Chapter 45

The four of them found a crowded square in town to perform. There were quite many onlookers, but after the performance, very few people tipped. They received about 20 dollars in tips, and it was largely due to Reece, the famous actor.

Looking at the money in the box, Sienna recounted it and felt a huge difference in her heart. She thought she could earn a lot of money from this performance, but in the end, it was only about 20 dollars. If it were any other day, she wouldn't even be bothered to pick it up if it fell to the ground.

She smiled bitterly at them and said, “We’ve earned so little money. We’ll have to be frugal for dinner.”

Reece could sense that although Sienna seemed to be having fun in her bitterness, she was a little depressed. He comforted her. “It’s not bad that we can earn so much. Sienna, you play the guitar very well. I think everyone likes it. It’s just that this is a remote town. Many people don’t know us and don’t have the inclination to tip after watching the performance.”

He smiled and added, “Let’s work hard to earn more in the next episode.”

Hearing his words, Sienna’s mood improved a lot. On second thought, she felt it made sense. Her goal today was not to earn money but to showcase her talent. Hence, she revealed a motivated and positive expression. She even made a gesture of encouragement. “Mr. Hill, you’re right. We’ll continue to work hard next time. I’m sure we will get better and better.”

If not for Phoebe’s perfect performance, the audience might have thought they had performed well. Now, the audience only felt that their performance was very ordinary. It was no wonder that they had only earned about 20 dollars. And this was on account of Reece, the famous actor.

Then, Sienna suggested going to the market to buy groceries. When buying groceries, she gave Reece money so that he could be in charge of the purchase. On the other hand, she found an excuse to go to the bathroom. After she came out, she didn’t immediately walk to the camera. Instead, she looked at the production crew member she was familiar with. The other party slowed down, and the two of them walked together. She even deliberately distanced herself from the people in front of her.

Sienna asked in a low voice, “How’s the audience’s reaction after our performance this afternoon in the livestream room?” She felt that the audience in the livestream room would praise her for being versatile and hardworking.

The staff replied tactfully. “So-so.” The response of the audience was mediocre. Sienna was stunned. “Just so-so?” The staff nodded. “Yes.” Then, she comforted Sienna, “It’s mainly because another livestream room was too outstanding. They attracted the audience. Otherwise, you guys would still be doing very well.”

Chapter 45

Sienna’s heart skipped a beat. “The other livestream is too outstanding?” She pretended to be curious and asked, “How?”

The staff didn’t hide anything. She first told Sienna how many instruments Phoebe could play. “Many people questioned if the production team had arranged a script for Phoebe, and she was acting according to it. After that, she confidently asked the people who defamed her to name a song for her to play. Those people named many, and she played them with different instruments. And her playing was not just moderate. She’s very professional and emotional. Her performance was very outstanding. Not only did it clear the audience’s doubts, but she also became a trending topic. And she played the same guitar song as you. Because she played several instruments before you, everyone said she played better than you.”

Phoebe’s playing was so perfect that Sienna’s guitar playing didn’t have any highlights in comparison. However, the staff knew better than to tell the whole truth.

Sienna felt her vision go dark and almost fainted from anger. Her smiling face froze completely. She thought, Phoebe, Phoebe. Why is it Phoebe again? This woman is haunting me. And since when did Phoebe learn to play so many musical instruments?”

Her thoughts were the same as her other brothers’. She felt that Planche was deliberately hiding so much. If she had known that Phoebe could do all this, she wouldn’t have come so far away to play the guitar… Not only did she not stand out, but she also became the foil for Phoebe. Phoebe must have done it on purpose. This bitch is too evil, Sienna thought.

She was filled with hatred. She was so angry that her chest felt tight, and she wanted to vomit blood. At the same time, she felt a pang of regret. If she had known earlier, she would have stayed in the village. She shouldn’t have come to ask this person. After knowing the outcome, she felt terrible all over.

The staff noticed that Sienna did not look good and felt some sympathy for her. She thought Sienna was unlucky to have met Phoebe. “It’s also the fault of those haters. The director said that the paid posters led the public opinion to defame Phoebe. Unexpectedly, not only did they not succeed in defaming her, they even helped Phoebe.”

She kept comforting Sienna. “So you guys have performed very well. It’s just that you were unlucky to encounter this.”

Hearing her say that, Sienna could guess who hired the paid posters. It was most likely Leon who did it. However, this time, she was not grateful to Leon; instead, she could not help but blame him. She blamed Leon for hiring the paid posters before investigating properly to defame Phoebe. Now, not only did he help Phoebe, but he also tricked Sienna. If not for the fact that Leon had always doted on her more than on Phoebe, Sienna would wonder if Leon did it on purpose.

Sienna was not in the mood to deal with this staff member. She nodded perfunctorily. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Chapter 45

But the truth was, she wished she could run back to the village and slap Phoebe a few times. At this moment, Jamar, who was in front, noticed Sienna walking behind in a low mood.

