Unsurprisingly, online sentiment had shifted dramatically. The suppressed public opinion from the previous night erupted after the Mcintosh Piano Competition organizers announced the winners. Rose’s fans flooded hashtags, celebrating her selflessness while weeping over her decision to relinquish the trophy.
“Rose! I knew I didn’t support the wrong person! You’ve always been the best—I’ll follow you forever! I’ll love you forever!”
“Oh my god, I had no idea Rose endured so much injustice while accomplishing so much! Since Rose said to remember Lindsey Weaver, I’ll remember her! I’m Rose’s most obedient pup. Still, I’m furious. Alarieka slandered our Rose at the finals without knowing anything. If Rose hadn’t spoken up, who knows how much she’d have suffered? And Rose even gave her the championship—she’d better be grateful.”
“Unbelievable—Roschelle Whitaker voluntarily gave up the title? Who’d have thought? I used to find her pretentious, but now I genuinely admire her. With that mindset, she’ll succeed at anything.”
“Our Rose is the sweetest girl in the world! You don’t owe anyone an apology. Only that ungrateful wretch would accuse you of plagiarism—this wasn’t plagiarism! You were doing a noble deed! Karma will reward you! May Rose win even greater championships and leave that shameless person in the dust!”
“Alarieka pushed her to this extreme yet still won. Truly, the wicked thrive… disgusting.”
“I can’t help but want to dox her. How dare she make Rose suffer while walking away unscathed—and stealing Rose’s championship trophy?”
Predictably, under hashtags like #McintoshPianoCompetition, media outlets and influencers collaborated with Rose’s fans to paint Roschelle Whitaker as the epitome of wisdom, kindness, and self-sacrifice—while ruthlessly trampling Alarieka’s reputation. Scrolling through just a few posts revealed an online frenzy: elevating Rose and tearing down Alarieka had become a public spectacle—a veritable feast of character assassination.
Even the related entries were climbing the Trending Topics Board at breakneck speed, straight to number one! Roschelle Whitaker’s Twitter followers were also surging at a visible rate; in the blink of an eye, she’d gained forty thousand followers. Roschelle Whitaker’s followers couldn’t pull off such a grand gesture; it had to be Kieran Argent stepping in. Kieran Argent’s methods were predictably ruthless. His intervention completely suppressed all negative press about Rose, flooding every screen with posts praising or marveling at her. Even Alarieka Huston and Lindsey Weaver’s names became top-five trending topics, their sections likewise saturated with posts from Rose’s fans or paid trolls.
As Alarieka predicted, those threads were flooded with insults and slander targeting her.
“Alarieka should be grateful in secret. Our Rose, beautiful inside and out, gave you that trophy. Hope you know your place and stop snapping like a rabid dog.”
“Who understands our Rose sacrificed everything to make Lindsey Weaver famous? But the dog bit Lu Dongbin—no gratitude for kindness.”
“Rose and her fans are the classiest people I’ve ever seen. Staying polite with someone like Alarieka? If it were me, I’d dox her immediately hehehe…”
“Alarieka better hug that trophy to sleep—it’s the only championship you’ll ever get. Treasure it.”
“I’m still furious. Why give Alarieka the championship trophy Rose worked so hard for? Why her? If anyone deserved it, it should’ve been someone else. What even is Alarieka? Is she worthy?”
Of course, dissenting voices emerged:
“Not to stir the pot, but doesn’t Rose reek of being a phony saint? Am I the only one smelling it? Her plagiarizing Lindsey Weaver is fact. Using ‘wanting to make Lindsey famous’ to whitewash it is beyond ridiculous. Even if she surrendered the trophy, her motives feel shady.”