Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 179: Friend or Foe?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Samantha was no stranger to that scene because the woman in the video was her rather than Harmony.

From that back figure alone, no one would doubt it was Harmony if they were told that it was her.

Samantha had once thought that her back figure was very similar to Harmony. The blurry video only served to enhance their similarities and practically made them indistinguishable from each other.

Samantha continued to read the other comments. As it turned out, her viewers and votes surpassed Harmony during the first 25 minutes of the live broadcast. The number of Jade’s votes was not worth a mention, but Samantha led Harmony by nearly twice the number of votes.

Based on that trend, Samantha should have been the one to get first place. The tsunami of votes for Harmony—the brave anchor who saved the child and fought against the hostage-taking madman that barged into Lychee TV—only came in during those last five minutes, when the anonymous netizen uploaded the video.

Everyone admired such a heartening individual and enjoyed seeing such a heroic incident. Netizens from all walks of life subsequently poured into her live broadcast and voted for her.

The viewers came in such numbers that it turned the tables in her favor with only five minutes to spare. In the end, she narrowly defeated Samantha by one vote and won the competition.

Samantha’s hand clenched slowly after reading everything.

She had earlier accepted the results of her loss because she thought it was a fair fight and believed that Harmony’s performance was much better than hers.

However, she was the one who dealt with the madman and saved the child. She did not mind if the entire world was oblivious to her good deeds, but that did not mean she would let others take the credit, especially not when it cost her the competition.

That was, without a doubt, extremely unfair to her!

When the taxi reached the villa, Samantha paid the fare and got out of the car. Her heart warmed up uncontrollably when she was welcomed by Old Madam Barker and Aunt Julia.

Old Madam Barker stepped forward, held Samantha’s hand, and said bluntly, “Sammy, I watched your live broadcast from the beginning until the end! You performed spectacularly and will always be the champion in my heart!”

Aunt Julia nodded repeatedly. “Yes, Mrs. Barker. I feel the same way.”

Samantha hugged them back. “Thank you, Grandma. Thank you, Aunt Julia. But...”

‘…I haven’t lost yet.’

She did not say the last few words out loud because she did not want them to fret over it until it was settled.

Old Madam Barker could not help but ask, “But what?”

Samantha smiled and acted coy. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just a little hungry. I’d like to have some of the refreshing pudding Aunt Julia made!”

“Alright, Mrs. Barker! I’ve prepared it already,” Aunt Julia replied immediately.

“Okay! Let’s go in and eat it together, Grandma.”

Old Madam Barker responded naturally. “Sure, sure.”

After having supper, Samantha went back to her room upstairs. She sat on the sofa, took out her cell phone to check the time, and realized it was almost 11.

Harmony had probably already returned home by then after finishing the interview. She would have also been able to read the news on the internet.

She would have seen the video and realized that she was not the heroine that the video said she was. Therefore, her votes and her victory—which only came about because of the video—did not belong to her.

Judging from Harmony’s magnanimity, civility, and high emotional quotient which she had shown in front of Samantha before, it was conceivable that Harmony would take steps to remedy the situation, unless…

Samantha stopped herself from thinking ill of Harmony.

Despite her unwillingness to denounce a person and assume that they had malicious intent, she was not a fool either. Whether Harmony was friend or foe would soon become known.

Samantha’s cell phone rang about five minutes later. She glanced at the caller ID and saw Harmony’s name.

Her lips twitched and she answered. “Hello.”

Harmony’s pleasant voice came from the other end. “Hey Sammy. I just got home and saw the video posted on Waybo. I don’t know why that netizen said it was me. What a hilarious mix-up.”

“Is it hilarious to you?” Samantha asked indifferently. “It was this mix-up that allowed you to secure a sudden surge of votes and win the competition.”

Harmony was silent at the other end. When she finally answered, there were hints of confusion and dejection, “Sammy, don’t you think you’re being biased against me when you say something like that? We promised each other to compete without letting our friendship be affected. I won the competition with my own strength. I know that not being able to win the competition will almost certainly make you unhappy, but you can’t deny my strength just because of that. I was selected by the judges and the audience. My victory is fair and square.”

“Of course, I have no problem acknowledging that you got first place,” Samantha said casually, “But please clarify that the woman in the video is not you, but me. If the audience still feels that you deserve first place, then I will continue to acknowledge that as well.”

“Definitely. I am more than willing to clarify!”

Harmony answered quickly and confidently. “My first reaction when I saw Waybo was to clarify, but...”

She took a breath and lowered her voice a little. “But...”

She paused mid-sentence as if there was something she could not say.

Samantha did not hear the continuation and so pressed further. “Are you going to do it or not?”

Harmony was silent.

Samantha felt disappointed but it was not entirely unexpected. “If you think that your ability will be acknowledged by everyone and cement your victory in everyone’s mind, then post the clarification. You won’t be affected by the clarification anyway. If you don’t post the clarification, then deep down, you know that you piggybacked on a video of me to get the votes and win the competition.

“But at this moment, you’re still trying to paint yourself as innocent and portray yourself as having nothing to do with the situation. You’re overestimating yourself, Harmony.”

Harmony’s voice did not seem panicked at all after being exposed. She continued to speak in a very innocent voice, “Sammy, I know that you’re in a bad mood right now and it’s normal to overthink. How about this, since we’re all tired today, you should have some rest. We can talk again once you calm down.”

Samantha ended the call right away.

There was nothing more she could say when it came to that.

The video did not appear too early nor too late; it happened to appear in the last five minutes of the competition with the sole purpose of preventing Samantha from making a comeback. By the time she was aware of it, the dust had long settled.

Harmony has not only cheated but even made it clear that she would step on Samantha to win the competition.

Simply stepping on Samantha to win the competition was not even the end of it. She even called to feign innocence and maintain her kind persona in front of Samantha.

If Samantha’s fortitude had been weak and her brain was a little slower, she might end up being fooled by Harmony and continue being played into her hands.

Samantha said that she would be willing to accept her loss if it was a fair competition, but when it was clear that unfairness was at play, she was not about to just let it slide.

…

The next day.

Samantha woke up early because she wanted to go to Lychee TV. As soon as she came out from her shower and was about to change her clothes, there was an unexpected knock on her room door.

Aunt Julia’s voice rang from the other side of the door, “Mrs.. Barker, you have a visitor.”