Chapter 205
Chapter 205:
The cold hum of the line left Laurel’s face set in stone.
Paola clutched the hem of her clothes, her heart pounding as the judge’s words echoed in her ears. A wave of panic swept over her. She turned to her mother, her voice trembling. “Mom, what are we going to do? X. Aria knows what I did. He found out—”
“He doesn’t know,” said Laurel softly. “Take a breath. Judges and contestants in the second round don’t see each other. They only hear the music. As long as you stay in, you still have a shot at winning first place.”
“But we don’t even know how the finals will work!” cried Paola.
Laurel’s eyes hardened as she looked at her daughter. “If I’m not helping you cheat, you don’t have confidence in yourself at all? Can’t you write a piece that’s good enough on its own?”
The remark cut deeply, and Paola’s tears spilled over.
Laurel sighed. “Forget it. We know Rylie skipped the preliminaries, which proves she’s not better than you. Even if you don’t win first place at the piano competition, you’re still achieving something. Didn’t you once cut your wrist?”
Paola froze, not understanding why her mother brought that up.
Laurel tapped her forehead gently. “If your ranking isn’t good, just say your wrist injury hasn’t healed. Blame the mistakes on that. At least you won’t be humiliated.”
Paola thought it through and knew this was the only way. She nodded, though her chest felt tight. “I get it, but I still want first place.”
Laurel studied her for a moment and exhaled. “Fine. I’ll get new sheet music, just in case.”
The night before the Wesdown International finals, the organizers revealed a new set of rules for the Eshea district.
The first segment was Classic Revival. Each contestant had to pick one piece from a list of ten challenging classical works chosen by the committee and perform it live. This part would test their interpretation, technical precision, and emotional delivery. Only the top three contestants could pass this segment, while the rest would be eliminated.
The second segment was Improvised Collaboration. Each of the three finalists would perform a duet with one of the judges. A theme would be given on the spot, and they would have three minutes to create and deliver an improvised performance that matched it.
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In the end, the winner would be chosen based on the combined scores from the judges and the audience.
The official announcement added a note. “Due to decisions from the organizers, X. Aria will not attend the finals. We apologize, but his last disciple will appear as a special guest. Please stay tuned.”
When the finals cut the original composition performance, Paola was so furious that she almost fainted. She and Laurel had spent a small fortune on original scores, only to hear that the segment was gone. It felt like a cruel joke. Despite this, her resolve burned brighter. She clenched her jaw, determined to give it her all. In Crolens, she had always been the undisputed star, and a regional piano competition wasn’t going to break her.
On the morning of the finals, Rylie arrived at the venue wearing a sharp white outfit.
She walked through the main doors and made her way toward the backstage area, her figure quickly spotted by Isabella.