Chapter 103: A Match Made in Heaven
Eric walked toward the backstage area, where Emma, still wearing her gorgeous gown, was already waiting for him by the entrance. The moment she saw him, a look of pure relief washed over her face, and she stepped forward.
"You made it! Come with me," Emma said, grabbing Eric’s hand.
Emma pulled Eric inside, past the security guards who let them through without a hitch since Emma was a contestant. Once inside, she led him over to a beautiful woman around twenty-five years old and a white-haired man in his forties who looked exactly like a professional musician. Both of them looked up as Emma approached.
"Ms. Ruth, Mr. Philip, this is Eric. He’s the violinist I was telling you about," Emma said, introducing him to the pair.
Ruth and Philip immediately eyed Eric from head to toe. He was just wearing jeans, a t-shirt under a black jacket, and sneakers. They fell silent for a few seconds, but then Philip stepped forward. The tense expression on his face completely melted into a wide smile, and he extended his hand.
"Eric Reed? The songwriter?" Philip asked.
"Oh... you know who I am, sir?" Eric asked, totally caught off guard as he shook Philip’s hand.
"Of course I know who you are! You went totally viral on the internet, and I am absolutely amazed that you can write music like that... if I’m not mistaken, your last track was Betrayal Enigma, right? That song really made me want to meet you and talk shop," Philip replied with a smile.
"But... can you actually play the violin?" Ruth asked.
"Um... yeah, I can get by... I’m not really that g—"
"He’s amazing, Ms. Ruth, don’t worry about it! He’s played with me at my house before," Emma interrupted before Eric could finish his sentence, which was clearly his attempt to play down his skills. She pinched his arm tightly, making him wince.
"Hmm... alright, I’ll take your word for it, Emma. Go ahead and get ready, Eric," Ruth said with a smile.
"Um... am I fine wearing just this?" Eric asked.
"That’s not an issue. This isn’t a national competition or a formal showcase," Ruth answered.
Ruth then headed inside an office, while Philip and Eric hit it off, chatting about music while Emma stood by, listening in. Not long after, Ruth stepped back out carrying a violin inside its case.
She handed it over to Eric, who walked over to a table and unlatched it. The violin looked beautiful, with a slightly vintage finish. Eric lifted it out and began tuning the strings to dial it into his personal style.
Watching Eric work on his violin, Ruth nodded in approval as she saw how smoothly and effortlessly he tuned the instrument. Meanwhile, Philip observed Eric closely, scratching his chin with his arms crossed.
Then, a few other pianists who had already performed came out from backstage and noticed Eric. A blonde girl in a black gown, who looked to be around Emma’s age and carried a somewhat arrogant vibe, approached Emma.
"Oh... so the grand champion needs her boyfriend to bail her out?" the girl sneered.
Emma turned to look at her, the peaceful expression on her face instantly hardening into hostility. She shot a sarcastic smirk back at the blonde.
"There’s nothing wrong with asking your boyfriend for help when he’s amazing and clearly way better than you, Tania," Emma fired back.
"What did you just say? This is only day one of the preliminary rounds. Don’t forget, Emma, I’ve always been your rival," Tania snapped.
"Yeah, yeah... good old number two. Sucks to be you," Emma mocked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Alright, all set," Eric said.
He turned around, holding his violin. The moment Tania saw Eric’s face, she completely froze in her tracks. It was crystal clear she recognized him. Capitalizing on the moment, Emma intentionally stepped closer to Eric, looping her arm through his, and stared down Tania with a smug, tilted chin.
Seeing Emma acting so incredibly smug, Tania completely lost her cool and immediately pointed a finger right at her.
"You haven’t won yet, Emma," Tania said, visibly annoyed.
"Yep... which is exactly why I asked him to accompany whoever ends up winning," Emma countered.
The two girls locked eyes, staring each other down so intensely it felt like they wanted to murder each other. You could almost see sparks flying in mid-air right where their gazes clashed. Feeling the thick tension radiating right in front of him, Eric leaned toward Emma.
