Chapter 70: The Mask Slipped a Little

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The Mask Slipped a Little

Dustin Everett had originally scheduled his album release for two months from now. He intentionally moved it up by a month to release his new song at the same time as Orion Hawthorne, purely to crush him.

The last time on that variety show, both his and Orion Hawthorne’s horses had bolted. And Sienna Everett actually saved Orion Hawthorne instead of him, her own brother.

And then there was Orion Hawthorne, sticking his nose where it didn’t belong to defend Sienna Everett, calling him a dog and telling him to piss off and take a good look at himself.

Just thinking about it made Dustin Everett slam his fist on the table in anger.

He had moved up the release date because he was confident his new song’s sales would definitely surpass Orion Hawthorne’s. It was the perfect opportunity to knock that arrogant bastard down a peg.

It would also show Orion Hawthorne that there were consequences for helping Sienna Everett.

That way, no one would dare help Sienna Everett anymore. And in the end, wouldn’t she have to come crawling back to the Everett Family, disgraced and ready to take whatever abuse they dished out?

Dustin Everett eagerly awaited the day Sienna Everett would be so broken that she’d come to him, crying and admitting she was wrong.

Dustin Everett hummed a tune smugly as he continued preparing his new album. He only had one last song to finish.

He glanced at his phone. His messages to his mentor, SG, had once again been met with radio silence.

SG still hadn’t replied to him.

Dustin Everett stared blankly at his phone, opening his chat with SG countless times. At first, he suspected something was wrong with his phone, that it wasn’t receiving messages.

But even after switching to a new phone, he still hadn’t received a reply from SG.

’Which means it’s not my phone.’

’My mentor really is ignoring me.’

The thought that SG might be distancing themselves from him, abandoning him, made Dustin Everett’s face turn pale. His heart filled with anxiety.

’Did I do something to upset my mentor?’

’No, I didn’t.’

’My mentor must just be too busy. Too busy to reply to my messages.’

’Yeah, that must be it.’

’My mentor is definitely just too busy to get back to me.’

Dustin Everett comforted himself with this thought, and his unease subsided a little.

If SG was so busy they didn’t even have time to compose a song for him, their own student, then there was no way they’d be composing for Orion Hawthorne.

So, there was nothing to fear from Orion Hawthorne’s mysterious composer.

With next month’s new song release, he would stomp Orion Hawthorne into the ground, crush him so thoroughly that he would never dare to stick his nose in and defend Sienna Everett again!

「Sovereign Entertainment, Stella Shaw’s Office.」

Orion Hawthorne cherished the sheet music for "Black Faith" that Sienna Everett had given him. He kept sitting down and standing back up, his excitement too great to contain.

Suddenly, he made a bold decision.

"Sienna Everett, my EP has three songs in total. Why don’t you write the other two for me as well!"

Sienna Everett: "?"

’You wouldn’t even work a rented mule this hard!’

Stella Shaw was exasperated. "Orion, didn’t you already have someone write the other two songs?"

Orion Hawthorne waved his hand dismissively, his expression full of disdain. "I thought those two songs were pretty good, but after seeing ’Black Faith,’ I instantly feel like they’re not worthy. Putting them on the same album as ’Black Faith’ would be an insult to ’Black Faith’!"

Stella Shaw: "..."

After speaking, Orion Hawthorne looked at Sienna Everett, his eyes shining brightly. "I won’t ask you to do it for free. After deducting production costs, promotional fees, and so on, the profits from these three songs will be at least in the tens of millions. I won’t take a single cent—it’s all yours! Just write the songs for me! How about it?"

Such a lavish offer made even Stella Shaw gasp.

She had estimated in her head that with Orion Hawthorne’s fame, these three songs would earn at least several tens of millions.

"You won’t take a cent? You’ll give it all to Sienna Everett?" Stella Shaw thought she must have misheard.

A corner of Orion Hawthorne’s mouth lifted in a wild, untamed smile. "Don’t be so obsessed with money. Talking about money is so tacky. I’m doing this for the pursuit of art!"

Sienna Everett saw right through him. "Cut the crap."

Orion Hawthorne: "Fine. I have more money than I know what to do with. This amount is nothing to me."

Stella Shaw: "..."

’He’s asking for a punch.’

Orion Hawthorne looked at Sienna Everett expectantly. "Hurry up and tell me, will you agree to write the other two songs or not?"

