Contract Marriage: Let's Make It Real, Mrs. Sterling!-Chapter 264 - 263: Variety Show [Splendid Stage]

At night, Mia Sutton lay in bed, her beautiful eyes wide open as she stared at the ceiling of the room. After a long time, she turned her head stiffly to glance at the table in the distance.

The table usually held some cosmetics and such, but tonight, there were two extra bouquets of flowers.

Mia looked at one of the bouquets for a long time, blinking slightly, as if Jensen Sterling’s words were still echoing in her ears.

"The flowers my little girl is holding are the ones I bought."

This sentence seemed to play on a loop in her ears, making it hard for her to fall asleep peacefully.

However, his expression and tone had been perfectly normal just moments ago.

So, why?

Mia didn’t know how long she pondered this, but eventually, she didn’t even realize when she fell asleep.

...

Mia didn’t dwell on the issue for long because Jensen Sterling had gone on a trip for some business, the kind where he wouldn’t be seen for ten days to half a month. As time passed, Mia simply forgot about it.

However, now there was only one bouquet of flowers left in her room; the other had been moved outside by Mia.

The bouquet left in the bedroom had been specially placed in a vase by her.

The filming of "God and Demon Technique" continued, with many outdoor scenes. The director took the crew to several locations, and when the entire series wrapped up, Mia returned to take the wrap-up photo.

Next came the production and promotion of the show. They had always kept a low profile, so after wrapping up, they only released a wrap-up photo and awaited approval for broadcast.

During this time, Mia was not idle either, as work related to their group also continued.

Since she had spent some time with the crew, she had fallen behind on some tasks, making this period very busy for her.

She was flying so frequently that her feet barely touched the ground.

Sometimes she was alone, and sometimes with her team members.

Initially, she would occasionally think of Jensen Sterling, but later, due to being too busy, she thought of him less and less.

The strange feeling in her heart gradually faded. One night, after a phone call with Jensen Sterling, Mia lay in bed and suddenly realized that the thoughts she had earlier might have been because the two of them had become too close.

Closing her eyes, Mia sighed deeply. If she hadn’t accidentally seen that contract while looking for books in the study a few days ago, she might have forgotten its existence entirely.

As a competent partner, this time, she had indeed overstepped her boundaries.

However, when she thought about it, Mia felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

But she was too busy, so she ignored that feeling.

Meanwhile, Jensen Sterling, who was still at work, had no idea that all his efforts from the past few days went to waste because he left the contract out after taking a look at it.

After a magazine shoot, Mia and Lynn Joyner were signed up for a variety show by their manager.

The show was called "Splendid Stage," specifically created for singers and dancers, featuring many idols who had recently become very popular.

Their performances were in the form of competitions, with twelve participants invited, and in the end, the "Splendid Star" would be chosen.

The mentors invited were Nolan Sinclair and Heather Holloway.

Before signing the contract, Mia and Lynn only knew the lineup of the mentors and that there would be twelve participants in total. However, the specific participants hadn’t been finalized, as negotiations were still underway.

This was already the second season of the show; the previous season had been very well-received. Apart from major events, they didn’t have many opportunities like this, so Mia and Lynn agreed to participate.

"Splendid Stage" also followed a competition format, but their approach was different from standard talent shows, focusing more on the reality show aspect.

In shows like this, there are twelve participants, and two mentors choose people for their teams.

Then competitions were held, with three rounds of eliminations. After the first and second performances, the three lowest-ranked participants were eliminated.

After the second and third performances, another three participants would be eliminated.

In the end, six people remain, and the final "Splendid Star" is selected.

The elimination rate isn’t high, as it is a reality show, and if all the guests were eliminated, what would be left for the audience to watch?

After Mia and Lynn signed the contract, they began preparing for their first performance.

This time they weren’t preparing a classical dance but a street dance, set to a very famous song. When Mia and Lynn had been practicing for days, their manager informed them of the other participants in the show.

Mia didn’t know many of the others, but there were two people she knew very well.

Martin Wright and Chloe Young.

Mia paused for a moment, pen in hand, then looked up at her manager, asking numbly after a moment, "What’s the penalty for breach of contract?"

Though the manager was puzzled by her question, he glanced at the contract and quoted a figure.

Mia cast her eyes downward, and after a few seconds, the people next to her heard her mutter softly, "I can’t afford it," in a tone of resignation. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Though she didn’t want certain individuals to affect her mood, she was even less willing to pay a hefty breach of contract fee.

The money in her pocket was not easy to part with, let alone having her pay out of her own pocket—impossible!

For those two, it wasn’t worth it!

As time passed, the show officially announced the participating guests, and recording was about to begin.

Martin Wright also found out at this time that Mia Sutton would be participating.

Chloe Young, sitting next to him, glanced at him indifferently, without saying a word; if it weren’t for the recent improvements he’d made at home, she wouldn’t have stayed here.

After learning that Mia was also on the show, Martin Wright considered dropping out.

After all, on this show, Chloe would be sharing the stage with Mia—that scene...

But in the end, Martin didn’t quit; only he knew the exact reasons why.

The show began filming as scheduled.

After getting out of the car, Mia and Lynn were led in by the staff.

The initial filming involved the guests meeting each other. Mia and Lynn didn’t arrive too early, so several other guests had already arrived.

There were both men and women.

Mia greeted them amiably and then sat on a sofa with Lynn. As it was all about getting acquainted, everyone was just chatting with each other.

When Martin Wright opened the door and walked in, he saw Mia sitting on a sofa, her eyes curving with a smile. However, the moment she laid eyes on Martin, her smile vanished, and she cast him a cold glance before looking away.