"Um... what exactly is going on here?" Eric whispered.
"Shh, just stay out of it," Emma whispered back.
Suddenly, Ruth clapped her hands, and all the contestants snapped their heads around to look at her as she stood right in front of them.
"Get ready, the winners are about to be announced," Ruth said.
"Yes, ma’am," the girls replied in unison.
Sure enough, the announcements kicked off. For this first round, two winners were to be determined. The first name called out along with her score was Tania Mercer, and the second name called, with a significantly higher score, was Emma Cruz. Both of them stepped out from backstage and stood before the judges, bowing gracefully to a round of applause.
Since Emma had the higher score, she would be the one giving the final performance alongside the violin accompaniment, even though both girls were moving on to the semifinals. Tania shot a glaring look at Emma, who just smiled cheerfully and waved her hand as if shooing Tania off the stage. Emma then took her seat at the piano bench.
Suddenly, the entire audience erupted into applause as they saw Eric walk onto the stage carrying his violin. He faced the whispering crowd and gave a polite bow. "Go get ’em, you guys are amazing!" Eric and Emma both looked over to see Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura jumping up and down excitedly in front of their seats, cheering them on.
"Give me a break," Eric and Emma thought at the exact same time in their respective heads.
Eric then turned around and walked over to Emma, leaning down slightly to whisper to her.
"What are we playing?" Eric asked quietly.
"Um... Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 by Camille Saint-Saëns. Can you do it?" Emma whispered back.
The second Emma named the piece, a holographic screen popped open right in front of Eric’s face, displaying the sheet music. Eric smiled and nodded. Seeing this, Emma smiled too.
"The Introduction part is slow, and the Rondo Capriccioso part is fast, okay?" Emma whispered.
"Yep... got it," Eric replied, glancing at his screen.
Eric stood up straight and immediately took his position right next to the piano, and the entire room fell dead silent once more. Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura sat back down, looking so incredibly tense that their hands were balled into fists, their eyes locked onto the stage without blinking.
Emma immediately began playing the slow, melancholic intro with expert precision. Eric listened closely while tracking the screen. After a few bars, Eric swept in with his violin, seamlessly taking over the main melody while Emma adjusted her accompaniment perfectly.
Witnessing Eric’s violin playing, the room was instantly struck with shock and awe, including Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura, whose jaws dropped as they sat completely frozen, unable to move a muscle.
After breezing through the slow and melancholic introduction, they shifted gears instantly into a fast, lively, and commanding tempo. Yet the transition was so fluid and seamless that it never felt overwhelming, making the pair look like a piano and violin duo made in heaven.
Eric turned to look at Emma with a smile, and she smiled right back at him. They poured their hearts into the music, losing themselves deeper and deeper in the melody until sweat beaded on their foreheads and trickled down their faces. Their sound resonated powerfully, sweeping over the audience, the judges, the staff, and everyone watching.
After just over nine minutes, they brought their performance to a close. Both of them were visibly catching their breath, but wide, satisfied smiles plastered their faces. The entire room fell completely silent for a split second, with not a single person clapping, standing up, or reacting. Eric leaned over to a panting Emma.
"Did we... bomb?" Eric whispered.
"Um... I don’t know, just wait," Emma whispered back.
Suddenly, the holographic screen floating in front of Eric’s face flashed, and he immediately read the text appearing on it.
[Objective completed.]
[Reward: Luxury jewelry box x1 stored in system inventory.]
Before Eric could even process the reward he had just read, a sudden "Yeeeeah... that was amazing!" blasted through the hall. Eric snapped his head around to see Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura jumping up, clapping, and screaming. To make matters worse, they were literally standing on top of their chairs.
Up on the stage, Eric and Emma’s faces instantly flushed red, and they totally pretended not to know them, right before the entire auditorium erupted into a thunderous standing ovation, with the crowd roaring in applause.
