indeed, not long after, new tags appeared, and the rebellion of netizens was triggered, with insults becoming more intense and harsh.

[I didn’t believe it at first, just wanted to see the drama. But when it suddenly disappeared halfway through, I started having thoughts. Who is this woman?]

[The capital is intervening, starting to remove the trending topics. Everyone, run!]

[Everyone! This woman is not ordinary! Do you know who those four men are?]

[Who are they? I see they’re neither celebrities nor internet sensations, besides being somewhat good-looking... well, to be fair, they’re really good-looking, especially the last one’s great figure. This woman does have some prowess!]

[You’re missing the point above!]

[I’m back from surfing! The first person wasn’t clear, but the second is Aiden Jenson, the youngest recipient of the White Crane Award, and the third is Zion Pence, the representative of the tech innovation company Hopespring Startup, and needless to say, the fourth one is Blake Sinclair, heir to The Sinclair Family!]

[Wow, that’s impressive! So this woman must be very capable too! Do these men willingly let her toy with them?]

[No wonder she could open a shop at such a young age; turns out she has a backer! Just climb into some bed, and you can have anything you want.]

[Young girls today have no ambition! I hear Zion Pence is a married man, and his wife is even pregnant! Such home-wrecking behavior will face retribution!]

Following this, Mia Chapelle’s fans emerged to steer the narrative, guiding everyone to scold Holly Crowe, demanding an explanation.

[Mia’s fans gather to protect our best sister.]

[Boycott Lunar Lotus Studio, mistresses get out of Beldon! You don’t deserve to run a shop.]

[If she’s innocent, why not respond? Having money is great; even mistresses can be whitewashed.]

Holly Crowe found these statements absurdly twisted and couldn’t help but laugh.

Fuming, she was about to respond to the nastiest comment when Celia Stiles called.

"Senior! Aiden Jenson and Miles Quill have responded on your behalf!"

Holly Crowe quickly refreshed the page and found that Miles Quill had posted a Weibo a minute ago, [Can the unethical media respect facts and truth? The elder was also present that night!]

He attached a picture of the three of them dining in a private room.

Miles Quill had recently won a gold medal in a world-class pottery competition representing his country—a highly influential feat. Who doesn’t recognize him?

This Weibo post immediately caused a sensation, exploding the internet:

[Did I see that right? Even Master Quinn knows Holly Crowe? Is it truly a misunderstanding?]

Below a netizen commented, "Master Quinn, what’s the relationship between you and Holly Crowe?"

Miles Quill directly replied, "My apprentice I’ve been waiting for seven years!"

Soon after, Aiden Jenson retweeted Miles Quill’s Weibo, captioned: [She’s a childhood neighbor, my junior now, and a future partner!]

The post included three photos.

The first was a childhood photo of the two playing with clay at the ceramic factory; the second was the same trio photo with Miles Quill, and the third was Holly Crowe walking down a lane during middle school, pure and beautiful.

This Weibo significantly shifted public opinion, and netizens began to howl, with the commentary taking a new tone:

[Oh my! Childhood sweethearts! We’re saved!]

[The strange CP gene is stirring within me!]

[Playing with mud, it’s so touching! Aiden Jenson looks at Holly Crowe so tenderly; this isn’t cheating—it’s clearly childhood sweethearts. Seriously, it’s just a crush!]

[Wait a moment! A disciple of Master Quinn? Holly Crowe’s pottery skills must be exceptional; why isn’t anyone talking about this?]

[Blind man, you found the highlight!]

The narrative began to shift, and soon, Holly Crowe’s college alumni started speaking out.

The Potter: [I went to the same university as Senior Holly Crowe, and all the teachers said she was an outstanding student in the college! First in her major for four years, winning national awards every year, and she participated in national-level tableware design; her graduation project was even collected by Beldon Crestview Art Museum. You can still find her award records on the official website! Link.]

Celia doesn’t think so: [Senior Holly Crowe isn’t like how you’re portraying her! She was the top-ranking student in the entire college when she got in. Lunar Lotus Studio sponsors underprivileged students in mountain areas every year; these are the sponsorship records. Photos.]

Holly Crowe’s college roommate also spoke up: [We lived in the same dormitory for four years; she’s so outstanding. As for Zion Pence? Haha, I’ll just say, who hasn’t loved a few bad guys when they were young?]

More and more people started speaking up for Holly Crowe, and netizens’ attitudes began to change.

Everyone was uncertain about whom to believe.

[With so many people vouching, is it really a misunderstanding? Is it deliberately spreading rumors?]

[I checked the Beldon Crestview Art Museum’s website, and they indeed have Holly Crowe’s work; it’s exquisite! Someone whose work is collected, their character probably isn’t bad.]

[Am I the only one curious about what Holly Crowe’s roommate said? Is there some hidden story between her and Zion Pence?]

But a few unknown accounts continued to lead the charge: [Even if Aiden Jenson isn’t involved, what about the other two? How do you explain Blake Sinclair and Zion Pence?]

[Maybe it’s just a publicity stunt to whitewash her—they’re just paid proxies, I don’t buy it.]

[I’m neutral, letting the dust settle for a bit.]

[Up above, your waiting period is over. Blake Sinclair has posted.]

Seeing this comment, Holly Crowe quickly looked up at Blake Sinclair.

He held a phone in one hand, and in the other were two bright red marriage certificates, the golden letters on the cover sparkling under the light...