Chapter 281 Do You Dare to Compete with Me on the Violin?
James's piano playing started to slow down bit by bit.
As he approached the end, his music suddenly turned clear and bright, showing that there was more than sadness in his heart—there was hope and light, too.
Finally, he pressed the last piano key gently.
Everyone there was completely stunned!
They all stared at James, eyes wide with disbelief.
James took a deep breath, pulling himself out of his memories and back to the present.
"Mom, Dad, I miss you," James sighed softly. Then he slowly stood up and looked at Lyle.
It was obvious who won this competition.
Lyle and James were on different levels. To be blunt, Lyle was no match for James.
"I lost!" Lyle admitted. Even though he wasn't the nicest guy, he knew when he was beaten. Denying it would just make him look worse and embarrass his teacher.
James sneered, then said coolly, "You can't even beat a loser. So, you're worse than useless trash."
Lyle didn't expect James to call himself trash just to humiliate him now.
"Weren't you two so smug before? Why aren't you talking now? You claimed to be the student of a piano master, yet you even can't beat James. I think that so-called master is just nothing." Nancy shouted. She had been humiliated by Lyle and Vivienne earlier, so she definitely wanted to get back at them.
Lyle glanced at Nancy. Acknowledging his defeat and feeling too humiliated to remain, he turned, wanting to leave.
Just then, James suddenly reached out to stop Lyle. "Wait a minute!"
Lyle was stunned when he saw James stop him, then turned to James and asked, "What do you want?"
"Do you remember what you promised me before?" James asked calmly.
"I don't remember," Lyle's face paled. He definitely remembered promising James that if he lost, he would kneel and apologize to Lily and Laura. But with so many people watching, he was naturally unwilling to do it, so he pretended not to know.
"Do you have any shame? You clearly said you'd apologize if you lost. How can you forget now?" Nancy shouted.
"Did...did I say I'd apologize?" Lyle stammered.
"Everyone on the second floor heard it. Are you going to deny it? There are cameras here. If you don't admit it, we can check the footage!" Nancy pointed to the camera on the ceiling and shouted.
Lyle looked at the camera in despair, hesitated, and then walked to Laura and Lily, gritting his teeth, and said, "I'm sorry!"
"Go practice your piano properly. Don't embarrass your teacher again!" Laura shot back with disdain.
Lyle's face twisted in anger. Losing to James and apologizing to Laura was already humiliating enough, but he didn't expect Laura to mock him in the end!
Lyle had never been humiliated like this before, so all he wanted to do now was to get out of here.
"Vivienne, let's go!" Lyle turned and shouted to Vivienne.
"Useless loser, leave me alone. I'm not going with you!" Vivienne immediately turned on him, her voice cold.
Vivienne's attitude towards Lyle had done a complete 180. Seeing this, James couldn't help but smile, marveling at how quickly she changed her tune.
Lyle said nothing more and left in disgrace.
Vivienne looked at Lily, snorted, picked up her bag, and was about to leave.
"Vivienne, you haven't apologized to Laura yet. Where are you going?" Nancy quickly stopped Vivienne when she saw her trying to leave.
"Apologize?" Vivienne sneered, then said indifferently, "Why should I apologize to you?"
"We agreed that if Lyle lost, you both would apologize. Are you trying to back out?" Nancy pouted, her expression agitated.
"The bet was between Lyle and James. Lyle lost, not me. I've already broken up with Lyle, so his matters have nothing to do with me. Why should I apologize?" Vivienne shamelessly replied, then glanced at James disdainfully,
She continued, "He's just a poor delivery guy who can play the piano. What's the big deal? Nowadays, everybody can play the piano. If you really want me to apologize, then compete with me in violin!"
Lily smiled helplessly at Vivienne's words and sighed softly, "Vivienne, you really have no shame, don't you? Everyone in Willowbrook knows you placed in the top three in the national violin competition. You lost in piano, and now you want to compete in violin. Violin and piano are different. How can you compare them?"
Laura said to Nancy, "Nancy, don't bother with her. Whether she apologizes or not doesn't matter."
"How shameless! There's no point in talking to her!" Nancy pouted, then turned to walk back to Laura.
"Stop right there! Are you calling me shameless?"
No matter what, Vivienne was a well-known rich girl in Willowbrook, and many people at the ArtScape Center knew her.
Now Nancy made her feel humiliated.
"Of course. You clearly agreed to apologize, and now you're backing out. Isn't that shameless?" Nancy shouted with her big, watery eyes.
"You just want me to apologize, right? Fine, compete with me on the violin. If I lose, I'll kneel and apologize. How's that?" Vivienne smiled playfully, her tone full of disdain.