Chapter 787
"With Mrs. Ritter''s status in the piano world, isn''t it easy to mess with her?" Evelyn whispered into
Ashlyn''s ear.
Ashlyn''s eyes lit up, "You''re right. As long as my mom takes action, we can definitely get this done. Let
her pass through the preliminaries first. I don''t believe she can be that lucky in the finals."
"The goddess of luck won''t favor her forever," Evelynughed.
The two walked past Jenna with a knowing look and stood at the entrance to go on stage.
It was almost time for Ashlyn topete.
The preliminaries were simple; almost eighty percent of participants would advance to the next round.
Ashlyn casually yed a pre-selected piece and easily advanced to the next round while Evelyn also
made it through without any issues.
As more contestants were eliminated backstage, only Jenna remained as she wasst in line for
performance.
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She walked gracefully towards the piano and bowed slightly towards judges before sitting down on the
bench facing them.
Her gaze fell upon familiar ck and white keys before closing her eyes slightly as she began recalling
notes from memory.
When Jenna pressed down on that first note followed by a series of notes flowing out like running water
from within that grand piano.
Familiar music filled everyone''s ears.
The ethereal sound gradually took everyone present into an ocean of music.
Beethoven was a great musician who created countless addictive melodies with his unique talent.
Almost everyone widened their eyes staring at that pure face on stage.
Everyone listened intently under its spell until it ended abruptly leaving them wanting more..
Jenna slowly opened her eyes after finishing ying then stood up elegantly bowing slightly once again
towards both judges and audience members alike..
When they held up their cards indicating advancement, she couldn''t help but let out a faint glimmer of
light shining from around her eyes.
She smiled lightly while epting the card then thanked judges softly before turning around and
leaving quietly without saying another word or looking back.
There were noments given by preliminary judges about performances so far.
At this point the host went onstage, "Thank you all foring today including our participating
contestants along with our esteemed judging panel! It has been hard work for everybody here today!
The semifinals will take ce three dayster where perhaps contestants may prepare even better
than they have done so far! I now dere this preliminarypetitionplete."
The apuse was like a tidal wave crashing down on them.
Ashlyn and Evelyn had returned to their hotel room, looking at the list of finalists posted by the
organizers on their public tform. Jenna was also on the list, and Ashlyn sneered, "So what if she
made it to the finals? She won''t even make it past the preliminaries in thepositionpetition.
That''s much harder than ying piano."
"You''re right," Evelyn agreed. "We''ll just wait for her to embarrass herself during thepetition. Don''t
worry, I''ll buy some ad space and promote her performance for her!" She emphasized "performance"
with a heavy ent.
Ashlyn smiled and took Evelyn''s hand. "Evelyn, don''t worry, I won''t forget how good you''ve been to
me."
Evelyn patted her hand yfully. "Why do we need to be so formal? We''re best friends!"
Ashlyn secretly sneered at this thought - who are you calling my friend? You''re just amoner who
follows me around like apdog because my mom is in charge! If it weren''t for that fact, would you
even hang out with me?
Although Evelyn ttered Ashlyn outwardly, she didn''t really believe that Ashlyn deserved all of her
privileges due solely to talent - after all, she herself was more talented at piano than Ashlyn ever could
be! But they both kept up appearances as toxic friends do.
Jenna breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she had advanced in thepetition but knew there
were still bigger challenges ahead; she couldn''t afford to let down her guard now.
"We did well today," Sylvia said with a glimmer in her beautiful eyes. "Let''s go out tonight and try some
local cuisine together."
Brayden immediately nodded his head enthusiastically while Franklin raised an eyebrow skeptically; he
knew nothing couldpare with Sylvia''s home cooking but didn''t want to dampen anyone else''s
spirits about trying new things either way.
Vienna''s culinary scene is known for its fusion of different ethnic cuisines.
Not only that, Vienna''s various desserts were also very tempting, such as hollow cakes, emperor cakes
and the famous chocte cake Sachertorte.
Not only that, Vienna''s coffee is also diverse in style, and there are hundreds of Austrian beers that
enrich the drink selection in Vienna. In addition, their famous wine and Winter schnapps are also
excellent drinks.
Sylvia and Franklin went to a local high-end restaurant together. They ordered several local specialty
dishes along with appetizers and soups. The food was served quickly; it didn''t take long for the waiter
to bring all of their dishes out.
