In the past two years, it was well-known that Brock and Sylvia had a good working relationship.
So he almost acted as Sylvia’s manager.
Almost all matters related to Sylvia in the entertainment industry were handled by Brock.
Like this music festival.
The rain was getting heavier, and the raindrops drummed on the car window. Sylvia looked at the rain outside.
She had already received an email from Brock on her phone.
She casually opened it and saw the relevant information about the music introduction.
“The Celestial Chorus” is a competition-style music program. Each episode features six duet partners who collaborate on singing.
The resident music partners of the show are six big names in the music industry, and these six duet partners will be paired with them to form six groups.
After forming the groups, they will perform a hit song together, and the final score will be determined by live music critics and the audience on the live platform.
All the gifts sent by the audience during the performance of the best song of the season will be converted into cash donations for children in need in mountainous areas.
It can be said that this is a semi-charitable music program.
No wonder Brock said Sylvia might like it earlier.
The six music partners for this season are the national duo Hillary, the inspirational diva Carlee, the super popular idol Simeon, the music maestro Reid, the tenor male singer William, and the rising female star Jordyn.
The first few are all highly regarded in the music industry, but Jordyn seems to have appeared out of nowhere on the list.
It’s easy to guess that Jordyn’s backers pushed for her to be on the show.
But that has nothing to do with Sylvia because she is only a duet partner and will only appear in one episode.
She is not a resident music partner.
When the car arrived at the entrance of the Hipps Family, Sylvia yawned delicately. Franklin drove the car into the main building’s entrance before Sylvia got out.
It was pouring rain outside.
Sylvia hurriedly ran to the entrance hall and called out to him, “Be careful on your way. The rain is really heavy.”
Franklin nodded, lowered the car window, waved at her, and then turned around and drove out of the Hipps Family.
After entering the house, she went straight back to her room and sat on the bed to reply to Brock.
“I can participate in one episode. How is the schedule for the program arranged? Which episode will I be assigned to?”
After sending the message, she thought for a moment and called Brock, “Did you see the message just now?”
“I saw it.” Brock’s gentle voice came through, “Miss Andrews, here’s how it is. The production team wants you to participate in the first episode. After all, this show has already had three seasons and is a bit tired for the audience. So they want you to be in the premiere episode to create publicity and attention, which will facilitate marketing for the production team.”
Sylvia understood these tricks of the production team. She frowned, “This kind of semi-charitable program should have a longer-term vision. Why did last season’s ratings drop?”
Naturally, Brock wouldn’t withhold or hide what he knew.
“Yes. The ratings dropped by ten percent last season, so they want more gimmicks this year. Just recently, you sang Hillary’s ‘Lady Lux,’ and Hillary recommended you to the director. The director then approached me to help contact you.”
“I see.” Sylvia nodded. No wonder a music program suddenly wanted her as a guest.
Brock believed he knew Sylvia quite well and knew that she was interested in this program.
“Your performance of ‘Lady Lux’ went viral, and it gained a lot of popularity. If you can sing with Hillary on this show, it should generate even higher ratings.”
“Are they directly arranging for me to sing with Hillary?” Sylvia was a little surprised. But if her cover could earn recognition from the original singer, it would still be a kind of affirmation of her vocal talent.
She felt that things were developing beyond her expectations, adding a touch of comedy.
“Yes. But we still need to put on a show. The groupings are actually prearranged. What drawing lots? Oh! How come we ended up in the same group? These are all tricks for the audience to see.” Brock couldn’t help but laugh. “But we will definitely compete with the other five groups. Miss Andrews, whether we can raise donations for children in need during our performance depends on you.”
“You’re giving me more pressure.” Sylvia chuckled softly. “I have a preliminary understanding of this program. When is the initial recording? My grandmother may be discharged from the hospital in about a week, and I want to throw a party for her and Alex. Will you come?”
“It won’t interfere with your party. The show will be broadcast live on TV and also streamed on online platforms. It will be this Friday night at 8 o’clock. Do you have time?” Brock said as he looked at the program schedule. “Before that, you will have three days to rehearse with Hillary.”
