Chapter 111
Chapter 111
No one hoped more than Russell that Valerie was just being modest. He looked at her with eager anticipation.
As the prelude faded, Valerie began singing the first line. “How could I ever describe you perfectly
Valerie was young, with a naturally youthful voice. When she sang, her tone carried a girlish sweetness and softness that didn’t quite align with
mainstream aesthetic standards.
Russell froze, while Adrienne gaped, momentarily stunned.
The assistant’s eager anticipation shattered in an instant. In disbelief, he pulled off his headphones and muttered, “Isn’t she ready yet? Let’s try that again.” But he was clearly disappointed.
Valerie continued, “What could I compare you to, to show how special you are?”
Valerie’s voice was a typical youthful soprano. From the very first line, even though she was on pitch, her sweet, girlish tone completely clashed with the song’s style, an obvious mismatch.
Adrienne quietly took off her headphones and muttered, “Well, I guess nobody gets to have it all.”
The only one who kept his cool was the sound engineer. Without even glancing at the people behind him, he said, “What’s the rush?”
With steady hands, he adjusted several knobs, and miraculously, the pitch was transformed into a mature, commanding female voice.
Adrienne exclaimed, “What the fuck?”
The assistant exclaimed, “Yes. That’s exactly the vibe I wanted. Wow, Valerie’s singing is just incredible. Her voice is so soft and sweet. It’s pure eargasm.”
The sound engineer smirked and ruthlessly disabled the effects. The assistant couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
Adrienne shot her a thumbs–up, impressed. “Damn, that’s sick.”
Russell had no choice but to accept reality. The assistant immediately changed his tune and gushed, “With super beauty like Valerie’s, if she ever entered showbiz, she’d take the world by storm.
“Ah, I can already see it. She’s bound to be dominating the scene in the future.”
“Wake up.” Adrienne shoved him unceremoniously. “Your idol hasn’t even said she wants to enter showbiz. She’s still just a college junior, and songwriting is only her hobby. Besides, she’s already married to a ridiculously wealthy and powerful guy.
“He came to our school today, gave a speech, casually dropped a million–dollar donation, and then whisked her away in a chauffeured Rolls–Royce for
dinner.”
The assistant almost burst out laughing. ‘Come on, not even in my wildest dreams. That’s just way too over the top,‘ he wondered.
But when he saw Russell nodding in agreement, the grin that had just started to spread across his face instantly froze and shattered. ‘N–No way? Could it really be true?‘ he wondered.
Russell looked serious. “That’s definitely something to consider.”
The assistant wondered, ‘Holy shit. Damn. Perhaps I’m the only poor person in the world.’
Valerie saw the stunned looks on everyone’s faces outside the booth and instantly knew her singing had blown them away.
Her cheeks burned crimson, but she stubbornly powered through the first half before finally pulling off her headphones and stepping out.
Adrienne forced an enthusiastic smile, saw Valerie, and, lying through her teeth, said, “That was amazing.”
1/3
Chapter 111
The assistant nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah, totally.”
Russell rolled his eyes. “Oh, please,”
Valerie clutched her chest dramatically. “Ouch, right in the feels. I told you it was awful, but you wouldn’t believe me. So now it’s my fault?
Adrienne laughed and said, “Come on, it wasn’t bad at all, seriously.”
Valerie felt only slightly comforted and sighed, “Never mind, I’m used to it by now.”
‘It seems nothing has really changed after all these years. Thank goodness I’ve never had to sing in front of Aiden,‘ she thought to herself.
‘But then again, if I ever did, would he look at me with that same disappointed expression?‘ Valerie thought, “Come to think of it, I’ve never actually sung in front of Aiden.‘
Suddenly, she kinda wanted to give it a shot in front of Aiden. Valerie pictured the look he might have and couldn’t help but giggle to herself.
Adrienne noticed the shifting expressions on Valerie’s face, leaned in with a teasing grin, and said, “That lovestruck look? Could you be thinking about your hubby?”
‘L–Lovestruck look?‘ Valerie thought. Her cheeks flushed as she stepped back. “No way. Stop teasing me.”
Adrienne grinned and playfully nudged her with her elbow. “Hey, look at you blushing. What’s wrong with daydreaming about your hubby? When you’re so in love, it’s totally normal to look all lovestruck like that.”
Yet those very words struck Valerie dumb for a moment.
She wondered, ‘Daydreaming about my hubby? All loestruck? Was I really looking that lovestruck just now? It’s true that I was just thinking about Aiden. But did I really look that lovestruck?
Being so in love? No way?‘ she thought. She knew each word on its own, but together, the phrase felt completely alien to her. ‘Me? Deeply in love with Aiden? No way. I could never fall for someone like him.‘
In her old life, right after they got back from the Clark family’s birthday party, he barely treated Valerie kindly.
Though things did get a bit better later, his pathological possessiveness was still frightening, and he ended up hurting me in so many ways.
‘How could I ever love such a monster?‘ she wondered. Valerie suddenly felt lost in thought and fell silent.
Noticing Valerie’s mood shift, Adrienne nudged her and said, “Come on, let’s go out. I was just teasing. Don’t take it to heart, okay?”
Valerie smiled faintly at Adrienne, “I was just lost in thought, not angry at all.”
Stepping out of the recording booth, Valerie pulled out the sheet music and said, “Alright, since you helped me post on X last night, here’s what ! promised–the adaptation rights to three of my songs. They’re all yours now.”
“What about the distribution rights?” Russell asked.
“I’ll throw those in too, but if you want any of my other songs, you’ll have to pay up,” she said.
Russell let out a wry laugh. “Only three songs? Come on, that’s hardly generous of you.”
“Take it or leave it,” Valerie retorted.
“Yes.” he said eagerly. “I really liked that song you just played–is it in here?”
“No.” Valerie shut him down flatly, instantly crushing his hopes. “That one’s personal. I wrote it for myself. I don’t plan to adapt it for commercial release. I’d rather keep it just the way it is.”
Chapter 111
Of all the songs Valerie had written, this was her absolute favorite.
But in her old life, the sheet music book stolen by Valentina at Arianna’s behest had most of its songs changed beyond recognition, especially this one, which was so badly butchered that it fell into complete obscurity.
But no one knew. This was the one song Valerie cherished most, the one that perfectly echoed the emotions of her childhood. This time, would treasure it and keep it close,‘ she wondered.
“No way,” Russell said. “I really like this song. Name your price.”
Adrienne was practically stunned. “Do all you tycoon types have to sound so damn cool when you talk?”
Russell preened at being called a tycoon and burst out laughing. “Come on, I’m no tycoon. My brother’s the real boss of the company. I’m just the VP at best. So, what do you say? Will you sell it? How about 300 thousand dollars?”
Ħ
