Chapter 184

Sophia froze for a moment. She hadn't expected Francis to be so blunt.

Her ears turned red, and she lowered her eyes in panic, her expression becoming unnatural.

"Mr. Vasquez, why are you saying all this? They're just temporarily interested in me. Once enough time passes, they won't be like this anymore."

She tried to shift her attention back to the studio location, but Francis wouldn't let it go. He shook his head, seeing right through Sophia's plan.

"You're planning to drag this out, thinking these guys will lose interest in you? Don't kid yourself, especially with Daniel. I know him so well—we're close friends. There's no way he'll give up on you that easily."

As he spoke, he tapped his tablet with his finger. "You're worried about the studio location, right? I think this one looks pretty good."

The studio location was almost finalized, and Sophia managed to squeeze in time from her busy schedule to check it out in person.

After seeing the place with her own eyes, she nodded with satisfaction and confirmed the location.

Since the concert ended that day, quite a few opportunities had come knocking. Sophia had never been the type to get cocky after a little success.

After discussing thoroughly with Francis, she finally settled on one of the concerts.

This concert was currently one of the top-ranked performances in the country. To show how much they valued Sophia, they deliberately arranged for her to perform as the finale.

The representative they sent spoke very sincerely.

"Ms. Brown, you don't even have to follow our arrangement for the program. You can perform a piece that Ms. Brown is best at."

Sophia nodded.

When she first received the concert invitation, she already had a piece in mind that she wanted to perform. She was planning to discuss it with them, but unexpectedly, they were so reasonable and gave her plenty of freedom.

Seeing this, the staff member nodded repeatedly in agreement. After he left, Francis, who had been standing quietly to the side, finally spoke with a smile.

"I know what you want to perform. It's that song from your first stage performance in college, right?"

Sophia felt a warmth in her heart. She was both surprised by how well Francis understood her and touched that, after all these years, he still remembered the piece she performed on stage back then.

"Yes, Mr. Vasquez, you really do understand me. I'm planning to perform that song on stage. It should be quite meaningful."

The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve up, her eyes full of determination.

Francis looked at the calm confidence in her eyes, slowly stood up, and gently patted her shoulder.

"Do your best. I believe you'll succeed."

In the following days, Sophia was so busy her feet barely touched the ground. Francis also took this concert very seriously—he personally made time to coach Sophia, and this time he was even more strict and serious than usual.

His demands on Sophia kept getting higher.

After each lesson, seeing the thin layer of sweat on Sophia's forehead, he sighed inwardly, though his expression remained stern and serious.

"Keep your hand steady. If your hand shakes, the notes will waver too. This concert is the biggest one yet, and the concert hall is much larger than you imagine. Naturally, there will be more people in the audience than at your previous performances."

His tone was serious and earnest.

"Plus, with your growing reputation, every performance will have people watching you closely. Even the slightest mistake will be magnified in their eyes, so you absolutely cannot make any errors."

Francis wasn't just trying to scare Sophia. He had walked this path himself and naturally understood the pressure that comes with being in the spotlight.

He certainly believed Sophia could handle pressure, but he still needed to give her fair warning in advance.

Sophia listened carefully, without a trace of carelessness in her eyes.

She had no time to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Following Francis's instructions, she endured the aching in her hands and kept the bow level to achieve better results.

After a full day of practice, she was hungry and exhausted, with no energy left to speak.

Francis wasn't much better off. His mouth had gone dry from talking. He took a sip of water before saying.

"I've been getting stricter with you, but if you practice according to what I say, you'll definitely perform brilliantly at the concert. Alright, that's it for today. Get some good rest."

Now that practice was over, his tone softened considerably, his expression gentler.

Francis glanced at the date. There were still two days until the concert.

"Two more days. Let's push hard these next two days."

Sophia walked out of the company exhausted.

Daniel hadn't had the heart to disturb her these past few days—he hadn't come to the company for several days now. Matthew was the same. He would occasionally send a message, asking with concern about Sophia's practice.

After chatting briefly, he would thoughtfully end the conversation and specifically remind Sophia to take care of herself.

Only Benjamin had suddenly disappeared these past few days, with no phone calls or text messages.

Sophia shook her aching arms.

During this period of intense training, her arms had suffered the most. She frowned, without even the energy to speak, and slowly walked to the company entrance.

Downstairs, a familiar black luxury car was parked quietly by the roadside, low-key yet eye-catching.

Almost as soon as Sophia stepped out of the company, she noticed the luxury car by the road. She pressed her lips together, and much of her fatigue seemed to lift.

That was Benjamin's car. She recognized it.

The window slowly rolled down, revealing Benjamin's stern expression. He was looking in Sophia's direction, his expression dark and unreadable.

After not seeing her for several days, Sophia seemed to have lost a lot of weight. The first thing he noticed was her slightly red and swollen arms.

This was the result of days of rigorous training.

"Get in. I'll take you home."

Through the car window, Benjamin's voice was somewhat low and hoarse.

Sophia didn't refuse. She quickly got in the car, and this time, she sat in the passenger seat.

Benjamin's expression shifted slightly, a flash of amusement in his eyes.

"The intense training must be exhausting lately, right? I heard you're opening a studio. If you need any help, you can contact me. I'll do everything I can to help you."

Sophia shook her head gently, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Benjamin opened his mouth. He seemed not to notice Sophia's reluctance to talk much with him and continued on his own.

"I'm your husband. Sometimes you should rely on me more."

The car started moving toward her home. When they reached the apartment entrance, Sophia said in a low voice.

"Just drop me off here. I can walk in the rest of the way myself."

"No need, I'll take you upstairs..."

Before he could finish, she cut him off. This time, her tone carried more coldness and impatience.