Reborn as Mr.CEO's Fat Wife-Chapter 925 Do you still remember our promise?

Mary Scott’s suspicion was quickly confirmed.

On the other end of the phone came Mia Anderson’s anxious voice, "Someone edited clips of your live stream footage and uploaded them online. Everyone is criticizing you for dragging down Duke Blue by not properly recording the show."

Mary thought to herself, of course. She’s been riding a wave of popularity lately; the show’s viewership is already trending over thirty million, comparable to a hit variety show. It would be weird not to get blacklisted. She gently reassured Mia, "Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."

"But..."

"Relax. The nastier they criticize now, the harder they’ll get slapped in the face later." Mary smiled mischievously, her eyes gleaming with cunning. After all, she’s signed with Raspberry Snacks. Simon Baker wouldn’t dare to mess with her. He promised to clear her name, and he will. There’s no way he’d let this continue unchecked.

She couldn’t wait to see Duke Blue’s fans’ reactions when the truth came out.

Reassured by Mary’s confident tone, Mia finally calmed down.

Mary hung up the phone and casually tossed it aside, ready to continue watching the show, only to realize the man next to her was staring at her again.

Mary couldn’t help but touch her cheek, "Is there something on my face?"

"No," David Locke shook his head. If earlier he’d felt that Mary was nothing like the delicate, pampered image he had of her, now, seeing the sparkle of mischief in her eyes, he realized something deep inside her hadn’t changed—her pride, confidence, and a hint of playful badness.

He liked this lively version of her, not the cautious and reserved side she showed around him.

Mary found David’s reaction a bit inexplicable and figured he was becoming increasingly hard to read. But she had no time to delve into his thoughts and emotions right now, so she turned her attention back to the show.

The teams for the show had already been divided. Mary and Duke Blue each held an ice auger to start carving ice holes. Unlike the live stream, which had only one camera, the show shot separate footage of each team’s ice-carving process, making everyone’s actions completely clear. Mary was among them.

In contrast to the live stream where Duke Blue’s positioning blocked Mary’s shots, making it seem like she was lazy, the broadcast showed Mary working hard with the ice auger. Meanwhile, Duke Blue next to her alternated between working diligently and slacking off. In the end, his footage was completely cut out.

Live stream viewers found this puzzling. What was going on? Why was the show’s footage so different from what they saw during the live stream? Those who hadn’t watched the live stream were even more confused. Wasn’t Mary supposed to be a scheming diva who slacked off? Why was the reality exactly the opposite?

Duke Blue’s fans were outraged. The production team was unbelievably shameless. Clearly, their Young Master Duke had been working so hard, yet why did the broadcast show him slacking? This was outrageous! To make things worse, the other teams each had footage showing both members, yet their team was mostly focused on Mary. The production team’s favoritism was too blatant. They couldn’t believe it when people claimed Mary and Simon Baker weren’t involved. No way!

The arguments grew louder, quickly climbing up the trending topics. People were furiously condemning the production team’s unethical behavior. Some even directly tagged the "Detectives and Wilderness" production team on Twitter to demand an apology for Duke Blue.

As the show continued to air, the controversy and buzz reached fever pitch. Even uninformed viewers joined the spectacle. The situation peaked when the production team announced that Mary and Duke Blue’s group had won, but Raspberry Snacks chose Mary as their spokesperson.

Although Mary’s performance during the fishing segment was highly captivating in the broadcast, combined with her beauty making her appealing and likable, it didn’t mean she deserved the Raspberry spokesperson role. After all, her status in the industry was lower. This was especially true given Duke Blue’s fans’ reaction.

The other contestants in the show were mostly unknowns, with at best a few casual fans and weak fighting power. Duke Blue, however, started as a popular idol with a sizable dedicated fan base, mostly young and easily provoked. Now that Young Master Duke had clearly been wronged, how could they possibly stay quiet?

Ace, who was monitoring the show, wasn’t any calmer than Duke’s fans. While the show aired, he held off knocking on Duke Blue’s bedroom door, understanding his client’s temper well. But when the show concluded and the spokesperson was announced, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He didn’t care whether Duke Blue would get angry; he woke him up anyway.

