With that, Elena turned and left. Zayden watched her retreating figure, his expression darkening.
In the evening, it was time for practice.
Elena went to the music classroom.
There was only one piano in the room, and Sarah was seated in front of it, her fingers dancing nimbly over the keys like skillful butterflies. The music teacher was giving her meticulous guidance.
A crowd of students had gathered around to watch.
Borrowing the piano seemed out of the question.
Elena let out a self-mocking smile.
The Delaney family actually owned an expensive piano; there was no need for Sarah to occupy the school’s piano. Sarah’s actions were clearly meant to prevent me from practicing.
At that moment, Sarah inside the classroom noticed the gaze from outside and glanced at Elena, her eyes carrying a barely perceptible challenge.
Not far away, Henry and Colton had come to observe the rehearsal on the seventh floor but happened to witness this scene.
Henry’s expression darkened as he watched Elena leave.
“Colton, do you think one needs an actual piano to play?” Henry asked.
“What nonsense?” Colton replied coldly. “Are you thinking of bringing your piano to school?”
“……Is it possible?”
“……”
The next afternoon, Henry covered Elena’s eyes and led her to the table. “Don’t move! Don’t open your eyes! It’ll be done in a second!”
As he spoke, Henry released his hand from over Elena’s eyes.
There on the table was a roll-up electronic keyboard.
This electronic keyboard was as thin as a sheet of paper and could produce sound when laid out and played on a table.
Elena was taken aback when she saw it.
“What do you think? I know the school only has one piano, and the music teacher has already given it to Sarah for use. But don’t worry, I have a trick up my sleeve!”
Henry explained, “This was mine when I was a kid. I’ve never even opened it. Don’t worry about noise when you use it; just put on headphones, and it’ll be the same.”
With that, Henry handed Elena a noise-canceling headphone and said, “See, this should meet your practice needs, right?”
Looking at the noise-canceling headphone in her hand and then at the electronic keyboard on the table, Elena smiled and said, “Thank you, Henry…”
“You’re welcome. We’re classmates; it’s normal to help each other out.”
Henry ruffled Elena’s hair, his gaze softening as he said, “Go ahead and practice. I believe you’ll play better than Sarah.”
“You… believe in me?”
“Of course. It’s not just me; Colton, Lewis, and everyone in Class Six believes in you too.”
Henry placed his hand on Colton’s shoulder.
Colton, with a stern face, said, “I’m not that bored; I just happened to have a noise-canceling headphone at home.”
“Don’t be shy,” Henry teased. “Lewis also helped out. He got this from the music teacher.”
With that, Henry placed the key to the music classroom in Elena’s hand.
“The piano is school property, so technically, it shouldn’t be used after school. But with this, you can practice after school every day, as long as no one finds out,” Henry whispered, making a shushing gesture.
Elena looked down at the key in her hand, a smile spreading across her face.
In my previous life, I didn’t have many friends.
This was the first time I had experienced the feeling of being trusted and supported by friends.
“Thank you all. I’ll do my best,” Elena said.
Henry replied, “I don’t know why this New Year’s Eve party is so important to you, but that’s okay. We all support you.”
Colton added indifferently, “Just don’t make our efforts in vain. At least don’t be worse than the people from Class One.”
“I know. I won’t be worse than them,” Elena smiled.
The New Year’s Eve party was just around the corner.
Every night, Elena would go to the music classroom to practice when no one was around.
In terms of piano, Elena’s talent was limited, but thanks to her long hours of practice in her previous life, she had gradually caught up through hard work.
As a child, she hadn’t always had access to a piano.
She could only sit in front of it and imitate Sarah’s playing when no one was home.
Having often listened to the music teacher’s lectures on music theory for Sarah, she had picked up some knowledge herself. As she grew older, she became more proficient.
Eventually, she became quite skilled. Even her teacher had said that her diligence could surpass those with natural talent.
The campus was filled with the melodious sound of a piano emanating from the music classroom.
The night was already quiet, making the piano’s notes even more pronounced.
The next day, rumors of a haunting spread throughout the school.
“Did you hear? There was movement in the music classroom in the middle of the night!”
“I heard about it! The students in the dormitory said someone was playing the piano in the teaching building last night! It was terrifying!”
“The classroom door was always locked. How could someone be playing the piano?”
…
The students in Class One were quietly discussing the mysterious piano playing in the middle of the night.
When Sarah walked in, Scarlett asked, “Sarah, were you the one playing the piano at school last night?”
Playing the piano at night?
Sarah was taken aback and said, “I went home after practicing the piano after school yesterday. How could I have been playing the piano at school?”
“If it wasn’t you, then who could it be? I heard from the students in the dormitory that someone was playing the piano in the building last night.”
“It’s impossible. I distinctly remember locking the door when I left yesterday. How could someone have been playing the piano in the building?”
I clearly remembered the music teacher reminding me to lock the door when I left.
I had always been careful to check the lock to prevent Elena from sneaking in to practice.
The idea of someone playing the piano at school in the middle of the night was just too strange.
“Could it… really be a ghost?”
Some of the students were already getting scared.
At that moment, Zayden walked into the classroom from outside.
Sarah had intended to greet Zayden, but he walked right past her and sat down at his desk.
Sarah’s hand, which had been raised to greet him, suddenly felt awkward.
Scarlett witnessed this and quickly realized that Sarah must have had an argument with Zayden.
“Sarah, you should tell Zayden about the ghost in the music classroom last night. Let him hear about it too,” Scarlett suggested, intending to embarrass Sarah.
Sarah had no choice but to sit next to Zayden and feign a cheerful tone, saying, “It’s nothing. It’s just someone playing the piano in the music classroom in the middle of the night. It’s not necessarily a ghost.”
When Zayden heard about someone playing the piano in the music classroom in the middle of the night, his eyes flickered involuntarily.
“Why don’t we go on an adventure tonight? Since we have nothing to do after school, let’s see what ghost is playing the piano at school!” one of the students suggested excitedly.
Sarah wasn’t interested in such things.
Zayden, on the other hand, coldly said, “Non-residential students are not allowed to linger on campus. Do you think ghost hunting is fun? You’d be better off spending that time doing some extra studying at home.”
Zayden had never interfered in the class’s trivial matters before.
Hearing his words, the students’ enthusiasm was instantly dampened.
After all, Zayden was the class monitor.
If he reported them to the teacher for staying on campus in the middle of the night, they would be in trouble.
“Zayden…”
Sarah was about to speak to Zayden, but he stood up and walked out of the classroom without giving her a chance.
Zayden’s refusal to let Sarah speak left the surrounding students in an awkward silence.
Scarlett deliberately asked, “Sarah, you two really did have an argument, didn’t you? It’s been several days now, and I don’t see Zayden talking to you at all.”
“Zayden is just in a bad mood. We never argue. He still picks me up from school every day. You’re overthinking it,” Sarah insisted.
The more Sarah said this, the more the others felt there was a problem between them.
Ever since the news of their engagement had spread, Zayden had been keeping his distance from Sarah.
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