Chapter 360: Chapter 360

Because there were so many people who had been publicly shamed by Paige Sterling before, many have now become more rational and refuse to take sides before the dust settles.

Remember, there were multiple instances of concrete evidence proving Paige’s innocence before, but what was the result each time?

So siding with caution is necessary.

Now, Penson’s PR team is also quite baffled. If it had been any other online rumor, they wouldn’t hesitate to know how to handle it.

But this time, it’s hard evidence. How are they supposed to clear Paige’s name?

"What do we do? Should we notify God Sterling?"

Privately, they absolutely don’t believe that Paige is someone who would commit plagiarism. Perhaps there’s some unknown information here?

"Call God Sterling and ask, see what God Sterling says." Official source ıs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥

When the PR team called Paige, Paige was with Summer Xavier.

Summer had also seen the online debate and looked quite displeased.

"Is this Rose Payne out of her mind? You clearly finished that manuscript two months ago. If there’s any plagiarism, it’s she who plagiarized first, right?"

Paige took a sip of tea and said nothing.

Seeing Paige so composed while she herself was anxious, Summer had an expression like a eunuch fretting while the emperor stayed calm.

"Paige, think carefully. Could it be that in the past two months, something happened that you didn’t notice, causing the manuscript to be leaked and seen by Rose Payne?"

Such a high level of similarity is very problematic.

Since Paige isn’t possibly the plagiarizer, then Rose must be the issue.

Summer never had a good impression of Rose, and she believed strongly in the possibility that Rose had plagiarized from Paige.

If it’s true that Rose plagiarized Paige’s work and then shamelessly played the victim, that would be truly outrageous.

Paige didn’t say anything. At this moment, her phone rang; it was the PR team calling.

She answered and said, "You all don’t need to worry about the online commotion for now."

Since Paige said so, the PR team had no choice but to comply.

Summer calmed down too; seeing Paige’s demeanor, she was sure there was a countermeasure in place—Rose was doomed.

Moreover, creating a plagiarism scandal at this time meant Paige didn’t even need to hold a press conference, it directly advertised Penson.

Meanwhile, at the Hawthorne Group, Shaun Jones compiled the online issue and presented it to Julian Hawthorne.

Shaun then observed that President Hawthorne’s expression grew colder and almost froze over.

The atmosphere in the entire office plummeted to freezing point instantly.

Shaun stood in front of the desk, not daring to make a sound.

Whenever there were negative issues related to Paige, Julian would react this way, and Shaun was used to it.

He waited until Julian finished reading before asking, "President Hawthorne, do you need me to mobilize the PR team to handle these rumors?"

After all, Rose Payne is just a small figure; dealing with such a person is too easy. In less than thirty minutes, the issue could completely disappear online.

As long as the topic loses heat online, such matters can’t be hyped up.

However, it inevitably would leave a stain on Paige’s reputation.

Shaun thought, Julian would never do that, as the wife-protective President Hawthorne would never allow a blemish on his wife’s name.

Sure enough, Julian coldly said, "No need."

And soon, the situation escalated further.

After the competition ended, one of the judges named Samuel Lee took Rose as his apprentice on the program.

Samuel Lee is a well-known figure in the domestic art scene. Initially, he had no impression of Rose, but once he saw her piece "Rainbow," he immediately recognized Rose’s potential and believed she was a silent genius painter with immense potential when it mattered.

Fearing others would take Rose, he announced his intention to take her as an apprentice directly on stage.

Once Rose accepted, their master-apprentice title was set.

Now that his apprentice is in trouble, naturally, he stands up for her.

Though Paige has a big name, this time there’s concrete evidence. He doesn’t believe the outcome will change; he’s also aiming for a good reputation and doesn’t mind offending Paige.

After all, no matter how influential Paige is, can she really have that much control in Veridia?

So Samuel Lee is online fully supporting Rose, joining the crusade against Paige.

Old Professor Keating and Professor Lancaster, who are somewhat acquaintances with Samuel, advised him against speaking out online.

Old Professor Keating said, "To tell you the truth, I saw Paige’s painting before the DQ Cup art competition even started. She discussed it with me in detail. To say she copied, it’s simply impossible."

Researchers know that from the design draft to the final product requires time.

The DQ Cup just ended, how could Penson’s new product be plagiarized in such a short timespan?

And seeing Paige’s painting skills firsthand, there’s truly no need for her to plagiarize.

So he was more inclined to believe Rose somehow accessed Paige’s painting through undisclosed means and used it to compete and win.

To be honest, comparing Paige’s original work with what Rose imitated, the disparity is vast.

Rose caught the structure and color of the painting but couldn’t emulate its essence in any way.

Simply put, Paige’s work looks as though it has a soul, whereas Rose’s feels hollow, like an empty framework without a soul, appearing very bland.

But this is all based on not having Paige’s original work for comparison.

Because the painting is so remarkable, even if Rose only captured fifty percent, it still amazed people and earned applause.

Samuel Lee is someone who cherishes art and talent, and that’s precisely why he was eager to take Rose, fearing others would snatch her away.

His disciple being bullied , he felt he must stand up, to fight not only for his apprentice but also preserve the culture’s integrity.

Imagine if everyone condoned Paige’s plagiarism, wouldn’t imitating run rampant within the circle, given how low the cost of plagiarizing is? Who would focus on creating original work then?

However, Samuel Lee didn’t believe them, thinking Old Professor Keating and Professor Lancaster were shielding Paige because of her talent in research, afraid she’d be marked with the stain of plagiarism.

But Samuel Lee couldn’t care less about the research field.

No matter how talented Paige is in research, he wouldn’t tolerate her plagiarism!

But seeing that both Old Professor Keating and Professor Lancaster came to speak to him in person, he knew he couldn’t go too far, saying, "It’s not impossible for us to let Paige go, but she must publicly apologize to Rose and pay a copyright fee. I would persuade Rose not to pursue it further."

Professor Keating and Professor Lancaster, "..."

Samuel Lee has more than one apprentice, and another of his pupils had some reservations about this.

Both Old Professor Keating and Professor Lancaster are towering figures in the research domain, if Paige’s character truly had blemishes, they wouldn’t stake their reputation to defend her.