Chapter 341: Chapter 341: How Could I Blame You
Knowing Yara Reagan was concerned and confused, Evelyn Clayton forced herself to stay composed and reassure her, "I was driving when you called, so I couldn’t answer."
Yara, sobbing, led her into the office, found some clothes for Evelyn to change into, and then tended to the wound on her arm.
After a while, the police arrived, dealt with the people outside, and came into the factory to take Evelyn Clayton’s statement.
"...I’m not sure who it was." Evelyn was now completely calm, her eyes steady as deep pools. "But I suspect it might be some overzealous internet users, though I can’t rule out the possibility of it being orchestrated by someone."
The officer was surprised by Evelyn’s calm demeanor, and couldn’t help frowning slightly at the sight of her wound, "Miss Clayton, please sign here. We’ll take these individuals back to the police station for investigation and will inform you of the corresponding penalties then."
Evelyn nodded, signed the document, and saw the police out.
Only Evelyn and Yara were left in the office. Yara sat in the chair, downcast and indignant, "What’s going on... Everything seemed to have settled, so why did this happen?"
Evelyn sat behind her desk, pulled open a drawer, and took out a box of cigarettes that she hadn’t touched in a long time.
She took one out and lit it, and finally, her trembling hands steadied.
Yara turned her head and looked at Evelyn through the swirling smoke, her heart full of pity, "Evelyn, I’m sorry... I thought the online sentiment had completely shifted now."
"You can’t blame yourself for this." Evelyn’s voice was hoarse, "You and Iris both said that these people often just follow the trend, making judgments based on images. So with this incident, as some forgive me, naturally others will dislike me more. What’s more..."
Evelyn took a deep drag, exhaled gently, the spicy nicotine burning her throat, and the falling ash singed her finger, making her flinch.
After a moment, Evelyn stubbed out the cigarette and chuckled lightly, "What’s more, maybe someone is manipulating things behind the scenes, just wanting to see me in such a mess."
Yara looked fearful, uncertain, "So what are we going to do next?"
Evelyn said nothing, instead she turned on the computer and brought up the social media platform page.
After the last incident, her long-inactive social media account gained tens of thousands of followers, with her latest birthday post amassing tens of thousands of comments, both positive and negative.
There were compliments from fans from certain platform videos, and relentless daily criticisms, making it very lively.
Evelyn scrolled through the comments for a while, snorted coldly, and then typed out a new post.
As soon as the post was published, Yara’s phone went off with a special notification. She opened the social media app, surprised, and saw Evelyn’s post saying:
"I was assaulted by unidentified individuals today at 1:20 PM in front of the LY Factory. Initial suspicion points to overzealous netizens. I retain the right to pursue legal actions and will not tolerate any gossip or online doxxing. Against those who harm me."
Within a minute, the post had garnered over a thousand comments.
Some lamented the extremism of online users, others accused Evelyn of orchestrating the incident for attention, and some even suggested she was just trying to ride the wave of a previous platform video’s popularity—all in all, it was very lively.
After posting the update, Evelyn shut down the computer, unaffected, and instructed Yara, "Call the workshop supervisor and design team leader for a meeting in half an hour. We need to get moving on establishing our brand."