Chapter 498: What a Pitiful White Lotus
Mona Summers’ urgent voice reached Cecilia Vaughn’s ears, abruptly waking her from her painting.
"Cecilia, I don’t know what’s happening, but the news about you, Director Chapman, and the male lead going to Splendid Pavilion for dinner has been leaked! It’s all over the internet now, with many of Fiona Vaughn’s fans stirring the pot!"
Cecilia Vaughn was taken aback, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, a deep crease forming between them.
"Mona, calm down for a moment. Isn’t Splendid Pavilion owned by Adrian? How could someone have leaked our dining there? It was just Jude Grant’s spontaneous invitation for us to have a casual meal."
"By the way, could it be Fiona Vaughn found out I am the screenwriter and original author of ’There are branches on the mountain’ and is now preparing to tear me down?"
As soon as Cecilia finished speaking, Mona’s anxious voice rang out again.
"It’s not what you’re thinking, but Fiona Vaughn is definitely behind this. It’s hard to explain, go check Twitter now, I think your identity hasn’t been exposed yet, but you and Claire have been trashed to pieces..."
"What do you mean?"
"Go check Twitter quickly! I’ll text you!"
"Alright..."
Isn’t Fiona Vaughn the one who discovered her identity?
So what reason did Fiona Vaughn have to tear her down?
Cecilia Vaughn furrowed her brows deeper and deeper, taking a deep breath, she immediately put down the drawing board not far away, picked up her phone, and opened the Twitter app.
The trending topics were filled with backlash against her and Claire Sinclair, and occasionally, there were hints against Director Chapman.
— Has the true face of ’There are branches on the mountain’s female lead finally revealed itself? Is it someone who climbed the ranks by selling their looks?
— Digging into the shady deals behind the screenwriter and Director Chapman’s new movie.
— Shock, the female lead of ’There are branches on the mountain’ is not the nation’s first love? Fiona Vaughn gets replaced, and karma strikes the role thief!
...
Cecilia Vaughn clicked on those articles, all of them crying about how pitiful Fiona Vaughn was, when just a while ago rumors had spread on Twitter about Fiona Vaughn becoming the female lead of ’There are branches on the mountain’, only now to be shafted by a newly debuted newcomer.
The writer of the article clearly understood the art of rhetoric well, emphasizing on Fiona Vaughn’s credentials and past works, placing several captivating stills of Fiona Vaughn, while juxtaposing them with photos of Claire Sinclair aimlessly wandering the streets.
In the article, Claire Sinclair, a virtually unknown celebrity, rose up presumably through some unknown means, snatching Fiona Vaughn’s originally intended female lead role, and there are images as proof, first showing Claire Sinclair along with Director Chapman, male lead Kane Hale, and others entering Splendid Pavilion.
Sharp-eyed people pointed out the entourage included renowned producers and screenwriters, solidifying Claire Sinclair’s position as the female lead.
The second photo insinuated Claire Sinclair’s chaotic private life, showing her visiting Stellerton’s famous nightclub Blue Abyss Rose the same day after leaving Splendid Pavilion, stepping out disheveled and worn out, as if her soul had been drained.
Gossip reporters used these photos to confirm Claire Sinclair stole Fiona Vaughn’s role, with outrage flaring about Claire Sinclair’s indecent lifestyle, declaring she must have relied on some big shot to secure her success, and her hangouts were intriguing.
...
In the gossip thread’s finale, someone tagged a man resting his hand on Claire Sinclair’s shoulder, who was actually Jude Grant, but due to the poor quality of the photo, only his gender could be vaguely discerned.
Combined with Cecilia Vaughn selecting male as her gender on Twitter for ’There are branches on the mountain’, many people implied that man was the other screenwriter, and original author, Cecilia Vaughn.
...
Such ridiculous speculation left Cecilia Vaughn baffled.
Just because she chose male for her Twitter gender, Jude Grant was mistaken for her, making her Claire Sinclair’s benefactor?
Emmmm
This logic...
Truly speechless.
However, in the promotional articles, there seemed to be detailed descriptions, since Cecilia Vaughn didn’t restrict comments from outsiders, within half an hour, her Twitter certified as the screenwriter was overrun.
— Pfft, shameless! Heard you have background connections, so you sponsored that Canary to snatch our Fiona Vaughn goddess’s role?
— I bet the original author of ’There are branches on the mountain’ is one of your hired guns, right? Using this name just to boost your mistress?
— No wonder goddess Fiona personally followed you but you refused to return the favor. I once thought you were arrogant as hell, daring to snub our goddess, turned out you were just a man coddling a shameless mistress!
— Look at that new movie female lead, totally a vixen! Visiting Blue Abyss Rose, you aren’t afraid of catching AIDS, sugar daddy?
— Stealing roles, lightning strikes! Trash screenwriter, come out and take a beating!
...
Vulgar words emerged non-stop, everyone’s final judgment seemingly turned into the belief that ’There are branches on the mountain’s manga author is someone else, and Cecilia Vaughn is a man, sponsoring someone to draw the manga, spending heavily to hire Director Chapman to direct the film.
Seeing those comments raging for Fiona Vaughn, Cecilia Vaughn was amused and thus clicked into Fiona Vaughn’s personal Twitter.
Finding that Fiona Vaughn maintained the same pretentious appearance, as if these uproars weren’t orchestrated by her, she posted an ambiguous motivational quote on Twitter.
— Anything in this world, if it’s yours, it can’t be taken, if taken, it wasn’t yours. Failing to obtain is fate, but I refuse to accept fate, I’ll continue striving, three years in the industry, grateful to my dearest supporters.
This statement didn’t mention ’There are branches on the mountain’, but between the lines, it portrayed an image of grievance and unyielding determination.
A swarm of bystanders were drawn into the narrative, leaving comforting comments under Fiona Vaughn’s Twitter.
— Fiona Vaughn goddess, go for it, you are the best! Those shameless and pointless women can’t compare!
— Exactly, I’m off to uncover the screenwriter and Canary’s true identities now.
...
The one aiming to uncover true information was a fervent fan of Fiona Vaughn, which amused Cecilia Vaughn, everyone had decided she was a man?
As she waited and waited, her identity remained undiscovered, but Claire Sinclair’s true information was fully exposed at dawn...