RedNovelChapter 223 Clearing the Air Among all the praise, there were always a few troublemakers stirring up .
"So many compliments? Bet it's just paid bots hired to clear her name." "With Benson as her boyfriend, of course, cleaning up her image would be easy." "Honestly? She's nothing special." Madison frowned, muttering under her breath, "Why do people feel the need to comment when they don't know anything? So annoying." She looked up, a bit worried, and took the phone back, trying to reassure Sierra. "Don't let the online trolls get to you. They just like to talk nonsense-ignore them." Sierra quickly masked the flicker of disappointment in her eyes, offering a small smile. "I'm fine." Just then, something unexpected happened-Marisol Cup's official account suddenly deleted the video.
Madison frowned. "Huh?" She refreshed the page multiple times. "What's going on? Why did they take it down?" The skeptics online immediately jumped on it, twisting the situation into something far worse. To them, the deletion was proof that Sierra had connections pulling strings behind the scenes.
Within minutes, the comment section exploded with even harsher criticism.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"So much for a 'piano prodigy.' What a joke." "Even the organizers must be embarrassed. They posted it and then deleted it- clearly trying to distance themselves." "I knew it. No one quits piano for years and suddenly qualifies for a top-tier competition unless they cheated." "Having a rich boyfriend really is a cheat code. Guess you can buy your way into anything." "Boycott Sierra! She should withdraw!" One after another, the comments flooded in "Withdraw! Withdraw!" "What... What is wrong with these people? Are they deaf or just dumb?" Madison huffed, jumping to her feet, phone in hand, ready for battle.
"Cee, don't worry," she said, determination flashing in her eyes. "Watchshut them down for you." However, Sierra remained seated, her fingers absentmindedly fidgeting with her sleeve. She wasn't rushing to respond-she was thinking. Why would the officials post the video, only to delete it right after? Just as Madison was rolling up her sleeves, preparing for a full-on keyboard battle, Marisol Cup's official account suddenly reposted the video.
This time, it cwith an added explanation.
She quickly scanned the caption, her face lighting up. "They probably realized that speople don't understand the difficulty of what you played, so they added a breakdown to explain it!" The official statement praised Sierra's performance, detailing the complexity of the piece, her technique, and the skill level required.
Meanwhile, Sierra's face heated, her blush creeping all the way to her ears.
"Isn't this a little... too much?" she murmured. The way they were describing her playing felt embarrassingly exaggerated.
Madison, of course, was thriving. She immediately jumped to the comment section.
The once-hostile battlefield was now eerily silent.
Two minutes later, more comments came...
"Holy crap, the official account just publicly praised her." "Wow. This is... awkward. Hahaha." "The judges are posting about her too! Go check it out." "Just saw their posts... Yeah, I take back what I said. This girl is legit." "No way Benson could have arranged for this many industry professionals to vouch for her. It's clear she got in on merit." "The video has no cuts, no auediting-it's 100% live. I support Sierra!"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWithin moments, public opinion completely flipped..
questioning her people were people instead of defending her, praising her talent.
Madison was grinning so hard it looked like her face might split in half. She scrolled through posts from the judges, each of them acknowledging Sierra's skill and confirming that her spot in the competition was earned.
When Theo walked in, the first thing he saw was Sierra, fully absorbed in her phone, her lips slightly Curved in focus. Her cheeks still carried a soft blush, her expression unusually relaxed and adorable. "What are you looking at?" His deep voice, low and warm, suddenly cfrom behind her.
She instinctively turned her head, only to find Theo standing right behind her, so close she hadn't even noticed his presence.
In that split second, her soft lips accidentally grazed his cool cheek.
Both of them froze.
Sierra's eyes widened in panic, and she quickly leaned back, creating distance between them.
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