The Trending Topic Herself: The Villainess is the Superstar!-Chapter 55: Bizarre Scandal

When Maya Monroe’s scandal broke out, things took an unexpected turn. Her "down-to-earth" nature and "quirky style" unexpectedly amused netizens. The incident of her reading the script on the spot even led many fans to label her as a "genius."

Ryan Spencer employed public relations tactics, resulting in many more trending searches praising Maya’s acting and beauty. Her fanbase surged once again.

Just as one wave subsided, another arose, and soon rumors surfaced about Maya Monroe and Joel Quinn.

Joel Quinn holds a special position as the CEO of Valerius Entertainment, a leading entertainment company. Joel has always been a free spirit, his romantic tales are countless, and within the circle, there’s an unspoken secret that Joel’s rumored girlfriends often experience a quick rise in fame or recognition.

Joel openly acknowledges all kinds of reports with not a hint of hesitation, allowing others to freely judge. However, he has a high standard, preferring those who are beautiful and talented. It’s said that his girlfriend was one of the winners of the previous Hua Zhong Awards, and many in the circle want to connect with him.

[Entertainment Gossip Live v: #Breaking# Maya Monroe and Joel Quinn seen laughing and being cozy, suspected romance exposed #DidMayaMakeTheTrendingListToday# #JoelQuinn# (Image) (Image)]

[JustAFewThousandWords: Why is it always Maya Monroe trending lately? I see her all the time! Even my 80-year-old grandma surfing the internet knows her name!]

[CuriousOnlooker: Is this true? Given Maya’s looks, dating Joel Quinn wouldn’t be surprising. If true, she’d be the 11th girlfriend of Joel exposed by the media? (Intrigued) (Intrigued)]

[HeartThuds: Today’s journalists have no boundaries; this is clearly shot from strategic angles, right? The two might just be casually chatting, and then some editor P’s the image to suggest they’re secretly dating!]

[LittleFlyingBug: Is Maya reverting to her old ways? It’s been a while since her last rumor; I thought she’d never tie herself to others again, and just when I started liking her, this happens?]

[CrazyBeanie: Doesn’t the internet have any memory? Hasn’t Maya done enough bad things? Don’t be easily swayed by her past image cleanse. Do people really think being pretty lets her do whatever she wants?]

[Maya: Let’s wait for the individuals to respond. Even though Joel Quinn’s rumors, once emerged, are almost as if confirmed, I’ve noticed a significant change in Maya. She’s definitely not into deliberately tying herself to rumors anymore.]

...

As the rumors continued to ferment and with some intention behind the narrative, many started to believe Maya Monroe has been taking advantage of powerful backers for years to act so boldly.

Ryan Spencer had just finished handling the response strategies with his team, rubbing his temples. He initially thought the scandal on set would settle things down, but then Maya’s rumors came one after another.

Sponsors are quite common in the circle, but it’s never a topic to be openly discussed, as the term "sponsor" often brings to mind other darker and dirtier associations.

Just as Maya’s image was starting to recover, such rumors suddenly emerging were very detrimental.

Paparazzi are constantly spying around Joel Quinn, almost more intensely than they do with current stars. However, Ryan Spencer still felt the events were developing unnaturally, guessing a rival had a hand in stirring the pot.

As for who this rival might be, Ryan chuckled bitterly, ruffling his hair, for Maya had truly offended too many people...

*

Things were similarly chaotic on Joel Quinn’s end. All the secretaries in the office could sense the cold demeanor emanating from Joel, and the usual smile on his face had vanished completely.

Besides coldness, there seemed to be a trace of... fear on his face.

When Joel opened his Weibo page, sure enough, there was his trending status. Normally, he wouldn’t care about it, even relishing the spotlight, since being seen with beautiful women was always an enjoyable event.

But this time... the rumored person was Maya Monroe!

A scandal with Maya could just be a spice to dull life, but the real problem was that Ian Rowe had just sent him two messages.

One was a screenshot of the trending topic.

The other was just two cold, hard words: Explain.

Even without a punctuation mark, Joel stared at it for a full two minutes.

In Ian’s eyes, he was now a cheating man, some dog trying to steal his wife.

Ian, listen to my explanation...

Just moments after sending these words, Joel quickly retracted them. The reason is none other than knowing Ian’s cold and no-nonsense personality; he might well block him right away.

Unexpectedly, Ian replied almost instantly.

Go on.

With an added period, Joel felt even more nervous. He’s never been afraid of anyone in his life, not even the old man wielding a belt, but Ian is absolutely someone to be wary of. He might look calm on the outside, but he’s rehearsed underhanded schemes countless times, a capitalist who doesn’t even spit out bones after eating someone.

Explain? How to explain? How to make it believable?

If Ian even believed this flimsy rumor, how could Joel explain?

Joel now realized Ian was really being jealous.

But since when did Ian care so much about Maya...?

Unable to come up with an explanation to soothe Ian, a frustrated Joel swept the papers off his desk to the ground out of anger, which still didn’t relieve his anxiety, prompting him to harshly kick the desk once more.

"Damn it, they really dare write anything!?"

The standing secretary was startled; it was the first time seeing Joel so irritable. Usually, Joel would maintain the demeanor of a charming man and his amiable attitude unbeknownst to many girls he’d charmed.

Joel cursed under his breath again.

He waved a hand to dismiss the secretary, his fox-like eyes filled with irritation.

The secretary tiptoed over carefully, afraid of stepping on any papers, moving somewhat comically.

"Have you seen my trending status?"

"Mr. Quinn, who angered you so much?" The secretary had indeed seen the trending topic, which puzzled him, as usually when such trending headlines appeared, Joel would usually enjoy the spotlight like a peacock. However, looking at his expression now... it seemed even darker.

Joel frowned, and his voice carried a restless tone: "The trending topic with Maya Monroe, get someone to take it down immediately! The sooner the better. Go, hurry, hurry, hurry!!"

The secretary quickly scurried out in panic.

Another secretary, who had been with Joel for a few years, began picking up and organizing the papers on the desk, asking, "Mr. Quinn, usually you’re fine with these rumors, why do you want this trending topic with Maya taken down?"

Joel slumped his body into the office chair, muttering, "Can’t afford it..."

Yet no one knew the meaning behind those words.