Chapter 364 Hygiene Scandal

Chapter 364 Hygiene Scandal

A month later, Victoria was on set filming as usual when Serafina suddenly ran over, looking panicked. "Victoria, check Twitter!"

Victoria grabbed the phone and saw several eye-catching trending headlines: "Top Star Victoria's Dessert Shop Exposed for Food Safety Issues," "Victoria, Heartless Businesswoman!" "Sweet Haven Corner Sends Customers to Hospital." Her brow furrowed slightly; there was trouble at Sweet Haven Corner.

Just then, Wilmer called. "Victoria, did you see the trending news? What's going on with your dessert shop?"

Victoria replied, "This blew up so fast. I hadn't heard anything about it before. Is someone targeting me?"

Wilmer responded, "Of course. This is serious stuff, not just a minor issue. If it's true, you'll be labeled a problematic celebrity, and the show you're filming might not even air." He wasn't exaggerating; the director and producer of the show had also received the news and were rushing over. They needed to quickly confirm the truth with Victoria and clarify things to avoid public backlash against the show.

Sweet Haven Corner was a chain of upscale dessert shops Victoria had started while in school, now boasting dozens of locations. It was a well-known brand. However, Victoria found it odd that she hadn't promoted herself as the owner after becoming famous, and had only used her image in advertisements for a year. So who had connected the shop's hygiene issues to her so quickly? A food safety problem at a chain store wouldn't usually attract this much attention unless Victoria's name was attached to it.

Victoria's scandal was a delight to her haters. She had been in the spotlight for three years, overshadowing all her peers and even many veterans, causing a lot of jealousy. Some had called the city hotline to inquire about the issue, and the response was: "It's mostly true and under investigation." 

With the government acknowledging it, Victoria had no way to clear her name. The comments on the trending topic were full of fans from various camps seizing the chance to attack Victoria, questioning her character, accusing her of plastic surgery, suggesting she used body doubles in her acting—basically attacking her from every angle.

"Hasn't Victoria always marketed herself as wealthy? Why is she making money this way? The richer you are, the lower your moral standards!"

"Boycott problematic celebrity Victoria, boycott Radiant Rebel!"

"We can't cancel a whole show because of one person. The other actors are innocent. Leon, it's not too late to replace Victoria. I still want to watch Radiant Rebel, just without Victoria."

Some of these comments were from genuinely concerned netizens, but many were deliberately guided by paid trolls. Victoria's fans wanted to defend her, but they were in the dark about the situation and could only urge Victoria's studio to clarify quickly. They believed Victoria wasn't a heartless businesswoman, but couldn't deny the food safety issue at Sweet Haven Corner. Some long-time fans even remembered Victoria's connection to the shop, having seen her there when it first opened and keeping her endorsement ads.

The mastermind behind this was Ella, lying in a hospital bed, happily scrolling through the comments while munching on imported grapes.

During her recovery, Ella had done a lot of thinking. She always felt like she knew Victoria well, but now she was almost certain Victoria had also come back from the future and knew her just as well, repeatedly thwarting her plans. The horse accident was unexpected, but if she hadn't tried to switch horses with Victoria, it wouldn't have happened. 

She had wanted to switch because Victoria had misled her into thinking her horse was gentle. Victoria had worked hard and even lowered her fee to get the role of the second lead. And what did she get? Injury, reduced screen time, and a weakened character. Could this all be Victoria's scheme?

Thinking this, Ella felt a sudden chill and hugged her arms. No, she couldn't let the crew bully her! If the show wouldn't benefit her enough, she'd ruin it. And she couldn't be too direct, to avoid offending the director and writer too much—she needed to shift the blame.

Victoria had squeezed her shop out of business before, so she decided to target Victoria's chain store. With so many locations, it was easy to tamper with one. She bribed a server to use spoiled fruit in the desserts, successfully sending customers to the hospital. This trick was inspired by Victoria; Ella had been expelled from school because of spoiled food. Victoria had caused her expulsion, injury, and delayed filming—now Ella would ruin Victoria's reputation and career!

When the director arrived, Victoria's expression remained calm. She bowed and apologized, "Director, I'm sorry for affecting the show's reputation. But I'll resolve this quickly and it won't impact the production."

The director asked, "How will you resolve it? Are you going to issue a statement saying it's all rumors? The screenshots from the city department are out there. I think you should apologize sincerely and ask for public forgiveness." He was frustrated; the filming had been fraught with issues. First, Ella got injured, causing delays and script changes. Now the lead actress Victoria was facing a scandal. Could this show even continue?

Dennis also came over, looking worriedly at Victoria. "You're juggling filming and managing a chain store. A bit of oversight is understandable. The problem is someone is pushing this issue to incite public anger and smear you. I believe in your character and hope the crew can unite and support Victoria to minimize the negative impact."

Dennis's words were entirely in Victoria's favor, unconditionally trusting her, which touched her. But she raised a hand to signal for calm. "Don't rush to take sides yet. Rest assured, I won't let this affect our show. I'll talk to Sweet Haven Corner's management and issue a joint statement. You'll see."

Victoria stood up, brushed off her clothes, and said calmly, "Now, let's get back to filming."

Despite the scandal, Victoria's composure impressed the crew. The director, though worried, realized there was little he could do if Victoria wasn't panicking. He called out, "Everyone, stop discussing this. Get back to your positions and let's finish today's scenes."