Chapter 307 Can't Get Over This?
So, the folks watching the livestream, who were all confused at first and got tricked by Brenda into thinking Elizabeth and her crew were up to no good, finally got the real deal after hearing the trio chat.
[Man, Brenda's such a schemer, trying to mix up the teams and stir the pot, then pinning it all on Elizabeth and her gang.]
[Raymond totally gave them a heads-up yesterday.]
[They didn't show up themselves, so how's that Elizabeth's fault?]
[Brenda's just fake as hell.]
[These two are like peas in a pod.]
[Sure, Brenda wants to switch teams; she knows Elizabeth and her crew would outshine her.]
[But Elizabeth's got mad skills. If Brenda and Enrique were that good, no one would steal their thunder.]
[Exactly, they're just salty.]
[Brenda's got a complex about Elizabeth and her crew, so she wants to switch teams to get noticed.]
[So much drama. Brenda's really good at playing the Clark Family brothers.]
[Yeah, she's got a rep for being a master manipulator.]
Seeing these comments, the viewers who'd been duped by Brenda started feeling grossed out. They thought it over and realized Brenda had been scheming with this from the start. If Raymond hadn't given them a heads-up, it could've looked like he was isolating and bullying Brenda. However, Brenda's words seemed like a stretch. Turned out, she was setting the stage to switch teams and almost had everyone fooled. She even roped the viewers into her game.
So, their opinion of Brenda tanked. They were curious to see how Brenda and Enrique would fare after switching teams.
In a hotel lounge overseas.
Richard and Arnold were chilling, watching the livestream. They had the comments on and saw what people were saying.
Arnold looked annoyed and said, "Why do they always gotta drag us brothers into this mess?"
Every time they got mentioned, like they were Brenda's puppets, it was embarrassing.
Richard was just as annoyed. "Yeah, can't they just drop it?"
Every time it came up, it felt like they were being dragged out for another round of public shaming. It was like they were Brenda's pets, which was super humiliating.
Arnold sighed, "When's this gonna end? My concert got postponed 'cause of the last headlines. Now, with Brenda and Enrique making waves, I'm getting dragged down too. My manager called this morning, saying a bunch of fans returned their tickets."
He felt like crap.
The last variety show was a total flop and super embarrassing, and it ended up boosting Gilbert instead. Lately, Gilbert's new song was killing it on the charts, staying in the top five. Not only did Gilbert's song blow up, but with Elizabeth's help in the last episode, Gilbert also got a popularity boost. Arnold's new song, though, tanked because of the last show. Now, his concert was taking a hit, and he was at a loss. This was the worst he'd felt since he started his career.
Richard glanced at him and said, "I'm not doing much better. The company's VP called me personally yesterday. Told me to take a good break and not rush back to work. Basically, they don't want me coming back and making a fool of myself."
As a top manager, it was humiliating to have a senior exec call and subtly tell him to stay away.
Arnold shot Richard a sympathetic look and said, "Dude, compared to you, I think I'm doing alright. At least I still have a job; you're basically toast. Maybe it's time to switch careers. I doubt any artist would want to be under your management even if you come back."
Richard's rep was so trashed that any artist working with him would probably get dragged down too.
Hearing that, Richard fired back, "Actually, you should think about a career change too. As long as Elizabeth's around, pushing Gilbert to keep you in check, and with Brenda always dragging you down, your days as the beloved star singer are numbered. Imagine performing to an almost empty audience—that'd be the ultimate humiliation."
Arnold went quiet, pulling back his sympathy for Richard. The guy didn't deserve it. To avoid more back-and-forth jabs, he decided to change the topic.
He asked, "Do you think Brenda's got any other reasons for wanting to switch teams besides wanting to stand out?"
Ever since he realized how scheming Brenda was, he couldn't help but think she had hidden motives for everything.
Richard felt the same and said, "She probably wants more than just to stand out. I have a hunch Enrique's gonna be in hot water today."
Every time Brenda schemed, it was them who got burned. Enrique, the idiot, seemed to have fallen for Brenda's tricks again. If he wasn't in trouble, who would be?
Arnold nodded. "Yeah, I think Enrique's in for it today too." He added, "Let's just chill here and watch the livestream. I don't feel like going out."
They had planned to go skiing, but now they were more interested in seeing if Enrique would get into trouble.
Richard agreed, "Yeah, I'll just cancel the plans and watch the livestream."
They wanted to see firsthand what kind of mess Brenda would stir up and how Enrique would suffer.
Meanwhile, in a different hotel room in another country, Paul and Betty tuned into the livestream.
They didn't feel like going out today; they were in no mood for fun. Paul hadn't had time to watch the livestream before, but he had no work until tomorrow, so he wanted to watch it properly. If anything embarrassing happened, he could turn it off in time.
At the Soule venue.
Elizabeth and her crew headed to a designated area to find two new team members.
The place was packed with people looking to join teams. Some nearly full teams were also recruiting temporary teammates. When they arrived, they saw quite a few people looking to join teams.
Raymond asked, "With so many people, how should we pick?"
Elizabeth thought for a moment and looked at Zachary, asking, "How about you take the lead on this one?"
Zachary was super capable and should be able to spot the right people at a glance. She also wanted to see if he'd pick suitable folks or troublemakers.
Raymond smiled and agreed, "Good idea. Zachary's better at picking people than us."
Natalie also smiled and said, "I second it. Zachary, pick those who seem easy to get along with."
Zachary gave the three of them a deep look and didn't refuse. "Alright, since you trust me, I'll pick."
He scanned the crowd and pointed to two people, saying, "Those two seem to fit our team. You can invite them."
Raymond grinned and said, "This is my specialty. Leave it to me."
He walked over and invited the two people Zachary pointed out. Being invited by Raymond, they were flattered and excitedly agreed. They usually liked playing games and were fans of Raymond's games.
"Raymond, I never thought I'd get to be on the same team as you."
"If other fans knew, they'd be so jealous."
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