Cecilia Nathan looked up, her gaze falling on the violin. "Mediocre," she said, her voice betraying no emotion.
'Mediocre?'
Serena Hughes was so incensed by the comment she almost had to laugh.
"Cecilia Nathan, 'mediocre'...? What exactly about this piece do you find mediocre?"
"The entire thing is mediocre." Cecilia Nathan's lips quirked into a slight smile. "Neither the rhythm nor the flow is particularly remarkable. Nothing about it stands out."
"Oh, so you're saying my performance was poor. What about the piece itself? Is it well-composed?"
Seeing Cecilia Nathan criticizing her performance, Serena Hughes changed tack with her questioning.
Cecilia Nathan fell silent for a few seconds at the question.
"Mediocre."
This time, Serena Hughes completely lost her composure. "Cecilia Nathan, are you deliberately targeting me? My technical skills are the best in our class! It's one thing to mock my performance, but anyone can tell this composition is innovative and high-quality. How can you act like it's complete trash?"
Having technical skill didn't mean one was a good composer. People who were both skilled performers and talented composers were exceedingly rare in this field.
'I thought Cecilia Nathan would at least give me some praise, but I never imagined her evaluation would be this harsh.'
No matter how much self-control Serena Hughes had, Cecilia's words had finally broken her defenses.
"The prelude to this piece is indeed mediocre." Cecilia Nathan smiled faintly, her features so stunningly beautiful it was almost dazzling. "But the middle section is passable."
"The middle section is passable?" Serena Hughes was stunned. "You..."
'I just played the prelude. That's the only part I know how to play.'
'What does Cecilia mean by that? Don't tell me she knows how to play the rest?'
Before she could ask, Cecilia Nathan had already picked up the nearby violin.
She shouldered the instrument and raised the bow, all in one fluid motion.
Her fair chin rested against the brown violin, her perfect profile making her look like an ethereal fairy, untouched by the mortal world.
The prelude began, fluid and effortless...
Serena Hughes was so shocked, her heart began to POUND.
When Cecilia Nathan reached the part that Serena herself didn't know, Serena shot out her hand and grabbed Cecilia's. "Stop!"
"Stop playing!"
Serena Hughes's face was deathly pale. "You... How do you know how to..."
Claire Hale's and Tia Bennett's jaws dropped as well.
'Isn't... isn't this Serena's original composition? How does Cecilia Nathan know it, and play it so flawlessly...?'
Serena Hughes's heart nearly stopped. "The part that comes after..."
"I just improvised." Cecilia Nathan's lips curled slightly, her eyes as bright as stars. "Just giving you a little demonstration."
'A demonstration...'
'It was too good of a demonstration...'
Serena Hughes squeezed her eyes shut, trying to suppress the shock welling up inside her.
Now, she had no doubt about Cecilia Nathan's skill as a musician or a composer.
She had a feeling that the rest of the composition was supposed to sound exactly the way Cecilia Nathan had just played it.
The part Cecilia Nathan played was a seamless continuation of the prelude, as if she were the one who had composed it all along.
Fear and shock swirled in Serena Hughes's mind.
"That piece... did you just compose it on the spot?" Serena Hughes fought to keep her voice from trembling. "Do you... do you know the rest?"
Cecilia Nathan lowered her gaze and gave a slight smile. "I did compose it just now."
"You composed it just now?" Claire Hale's jaw dropped in astonishment. "You were able to continue Serena's original piece in just that little time? Cecilia Nathan, you're just too..."
'...incredible.'
Claire Hale didn't dare praise her in front of Serena Hughes, but in their minds, they were all starting to see Cecilia Nathan in a new light.
Hearing her own roommate praise Cecilia, Serena Hughes felt a bitter pang.
Just then, her memories of the piece began to surface. 'There's no way Cecilia Nathan could have composed that on the spot.'
But since she had already told her roommates that the composition was her own, she couldn't expose Cecilia now. All she could do was play along with the praise. "Cecilia Nathan, you're truly amazing."
"Could you... could you send me the rest of the music you composed? I'd even be willing to buy it from you." Serena Hughes was both nervous and hopeful.
'If I can learn the rest of the piece, I'll have more value in Damian Hawthorne's eyes.'
'As for how Cecilia Nathan knows the piece, she probably heard it from Damian Hawthorne as well.'
At this thought, Serena Hughes's worries subsided.
"Cecilia Nathan, to be honest with you, I had amnesia a while back and forgot the rest of this piece. The part you just played gave me a flash of inspiration. I was hoping you could sell the rest of it to me... would that be okay?"
Seeing Cecilia Nathan's calm expression, Serena Hughes grew anxious but didn't dare to press her further.
'I'm afraid she'll see through me.'
'Besides, it's not just me and Cecilia here. My two roommates are watching.'
'I don't want to be humiliated in front of them.'
"Sorry... but no."
"Why?" Serena Hughes's eyes widened. "Isn't it enough that I'm offering to pay? Cecilia Nathan, I really need this music... Can't you please help me... Just sell the rest of it to me."
"Why do you want this piece so badly?" Cecilia Nathan countered.
Serena Hughes lowered her head, her eyes darting away. "I want to recover my memories."
Cecilia Nathan just smiled. "If you won't tell me the truth, I won't give you the music."
Serena Hughes's breath caught in her throat.
'The truth? How could I possibly tell her the truth?'
'I know Cecilia Nathan likes Damian Hawthorne. If she knew I wanted the music to impress him, she'd be even less likely to give it to me.'
"That is the truth." Serena Hughes lowered her head meekly. "I know you don't like me, but I genuinely love this piece. If you're not willing to help, Cecilia Nathan, then just forget it."
"Who's not willing to do what?"
A deep male voice cut in.
Serena Hughes snapped her head toward the door. Damian Hawthorne had arrived at some point without anyone noticing.
"Mr. Hawthorne..." The color drained from Serena Hughes's face. Unsure how much he had heard, she stammered, "Just now, Cecilia Nathan composed a short piece of music that I really love. I wanted to buy the copyright from her... but she isn't willing."
Damian Hawthorne glanced at Cecilia Nathan, a smile playing on his lips. "What copyright could be so precious? Cecilia, Serena is a musician. You haven't touched music in a long time, so something like this is useless to you. You might as well sell it to Serena."
"Sell it? I'm afraid she can't afford it," Cecilia Nathan sneered.
"How much do you want?" Damian Hawthorne's playful expression turned a little more serious.
Cecilia Nathan was well aware of Serena Hughes's family background.
'For Cecilia to say that, she must be trying to ask for an outrageous price.'
"Forget it, Mr. Hawthorne... If the copyright is too expensive, I really can't afford it." In front of everyone, Serena Hughes didn't want to escalate the situation.
'More importantly, I can't let Damian Hawthorne find out the true origin of this piece.'
However, Damian Hawthorne wouldn't let it go, seemingly dead set on buying the copyright for her.
"Name your price. How much do you want?"
Watching Damian Hawthorne's completely nonchalant expression, Cecilia Nathan felt as if needles were piercing her heart.
'This piece was, in fact, expensive. Astronomically expensive.'
'Too bad Damian Hawthorne didn't know that. And Serena Hughes would never know, either.'
"I'm sorry, but this piece is not for sale. Because to me, it's priceless."
'A priceless treasure is, by definition, also astronomically expensive.'