"Master."

Nancy reached out and gently embraced Andrew. "No matter what others say, you are the best teacher in the world to me! Their ignorance of you is their loss. I will make sure both your talent and reputation are recognized."

"Right!"

Patrick, who had always admired Andrew, nodded in agreement. "Andrew, I know your capabilities. Even after leaving the piano world for over twenty years, you're still the most talented pianist in my eyes!"

Andrew's wounded heart found some solace in these words. He slowly looked up at Nancy's earnest face and smiled genuinely. "Alright, Nan, I believe in you. Whatever I can't achieve, you certainly can!"

"Yep."

Nancy let go of him, her spirit ignited. She walked over to Linda and patted her shoulder. "Linda, let's show them who the most talented pianist in the world is, and who the best teacher is!"

Even though Nancy's words might have been about herself, Linda felt deeply inspired.

If her own teacher were scorned like this, she would do the same as Nancy.

"Yes, let's do it, Nan! Let's show them all in the first public competition!"

...

In the mentors' lounge, David was leisurely listening to music with headphones on, holding a thermos cup.

Suddenly, someone pulled off his headphones from behind.

"Hey, who is it!"

David turned around in annoyance and saw Hamya standing behind him, holding his headphones and grinning mischievously. David scowled, "What are you doing? Give me back my headphones!"

"Nope!"

Hamya took the headphones and sat down on a nearby chair, smirking at David's enraged expression. "David, I hate to say it, but you're here to be a mentor, not to slack off. What have you been doing these past few days?"

"I'm here to enjoy myself, of course!"

As David reached for his headphones, Hamya dodged and put them around his own neck.

"Enjoy my foot! David, seriously, you took Nancy under your wing, so teach her properly! If you don't want to, then give her back to me!"

"Hehe..."

Mentioning this made David puff up with pride. He shook his head smugly, "No way! Nancy was hard for me to get, why would I give her to you!?"

"Hey, you!"

Hamya wasn't offended. Even though they had fought before, he never held a grudge.

Both he and David were wise in their own ways. Despite their quarrels and fights, they didn't dwell on past disagreements.

Their temperaments were similar – quick to argue – leading others to think they had a bad relationship. But those who knew them well understood they actually got along quite well.

"Never mind, I won't argue about that anymore. But as a mentor, you should fulfill your duties. I saw you wandering around this morning and then loafing in the lounge after lunch. I just want to ask, what exactly do you plan to do?"