That night, the news association announced the winners.
My name was listed first.
Lila deleted her post.
People speculated that I had pressured her.
However, soon, senior journalists stepped in,stating, "The News Award cannot be manipulated. Miss Berg's remarks not only insult the journalist association but also those of us who have won awards in the past."
Instantly, all the veterans who had ever been nominated began to speak out.
Among them were war correspondents and those who had reported from the grassroots level, giving voice to the underprivileged.
Lila had thrown mud on the community's honor.
Many industry insiders came forward to educate about the prestige of the East News Award in the journalism world.
They demanded that Lila apologize to the journalism community.
Some expressed doubt. "I seriously doubt that Miss Berg actually graduated from a journalism program. You seem to lack understanding of this award."
Someone raised a question.
Lila panicked. "I was just not in the country, but I did attend school."
Finally, the official account of the News Award released a statement.
"We have investigated the complaints against Miss Berg. The expert panel unanimously determined that Ms. Elise's submission meets the selection criteria. Ms. Lila's submission contained excessive borrowed content and was rejected. The selection process was transparent and open to public scrutiny."
Netizens were amused. "So, it's just a polite way of saying she plagiarized. They're being very diplomatic, calling it 'borrowing'..."
"Shameless, can't even plagiarize properly."
Someone shared a video of Lila interviewing Finley.
The comment section erupted.
"Help, did she really go to school?"
"Ask about childhood anecdotes."
"Compared to Elise's interview, it's really... embarrassing."
"Before the video release: there's an inside story. After the video release: Elise is my idol, thank you."
I posted a status update: "Truth will prevail. Thank you to all the senior colleagues for your recognition. Stay true to my original aspiration, forge ahead."
On the seventh day of the controversy, Lila released an apology video.
In the video, she cried and begged for forgiveness from netizens.
However, no one was feel sympathy about it.
Students from the gossip group followed the drama in the finance section.
My homepage was lively with comments.
"Look, this is what a strong counterattack looks like."
"Unlike Ms. Berg, who only knows how to talk big."
"Daring, when you didn't speak up earlier, I thought you had been bullied off the internet... wu wu wu."
I replied, "Words can burn, so I had to speak with facts."
Later, I stopped paying attention to Lila.
I heard she was exposed for academic fraud.
Plagiarism in her thesis.
Her degree was revoked.
Just before the award selection, she conducted an interview with a renowned foreign economist under her mentor's name, but her poor questions damaged her mentor's reputation.
For a moment, everyone piled on.
Lila's account was officially banned.
My comment section finally returned to its usual tranquility.
Many shipper would still write new stories regularly.
At grandpa's request, Finley and I had a belated wedding ceremony.
Luke, who was far away in a foreign land, returned.
He looked weathered and much more haggard.
I heard that upon landing, he went to see Lila first.
Lila beat him up, and he was forced to sit at the main table at our wedding.
During the banquet, Finley smiled and said, "You're not used to the food outside. These dishes were specially prepared by your sister-in-law for the hotel, give them a try."
Luke responded coldly, "I don't eat this one."
"No problem, they were specially prepared for me," Finley said casually. "The whole table is for me."
Then he added, "Your sister-in-law really loves me."
Luke was so angry that his face turned ashen, and he left for the remote subsidiary that night.
I asked with a smile, "Are you being childish?"
Finley chuckled. "He dared to accept the invitation, he must not want to live."
Grandpa had retired to the background, and it seemed unlikely that Luke would ever interact with the core management of the Hebert family again.
Of course, we also invited many veterans from the news industry to the wedding.
During the toasts, everyone congratulated us. "Mr. Hebert is lucky. Elise is a talented woman in our news industry, she has a bright future."
"Yes, I've benefited from her."
Finley's eyes were filled with warmth. "I knew she would succeed from a long time ago."
A senior pulled me aside and said with a smile, "Did you know that Finley secretly contacted me before the award?"
I was taken aback. "Really?"
But my heart sank.
Did Finley...
