The man pointed at the judges' table, pointed at Paloma, and said through gritted teeth, “One of you must know Alarieka. I’m going to complain about you to the committee!”

Not just this guy, almost all the other eliminated people stood up too, looking aggressive and talking like it was already a sure thing that Alarieka pulled some strings.

Some curious people turned to see Alarieka’s reaction, thinking they would see Alarieka looking disappointed, nervous, or scared.

But Alarieka’s expression didn’t change at all. She just sat calmly in her seat like nothing had happened, her eyes steady and calm, looking at those people who said she “pulled strings” like she was looking at a bunch of unreasonable kids.

Someone was muttering, “Why was Alarieka so calm?”

“If she didn’t stay calm, what else could she do? She could only pretend like this, otherwise if she acted all flustered, everyone would know she got in through the back door.”

Roschelle sneered in her heart. This Alarieka, really nobody liked her, it was just ridiculous. She looked up, her voice softened, “Don’t say that, Alarieka was really trying.”

The guy sneered and snapped, “Work hard? Work hard to pull strings, you mean? Everyone who came here for the competition worked hard, didn’t they?”

Roschelle frowned pitifully: “Alarieka really cared about this competition, even though she played a wrong note and the piano she used wasn’t that good, but overall—”

The guy sneered, “Yeah, everyone noticed she played a wrong note, so why could she still get into the semifinals.”

That person’s face turned cold, and he looked at Roschelle with icy eyes. “Ms. Whitaker, you got first place in the prelims, I totally accepted that. I could also understand that you were kind and always wanted to speak up for Alarieka, but this time it was different. Alarieka took one of our spots as a contestant. Everyone prepared so long for this competition, there was no reason for her to just take it away from us with such dirty tricks.”

Rośchelle looked troubled.

The guy went on, “Ms. Whitaker, if you kept standing up for Alarieka, then I wouldn’t be polite either.”

Roschelle lowered her eyelids, pressed her lips together, and looked really troubled and wronged.

“Rose.”

Kieran’s voice was low and rich, and when it fell by Roschelle’s ear, it somehow brought a tingling warmth.

Roschelle lifted her eyelids to look at him, her eyes gentle and pitiful: “Kier.”

Kieran raised his hand, put his palm on Roschelle’s shoulder, and patted it gently.

Roschelle smiled with her lips pressed together, “Kier, in this situation, why didn’t you say something to Alarieka? After all, she was your little sister for years.”

Kieran’s face had sharp lines and looked calm, his thin lips pressed together, acting like it had nothing to do with him: “Nothing to say.”

Roschelle frowned a little, raised her hand and patted Kieran’s arm, and said softly, “You, if you don’t say it, I will.”

Roschelle stood up, turned around and looked at Alarieka. “Alarieka, you explain it. After all, making a basic mistake like playing the wrong note during a performance shouldn’t have happened.”

“If you explained it well, they would listen.”

Alarieka’s eyes flickered and she looked at Roschelle. Roschelle seemed to be speaking up for her, but actually every word was setting her up, purposely reminding everyone about her playing the wrong notes.

She wasn’t stupid, she could tell.

What Roschelle said not only didn’t calm these people down, it actually made them even more upset.

Just like Alarieka expected, those people got even angrier: “Anyone could tell Alarieka played the wrong notes, so why did she get into the next round? Isn’t this just obvious favoritism? Do they think we’re idiots or what?!”

“I was asking the judges to make Alarieka’s score details public, so everyone could see how Alarieka got into the semifinals.”

Paloma frowned, “These contestants, I already emphasized many times, there was no backdoor deal or bribery in the Mcintosh Pia Competition. You need to calm down first—”

The man snapped at Paloma, “I can’t calm down. Just seeing someone like Alarieka make it to the semifinals makes me feel sick. If I don’t do something about it, I’m afraid I’ll never sleep well for the rest of my life.”

“And you too, Ms. Wyatt, I always thought you were a fair and just teacher. I never expected you would actually go along with Alarieka. Back when I saw you fighting for more time for Alarieka to fix the piano, I didn’t think much of it. But now, it looks like you were also scared that Alarieka might get eliminated.”

The man sneered, “I think you took money from Alarieka, didn’t you? Ms. Wyatt, I remember your grading counts for thirty percent, enough to affect someone’s grade.”