None of them noticed when Emily Blair quietly lowered her hand, her gaze cool as she watched their retreating backs.

From Emily's perspective, she saw the young man and woman glance at each other, then suspiciously blow into their own palms, sniffing to check if their breath smelled bad.

A faintly mocking smile played at the corners of Emily's lips.

Idiots.

A moment later, the judges finished tallying the scores. Arianna George walked on stage with the results in hand and took the microphone.

For both the preliminary and semi-final rounds, the rankings were always announced starting from first place.

As expected, Isabella Austin took first place in this preliminary round.

Emily Blair wasn't surprised in the least. In her previous life, Isabella had plagiarized her piano piece, but even so, the girl had some genuine talent—just not enough to compose anything truly groundbreaking.

Besides, for this round Isabella had chosen a classic piece—her specialty. There was no way she'd make a mistake.

The moment Isabella's name was called, the auditorium erupted in a burst of enthusiastic applause.

Isabella stood, her white gown accentuating her slender figure. She looked poised, radiant, every bit the star among her peers. Her smile was dazzling—a true standout.

In front of everyone, Isabella dipped her head and gave Andrew Lane a gentle smile.

She gathered her skirt gracefully and walked up to the stage, accepting the first- place certificate from Arianna George.

The audience responded with another wave of applause.

None of that interested Emily Blair much. What she really cared about was her own ranking.

She watched Isabella step down, then saw contestant after contestant called to the stage, yet her own name hadn't been mentioned. Emily's brow gradually knit in

concern.

There were over a hundred participants in the Starlight Piano Competition. After this round, only about sixty would advance.

When they got to sixtieth place, Emily still hadn't heard her name.

Her palms began to sweat.

Arianna George read out the sixty-third name. Still not Emily Blair.

Her face was growing pale.

Sixty-third place—second to last. That meant there was just one slot left for the next round.

Emily sat up straight, her dark eyes fixed calmly on Arianna George, betraying not a hint of nervousness.

Maybe only Emily herself knew just how tense she really was. Her palms were slick with sweat, so much that she could barely keep her hands steady.

People all around were turning to look at her, snickering under their breath.

"I told you, Emily Blair was never going to make it to the next round. Some of you thought she had a chance-well? Was I right or what?"

"There's still one spot left. Let's see what happens."

"Yeah, but do you know who else is left? One of the contestants is the judge's niece. Of course she'll get the last spot. Emily Blair's done for. One and done—if it were me, I'd be too embarrassed to show my face."

"Seriously? You think the Lane family's just going to sit back and watch Emily get eliminated? They've supported her for years—it'd be easy to get her through."

"Oh, don't bring up the Lanes. Have you seen Mr. Lane once acknowledge Emily tonight? She's been cast off for ages. With all the drama she's caused, I wouldn't claim her either. And the Lanes are all proper, respectable people. No way they'd keep someone like Emily around."

Everyone seemed so sure, each more self-righteous than the last.

Isabella Austin listened, her lashes dipping to hide the small, satisfied smirk in her eyes.

This was what Emily Blair got for challenging her.

She couldn't even make it through a simple preliminary round.

Isabella looked down at her own first-place certificate, her smile growing wider.

She and Emily Blair were worlds apart.

Hopefully, after today, Emily would finally realize she was no match.

And maybe Andrew Lane would finally see that, too.

But for now, Isabella knew she had to keep up appearances.

She pressed her lips together, feigning concern and sympathy. "Let's not say that

just yet. There's still one spot left-Emily still has a chance."

Someone replied with a sigh, "Ms. Austin, if you were talking about anyone else, maybe. But Emily Blair..."

"Honestly, Ms. Austin, you don't owe her anything. We all know what she's done to you. No need to put yourself out for her."

Isabella lowered her gaze, giving a soft, almost aggrieved smile. “I'm not upset. I just don't want Emily to be unhappy."

"You're too kind, Ms. Austin. Too good for your own good."

Isabella said nothing more, only glanced over at Emily and silently mouthed the words:

"Good luck."

Emily didn't even look her way, her focus entirely on Arianna George up on stage.

Isabella's smile froze, and she turned away, crestfallen.

"I just don't get it," someone muttered. "Who does Emily Blair think she is?"

"Exactly. Ms. Austin's being so gracious, and she still acts like that?"

At that moment, Arianna George's voice rang out across the auditorium. "Sixty-fourth place—the final contestant advancing to the semi-finals.....”