Upon seeing Sienna Everett, Shannon Everett immediately ran up to her, her face full of worry. "Sienna, what happened last time was my fault. You should move back to the Everett family’s home. It’s too unsafe for a girl to live out there on her own."
Wyatt Everett sneered. "Shannon, ignore her! She’s the one who made a fuss about cutting ties with the Everett family. Even if she dies out there, she’d only have herself to blame!"
Sienna’s gaze sharpened at his words, her red lips curling into a cold, mocking smirk. "It seems my failure to die out there has deeply disappointed you."
"You!" The anger in Wyatt’s eyes flared. This Sienna really had changed. Where was the submissive girl who always tried to please them? Now, she was bristling with thorns.
Wyatt glanced at Mason Everett beside him and took a deep breath, as if issuing an ultimatum. "Sienna Everett, if you admit your mistakes now and obediently crawl back, the Everett family will still take you in. But if you choose to remain stubborn..."
"Then I’d rather remain stubborn to the bitter end," Sienna interrupted coldly. Not wanting to waste another breath on him, she turned and walked away.
Wyatt immediately reached out to block her, his eyes blazing with anger. "Sienna Everett! What kind of attitude is that? Do you have any respect for your brother at all?"
Hah, respect for her brother? Wyatt had never treated her like a sister, yet now he demanded the respect owed to a brother. How ridiculous.
"Wyatt Everett, I cut ties with the Everett family a long time ago. What right do you have to demand my respect now?" Sienna asked. Glancing sideways at the arm blocking her path, her voice turned ice-cold. "Also, a good dog doesn’t block the way."
Wyatt’s face instantly darkened with rage. Just as he was about to blow up, Mason—who had remained silent until now—suddenly spoke up.
"Sienna Everett."
Sienna turned her head and met a pair of eyes filled with coldness and disgust. In the past, her heart would have ached. She would have reflected on whether she had done something wrong again, wondering where she had fallen short, and blamed herself for everything. But now, after experiencing heartbreak and despair time and time again, her heart was as dead as a pool of stagnant water.
Looking at the man with an indifferent expression, Sienna spoke breezily. "President Everett, what can I do for you?"
President Everett... This unfamiliar and distant title made Mason frown slightly. The old Sienna would always cower behind him, timidly calling him her eldest brother. Back then, he only felt disgust. What right did someone like Sienna have to call him that? Only Shannon was allowed to call him her eldest brother; Shannon was his true sister. But now, hearing Sienna’s alienated and cold ’President Everett,’ Mason actually felt a faint sense of discomfort.
Suppressing this uneasy feeling, Mason asked with a frosty expression, "The day you left the Everett family’s home, was it someone from the Forresterer Family who came to pick you up?"
Sienna couldn’t help but chuckle. So that was what this was about. It made sense. As the current CEO of The Everett Group, Mason was definitely trying every possible means to forge a connection with the Forresterer Family. Therefore, his first words to her weren’t out of concern for why she had severed ties with the Everett family; he simply wanted to use her to fish for information about the Forresterer Family. And Wyatt—he had just acted completely out of character, claiming that as long as she admitted her mistakes and obediently went back, the Everett family would still take her in. It turned out they all just wanted to use her to gather intelligence on the Forresterer Family. Hah, this was probably the last shred of use she had to the Everett family.
Sienna looked at Mason quietly, a chilling stillness gathering in her beautiful eyes. "President Everett, that has nothing to do with you."
With that, she walked away, refusing to waste another syllable on these eyesores.
Watching Sienna’s retreating back, Shannon bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes. "Mason, Wyatt, Sienna was so cold just now. Is she still holding a grudge over what happened last time?"
Wyatt’s heart immediately ached for her. "Shannon, don’t be so submissive! Even if you did frame Sienna last time, as the older sister, she didn’t exactly lose a piece of flesh. What’s wrong with suffering a little grievance? She just had to be so petty and calculative, even making a huge fuss about cutting ties. At the end of the day, it’s all her fault!"
Mason reached out and patted Shannon’s head, his icy expression softening. "Alright, Shannon, stop crying. I bought the latest sports car yesterday as a gift to celebrate you taking first place in today’s semi-finals."
Shannon smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Mason, Wyatt. I’ll definitely do my best to win first place!"
Wyatt beamed with pride. "Our Shannon is so talented at dancing. Wouldn’t getting first place in the semi-finals be a piece of cake? If you ask me, first place in the finals of *Dancing National Style* is already in the bag for our Shannon!"
As the three of them were talking, four judges from the *Dancing National Style* production team walked over.
"President Everett, Master Everett, Miss Everett, hello!"
Shannon smiled gently. "Hello, judges."
Out of respect for the Everett family, the judges showered Shannon with flattery. "I could tell during the preliminaries that Miss Everett is extremely gifted in dance. I’m sure she’ll easily take first place in the semi-finals!"
"Exactly! Miss Everett’s dancing not only shows great flexibility, but her creative choreography is also fantastic!"
Feeling immensely proud inwardly, Shannon maintained a modest facade. "You flatter me."
At this moment, a staff member ran over from backstage. "Judges, Eleanor Yates has arrived at the venue and entered the judges’ lounge!"
"Mrs. Yates?" one of the judges asked in surprise. "Didn’t Mrs. Yates say she wouldn’t come until the finals? Today is only the semi-finals. Why is she here early?"
"Mrs. Yates said she looked at the contestant list and spotted a promising talent, so she couldn’t hold back and came early," the staff member explained.
"Spotted a promising talent?" The four judges exchanged glances and headed toward the lounge. "Regardless, let’s go greet Mrs. Yates first."
Eleanor Yates held immense authority in the dance community. As a leading figure in classical national style dance, she was deeply respected and loved by all dancers. Moreover, the ultimate first-place winner of this *Dancing National Style* competition would be taken in as Eleanor Yates’s final disciple, receiving personal instruction in classical dance.
Shannon’s goal in participating in *Dancing National Style* wasn’t just to win first place; more importantly, she wanted to become Eleanor Yates’s final disciple.
Mason pondered for a moment before guessing, "Could this promising talent be Shannon?"
Wyatt was thrilled. "Of course it is! Our Shannon took first place in the preliminaries. Who else could be considered a promising talent? Mrs. Yates is definitely here for our Shannon!"
Hearing this, an unconcealable wave of pleasant surprise surged in Shannon’s eyes. If Eleanor Yates was here for her, then she was one step closer to becoming her final disciple!