Under Pedro Langley’s shenanigans, Nora Scott slept all morning and only got up at noon to eat.
When she arrived at the dining table, she saw Miguel Smith actively sitting in a dining chair, ready to have so food.
"Morning..." Miguel greeted, but thinking of the ti, he corrected himself, "No, good afternoon."
Nora ruffled her hair, stared at him, and then turned her head towards Pedro Langley who was walking over with a glass of water, "Did he crash at your place last night?"
Miguel was shocked, "What do you an by ’crash’? Can staying one night be called ’crashing’?"
"Don’t worry, I didn’t let him in the house."
Pedro treated Miguel as if he were invisible and handed the water to Nora.
Nora took it, drank a sip, and then looked at Miguel again.
Miguel had no choice but to say, "I slept in Marcus Shaw’s room."
Nora walked over, pulled a chair, side-sat into it, and asked, "You just spread rumors about and now you’re hanging out at my boyfriend’s place for a al. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?"
"..."
Miguel, who had just picked up the bowl and chopsticks, stared at her speechlessly.
He exclaid, "Who said they didn’t care about the rumors?"
"I did."
Nora answered honestly and added, "But my boyfriend does care."
"Hmm."
Sitting nearby, Pedro responded and placed the bowl and chopsticks in front of Nora.
Miguel hesitated for a mont, pondering whether to explain further.
Just then, Pedro spoke again, "But I’m generous, and I don’t mind letting my girlfriend’s rumored partner have a al."
Miguel: "..." Forget it, these two are just ganging up to make him uncomfortable; there’s nothing to mind about.
Let them be smug.
Miguel buried his head and ate his rice.
The lunch had been made by Butler Loxley. Miguel originally slept till noon, got ready to leave, but Butler Loxley invited him to eat, and seeing the table full of delicious food, he accepted.
Little did he expect, as soon as he sat down, he got roasted, and during the al, he was force-fed the couple’s lovey-dovey interaction.
—And for so reason, although the two did not display overt closeness while eating, they just seed unbearably sweet together.
So after finishing his al, Miguel left with a heavy heart.
However—
Less than five minutes later, while Nora wasn’t even ready to head out, the doorbell rang. Butler Loxley went to open the door and found Miguel had returned.
"Left sothing behind?"
Nora glanced towards the door, asking.
Miguel hadn’t even changed his shoes, with a furrowed brow, he walked in holding his phone and said: "Marcus Shaw’s identity as XN000 was exposed, and now it’s trending with your na at the top."
"What happened?" Nora frowned.
Much like how Nora was unwilling to reveal her identity as Zero, Marcus viewed ga developnt as a hobby and didn’t want to mix it with reality. Marcus was very cautious, and even after chatting with Miguel for two years, never actively shared personal information. The decision to et up with Miguel was likely because Marcus truly trusted him.
The number of people aware of this was very limited and reliable, so who could have leaked it?
Miguel tossed the phone to her.
A senior student from First Affiliated High School posted exposing that "Marcus Shaw is XN000", which quickly went viral.
The cause turned out to be Diana Johnson.
The post claid the author had a classmate who is an artist currently filming at the First Affiliated High School. This artist accidentally saw a kid playing "Maze 2", found the child adorable, loved chatting, and asked about the ga. The child ntioned that Marcus Shaw made it.
Later, when the artist saw accusations that "Maze 2" copied "Puzzle in Puzzle", they were indignant and confided in the author, along with asserting that Marcus Shaw was the creator of "Maze 2".
The author, believing the artist friend’s word, was infuriated by the backlash against XN000 and, after so thought, couldn’t hold back from exposing it. Considering tags like "First place in city exams", "Winner at ch Battle", "Top-stream idol Nora’s brother", what reason would Marcus Shaw have to plagiarize "Puzzle in Puzzle"?
The exposé was long, supportive of Marcus, yet the tone scread seeking attention, prideful—a typical adolescent mindset.
