Chapter 93: Chapter 93

[Is it really that bad when Anna Thornton cooks? Or did she do it on purpose?]

[Who cares, as long as it’s entertaining! It’s the first time I’ve seen a female guest on a cooking show make the male guest and host vomit—impressive! Watching Ethan Hawthorne puke so miserably was so satisfying!]

[Agreed! I’ve long found that male host with a face full of Botox annoying. He’s always bullying female guests on the show and sucking up to male guests with a bit of popularity. Isn’t he fond of asking the girls to make cucumber dishes for him? Well, he got his fill this time! He even threw up... haha! Spicy chili oil with sleazy rotten cucumbers, ahahaha... Anna Thornton’s a genius at naming dishes!]

[I suggest that those who want to denounce Ethan Hawthorne should learn how to eloquently retaliate against scumbags. Just shouting curses online is useless. Also, if any girl feels insulted or offended in any setting, she should retaliate directly like Anna Thornton and show those sleazy cucumbers we’re not to be messed with.]

[Judging by this, Anna Thornton doesn’t seem to be trying to ingratiate herself with Ethan Hawthorne for publicity. They hardly interacted on the show, and it seemed more like Ethan and the male host were trying to suppress her. But her counterattack was so cool; I just realized Anna Thornton is quite like the character she played in her recent film!]

[To the commenter above, I first became a fan of Anna because I liked her character in that movie. I was excited to hear she was returning to develop her career here and even went to greet her at the airport. But seeing the scandals that followed her homecoming turned me off. Now I’m hesitating, realizing she’s actually a lot like Anni. Oh god, my wavering self is tempted to go back to supporting her.]

[I watched the show and kinda want to be a fan, but I can’t because I’m... actually an Ethan Hawthorne fan.]

[To be honest, Anna Thornton is really beautiful. If only she could be a quiet beauty. Yet, she insists on provoking President Sterling... President Sterling is my husband; anyone who messes with him is my rival!]

Mary watched the comment section transition from baseless hate to gradually being won over by Anna Thornton.

The main focus of this episode was supposed to be Ethan Hawthorne, but somehow, Anna Thornton, with her limited screen time, stole the spotlight. So much so that eight out of the ten new discussion threads after the broadcast mentioned Anna Thornton.

Mary was too excited to sleep and was eager to see what the show was really like.

Unfortunately, since the TV broadcast was over, she had to wait for the online version to be uploaded after midnight.

Mary wasn’t the only one sleepless that night.

Ethan Hawthorne never really cared about this little variety show. He took the gig just to flirt. Who would’ve guessed he wouldn’t even succeed in that and ended up being fed something that looked like rice dumplings but tasted like some unidentifiable horror.

It was the first bitter thing he’d eaten in his life, all thanks to Anna Thornton. It ruined his appetite for days. Just thinking about those two rice dumplings made him want to throw up or even die...

That woman was pleasant to look at, so how could her cooking be so unpalatable?

After the recording, all he wanted was to forget the experience entirely and didn’t care about the airing.

It wasn’t until he saw himself being roasted on trending topics.

Some random internet folks, who strangely supported Riley Osborne during the drugging scandal, were stirring things up. They not only collectively denounced Ethan Hawthorne today but actively created content around him puking on the show, editing the scenes into various funny compilations for easy sharing.

Seeing those, Ethan realized that his shameful moment on the show wasn’t cut and was actually aired.

Furious, he demanded his agent contact the show to delete that footage and remove all videos circulating online.

This put the little variety show in a tough spot!

The editing for this episode was just an experimental adjustment by the director’s team, who hadn’t anticipated such wide propagation and favorable reception.

Even after airing, the episode’s buzz continued to grow. Within an hour of the online version’s release, it surpassed the viewership of their best-performing episode.

Hawthorne’s agent demanded the online version be immediately taken down, with all compromising footage deleted, especially the rice dumpling eating scene—wipe it clean.

But the producer understood that the episode’s main draw was precisely the last segment. Everyone came from trending topics to see how Ethan Hawthorne vomited, after all.

They couldn’t decide to give up on this hype. That very night, the overall director sat in front of his computer, looping the Dragon Boat Festival special. As viewers’ comments, usually sparse, began clustering around Anna Thornton’s increased screen time in the latter half, there was a particular explosion of comments during Hawthorne and the host’s vomiting scene. The screen was filled with ’233333’ and ’hahahaha,’ completely covered by laughter.

This program, in nearly two years of airing, was trending for the first time—hitting three that night.

The trending terms were ’Food and Love,’ ’Ethan Hawthorne threw up,’ and ’Just how bad is Anna Thornton’s cooking?’

Soon after one of those, featuring Ethan Hawthorne’s name, went up, it got pulled down.

The remaining two managed to trend based purely on the buzz, without financial boosts—not an easy feat.

By morning, the director had gone through two full packs of cigarettes, seeing the episode’s views rival some of the country’s biggest productions with top stars. He couldn’t let it go.

Not only that, but he also made a particularly bold decision.

He chose to reject Young Master Hawthorne’s demands and keep all the footage from this episode.

However, aware of the Hawthorne family’s formidable influence, the small show couldn’t rely solely on itself. He needed a bigger backer.

He fumbled over his clothes until he remembered he hadn’t washed the outfit from the recording day.

Finally, he found a business card in his laundry.

The card was something he had wheedled from Ethan that day, with no contact info for President Sterling, only Ethan’s.

But that didn’t matter, as long as someone could relay the message to President Sterling.

The director dialed the number on the card and cleared his throat.

"Hey, it’s me! I’m the director of ’Food and Love.’ You and President Sterling came to the set last week, remember?"

"Yeah, I just watched that episode last night," Ethan replied.

Having decided to be a fan of Miss Thornton, Ethan naturally had to fulfill his fan duties, keeping track of his idol’s schedule and supporting all her endorsement activities.

Of course, Anna Thornton hadn’t had any of those yet.

After joining Anna Thornton’s fan club, Ethan found that this was her only TV appearance at the moment. So, he made sure to watch it after work, and excitedly discussed it all night in the fan group. Follow current novᴇls on novelꜰire.net

"What did you think of the airing?" the director asked.

"It was pretty funny," Ethan responded honestly, "I laughed until my stomach hurt!"

Hearing that, the director was relieved: "All thanks to your suggestions for me to identify the show’s issues, I thought long and hard and held meetings to make some changes. The result was spectacular! We hit three trending topics! Three! The clicks skyrocketed a hundredfold, and the hype hasn’t died down!"

This was the first time the director had encountered such a scene, and he was ecstatic, eager to share it all.

Ethan was also pleased; after all, breaking records with his idol’s first variety show promised a bright future.

But at work, in the elevator, he had to maintain the calm demeanor befitting a chief assistant to the president, unable to share his excitement with the director, only nodding with a controlled tone, "Mm-hmm, the adjustments were right, especially respecting the female guests."

"So, is there a chance for continued sponsorship in the second half of the year?"

"I’ll ask President Sterling when he’s available."

"We can’t wait, buddy, hear me out. Changing this episode was tough, and airing it offended Young Master Hawthorne. Now his side wants the segment deleted, but we’re just a small show, unable to withstand pressure from the Hawthorne family. With President Sterling backing us, it’d be much easier."

Understanding the implication, Ethan caught on to the director’s intent.

They were seeking President Sterling’s backing!