Reborn as Mr.CEO's Fat Wife-Chapter 918: New Melons in the Melon Field

Mary Scott replied to herself, and immediately, a bunch of bored netizens who had been watching the whole spectacle chimed in, imitating the deputy director’s tone from the show: "Miss Scott, can I borrow this picture of yours? I want to show my girlfriend that even celebrities don’t always have to diet to stay thin."

Another female netizen asked, "Miss Scott, can I borrow this picture too? I want to show my boyfriend—what’s wrong with eating a lot? Female celebrities eat way more than me!"

"Hahaha, is Miss Scott not worried about losing face?"

"I’m more curious about how Miss Scott maintains her figure!"

"..."

The comments under Mary Scott’s Twitter were filled with all sorts of witty and humorous replies. Although there were still quite a few insults, compared to the previous wave of "talking anatomy only," the addition of these jokesters made her Twitter page significantly cleaner for the first time, and her follower count continued to climb.

Mia Anderson, seeing the change in sentiment among netizens, was visibly happy but didn’t forget to earnestly clarify, "I can vouch that my artiste doesn’t eat much. The takeaway was for me!"

After posting, she even attached a screenshot of her Facebook Circle from that evening.

Mia’s Facebook Circle timestamp was over an hour later than that of the program staff, coinciding perfectly with their earlier explanations.

Many who had been attacking and slandering Mary Scott felt varying degrees of guilt when the story took an unexpected turn. Those who had a conscience directly went to Mary Scott’s Twitter to apologize, while the less principled ones simply went silent.

But there were still those who refused to admit they were wrong, pulling out various "scandals" about Mary Scott. They capped it off with: "Two years ago, Mary Scott was sidelined by Starlight because of her loose lifestyle. Now that she’s cheating again after marriage, is it really surprising? Hasn’t anyone noticed it’s only the show crew trying to support her? If she’s really innocent, why haven’t the other guests come forward to defend her? Tsk tsk, when you think about it, the details are terrifying!"

When Mary Scott’s sidelining two years ago was brought up, some netizens got swept up in the narrative and joined the clamor. Trolls seized the opportunity to provoke further: "Exactly. The show crew must be protecting her for the program, but the other guests have no reason to. Especially Adam Piers—I heard he’s the young heir of the Piers family. He wouldn’t bother associating with a morally corrupt and dirty actress like her."

"Has anyone noticed that while Director Locke issued a lawyer’s letter, he hasn’t said much else? Maybe he already knows Mary Scott’s true nature and only acted for the sake of reputation."

"Tsk tsk, exactly!"

A group of people hyped themselves up, convinced they had found new evidence of Mary Scott’s affair. Some, unable to substantiate their claims of infidelity, quickly pivoted: "Even if she didn’t cheat this time, that doesn’t mean she won’t the next time."

Their excitement grew so over-the-top that even bystanders couldn’t stand it, advising them to stop spreading baseless hate. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

While the two sides clashed, Charlotte Leigh, who had been glued to the online developments ever since she left Duke Blue, was furious. She never expected the situation to turn around so dramatically. Not only had they failed to ruin Mary Scott’s reputation, but her popularity and followers were also growing. Her jealousy and resentment boiled over.

Duke Blue wasn’t faring much better. He hadn’t anticipated this outcome either. So, was Mary Scott not sneaking off to have an affair with Director Baker that night? Was this all just a misunderstanding? But they had sunk over a million in marketing fees just to bring Mary Scott down. If it ended like this, wouldn’t it just amount to free publicity for her?

How could Duke Blue accept such an outcome? But what made him even more uneasy was Director Locke.

After that run-in at the airport, he had already offended Locke. If it were discovered that he had participated in smearing Mary Scott this time, who knows how Locke would retaliate? Nervously, Duke Blue called Charlotte Leigh.

If receiving Duke Blue’s initial video had made Charlotte feel she had found the perfect dirt to destroy Mary Scott, then seeing how things had turned out after spending a million, her mood now was anything but pleasant. Picking up Duke Blue’s call, her anger exploded uncontrollably: "You’ve got the nerve to call me? Do you have any idea how much I’ve lost because of this mess?"

Duke Blue had intended to discuss their next steps, but as soon as the call connected, he was met with an onslaught of verbal abuse. His face turned dark: "It was you who told me to keep an eye on Mary Scott. It was you who said she was promiscuous. It was you who claimed she had a strained relationship with Locke. And it was you who finally agreed to the plan. Isn’t it a bit late to start blaming me now?"

