Chapter 115 - 114: We Don’t Want It
The "award swap" scandal caused a huge uproar online. Wendy Campbell was flamed so badly she had to disable her comments.
Netizens then turned their attention to the award’s official account. The judging committee, left with no other choice, scrambled to appease the public outrage. They quickly issued an announcement stating they would create a special award for Joanna Kennedy as compensation, that the Best Newcomer Award would not be revoked, and offered a sincere apology.
This conciliatory attitude placated some of the fans’ anger, but a small, indignant portion remained: [Is that it? You only apologize after you get caught? What were you thinking in the first place? Our Jojo doesn’t want a tainted award like this.]
[Unbelievable. They think making up an award and letting her keep the other one makes everything okay? That their mistake can just be written off? Is this how officials handle things now?]
[Heh, it’s just a Best Supporting Actress award. Our Jojo doesn’t care about it anyway. The thought of it having been held by *that someone* is just disgusting!]
A legitimate official award is highly prestigious. As soon as these fans’ comments came out, they drew sour remarks from fans of other celebrities.
[You Joanna’s Fans are rejecting the award, but does Joanna Kennedy herself even know?]
[Say what you will, but since the officials offered to make it up to her, Joanna should just take it. She ends up with an extra Best Newcomer Award. She’s totally coming out ahead.]
[Hahaha, just hope she doesn’t end up with nothing. It’ll be too late for regrets then.]
They made it sound like Joanna Kennedy was getting some huge bargain.
Someone immediately retorted: [Would your idol like to have this kind of "good fortune"?]
[Yeah, why not?]
[.........]
It just went to show, you couldn’t reason with some people.
Joanna Kennedy read through the comments for a long while before closing her tablet.
Out of sight, out of mind.
She stared at the gleaming gold trophy on her nightstand, feeling more and more aggrieved the longer she looked. Her initial excitement and appreciation had been shattered to pieces.
’What a worthless trophy! I don’t want it!’
The moment Simon Lockwood walked in, he saw her sitting cross-legged on the floor, a resentful look on her face.
The late autumn weather was already getting chilly. Sitting on the floor made it easy to catch a cold, especially since Joanna’s constitution was already weak.
Simon Lockwood furrowed his brow, his tone disapproving. "Is there nowhere else to sit? Get up."
"This is the only way I can suppress the raging fire of anger inside me," Joanna said, turning to face him with a gloomy look.
As she turned, Simon Lockwood saw the tablet she had been blocking from view.
"........."
"When did you find out?" Simon Lockwood asked her.
Joanna sulked for a moment before saying, "An hour ago."
’So, Joanna has been sitting here for an hour?’
Simon Lockwood felt a surge of anger, but when he saw the girl with her head hung low, that anger was doused as if by cold water, and he couldn’t bring himself to be mad.
"Get up first."
Simon Lockwood held out his hand. Joanna took it to pull herself up, but after sitting cross-legged for so long, her legs had gone numb. She stumbled as she stood, falling into the man’s warm, pleasant-smelling embrace.
Remaining in his embrace, Joanna said in a muffled voice, "Simon, I don’t want this trophy anymore..."
Simon’s large hand gave the nape of her neck a reassuring squeeze.
Joanna added, "And I don’t want that Best Supporting Actress award either..."
She never claimed to be above it all, but she’d be damned if she’d let herself be backstabbed and then eagerly accept their handout. The very thought was repulsive.
Why should she be the one to swallow the grievance and compromise? She refused.
"Have you made up your mind?"
Simon Lockwood didn’t ask for a reason. Instead, he reached out, tucked a slightly messy strand of her hair behind her ear, and lowered his head to gaze at her.
Joanna pouted her moist lips, nodded forcefully, and said, "Mhm!"
"Their character is terrible. They’re not fit to be judges," Joanna said. "My excellence doesn’t need their definition."
"I’m going to issue a statement saying I won’t accept the award."
They were words that might sound spoiled and arrogant, but hearing them from her, Simon Lockwood felt a strange sense of pride.
’His somewhat pampered little girl has grown up, and grown up well.’ He thought. ’After everything she’s been through, the highs and the lows, she hasn’t lost that bright pride that is uniquely hers.’
Simon Lockwood tapped her pouting lips, a barely perceptible smile in his eyes. "Okay, we won’t take it."
’Simon agreed? He didn’t lecture me or call me impulsive?’
Joanna was a little surprised. "You don’t think I’m being too childish?"
"Why would I think you’re being childish?" Simon Lockwood’s voice was low and pleasant. "You’re an adult. You can make your own decisions."
’Whether it was a good decision or a bad one, as long as Joanna wanted to do it, she could. He would be there to handle the fallout anyway.’
Joanna got her phone back as she wished. She had just logged into her Weibo account when she hesitated and changed her mind. "Actually, I’m not going to post about this myself. It would lower my class. Best to let the professionals handle professional matters."
She didn’t want to give those people any ammunition. If she posted that, many people would support her, but there would definitely be others who would say she was being unforgiving even though she was in the right.
Throwing a tantrum was useless; solving the problem was what mattered most.
The smile in Simon Lockwood’s eyes deepened. He couldn’t resist leaning down and nipping her highly pouted lips. He sighed softly and remarked, "Joanie, you’ve grown up."
’He says that like he’s so much older. We’re the same age, but he just loves to act all mature.’
Joanna huffed. "Mr. Lockwood, enough with the overbearing CEO lines."
Simon Lockwood laughed in exasperation, leaned down, and bit her lips again without a shred of courtesy, gratified to hear her indignant gasp.
Online, discussions about how Joanna Kennedy would respond were raging.
Just then, everyone saw that Fullstar’s official account had released a statement. It was concise, powerful, and firmly protective of their artist’s interests. They accepted the apology but would not be accepting the award.
Accepting the apology showed magnanimity; not accepting the award showed their disapproval of the committee’s actions. The two were not mutually exclusive.
In an instant, not only did Joanna Kennedy gain countless new followers, but Fullstar’s official account did as well.
A company that was so fiercely protective of its talent was a rare sight.
During this time, the few celebrities and public figures who spoke up for Joanna Kennedy also gained many fans.
Among them were Shirley Shepherd and Owen Jennings, which gave netizens something new to ship.
[AHHHH, OUR OJ IS THE SWEETEST! Where is the world? The whole world is behind you! No matter how others slander you, I will stand firmly behind you!! What is this divinely sweet, world’s-best love story!!!]
[Preach! Say more! I’m shipping this so hard it’s killing me! I knew our Owen had good taste. I actually unfollowed him at first for speaking up for Joanna Kennedy, but now I declare I’m a die-hard fan!]
[Is no one going to praise our goddess Shirley Shepherd?! You rarely see such a sincere friendship in the entertainment industry. May the two beauties walk a path of flowers together!]
[They’re all such good people, sob sob sob. May the sisters’ friendship last forever!]
Then the unconventional ship fans popped up.
[Is it definitely just friendship? Hehehe, a romantic angle wouldn’t be bad either. Yuri for the win!]