Sienna Everett thought for two seconds, then a smile graced her red lips. Her eyes sparkled with a radiant light. "Alright, I’ll do you the favor. Tell me, what styles are the other two songs?"

Seeing her agree, Orion Hawthorne got so excited he wanted to do a pinky swear, afraid she would back out. "It’s a deal, then! The remaining two songs, one is traditional-style, and the other is a redemption-themed piece."

Sienna Everett pondered for a moment, then asked, "Does the company have any musical instruments?"

Orion Hawthorne paused, then nodded. "Yes, in the practice room on the 12th floor. There’s a piano, a guitar, and a guzheng."

Sienna Everett: "Then let’s go over now."

Orion Hawthorne was taken aback. "Now?"

’No way, is Sienna Everett going to write the songs for him right now?’

The three of them arrived at the practice room on the 12th floor.

It was nighttime, so the practice room was empty.

Stella Shaw flipped on the lights, and the whole room was instantly illuminated.

Sienna Everett scanned the room briefly before sitting down at the piano. "Let’s write the redemption-themed piece first."

Orion Hawthorne’s eyes were wide with disbelief. "You’re just going to write it like that?"

Sienna Everett’s slender, fair fingers rested on the black and white keys of the piano. Her tone was casual. "When inspiration strikes, you just try to play the melody out directly."

With that, her ten fingers moved like they were dancing gracefully. As they swept across the keys, a string of beautiful, melodious notes flowed out.

Orion Hawthorne’s ears perked up instantly.

’Just a casual improvisation... and it’s... this good!’

Orion Hawthorne knew music theory, so he could basically identify the notes Sienna Everett was playing.

Sienna Everett played a section, paused briefly, then went back to change a few notes.

It didn’t seem like a major change, but when she played it again, the melody’s direction naturally transitioned from gentle and melodious to resonant and powerful.

She continued this process of playing and revising, smoothing out the entire piece before finally writing it down as a score.

Sienna Everett, still at the piano, looked up at Orion Hawthorne standing beside her and handed him the sheet music. "The redemption-themed one is done."

Orion Hawthorne was dumbfounded. "Holy crap, Sienna Everett, has it even been ten minutes since we walked into this room? And you’ve already finished a song?"

Stella Shaw silently corrected him. "To be precise, it’s been 8 minutes and 26 seconds."

Sienna Everett blinked innocently. "When inspiration strikes, the writing goes smoothly. Besides, inspiration is a fleeting thing you can’t force."

Orion Hawthorne was on the verge of swearing.

’Damn it, she finished a song in less than 10 minutes!’

’The key thing is, it’s so damn good!’

’It’s better than what other people slave over for half a year to write!’

’Is this what you call talent?’

Sienna Everett got up, walked over to the guzheng, and once again began to play and revise, sometimes frowning, sometimes lost in deep thought.

Before long, she had finished writing the traditional-style piece as well.

Looking at the sheet music, Orion Hawthorne had only one thought.

’How the hell is it this good?’

Not only was it beautiful, but it also felt completely fresh and new.

"Sienna Everett, I offer you tens of millions to write songs, and you finish the job in 15 minutes? You make money way too easily, don’t you think?"

Sienna Everett, sitting before the guzheng, gave him a light glance. "Just tell me if you want these two songs or not."

Orion Hawthorne didn’t hesitate for a second. "I want them!"

Stella Shaw shook her head, amused. "So, what are the names of these two songs?"

Sienna Everett: "Hmm, the dark-themed one is called ’Black Faith,’ this traditional-style one is ’Youthful Wanderer,’ and the redemption-themed one... let’s call it ’Shape of Light.’"

Orion Hawthorne suddenly noticed something. "I feel like these three songs... they’re a bit like SG’s style..."

Hearing this, Sienna Everett couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Stella Shaw, who was of course familiar with the famous SG, looked at Sienna Everett and asked, "Sienna, when we produce the album, we’ll have to credit the composer. Should we just write ’Composer: Sienna Everett’?"

Sienna Everett slowly stood up, a slight smile playing on her cherry-red lips. She spoke leisurely, "For the composer, just write... SG."

Orion Hawthorne strongly disagreed. "Why write SG? Just write your own name. Using someone else’s name is infringement, and besides, SG is so famous..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Orion Hawthorne suddenly realized something. His eyes flew wide, nearly popping out of their sockets.

’N-no way!’

’The composer isn’t Sienna Everett, it’s SG...’

’That means...’

Even the ever-composed Stella Shaw was, at this moment, stunned into silence.