Chapter 27 She Was So Badly Injured, She Looked Like She Was About to Die
"Wait, I feel like there's more gossip coming." The other person replied, "If we expose ourselves now, it won't be worth it. Let's wait a bit longer."
Isabella still didn't understand the entertainment industry.
The number of recording devices officially announced never matched the actual number.
Not to mention reporters, secret recordings, and people selling footage.
Otherwise, where would all those juicy stories come from?
And the stories that got out were just a small fraction - most had already been bought off.
...
Meanwhile, backstage.
"The previous performer is about to exit. Lika, get ready."
Following the stage manager's instructions, Amelia stepped onto the stage.
William, who had been sitting in the audience, was already getting up to leave.
He didn't usually attend these kinds of events anyway. The only reason he came today was to watch Isabella's performance.
Now that he'd seen it, it was time to go.
But just a few steps away, the third contestant was already taking the stage.
William glanced over.
"Now entering the stage is Lika. She'll be performing 'Yesterday Once More'..."
As the host announced, William remembered - this was the woman Jeffrey was keeping, the one Isabella had mentioned to him.
For some reason, William instinctively stopped in his tracks.
He looked toward the stage.
He'd heard many people mention this mysterious masked woman today, but this was his first time actually seeing her.
He saw her standing on stage, gently holding the microphone. Her melodious voice, full of emotion and story, flowed out slowly. Her unique style captured everyone's attention after just a few lines.
The previously noisy studio fell silent as a church. Countless people were listening intently to the woman's singing.
William frowned slightly. He felt this style was somehow familiar.
The next moment, he remembered - this style was somewhat similar to Amelia's.
But also different.
"Lika's" style was more mature than Amelia's, with a heavier sense of story. Especially that faint melancholy and the detachment that comes after experiencing life's changes - it gripped people's hearts.
The feeling wasn't heavy, just a taste, like smoke, but it could wrap around you tightly with a strong lingering effect.
William took a careful look at the masked woman on stage wearing the burning flame rose costume.
Both the costume style and her figure were different from Amelia's.
It wasn't her.
As the performance continued, the singing spiraled upward from its initial soft melody, becoming intense, rising, finally breaking through like ice shattering. As the female voice soared, the song reached its climax.
Flames rose around the stage. The lights changed - after a brief darkness, a beam illuminated a woman holding a violin in the center of the stage.
Petals were falling beneath the violin. The woman's figure moved, and intense, sorrowful yet elegant violin music flowed out.
The spotlight focused on the woman. Her burning flame rose costume had partially transformed, and now the colored lights shining on her revealed all the scars that had been slightly covered with foundation.
One scar after another, even more shocking against her smooth skin.
Especially at the joints, the scars were more obvious.
You could tell the injuries had been very severe.
Those scars, combined with her current performance, created a kind of dying beauty.
And the flames burning around her gave her a sense of redemption, like rebirth from fire.
The woman played the violin, her red dress swirling. Her slender figure was heartbreakingly beautiful on this stage.
As the violin music grew more intense, everyone's eyes were focused on her.
A phoenix rose.
This was the consensus of everyone present.
The flames burned out, the violin stopped, and people still hadn't recovered from that sense of shock.
Amelia slowly lowered her violin, looked up, and saw William standing not far away.
Their eyes met in that moment.
Neither seemed to react, but William frowned slightly.
His heart was pounding - whether from the intensity of the music or something else, he didn't know.
This woman was mysterious and dangerous.
And fatally attractive.
The venue erupted in thunderous applause.
As the applause and cheers came, William looked away first. He turned around.
"Thank you." The woman's voice came from the stage.
It sounded calm and light.
William glanced at Jeffrey, who was excitedly approaching.
Letting his woman get injured so badly, looking like she was about to die, and Jeffrey still only cared about getting excited over the song?
But it had nothing to do with him.
He didn't need to feel sorry for Jeffrey's woman on Jeffrey's behalf.
William lowered his eyes slightly, didn't hesitate, and strode away.
On stage, Amelia bowed deeply to everyone, then exited the stage in an orderly manner following instructions.
Below the stage, Sable was jumping with excitement.
"Lika, you sang so amazingly! I was completely moved!"
Sable held Amelia's hand and bounced as she spoke.
Amelia felt some pain but still laughed softly, "Thank you."
She had only rested for three days, which wasn't nearly enough.
Before, she had tried to lean on things when she could, reducing movement, but on stage, she had really let loose.
So now her body couldn't quite handle it.
"Lika, who's your special effects makeup artist? Oh my god, these injuries are drawn so well, they look so real!"
Sable still didn't know anything, staring at the injuries on Amelia's body.
"Be more careful, these are real injuries." Jeffrey, who had rushed over, pulled the clumsy Sable aside.
Sable was startled and quickly let go.
Where she had just touched, some foundation had rubbed off, and without the cover, the wounds looked even more gruesome.
Sable covered her mouth, her eyes full of guilt and concern. "Lika, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to grab your injuries!"
Amelia smiled and shook her head. How could she blame Sable? She didn't know anything.
Seeing Sable still feeling guilty, Amelia gently leaned against her.
"Can you help me back?" She really couldn't hold on anymore.
"Yes!" Sable immediately sprang into action.
But after just two steps, she saw Isabella standing not far away.
Isabella smiled and said, "The live effect was really good. Congratulations, Lika."
Amelia didn't speak, just looked at Isabella.
Isabella smiled and said, "What I just told you about that person was true. If you want to know the specific details, come find me."
Around them were the applause and screaming cheers that hadn't completely faded.
Amelia smiled lightly, "No need."
After speaking, she even glanced at Jeffrey.
Jeffrey was completely baffled by the look.
Amelia left with her assistant and Jeffrey, leaving Isabella standing there.
She was grinding her teeth so hard they might break.
Her provocation seemed to have backfired, making Lika perform even better!
Right when Lika had just started performing, Isabella had rushed straight into the live broadcast control room, using William's name to pressure the broadcast staff into lowering the clarity and other data for "Lika's" livestream.
Lika really didn't know her place - this was supposed to be Isabella's show, yet she still had to steal the spotlight!
A calculating look flashed in Isabella's eyes. Then she took out her phone and called someone.