?<strong>Chapter 734:</strong>


    Elyse pouted and said, “But you look like you don’t want to go. I don’t want to force you. It’s fine, I’ll go by myself.”


    Gavin’s expression darkened at her words. Sensing the tension, Irving quickly intervened, covering Elyse’s mouth with a sigh. “Alright, alright, I’ll go with you. Just stop with these lies about me.”


    Elyse wriggled free and retorted, “Then take back what you said about me losing. I don’t like hearing that.”


    Irving lowered his head and mumbled, “Fine, I take it back. You’ll win. You’lle first in everypetition from now on.”


    With that, Elyse nodded in satisfaction, letting Irving off the hook.


    Gavin, arms crossed, addressed Irving firmly. “Take good care of Elyse. You might think the theme is simple because you’vepeted in many events and seen all kinds of themes, but this is her first majorpetition.”


    Irving grumbled under his breath, “She’s not that capable and always drags me down.”


    “What was that?” Gavin shot Irving a sharp look, but Irving simply shrugged, pretending not to hear.


    Gavin turned to Elyse, who was trying her best to keep herposure, and said, “It’s clear Elyse is nervous. She’s inexperienced withrgepetitions and unfamiliar with the themes. As her senior, you should be more considerate.”


    Irving, scratching his head in impatience, replied, “I get it. I’ll look after her. You should go now and stop wasting time on us.”


    With that, Gavin hurried off to his meeting, leaving Irving and Elyse behind.


    As soon as Gavin was out of sight, Irving muttered under his breath, “Gavin’s bing more like a nagging olddy.”


    Elyse, who had been quietly listening, said pointedly, “Irving, I can hear you.”


    Irving responded by pressing down on Elyse’s head and ruffling her hair. “So what if you heard? Are you going to tattle on me?”


    The rough handling made Elyse wince. “No, I wouldn’t dare. Please let go, it hurts.”


    Irving grunted in response. “So weak.”


    He released her, and as Elyse rubbed her head, Irving’s eyes fell on a familiar figure moving past them. He turned to see Fiona walking by with a violin case, her face expressionless.


    Fiona noticed them but ignored them, and quickly left the hotel.


    Irving, who hadn’t attended the event the previous night, was unaware that Fiona was also participating in thepetition and had a room in the same hotel.


    Irving frowned. “What’s Fiona doing here? Is she trying to plead with Mr. Tucker to rejoin the studio?”


    Elyse filled Irving in on the backstage gossip at thepetition the previous day.


    He was surprised by Fiona’s participation and asked, “Who helped her get a spot in thepetition?”


    Elyse shook her head. “I’m not sure. Gavin said he’d look into it, but he hasn’t given me any updates yet.”


    Irving thought for a moment before saying, “Let’s put Fiona aside for now. You mentioned someone deliberately cut a contestant’s violin strings yesterday. That’s a serious issue. You need to be extra cautious and protect yourself in the uingpetitions.”


    Elyse looked puzzled. “What’s the big deal? Isn’t it just a matter of jealousy?”


    “Even if jealousy was the motive behind the attack, the perpetrator should have targeted just one person,” Irving said firmly. “Destroying the violins of an entire group of contestants is clearly a deliberate attempt to sabotage thepetition.”


    Elyse took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as she processed Irving’s words. His logic made sense. If someone were envious of another’s talent, they would likely target that person alone.


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