Chapter 857 She Would Rather Choose To Escape


    Chapter 857 She Would Rather Choose to Escape


    Anna and Mia had been waiting backstage, watching all the contestants'' performances on the huge


    screen in front of them.


    "Charlee did really well, her singing was great and her voice was so clean," Anna praised as she


    watched Charlee perform on the screen.


    Mia shook her head. "You sing better than she does, and more importantly, your song choice today


    can definitely outshine everyone else''s. I believe your voice can bring everyone an unprecedented


    shock."


    Encouraged by her best friend''s words, Anna felt even more confident.


    But when Mia noticed that Anna remained calm and showed no signs of difort despite drinking


    juice from Charlee earlier, she began to frown slightly. Could it be that her guess was wrong? Did


    Charlee simply give Anna a drink without any ulterior motives?


    Impossible! Charlee had always been vocal about wanting to win first ce in the talent show


    competition at all costs. How could she have kindly given apetitor like Anna some pear juice?


    "Cough..."


    Anna felt ufortable in her throat and coughed lightly several times.


    "What''s wrong?" Mia asked with feigned concern but with a hint of excitement inside.


    Anna coughed again but this time it only made things worse; there was now a burning sensation in


    her throat that grew stronger by the second.


    "I''ll get you some water," Mia said as she helped Anna sit down on the couch before quickly pouring


    a ss of ice-cold water for her.


    Anna thought drinking cold water would make things better but instead, the burning sensation


    intensified even further until it became unbearable.


    As soon as she realized that it might be difficult for herself to performter due to this difort, an


    ominous feeling crept into her heart: Was it possible that Charlee tampered with the pear juice?


    The thought made Anna''s face turn pale instantly.


    As time passed closer towards when she would have to go onstage herself for performance, not


    only did this unpleasant feeling persist but also worsened significantly until eventually her voice was


    hoarse...


    "Why are you doing this to me, Charlee?" Hatred shed through Anna''s eyes while looking at


    herself in mirror backstage where tears started streaming down cheeks uncontrobly...


    "Mia," She whispered hoarsely after taking deep breaths trying hard not cry anymore while looking


    away from mirror avoiding eye contact with anyone around them backstage area.


    "I may not be able to participate anymore... I''ll just forfeit." With regretful expression mixed


    disappointment over losing chance winning 100 thousand prize money.


    "You want to forfeit? How can you do that? Haven''t you been looking forward to this reward all


    along?" Mia feigned surprise.


    Joke, how could she quit at this point?


    Her only goal was to make Anna lose face on stage, to let everyone see her embarrassed side.


    "I cannot stand on stage right now. Instead of standing on stage and making a fool of myself, I''d


    rather choose to give up now," Anna said sadly, thinking about her careful preparation over the past


    few days.


    "Mia, I wish you sess. I... I''ll go first," Anna put her things in her bag and looked disappointed as


    she prepared to leave.


    Mia quickly grabbed Anna who wanted to leave.


    "Anna, you said every time standing on stage is your confident moment. You can''t be a deserter at


    this time. Moreover, if you quit now, thepany may not arrange for you to participate in any


    competition again in the future. This is a big blow for someone like you who needs prize money,"


    Mia persuaded.


    "But..." Anna sighed heavily.


    "Although you may not necessarily achieve excellent results this time around but at least by


    participating today will keep your qualification for next time''spetition. You cannot lose your


    chances just because of one failure," Mia added after seeing Anna''s hesitation.


    Do I really have to embarrass myself on stage?


    Anna was struggling inside herself.


    "I heard that there will be participation awards given out this time as an encouragement for us


    trainees. As long as you try your best, you are the ultimate winner! You cannot let everyone think


    that when faced with problems or difficulties that running away is what defines who are!" Mia


    encouraged further.


    Anna hesitated for quite some time before deciding she would go ahead with performing.


    This made Mia excited beyond words; she couldn''t wait to witness Anna make a fool of herself on


    stage.


    "I''ll cheer for you backstage."


    Mia gave Anna an encouraging hug and watched her walk towards the stage with a smile on her


    face.


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    Anna kept cheering herself but when she finally stood onstage looking down upon judges and


    audience members below, she still felt scared deep down inside.


    Sitting in his judge seat, Jimmy unexpectedly had a sense of anticipation within him growing


    stronger by each passing moment...


    He thought back to their childhood; Anna''s clear, melodious voice that touched people''s hearts


    made him eager to see the shining moment when Anna was on stage.


    "Next up is contestant number ten, Anna, with her song," the emcee announced and pulled Anna


    out of her thoughts.


    As the music started ying, Anna tried several times to open her mouth but hesitated. After all, her


    hoarse voice sounded like a broken gong and would surely scare everyone away if it came through


    the microphone – including the judges sitting in front of the stage.


    "Jimmy, what''s wrong with her? Is she nervous?" Bryce asked curiously as he sat next to Jimmy


    when he saw that despite the music starting up again, there was no sign of Anna singing anytime


    soon.


    Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows and stared intently at Anna with his deep dark eyes. He radiated


    encouragement towards her.


    Anna could clearly hear whispers from below and see that Charlee had a smug smile on her face.


    The emcee kept hinting at her to start singing.


    As time ticked by second by second, whispers grew louder from below, making Anna feel


    increasingly uneasy.


    The emcee quickly approached her. "Anna! What''s going on? Why aren''t you singing? Are you


    trying to get famous this way?"


    "I..." Anna only managed one word before realizing how hoarse her throat felt.


    The emcee didn''t notice anything unusual about Anna and continued urging her forward. "If you


    don''t sing now, I''ll have no choice but to announce your withdrawal from thispetition! You won''t


    be able to participate in any future events held by ourpany either."


    Anna took a deep breath and picked up the microphone. She couldn''t imagine how she would


    manage singing an entire high-pitched song with such a hoarse voice right now...


    Oh well... this was just fate for her; she had epted defeat...


    Thinking this way made it easier for her. She bowed deeply towards those seated below, turned


    around swiftly and headed backstage instead...


    Rather than embarrass herself further onstage like this, running away seemed like an easier option


    right now...


    "Stop," Jimmy''s lowmanding tone rang out behind Anna as she walked offstage.