Chapter 27
Seeing how well Elizabeth and Raymond were working together, Eugene got more and more irritated. He started to dislike Raymond. Frowning, he said, "There are some misunderstandings between Elizabeth and me, so you don't need to worry about it, Raymond." Basically, he was telling Raymond to butt out.
Raymond just shrugged. "I don’t think so," he said confidently. "Elizabeth saved my life, so her business is my business now."
Eugene was momentarily speechless, which only made him angrier. He didn't like that Elizabeth had saved Raymond, creating a bond between them. He really didn't want to deal with Raymond right now. So he turned to Elizabeth and said, "I didn't mean to say you were wrong earlier; I just want everyone to get along."
Elizabeth replied calmly, "As long as you don't mess with me." If they left her alone, she wouldn't cause any trouble. But if they came after her, she wouldn't back down.
Eugene got the hint from Elizabeth loud and clear. "We won't," he assured her. He planned to have a private chat with Brenda, telling her to stop provoking Elizabeth. Given that Elizabeth wasn't showing respect to him or Kevin anymore, they needed to step back to prevent things from escalating.
Kevin looked like he wanted to say something, but Brenda pulled him back. Normally, she would have enjoyed watching Kevin scold Elizabeth. But now, she was scared that pushing Elizabeth might make her release that recording from the other day. While Kevin didn't mind people knowing about his history with Elizabeth, he chose to stay silent for Brenda's sake.
The courtyard fell silent for a moment. Arthur knew they couldn't let the live broadcast stay awkward for too long. So he smiled and said, "By the way, there's something I need to inform you all."
Everyone turned to him. "What is it?" they asked.
"You know the village is mostly elderly and kids, right? So, the production team wants to hold an event on the last day. You need to prepare a program to entertain the villagers. We'll give each villager a small red flower, and they'll vote for their favorite. The group with the most red flowers gets a wish granted by the production team."
This was clearly designed to stir up some excitement. Ronald asked, "What kind of program do we need to prepare? Any rules?" Arthur shook his head. "No rules. Just make sure the villagers enjoy it."
After that, Elizabeth and her group of four moved to a room to brainstorm their program. Kevin's group did the same. Brenda, eager to show off, volunteered to dance and play a piece on the piano. Lisa said she could sing a song. Kevin, who was good at both singing and dancing, offered to do a solo performance. Eugene, who had also released songs, suggested he could sing too. Their group could come up with five different acts.
On the other side, Raymond looked at everyone and asked, "What should we do for our program? I think singing and dancing might not be the best fit for the villagers."
Ronald nodded in agreement. "Yeah, for an audience of mostly elderly folks and kids, a magic show might be more popular than singing and dancing."
Nancy, who had initially wanted to sing, also thought it made sense. "Alright, let's think of some creative ideas."
Raymond turned to Elizabeth. "Any ideas?"
Elizabeth thought for a moment. "How about a puppet show?"
The other three were surprised. "A puppet show?"
Elizabeth nodded. "The village head mentioned an elderly man named Terry Campbell who performs puppet shows. Even though puppet shows have faded from the public eye, Terry has been making puppets for ten years. He hopes more people will see and appreciate this art. If we do a puppet show, we can fulfill Terry's wish and help promote this traditional art form."
"And I guess the elderly and children would also enjoy watching a puppet show," Elizabeth added.
Raymond's interest was piqued immediately. "You mean, we should perform a puppet show?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Exactly. We can each take on different roles and put on a puppet show for everyone."
Ronald also became interested. "That's a great idea. I think it sounds fun."
Nancy agreed. "I second it." She then asked, "So, are we only performing a puppet show?"
Elizabeth smiled. "Remember we told the village head and the villagers that those interested could come here for lessons tomorrow? You can teach the kids to sing and dance, and then perform together on stage."
Ronald said, "That's a great idea too. Parents will be thrilled to see their own children on stage. Villagers will feel more involved seeing familiar faces perform."
Over the past few days, as they walked around the village, few people recognized them. The elderly and children in the village didn't follow celebrities, so their acceptance of pop songs and dances was limited. But if familiar villagers performed, everyone would be delighted.
After discussing, they decided to seek out Terry in the village the next day for his opinion. If he agreed, they could start preparing the puppet show.
While they were discussing, the live chat was buzzing.
[Elizabeth's idea is really good. I've never seen a puppet show before.]
[I'm also looking forward to seeing how they teach the kids.]
[Especially Raymond, he's still a kid himself.]
[Can't wait to see their performance.]
[Elizabeth is really nice. She doesn't try to steal the spotlight and has great coordination and organizational skills.]
[And she's beautiful and kind-hearted.]
[Why did so many people criticize her before?]
[You'd have to ask Kevin's fans and Eugene's fans.]
[I wonder how Elizabeth offended them.]
[There must be some big news between Elizabeth and Kevin. I'm curious about the so-called recording.]
[I'm also puzzled. Elizabeth brought up the recording so openly, but Brenda seemed guilty.]
[Eugene doesn't help his childhood friend but helps Brenda. That's big news too.]
[I noticed before that Eugene was very protective of Brenda. I thought I was imagining it.]
[Turns out I wasn't wrong. Eugene and Brenda's relationship isn't simple.]
[They never had any public connection revealed. They kept it well hidden.]
[No wonder Elizabeth cut ties with him. Such a childhood friend is terrifying.]
[Exactly, it's always Kevin and his sister provoking Elizabeth, yet Eugene managed to make it look like Elizabeth's fault. I'd cut ties with a friend like that too.]
[Someone needs to uncover these two major stories quickly. I'm curious.]
[Reporters: It's our time to shine.]
Curious and interested in the news Elizabeth had hinted at, reporters naturally wouldn't let it go and continued to dig deeper. Eugene's fans, besides continuing to criticize Elizabeth, also started to feel some dissatisfaction towards Brenda. Female fans, in particular, disliked Brenda for being associated with their Eugene. Kevin's fans, of course, defended Brenda, leading to some fans from both sides starting to argue.
On the other side, the live broadcast ended at 8 PM. Elizabeth and Nancy went out to wash up. Kevin had been listening to the sounds outside. Hearing the door open across the way, he immediately got up and went out. Sure enough, he saw Elizabeth coming out. He walked over and blocked her path.
Nancy, seeing this, guessed that Kevin might be there to confront Elizabeth about the recording. She debated internally whether to remain or head to freshen up first. To her astonishment, she witnessed Kevin gazing at Elizabeth with a pitiful expression and uttering, "Elizabeth, I've had a tough day at work. My hands and legs are sore. Could you give me a massage?"
Nancy almost dropped the basin she was holding. What was happening? Was Kevin acting cute to Elizabeth? She suddenly couldn't understand.
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