Chapter 110: This Has Nothing to Do with You
Who enters a competition if not to win?
A strange thought flickered through Isabella's mind.
The contestant's words carried a deliberate ambiguity that could easily be twisted by anyone with ulterior motives, making it seem as if Isabella or Infinity Ventures Corporation had bought the championship.
Even if they won, it wouldn't be an honorable victory.
After locking eyes with Jane, who had just announced her withdrawal, Isabella quickly turned her gaze toward that figure in the audience.
Was Summit Holdings Corporation's contestant withdrawing because of William? Had he orchestrated this? Was he willing to pay such a steep price just to brand her a cheater?
Isabella's thoughts swirled in confusion.
The host hurried from the edge of the stage to center stage. "As of right now, you have the highest vote count, and the outcome is still undecided. The most important thing is to see this through to the end—"
The host tried to salvage the situation with professional skill, but Jane's determination to withdraw was absolute. She gave him no opportunity to persuade her otherwise.
"The finals suddenly cut the time in half, causing every contestant to perform poorly—except for one person who finished her work early. Just who was this format change designed to help?"
Jane stood at center stage, publicly challenging the host.
"I believe justice will prevail, and I believe the audience has sharp eyes. Everyone can see just how unfair today's competition has been! Using such dirty tactics—can you really sleep peacefully at night after winning this way?"
She stopped just short of naming Isabella directly.
The audience was shocked by Jane's outburst, and her words sparked murmurs throughout the venue.
"In such a major competition, you can actually buy a championship? That's completely unfair!"
Uninformed crowds are easily swayed. Once someone steps forward as an opinion leader, others follow like sheep, charging blindly into battle.
If someone wanted to manipulate public opinion, Isabella had to admit this was indeed a textbook example.
Listening to the murmurs below, Isabella's expression gradually turned cold.
The host looked embarrassed, and the director rushed onto the stage to mediate. Even after his persuasion, Jane from Summit Holdings Corporation maintained her decision to withdraw.
The live broadcast cameras captured every moment of this drama.
The host had no choice but to hurriedly continue with the remaining ceremony.
Isabella had become the biggest dark horse of the competition, successfully claiming the championship. Third and fourth place also moved up, achieving better results than they originally would have.
During the awards ceremony, Isabella held the golden trophy, standing on stage unable to smile.
She knew that if she didn't do something now, even though she'd won the championship, it wouldn't be a victory she truly deserved.
"Let's thank today's sponsors, Summit Holdings Corporation and Infinity Ventures Corporation—"
The host was following protocol, thanking the sponsors according to the script.
Isabella silently walked toward her, still holding the large trophy.
"I'd like to say a few more words, if I may?" Before speaking, Isabella still sought the host's permission.
The host hesitated, then saw the director nod from below before handing Isabella the microphone.
Gripping the heavy microphone, Isabella looked out at the audience. She could clearly sense that because of Jane's earlier statement, the spectators were deeply dissatisfied with her as champion.
"I request that the vote counts be made public. Since this is a competition, it should be conducted with complete transparency and fairness. Please display both the online vote tallies and the live audience scores."
Isabella's opening statement surprised everyone. Many people didn't understand what she was trying to accomplish.
In the eyes of many audience members, Isabella's move seemed like nothing more than hollow virtue signaling.
She already had the championship trophy in her hands, yet she was still trying to act innocent.
Under Isabella's firm insistence, the production team had no choice but to display the vote counts on the big screen.
Isabella turned to look and discovered her vote count was a whopping five thousand votes ahead of second place.
Looking at the vote breakdown, Isabella had received sixty-five percent of the live audience votes—meaning a significant portion of those present had actually supported Isabella when voting.
"Everyone just saw the submissions, and I don't think I need to prove myself in that regard. You can also see that contestant Jane's vote composition was fifty percent online voting. Do I have the power to force everyone here to vote for me? Every contestant had the same amount of time—there's no advantage for anyone. The fact that I completed my work early only demonstrates that I work faster than she does. It doesn't prove anything else. As for why the production team reduced the competition time, I have no idea. I don't believe I'm obligated to take responsibility for other people's actions."
Isabella stared directly into the camera with unwavering resolve. "I can swear before God that in this competition, I never engaged in any behavior that violated the rules or disrupted the order of the contest."
Given Isabella's position, this was all she could do.
"Similarly, if anyone believes I don't deserve this championship, please provide concrete evidence to prove it, rather than spreading rumors."
After finishing her statement, Isabella handed the microphone back to the host and walked back to her position with quiet dignity.
The audience had fallen silent. Many were stunned by Isabella's passionate and eloquent defense.
Indeed, in this kind of competition testing pure skill, both the live audience and online viewers had enough basic judgment to recognize talent. How could they not tell who was stronger?
After descending the stage with her trophy, Isabella immediately spotted Jane waiting by the backstage entrance—the same contestant who had withdrawn early.
Jane probably hadn't expected that the wave of public opinion she'd tried to create through her withdrawal would ultimately fail to bring Isabella down.
Staring at Isabella, Jane's features became slightly distorted with frustration.
But knowing she was in the wrong, she prepared to leave. That's when she saw Isabella suddenly striding toward her.
"In the final voting, I received a full four thousand votes. Even if you hadn't withdrawn, I still would have been today's champion. My success has nothing to do with your withdrawal, so you don't need to feel you have any connection to this championship. Otherwise, you'll just end up looking like a pathetic clown."
Isabella's tone was perfectly calm as she spoke. She was simply explaining the facts to this person, with no intention of starting an argument.
After leaving this competition venue, Isabella would probably never cross paths with this woman again in her lifetime.
But human nature is perhaps just this complex. When Jane realized she couldn't win the championship, she tried to drag Isabella down with her, hoping to gain sympathy from others.
But she accidentally overplayed her hand, making the situation even more embarrassing.