Originally the matter was highly publicized, but now with the twist involving "Nora’s half-brother", it stirred up another round of sensational news.
The post was imdiately shared across major platforms.
Recent news about Nora frequently hit the top trending searches, annoying neutral onlookers, and with rumors of "Nora’s brother plagiarizing", led to indiscriminate backlash.
[Considering the morning rumors of Nora and Miguel dating, the promotion of "Maze 2" starts to make sense.]
[I get it now; it turns out Nora and Pedro tead up to hype Marcus. But back when Nora quickly slapped down her sister, did she think her brother would one day be accused of plagiarism too?]
[Can we have Nora disappear? So sick of the constant Nora news, I don’t care at all.]
[Marcus, XN, feels legit. ]
[Top student, cha researcher, ga developer. Who knows how much fluff is in this. Anyway, I don’t believe any of it.]
...
At the sa ti, so classmates maliciously exposed negative news about Marcus, labeling "Marcus was a school bully, everyone avoided him" and "Marcus had outside fights but faced no disciplinary action, clearly having connections". These individuals might not know the truth but had preconceived notions and likely sought to ride the wave of attention, seeking existence or simply disliked Marcus, ultimately resulting in a rapid spread of negative opinions against Marcus.
Even Diana Johnson was not spared.
Soone slightly investigating exposed the artist friend from the author’s post as Diana—sa school, currently filming, fitting the description.
Since Diana sided with Marcus, she was criticized as "love-brained", "birds of a feather".
Diana was signed with a small managent company, inexperienced in handling unexpected internet backlash, and after being blacklisted for a morning, took no effective asures except Diana’s fans who stood up, counter-blackening and controlling comnts.
However, given the magnitude of the event, the fan actions were barely impactful.
Instead, Nora’s fans, initially passive due to her frequent quick exposés were sparked. Seeing the handso, talented scholar brother attacked, believing greatly in Nora’s steadfast support for family mbers, switched to fans of Marcus, once again unleashing Nora’s fans’ powerful support.
Online, the debate boiled over.
"What’s this plagiarism business?"
After understanding the situation, Nora asked about another matter—the root reason Marcus was targeted.
Miguel blinked.
Nora stared at him intently, resting her cheek on one hand, "Buddy, I can see the words ’guilty’ in your eyes. Does this have to do with you?"
"The ’Puzzle in Puzzle’ team is playing tricks, despite them clearly copying to ride the hype, they turned the tables. This ga studio is backed by Queiroz Gas..."
Pedro strolled over.
He brought a plate of fruits, sat next to Nora, used a bamboo pick to offer her an apple slice, then raised his eyebrows, looking at Miguel, "Queiroz Gas wouldn’t target Marcus specifically. It’s after you?"
"..."
Still deliberating on an explanation, Miguel was left speechless when Pedro’s few words hit the mark.
"They want to force into the open." Miguel admitted, "Don’t worry, I’ll handle it."
Nora nodded slightly, "Let know if you need help."
"Hmm."
Miguel nodded, but his fingers lightly scratched the bridge of his nose.
Actually, not needing help...
Just a bit tricky.
After a few seconds, Miguel asked, "What about Marcus’s issue?"
Nora turned her gaze to Pedro.
Understanding, Pedro quickly said, "Lower the heat, buy so internet influencers. First, reduce the impact. To eliminate the root cause, we need real evidence or a public apology from the ’Puzzle in Puzzle’ team."
Sighing, Miguel said, "I’ll take care of this."
While eating fruits, Nora listened to their conversation, essentially removing herself from the situation.
Nora wasn’t worried about Marcus being affected by online harassnt. The Easton family’s bloodline was notably resilient with exceptional psychological fortitude, Marcus included, so it wouldn’t affect him.
She was just waiting for the matter to be resolved.
In the afternoon, Pedro took Nora to school for shooting. During a break in the makeup session, she casually checked her phone and unexpectedly saw a ssage from "Loughton".
[Loughton]: Nora, I saw the news online, is your boyfriend really Miguel Smith?
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