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.

Building a following

her mind. "Alright.

"Anything else

is there any chance you

territory. That's out of my league. Maybe you should ask Haynes himself?

Rachel fell quiet.

not. She couldn't bring herself to ask Haynes for something like that. It would be like openly admitting she needed to cheat to beat

ended

flashed a confident smile for

Five minutes passed quickly.

the ten finalists, six were returning from last year, and the host knew thei abilities by heart. If those same faces kept

Novaris's reputation in tatters, and it had been ages since

the stage. In music, the

Stella exited, Rachel took

for Liberty." Just as demanding as "Moonlight" or "Moonlight Bay," but with a different spirit. Where Stella's performance radiated calm serenity, Rachel's was wild and bold a