Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Public Opinion Storm

Jessie Sterling rubbed her eyes. “What happened?”

Her tone was completely unhurried; after all, it probably had nothing to do with her.

But then, Lynn Jennings grabbed her arm. “You’re trending.”

Jessie Sterling thought she was hallucinating. But the next moment, when Lynn Jennings placed a laptop in front of her, Jessie’s previously foggy mind snapped into focus.

To say she was trending wasn’t entirely accurate. It would be more correct to say she was caught in the crossfire.

Many people attended the show. Besides VICs (Very Important Customers) like Jessie Sterling and Lynn Jennings, whose annual spending propped up the brand’s sales and always secured them the best seats, there were also industry designers and celebrities—people who played a role in the brand’s publicity and promotion. The last group was a small number of top-tier internet influencers.

These people weren’t as influential as celebrities. At most, they might be brand VIPs, but they all considered it an honor to attend such a high-end show. While attending, many of them would also livestream, post photos, and farm for traffic.

Now, Jessie Sterling was trending against her will, all because a certain Chinese influencer with millions of followers had posted a set of photos featuring celebrities, and Jessie had been accidentally included.

In the photo, the camera was clearly aimed at a celebrity in the distance. She was just a tiny figure in the corner, an accidental photobomber.

Jessie Sterling almost immediately recalled the annoying camera flashes she had noticed at the show yesterday.

Lynn Jennings, holding a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, pulled Jessie over to the living room sofa. “The influencer originally posted that photo to drive traffic,” she explained. “But things spiraled in the comments, and the fans of the two celebrities in the picture started fighting. Their feud got them trending, which led to a backlash from the general public. Then, someone spotted you, and you got dragged into the whole mess.”

Lynn Jennings had only just gotten the tea around noon. She’d been up bright and early, but she only found out how big the mess had gotten when someone sent her the trending topic.

Jessie Sterling was still in her pajamas, her hair casually held up with a claw clip. She stared at the photo for a long time.

Seeing her friend remain silent for so long, Lynn Jennings assumed she was upset and tried to comfort her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Just have your second brother make a call, and your photo will be gone from the internet in no time…”

“What is the meaning of this?” Jessie Sterling suddenly spoke, cutting Lynn Jennings off as if she hadn’t heard a word of her comforting.

Lynn Jennings hadn’t yet processed what Jessie Sterling meant by “What is the meaning of this?” before she heard what Jessie said next.

“Why the hell am I not in the center?!”

Lynn Jennings: “???”

She turned her head, looking at her friend in bewilderment.

Seeing the other girl still looking righteously indignant, Lynn Jennings couldn’t help but reach out and touch her forehead.

’Is she okay?’

Jessie Sterling was indeed fuming. Looking at the tiny little corner she occupied in the photo, she was so angry she almost had to laugh.

Jessie Sterling said seriously, “Delete it.”

Lynn Jennings tried to hold it in for a moment, but ultimately couldn’t resist. With a PFFT, she burst out laughing.

The young heiress wasn’t upset about what people were saying online. She was angry because she wasn’t in the center of the photo and was relegated to a tiny corner. It sounded a bit absurd, but when it came to Jessie Sterling, it somehow felt completely normal.

Lynn Jennings now understood why Jessie’s second brother doted on her so unconditionally. She couldn’t help it; she also found Jessie fatally cute, even when she was glaring fiercely at the photo on the laptop.

“So you’re not angry about what those people online are saying?” Lynn Jennings asked.

Jessie Sterling paused, then turned her head. “People are cursing me out online, too?!”

Her tone was one of utter shock.

“I didn’t do anything,” Jessie Sterling said, aggrieved.

Lynn Jennings: “…”

’It’s probably for the best,’ she thought. ’If the heiress didn’t see it, then she didn’t see it. No need to get worked up over the nonsense from these online trolls.’

Lynn Jennings was just about to take the laptop back when Jessie Sterling reached out and grabbed it.

“I want to see,” Jessie Sterling said sullenly.

Lynn Jennings didn’t let go. “I’ll have someone delete those comments. What’s the point of you looking at them?”

“No.” Jessie Sterling didn’t let go either, her gaze stubborn.

Lynn Jennings couldn’t win against her and finally had to let go.

The ones fighting over the photo were actually two starlets: one a popular Chinese actress and the other a member of a South Korean girl group.

As it happened, the popular Chinese celebrity was none other than Cheryl Stuart.

“Can K-pop stans have some self-awareness? Your fav sounds like a dying ghost when she sings live, and you still have the nerve to brag about her ’talent’?”

“And Cheryl Stuart’s fans have the audacity to compare looks with our baby? At least our baby’s face made it into the ’Top 100 Most Beautiful Faces in the World,’ right?”

“Ha! A phony ranking? Only you K-pop stans would actually take that thing seriously. It’s just something for your little echo chamber to enjoy, and you think it’s some authoritative list? When they’re in the same shot, it’s obvious who the ugly one is, isn’t it? Everyone knows your idol only looks halfway decent because of makeup and lighting. Sitting next to our Cheryl, anyone with eyes can see your fav is getting totally owned, okay?”

At first, it was just the two fanbases having a flame war. But then, some random netizen who couldn’t stand it anymore quietly posted on the public feed.

[TangerinesAreTheOnlyFruit: Just a bystander here, but the young lady in the bottom right of the photo is prettier than both of the celebrities this topic is about.]

A catfight between a popular Chinese starlet and an active K-pop idol—the traffic on that topic feed was on another level compared to your average social issue.

After this netizen posted their message, people quickly started to agree in the replies.

“I saw that girl too. It’s just her side profile, but damn, her bone structure is absolutely insane.”

“I don’t know what there is to argue about between a plastic surgery face and a rich second-gen with terrible acting who’s just in it for the money. I’d rather look at the girl at the bottom of the photo too.”

“Not a fan of either of them, so I’m team mystery girl. She’s stunning at first glance. So pretty, but I don’t recognize her at all. I’ve never seen her before, and I don’t think she was in any of the red carpet photos?”

Bystanders were speaking up for an unknown “bystander.” Some netizens’ comments were quite harsh—perhaps intentionally, perhaps not—praising Jessie Sterling while simultaneously putting down the main subjects of the topic. Of course, this was bound to cause a tsunami.

“Probably some D-list influencer from god-knows-where. Isn’t it normal for her to be a nobody?”

“She’s sitting way off to the side and she’s not a celebrity, just some random person, right? What, so now randoms can compete with our Cheryl on looks? LMAO. There’s a huge gap between a civilian and a star, hope everyone understands that.”

“I don’t see any ’class’ from her. If she really had it, she would’ve debuted long ago, or she would’ve blown up after debuting. Right now, if you search for her online, it’s ’person not found,’ right? Stop trying to leech clout.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep