Chapter 518: The Battle for the Rookie King 2

The fact that they were still holding on to third place was impressive enough.

Rose Shaw arrived in Jansburg, where Keith Coleman picked her up and took her to his apartment. Her days consisted of little more than eating and sleeping.

She never realized she could sleep so much; it was as if she were catching up on a lifetime of missed sleep. Sometimes, she wouldn’t wake up until after eleven in the morning.

And she’d be asleep by just after seven in the evening.

With the New Star award voting in full swing, Keith Coleman was incredibly busy. Rose Shaw made herself a cup of coffee, opened her laptop, and checked for any online buzz.

She took a sip of coffee and suddenly felt like something was missing. She got up to look for a cigarette.

After searching everywhere and finding none, she remembered she’d forgotten to buy any.

Keith Coleman’s place in Jansburg was a duplex apartment, warmly decorated in a palette of soft, inviting colors that made it feel cozy on a winter day.

The balcony was filled with all sorts of green plants, thriving and full of life, defying the harsh cold.

She couldn’t find any cigarettes, which felt strange, but at the same time, the craving wasn’t as urgent as she expected.

Keith Coleman didn’t smoke, so there wasn’t even an ashtray in the apartment.

She didn’t want a bad habit of hers to disrupt the tranquility of this place.

She couldn’t understand how, after everything Keith Coleman had been through, he could still have such a warm, sunny disposition. It was as if they were polar opposites.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, filtering through the beige lace curtains. Rose Shaw picked up her laptop and moved to sit in a patch of sun.

She’d already forgotten about her search for cigarettes, her attention completely absorbed by the screen.

Melody Monroe had been in the lead. Just a moment ago, she was still ahead by more than ten thousand votes.

But in the blink of an eye, Mia Sutton had surged ahead, now leading by a few dozen votes.

’The only explanation was that Aya Winters had thrown money at it—and a lot of it.’

’From what she knew of Aya Winters, it was unlikely she would care so much about nurturing a newcomer or be this willing to open her wallet. For her to be pushing a rookie so hard today was truly baffling.’

Aya Winters had very publicly terminated her contract with Stellaris and then made an appearance at Starfall. Even Rose had thought Aya was going to sign with Starfall, but after that, there was no further news.

’Aya Winters’s target probably isn’t Starfall... but Evan Fairchild?’

Thinking of it that way, the reason she was willing to go all out to win the New Star award became crystal clear.

’In reality, this wasn’t Mia Sutton competing with Melody Monroe; it was Aya Winters herself.’

Rose Shaw picked up her phone and found a number in her contacts.

"Rose, how do you have time to call me? What can I do for you?"

"About the voting for the Golden Award’s New Star, has anyone contacted you?"

"Well..." The person hesitated. "Rose, I knew I couldn’t hide this from you. I’m just trying to make a living. Are you looking to get in on this? Who are you trying to push? Tiana Gable?"

"No, I’m not backing anyone. And from now on, neither are you. I need you to pass on a message: stop immediately. Otherwise, I have ways of getting the evidence to force her out of this race."

"Rose... I..."

"After this is over, I’ll give you five hundred thousand."

"That’s..."

"Otherwise, you won’t get a single cent."

"Rose, I’ll do as you say right away." The person hung up immediately.

Meanwhile, Melody Monroe was completely focused on filming and had no time to pay attention to any of the online buzz. In any case, with Keith Coleman handling things, she was completely at ease.

Keith Coleman was also stunned for a moment when he saw the votes had been turned around.

No matter how hard the fans rallied, it seemed they could never catch up.