The Trending Topic Herself: The Villainess is the Superstar!-Chapter 58: Joel Quinn’s Clarification

Lately, a hot search suddenly emerged, claiming that I arranged for it to be removed. Although I usually love being in the spotlight, I would rather give up the chance to be on trending topics to firmly distance myself from Maya Monroe. This indicates just how disliked Maya is. Afterward, people naturally started talking about various previous scandals of hers... 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Joel Quinn couldn’t help but laugh, throwing files everywhere on the spot.

Although Joel Quinn isn’t an entertainer, he’s quite familiar with the darker sides of the entertainment industry. He immediately recognized that someone was using his name to target Maya Monroe.

It’s one thing to target Maya, but why drag me into it? Joel’s mind worked intricately. He clearly saw that Ian Rowe had a special interest in Maya. The person Ian is protecting, yet I supposedly despise—news like this would certainly cause a bloody storm if it reached Ian’s ears.

When the time comes, Ian definitely won’t make direct threats or anything like that. He’d act subtly. Joel knows how adept he is, but compared to himself, Ian is more like an old fox.

Joel irritably ran his hand through his hair. He discovered this issue early, and there were ways to resolve it quickly. Since Ian hadn’t sent any messages about it, it meant the matter could still be resolved perfectly.

Understanding all this, Joel finally breathed a sigh of relief.

*

The hot search about Joel Quinn distancing himself from Maya Monroe attracted widespread ridicule from netizens towards Maya.

But the related hot search quickly disappeared without a trace. Meanwhile, a post from Joel exploded like a thunderbolt.

[Joel Quinn v: Afternoon coffee always feels especially pleasant, best enjoyed with friends. Come join me anytime, @MayaLovesFood. You didn’t like coffee as a kid, do you still feel the same? (Chin on hand)]

This short message revealed a few things: first, that Joel and Maya are friends; second, the two have known each other since childhood.

No matter which angle you consider, it proves that the previous rumors of Joel disliking Maya were completely unfounded.

It’s worth mentioning that Joel’s posts usually featured luxury cars or watches, almost always expensive luxury items, rarely showing his daily life. While Joel was known to be playful and openly recognized his past girlfriends, such relationship news only ever appeared in media and in the dynamics of the women involved.

Now Joel suddenly posting something implying his close relationship with Maya made many speculate about his real intentions.

[NiuNiu: Maya has had so many hot searches lately, it’s making my head spin. I’ve eaten so much of her drama that I’m stuffed (rubbing eyes)]

[XuXu: Is this Joel’s clarification? Clarifying that his relationship with Maya is actually good? And that they’ve known each other since they were kids. The familiarity in Joel’s tone suggests they might even be childhood friends? Although this guess even surprised me, combining it with Maya’s past flamboyant actions and previous analyses by big accounts, it’s very likely that Maya is a wealthy heiress!]

[Maya: As long as it’s clarified, I’m good. I always felt that the current Maya doesn’t seem like someone who would intentionally stir up scandals. But my sister is calm enough; she hasn’t rushed to explain for so long. By the way, an hour ago, Maya seemed to post a photo, looks like a dessert shop, haha definitely a foodie!]

...

*

Ryan Spencer was caught off guard by what’s happening right now. After Maya blew up for a while because of "Wandering Beyond the Horizon," suddenly all sorts of rumors came crashing down on her. This sort of thing isn’t uncommon. He first arranged for people to control public opinion and had already discussed strategies with his team. But before he could take action, he saw that Joel had already quickly resolved everything like a fire needing to be put out immediately.

Ryan was curious about Maya and Joel’s relationship, but he didn’t intend to ask Maya about it, because he could almost predict Maya’s reaction: indifferent and unconcerned. She probably wouldn’t even pay attention to her own trending topics.

The fact that the issue was resolved so quickly was ultimately a good thing. It even boosted Maya’s popularity somewhat, turning misfortune into fortune.

Madeline Underwood felt blindsided. She never imagined that her carefully devised schemes would end up wasted, and that the one who thwarted her plans was Joel.

From the moment she saw Joel’s post, she felt a bit uneasy, as if something bad was still going to happen.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she quickly received news from her manager saying that her resources had been drastically cut, with several signed endorsements facing termination.

Madeline wasn’t after termination fees; with resources suddenly drying up, how would she maintain her popularity? The entertainment industry’s hierarchy changes too quickly—she feared being forgotten if absent for even a moment.

Unable to sit still, Madeline first approached Jacob Miller, but he said it’s an order from above, and there’s nothing he could do, though he repeatedly assured her he’d find her better opportunities.

Not being able to recover her previous resources, and now dreaming of finding better ones? Of course, Madeline wouldn’t believe his empty promises. But given her current precarious situation, she didn’t dare vent her anger at Jacob, she just coldly replied a few perfunctory words and left his office.

Madeline found her manager to inquire about the company’s decisions—why were they suddenly targeting her?

The only response she received was four words: Mind your own business.

Madeline realized she’d offended someone, leading to such consequences.

But who could it be? Apart from wanting to bring down Maya, she hadn’t really had any run-ins with anyone else.

A thought hovered in her mind—it couldn’t be... related to Maya, could it?

*

Maya woke up groggily in the morning to a call from the elderly Yolanda Sawyer.

"Hello." She wasn’t fully awake yet and didn’t feel like talking.

"Maya, you haven’t woken up yet? Your voice still sounds sleepy." Yolanda called her warmly, "But sleeping too much isn’t good for your health either. Get up and exercise, running in the morning is good for your health."

"Mmm..." Maya answered vaguely, her eyelids heavy.

"I’ve noticed Ian seems a bit upset recently; it’s probably work-related stress. Since you’re at home now, why not visit him at the office? Bring him some breakfast or something. No matter how good the outside food is, it can’t beat homemade. I think he’ll be happy to see you. You two as a couple should interact more—don’t let him be busy at work while you’re filming with hardly any time together. Seeing you two getting along well is what puts my mind at ease..."