"The Chance to Sing the National Anthem"

The study was so quiet that Trey, standing in the room, could hear Taylor's voice, though she couldn't make out the words. She could still sense Taylor's anger.

Ryan exchanged a glance with Trey, who was standing in front of him, then switched the phone to his other ear.

"Looks like we're not related anymore, are we?" Ryan said softly.

Trey's eyebrows twitched. The impact this had on her was no less than if Ryan had told her he was making money as a DJ.

"We are related! I'm Abigail's best friend, and it's my responsibility to protect her. You're not allowed to contact her anymore!" Taylor refused to let up. The next second, it seemed her mother knocked on the door and asked what was going on, so Taylor lowered her voice.

Obviously, she didn't want her mother to know she was on the phone with a boy so late at night.

Ryan had no choice but to explain the situation between him and Abigail. When Taylor heard that Abigail was merely tutoring Ryan in the schoolwork he had fallen behind on, that she had only gone to his house once, and that Ryan had even taken her home that night, she finally understood.

After hearing this, Taylor let out a long sigh of relief, as though it were the best news she had heard all month.

"What have you been busy with these past two weeks?" Ryan asked.

"It's not easy to explain. Besides recording songs, I've had to prepare for all kinds of events in advance and do interviews. Let me give you a preview: I'll be on two magazine covers in April. In May, I'll be invited to perform live at the ACM. I've been nominated for Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Best New Female Vocalist!"

"At the beginning of June, I'll release a new EP. It's part of an agreement with a major distributor, and Walmart will have exclusive rights to it. At the end of June, I'll also have to attend this year's Verizon Amphitheater event in San Antonio. In July, I'll be attending Country Thunder Music Festival."

"That doesn't even include some potential performance opportunities, such as appearing as a guest at a Jonas Brothers concert or even making a cameo in the Hannah Montana feature film. None of those have been confirmed yet."

"Also, the organizers have already booked me in advance. In October, I'll sing the national anthem at Game Three of the World Baseball Classic in Philadelphia. Maybe by then, my new album will already be completely finished." Taylor rattled off the long list of confirmed engagements.

Ryan heard four words in her voice: going from strength to strength.

Ryan, on the other hand, was doing the exact opposite. The number of his social media followers had stagnated. MySpace, his primary social media platform, had barely reached three thousand followers by now, even with Taylor helping drive traffic. Paid downloads were pitifully few; only after Taylor helped promote him had they grown significantly, reaching just over a thousand in total. That amounted to only a few hundred dollars. Afterward, the number of downloads fell steadily, and by now, his daily paid downloads were fewer than a hundred. The only good news was that his production skills had improved considerably. After performing at nightclubs for the past two weeks, he could now easily stitch songs together with a mixer in front of everyone.

Two weeks earlier, Ryan had thought that this song, "Termor," would be enough to make him a little famous. All he needed to do was put the song somewhere "people passed by," and attention would come naturally. Reality, however, had left him bitterly disappointed.

Ryan had even tried all sorts of ways to deliberately trigger déjà vu, but none of them had worked.

Ryan told Taylor all about it. By then, Trey had already left the study.

"Oh, that's completely normal. In fact, you've already done a great job." Taylor's slightly childish voice came through the phone, and she began encouraging Ryan.

"Want to know how I first attracted attention? It's actually very simple. I was about eleven at the time when I suddenly realized that without a record deal, singing the national anthem was the best way to appear in front of a huge crowd. I've performed at 76ers games, the US Open, and even meetings at local garden clubs. As long as I could perform in front of the public, I was willing to do it."

"It was after my performance at the US Open that an audience member came to find me and my mom. He was a manager, and with his help, I got in touch with RCA."

"A year later, my whole family moved to Nashville. During that time, I participated in Maybelline's Chicks with Attitude compilation project and performed at BMI songwriter showcases, all for a tiny bit of exposure."

"But none of that helped. RCA wouldn't even let me record my own songs. Later, my dad reached a partnership agreement with Scott. They were both named Scott, by the way. That was when I signed a long-term contract with Big Machine: thirteen years and six albums. You can think of Big Machine as an independent record company. Only then did I finally get the chance to show what I could do. By that point, four years had passed since I first sang the national anthem in front of the public—four whole years. How long have you held out? Four weeks?"

"How old were you then?"

"Fifteen. That was when I signed with Big Machine."

In other words, Taylor had spent four years going around in circles and was still only fifteen.

Fame really did favor those who started young, Ryan thought.

"So, have you learned anything from that? My mouth is getting dry from all this talking." From her voice, Taylor seemed to be wrapped up in bed.

Ryan thought for a moment. "Don't pass up a single chance to sing the national anthem."

"Exactly." Taylor giggled.

"For example, Ultra Music Festival in Miami during Spring Break," Ryan said.

He had looked up some information. Ultra Music Festival was currently part of the Winter Music Conference, which had been held since 1985. It was now a famous annual industry summit, attended by thousands of people, including artists, DJs, A&R representatives from record companies responsible for discovering and signing new talent, producers, promoters, radio and media representatives, and DJ and audio equipment manufacturers.

Even if he relied on nothing but "Termor," he might still find a patron here.

"Okay. I hope you find something worthwhile in Florida," Taylor said, offering him her best wishes before yawning.

Ryan ended his call with Taylor and spent a while trying to make music with DAW software. Then he shut down the computer. Before returning to his room, he held the BlackBerry Curve 8310 that Trey had bought just last year and went to her door. He found it ajar, and there wasn't a sound coming from inside. Obviously, Trey had already fallen asleep.

Not wanting to disturb her, Ryan slowly pushed open the door. He saw that the lamp on the bedside table was still on, while Trey lay flat on the bed in a completely unrestrained, sprawled-out position, wearing a black lace one-piece nightdress.

As he placed the phone on the bedside table to charge, Ryan couldn't help turning his head. He saw that one of the nightdress's straps had slipped down, revealing her plump figure and fair skin. The sight was dazzling...

"Ding ding!" The phone suddenly let out a clear notification sound.

Trey abruptly opened her eyes and met Ryan's gaze. The next second, she hurriedly covered her chest.

"I didn't see anything."

"Get out!!!!"

At the same time, Taylor, who had been about to fall asleep, was woken up again by her phone ringing. She glanced at the caller ID, then chose to answer.

"Hello~" Taylor said listlessly.

"Taylor, are you asleep?" Abigail asked.

"Mm-hmm."

"Help me decide what to wear during Spring Break. Florida should be pretty warm right now."

"Whatever..." Taylor only wanted to sleep.

Then Abigail said thoughtfully, "I bought two super-sexy swimsuits. I think they're too revealing, but forget it. I'll bring them anyway. I'll treat them as a surprise for Ryan!"

Taylor's eyes flew open, and most of her sleepiness vanished in an instant...