Mu Wan immediately looked at the man she had argued with earlier. He met her gaze with an expression of distaste but remained calm, seemingly unaware of what had happened to her violin. Her heart began to race. There were twelve participants in the final, and she was number six—three people away from her turn. A flicker of helplessness crossed her mind. Was her first competition after being reborn really going to end like this? Even if she found out who was responsible later, the competition would already be over. No, it couldn’t end like this.

Mu Wan took out her phone and immediately called Kuang Ye.

Kuang Ye, a bit confused when he answered, asked, “Wan wan, what’s wrong? Are you nervous…?”

Mu Wan quickly replied, “Ah Ye, can you go home and grab my spare violin? It’s in the backup case in the practice room. Someone broke my violin.”

Kuang Ye responded, “How many more before you?”

Mu Wan answered, “Three.”

Kuang Ye reassured her, “Don’t panic, there’s still time.”

Hearing his words, Mu Wan’s anxiety eased. She took a deep breath. “Okay, there’s still time.”

—

The moment Kuang Ye received the call, he rushed out of the concert hall. As he walked toward the garage, he called the ST team members on their internal voice chat.

ST Shen Le: “Hello? Captain?”

Kuang Ye got straight to the point, “Who has time now? Go to this address and bring the violin case downstairs. Wan wan is in the finals today, and her Violin was broken.”

He sent the location of his apartment, the building number, and the door code to the group chat. As usual, the team members, who could be childish at times, didn’t joke around this time. They immediately used a location app to check the distance from themselves to the apartment.

In the end, Jiang Yu, who was closest, volunteered to go get it. So, by the time Kuang Ye arrived at the apartment, Jiang Yu was already waiting on the roadside with the violin case, saving him the time it would have taken to go up and down the elevator and through the garage.

After Kuang Ye checked the case and confirmed everything was in order, he drove back to the concert hall. “Thanks, I’ll treat you all to dinner when I get back.”

Jiang Yu, with a grin, replied, “Don’t be ridiculous!”

—

At the First Concert Hall, after Chu Xiao Yin finished her performance, she learned that Mu Wan’s violin bow had been broken, and she was both anxious and angry. “How could someone be so awful? We have to report this to the competition organizers. If you want, you can use my violin.”

She generously offered her violin, but for a musician, an unfamiliar instrument is like a chef being handed a strange knife—it would drastically affect their performance. Mu Wan didn’t refuse, though. Kuang Ye might not make it in time, and she had to prepare for both outcomes. She was determined to perform today.

Time ticked by, and there were only three minutes left before Mu Wan’s performance. As Chu Xiao Yin nervously waited backstage, believing that Mu Wan’s boyfriend wouldn’t make it in time, Kuang Ye, panting and holding the violin case, came running from a distance.

She immediately brightened up. “Wan wan, your violin is here!”

Mu Wan lifted her gaze just in time to see Kuang Ye, drenched in sweat, standing at the door, his face flushed from the exertion, his shirt collar soaked through. “Wan Wwan, the violin!”

Kuang Ye was speaking with heavy breaths.

Mu Wan’s eyes grew a little warm. The First Concert Hall was at least a 30-minute drive from the apartment, not including the time spent going up and down the building. But it hadn’t been even ten minutes since she made the call. She walked over, took the violin case, and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the lips. “Thank you.” Then, holding the case, she went into the backstage area for a final quick tuning.

Kuang Ye remained where he stood, drenched in sweat, but there was a smile in his eyes that he didn’t try to hide.

—

“Contestant number 12, Mu Wan, performing Paganini’s 24 Caprices, Op. 24.”

As the announcer finished speaking, the stage darkened, and then the spotlight focused. Mu Wan, dressed in a stunning gown, appeared on stage. After a simple bow, she placed the violin on her shoulder. As her arm moved, drawing the bow across the strings, the passionate sound of the violin filled the silent concert hall. Paganini was famous for his mastery of technical skills, and his 24 Caprices were known for their difficulty, each one involving many advanced techniques. This is why the Paganini competition required each contestant to select six pieces to perform.

The judges nodded as they watched Mu Wan on stage, clearly impressed. She was indeed a three-time Stern Violin Competition winner. But there was one person who stood out. His face was dark as he watched Mu Wan perform, and the hatred in his eyes contorted his entire face.

—

Wang Lan watched her beautiful, confident daughter on stage, her eyes filled with tears of excitement. It had been a year since she had last seen Mu Wan perform on stage. After the incident, Mu Wan had locked herself in her room, refusing to eat or drink for an entire day, and had not touched her violin again.

Mu Jianhua’s eyes also glistened with moisture. This was their precious daughter, the little princess they had raised with so much care.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed Kuang Ye, drenched in sweat as if he had just run an 800-meter race. Confused, he wondered if the air conditioning in the concert hall was set too high. He asked Kuang Ye if he was feeling unwell.

Kuang Ye, still watching Mu Wan perform on stage, was uncertain whether the couple would want him to intervene, so as not to spoil their good mood. He shook his head. “I’m fine. I just went to get something.”

Mu Jianhua didn’t think much of it and returned his attention to his daughter on stage. “Ah, my precious daughter, her violin playing is really excellent.”