“Okay, then I’ll arrive at H Rovirsa tomorrow.” After discussing some details with Brock, Sylvia hung up the phone half an hour later.
She stretched and went to the playroom to see Alex. A room dedicated to toys had been set up in their home for Alex and Mollie’s baby. It was filled with various toys and some amusement facilities like slides and trampolines for children to enjoy themselves.
As soon as she approached the playroom, she could hear Alex’s laughter and Mollie’s gentle voice.
Mollie was almost done with her postpartum recovery and would occasionally come out for a walk. She couldn’t stay in bed all the time; it would make her go crazy.
“Alex, be careful not to bump your head.” Mollie pushed a small stroller with a quiet baby lying inside. She was cautioning Alex while they were playing on the trampoline.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Alex was wearing a tracksuit with sweatpants and non-slip socks on his feet, jumping around on the trampoline with great enthusiasm.
His forehead was covered in glistening beads of sweat, but he continued jumping without feeling tired.
Children have abundant energy and don’t know what exhaustion is.
Sylvia stood at the door for quite some time, took out her phone, took several photos, and recorded a short video. She sent them all to Sierra.
And Sierra in Stannland watched these videos and photos, unable to hold back her tears.
Her son… so happy and joyful.
Would he forget about his biological mother?
It would be better if he did because she had nothing worth remembering about herself.
Sierra felt both happy and sad, a mix of emotions flooding her heart.
After Adeline finished organizing all their expenses since they arrived in Stannland, she brought them over for Sierra to review. But when she stepped into Sierra’s office, she saw that Sierra’s eyes were red and she looked upset.
Adeline was already a sensitive girl and immediately walked over to her with concern. “Sierra, what’s wrong? Are you missing Alex? You can video chat or call him!”
Sierra looked at the photos on her phone and gently touched Alex’s clearly chubby face in one of them. She forced a smile that looked worse than crying. “I’m so conflicted. I know this is the best arrangement for Alex, but I can’t help but miss him and feel sad and even hate myself.”
Adeline put down the expense report she had in her hand on the desk and sat next to Sierra, holding her hand as she comforted her gently.
“Don’t say that. Miss Andrews wouldn’t mistreat him. She took him away with your consent. Alex won’t forget about you, Sierra. You’ve been taking care of him alone and it’s not good for his growth. We need to think about the future.”
“But I still feel so sad and in pain.” Sierra’s tears fell down her cheeks as she spoke. “You didn’t become a mother yourself, so you can’t understand my feelings.”
“You need to strive to become a mother that Alex can be proud of. The current situation only means that more people love him.” Adeline remained patient. “So just try to look at it positively. Since Miss Andrews entrusted us with things here in Stannland, let’s achieve good results. We can’t let others laugh at us.”
Adeline continued speaking to Sierra, “Since we established ourselves here a month ago, we have helped five children and three elderly people. We are doing something meaningful. So please don’t be sad anymore.”
Sierra’s nose turned red from crying, and bloodshot veins filled her eyes.
She wiped her nose with tissues and felt much better after venting her emotions.
“Thank you, Adeline. I understand all this logically, but I can’t help but miss him. Sigh!”
“Cheer up! If you miss him so much, go back and see him.” Adeline smiled again. “Alright, take a look at this month’s expense report now. I’ll leave first.”
Sierra nodded and composed herself. She was becoming more and more like her old self again; she had to let an unmarried young girl comfort her.
The next day.
After arranging everything at Hipps Family, Sylvia boarded a plane to H Rovirsa.
Franklin had some matters to attend to, so he didn’t accompany her.
She only brought some simple luggage.
After a day of rain yesterday, the air was particularly fresh and pleasant after the rain.
After flying for several hours, she successfully arrived at H Rovirsa’s international airport.
Brock came personally to pick her up from the airport. He reached out his hand to take her suitcase. “Should we go to the hotel first or go directly to communicate with the production team?”
“I’m not very tired; let’s go to the production team. I can’t wait to collaborate with Hillary.” Sylvia was eager to try it out. She sang well but had never participated in such a professional music program.