“What the hell? Who just said that?" Clare snapped, flushing with anger.

“Who dared to talk about me like that?" she pressed again.

Her eyes darted over the crowd, furtively trying to locate the offender.

However, no one bothered to answer her. Either they awkwardly avoided her gaze, or stared at her mockingly, as if they were watching a comedy show.

The representative of the Musicians' Association couldn't stand it anymore. He frowned and said, "Clare, that's enough. Maria came all the way here to watch the rehearsal! We shouldn't waste her time."

Although he didn't say it outright, he was reminding Clare of her position.

Clare was the champion of the youth group in the national competition regarding the Ancient Zither. So what?

It only indicated she was just one of many promising young musicians who might eventually become a master in the future.

But the future was unpredictable. Anything could happen along the way.

However, Maria was a different story.

Although Maria was young, she had already proved her ability and been recognized as a professional composer who was qualified to hold a special concert of her works.

At that moment, there was a crisp tapping sound.

Everyone turned to the source of the sound and found Atwood gently tapping the frame of the music stand with one of the batons.

After making sure that he had gotten everyone's attention, Atwood smiled and said, "It's a great honor to have Maria here at our rehearsal. Folks, please practice carefully to impress her, alright?

And Maria, do feel free to give us any feedback or advice."

Seeing how polite even Atwood was to Maria, Clare curled her lips in dissatisfaction.

Maria nodded lightly.

“I'm flattered, Mr. Clarkson. There are just some thoughts and feelings that I would like to share with you about these melodies."

To Maria, respect was a mutual thing, a two-way street.

Atwood and the members of the troupe were polite to Maria, and in return, Maria also stayed humble and was willing to sincerely cooperate with them.

While everyone else was thrilled to have Maria here, Clare, who hadn't intended to rehearse today, inexplicably felt the pressure on her.

She couldn't believe she would have to play the melody in front of

Maria. She wondered whether Maria would deliberately make things difficult for her because of her previous comment.

The hours fleeted by in the blink of an eye.