Chapter 194: I Have My Answer

Ruby tapped the mic twice, a confident smirk spreading across her face as she looked out over the stunned crowd.

“How about a change of genre?” she announced, her voice echoing crisp and clear through the high-end speakers.

She struck a smooth, acoustic riff on the guitar, completely rearranging one of her top global hits into a soul-stirring, upbeat country track. The moment her vocal runs hit the diner, the whole room went dead silent. The rhythm built slowly, pulling everyone in, and when the chorus dropped—BOOM. The energy in the building exploded. The locals were on their feet, clapping, cheering, and stomping their boots to the infectious beat. It was pure hype.

Standing beside me, Emiliana stared at the stage in absolute awe, her jaw practically on the floor.

“She’s… she’s the one,” Emiliana whispered softly, her voice trembling.

I glanced down at her, paying close attention as the realization finally washed over her face.

“I know that song!” Emiliana gasped, clutching her chest, her eyes wide as saucepans as she looked between Ruby and me. “I hear it on the radio all the time! Oh my god… she’s that superstar! I can’t believe I met her in real life… that’s actual Ruby!”

“Yep,” I chuckled, slanting a glance down at her stunned face. “That’s the one and only Ruby.”

Emiliana’s eyes shone with pure, electric inspiration. The lingering trace of her earlier mistake vanished completely. Softly at first, she began humming along with Ruby’s soaring vocals, matching her tone effortlessly. Then, without a single shred of hesitation, she grabbed her guitar, adjusted the strap, and marched straight up the stage steps.

Ruby’s eyes lit up as Emiliana took her place right beside her.

Emiliana struck her guitar strings, jumping right into the harmony. Her voice soared through the heavy-duty speakers—free, uninhibited, and brimming with newfound raw confidence. The two of them traded lines and harmonized on the chorus like they’d been a legendary duo for years, completely owning the entire room.

I leaned back against the counter, crossing my arms with a satisfying grin. Watching the small-town farm girl effortlessly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a global superstar—and completely blow the roof off the diner—was an absolute masterpiece of a sight.

I walked over to the sound system board, gripped the main knob, and cranked the volume all the way up. The studio-grade speakers hit a whole new level—deep, rich bass and crystal-clear vocals reverberated through the diner walls and spilled right out into the night air.

Outside, passersby completely stopped in their tracks. Within minutes, a massive crowd began gathering on the porch and peering through the wide glass windows, swaying and nodding along to the music. The diner was packed so wall-to-wall that people outside couldn’t even squeeze through the front doors, so they just turned the sidewalk into an impromptu street party.

On stage, Ruby and Emiliana hit one final, electric crescendo together, bringing the song to a roaring finish.

The last note lingered in the air, and both of them stood there completely breathless, flushed, and staring straight into each other’s eyes with wide, ecstatic grins. The chemistry was off the charts.

Then, the entire building exploded into deafening applause. Cheers, whistles, and boot-stomping echoed off the wooden beams as the crowd went absolutely wild.

Unable to take another second of being thoroughly outclassed and humiliated, Aliyah and her entire crew shoved their way through the cheering crowd, glaring daggers, and stomped right out of the building into the dark street. Nobody even noticed them leave.

I walked closer to the edge of the stage as the entire diner erupted into unison, stomping their feet and chanting at the top of their lungs: “ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!”

I looked up at Ruby and Emiliana with a grin, raising my hands to the crowd. “Alright, alright! Let’s give the people what they want!”

The place went wild as they launched into one final, explosive encore, turning the diner into a full-blown concert venue.

By the time closing hour rolled around, the diner had emptied out and the lights were turning low. The three of us walked out into the cool night air, the heavy wooden doors swinging shut behind us.

Emiliana had officially gone into full-blown fangirl mode. Walking beside Ruby, her eyes were practically glowing with awe.

“I still can’t believe it’s actually you,” Emiliana gushed, her hands nervously twirling her guitar strap. “I mean… every single time your song came on the radio back on the farm, I’d stop whatever I was doing. Whenever I heard you sing, I felt… alive. Like there was a whole bigger world out there waiting for me. That’s the exact reason I picked up a guitar in the first place. I wanted to be just like you.”

Ruby stopped in her tracks, clearly moved. Her eyes softened, glistening with tears under the dim streetlights. Without a word, she pulled Emiliana into a deep, genuine hug, holding her tight.

“You don’t need to be like me, Emiliana,” Ruby whispered softly, stepping back and looking her dead in the eye with complete sincerity. “You’re already incredible. I believe in you. 100%.”

A silent, brilliant blue prompt flashed in my vision:

[TARGET: EMILIANA – MILESTONE REACHED] Confidence Level: MAXIMIZED (100%) Glow-Up Phase: COMPLETE Status: Unshakeable Self-Belief Unlocked. Future Superstar Potential Confirmed.

Emiliana’s phone vibrated loudly in her pocket, breaking the emotional moment. She pulled it out, looking down at the caller ID with a soft gasp. “Oh, it’s my mom… I have to run home before she sends out a search party!”

She gave us both one last bright, unforgettable smile, clutching her guitar tightly. “Thank you both so much! For everything!”

“Get home safe!” Ruby called out as we both waved goodbye, watching her sprint down the dimly lit street toward her farm, her spirits higher than they’d ever been.

Once her figure disappeared into the dark, I stretched my arms over my head, letting out a long, heavy breath. “Ugh… man, what a night.”

Ruby didn’t answer right away. She stood beside me under the warm glow of the streetlamp, staring up at the clear night sky as a cool breeze blew past us. The quiet of the town felt completely different now after everything that had just gone down in that diner.

“Ethan…” she said softly, turning to face me. “I think… I think I finally have my answer.”

I looked at her, eyebrows raised. “Your answer?”

“About whether I should walk away from it all… about whether I want to keep being a superstar,” Ruby nodded, her eyes shining with absolute clarity.

She took a slow, deep breath, looking back toward the direction Emiliana had run. “Seeing the way my voice inspired Emiliana tonight… seeing how much it meant to her, how it gave her the courage to stand on that stage… I finally got it. Being on stage isn’t just about the fame, or the charts, or the pressure. It’s about being a beacon for people like her. I can’t just stop. I have to keep singing.”