Chapter 169

Whispers rippled through the auditorium.

All eyes were fixed on the center stage.

"Miss, please state your grounds for questioning."

The music department chair adjusted his glasses from the judges' panel.

"I've compared the recording with the original piece note by note. They're identical!"

A short-haired girl raised her phone, voice shrill.

She scanned the crowd deliberately. "Evelyn Roland isn't even a music major. How could she reach this level?"

The audience erupted.

"She's got a point..."

"An amateur playing like a virtuoso? Suspicious."

A bespectacled male student stood up. "I just checked the original audio. It's a perfect match."

Dozens of accusatory stares pierced the stage like arrows.

Evelyn stood calmly under the spotlight.

"Nonsense!" Isabella Langley shot up, voice trembling. "My sister's had musical talent since childhood!"

Her fists clenched, eyes reddening.

Evelyn caught the fleeting triumph in her sister's gaze.

Such amateur theatrics.

In the front row, the Roland parents wrung their hands.

"Alexander, do something!"

Alexander Roland frowned, at a loss.

"Prodigy? Who's she fooling?"

"Obviously pre-recorded!"

The jeers grew louder.

Someone pointed at the stage. "Evelyn Roland, your silence proves guilt!"

The room hushed.

Evelyn's lips curved slightly.

She approached the microphone, voice cool. "Accusations require evidence."

Her challengers faltered.

"Your identical performance is evidence!"

Evelyn chuckled. "That only proves I played it perfectly."

Sebastian Valdemar studied the two instigators through narrowed eyes.

Too orchestrated.

The bespectacled girl pressed on. "Then play it again live!"

"Gladly." Evelyn remained unruffled. "Perhaps you should check backstage first."

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

"She wouldn't agree if it were faked..."

"Maybe we misjudged her?"

Isabella paled.

Why were these fools wavering?

"Isabella, you look unwell."

Alexander's concern was evident.

"I..."