He waved at her. “Sienna. Come here quickly.” Only then did Sienna force herself to pull herself together. She forced a smile and walked up.

If it were in the past, she would give many suggestions to highlight her existence when they bought groceries, but now, she was listless and didn’t express her opinions or suggestions. When the audience watching the live broadcast saw this, they all thought that Sienna was in a bad mood because she had only earned about 20 dollars. Other than her and Jamar’s fans, everyone else felt she was not magnanimous. They were here to do a variety show, to begin with, and they could treat it as fun. The audience couldn’t believe Sienna took such a small matter to heart so seriously. Therefore, many people’s impression of Sienna worsened again.

The town’s consumption level and prices were not very high. Sienna and others bought a piece of meat and some vegetables for about 20 dollars. After buying it, everyone took the car provided by the production team back to the village. In the car, Sienna felt sad. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Since she didn’t say anything, Reece and Jamar didn’t want to speak anymore, and they also closed their eyes to rest.

Erika was speechless when she saw that. “Are they going to let the audience watch them sleep during the live broadcast?” She felt the variety show experience this time was terrible. She regretted choosing this group. Although she despised Phoebe’s status, she could not deny that Phoebe had a sense of variety and was capable. If she had chosen another group back then, not only would she not have to worry about food every day, but she would also have been able to get many scenes. She suspected that her performance and scenes in this variety show came at the bottom. Just thinking about it made her angry. However, since the other three closed their eyes to rest and did not speak, Erika could not do anything to show herself. In the end, she could only close her eyes as they did.

The audience watching the live broadcast felt puzzled, “What is this group doing! Are we here to watch them sleep?” At first, Reece’s fans and Jamar’s fans said they loved seeing their idols’ sleeping faces. However, it would be boring after a long time. As a result, many viewers in this livestream room left and went to another livestream room.

At this moment, Phoebe and the others had already returned to the courtyard. They gathered the children who came to study and continued to rehearse the show for the day after tomorrow. Two days ago, they had arranged a show for the children to rehearse. A lot of fun and laughter happened during the rehearsal, and the audience watched happily.

During dinner, Charles and Kevin came to invite Phoebe and the others to a gathering. He mainly wanted to talk about selling goods during the live broadcast.

Chapter 15

rs did not release Phoebe and the others. Hence, when the other group returned to the village after a bumpy ride, they heard a notification on their phones immediately after they were about to sit down and rest. They opened the group chat and saw that Maddox had posted a few photos of the sumptuous dinner. The four people who were tired and hungry were speechless.

Jamar could not help but complain. “This guy is simply not a good person.” This time, even Reece could not help but say, “He’s so annoying. He must have done it on purpose.” Maddox was annoying in their eyes at that moment. When Sienna saw the photo, she suddenly felt so wronged that she wanted to cry. “Why is it that after Phoebe stole all the limelight, not only did she not have to cook, but she also went to the villagers’ house and ate so well?” Sienna thought hatefully. The thought that she still had to cook for the other three people later made Sienna feel her vision go dark again. She wished she could faint. At the same time, she began to regret setting up a hardworking persona. If she hadn’t bought into cooking before, she wouldn’t have had to do it alone when it was time to eat. Sienna would cry and quit if she weren’t in a live broadcast.

Erika said at that moment, “Senno, I’m so hungry. When are we eating?” The food cooked by Sienna was barely edible, after a tiring day. The food materials they bought today were all for home-cooked dishes. Although the food for Erika was so hungry that she could only make do, Sienna wanted to get up, slap Erika, and tell her to cook it herself if she wanted to eat it. However, she could only smile commercially to maintain her image in the livestream room. “I’ll do it now.” She had dug a hole for herself, so she had to fill it no matter how hard it was…

Sienna got up and went to cook. Since Sienna had taken care of everything before, the other three got used to it. They sat down there and rested without going into the kitchen to help. It also made Sienna wipe her tears while cooking passively. Ever since she went to the Jenkins family to be their adopted daughter, she had never suffered such pain and grievances. She thought, ‘Phoebe causes all of this. If she listened to my mother and brothers, she would give up the spot and give it to me. Without Phoebe to disrupt the situation, I have a hunch that my persona as a cute, strong, and hardworking girl would be very successful. At this moment, I should be the center of the other group. They’ll be waiting for me to feed them.’

The more she thought about it, the more hatred and resentment Sienna felt toward Phoebe. She decided that after the variety show ended and she returned, she would complain to her family implicitly. She would let them know how Phoebe bullied and trampled on her. When the time came, she would wait for her family to settle scores with Phoebe. Since Phoebe had made things difficult for me, I must break Phoebe’s heart. With this thought in mind, Sienna did not feel as aggrieved and sad as before. She knew what to do to hurt Phoebe the most. Therefore, she could not help but look forward to seeing Phoebe being hurt by her loved ones.

Chapter 46