Chapter 875 Scandal
Phoebe smiled and changed the subject, "How have you been lately? I heard your new show is about to air. It's already a hit even before its premiere. Can you invite me to the celebration party?"
Evan gave her a sidelong glance, "Are you sincere?"
"It hurts me that you would ask. There's probably no one in this world who wishes you well more than I do," Phoebe said earnestly.
Evan looked at her smiling face. She hadn't changed at all, still as sincere as when they first met. "I believe you."
Just then, the airport broadcast announced boarding for passengers to Suncrest City. They stood up and queued to board.
On the plane, Evan had bought a business class ticket, and Phoebe was seated a row away from him. Neither of them switched seats until the plane landed at Suncrest City International Airport.
When Phoebe got up to retrieve her luggage, Evan lent a hand and took her suitcase down. They exchanged a smile.
The passenger who had been sitting next to Evan recognized him but didn't dare to take photos during the flight. Now, seizing the opportunity, she snapped several pictures of the two of them.
It wasn't until Evan noticed and looked her way that she quickly put away her phone, gave him a guilty smile, and hurried to get her luggage and deplane.
As soon as she got off the plane, she posted the photos on Facebook.
[OMG, I ran into Evan! He's even more handsome in person. I also saw him being so kind, helping a girl with her luggage. So heartwarming!]
This Facebook post was quickly discovered by a marketing account, which reposted it in bulk. The algorithm pushed its popularity forward, and the hashtag #Evan'sLooks# quickly climbed into the top fifty news headlines.
Evan's fans rushed over upon hearing the news, flooding the original post with comments.
[Wow, wow, wow, it's my Evan! That jawline is just too handsome. How can Evan be so good-looking? I can't take my eyes off you!]
[I'm so jealous.]
At first, everyone was praising how handsome Evan was. At some point, a fan commented: [Does anyone else recognize that the girl Evan helped with the luggage looks like the boss of Superstar Entertainment?]
With that reminder, everyone noticed that the other person in the photos did indeed look like Phoebe, who had been frequently appearing in the news headlines recently.
Someone found a photo of Phoebe for comparison and confirmed they were the same person.
The tone of the comments began to shift.
Haters swarmed in and started indiscriminately attacking Evan.
[Oh, Evan's fans dug up his scandal themselves. Congrats, Evan's fans, Evan's about to have a girlfriend.]
[Whether she's his girlfriend or not, who knows? Maybe Evan is just sucking up to Ms. Ziegler, trying to climb the social ladder.]
A few comments were enough to ignite the anger of Evan's fans. Some were so furious their eyes turned red, and they couldn't help but fight back.
[Some people have such dirty minds. They were just on the same flight. For all you know, it was a coincidence, but in your eyes, it seems like something substantial has already developed.]
[Exactly. Even if they are dating, so what? He's single, she's single. Ms. Ziegler being Evan's girlfriend, with her looks, is way better than your idol flaunting their love with someone who's had plastic surgery.]
The online argument escalated, and the hashtag #Evan'sGirlfriend# shot up to the fifth spot in the news headlines, with its popularity still rising. In less than an hour, it reached the top spot.
Lawton noticed the headline and immediately called Theodore to report.
At that moment, Theodore was at Phoebe's house taking care of the three kids. During the day, the kids were full of energy, and even one could be a handful for an adult, let alone three.
Theodore had been playing with them in the study. He had bought washable paints and was teaching them to paint. Except for Ethan, who was learning properly, Hubert, Boris, and Noomi were just playing around.
They started on paper but soon found it more fun to press their paint-covered hands on the floor, leaving handprints everywhere.
After handprints, they moved on to footprints, covering the study floor with their marks.
Theodore had called out to them several times, but seeing how much fun they were having, he let them be. After all, dirty clothes could be washed, and the floor could be cleaned.
The kids' happiness was the most important.
He had been so tired from taking care of the kids that he dozed off on the couch. When he woke up, he felt something sticky on his face. Looking in the mirror, he saw three small handprints on his face.
Lawton's call came at an inopportune moment, just as Theodore was trying to resist the urge to spank Hubert, Boris, and Noomi. His tone was not pleasant, "Speak!"
Lawton was startled by his cold tone and stammered, "It's just that..."
"What? If you can't speak clearly, donate your tongue to someone who needs it," Theodore said, looking at himself in the mirror, getting angrier and then laughing at his own anger.
Hearing the laughter, Lawton's heart tightened. He didn't know what had triggered Theodore, but it was clearly not a good time to bring up the news headline.
But not saying anything would be even worse.
Having come this far, Lawton decided to get straight to the point, "Mr. Reynolds, Ms. Ziegler is in the news headlines. She was photographed with Evan on the plane."
"What did you say?"
Phoebe went to Suncrest City to visit the set. How did she get entangled with Evan?
Theodore knew about Evan's feelings for Phoebe. It was a year after he and Phoebe divorced, at an entertainment gala, where he had a brief conversation with Evan.
To call it a conversation was an overstatement; it was more like Evan mocking him, and he didn't respond.
However, at this moment, he clearly remembered what Evan had said. Evan said the first time he met Phoebe was when he ran into her crying alone in the Imperial Apartment complex during a night run. He felt sorry for her and took her out for a late-night snack.
She was still downcast, so he took her to a friend's recording studio, where he was amazed by her proficiency with several instruments.
The second time they met was at the airport. She was wearing high heels, and her heels had been rubbed raw. He gave her a pair of shoes.
Later, he found her walking miserably on the highway and gave her a ride to the beach.
Evan said he knew every time she was upset, it was because of Theodore. At first, he felt sorry for her, but later, he didn't know how it turned into affection.
When Theodore heard Evan's words back then, he thought Evan was deliberately provoking him and responded harshly, "Now that I'm divorced from her, if you're so moved, you can pursue her. No need to flaunt in front of me how many times you've met her in private or how many times you've helped her."
Evan looked at him for a long time, then smirked and left a nearly mocking remark, "Mr. Reynolds, you really don't know how good you have it."
Even today, thinking about Evan's words made Theodore feel terrible. If Phoebe had shown even a little care for him back then, he wouldn't have insisted on the divorce.
On the other end of the line, Lawton waited a long time for Theodore's response and nervously asked, "Mr. Reynolds, should we take down the news headline?"
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