"You..." Charlotte’s voice caught, and she almost forgot that Duke Blue wasn’t her assistant but a second-tier rising star himself. Swallowing her anger, she softened her tone: "I’m sorry, Duke. I was just too anxious earlier. I’m worried about you too, you know. You’ve already offended Locke, and now this mess—it could ruin us both if Locke decides to dig deeper."

By the end, Charlotte’s voice was tinged with flirtation.

Duke Blue’s expression eased somewhat. "Do you have any other plans?"

"We can’t let our money go to waste," Charlotte said. A hint of malice flashed in her eyes. She simply couldn’t accept that someone as fake-pure as Mary Scott could leap from toiling on the industry’s bottom rung for over two years to marrying Locke and now have a resurgence. Meanwhile, what about her? Despite being backed by Starlight for two years, she remained lukewarm in popularity. She had overheard Jocelyn Spencer talking with the director recently—if she couldn’t break through soon, the company would start prioritizing other talents.

This was the last thing Charlotte wanted to see.

And right now, aside from some unthreatening rookies, her biggest rival in Starlight was Mary Scott.

If the company started endorsing Mary Scott because of her connection to Locke and her current popularity, what would happen to her?

Having been in the industry for years, Charlotte knew just how cruel it could be. She wasn’t about to let herself become a nobody again, overshadowed by Mary Scott.

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte continued, "I’ve already got hold of news about Locke and Mary Scott living apart. I’ll have people leak it shortly. As for you, I’ve noticed people online suspecting that bitch is colluding with the show crew. You’ve got the most followers and buzz among us. If you accidentally insinuate something, it’ll confirm their suspicions. That way, her ’redemption’ will be all for nothing."

Duke Blue frowned upon hearing this. He wasn’t keen on openly involving himself in this mess, fearing the blowback. But since he was the one who had sent the initial video to Charlotte, and the situation had devolved due to his failure to verify it, he realized Charlotte could make his life difficult if he refused. So he gritted his teeth and agreed.

After their call ended, both began working swiftly.

Soon, news of Mary Scott and Director Locke living apart shot to the top of trending topics.

Netizens who were always on the frontlines of gossip immediately sensed there was more to this than met the eye!

Mary Scott and the show crew had just clarified that the affair was a misunderstanding. But now, trending topics first claimed Locke was binge-drinking late at night, and then this news about living apart came out. Could it be the clarification was false, and the affair was real? Why else would Locke and Mary Scott be living apart?

Just like that, the story circled right back to square one.

Some drama-thirsty netizens even went to David Locke’s Twitter, asking if it was true that he was living apart from Mary Scott. Others noted that while Mary Scott and the show crew had been clarifying all this time, none of the other guests had spoken up—wasn’t that suspicious?

For a moment, the scandal that had just died down was ablaze once more.

Martin, who had been monitoring the buzz online, noticed things starting to escalate again and nervously asked David Locke, "Director Locke, someone has leaked the news about your living apart from your wife. Should we take it down?"

The man, who had been running a low fever since Mary Scott left, looked pale and bloodless. He had already seen the clarification posts from Mary Scott and the show crew, and his heart was filled with guilt and frustration. But hearing Martin’s words, he didn’t immediately respond.

Thinking Locke hadn’t heard him, Martin repeated his question. This time, Locke finally spoke: "No need."

"Huh?" Martin thought he’d misheard. Shouldn’t Locke do everything possible to win back his wife’s trust and coax her into coming home? Why wasn’t he taking action?

Locke glanced at him coldly with those icy eyes, shutting Martin up instantly. Carefully, he placed the medicine prescribed by the doctor in front of Locke. "Director Locke, here’s your medicine."

The man glanced at the pile of white pills but didn’t move, instead scrolling through his phone.

When Martin glanced over on his way out, he saw that Locke was looking at none other than Mary Scott’s Twitter. In his head, he couldn’t help but Tsukkomi: If you cared so much, why didn’t you act sooner?

But Martin dared not voice his thoughts, so he turned and left to handle his tasks.

Meanwhile, the trending topic about Locke and Mary Scott living apart continued to stir heated discussions online, and the truth became even murkier.

Duke Blue, sensing the timing was right, carefully crafted a post: "Mary is such a hardworking person. I hope everyone can be more forgiving towards her."

Wow!

The moment Duke Blue’s tweet went live, it shot to the top of the trending chart, with the comments section blowing up almost instantly.

"Is Duke being strong-armed by the show crew? ’Mary is such a hardworking person’? Are you joking?"

"Dude, don’t be fooled by that woman’s facade!"

"Wait, is Duke actually praising her? Why does it sound sarcastic?"

