Chapter 136
Phoebe was on a call with Sebastian. Erika had been in a car accident and suffered minor injuries, so she would not be able to participate in next week’s variety show. Sebastian planned to bring in a new permanent cast member and rotate a few guest stars throughout the week. There was nothing he could do. Ever since the show became popular, too many people wanted in. It was hard for him to turn down certain companies and celebrities.
This time, Sebastian took the initiative to offer Phoebe a favor. She could bring one celebrity from her studio to be a guest player for two days. Quintos instead and informed Sebastian. It was perfect. Phoebe had recently arranged auditions for Gwen and Milion, so she decided to take this opportunity; Quintus needed exposure and popularity more than anything else. After ending the call, Phoebe notified Quintus to prepare for the show.
Just then, Brenda suddenly remembered something. She looked at Phoebe and asked, “When are we leaking those photos from my phone?” Phoebe knew Brenda was referring to the intimate pictures of Leon and Sienna. “Send them to Brian,” Phoebe said. “I’ll have them released at the right moment during the next episode.” Dropping them now would not have much of an impact; it would be a waste. But with the right timing, Sienna’s fame would skyrocket. Brenda smiled knowingly. “Got it.”
With their work settled, the two headed back to their apartment. Meanwhile, Sebastian informed not only Phoebe but also the other cast members about Erika’s injury and the replacement. When he called Jamar, Jamar was in the middle of a gaming session with Joshua and had put the call on speaker. After a few casual exchanges, Sebastian mentioned that there would be guest stars joining and that one of them was already confirmed, Quintus.
The moment Joshua heard that name, he immediately felt irritated. Once Jamar hung up, Joshua spoke. “Jamar, that regular cast member is injured. How about replacing her with me?” Jamar was stunned and gave Joshua a puzzled look. “I thought you hated variety shows?” Joshua replied, “You, Sienna, and Phoebe are all joining. I might as well tag along. Besides, I do not want to go abroad with Dad.” If Joshua got on the show, his father would not be able to force him to leave. Cain could go instead; at least he could protect Sienna.
More importantly, Joshua was not happy that Phoebe was bringing Quintus to the show; Joshua hated Quintus badly. He wanted to go, outshine Quintus, and use the opportunity to shift Phoebe’s attention back onto himself. Of course, he did not say that out loud. After thinking it through, Jamar realized it was not a bad idea for Joshua to join. I’d rather not be stuck in the middle between Phoebe and Sienna again. After thinking it over, Jamar decided that having Joshua participate wouldn’t be such a bad idea. “I’ll ask Sebastian for you,” Jamar said before calling Sebastian back.
Sebastian was surprised to hear that Joshua wanted to participate. He definitely knew who Joshua was, one of the most popular and talented singers. Joshua had always focused on music and only ever appeared on singing competition shows. What Sebastian had not expected was that Joshua was actually Jamar and Sienna’s older brother. But the next second, he understood. It made sense. After all, they were all part of the Jones family.
Still, Sebastian did not agree immediately. Instead, he politely told Jamar that Jenkins Entertainment would need to reach out to him about it. After hanging up with Jamar, Sebastian called Phoebe again. She had a guess. Joshua was probably doing it for Sienna. Among the Jenkins brothers, the ones who were closest to Sienna were Joshua and Cain. Then came Jamar and Leon, and at the bottom was Ollie.
Phoebe informed Sebastian that if Joshua joined the variety show, he would probably have quite a bit of close interaction with Sienna, and she hinted that there would likely be some juicy gossip about Sienna in the next episode. If Joshua joined the show and continued his usual close behavior with Sienna, releasing those photos at that time would create the perfect moment for a major scandal. Sebastian laughed. If that were the case, the next episode would definitely get a lot of attention. After finishing the conversation with Phoebe, he didn’t contact Jamar again. Sebastian wanted to wait until someone with authority from Jenkins Entertainment came to talk, while also getting a favor in the process.
At the Jenkins residence, Joshua, having overheard Jamar and Sebastian’s conversation, could not sit still. He was worried that someone else might steal his chance to appear on the show, so he decided to contact Leon. In a bar, Leon and Frank were drinking. Leon found it strange when he saw Joshua’s call. He picked it up. “What’s up?” Joshua explained that he wanted to join the variety show. “Leon, how about helping me secure that spot.” Leon couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “You want to join the next live variety show? Are you crazy?”
In the previous episode, Jamar had his reputation ruined by Phoebe, and he was still paying the price for that. Now Joshua was foolishly offering himself up. Joshua was annoyed. “Leon, are you going to help me or not?” Joshua thought Leon was the one who was crazy. Leon thought about how Joshua had snatched his bead earlier today and how he was acting so smug about it. Leon chuckled, his voice dripping with meaning. “Of course, I’ll help, you’re my little brother. I’ll definitely help you out.” Since they were biological brothers, he would fulfill this wish. “Since you’re walking right into Phoebe’s hands for a good lesson, I’ll let you have your way,” Leon thought.
For some reason, Joshua suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. “So, you’ll handle it?” Leon assured him, “No problem. I’ll take care of it for you.” Although his reputation was currently damaged and he was temporarily sidelined by the company, Leon was still the second son of the Jenkins family, with connections that remained intact. Joshua, pleased, said, “Thanks a lot, Leon.” Leon thought to himself, I hope you’re still smiling and thanking me after the show, but he said aloud, “Don’t mention it.”
Leon hung up the phone and contacted a director from the company’s investment department. This person knew Sebastian, so Leon asked him to help Joshua secure the spot. The director agreed without hesitation. After finishing his call, Leon felt much better. He poured himself a drink and savored it with a smile. Frank watched him. “Are you really that happy to mess with your little brother!” Leon raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you happy when Joshua messes with yours?” Frank chuckled. “That’s my half-brother.” Leon shrugged nonchalantly. “Even though he’s my real brother, he’s too dumb and needs someone to straighten him out.” Frank laughed. “True, Joshua is pretty dumb. It’s probably a good idea for Phoebe to knock some sense into him.” The two shared a wicked grin and linked their glasses.
Meanwhile, Phoebe received a notification: Sienna had sent a text message to an unfamiliar number that wasn’t in her contacts. Phoebe traced the reply and hacked into it, but discovered it was from an unregistered SIM card. She couldn’t identify the sender. There was no messaging app installed on the phone, but there were some text messages with phone numbers, with no contact names, several messages from Sienna. Phoebe went through the messages and found that Sienna had started communicating with this number right after Phoebe left the Jenkins residence.