Chapter 837 "What happened?" Sylvia shifted her gaze to Brock, who looked visibly upset. His tone betrayed his anger.
"Did we get stalked by paparazzi or did someone leak information from our set?" Sylvia raised an eyebrow. "It's our wrap party today. Who would dare ruin the mood?" Poppy rushed over in a panic, holding up her phone. "Something bad is happening! Someone's spreading rumors!" "What kind of rumors?" Sylvia took Poppy's phone and scanned through it quickly. "Oh no, we're trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons." Alist of headlines appeared on the screen.
"Poppy caught sneaking into Eden's room in a bathrobe" "Poppy and Eden's romance exposed." "Fans donated $50k for Poppy but only got 10 packs of instant noodles at wrap party?" "Poppy, give us back our money!" Every single one had the potential to damage Poppy's reputation and career.
Especially those last two headlines - fan support was crucial in this industry, and Poppy had a global fan base.
But she never expected that her fans would mishandle their finances like this.
It might seem like a small issue, but if left unaddressed, it could snowball into something much worse for her career.
As expected, Sylvia didn't pay attention to the first two headlines; she was more concerned about the last two.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtShe clicked on the final headline where fans were going crazy under Poppy's tweet with angry comments.
"We supported you because we wanted you to have an amazing wrap party." "But instead your official fan club swallowed up all our donations! Was that your idea?" "You really needed those fifty grand so badly? And what did you buy? Ten packs of instant noodles? | donated $666! But you spent fifty grand on ten packs of instant noodles?" "The explanation given by your official fan club is laughable - they claim they bought local produce just to show support?" "I'm quitting your fandom right now! I'm leaving every group chat too! You've disappointed me beyond words!" "I can't take it anymore! You're the daughter of the Maskelyne family, Mr. Maskelyne gives you more than just $50, 000 in allowance, right? We saved up this money by living frugally because we like and support you. That's why we did this." "I'm really leaving now, Poppy. | wanted to support your new movie and even thought about renting out a whole theater for it! I'm also a poor student!” "I'm so angry that | could cry! Unfollowed!" "You're trampling on our hearts like this." A flood of negative reviews.
There were also some rational fans trying to persuade these people. "Poppy may not know about this yet, let's wait and see first.” "Let's investigate what happened first." "Yeah! If Poppy didn't know, then we blamed her wrongly?" But these voices were quickly drowned out.
Sylvia looked at it for a while before handing her phone over to Poppy. "The public relations department of the Maskelyne Group will handle this matter; you don't have to worry about it. However, you do need to manage your fan base better since $50, 000 is not a small amount for them and many are still students.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Also... are you dating Eden? Did you really wear a bathrobe and go into his room?" "I... I didn't wear a bathrobe; | was wearing normal clothes when | went there after filming ended. | heard he was sick," she said helplessly.
"Oh? You care about him quite a bit." Sylvia smiled mischievously as she poked the arm of the man next to her. "Love knows no bounds!" Franklin's eyes curved into crescents as he said. "If you like each other, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Poppy quickly glanced at Eden who happened to be talking with Logan nearby; they seemed engrossed in their conversation without noticing them.
She breathed out quietly with relief since she would have been embarrassed if he had looked over here at that moment.
"Big brother, sister-in-law, please don't make fun of me," she said bashfully.
"But... based on the filming angle in the video clip that was released by paparazzi on social media platforms, it doesn't appear to have been captured with professional equipment, such as cameras, because there's too much shaking and the pixelation isn't clear enough." Sylvia glanced at the trending video, which showed alleged evidence of Poppy going in and out of Eden's room.
Eden and Poppy were once again collaborating, this time as a couple. Some fans of their relationship were thrilled in the comments section, exclaiming things like, "Oh my gosh! Is my ship finally sailing?" Others were skeptical, stating, "It would be nice if they were actually dating," or "Let's wait for an official response.” Some of Eden's fans also jokingly shouted things like, "No! Don't date anyone else!" or "You're mine!" Poppy blushed as she read through the comments with Eden and his brother Logan by her side. They both looked stunning in their white suits; Eden especially so with his rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes.
"See the trending page?" Eden asked Poppy.
She nodded nervously. "Yeah... I'll make sure to clarify everything. The bathrobe in that video was definitely photoshopped.” "It doesn't matter," he said firmly, looking straight into her eyes. "It doesn't matter at all.” Poppy was confused by his sudden intensity until a group of hotel staff rolled up with a cart carrying a two-tiered cake decorated with roses made out of cream and chocolate.
As soon as they opened it up, rose petals rained down from above while intoxicating floral scents filled the air.
Eden then handed Poppy another bouquet of roses before confessing, "I actually fell for you during our Top Idol's Trash Picking Up shoot, but I never had the courage to tell you until now... especially since this opportunity has been given to me so easily by those paparazzi." Poppy couldn't believe what she was hearing from someone who had millions of adoring fans - that he liked her? "Aren't you afraid your fans will turn against you?" she asked hesitantly.
Eden shrugged nonchalantly before replying, "If | don't confess now, when will | have such a good opportunity?" "What's the big deal? You two can have a secret romance," Audrina said, hiding her jealousy and smiling.
Eden took Poppy's hand and asked, "Do you like me?" He asked with deep affection and sincerity, his eyes full of anticipation and hope.
Poppy blushed, "I... | do. It's just..." "There are no ‘justs.' Don't worry. Since I've decided to be with you, I'll bravely face any rumors or gossip. From the moment | realized | liked you, | never thought about hiding it or playing a secret romance for fame. If we date for fame and fortune, we lose the meaning of love. | don't want you to suffer because of me." The man spoke firmly.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe raised Poppy's hand and held it in front of the cake before taking a picture with his phone and uploading it directly to Twitter.
"Official announcement. My Poppy." He even tagged Poppy on Twitter.
When Poppy heard her phone beep, she opened it up only to feel dizzy from what she saw.
Her mind went blank from this sudden official announcement; it felt like being struck by an unexpected bomb that shattered her into pieces — not just her, but also the entire entertainment industry.
This top-tier celebrity relationship announcement on Twitter left the industry in ruins, causing their servers to crash once again.
Tech teams worked overtime to expand the servers while fans, who had previously speculated, were now completely dumbfounded by this official statement that overwhelmed them.
Eden's fans started posting videos on Twitter crying out loud. "Why is he dating someone when he has been single since high school? Why did he choose someone older than him?" Some other fan posted another video saying. "My roommate is yelling at her computer screen, asking why Eden chose Poppy?" Many fans began frantically tagging Eden on Twitter while others cried uncontrollably or unfollowed him altogether.
"You didn't consider your fans' feelings." "You're supposed to be a top celebrity! How dare you date someone!" "I've loved you for so many years! How could you do this to me?" Poppy opened her mouth but took some time before finally recovering enough composure as she looked at Eden's handsome face which almost looked unreal, "Aren't you afraid your fans will turn against us? You might lose followers..." Especially when our new movie is about to come out soon...
"If your fans don't come see our movie..." Poppy began worrying about box office numbers...
"Instead of hiding, it's better to show your true self. | believe that if we've decided to be together, then we should be honest and announce it ourselves,” Eden spoke sincerely without any hint of performance.
"And as for my movies, | hope they're successful because of the script or my acting skills, not just because of my fans supporting me blindly. That wouldn't mean anything."