?<strong>Chapter 722:</strong>


    Elyse noticed Fiona’s dilemma but remained silent. She wasn’t going to help her. As far as she was concerned, Fiona owed her an apology first.


    Fiona’s eyes met Elyse’s several times, her lips trembling, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask.


    Suddenly, a tall male contestant approached Elyse, asking to borrow her violin. Fiona’s heart pounded as she listened to their conversation, desperately hoping Elyse would say no. But Fiona couldn’t voice her hopes.


    Elyse, unaware of Fiona’s inner turmoil, couldn’t refuse help when asked. It was simply in her nature to help others.


    Fiona’s body tensed as she watched Elyse hand her violin to the male contestant. Unable to hide her bitterness, she spat out, “How typical, sucking up to any man. How many men have you flirted with behind your husband’s back?”


    Elyse’s face turned cold as she locked eyes with Fiona, her gaze cutting. “Your mind is so corrupt, seeing dirt everywhere. If you have time to insult me, why not focus on finding a violin to borrow?” She paused for a moment before continuing, her voice dripping with contempt, “Or do you n to forfeit again?”


    Fiona’s hands balled into fists, her jaw clenched in barely restrained fury as if she longed tosh out at Elyse.


    Elyse ignored Fiona and headed backstage to watch the performances of the other contestants. Seeing Elyse’s refusal to help, Fiona vowed to get even and set off to find another violin from someone else.


    As the round drew to a close, the judges surprised the audience with a twist. Instead of a random extra performance, they revealed the rankings based on their performances.


    Elyse made it to the top five, and so did Edward, who ranked higher than her. As the results were announced, Elyse turned to Edward with a smirk and said, “Well, well, Edward, showing off has its perks. Look how high you are.”


    Edward winked at her yfully and replied, “I’ll keep my ranking, but yours isn’t set in stone.”


    Hearing this, Elyse scoffed, “I don’t need any guarantees from you. I can hold my own.” With that, she turned her attention back to the judges as they continued announcing the ranks.


    As the end approached, Elyse finally heard Fiona’s name. Her eyes widened in shock at Fiona’s disappointing rank. Fiona was very close to the bottom. Subconsciously, Elyse’s gaze swept across the crowd, looking for Fiona.


    Fiona sensed Elyse’s gaze and met it with a bold stare. She found Elyse’s stare quite annoying. She had yed an unfamiliar violin during thepetition, which naturally led to a mistake. She was convinced her skills were perfect and attributed any errors solely to the violin.


    Unaware of Fiona’s thoughts, Elyse checked if Fiona was upset. Seeing she wasn’t, she looked away. Since Fiona was no longer her violin practice partner, she felt no need tofort her. Now, her priority was to keep her ranking secure. The scores in the top ten were tightly packed. Without careful attention, she knew she might fall behind her rivals.


    Elyse shifted her focus away from Fiona. Sitting at the top of the leaderboard, she felt the quiet pressure of thepetition energizing her.


    After the event, Elyse bid Edward farewell and climbed into Gavin’s vehicle. She recounted the day’s events to Gavin while in the lounge. Gavin dropped Elyse at the lounge and then made his way to the auditorium, taking a seat. Absorbing Elyse’s story, he slightly furrowed his brow and inquired, “Did you find out who was responsible?”


    Elyse shook her head. “I’m not sure. There are no cameras in the lounge corridor. Also, the contestants affected by the violin sabotage are all lower-ranked. The staff is still looking into it.”


    After a pause, Gavin said, “Don’t let this bother you. Just keep performing as you do, and you’ll surely secure a spot in the top three.”


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