Chapter 196: Public Opinion Guidance

Katya continued to fan the flames.

"Fox, you guys follow Tyrell to make money and get rich. Now, Tyrell, for the sake of a woman—his rival's woman, no less—is giving up profits that are right within reach. This... if word gets out, I'm afraid it'll break the hearts of everyone under him!"

"Everyone's saying now that Olivia is Tyrell's weakness. Charles just has to squeeze this woman a little, and Tyrell will fall right in line!"

Her words were half-true, half-false, clearly meant to sow discord.

On the other end of the phone, Fox's breathing noticeably grew heavier—she'd obviously hit a nerve.

Tyrell's recent behavior had indeed been causing some grumbling among his core subordinates.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Fox's tone was unfriendly.

"I'm not trying to say anything, just feeling bad for you and the others, Fox."

Katya knew when to stop. "That's all I'll say. Think it over yourself."

With that, she hung up without waiting for Fox's response and quickly deleted all records of her use of this temporary number.

After finishing all this, Katya felt completely refreshed and couldn't help but laugh softly.

In the empty villa, her laughter sounded somewhat eerie.

Good. The seed had been planted.

Now, she just had to wait and see how this show she'd personally directed would unfold.

The rumors Katya spread were like a drop of cold water falling into boiling oil, instantly exploding in certain shady corners of Harmony City and across the bustling online world.

The internet was where it fermented first.

The studios that had taken money worked quite hard. At first, there were just vague hints and suggestions.

"Two business tycoons turn against each other for love?"

"Revealing the mysterious woman making two successful men in Harmony City jealous over her."

After attracting some attention, the language became increasingly explicit and nasty.

[According to insiders, Tyrell is obsessed with Olivia and gave up major business plans just to make Olivia smile!]

[Internal sources: Tyrell's subordinates are extremely dissatisfied, believing a woman has affected Tyrell's judgment!]

Each headline was more shocking than the last, and the content was even more sensationalized.

They described Olivia as a scheming bitch who played men like puppets!

Tyrell became a fool, blinded by beauty!

Charles became the idiot being cheated on by his own girlfriend without knowing it!

Gossip always spreads the fastest.

Major local forums and even comment sections of financial news sites started seeing related discussions.

"Is this real? Tyrell and Charles fighting over a woman?"

"Olivia? That designer who was accused of plagiarism before? Is she really that special?"

"I don't believe it! Mr. Green is so handsome, how could he like the same woman as someone like Tyrell with his shady background?"

"Olivia just looks decent, she's not even as pretty as I am. Why her?"

"You guys don't get it—the innocent-looking ones are the most manipulative! Who knows what she's really like behind closed doors?"

"Mr. Green, wake up! This woman isn't worth it!"

There were all kinds of comments.

Some were just watching the drama, some didn't believe it, some were jealous of Olivia and cursed her out, and a few thought things weren't that simple.

But regardless, the impression that "Olivia is a bitch" began spreading like a virus in many people's minds.

And offline, in Tyrell's circle, this wind was also quietly blowing.

After that mysterious phone call, Fox had been feeling uncomfortable.

He'd followed Tyrell all the way from Celestria, seen blood, fought for his life, all to get ahead and live well.

In his heart, Tyrell had always been a decisive, ambitious leader.

But now, for a woman, he'd actually called off an operation they'd already planned.

This left him confused and even a bit disappointed.

During a few private drinking sessions with some old friends, Fox couldn't help but voice his concerns.

Once he said it, it immediately resonated with the others.

"Yeah, Fox, I also think Tyrell's been acting weird lately."

"That Olivia, I looked into her—nothing special. Why is Tyrell so..."

"I heard Charles teamed up with John because of this woman, and they're investigating us!"

"Tyrell can't go soft now!"

"If people find out Tyrell's being controlled by a woman, how can he keep his reputation?"

These discussions hadn't reached Tyrell's ears yet.

But dissatisfaction and doubt were already spreading among Tyrell's core team.

This storm of public opinion, online and offline, naturally reached the people at its center.

Olivia's studio had just caught its breath from the plagiarism scandal and was struggling to recover.

With the new rumors, she clearly felt people looking at her differently again.

Clients who'd been very interested in working with her started making excuses to delay and put things off.

Even a few young designers in the studio looked at her with a mix of curiosity and contempt.

"Ms. Smith, don't pay attention to what those people are saying online..."

Juliet tried to comfort her carefully, but the worry in her eyes was obvious.

Olivia shook her head but said nothing.

She sat in front of her computer, looking at those disgusting comments, her face growing pale.

She wasn't afraid of business competition or design challenges, but this kind of dirty personal smearing...

It felt like countless fine needles poking her all over, making her uncomfortable.

She didn't even dare think about what Charles would think when he saw these things.

At that moment, Charles was in his office listening to Kevin's report, his face frighteningly dark.

"Mr. Green, public opinion is very unfavorable to us and Ms. Smith."

"It's mainly focused on smearing Ms. Smith personally, and... playing up how you and Tyrell fighting over Ms. Smith has affected your business judgment."

Charles slammed his fist on the desk with a loud bang. He didn't care what people said about him, but he absolutely couldn't tolerate anyone slandering and hurting Olivia like this!

"Find out! Find out who's behind this!"

His voice sounded as if it were squeezed through clenched teeth.

"If it's Tyrell, send him a court summons immediately. Don't hesitate!"