Chapter 35: The “Gift” She Prepared for Lily

The jeering voices reached Lily’s ears like invisible hands strangling her. She struggled to calm herself. But as her hands rested on the piano keys, Lily was shocked to discover… she couldn’t move.

After witnessing Olivia’s flawless performance and realizing the vast gap between them, Lily had lost the courage to play. Her hands felt as heavy as lead, her joints stiff and unresponsive. Lily hesitated, unable to begin.

A wave of boos erupted from the audience. Many students joined in, jeering at her. Lily bit her lip. No! How could she lose to a mere commoner?

Forcing her fingers to move, she willed herself to remain calm and began to play. But her shattered confidence made her performance stiff and clunky. Olivia’s earlier perfect performance loomed over her like an unbearable weight, completely disrupting her rhythm. Within just a minute, Lily’s playing was already out of tune.

“What the heck? Is this really Lily playing?”

“My ears are dying!”

“Piano Virtuoso? Are you kidding? With this level?”

The crowd’s disdainful murmurs grew louder, and Lily couldn’t go on. Lifting her head in desperation, she suddenly saw Olivia standing just behind the curtain, her face obscured by a black veil. She couldn’t see Olivia’s expression. But Olivia raised her hand and made a slashing motion across her throat.

A loud, discordant crash followed. The cacophony made her performance an outright joke. Amid the boos, Lily fled the stage in panic. Overwhelmed by despair and humiliation, she couldn’t stay a moment longer.

Olivia watched Lily’s retreating figure, a faint smile playing on her lips. She knew exactly how to destroy someone. Shatter the one thing they take pride in, and all their confidence will crumble. Once stripped of their proud feathers, even the most noble bird is reduced to a mere crow.

In her previous life, Lily had destroyed Isabella’s hands. In this life, Olivia had destroyed Lily’s pride. An eye for an eye. This was the “gift” she had prepared for Lily.

Lily’s disastrous performance left the event’s conclusion awkward. Fortunately, Olivia’s earlier show had been so stunning that everyone naturally treated it as the grand finale.

Soon, it was time for the awards ceremony. The top ten awards were quickly decided, leaving only the first-place announcement. The host stood on stage, meeting the audience’s eager gazes.

“And now, the top-ranked performance of this event. There’s no suspense here – please welcome the performer of The Radiance and the Darkness to the stage.”

The audience held their breath. Could the music prodigy have actually entered the rankings? How humble and approachable!

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Olivia walked onto the stage. The crowd erupted in cheers.

“Music prodigy! I love you!”

“Music prodigy, marry me!”

“Goddess, look at me!”

The host, doing their best to remain composed, announced:

“Congratulations to performance department student Olivia for winning first place in this event.”

The audience was dumbfounded. What? Olivia? The entire hall burst into uproar. The so-called music prodigy… was that same Olivia the forums had mocked as useless trash? What kind of joke was this? Had the world gone insane?

Upon learning that the performer was a student from St. Rona Academy, Mr. Grayson broke into a smile and called over the head of the performance department.

“Emma, I didn’t know your department had such hidden talent. Why didn’t you ever mention it before?”

Emma kept a stiff face and replied, “Mr. Grayson, there might be… an issue. While Olivia and Isabella did register this performance, the person on stage… might not actually have been them.”