Chapter 6 The Situation Gets Out of Control

Harper had already made a complete plan well in advance.

She intended to use this live-streamed variety show to deliberately create intimate interactions with Stanley, while highlighting her deep bond with her brothers in front of the cameras.

She wanted to provoke Catherine step by step, forcing her to lose emotional control and act impulsively.

The live cameras would record everything completely, letting all online viewers witness Catherine losing control, making her completely lose public favor.

The outside world didn't know Catherine was the biological daughter of the Taylor family, and her brothers had never publicly acknowledged her identity. Because of this, Harper deliberately acted like a stranger around her, which wouldn't seem unusual to her brothers at all.

This approach could also precisely provoke Catherine's emotions, making her recognize her own situation. Harper wanted her to understand that just one viral single wasn't enough to put her on equal footing with them.

Harper took the initiative to sit next to Catherine, opening her innocent-looking eyes wide, her tone deliberately gentle. "You don't need to be nervous. Everyone here is a senior with deep industry experience. They're all easy to get along with, and I'll share my experience with you and look after you more."

This well-mannered statement instantly highlighted Harper's kind and generous public image.

"By the way, you can start with a self-introduction," Harper suggested. "There are probably many viewers who don't know you yet."

Ally, who couldn't stand this deliberate provocation, stepped forward and spoke up. "She's Catherine Stone. The recently viral 'Unshared Umbrella' is her work. Haven't you heard it?"

"So it's you," Harper showed just the right amount of surprise. "That song is excellent."

While Harper maintained a calm exterior, she was quite displeased inside, feeling that Ally was meddling and disrupting her plan.

Lloyd, sitting next to Harper, also turned his gaze to Catherine. "You have great creative talent. Why don't you combine it with today's show theme and perform an improvised piece on the spot? That way the audience can remember you faster."

The other guests present sensed something was wrong.

Even though Catherine's industry experience and popularity didn't match everyone else's, Harper and Lloyd's actions were clearly excessive. No one should be casually ordered around by others to perform on the spot to please everyone.

But Lloyd was a senior veteran in the entertainment industry, with a status far higher than Catherine's. If Catherine refused, the audience and public opinion would accuse her of not knowing the rules and being ungrateful.

But if she agreed to perform and made any mistakes, it would leave permanent negative material and make her a laughingstock across the internet.

No matter what Catherine chose, she would end up in a passive situation.

Everyone present felt sympathy for Catherine, but no one was willing to step in and help. No one wanted to get involved in this dispute and bring trouble on themselves.

Stanley had originally planned to speak up for Catherine, but remembering their previous argument and her decisive breakup words, he dismissed the thought.

He secretly thought that letting Catherine experience some setbacks might smooth out her stubbornness, so she wouldn't insist on drawing a clear line between them.

If Catherine hadn't been so firm in her attitude before, Stanley would definitely have stepped in to help resolve her current predicament.

Catherine slowly raised her head, looking at the siblings deliberately targeting her, a cold curve forming at the corner of her lips.

"Harper, we've worked together countless times, and now you're pretending you don't know me at all?" Catherine's tone was cold. "You're so used to performing in front of cameras that even during reality show filming, you have to deliberately disguise yourself?"

Harper froze instantly, completely unprepared for Catherine to confront them so directly in public.

Before Harper could react, Catherine continued, "All the original songs that made you famous in recent years were written by me. You gained fame and won awards with these works, then completely erased our working relationship. This approach is way too selfish."

Harper's face turned deathly pale. She couldn't believe Catherine would expose this publicly.

Once the rumor spread, the original talented artist persona she'd cultivated for years would completely collapse.

Lloyd was equally surprised by Catherine's boldness, but with his rich experience, he immediately steadied himself and prepared to counter her claims.

"Nowadays, new artists will say anything to gain attention," Lloyd's tone carried mockery. "If these hit songs were really your work, why would you voluntarily give up the opportunity to perform and be credited? No one would just throw away a chance to become famous."

"I suggested you perform impromptu with good intentions, to give you exposure and a chance to showcase yourself—to mentor you," Lloyd continued. "Not only are you ungrateful, but you're publicly spreading rumors to smear Harper. I'm even starting to regret participating in this show."

Lloyd was certain Catherine was just talking tough without any real evidence, and online viewers wouldn't believe a newcomer's one-sided story.

In his view, Catherine—with no background and shallow experience—publicly challenging them was completely self-destructive.

The atmosphere instantly became tense, the livestream discussion heat soared, and the number of viewers continued to surge.

The director was delighted to see the show gaining such high attention right from the start.

The livestream comments completely exploded, with the entire screen filled with accusations against Catherine.

[Catherine has completely lost it! Actually claiming Harper's hit songs were all written by her, publicly fabricating lies to deceive viewers?]

[She's just jealous of Harper's popularity and achievements, deliberately spreading rumors to smear her!]

[Just because one single made her famous, she thinks she can call herself a talented creator. Way too arrogant.]

Negative comments piled up layer upon layer, with countless viewers uniformly spamming [Catherine get out of Flawless Escape], almost covering the entire livestream screen.

The director also became worried, concerned that right after the show launched, this controversy would lead to the major problem of replacing a guest.

The director quietly gave Catherine a meaningful look, hoping she would apologize and calm the controversy. Once the audience's resistance fully erupted, the show couldn't continue filming normally.

But since Catherine dared to publicly reveal the truth, she had already made complete preparations.

"Everyone doesn't need to rush to conclusions," Catherine looked calmly at Lloyd. "I have complete evidence."

She slowly took out a voice recorder from her pocket, calmly facing the cameras, explaining the truth to all livestream viewers.

"I didn't voluntarily sell these original works. The entertainment company under the Taylor family kept pressuring me, forcing me to compromise. This voice recorder contains all the evidence..."

Lloyd's heart suddenly jolted. He never expected Catherine to have recorded audio evidence in advance. In his view, this behavior was opportunistic and despicable.

Once this recording was made public, Harper's public reputation would suffer devastating damage. The original singer persona the company had built for Harper over the years would completely collapse, directly destroying her entertainment career.

Lloyd avoided the cameras, staring fiercely at Catherine with threatening eyes, trying to warn her with his gaze to stop what came next.

Catherine calmly met Lloyd's warning gaze, a faint smile at the corner of her lips, and without hesitation pressed the play button on the voice recorder...