Had it not been told by Maria, such a thought would never have crossed her mind!

In the blink of an eye, Clare felt a wave of embarrassment and disgrace wash over her.

Was this Maria's crafty gambit to ridicule her in front of everyone?

“Really?” Clare said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Being in the Limelight yourself, Maria, do you really find pride in flaunting such a thing?"

Even if her pride wouldn't let her acknowledge it out loud, deep down, Clare was acutely aware of the truth.

The melodies gracing the movie “Female Military Counsellor" were nothing short of brilliant. They seamlessly melded technique and artistry.

Clare, a distinguished alumna of the top-ranking music academy and holding a master's in Ancient Zither performance, not to mention her triumph at the national championships, found it almost impossible to fathom that those intricate melodies could merely be watered-down versions of the original.

"This can't be right. I've held onto this music score for some time now. It can't just be a basic rendition! These tunes are already challenging as they stand. Making them even more complex? That's just unthinkable. Maria must be puffing up her feathers!" As Clare continued to mull over this and murmured to herself, her conviction only solidified.

To Clare, the sheer joy of catching Maria in a lie face-to-face would be so much sweeter than simply slinging mud at her on the Internet!

Maria chose to stay silent, not rising to Clare's bait.

Amidst their heated exchange, a notification popped up. Maria had joined the group chat.

“Heavens above! Is this some sort of mystical music score? The complexity is mind-boggling!"

"This is intense. It might as well be written in ancient Greek.

Truly a masterpiece!"

"Goodness me! I never realized the chasm between me and a genuine musician was this vast..."

Hearing their exclaims, a veil of confusion shrouded Clare's face.

Out of the blue, her fellow troupe members appeared so outlandishly perplexed. What had gotten into them?

Clare quickly pieced it together. The group's astonishment wasn't due to any collective delusion but rather Maria's daring move of sharing several music scores in the group chat.

"Could it be possible that Maria possesses alternate renditions of the music score?" she said to herself silently.

A shadow passed over Clare's expression. With bated breath and a hint of trepidation, she sifted through the group's shared files.

Before her eyes, the screen flooded with intricate pages filled to the brim with musical notations.

Clare, with her remarkable musical prowess, was especially adept at interpreting music scores.

Yet, as she scrutinized these files, a wave of dizziness overtook her.