<b>Chapter </b>361


    “Collins<b>, </b>do <b>you </b>have Jay’s number?” Mirabe inquired.


    Collins blinked, a bit taken aback, but then nodded, “Yeah, I’ve got it.”


    “Then send it to meter. I need it,” Mirabe stated.


    “You’re not thinking of calling him, are you?” Collins assumed reflexively.


    Mirabe just pursed her lips. “No, it’s not that.”


    Collins figured Mirabe wasn’t the type to do such a thing. So he agreed, “I’ll send it to you on Messenger in a bit.”


    *Thanks,” Mirabe nodded, and then she was off.


    Watching her leave, Collins shook his head, a touch of exasperation in his gesture. Why had he gotten into such a deep conversation with Mirabe? She couldn’t really help with the situation


    anyway.


    Soon after, Collins hopped into his car and drove away.


    Back at the vi, Mirabe washed up quickly and then settled at her desk. She booted up herputer and crafted a small program, sending it to both Jay’s phone and hisputer.


    After finishing her task, she finallyid back in bed to rest.


    The next day, Leo didn’t go into the office. Collins had called him, insisting he take a day off at home. Leo didn’t overthink it.


    With an unfinished new song on his mind, Leo drove back to his own vi. It had a full suite of professional music equipment, with which he had previously crafted his lyrics and melodies. Once there, he locked himself in his music room, determined toplete the songwriting process that day.


    By five in the afternoon, with the lyrics and a rough demo in hand, Leo finally left, intending to swing by the office.


    Halfway there, his sister’s call came through. Slipping on his Bluetooth headset, Leo answered cheerfully. “Hey, Mirabe.”


    She could hear the lightheartedness in his voice. Clearly, he was unaware of the online buzz. She asked, “Leo, are you <b>at </b>home? Or somewhere else<b>?</b>”


    “Just heading back to the office, got some stuff to take care of.” Leo nced at the lyric files. beside him.


    Mirabe massaged her temple. “Heading back to the office thiste?”


    “Yeah, I just finished the lyrics for my new song, and I’m taking the demo back to tweak it a bit,”


    1141


    Leo replied candidly.


    Mirabe thought for a moment, then asked, “You’ve been writing new music?”


    “That’s right, been prepping for over half a year now, Inspiration hit, and I wrapped it up,” Leo said, his voice tinged with a hint of emotion. He had almost given up on everything due to health issues before, but now that he had fully recovered, it was time to pick up where he had left off.


    “Oh, I’m quite curious about your new song. Do I have the honor of hearing it first?” Mirabe asked.


    Leo chuckled, “You’re my little sister, so of course, you can be the first. But right now, it’s just a rough cut. How about you wait until I polish the final version?”


    “It doesn’t matter. A rough cut is still your song,” Mirabe stated, unfazed.


    That was the kind of response that really hit home. Immediately, Leo made a U–turn, “Alright, you’ll hear it first, then. I’ll take it to the officeter.”


    “Great, juste home, Leo. I’ll wait for you,” Mirabe sweetly replied.


    “Okay, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”


    With that. Leo ended the call.


    While waiting for Leo, Mirabe took the opportunity to scroll through Twitter again, listening carefully to Jay’s usation that Leo had stolen his song.


    Though she wasn’t musically inclined, she could appreciate the song’s essence. Having listened to Leo’s music for some time now, the song on Twitter clearly resonated with his style. If anyone was guilty of imitation, Jay seemed the more likely suspect.