Ten minutes before our battle started, my stream was already flooded with viewers—almost all Sophie's fans coming to mock me.
"LOL, Claire actually accepted. She's gonna embarrass herself so bad."
"Her followers are all thirsty simps. Sophie actually has a degree from a top school."
"How does she even have the audacity to challenge Sophie?"
My small but loyal fanbase's support got drowned in the hate.
I popped into Sophie's stream to check it out. Her background was covered in posters of Chase.
Sophie was showing off a signed photo to her viewers. "Look! I ran into Chase at the airport last week. He's even hotter in person."
She held it to her face all shy, then moved it closer to the camera. Her fans immediately noticed something.
"Wait, it's a personalized autograph! 'To Sophie'—that's so intimate!"
"Do Sophie and Chase know each other?! This crossover is everything!"
"They'd be such a hot couple."
Sophie covered her face bashfully. "You guys are reading too much into it."
Someone noticed I'd entered her stream.
"Yo, Claire's in here. Is she scared? Coming to spy?"
Sophie laughed dismissively. "It's fine. She probably just wants to see my streaming style. After all... I don't do thirst traps."
Her fans piled on. "Exactly. She obviously got followers by being thirsty. Gross."
...
Seriously?
When it was time, I put on a leather jacket, sunglasses, and a face mask before connecting.
Her fans were confused.
I said meekly, "Sorry, but there are some people out there who'll call anything 'inappropriate content.' I'm scared."
Her fans caught on: "Is she being shady?"
"I think so? Who gave her the audacity with less than 20k followers?"
Sophie smiled with fake grace. "Let's get to the point. What's your education level? If someone with no degree is criticizing me, I'd just find it funny."
I took off my sunglasses and looked at her. "I need a degree to criticize you?"
Before Sophie could respond, her fans demanded she show her credentials.
Sophie acted reluctant at first, but when her fans promised to shower her with gifts, she agreed.
"How about this—let's compete on who has better qualifications. That'll be faster. Plus, I need to end early today. A friend is filming nearby and invited me to dinner."
Her fans went wild.
"The only person filming in town right now is Chase Hamilton."
"So Sophie's having dinner with Chase?!"
"OMG is my ship real?!"
Sophie's explanation was deliberately vague. "I never said that. You guys are jumping to conclusions."
She pulled out a stack of certificates from her drawer and showed them one by one. "This is my Columbia bachelor's degree, my teaching certificate, my professional engineer license..."
The chat exploded with praise.
Then they turned on me. "Don't embarrass yourself with a high school diploma."
"Please, she probably only has a GED."
"LMAO if she pulls out any certificate that beats Sophie's, I'll call her daddy!"
The insults started getting worse.
One of my small fanbase DMed me: "Claire, I can't watch this anymore. Fight back!"
I glanced at my cabinet full of certificates and randomly pulled one out—
My marriage certificate with Chase.
The entire chat went silent.
I slowly closed it. "Oops, wrong one."
Then I pulled out my Columbia master's degree.
The silence was deafening.
I propped my chin on my hand. "By the way, Sophie, you might've run into a scammer at the airport. My husband's signature doesn't look that ugly. And about that dinner? I'd skip it. Might get your organs harvested."
I paused, drumming my fingers on the desk. "Also—who said they'd call me daddy? Go ahead. Daddy's listening."