This is so unprofessional! Everyone gets one chance. No one here has time to wait for you."

Ariana lowered her head in embarrassment at being scolded like this. It didn't feel fair. Before this, she had confirmed it several times. She hadn't foreseen anything going wrong.

“Is Sarah that important? I hear she wants to change the order of appearance?" Jasper walked over just then, a gloating smile on his face. Humiliating Ariana was all he ever wanted.

“We won't wait for you. Either you change the song or you give up and I will have the next singer go up on stage." Josh delivered this ultimatum impatiently.

Just as he finished speaking, the countdown for the next singer was announced through the intercom. This made Ariana feel even more jittery.

The only songs Sarah could sing now were the ones the organizer had bought the copyrights for. The choices were limited, and none of them would make Sarah stand out. Besides, Sarah hadn't practiced any of them in advance, so it would be difficult for her to put on a good performance.

Now it was obvious Josh was on Jasper's side. Maybe they had tampered with the accompaniment.

There was no audience this time, so it would have been easy for them to do it.

Ariana couldn't do anything about it now. She was forced to make a choice. She made the bold decision to get Sarah to sing a cappella.

As she had this idea, she gestured for Sarah to come over.

In front of the others, Ariana said, “There's something wrong with the accompaniment, so we're doing a cappella."

Sarah's eyes widened.

“Why a cappella all of a sudden? It's going to be very difficult to make this song a cappella and it has a wide sound range. I might ruin it."

Ariana was aware of how hard it was, but she knew they had to take a gamble. She held Sarah's hand and spoke earnestly.

"You have to go on stage soon. There's no other way. Don't be scared. This is your work, and the last step toward your bright future. You just have to do your best. Believe in yourself, and don't hesitate."

Seeing how much trust Ariana had for her, Sarah nodded.

Then the intercom sounded again, calling Sarah onto the stage.

“Have you decided to let Sarah sing a cappella?" Josh asked.

"Yes," Ariana replied coldly. She watched Sarah, and felt herself become nervous.

Josh glanced at Jasper, wanting to know what he thought.