Nancy smiled politely at him and then, linking arms with Andrew, walked inside.

Vivian, who had arrived earlier, watched everything with a cold gaze. Far from sympathizing with Andrew, she thought Nancy was only bringing humiliation upon herself.

Sneering, Vivian waited for the impending spectacle.

If Nancy lost, Andrew would have to call himself a pig and admit his inferiority in front of so many people. It wouldn’t just be Andrew losing face, but the entire Lesser family’s reputation would be at stake – a disgrace brought abroad.

Vivian wondered how the elders would deal with Nancy then.

“Bern.”

After Rivata and her teacher sat down, the man sitting beside Rivata's teacher frowned, “Bern, you’re a renowned pianist. Why stoop to quarrel with a child? And his teacher isn’t even well-known. Why bother making trouble for yourself?”

Bern, Rivata's teacher, glanced over at Nancy and snorted coldly, “If it weren’t for Rivata’s mistake, I wouldn’t have demeaned myself like this!”

After saying this, he turned his head back, his eyes flashing with malevolent determination, “Rivata is my most prized pupil. How can I stand by and watch her be bullied?”

“It’s true, but what if you lose given your status?”

“How could I possibly lose!”

Bern raised his eyebrows, his demeanor fierce, “I've taught Rivata everything I know. Surely she’s not worse than a nobody.”

“Well…”

The man said nothing more, just shook his head with a look of regret.

He truly felt it was a pity. Regardless of whether Rivata won or lost, there was no real stake in this contest. Moreover, for Bern to overpower an obscure young pianist seemed beneath his stature.

Despite his age, Bern still had such a temperament. It seemed unlikely he would make further progress in his piano mastery.

Nancy, completely indifferent to the schadenfreude around her, continued chatting and laughing with Linda, her arm still linked with Andrew's even after sitting down.

“Linda, it’s all up to you later. You must crush Rivata!”

“Ah, Nan, I know. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”

Linda said indignantly, pouting her cherry lips, “That Rivata is really too much, and her teacher even worse. What have we done to them? They came over and started mocking us with such sharp and mean words. Really questionable character.”

Nancy waved her hand dismissively, “It’s okay, there are many such people, just jealous, unable to bear seeing others get more than them…”

“Hey, Nan! Look!”

Nancy immediately followed Linda's pointing hand and saw Charlie, led by Smith, emerge from the side.

Smith directly took Charlie to the VIP area and shook hands with the other two men there.

Nancy’s gaze shifted from Charlie’s face to those two men, her eyes widening in surprise, “That’s…”

Linda’s eyes were even more shockingly wide, “That’s Zach Whitman and Parmelo!”

It seemed Zach heard Nancy’s voice, or he was already looking for her in the crowd. When his gaze met Nancy's, a look of surprise and joy appeared on his face, and he actually raised his hand to greet Nancy…