Chapter 367

At Cloudscape Community.
Juniper sat on the sofa, shelling pistachios while scrolling through the online comments. The more she read, the angrier she got.
“Idiots!” she muttered under her breath.
“No swearing,” Shanley said, walking over with a glass of lemonade. He gently patted her head. “Don’t take what those people say to heart.”
Juniper didn’t respond, just shoved her phone in his face.
[Old man!]
[Old geezer!]
[Old fossil!]
The screen was filled with variations of “old,” each one striking a nerve with Shanley. Okay, they definitely deserved to be cursed at!
“Any account that used the word ‘old,’ disable all of them,” Shanley ordered into his phone, his face cold. “Do you hear me? All. Of. Them!”
Juniper blinked. So much for not taking it to heart.
…
On Sunday, at three in the afternoon, the 10th Global Music Awards officially began. For the first time ever, Jimmie’s studio broadcast the event live, and a massive wave of fans and curious onlookers flooded the stream.
-What’s going on? Weren’t the rumors that this MV was poorly made and had little chance of winning? Why are they livestreaming? Aren’t they afraid of being humiliated!
@Jimmie’s Studio, you have time to stream but not to clarify the rumors?
-This is definitely Juniper trying to stir up drama and drag our idol down with her.
-Stir up drama? Your idol was the one patting her head, right? He was the one smiling so gently, right? So it’s secret relationship, but when things go south, you blame the girl? How shameless!
-Exactly, and they’re spreading fake rumors about Master Lunar. Can the world be any more hostile to women?
-If Mr. Tate had the guts to admit it, I’d respect him for it.
-Oh look, the two posters above must be Juniper’s burner accounts. Hey girl, that desperate for fame?
-There are so many beautiful women in showbiz. If Mr. Tate wanted a girlfriend, people would be lining up. Why would he even look at Juniper?
-For real, if Mr. Tate is involved with her, I’ll eat my hat.
-@Jimmie’s Studio, are you just going to stand by and watch Juniper ruin him?
-Can Juniper just die? Go mess with some other lecherous old man and leave Mr. Tate alone.
The next second, the user who sent that last message received a notification about violating community guidelines. Her account… had been banned.
As the comments in the livestream grew increasingly vile, Jimmie’s studio posted a message: [Regarding the online rumors, Mr. Tate will address them personally.]
This announcement caused an
immediate uproar. People
speculated that Jimmie would either confirm the relationship or deny it. Given the situation, it seemed most likely that he would confirm it. After all he’d been the target of clout chasing starlets before and had always ignored them. This time, not only was his studio
livestreaming the event, but he was also going to address the issue personally. It had to be love.
Some pundits even predicted that Mr. Tate’s career would plummet after he announced his relationship. His rivals were probably already popping champagne.
An idol blinded by love? Jimmie’s fans were losing their minds.
On the other side of the city, Juniper woke up from her nap and lazily opened her phone. There was still some time before Jimmie’s award category was announced.
Bored, she planned to open Twitter to pass the time. She had to admit, this generation of netizens was creative their insults were never repetitive. She’d learned quite a few
past few days, and
new things these past
her verbal sparring skills had leveled up dramatically.