Chapter 47

Khloe dismissed the thought, convincing herself that every enchanting voice probably sounded the same after a while.

At that moment, her phone screen glowed. A notification popped up. She had just been invited by A.S. for a live session.

"Hi there! Is there a song you're hoping to sing?"came A.S.'s voice from the speakers.

Khloe's image filled the screen. She covered her mouth,stunned. "Wait, did you really pick me?"

The chat exploded with excitement.

"Hold on, is that Koko? Both of my favorite streamers in one place?!"

"Koko always blows me away. A.S. can just chill and vibe along!"

"Been waiting for Koko to sing!"

A.S. asked once more, her tone as cool as before,"Which song are you choosing?"

With a smile, Khloe answered, "I'll go with Walking with You!"

"That song hits some serious high notes," A.S said.

Khloe's confidence didn't waver. "I'm up for it."

"Nobody can top Koko's high notes!"

"I'm sneaking this stream at work. Go get 'em,Koko!"

"A.S. sounds incredible as always."

Music started playing as Khloe set up her track and got ready.

No one could deny her gift for singing. Her fan count spoke for itself.

As the song reached its peak, Khloe poured her heart into every note. Comments flooded in,overflowing with admiration. She felt a rush of satisfaction.

"Enough!" A.S. interrupted, her voice cutting through the music.

A slight chill hung in the air as she spoke."Singing high notes isn't just about hitting them for show. You're off-key. Honestly, your performance is all over the place."

The blunt critique made Khloe's smile falter.Embarrassment prickled as the viewers watched.

She forced herself to stay calm. "Then how am l supposed to sing it?"

"If you want to get better, you have to go back to basics. Practice your vocal warm ups every day.Right now, your fundamentals are weak, and bad habits are holding you back. Unless you fix that,you'll never get anywhere. Try following my warmups for starters," A.S responded.

Unbelievable.

Was this person even qualified to judge?

Frustration bubbled up inside Khloe,but she had no other choice except to do as instructed. Still,she couldn't get her voice to sound right, no matter how hard she tried. With every failed attempt, A.S.'s patience wore thinner. "If you refuse to change the way you sing, there's nothing I can do for you. I'm ending the call."

Just as A.S. was about to leave the stream, Khloe scoffed,"Is that so?"

Her mood soured. "I came here because I respect you, A.S. I wanted to learn something new. But you make it sound like I have no talent at all.Maybe you didn't know, but I took third place in a major singing competition!"

Landing third place had cost Khloe more than a

little cash, but no one could deny the size of her loyal following. That crowd had gathered because she could actually sing.

Scrolling through the comment feed, frustration started to bubble up among her fans.

"I actually thought Koko did great. Isn't A.S. being way too critical?"

"Seriously, there's no reason to drag Koko down like that."

Some stranger on the stream piped up. "A.S. has always been tough on people. Honestly, Koko's voice lacks proper training. I'm studying vocal performance myself. Trust me, A.S. is spot-on."

"If you can't handle honest feedback, just stay out of A.S.'s live sessions! I can't believe some influencers even try to compete with her."

"A.S., next time, you should skip connecting with influencers like that. They're just clout-chasing,not interested in actually learning."

Reading these comments, Khloe felt her cheeks burn. She had never been shamed like this before, not once in all her years on Bluecloud.Fury flared up as she typed, then she scoffed at the screen. "You talk like you're an expert, but where's your performance? I've been at this for

years. What gives you the right to judge me?Want to settle it live? Let's see which of us the viewers prefer."

Right away, the chat went wild.

"This just got interesting! I want to see them go head-to-head!"

"Funny how A.S. posts all these technique tutorials, but I've never heard her sing an entire song. This is the chance."

"A battle of influencers? Don't do it, A.S.! Koko,you can't just challenge someone like her!"

Messages poured in, each person choosing a side.

Watching A.S. say nothing only made Khloe more certain that the so-called expert was just bluffing.

A.S.had even dismissed her voice as worthless.

Today feIt like the day to call out a fraud.

The sting of being set up by Arabella earlier had faded away, replaced by something electric.

If she managed to expose A.S., her followers would definitely grow. She couldn't help but laugh, eyes shining. "You're just pretending.Those tutorials are probably copied from

somewhere. If you could actually sing, why would you be scared of a real contest?"

A.S. answered, "You got me. Competition scares me."

Khloe was about to grin, but A.S. calmly continued, "But if we're being real, beating you wouldn't prove anything. Everyone would expect me to win anyway."

Hearing this, Khloe's temper snapped. She replied, "If you do win, I'll give you a public apology.Does that sound fair?"

"Is your apology even worth anything to me?"A.S.retorted, clearly unimpressed.

Khloe pressed on, "Then what is it you want?"

A.S. responded without missing a moment,"Honestly, is there anything you could offer that I'd actually want?"

Frustrated, Khloe thought for a second before saying, "Here's an idea. If you win, l'll do anything you ask, no questions asked. But if I win, you have to finally admit that all you have are flashy techniques and nothing more!"