"Exactly. Mary’s hardworking? Sounds more like shade. Forgiving her for what? Cheating? Isn’t that Locke’s job?"

"Hahaha, Director Locke with an evergreen meadow on his head says, ’I’m not forgiving!’"

"So, is Duke low-key calling out Mary Scott here?"

"I think so!"

"..."

Initially, people had accepted the show crew and Mary Scott’s explanation that the affair rumor was a misunderstanding. But Duke Blue’s tweet completely shifted public opinion.

Mary Scott’s expression turned grim as she stared at Duke Blue’s tweet. If this continued, all her earlier efforts would be wasted!

Just as Mary’s already taut nerves stretched closer to their breaking point, Mia Anderson was practically exploding with fury. "That bastard Duke Blue is doing this on purpose! He’s been in the industry long enough to know exactly what kind of reaction this would provoke. This isn’t defending you; it’s dragging you down!"

Mary Scott, of course, realized this too. But Duke Blue was a second-tier star with strong influence, significantly outpacing her in fan numbers and popularity. His antics now were a deliberate takedown.

"Mary, what should we do? Should we reach out to others? What about Adam Piers? I heard he’s the young heir to the Piers family. His words would carry weight. Or maybe Mr. Foster..." Mia was rambling when Mary suddenly furrowed her brows tightly, cutting her off mid-sentence. "What’s wrong now? Mary, don’t scare me!" Mia asked anxiously.

Mary handed her the phone with an unreadable expression. "Mr. Foster has already responded," she said plainly.

"Huh? What did he say?" Mia asked as she grabbed the phone, her hand frozen mid-air as her face turned white, staring at the two words on the screen.

"Cut ties."

James Jerome had shared Mary Scott’s original post on Twitter, adding just two words: "Cut ties."

Mia felt a chill seep through her entire body. She couldn’t have imagined that an old trouper like James Jerome would be so blunt. This essentially cemented Mary’s downfall, and it was far harsher and more direct than Duke Blue’s subtleties. There was no way to spin or refute it. Desperately, Mia asked Mary, "Did you offend that old guy?"

She didn’t even refer to him as "Mr. Foster" anymore.

Mary shook her head.

Mia felt even worse. It was likely that someone had gotten to James Jerome and convinced him to act against them. Why else would he do this to Mary?

Online, confused netizens stared at James Jerome’s tweet in bewilderment. Could there possibly be new dirt to uncover?

The audience wasn’t stupid. They were already convinced that Mary Scott didn’t cheat with Director Baker—it was clearly a misunderstanding. But they couldn’t ignore everything else. Especially with Duke Blue’s post—it appeared to defend Mary, but anyone with half a brain could read between the lines.

And now, James Jerome suddenly stepped forward. Everyone began to wonder, was the whole clarification attempt engineered to fool the public? What if Mary really did cheat...

Curious netizens, eager for a new twist, flooded James Jerome’s Twitter to investigate.

Charlotte Leigh, seeing James Jerome’s post, finally relaxed a bit. James, who had been in the industry for ages, was known for his excellent interpersonal relations, comedic talents, and a generally scandal-free record. If someone like him publicly severed ties with Mary, it would surely imply faults in her character.

Fans of James Jerome thought the same thing.

Feeling less pressured seeing James take the lead, Duke Blue relaxed further behind the scenes. He closed his phone and casually instructed his agent to follow up with the show crew about some ad campaign negotiations with Raspberry Snacks.

But as the crowd grew under James Jerome’s post, the seasoned actor finally responded, slowly but surely: "Who wants to be friends with someone who hogs all the food? Unless she pays me back with thirty skewers of barbecue. No, make it fifty!"

The crowd: "..."

Netizens, who had been primed for a massive revelation, were dumbstruck for a moment, then burst into laughter. So Mary Scott hoarding food was legit, and it even offended James Jerome enough to demand a public payback in barbecue. Some could already imagine the veteran comedian glaring indignantly at Mary Scott over this.

"What do we do? I think I’m starting to find this endearing!"

"Fifty skewers? Mr. Foster, are you sure this isn’t extortion?"

"Exactly. Older folks shouldn’t eat too much meat. You’re still an actor—gotta maintain that image!"

"Mr. Foster clearly wants to, but his acting chops aren’t letting him!"

"Yeah, but fifty skewers—is that even enough?"

The public narrative that once veered off-track was abruptly dragged back to barbecue. James Jerome even took the opportunity to reply to one of the comments: "If even she, a female celebrity, doesn’t care about maintaining an image, why should I, an old guy? Hmmph!"

And with that...

Everyone collectively lost it, laughing hysterically.

Mary Scott: "..."

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