Chapter 3

3 The whole room went silent.

Even the chat took a few seconds to process what I just said.

"Wait, what? Did Ethan show Tiffany Chung's sketches?! Is there proof of this? If that's the case, wouldn't Tiffany be the copycat here?!"

"OMG, this plot is so twisty. They don't even do this in soap operas!"

"Is this free entertainment or what? It’s so good, I gotta go buy some snacks!"

The director of the competition was about to shut everything down because of the 'copycat' scandal. But now he saw how much attention the live stream was getting.

Art is a niche market, and the viewership today was bigger than the viewership for all the preliminary rounds combined.

In the entertainment world, clicks are king.

So, he decided not to shut things down, and instead had the camera focus on the three of us.

When the chat turned against him, Ethan looked panicked. Tiffany started giving him these desperate puppy-dog eyes.

Facing my accusation, Ethan went into denial mode.

He pretended to be totally confused. "Chung, you’re just trying to deflect! Why do you want to drag Tiffany and me into your mess?"

“If Tiffany saw my sketches, then how did you paint so much faster than me? You should be the slow one!”

The chat instantly spun around again after Ethan's accusations.

"Yeah, that's a good point! If Chung is the original artist and already had the sketches beforehand, she should be much faster than Tiffany!"

"It's obvious Chung is the copycat, and is trying to drag other people into her mess so she doesn't look as bad. Poor Ethan, how did he end up with such a toxic girlfriend?"

"If that was me, I’d have kicked her already. Ethan only wants to slap her? He’s way too nice!"

More and more people online were starting to support Ethan and Tiffany. And more people from the city were showing up at the competition, trying to pressure the director.

They had rotten eggs and vegetables, and were glaring at me.

If the security guards weren’t there, I’m pretty sure they would have already thrown those things at me.

Seeing the mob and their outrage, Ethan looked like he’d already won.

He dropped the act, took Tiffany's hand, and they walked up to me.

Ethan, acting concerned, but really rubbing salt into the wound, told me, "Chung, you should just quit the competition and the art world. Never try to call yourself an artist again."

Tiffany nodded in agreement, “Yeah, since you’re Ethan’s ex, I'll let the copycat accusation slide if you drop out. This can all end if you just give up.”

Her supposed ‘generosity’ won her fans online again. Everyone called her a talented angel, a beautiful person inside and out.

And I? I was public enemy number one, the woman everyone wanted to see fall.

I was surrounded by angry people yelling at me, their faces red and twisted. A few of them even tried to get past the security guards so that they could take a swing at my face.

Surrounded by all the hate, I wasn't freaked out, not even a little. I just nodded at their suggestions, as if agreeing with their point of view.

To their shock, I said, "Yeah, the copycat should drop out, you’re right.”

“So, Tiffany, as the copycat, you should just quit the competition right now.”

“And Ethan, as a judge, who helped Tiffany cheat and stabbed the original artists in the back... You have completely ruined the reputation of what a judge should be. You should drop out too!"