Chapter 209: Standing Ovation and Secret Plans

A month slipped by, and the weekend arrived.

"Trang... thump... thump... crash!"

"Waaaaaa... so coooool!"

The audience erupted into wild cheers, filling the entire arena with a deafening roar. Up on stage, Monica stood breathless after rising to her feet, while Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura stood all around her, sweating profusely with their chests heaving up and down, bright smiles gracing all five of their faces. Monica raised her hand, lifting the microphone in her other hand up to her lips.

"Thank you so much, everyone, for coming out to watch our comeback concert... and from the very bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for your unwavering support for The Empress all this time!" Monica shouted into the mic.

"So glad to see you fully healed!" a fan shouted from the crowd.

"Thank you... it feels amazing to stand up here again and sing for all of you!" Monica called back.

"Yeaaaaaah!"

The crowd broke into another round of deafening cheers. Monica paused, silently taking in the sea of fans before her. She glanced back at Chloe and Laura behind her, then over at Heidi on the other side, and finally at Priya standing beside her with her guitar strapped on. All four girls gave Monica a reassuring nod.

"Alright, since that was our final track, that wraps up our comeback concert for tonight... thank you once again for being here and supporting us! Please be careful exiting the venue, and for those interested in picking up our merch, head straight up to the second floor! Bye everyone, see you at our next concert!" Monica shouted, waving goodbye.

After bowing out, Monica, Chloe, Laura, Priya, and Heidi lined up across the front of the stage, taking a deep bow to express their gratitude before filing offstage. Once backstage, the five of them immediately traded high fives as they walked down the hallway toward the dressing room.

"Thank goodness tonight was a massive success!" Laura said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah... Eric put this concert together because the fans were practically begging to see you back on stage, Monica," Priya added.

"They just wanted to make sure you were completely healed, but because of that, the company pulled in a huge payout from this concert... not to mention whatever we make off merch sales," Heidi chimed in.

"What if you get hurt again?" Chloe asked jokingly.

"Hah... why don’t you get hurt instead? You guys are just as popular as I am, you slacker," Monica snapped, visibly annoyed.

"Speaking of merch... looks like Nobelia’s sales are blowing ours out of the water, even though they’ve only been around for two months," Priya noted.

"Yeah... most of their buyers are teenage girls... and old men. Honestly, compared to us, they might actually be more popular," Laura observed.

"Among teenage girls and old men... so who cares? We’ve got a way more global reach," Monica countered softly.

"What are you guys blabbering about?"

Hearing a voice from behind, all five girls froze and turned around. They saw Emma, Ruby, Jade, and Tania standing behind them, looking like they had just finished a workout session since they were still wearing yoga pants. All four looked completely wiped, catching their breath.

"Oh... what are you guys doing here?" Chloe asked.

"We were watching the show too, you know. We just came down with Miss Keisha," Emma answered.

"Oh... right, hahaha," Heidi laughed.

"Who’s popular with old men, huh?" Tania asked, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at the group.

Monica, Chloe, Priya, Laura, and Heidi instantly clamped their mouths shut under Tania’s sharp gaze. But Jade placed a gentle hand on Tania’s shoulder,

"Drop it. So, where are you guys planning to go for college?" Jade asked, smoothly changing the topic.

"Um... I got the scholarship, but we’ll see how things play out," Chloe answered.

"She’s already a CEO, college isn’t really a priority for her. As for me, I’m still weighing my options," Heidi said, pointing at Chloe’s head.

"Personally, I don’t think I’m gonna use my scholarship. I plan on giving it back to the school so they can award it to another student who actually needs it. Once I graduate high school, I wanna jump straight into work," Ruby shared.

Emma, Tania, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Laura, Heidi, and Jade all turned to stare at Ruby, who looked completely unbothered as she casually clasped her hands behind her head.

"You wanna jump straight into work? Where at? This is news to me," Emma asked.

"Same here... and I live with her! First time I’m hearing about this," Tania added.

"At Dad’s company... he handed everything over to me. At first I said no, but... well, wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot," Ruby replied.

