Sharon arched her back and began to thrust her pelvis upwards. She set a faster rhythm, hoping that Yu Chin would follow her lead. But Yu Chin was caught off-guard and fumbled. For a while, the two bodies bounced off each other in discord. It came to a point when Sharon prayed for the embarrassment to be over. She was secretly glad when Yu Chin pulled out, kissed her on the forehead, mumbled an apology about being too tired then rolled off to his side of the bed.

After a moment of silence, Sharon asked, “The sentencing of the first rioter is scheduled for two weeks down the road, isn’t it?”

“I believe so. You want me to check?”

“It’s alright,” Sharon said. “I can check in the morning. Goodnight.”

If nothing else, they could always enjoy the safety of discussing work.

Part Four

Arm Wrestle

Chapter 10

It had to be a technical glitch. That was the only explanation.

How else could the last posting on Teen RV register an astounding 87,463 views? That was a stupendous jump of 7,200 per cent from the preceding high!

As Hashwini continued to scroll through the lot of backdated postings, her amazement compounded. Every single article that discussed issues arising from the Little India riot had seen wild and inexplicable leaps in view counts. It was almost as if an entire horde of bison had started a mass migration across the plains and stomped through the valley that was Teen RV.

How on earth did the sudden surge in interest come about?

Euu Ki did not have an explanation either. Nevertheless, he reminded Hashwini that there was cause for celebration. They had installed Google Ads, which meant this leap in view counts would translate into ad income. Money in the pocket!

But Hashwini was nervous. She wondered if there might not be a predatory pack of wolves tailing the horde of bison. Something must have triggered the stampede. Hashwini decided to consult the only other blogger she knew. She sent an email to ask Daxue if she knew what had caused such an unprecedented upsurge.

Daxue replied within an hour. Does Teen RV not keep up with the news? The Media Development Authority of Singapore has just announced a devastating new regulation. Any website or blog that carries substantial political content will be required to put up a $50,000 performance bond. The official explanation from MDA is that there is a need to encourage a culture of responsible online reporting and to weed out fake or exaggerated political postings calculated to maximise viewership. Moving forward, the MDA has been empowered to challenge any website or blogger to back up their postings with facts and figures. Those who fail to do so must be prepared to have their performance bond confiscated.