Chapter 250: Must Show Sincerity
"Alright, I got it. I'll have Zach arrange it. You must have heard my conversation with Daniel just now. I trust you'll be sensible about this, right? Don't be difficult or pick fights with Daniel later, understand?"
Mason took the opportunity to "lecture" Emily.
Talk about having a short memory.
He knew perfectly well what Emily was like, yet here he was trying to lecture her again.
Emily shook her head. "This time, I really can't agree to that!"
"What do you mean? You're not seriously going to take Daniel's words about letting you be free and happy as an excuse to be willful and do whatever you want, are you? If that's the case, I won't support you two being together."
Mason said hurriedly.
His eyes were full of warning.
Emily's laugh carried a hint of mockery. "Mason, your health wouldn't be this bad if you didn't worry so much about everything, but you refuse to accept you're getting old.
I'm not agreeing, not because I lack perspective, but because if I don't make a fuss, it'll make this whole act look too fake, won't it?"
With Emily's reminder, Mason thought it over and immediately understood.
Looking slightly embarrassed and avoiding Emily's eyes, he coughed lightly to cover his awkwardness. "Since you two have already figured out what to do, I won't interfere."
Emily gave Mason two more acupuncture needles, making him still appear weak.
Later, she didn't stay overnight at the Smith Villa, but prepared to leave.
Today's design competition incident must have already gained traction online, and she needed to plan her next steps.
Since Emily wasn't staying, Daniel naturally wouldn't stay either. Mason could see that.
In the end, he said nothing more and let them both leave.
As Emily expected, the internet was now full of mockery toward Bianca and sympathy for Emily.
Of course, there were also many people praising Emily.
"Emily is both beautiful and smart. Despite experiencing such injustice, she's still so excellent."
"Exactly. Some people are just dumb. Even with such good conditions, they still can't compare to Emily."
"Your face reflects your heart. Bianca just looks mean and petty, no wonder she can't match Emily's bright and likable appearance."
Of course, Byron and Sophia had deliberately guided some of this.
Plus, the organizers, the Green family, had praised and vindicated Emily.
With Emily's reputation improving, Little Bird had steered things in the right direction and even sent Emily a message.
As for the Johnson Group, because of Bianca's comment that Emily had been living in the studio without even a proper room since returning to the Johnson family, many people went to the Johnson Group's official website and hurled all kinds of insults at the Johnson family.
Eli received call after call from the board members demanding answers.
With a dark expression, he looked at Bianca lying in the hospital bed. His first reaction wasn't concern, but to scold her directly: "Look, look at what you've done! Didn't you say all these designs were yours?
Turns out they were all Emily's work! Tell me honestly, were those design drafts you gave to the Johnson Group before also drawn by Emily?"
If he had known Emily was this talented earlier, he wouldn't have treated her this way.
Frankly speaking, Emily was partly to blame too. If she had this ability, why didn't she speak up?
Could she have deliberately kept quiet all these years just to get revenge on the Johnson family?
Aiden also looked at Bianca with some disappointment. "Bianca, you were really wrong this time. You shouldn't have taken Emily's work and claimed it as your own. Even if you took it, you should have hidden it well. Now that it's been exposed, it's had a huge impact on the Johnson Group."
Recently, the Johnson family members had already affected the Johnson Group's stock price, and some people had even started boycotting the Johnson Group's products.
They thought their reputation could finally improve, but instead it got even worse. Aiden couldn't help but criticize her.
Chase was also there today. He didn't speak up, but clearly showed little concern for Bianca.
He was probably the first to see Bianca's true colors, so he wasn't surprised at all that she would do something like this.
After all, that's just who she was.
Bianca was truly upset. She never expected that instead of showing concern for her health, Aiden and Eli would immediately blame her. This made her chest feel even more tight and uncomfortable.
"Dad, Aiden, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just scared, scared that after Emily came back, you'd discover how amazing she is and I'd pale in comparison. My health isn't good, and I was afraid you'd dislike me and stop loving me. I'm sorry..."
Bianca cried pitifully.
Usually when she cried like this, Eli and Aiden would immediately worry and feel sorry for her.
But this time, not only did they not feel sorry for her, they were actually annoyed by her tears.
Eli said coldly, "What good is an apology? The impact on the Johnson Group is so huge now, what are you going to do about it? And what about James? Is it completely over between you two? It's been so long without any news."
Take this public opinion crisis, for example - it had blown up all over the internet, yet James hadn't even called to show concern.
Had Bianca already been dumped by James?
If he had known this would happen, it would have been better if James had stayed with Emily. No matter how James treated Emily back then, he never thought about breaking off the engagement.
As long as the engagement between the two families existed, the Johnson Group could leverage the Smith family's influence.
Unlike now, where everything was so passive. Not only couldn't Bianca help, she kept dragging them down.
Bianca's crying paused.
She was in this state, yet Eli and Aiden were still thinking about the company.
How she resented them!
The Johnson family truly was cold-blooded and heartless.
She continued crying but didn't answer.
Because she didn't want Eli to know the truth that James had dumped her.
If he knew, given the Johnson family's selfish nature, the next step would probably be to use her in an arranged marriage to gain benefits for the Johnson Group.
Chase suddenly spoke up at this moment: "Dad, things are already like this. Bianca must apologize to Emily. She should have done this long ago anyway. It would benefit me too, wouldn't it?"
Chase had now seen his family members clearly.
Eli valued profit. By saying this, he was reminding him to make a choice between him and Bianca.
Compared to Bianca now, he was naturally more valuable.
Eli took it in. "Even if we do that, Emily might not forgive us."
Hearing this, Bianca felt such hatred in her heart, but said, "Chase, it's not that I don't want to apologize. Even if I apologize, what's the point? Emily doesn't like me. If she makes me do this, it's just to humiliate me. In the end, she probably won't be willing to clear things up for you anyway, right?"
Aiden frowned but didn't speak immediately.
Chase, however, said, "Whether Emily is willing to forgive is her choice. But right now, it's not just her who needs an attitude from us - the entire internet needs one too.
Also, I'm not just talking about an apology. Bianca needs to be sent abroad!"
"What? Chase, how can you treat me like this? You're just holding a grudge against me. I thought we were the closest siblings. Chase, I really did it for your own good back then. Although I took the music Emily made, it was because she had such good pieces but wouldn't share them, so I did what I did."
Bianca still tried to shift the blame onto Emily.
Chase knew Bianca definitely wouldn't agree and would react strongly.
But at this moment, she still didn't forget to slander Emily, which meant she still hadn't recognized her mistake.
Chase ignored Bianca and looked at Eli instead. "Dad, you make the decision. I'm just making a suggestion. Also, sending Bianca abroad isn't without benefits. James is abroad, isn't he? Aren't you worried she'll be forgotten by James? This way she can go find James!"
Although Eli didn't speak, this time his expression relaxed, clearly taking Chase's words to heart.