"Hmm... that makes sense. You got Dad’s entire inheritance in his will since Eric turned it down," Emma recalled.

"Man, must be nice," Priya said, gazing at Ruby.

"You actually wanna learn your family business?" Monica asked.

"Pretty much... anyway, I’m tired of talking about that. If you guys wanna hand back those scholarships from before, let’s go turn them in together... also, have you guys bought a birthday gift for Eric yet? His birthday is in three and a half months, right?" Ruby asked.

Emma looked over at Monica, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura, who all turned to look right back at her. None of them had forgotten when Eric’s birthday was, it was just that with their packed schedules, they suddenly realized they hadn’t prepped a single thing, and the end of the year was fast approaching.

"Hmm... let’s go shopping tomorrow," Emma suggested.

"Alright... I’m down, but give us some ideas, Ruby, Jade... what does Eric actually like?" Chloe asked.

"Hmm... that’s tough. Whatever I give the guy, he just says ’okay,’ thanks me, and smiles. He never turns anything down and he never complains... but he also never actually wears or uses it. So if you ask me what he’s specifically into, I honestly have no clue," Jade admitted, scratching her head in thought.

"Yep... hit the nail on the head," Ruby agreed.

"What is wrong with you two? One’s his sister and the other’s his cousin, and neither of you knows a thing? You guys are hopeless," Tania teased playfully.

"Cut us some slack... we only recently got close to him. At the very least, I only just started seeing who he really is beyond his old self... give us a break," Ruby countered.

"Same here... I felt the same way. Maybe I’ve seen him around all these years, but I didn’t understand him at all back then. I only truly started getting him recently," Jade added.

"But... he’s always observing us... take Chloe, for instance," Laura pointed out. "On your birthday, he got you that watch you loved, right? And Priya, when your birthday came two weeks after Chloe’s, you got those new earrings, didn’t you?"

"Um... yeah," Chloe murmured, glancing down at her wrist. "He said during a meeting at the office... he noticed me staring at a watch worn by one of the employees, so he went out and bought the exact same model for my birthday. I didn’t even realize it myself, but what he got was genuinely what I wanted."

"Same here..." Priya chimed in. "When we were walking around the mall together, I happened to pause in front of a jewelry display case... then that night in bed right before going to sleep, he asked me, ’Did you like those earlier?’ I just said yes, and out of nowhere, on my birthday, he gave me these earrings."

"Which means we need to buy him something he actually likes, right? Does anyone know what that might be?" Monica asked.

"What if we figure it out ourselves? While we still have time," Heidi replied, a sly grin spreading across her face.

Hearing Heidi’s suggestion hang in the air, Emma, Monica, Priya, Chloe, and Laura exchanged looks, identical mischievous grins popping up on their faces. "Hehehe," they giggled among themselves. Naturally, seeing the six girls immediately huddle into a tight circle, Ruby, Jade, and Tania instinctively took a step back.

"They’re plotting something," Jade whispered, eyeing the group suspiciously.

"Yep... definitely up to something," Ruby added, staring at the circle of girls before them.

"Give me a break... fine, let them be. They’re all Eric’s fiancées anyway, so whatever they’re planning is their business. Let’s go upstairs, I’m starving. Anyone wanna grab a bite on the second floor?" Tania asked, pulling Ruby and Jade by the hands.

"Oh... sure. I’m hungry too, plus I can wait for Mike up there," Jade agreed.

"Oh, right... I actually have a date with a guy on the second floor too... almost forgot," Ruby chimed in.

"Ugh... we’re going up to eat, not to crash your dates," Tania grumbled.

"Relax, I asked the guy I’m meeting to bring a friend along, for you," Ruby replied with a smirk.

"Oh... really?... Hmm... alright then, works for me, let’s head up," Tania said, her cheeks instantly flushing beet red.

With that, the three of them walked past the circle of girls and headed toward the elevator to go up to the second-floor food court for a bite to eat, leaving the six girls behind, locked in a discussion as serious as if they were plotting a government takeover or conspiring to rule the world.