Chapter 284 Zachary Came Prepared
Brenda's harp and dance attempts? Total flop. So, they handed the harp and other stuff back to the show crew.
Brenda had eavesdropped on some folks earlier, and they were talking about a harpist named Zachary. She was super curious about who this guy was and even more intrigued by how Elizabeth was raking in the cash this time.
So, she nudged Enrique and suggested they take a stroll to scout for some money-making gigs, leading him to a nearby street.
Meanwhile, the livestream chat was blowing up.
[Wasn't she supposed to prove Raymond wrong? Is this it?]
[This ending cracked me up.]
[So Raymond was right; there are plenty of good harpists and dancers here. Brenda should stop embarrassing herself.]
[Brenda never listens to advice, and now she's embarrassed again.]
[Raymond: It's a struggle with Brenda; Brenda is really hard to persuade.]
[So Raymond has sharp eyes.]
[This twist is so satisfying. Where are the people who were just cursing Raymond now?]
[They can only blame Brenda for not being impressive. She didn't prove Raymond wrong; instead, she embarrassed herself. Otherwise, they'd be crowing now.]
[I just like Raymond being straightforward and knowing his limits. Why should he accommodate Brenda just because he's a guy?]
[Raymond has always been like this. Now you know.]
[Raymond has a bad temper. Brenda should stay away from him in the future.]
Raymond's been in the entertainment biz for a while, and he's never hidden his temper or personality. His fans love his no-nonsense attitude and are super protective when haters come for him.
This time, Raymond's fans clapped back hard, shutting down those who had been trash-talking him.
Brenda's fans were caught off guard. They didn't expect things to go exactly as Raymond had predicted. Brenda's performance was a letdown, leaving them with no ammo to fight back.
On the flip side, Brenda and Enrique wandered over to a street packed with people. There was a long line, and when they got closer, they saw folks were either there to watch Zachary play the harp, Eugene on the recorder, or to get their makeup done by Elizabeth.
Enrique was like, "Isn't this something? Zachary's playing is supposedly as good as yours, Brenda. Is it because more girls are watching that the new guest is so popular?"
Brenda turned red. She knew Zachary was way better, and Enrique's comment stung. Swallowing her pride, she admitted, "Yeah, he's really good. The new guests they found are super talented, pulling in all these people." She was basically saying Elizabeth's side was popular because of Zachary.
She was green with envy. How did Elizabeth land someone like Zachary? If only he was on their team.
Enrique nodded. "Yeah, they're really lucky."
After thinking for a bit, he suggested, "Brenda, maybe you could do makeup, like Elizabeth?"
Brenda's face burned. No way was she going to copy Elizabeth. She shook her head. "We need to find another way to make money. Let's regroup with Raymond and Nancy. Going solo isn't cutting it."
Fueled by jealousy and a burning desire to prove herself, Brenda led Enrique back to Raymond and Nancy, hoping to win Raymond over despite their clashes. She had a hunch that if she could get Raymond on her side, she could outshine Elizabeth's Generational Blessings just like before.
Brenda psyched herself up, thinking, 'Even though Raymond's got it out for me, the tougher the challenge, the sweeter the victory. I'm gonna win him over.'
Enrique wasn't thrilled about finding Raymond and Nancy; every run-in with them was a drag. But after a moment, he sighed and said, "Alright, I'll roll with you."
When they got to a nearby restaurant, Brenda's heart sank seeing Raymond and Nancy working as waiters. Could things get any worse? They were stuck doing grunt work.
Raymond spotted them, and his smile vanished. He didn't want to deal with these two and was about to duck back into the kitchen.
But Enrique stepped up and called out, "Raymond, what are you doing here?"
Raymond turned around, clearly annoyed. "What does it look like?"
Enrique, with a hint of disdain, asked, "Is your big money-making plan just serving dishes?"
Raymond, despite his rich-kid background and star status, respected all kinds of work. He couldn't stand Enrique's snobby attitude.
He retorted, "You're missing the point. Whether it's brainwork or manual labor, it's all respectable. Work is work, no matter what it is."
Enrique stammered, "No, I just... didn't expect this."
Raymond shot back, "We need to eat and have a place to crash at night. As long as we're making money, who cares what the job is?"
Then he added, "Why are you here? Did you make fools of yourselves?"
Enrique's face darkened. "We thought it might be better to stick together as a team."
Raymond saw right through them and sneered, "Cut the crap. I told you, this is Aevum City. There are tons of people who can play the harp and dance. You didn't believe it. Now we're stuck doing this waitstaff gig. If you want in, fine. If not, beat it. I gotta get back to work. I don't have time for your nonsense. Figure it out."
With that, he walked off, leaving Enrique fuming. He was about to blow up, but Brenda held him back. "Enrique, let's talk to the restaurant owner and work here to make some cash," she said.
Enrique swallowed his anger and reluctantly followed her to find the owner.
Since they were with Raymond, the owner didn't turn them away and let them work as temp waiters.
At first, Enrique couldn't stomach it. But after getting mocked by Raymond and Nancy, he didn't want to be looked down on, so he forced himself to work.
His attitude, though, got him roasted by the livestream audience.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth, keeping an eye on the time, told Kevin to stop allowing more people to queue up.
It took her over five hours to serve everyone in line. If she hadn't cut it off, who knew how many more would have shown up.
They raked in nearly a grand from it. Then they headed to the restaurant where Raymond and his crew were working, planning to grab dinner together.
On the way, Elizabeth chatted with Zachary, "Your harp skills are top-notch." She had wanted to test his abilities before, and sure enough, Zachary was the real deal.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
