?<strong>Chapter 374:</strong>


    Waving her fist as a warning, Elyse said goodbye to Jayden before heading into the Blue Sea Music Studio. The studio required abination lock, but she had received the code from Cody yesterday, so she opened the door effortlessly.


    Inside the studio was spacious and empty, echoing softly with each step she took. She nced around awkwardly, realizing she was alone. Was she too early? Pulling out her phone, she checked the time. Just past nine. She found a chair and sat down, waiting for others to arrive.


    She waited until well past ten and became drowsy. The sound of the doorbell startled her awake. She blinked groggily and saw a well-built man in a light blue shirt approaching her slowly. “Are you the new apprentice of Mr. Tucker?” His voice was gentle. A small mole near his eye, framed by long eyshes, held Elyse’s attention.


    Elyse found the handsome man utterly captivating, losing herself in his gaze. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Gavin Cramer, another apprentice of Mr. Tucker,” Gavin smiled warmly, offering her his hand.


    After a brief pause, Elyse snapped to attention, jumped up from her chair, and shook his hand respectfully. “Hello, I’m Elyse Lloyd. Nice to meet you.”


    “Nice to meet you too,” Gavin replied. Noticing the violin she had brought, he asked with curiosity, “How did Mr. Tucker find you?”


    Elyse scratched her head sheepishly. “A friend of mine showed him a video of me ying the violin. He thought I had potential.”


    Gavin nodded thoughtfully. “I was discovered by him at an internationalpetition.”


    Curious, Elyse asked Gavin whichpetition it was. Rubbing his chin, Gavin reminisced, “The Rainbow Cup. I was 17,peting in the youth category.”


    Elyse asked cautiously, “Did you win first ce?” Gavin was taken aback. “How did you know? Have you seen it?”


    Elyse wore aplex expression. “I actually watched thatpetition, but I never expected that I would get to know the first-ce winner today.”


    “Fate is incredible, isn’t it?” Gavin remarked with a smile. Elyse nodded, agreeing with him. Gavin headed to the kitchen to make coffee. As he brewed, he said, “If you used to watch a lot ofpetition videos, then you’ll be most impressed with Irving, another apprentice of Mr. Tucker.”


    Elyse looked intrigued. “Why?”


    “Because he is a star. He’s won countlesspetitions,rge and small. Nobody rivals him in his field,” Gavin exined.


    Elyse was stunned. This Irving sounded a lot like Vickypetitive to the core. “Who’s been badmouthing me while I was gone?” Elyse turned to see a man in a brown leather jacket with sunsses perched on his head walking toward them with a swagger.


    Pointing at the man, Gavin said, “This is Irving Dunn. If you want topete, he’s your go-to. He’s got tons of experience.”


    Elyse nodded respectfully, then turned to Irving. “Hello, I’m Elyse Lloyd. Nice to meet you.” She eyed Irving cautiously. It wasn’t her fault for feeling timid. With his fierce demeanor and mafia boss attitude, Irving didn’t seem like someone to mess with.


    He looked her up and down before saying, “Average.” Elyse blinked, confused. Seeing Elyse’s confused expression, Gavin shot a look at Irving and said, “Don’t give her a hard time. She might just be a little confused.”


    Irvingughed and mockingly blew air at Elyse. “He called you clueless. Can a simpleton like you really y the violin well?” Elyse defiantly insisted, “Of course I can.” She opened her violin case and started ying.


    Gavin listened intently to her performance. The tone was clear and crisp. She yed with both technical skill and heartfelt emotion, the two weaving together beautifully. Gavin nced over at Irving, who despite his usual sarcasm, remained silent and listened closely to the melody.


    As Gavin watched Elyse y, he appeared deep in thought. He began to understand why Cody had chosen her as his final apprentice.


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