Looking at these delicious local specialties with color, aroma and taste allbined together on the
table made Sylvia smile slightly. "Everyone should try them out."
As she spoke those words, a group of men and women walked into the restaurant; it was none other
than Mrs. Ritter with several members from her piano association who had chosen this restaurant as
well.
"Mom," Ashlyn said while holding onto Mrs. Ritter''s arm,"I heard this restaurant is very famous locally."
"It''s pretty good," Mrs. Ritter nodded her head, "Everyone did well today, so don''t be shy about ordering
anything you want; I''ll treat everyone."
"Thank you, Mrs. Ritter."
"You''re too kind, Mrs. Ritter."
The group sat down at one big table but as soon as Ashlyn settled down, she looked around the room,
only to see Sylvia sitting by a window nearby.
Her face immediately changed expression. "This is disgusting! Why do we keep running into them
everywhere?"
Mrs. Ritter followed Ashlyn''s gaze over towards Sylvia, then sneered before loudly calling out to her,
"Master Keturah, Mr. Maskelyne! What a coincidence!"
Sylvia remained expressionless while looking back at her. "Indeed, it is quite coincidental."
"Master Keturah has some skills though, even after registration closed, you managed to get Jenna
signed up!" Mrs. Ritter thought about this matter until she felt nauseous. Sylvia always seemed to
oppose everything she did.
"I have no choice. Mrs. Ritter, you have quite some power, but my power seems even greater!" Sylvia
rarely used this identity publicly but Louis, his piano teacher, is currently serving as president of Global
Piano Association.
Hearing Sylvia''s words, Mrs. Ritter''s eyes filled with thick hatred mixed with shame feeling inside
herself.
She, the president of the Urgford Piano Association, was no match for Sylvia, who held the position of
global piano association president.
Global... When she applied to be a member of the Global Piano Association, she was almost forty
years old. But Sylvia... In her early twenties, she was already being groomed as the sessor to head
up the association.
She wanted Ashlyn to win first ce in thepetition and then apply to join the Global Piano
Association. It would be an honor for someone so young to be a member of such a prestigious
organization. She could even send out press releases and give Ashlyn some publicity.
But now...
Sylvia was here taunting them both - mother and daughter - with insults that were all too clear!
Mrs. Ritter''s chest heaved with anger but she took a deep breath and restrained herself. She wasn''t
some impulsive youngster; she had her own status and reputation.
"Master Keturah is young and talented," Mrs. Ritter said through gritted teeth while forcing herself to
smile at Sylvia''s insult.
"What''s the point if you know it?" Sylvia sipped her wine lightly from her ss before continuing on,
"Mrs. Ritter, I advise you not topare yourself to me if you know you can''tpete."
Redness crept into Mrs. Ritter''s eyes as anger flooded into her mind; How dare she speak like this?
Telling them not to even botherpeting?
Why couldn''t they win? Why couldn''t Ashlyn beat that wretched Jenna?
Jenna came from nowhere – no one knew where or how – yet somehow ended up being taken in by
the Wright family...
Could Jenna reallypare with their legitimate daughter from the Ritter family?
Who did Jenna think she was anyway?
"Sylvia," Ashlyn stood up angrily. "Don''t think just because you have a good teacher means anything!
When I find my own teacher, I won''t lose outpared with anyone!"
"I''ll wait for that day eagerly," replied Sylvia, smirking before turning away from the mother-daughter
duo.
The food had been ready long ago but due to their tense atmosphere. none of them had touched it yet;
even when servers brought over dishes. they quickly left without saying much.
Now it seemed like things might calm down. so they hurriedly served everyone''s tes before
scurrying off again.
But nobody at this table felt like eating any local cuisine in Vienna right now...
The faces of both mother and daughter were dark!
Who dared eat orugh right now?
That would just be asking for trouble!
Looking over at Sylvia''s table, the atmosphere was nothing short of harmonious and delightful. Jenna
was charming, Brayden handsome, Jasper ruggedly handsome, Franklin devastatingly attractive, and
Sylvia was simply stunning. They sat there together in a way that was pleasing to the eye.
What made it even more enviable were the asional girlishughter that rang out like silver bells.
Meanwhile, Evelyn and her group were on edge. They couldn''t eat or not eat; they just felt
ufortable all around. Who would want to face such a ckened expression?