Chapter 150

Sienna, in Joshua’s arms, did not feel the same joy or pride she had felt in the Jenkins residence. Instead, she couldn’t help but push him gently. “Joshua, I’m fine.” This was a live broadcast. She hadn’t expected Joshnia to be so careless with his actions. Moreover, his hugging her in front of Maddox might create misunderstandings.

Seeing Joshua still holding her, she pushed him again and reminded him. “Joshua, we are participating in a variety show live broadcast. We need to follow the production team’s rules. We only get to stay in a nice place at night if we work hard and earn money.”

At her reminder, Joshua suddenly realized the broadcast was still live. It was his first time participating in a live variety show, and he rarely did live streams, so he had completely forgotten. However, the audience had already seen the intimate behavior between them. Many viewers had already made comments in the live chat. Here it comes. The love from her adopted brother is here.

On-site, Joshua immediately released Sienna. “I just didn’t want you to feel wronged.” He then looked at Maddox. “Even though you are the customers, you shouldn’t be nitpicking on purpose, right?”

Maddox, amused, looked at him and replied, “How are we nitpicking! When you go to a restaurant or pay for services, do you expect to see the waiter’s sour face or a stiff smile?”

Joshua was caught off guard. “We don’t—” He was about to say that he wanted to quit, but Sienna hurriedly interrupted and steered the conversation away. “We will try our best.” She reached out and tugged at Joshua’s sleeve, signaling him not to act impulsively. She then forced a smile and looked at Maddox. “What violin pieces would you like to hear? We can play them now.”

This time, her smile didn’t look as forced. It was clear that Sienna was skilled at lowering herself and enduring in many situations.

Maddox understood that if he continued to pick on them, the audience might turn against them. He didn’t mind, but he didn’t want the audience to dislike Phoebe. He turned to Phoebe and Quintus. “What would you like to hear?”

Quintus replied, “Anything works for me. Phoebe, you decide!”

Maddox smiled. “Same here. Whatever Phoebe wants to hear, I’ll listen to.”

Upon seeing their kind attitude, a feeling of jealousy bubbled up inside Sienna. In terms of social status and family background, Maddox was far above Phoebe. Sienna had seen him at high-society banquets or entertainment industry events before. Maddox always exuded the air of a distinguished young heir, with a haughty and confident demeanor. His personality was free-spirited and bold. Others always seemed to fawn over Maddox, but she had never seen him show such attention to anyone—someone as exceptional as Maddox would lavish so much attention on Phoebe. Sienna couldn’t understand why. The more she resented it, the more she wanted to take Maddox for herself, to enjoy his affection and attention.

Phoebe took the violin sheet music from the waiter, flipped through it, and casually pointed at two pieces. “These two, please.”

Joshua frowned. “Two pieces?” He really didn’t want to continue, and he was a bit angry with Sienna. ‘Even if it’s a live broadcast, so what? If we quit, the audience will probably just criticize us a bit. It’s better than enduring this awkwardness. We don’t rely on variety shows to make a living, so why should we put up with this!’ he thought. However, since Sienna chose to endure, Joshua didn’t want to leave just yet.

Phoebe looked at him as if he were slow-witted. “Two pieces of music, of course. You both will each play one.”

Joshua couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “You want to hear two pieces?”

Chapter 10

Phoebe responded firmly. “We paid for it, so we should get the service we deserve. If you don’t want to play, just let the manager talk to us.”

Sienna was fuming. “Thoche, that’s enough!” Calling the manager over would surely mean they wouldn’t get paid.

Phoebe looked at him. “Either play the violin or call the manager. I’m going to file a complaint. It’s up to you.”

Sienna murmured softly from the side. “Joshua, think about the hotel we’re staying in tonight.” With Phoebe’s current arrogant attitude, if they didn’t play the violin, she would definitely call the manager and file a complaint. No payment meant no good hotel for the night.

Joshua fully gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, we’ll play.”

Then they divided the tasks. Sienna picked up the violin and started playing. She had specifically chosen a silver trailing gown for the occasion. As she played, she struck a pose that made her appear intellectual and graceful. During her time at the music academy, the violin had been Sienna’s main instrument. She was very confident in her skills.

After finishing the piece, Sienna looked at Maddox and asked, “Are the three of you satisfied?” She believed her performance had been excellent, and that Maddox should appreciate it. To her surprise, Maddox gave her an odd look and asked, “Do you want the truth or a lie?”

A bad feeling stirred inside Sienna. “Of course, I want the truth,” she responded.

Maddox spoke plainly. “It was terrible. The emotion was completely off. This was supposed to be a lively piece, but you made it sound like something out of a sorrowful woman’s story. I felt suffocated, like there was a need to vent my frustration. It was a failure.”

Sienna immediately regretted asking whether he was satisfied. She didn’t think her performance was bad at all, and after taking a deep breath, she asked, “Really? Could you be more specific?”

Sienna felt that Maddox was deliberately trying to provoke her, possibly influenced by Phoebe’s subtle instigation. Maddox could tell that Sienna didn’t take kindly to his words. She was implying that he was deliberately picking on her.

He extended his hand. “Could you hand me the violin?”

Sienna passed it to him.

Maddox played a short segment. “For example, here. This part should be played more cheerfully!” He then mimicked Sienna’s performance. “But you made it sound like this,” Maddox continued, as he played the same passage in the way she had done. His rendition was nearly identical to hers, and it highlighted the contrast.

Then, Maddox picked a few more sections with similar issues. He played them first, followed by Sienna’s rendition. The people at the other tables in the restaurant, as well as the viewers in the live stream, had initially thought Sienna’s violin performance sounded quite good and had assumed Maddox was just nitpicking. But now, after hearing Maddox’s performance and his critique, they realized he wasn’t finding fault for the sake of it; he was being honest. And with Maddox’s comparison and feedback, they noticed significant differences and issues. Sienna’s rendition had felt cheerful, while Maddox’s was filled with frustration and tension. The audience went online to listen to the violin piece and, indeed, it was meant to be lively. Looking at it from this perspective, Sienna’s supposed confidence in her violin skills didn’t seem to hold up.

Quintus curiously asked, “What about if it’s a lie!”

Maddox chuckled. “My violin skills are just for fun, really. They can’t compare to Ms. Jones’ level from a music academy.”

Everyone froze. The comment wasn’t deeply hurtful, but it was cutting in its own way. As expected of Maddox, always being so frank. Sienna hadn’t realized just how much Maddox knew about the violin.

Chapter 150

The moment he played and critiqued her, she knew she was about to be humiliated. She couldn’t understand why Maddox couldn’t show a little gentlemanly courtesy toward her. Initially, Sienna had thought that if she had asked about the lie first, it might have been more flattering. But his version of a lie felt even more cutting. It was so infuriating.