Chapter 27
Seeing Phoebe and Maddox playing off each other, Reece became even more irritable. Simultaneously, he developed a sense of aversion toward Maddox.
“There are some misunderstandings between Pheebs and me, and there’s no need for you to worry about it,” he frowned, looking at Maddox; a clear indication he wanted Maddox to mind his own business.
“That’s not right,” Maddox shrugged, retorting confidently. “Pheebs is my lifesaver. Her business is my business.”
Reece was suddenly at a loss for how to refute this and felt even more annoyed. He absolutely didn't want Phoebe to become Maddox’s savior, and even less did he want to deal with Maddox. So he looked at Phoebe and explained, “I wasn’t saying you were wrong just now, but I was hoping everyone could get along well.”
“Everyone could get along well as long as you stay away from me,” Phoebe replied indifferently. If they came looking for trouble, she wouldn’t show mercy. If they didn’t provoke her, she naturally wouldn’t stir up trouble in the livestream.
Knowing Phoebe well, Reece instantly grasped the implied meaning in her words. “Of course.” He’d privately talk to Sienna, advising her not to provoke Phoebe any further. After all, Phoebe didn’t even show respect to him and Jamar, her brother. To avoid a worse scenario, they’d have to take a step back.
Jamar wanted to say more, but Sienna tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stop. Normally, Sienna would enjoy seeing Jamar lecture Phoebe. But this time, she was worried that Jamar might provoke Phoebe, pushing her to release the recorded conversation from that day. Though Jamar wasn’t afraid of people knowing about his relationship with Phoebe, he held back and swallowed his words, for Sienna’s sake.
The courtyard fell into a momentary silence. The director knew that too much was as bad as too little. He couldn’t let the atmosphere in the livestream stay so awkward forever. So, with a smile, he started, “Oh, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Everyone turned to him, asking, “What is it?”
“You know that the village has many elderly people and children, so the production team wants to hold an event in the village on the last day. You’ll prepare some performances for the villagers. We’ll give each villager a red flower and have them vote for you. The group with the most flowers will have a request granted by the production team,” the director explained. It was about creating buzz.
“What kind of show should we prepare? Are there any rules?” James asked.
“No rules, you can discuss it among yourselves,” the director shook his head. “As long as the villagers like it.”
Next, Phoebe and the other three went to a room to discuss what show to prepare. Jamar’s team also went back to their room to discuss. Sienna wanted to showcase herself, so she volunteered to perform a classical dance and play the cello. Erika said she could sing. Jamar was skilled in singing and dancing and chose to sing and dance. Reece had released records before, so he suggested singing, too. In all, their group could produce five performances.
On the other side, Maddox looked at the three and asked, “What performance should we do? I don’t think the villagers will necessarily like singing and dancing.”
“For an audience mainly composed of the elderly and children, magic should be more popular than singing and dancing,” James agreed.
Lexie originally wanted to sing. Hearing them, she found it reasonable. “Then let’s think carefully and come up with a few creative ideas.”
Maddox looked at Phoebe. “Any ideas?”
“How about a puppet show?” Phoebe thought for a moment, replying.
The other three were taken aback. “Puppet show?”
Phoebe nodded. “Charles mentioned that there’s an old master of puppet shows in the village. Although puppet shows are gradually fading from people’s sight, the old man still sticks to making puppets day in and day out. He hopes that more people will be able to see and appreciate puppet shows one day. If we perform it, not only can we fulfill his wishes, but we can also promote and carry forward this intangible cultural heritage. And I guess both the elderly and children would enjoy watching a puppet show.”
Maddox suddenly became interested. “Are you suggesting that we perform a puppet show?”
Phoebe nodded. “Exactly, we can play different roles.”
“Good idea. I think it’s interesting,” James also felt intrigued.
“I agree. But only a puppet show?” Lexie asked.
Phoebe smiled. “Didn’t we tell Charles and the villagers that those interested could come here for a lesson tomorrow? So you can teach the kids to sing and dance and perform together on stage.”
“Marvelous,” James applauded. “Parents will definitely be happy seeing their children on stage. And the villagers will feel more connected seeing familiar kids performing.”
As they wandered around the village these past two days, few could recognize them. The elderly and children in the village were not fans, so their performances of popular songs and dances would not garner much popularity. But having familiar people from the village hit the stage would make everyone happy.
After discussing, they decided to visit the puppet show master to ask for his opinion tomorrow. As long as he agreed, they could start preparing for the play.
While they were discussing, the ongoing barrage of comments in the livestream went crazy.
[Phoebe’s idea is brilliant. I’ve never seen a puppet show before.] [I’m also looking forward to how they’ll teach the kids.] [Especially Maddie, who’s still a little baby himself. Looking forward to their performance.] [Phoebe is really nice; she doesn’t try to steal the spotlight, and her coordination and organizational skills are strong.] [And she’s super hot and kind-hearted.] [Why were there so many people criticizing her before?] [You have to ask the fans of Jamar and Reece.] [I wonder how Phoebe offended them.] [There must be a huge scandal between Phoebe and the Jenkins siblings. I’m really curious about what that so-called recording is.] [Ditto. Phoebe seems very straightforward in bringing up the recording, while Sienna looks like she’s hiding something.] [Reece doesn’t help his childhood friend but stands by Sienna, which is quite a big surprise, too.] [I noticed before that Reece is very protective of Sienna and I wondered if I was just imagining things. Now, it seems I was right. There’s something more to the relationship between him and Sienna.] [There was never any news about them knowing each other before. They’ve hidden it really well.] [No wonder Phoebe wants to cut ties with him; such a childhood friend is too scary.] [It’s true that the Jenkins siblings always provoke Phoebe first, but according to Reece, it’s Phoebe’s fault. If it were me, I’d ditch such a childhood friend too.] [Who’s to dig up into it? I’m dying for more news.] Paparazzi: [It’s our time to shine.]
Everyone was curious about the gossip thrown out by Phoebe, and the paparazzi naturally wouldn’t let go of such a great chance. Reece’s fans, besides keeping cursing Phoebe, were a bit dissatisfied with Sienna. His girl fans naturally looked unfavorably upon any actress linked to him, “their husband.” Jamar’s fans, of course, would protect his sister, so some fans from both sides started to battle.
On Phoebe’s side, the livestream was closed at 8 PM. She and Lexie went out to wash up. Jamar had been listening to the sounds outside. Hearing the door on the opposite side open, he immediately got up and walked out. Sure enough, Phoebe came out. He walked over and stood in front of her.
Seeing him, Lexie guessed that he might be here to confront Phoebe about the recording. As she was wondering whether to stay or go wash up first, to her surprise, she saw Jamar looking at Phoebe with a pitiful and wronged expression.
“Pheebs, I’m so exhausted from work today that my hands and legs hurt. Can you give me a massage?” he started.
Hearing him, Lexie almost dropped the basin she was holding. “What’s going on? Is Jamar acting cute and begging for favors from Phoebe? What the hell?” she yelled inwardly.