The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Chapter 694

Joshua was always quick on his feet—a fountain of ideas, really.

Rachel's eyes lit up. "Joshua, what are you thinking? Tell me!"

Joshua replied, "There's nothing I can do about the live competition itself. That's all on you. But when it comes to the livestream, I can make your numbers look a whole lot better."

Rachel immediately understood what he meant. "Wait... you want to boost my stats?"

She felt a pang of discomfort. Sure, she'd seen numbers be "helped along" before -Haynes O'Brien and Jasper Wilkinson had both poured money and resources into her career to drum up real fans for her when she was starting out. But that had felt genuine; those were actual people, supporters who cared.

What Joshua was suggesting felt different. This was smoke and mirrors-an illusion of popularity. No one wants a fake crowd. The thought of performing for an army of bots made Rachel uneasy.

Sensing her hesitation, Joshua added, "Look, I can put money into promoting your stream. That way, you'll have a shot at attracting real fans yourself. But I can't guarantee you'll beat Stella."

Rachel fell silent.

she could outdo Stella. Building a following the

made up her mind. "Alright. Let's do it your

"Anything

is there any chance you could get to

of my league. Maybe you should ask Haynes himself? If

Rachel fell quiet.

ask Haynes for something like that. It would be like openly admitting she needed to cheat to beat Stella. What would he think

was running out. Rachel ended the

at the TV screen, watching as Stella flashed a confident smile for the cameras. A shadow

Five minutes passed quickly.

host was reluctant to let Stella go-she was the kind of contestant you didn't see every year: talented brilliant, and charismatic. Of the ten finalists, six were returning from last year, and the host knew thei abilities by heart. If those same faces kept representing the country, it was easy to guess how the international

even entered. The scandal had left Novaris's reputation in tatters, and it had been ages since

Stella-gorgeous, gifted, practically born for the stage. In music,

Rachel took

Bay," but with a different spirit. Where Stella's performance radiated calm serenity, Rachel's was wild and bold a surge