Leah Evans couldn’t stand it anymore. Just as Sharon Sherman’s father was about to light more firecrackers, she ran over and stomped them out. "Will you ever stop!"
"These firecrackers have been going off all day! Can’t you let anyone have so peace and quiet?"
Brian Sherman puffed out his fleshy chest. "My family has sothing to celebrate. I’ll set them off for as long as I please. If you don’t like it, move!"
"Exactly!" Selina Zelia said with utter disdain. "It’s all because our Joanna is so accomplished and loved by so many. Unlike so people who can’t even put on a convincing act on stage. It’s just pathetic!"
Sharon Sherman was there too, her eyes lifted in a smug sneer as she yelled to the surrounding relatives, "Aunties, cousins! Don’t save any firecrackers! Set them all off for !"
"You... You’re all horrible!" June Evans was so angry her fingers trembled.
Leah Evans lunged forward, ready to fight them to the bitter end.
Sophia Shaw looked at the arrogant Shermans.
’She hadn’t even held them accountable for their past misdeeds, yet here they were, relentlessly hounding her family and shattering their peace!’
Sophia Shaw held Leah and June back. "Let’s go back inside."
Sharon Sherman assud Sophia Shaw was scared of them. Extrely pleased with herself, she directed the other relatives to set off more firecrackers while unfurling banners.
The glaring banners and explosive firecrackers besieged the Shaw family ho, an inescapable assault on the eyes and ears.
Sophie took a quiet breath.
She took out her phone and made a call. "Editor-in-Chief Chamberlain, let’s release today’s video ahead of schedule."
After hanging up, she made another call. "Am I speaking with the TV station?"
’I’d originally planned to only settle the score with Jenna Judd, but I might as well take care of the Shermans at the sa ti!’
Only after finishing her calls did Sophia Shaw walk back into the house.
Seeing her family mbers staring at each other helplessly, she took a deep breath and said, "Don’t worry. They’ll get what’s coming to them very soon."
She walked over and gently hugged her grandmother.
Her grandmother was deeply distressed, having listened to the firecrackers for most of the day.
When she saw her granddaughter, cloudy tears welled in her eyes.
Sophia’s heart ached as if pierced by a knife. She could only close her eyes and say, "Grandma, just wait a little longer. It’ll be all right soon."
Outside, the Shermans grew even more brazen.
Setting off firecrackers and unfurling banners wasn’t enough for them; they started repeatedly shouting Joanna Sherman’s na toward the Shaw family’s front gate.
Just then, Harrison Shaw returned.
Upon seeing Harrison Shaw, Brian Sherman discreetly took a step back, ready to call the police the mont he was struck.
Harrison Shaw just scoffed. "Brian Sherman, have you no sha?"
"Don’t you even know how to check what’s trending?"
"Who says I can’t? My Joanna brought our family so much honor today. Your Faye might as well be a concubine—can’t even hold on to her man, yet she still has the nerve to go on stage and make a spectacle of herself..."
The last word had barely left his lips when Yancy Shaw shoved a phone in his face.
He glanced at it, and his gaze instantly froze.
"How... How could this be?"
Joanna Sherman was still trending, but now she was paired with Sophia Shaw.
The renowned Editor-in-Chief of Serenova Culture, Bartholow Chamberlain, had personally posted a review of Joanna Sherman and Sophia Shaw.
Bartholow Chamberlain was known for his scathing comntary and had nearly fifty million followers.
"Today, everyone online is praising the talented Miss Joanna Sherman, but no one seems to have noticed Miss Sophia Shaw. I won’t offer much comntary; just watch the video for yourselves."
The video then cut to a side-by-side comparison of Joanna Sherman and Sophia Shaw.
Every ti Sophia Shaw finished answering, the applause was thunderous.
In the other fra, however, the applause Joanna Sherman received was less than half as loud!
As soon as Chamberlain’s video dropped, countless people began taking sides, declaring that Sophia Shaw had perford brilliantly, completely overshadowing Joanna Sherman.
But for so unknown reason, the event organizers didn’t let Sophia speak again.
People pointed out that whenever it was Sophia’s turn to speak, the host would interrupt her.
Others retorted, claiming Sophia was just using a prepared outline and had probably morized answers written by soone else.
