Frank returned to the hotel, quickly showered, and emerged from the bathroom just before midnight. He got into bed, ready to sleep, when his phone vibrated twice. Frank picked it up and saw a message from Celeste Monroe: two long voice notes. It was likely her critique of his homework tonight.
Frank quickly opened the voice notes. Instantly, a clear and magnetic voice filled the room. It had the crisp sweetness of a young girl and the dignified, subtly charming allure of a mature woman, sending shivers down one's spine. However, the content was entirely rigorous. "Your breath control is still unstable, your vocal cords aren't open enough. I told you to practice vocal exercises for an hour every morning and evening. Have you been consistent? Also..." The two voice notes contained not a single word of praise, only criticism and supervision.
But Frank was used to it. After listening, he immediately replied with his recent practice progress and some insights, finally typing respectfully: "Thank you, Aunt Celeste. I will continue to work hard. It's late; you should also get some rest." A moment later, a single word replied: "Mm." Frank smiled, not bothered by Celeste Monroe's coolness. He knew Aunt Celeste was cold on the surface but warm at heart, and he understood that one should judge people by what they do, not what they say. Just like Amelia, once so deeply affectionate, speaking of how much she loved him, but what had she truly done for him all these years? Frank's mood regarding Amelia was now very calm, with a detached clarity that comes from seeing through someone.
Alright, time to sleep. Get enough rest. Tomorrow, he was entering Mr. Yuan's Dragon's Roar Mountain; he couldn't afford to perform poorly or he'd be kicked out!
London.
A business van drove out of the airport. Celeste Monroe sat in the back seat, put down her phone, and gently rubbed her temples. After recording "The Voice of America" that afternoon, she rushed to the Los Angeles airport, took a three-hour flight back to London, and had a brand event to attend tomorrow morning. Recently, Celeste Monroe had been mentally exhausted due to her new album. Today, after recording the show and then traveling, she was indeed quite tired. Just after getting off the plane, she opened her phone and saw Frank had sent his homework. She immediately checked and critiqued it.
After finishing her conversation with Frank, Celeste Monroe leaned back in her seat. Then, remembering something, she picked up her phone again and sent a message to Aaron Yuan: "Mr. Yuan, Frank didn't cause you any trouble, did he?"
Aaron Yuan quickly replied: "Of course he did. His singing is so poor, and I still have to teach him. If it weren't for his songs being decent, I wouldn't have bothered helping you." Seeing Aaron Yuan's reply, a smile appeared on Celeste Monroe's face. To get even a "songs are decent" from Aaron Yuan was a rare compliment. It seemed Aaron Yuan also recognized Frank's talent; she wouldn't need to plead further, as Aaron Yuan would likely guide Frank well.
"Thank you, Mr. Yuan. By the way... the rumors about Frank online are all false. Please don't misunderstand him, Mr. Yuan." Currently, Frank was labeled online as a wife-abuser and a domestic abuser. Aaron Yuan was old-fashioned and upright, and Celeste Monroe worried he might refuse Frank further access to his recording studio because of this.
"Little Celeste, you underestimate me too much. This old man has lived this long; will he be influenced by the idiotic things online? A person's character isn't heard; it's seen with one's own eyes!"
"Mr. Yuan, I spoke out of turn. Thank you."
Celeste Monroe put down her phone, finally relaxing. Her head felt a bit heavy, and her face was slightly pale. Sarah Green, beside her, felt a pang of concern and muttered: "Seeing how tired you are, I didn't even show you the endorsement contract for Geneva watches, wanting you to rest well. But here you are, as soon as you land, you're busy with your former nephew-in-law's affairs. It seems I worried for nothing!"
Lily Adams chuckled: "Sarah, you sound like you're jealous!"
Sarah Green playfully hit her: "What do you know? That Frank will have more trouble with Amelia in the future, and Celeste could easily get dragged into it!"
Lily Adams stuck out her tongue, timidly saying: "Actually, I think Frank is a pretty good person. Ms. Monroe helping him is a good deed."
Sarah Green raised a hand and pinched the young girl's cheek: "Yes, yes, you're all good people. I'm the only bad person stopping you from doing good deeds!"
"Ah! Sarah, I'm sorry! Sarah, Ms. Monroe seems to have fallen asleep."
The two looked closely. Celeste Monroe was leaning against the seat back, her eyes closed, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, her arms crossed over her chest. Even in her sleep, she seemed to be guarding against something. Lily Adams covered her mouth, afraid of waking Celeste Monroe. Sarah Green raised a hand, wanting to smooth out the fine brows that were furrowed even in sleep, but ultimately gave up. She sighed softly.
Lily Adams whispered to Sarah Green: "Sarah, Ms. Monroe is thirty-two now. Shouldn't she find a boyfriend? If she finds a reliable man, maybe she won't be so tired."
Sarah Green glared at her. Lily Adams made a zipping motion over her mouth. Fine, I'll shut up. But I still think Ms. Monroe needs to fall in love. Others say no man is worthy of Ms. Monroe, but they don't understand that even the strongest women have their moments of weakness. Just like now, if there were a handsome and considerate man for Ms. Monroe to lean on, that image... Ahhh, I really want to ship Ms. Monroe! Future brother-in-law, where are you?
...
The next day.
Amelia Quinn, Liam Reed, and Alex Stone got into the minivan driven by Amelia's assistant. Amelia called Celeste Monroe. Today, she and Liam needed to help Alex practice singing, and they needed a recording studio. Evening Breeze Studio's main base was in New York. While Amelia could find a recording studio in Los Angeles, the equipment was generally mediocre, and the practice effect wouldn't be very good. So, Amelia thought of Evergreen Recording Studio. She had been there with Celeste Monroe and knew the equipment there was top-tier. So Amelia wanted to ask Celeste Monroe to talk to Aaron Yuan to let them use Evergreen Recording Studio for practice.
The phone rang for a while before connecting. Celeste Monroe's calm voice came from the other end: "Amelia, what is it?"
Amelia's voice was sweet, with a hint of a whine: "Aunt Celeste, I just missed you and wanted to chat."
Celeste Monroe remained calm: "We just saw each other yesterday. Get to the point."
Amelia was a bit embarrassed and had to state her intention: "Aunt Celeste, don't you know Aaron Yuan? We want to use his recording studio. Could you please talk to him for us?"
Celeste Monroe said: "You should address him as Mr. Yuan."
"I'm sorry, Aunt Celeste. Can you please talk to Mr. Yuan for us?" Amelia frowned slightly, thinking Celeste Monroe was too rigid, which was also one of the reasons her mother and uncle disliked Celeste Monroe.
"Mr. Yuan's recording studio has been rented out these past two days. You should look for other places."
Amelia was stunned: "Rented out? But I heard Mr. Aaron... Mr. Yuan's recording studio is never rented out?"
"I have something to do. That's all." Celeste Monroe had already hung up.