Chapter 339
Ysabelle immediately stood up when she saw people coming out of the conference room.
However, there was no sight of Sophie.
“Oh dear, I hope she’s all right. I must admit the problem at hand is rather tricky. If she can’t settle it, I can always ask Uncle Tristan for help.” Worrying about Sophie, Ysabelle unknowingly babbled on and forgot that Mark was behind her.
Turning around and seeing Mark’s emotionless face, she became a little embarrassed.
“Mark, I didn’t mean anything else by that. It’s just…” Ysabelle tried to explain herself but was stuck for words.
How should I say it? It just sounds wrong no matter how I put it!
“It’s fine. You don’t need to explain anything to me.” Mark’s response was brief. His attitude toward people had always been aloof since he did not see the need to connect with them. Sophie was an exception.
Sophie spotted Mark as she exited the conference room.
He should know about it, right? Well, given his astuteness, it’s very likely that he must have sensed something was amiss.
Sophie approached Mark.
Before she could say anything, Mark consoled her, “Sophie, if this is too tough, just let it go. It’s our dream so we will work on it ourselves. There’s no need for you to suffer for us.”
“Mark, I’m also a part of The Wheelers, all right? Moreover, since TS Entertainment is my company and now that the band is managed by us, how can I just leave you all in the lurch? Unless you don’t trust me to be able to handle this matter?”
Mark never thought of it that way. It was not that he did not trust her; he was worried that she would be hurt fighting alone.
“I just don’t want any one of us to cause you to have a difficult time,” Mark said concerningly.
Sophie laughed. “Don’t worry! Nobody can hurt me. The pitiful one will be Clayton.” Sophie would not let anybody who dared to touch her people off easily.
“Well, you better go back now. They’ll start to be suspicious if you’re gone for too long. Don’t let any of the members feel burdened.” Sophie did not want Mark to think too much and thus quickly ended the conversation.
“Okay.” Mark did not say anything more. Seeing how confident Sophie was, he did not want to sound too discouraging.
Meanwhile, The Wheelers were supposed to appear on a few music shows for publicity but had since been canceled due to the scandal.
Like a cat on hot bricks, Jonathan was extremely anxious.
Now that The Wheelers were denied publicity opportunities, were they really doomed this time?
“Mark, don’t worry too much. Even if we fail this time, I’m sure there’ll be another opportunity.” Jonathan tried to comfort Mark, although it sounded more like he was comforting himself.
Judging from the current situation, it was virtually impossible for them to turn the tables.
Leaning against the window, Mark stared blankly at the scenery outside. He had not spoken a word since parting with Sophie.
Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he had seen all sorts of stuff. As a result, he was not a person who would lose sleep over incidents like this.
The truth was, he was not afraid of failure.
But this time was different. Sophie was involved, and that spurred his desire for this project to be successful.
This was their first collaboration ever since Sophie left.
It would be a lie to say that Mark did not care about the project at all.
On the other hand, in comparison to the dire state The Wheelers were in, Freezewave was having a field day.
They participated in a few big music shows, and their album even climbed to the number one spot on the best-selling chart.
The Freezewave members were elated with how things were panning out for them.
“I was thinking about what was so great about The Wheelers and why everyone was fussing over them. Turns out they’re not all that at all.”
“Yeah! It’s all their fans’ doing; they have over-immortalized them.”
“All right, you’d better shut your mouths. Just look at yourselves. You think you’re any better than them?” As the conversation among the members went on, Clayton’s face blackened. “All of you listen right up. Did you think you achieved all these results because of your abilities? No. All these were
made possible because I used money. So you all better behave yourselves these few days and don’t get into trouble.” Clayton directly bruised their ego.
I used money to manipulate the charts and they thought it was due to their own credit? Where did they even get the confidence? Freezewave is a bunch of freaking losers.
The Freezewave members were not happy with how Clayton talked them down.
Nonetheless, he was their financial backer; they could only swallow their displeasure in silence.
Clayton returned to the company to find Willow still waiting there.
“Clayton, what took you so long to come back? I’ve been waiting here for the whole afternoon,” Willow whined with a pitiful look in her eyes. Fearing that Clayton would come back any moment, she ordered delivery for dinner and did not dare to step away, not even to use the restroom.
Clayton furrowed his brows. Clearly, he did not want to deal with Willow right now. “Willow, as a student in your senior year, you should be studying now. Why did you even come here?”
“I’m sorry, Clayton. Am I bothering you?” Willow did not understand why there was a sudden change in his mood.
Clayton did not feel like responding to Willow. The past few days had been tough on him.
Earlier on, Clayton left with a group of people, leaving Willow to wait for a few hours there. Yet, instead of showing concern, all he did was question why she was at the company.
Willow was upset but there was nothing she could do.
She decided to leave in case anyone saw them and decided to make a mockery out of her.
In the evening, Tristan and the rest were having dinner at Blossom Garden. The four of them were waiting for Sophie and Ysabelle even though they were all busy people.
“Mr. Tristan, Sophie has been very busy lately, huh!” Felix could not help but complain. When Sophie got busy, it meant that Ysabelle was busy as well. It was challenging for him to find an opportunity to meet Ysabelle because of this.
“I’m afraid so.” Tristan was pretty upset too.
They finally managed to sort out their relationship after so much hardship. Yet, so much had happened right after they got together that she hardly had the time to pay attention to him. So how could he not be upset?
“You should really keep her in check, Mr. Tristan. What’s a girl doing wearing herself out like that?” Felix continued to lament.
Tristan immediately shot him a deadly look. “Felix, are you telling me how I should manage my relationship with my girlfriend?”
Felix kept quiet but silently grumbled in his heart.
It’s not as if I like to be nosy. I couldn’t care less about your matters with Sophie. But you got to put yourself in my shoes and understand my predicament! There has been no progress between Ysabelle and me; you can’t blame me for being anxious!
“In all seriousness, is Sophie able to handle this case? She may be a smart girl, but sometimes you still need the experience. Don’t forget Clayton has been in the industry for a long time. The man’s a sly old fox! It’s not as if we don’t know what he’s capable of,” Charles commented while lighting a cigarette.
“All right. The girls are coming soon; you shouldn’t smoke,” Tristan quickly dismissed the topic and gestured for Charles to put out the cigarette.
It was Charles’ turn to be speechless.
“Mr. Tristan, aren’t you spoiling them too much? They’re not even here yet.” Charles remembered Tristan used to be a smoker himself. Even then, Charles did not continue to argue as he proceeded to stub out the cigarette.
“Whatever it is, if you need help, just let me know.” Sean had been quiet until now. He never liked joining discussions, and that day was no exception either.
“I also wish Sophie would allow me to help her, but whenever I ask her, she always insists she’s doing fine,” Tristan lamented with a resigned look on his face.
“So why did you choose to fall in love with such a super independent girl anyway? You won’t feel any sense of accomplishment from being with her, you know,” Felix could not resist chiming in again. He was still sore about how Tristan was not letting his relationship progress.
“Felix, is this how a man should talk? I didn’t know you needed to derive your sense of achievement from a woman.” Tristan snorted defensively. What a joke. Since I went through so much to win Sophie’s heart, how can I let anyone talk about her like that? Not on my watch!
