After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 184: Jealousy Makes One Unrecognizable
Everyone present was stunned by the scene.
They all stared in confusion at Benny, who was making a show of leaving the venue.
No one had expected the situation to escalate to this point, now even involving one of the judges.
But this judge’s reaction was certainly a bit over the top.
His and Joel Jennings’s refusal to show Claire Mercer the evidence was truly strange and suspicious.
The crowd couldn’t understand his actions at all.
They began to suspect that this whole plagiarism incident with Claire Mercer might be a deliberate frame-up, a conspiracy between this judge and Joel Jennings.
"It’s just a piece of evidence. Why not just show it? Why is this judge getting so worked up? He’s not giving her any chance to prove her innocence."
"If you ask me, there’s something really fishy going on here. I bet this so-called evidence is something they fabricated."
"But like that Benny guy said, he’s already an established designer in the industry. Why would he frame and slander a rookie contestant?"
"Could it be that he’s afraid Claire Mercer will surpass him one day and threaten his position, so he’s trying to suppress her preemptively? To nip the future star of the design world in the bud?"
"That’s very possible. And for all we know, this judge might have taken a bribe from Joel Jennings. The two of them are ganging up on Claire Mercer."
"What is wrong with that Joel Jennings? Claire Mercer has never done anything to him, so why does he have such intense animosity towards her?"
"There’s a saying: jealousy makes people ugly. I think Joel Jennings is just jealous of Claire Mercer’s talent. He’s green with envy that she keeps getting high scores and outshining him at every turn, so he can’t take it. He’s bitter and wants to destroy her."
"I’ve seen some online threads digging into his past. The guy is apparently very scheming and arrogant, always trying to be number one but never having the actual skill to back it up."
"He’s just a petty, narrow-minded, and intensely jealous person."
"A person’s jealousy really can make them lose all reason."
"He’s so jealous he wants to destroy her. That Joel Jennings is truly a despicable, sore loser."
"..."
In an instant, the live audience began to question Joel Jennings and Benny.
The netizens watching the livestream also noticed that something was definitely off about the two of them.
Just moments before, everyone had been righteously condemning Claire Mercer for plagiarism.
Now, seeing that there might be more to the story, the voices denouncing Claire Mercer grew quieter.
Instead, the voices questioning Joel Jennings and Benny grew louder.
Netizen A: "You accuse her of plagiarism but don’t dare to show her the so-called evidence. I really don’t get what you’re trying to pull."
Netizen B: "What does that tell you? It means the evidence isn’t evidence at all. Joel Jennings is definitely slandering her."
Netizen C: "I can almost understand why Joel Jennings would slander Claire Mercer. After all, she’s been walking all over him."
"It makes sense that his jealousy would drive him to try and destroy her."
"The key question is, why would that judge, Benny, conspire with Joel Jennings to harm Claire Mercer?"
"As a big shot in the design world, to actually stoop to such a dirty trick... he’s ruining his own career."
"I just can’t seem to figure out his motive for doing all this."
Netizen D: "Some people are just dark-hearted. Even if you’ve never provoked them, they’ll find a reason not to like you. Especially those who think they’re high and mighty."
Netizen E: "This Benny guy is clearly getting desperate."
"He’s actually trying to use his status and position in the industry to force the organizers to take his side."
"Using this tactic of feigning retreat to force the plagiarism label onto Claire Mercer... it’s absolutely shameless."
Claire Mercer’s fans also jumped into the fray.
"This can’t just be swept under the rug. We demand the truth."
"The organizers must give us the truth. They must."
"Bullying a newcomer just because you have some status in the industry? Does he really think we, ’The Ceruleans,’ are pushovers?"
"If you don’t give us the truth about this, we won’t let it rest."
"’Ceruleans,’ we have to stick together and get justice for our girl!"
"..."
The air at the competition was thick with tension, and the conflict had caused the topic to explode on social media. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
In the VIP seating area, Silas Rowan checked the direction public opinion was flowing online and asked the ashen-faced Adrian Sutton beside him.
"Claire’s situation is trending. Did you arrange that?"
Adrian Sutton nodded. "Let the topic explode first. When the truth comes out, certain people will suffer a devastating fall."
"A senior in the design world, using his power to bully others, colluding with a contestant to slander Claire..."
"Heh, his career is over."
Silas Rowan said, "This Benny guy is absolutely shameless. But weren’t you the one who invited him to be a judge?"
"Him? Worthy of a personal invitation from me? Who the hell does he think he is?" Adrian Sutton’s hawk-like eyes swept back and forth between Benny and Joel Jennings.
His gaze was so cold and venomous it was as if he wanted to poison them right through their rotten hearts.
Silas Rowan asked, "The matter is trending now, and the buzz is at its peak."
"Should we drop the bombshell about Scarlett Jewel now?"
Adrian Sutton said, "Not yet."
"If we reveal the dirt on Scarlett Jewel now, people will probably say we’re just using her to take the heat off Claire."
"She didn’t plagiarize. She will clear her name of this false accusation and restore her innocence herself."
After saying this, he immediately took out his phone and made a call.
"That so-called file in Joel Jennings’s hands—make sure it’s made public."
’This is the key to proving Claire was slandered and framed.’
’As long as this so-called evidence is proven to be fake, the plagiarism accusation against Claire won’t stand.’
「On the competition stage.」
Claire Mercer watched as Benny stood up but didn’t actually leave. He was clearly waiting for the organizers to stop him.
’If the organizers stop him, it’ll prove they no longer care whether I plagiarized or not.’
’They wouldn’t let Benny leave just for the sake of a newcomer like me.’
Therefore, before the organizers could speak up to keep him, she had to make a preemptive move and call out to Benny herself.
"I’ll have to ask you to wait."
She dropped the honorific, not even bothering to say his name.
But everyone present knew who Claire Mercer was addressing.
Benny hadn’t expected this. The organizers hadn’t stopped him; instead, it was Claire Mercer who had called him out.
’What in the world are these organizers thinking?’
’I’m a big shot in the design world, and they’re just going to stand by and watch me walk out?’
’Shouldn’t they be trying to keep me here by putting a definitive end to this matter?’
’Why are they so indifferent to my threat to leave?’
Benny had no intention of responding to Claire Mercer.
But under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, if he simply walked away now, it would only give them more ammunition against him.
He suppressed his anger and turned around, glaring at Claire Mercer with a sinister expression.
"What else do you have to say for yourself?"
Claire Mercer said, "You’re the one who labeled me a plagiarist. You can’t leave until the truth of this matter is brought to light."
"I now demand that Joel Jennings publicly reveal this so-called evidence."
"If you don’t reveal the evidence, I will call the police, and I will sue you for defamation and ruining my reputation."
"I will not let this matter rest."
"I may be a newcomer, but I will not let you bully and slander me like this."