In response, Bartholow Chamberlain imdiately posted another video.
In this video, an elderly man in his seventies was continuously questioning Sophia, who answered just as fluently as she had on stage.
Their entire conversation was in English!
The man was imdiately recognized. He was Yuval, a leading authority from an international rocket R&D center and the ntor of Mr. Smith—a figure as renowned as Old Master Sloan himself.
This Mr. Yuval had a lifelong reputation for integrity. He disdained giving endorsents and only admired exceptional talent.
After the Q&A, Yuval was interviewed by Bartholow Chamberlain and gave Sophia a big thumbs-up.
"The caliber of her answers was clearly superior to anyone else on that stage!"
That single sentence, devoid of any specific details, was more than enough.
Yuval’s visit had been impromptu, and his questions were thought up on the spot.
Building on this, Bartholow Chamberlain posed several questions to the public:
With Sophia’s high level of competence, how could she have made such a rookie mistake at Grant Interstellar?
Why did the apology letter only bear the company seal and not her personal signature?
Why did the host interrupt Sophia every ti she spoke? This host was reportedly a forr colleague of Sophia’s. For what reason would she treat an old coworker so rudely?
His post set off a firestorm online.
Joanna Sherman and Jenna Judd were thrust into the center of the controversy!
"H-How did it turn into this?"
Brian Sherman was dumbfounded.
Selina Zelia and Sharon Sherman also stared blankly, with no idea what was going on.
Yancy Shaw sneered at the family. "Making such a huge scene just because she was trending for a mont. Did Yuval praise your niece for being ’exceptional’?"
Brian Sherman’s mouth hung open, but he couldn’t utter a single word. His face was bright red.
No amount of trending topics could compare to the sheer weight of a professional assessnt from Yuval!
Selina Zelia was used to looking down on Yancy Shaw’s family. Now, having been so thoroughly defeated by Sophia, she refused to accept it and shrieked, "You must have bribed Yuval!"
"Go ahead, why don’t you try bribing him?"
"Fine, we will!" Selina Zelia shoved Brian Sherman. "Hurry up and call Joanna! Tell her to contact Vincent Grant!"
Selina Zelia deliberately raised her voice. "Vincent Grant is rolling in money, and he lets Joanna spend as much as she wants. He’ll pay any price for her."
"How ridiculous!"
Yancy Shaw looked at Selina Zelia as if she were a complete idiot.
Brian Sherman squird, stung by Yancy Shaw’s blatant mockery, while Selina Zelia kept nagging him to call Vincent Grant.
He angrily slapped Selina’s arm. "Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea who Yuval is? He’s one of the top rocket scientists in the world, just like Old Master Sloan, the one Joanna is trying so hard to get in with. He can’t be bought off with money!"
If the man had no integrity, he would have been torn to shreds by public opinion long ago. How could he possibly command such respect?
Everyone on the internet knew this, but of course, Selina Zelia didn’t. And she just had to spout that nonsense right in front of their old rival, Yancy Shaw. It was utterly humiliating.
Selina Zelia didn’t know who Yuval was, but she had heard of Old Master Sloan.
Joanna Sherman and Yvonne Sherman had been talking about him nonstop lately, ntioning his incredible status and prestige.
After Brian’s explanation, she was so ashad she didn’t know where to hide her face.
Sharon Sherman couldn’t believe Sophia had managed to co out on top because of Yuval. She was so furious she felt like her heart was going to explode.
"How is that Sophia Shaw so damn lucky!"
"All the good things just fall into her lap!"
’And here she’d been hoping to use Sophia’s disgrace at the Grant Group to launch another sar campaign online.’
Yancy Shaw turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the ground at the trio’s feet, the space above their heads, and the eaves of the surrounding buildings.
He didn’t say a word, but the towering piles of firecracker casings on the ground and the banners hanging from the rooftops were like a thousand slaps striking them squarely in the face.
Their current humiliation was directly proportional to their earlier arrogance.
"Get soone to sweep this ss up! And take down those banners!"
Brian Sherman couldn’t bear to look at the scene for another second and barked the order at Selina Zelia.
Before Selina Zelia could even move, a large crowd of people ca rushing onto the scene.
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