Duke Blue was notoriously grumpy upon waking, and his attitude was bad. "What’s the problem? Didn’t we win?"

He had secretly tallied the fish, ensuring their group had one more than Adam Piers’ team. Winning should’ve been a given.

Ace shook his head hurriedly.

Duke Blue’s tone grew harsher. "If we won, why wake me up with that sour face?"

Ace grew more flustered and shook his head again.

Duke Blue assumed the sponsorship negotiations had gone awry and sneered arrogantly, "Did the sponsor think the price was too high? Tell them this is already my friendly rate—it won’t go any lower."

"Young Master Duke, it’s not... I..." Ace realized Duke had misunderstood and became even more tongue-tied, fearful of his anger.

Duke Blue noticed Ace stumbling over his words and his expression darkened. "Don’t tell me they plan to have me co-sponsor with that bitch, Mary?"

Thinking of the two million she caused him to lose and costing him the male lead in Director Penn’s film, Duke’s usual pretense dropped, and he cursed outright.

Ace grew visibly uncomfortable.

Duke Blue snapped, "Fuck! What happened?! Why are you stalling?"

"Young Master Duke, um... Raspberry Snacks’ spokesperson is Mary Scott." Ace, who had worked beside Duke Blue for years, didn’t dare hesitate anymore, sensing the rising fury.

Duke Blue’s face was initially blank; when he processed the last three words, his makeup-free, sallow-skinned face turned frighteningly dark. "Say that again?"

Ace nearly sobbed. "It’s true, Young Master Duke. The director announced it directly during the broadcast."

Duke Blue sprang from his bed and grabbed his phone to call the production team but was stopped by Ace. "Young Master Duke, calm down. This was clearly a setup between Mary Scott and the production team. Calling them won’t fix anything. Let the company handle it."

"Calm down my ass! Who the hell does Mary Scott think she is to steal my sponsorship?" Duke Blue had the least respect for Mary among the cast—a scandal-ridden, insignificant actress clinging to fame through a flash-marriage to Director Locke and exploiting their divorce rumor for headlines. Now, she dared steal his sponsorship? Where did she get the gall?

Prior losses had been endured in silence, but this direct challenge was intolerable.

Ace then delivered the most infuriating news: Mary had far more screen time than Duke throughout the broadcast—even newcomer Zoe Thatcher had more footage than him.

In disbelief, Duke Blue stormed through the video, skipping forward to confirm Ace’s words. Sure enough, his fans were already in an uproar, flooding the comments with curses aimed at the production team and Mary Scott.

"Young Master Duke, that’s not the worst of it. The worst is, they not only cut your footage but also maliciously edited it to portray you slacking off. What a disgrace!" Ace expressed his outrage.

"What’s the reaction online?" Duke Blue’s expression darkened like an impending storm.

"It’s trending. Fans are already demanding justice for you, though you know fan power is limited. I contacted the company, and they promised to assign staff to this. Don’t worry, Young Master Duke—we’ll fight for your dignity!" Ace assured confidently.

Hearing this, Duke Blue’s wrath marginally eased. Since his company was involved, he felt less worried. Checking his phone, he noticed a rapid increase in followers and some consoling messages from old fans.

Surprised by the unexpected outcome, Duke Blue’s mood shifted, sparking other ideas. Many celebrities leveraged adversity to solidify their fanbase, yet he hadn’t dared until now due to moderate popularity. However, this accident involving Mary inadvertently boosted his numbers. Feeling opportunistic, he devised a plan.

Taking action immediately, Duke Blue dialed his company, then logged into Twitter and crafted a post: "I’m surprised by the result, but I respect the production team’s decision. Also, I hope all Duke’s fans refrain from attacking Mary Scott. As I’ve mentioned before, she’s an outstanding individual, and it’s an honor to collaborate with her."

