Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

That netizen was scolding Samantha rather than praising her.

She was berated for contempt of the competition’s rules, for winning first place using the identity of Mrs. Barker, and for deliberately insulting her fellow contestants. Due to her allegedly bad character, she was asked to offer her apologies by withdrawing from the competition!

Samantha’s mind went completely blank.

She clicked on another private message and saw the same situation. All of them were cursing at her and their words became even harsher.

As strong as her heart was, it was still disheartening to read insulting messages from so many people. She chose to turn off the private messages and kept them out of her sight.

However, she still had to figure out why she was scolded all of a sudden.

She won the first round that day by relying on sheer ability and would never tolerate those unreasonable allegations.

After all, public image was of paramount importance for her future as an anchor. The public would never accept a news anchor who was problematic.

Samantha did not even need to search for her news on Waybo. The moment she clicked into the trending searches, her name was already third on the list and was still gaining traction.

She clicked into it and duly tried figuring out what was going on.

The situation basically centered around the first round’s results that Lychee TV’s official account released an hour ago. She was announced as first.

Many netizens did not think she was actually capable of getting first place in the first round, and so the heated discussions sprung from their doubts. As the discussions were in full swing, another official account uploaded a post.

According to the post, there has been some shady goings-on in the competition and Samantha’s first place result had been decided in advance. Her abilities were said to be slightly less compared to another contestant, but due to Samantha’s unusual relationship with a certain senior figure in Lychee TV as well as her strong backing, the deserving contestant lost the first place and could only get second.

Jade, who questioned the first place result that Samantha got, ended up deliberately and publicly humiliated by Samantha. She was forced to bark in front of everyone at the entrance to Lychee TV’s building.

There were also two videos on Waybo: one showed a certain senior figure—whose face was blurred with mosaic—going into the TV station’s cafe to look for Samantha. It showed Samantha going into the office with him and they spent some time in there before they came out again.

Another video showed Jade being forced to bark at the entrance to the building.

Immediately afterward, a so-called insider appeared and commented: [I was drinking coffee at the cafe in Lychee TV and I did see the senior figure coming up to Samantha. I don’t know what they said, but the two of them then went upstairs. The competition results came soon after and Samantha was in first place]

Another ‘insider’ commented: [I saw it too. They did it out in the open without bothering to avoid suspicion, as if they were afraid that no one would know about her strong background.]

Public opinion changed direction, shifting from discussions about Samantha’s ability to her overbearing heavy-handedness as well as other topics relating to the unethical behavior.

Netizens were filled with indignation.

One of them commented: [I truly despise the kind of people who use power for personal gain. I used to sympathize with Samantha for having parents like that, but it seems apples never fall far from the tree. They’re all the same. Don’t let her become a news anchor or else she’ll be a bad role model!]

The second one said: [Am I the only one who sympathizes with the contestant who had the ability but was forcibly relegated to second place? Her name is Harmony Johnson if I’m not mistaken. At the time when the official announcement was made, I thought she was the most beautiful contestant. She doesn’t have that strong a backer, right? It’s such a pity.]

A third commented: [Man I’m just upset, you know. Tell me, what use is there for us ordinary people to put in so much effort to study or learn? If an ordinary person participates in a competition that’s open to all and has to put up with that kind of shady business, it just goes to show that we ordinary people will never be able to compare to those powerful people.]

The fourth comment was: [Rich people like Samantha can just rely on her husband without having to worry about food and clothing for as long as she lived. Why does she have to compete with ordinary people to make a living? It’s just shameless. I firmly disagree with such people appearing in public. I want her to withdraw!]

The more Samantha read, the tighter her frown became.

It turned out to be the worst out of all possible scenarios…

Once her integrity was viewed to be problematic, people might not acknowledge it even if she had already cleared her name. That would all but ensure that she would never become a news anchor in the future.

Public boycott was truly terrifying.

She would never be able to realize her dream anymore.

Samantha’s fingers paled slightly as she held the phone.

She could figure out who did it without having to rack her brains. It was a very ruthless move by Jade because that one act alone was enough to destroy Samantha.

Although Samantha could clear the air about the barking and release the entire competition sequence to clarify the results, the trickiest problem was dealing with the video of her and the general manager.

After all, there was no denying that the general manager looked for her and they went to his office together. Although the general manager only expressed his admiration of her and said some words of encouragement, there was no other person at the scene. Even if she came forward to explain or pleaded with the general manager to explain, it might still be difficult for everyone to believe her.

She had no way to prove her innocence if there was even the slightest unconvincing element.

Perhaps Lychee TV would pressure her to withdraw.

Samantha bit her lower lip as her mind scrambled to think of a solution. Her character was not one to give up, even when there was only a tiny glimmer of hope.

All of a sudden, a pair of long arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her entire body into a familiar embrace. Startled, she turned around and saw Timothy’s handsome face.

“When did you come back?” Samantha’s voice was slightly hoarse.

“Two minutes ago. I already walked into the room but you didn’t see me because you were so engrossed.”

The man rested his chin on Samantha’s shoulder while staring into the phone screen. He opened his lips slightly and said, “Stop looking at all that.”

As he said that, he took the phone from her hand and threw it aside, saying lazily, “Isn’t it better to look at me rather than all that stuff?”

After a pause of about half a second, he added, “At least I’m more pleasing to the eyes.”

Samantha had to admit that her bad mood had lifted slightly after being amused by his ‘confidence’. She turned around in his embrace, hugged him back, and rubbed her head against his chest a few times as if trying to comfort herself. She did not need to disguise it in front of him, and she muttered, “I really got first-place fair and square.”

Timothy’s big palm stroked her back gently and his voice was very soft. “That’s for sure.”

Samantha could not help but look up. Her black pupils stared at him and she asked, “But you didn’t watch the competition, Timothy. Are you so sure that there isn’t anything shady going on?

“What if I really used my status as Mrs. Barker to get leverage?”

A smirk appeared on Timothy’s lips as if he had just heard a joke. “If you really want to be unethical, you’d come to me. That ‘senior figure’ won’t get a chance at all.”

Timothy’s long fingers lifted her delicate chin and his black eyes narrowed slightly.. “Am I right?”