Duke Blue’s fans, affectionately termed "Duke’s treasures," felt conflicting emotions at his thoughtful yet wistful statement. While ostensibly respecting the production team, Duke subtly conveyed surprise at the outcome. And though praising Mary for her talents, his post stirred suspicion regarding the production team cutting his footage and elevating Mary.

Ordinary viewers shrugged off the insinuations, but Duke’s fans—incensed by his humility—mobilized aggressively against Mary, amplifying the hashtag #DukeBlueBullied. Misled by ghostwriters and fervent fans, many uninformed users joined the chorus condemning Mary, some even storming Raspberry Snacks’ official Twitter account.

The situation escalated. Mary’s phone vibrated incessantly until she muted it and checked Duke Blue’s tweet.

Reading it drained her anger—this guy was the ultimate manipulative drama king with a two-facedness that could rival the best politicians.

Beside her, David Locke noticed Mary’s reaction. "Need help?"

Mary shook her head. "This small matter doesn’t require you."

David raised an eyebrow; this woman had limited abilities yet somehow spoke with such gall. He smirked at her. "Small matter? Didn’t you end up as a utility player in the industry due to matters like this before?"

Mary felt slightly embarrassed by the blunt reminder but justified herself, "I was inexperienced back then and got framed."

"Oh." David remembered researching Mary’s downfall—a failed attempt to court an investor, resulting in his wife catching them and her reputation plummeting. Soon after, Starlight blacklisted her.

While he’d heard of Mary during that scandal, he hadn’t cared. He didn’t know until recently that she’d adopted a new name after returning home as Moll Scott.

Mary felt unnerved by David’s ambiguous "oh" and asked hesitantly, "What’s ’oh’ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Let me know if you need help." David added, quickly realizing his offer might sound clingy. He clarified, "We’re married, and in showbiz, a couple’s reputations are tied. If yours gets tarnished, it affects me."

"I understand." Mary had become more attuned to David’s methods lately and recognized his protective concern. She responded softly, then turned back to monitor Twitter activity related to Duke Blue’s post. She had to admit—his cunning strategy successfully incited hostility against her and the show.

Some users directly accused her of leveraging power to abuse others.

Mary was baffled; when had she ever had any power to leverage?

Yet the danger was clear: if public sentiment continued to spiral, her slowly recovering reputation and popularity might face severe backlash.

As the buzz grew hotter, detractors dredged up her rumored relationship with Simon Baker, speculating that Mary conspired with the crew and cast to fake reports denying it. They claimed Mary and Simon were having an affair; otherwise, why would the production team unapologetically favor her and hand her Raspberry’s sponsorship?

Others floated theories that Director Locke’s backing emboldened Mary to exert influence, forcing the show to boost her, cut Duke Blue’s footage, and steal his sponsorship...

Speculation snowballed, pushing the controversy toward chaos. Even unrelated participants of "Detectives and Wilderness" found themselves trending.

Suddenly, "Detectives and Wilderness" rivaled mainstream top-tier variety shows in buzz, drawing widespread attention.

Mary frowned deeply, eventually calling Simon Baker.

Simon had anticipated strong engagement for the premier episode but hadn’t expected it to explode this way. Still soaking in the joy of breaking records with over one billion views by midnight, he saw Mary’s number flash and answered excitedly. "Miss Scott, are you too thrilled to sleep?"

Mary paused in surprise before quickly realizing the director was elated by the show’s success, blissfully ignorant of the escalating feuds. She took a deep breath. "Director Baker, do you remember our agreement?"

Simon took a moment to process before fully waking up from his celebratory high. "Don’t worry, Miss Scott; we’ll definitely clear your name."

Recalling the solo shots he ordered of Duke Blue slacking off, Simon—although a semi-newbie himself—wouldn’t tolerate anyone stirring trouble on his show.

"I want to hear Director Baker’s specific plan," Mary said sharply, cutting straight to the point.

This time, she wouldn’t settle for vague reassurances!

......

Seeing so many sweethearts consistently voting for recommendations—especially Autumn Not Returning, Beside the Water, Xuan@Qi, Auntie Treasure, Moonshadow...

Thank you so much.

Heartfelt gratitude! Love you!

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