Chapter 89 Embarrassment (4)
The moment Osborne spoke, looking totally bewildered, everyone was floored.
What the heck was going on?
Wasn't Osborne the one who had watched Rachel's performance videos before, calling her a genius and saying he couldn't wait for her performance tonight?
And didn't Saul get tickets for the entire class because he was tight with Osborne, who had personally arranged it with the organizers?
But now Osborne was standing right in front of them, asking who they were?
Osborne's expression clearly showed he had no clue who Saul or Rachel were.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock, even Rachel herself was confused and immediately looked at Saul: "Uncle Saul, what's happening?"
With everyone's eyes now on him, Saul took a deep breath.
He thought Osborne might not recognize him, so he quickly stepped forward to introduce himself: "Mr. Stevens, I'm Saul."
To his surprise, Osborne still looked puzzled and replied, "Saul? Mr. Jenkins, do I know you?"
Saul clenched his fists tightly.
For the first time in his life, he felt this embarrassed in public.
He had told Rachel he had some connection with Osborne, but in reality, their interaction was limited to a few emails.
Saul had always assumed Osborne knew who he was, given his reputation as a distinguished professor at Aurora College in Celestria.
But he didn't expect that Osborne had no idea who he was. Even after he introduced himself, Osborne still couldn't recall.
After a few seconds, Osborne seemed to finally remember, and said, "Oh, I remember now. You're the one who emailed me recommending your relative."
Osborne's recognition made Saul feel slightly less awkward, and he excitedly said, "Yes, Mr. Stevens, Rachel is here to compete today. She has an impressive list of awards."
"Good luck then," Osborne said casually, giving Rachel a quick glance and a half-hearted encouragement while seemingly looking for someone else.
Just a simple "good luck"?
Wasn't Osborne supposed to have watched all of Rachel's videos and praised her as a genius, eagerly anticipating her performance?
Now, he didn't even recognize her, and his encouragement was so perfunctory. It was clear he didn't care about her at all!
Everyone's expressions were complicated, and Rachel felt so embarrassed she wished she could disappear.
How could this happen?
Hadn't Saul said he sent Osborne her performance videos and that Osborne was looking forward to her show?
Could it be that Osborne never even watched the videos, and his words of anticipation were just polite remarks?
This was incredibly humiliating!
Rachel had been boasting for days about Osborne's admiration, afraid that others wouldn't know about it.
But now, in front of the entire class, Osborne made it clear that it was all in her imagination, and he didn't even know who she was.
Rachel felt like she might have a heart attack and could barely stand.
Just then, Osborne's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Amelia! There you are!"
Osborne called out excitedly.
Hearing the name "Amelia," everyone perked up. Looking again, they saw Osborne was calling out to Amelia, who was standing not far away.
Everyone's eyes widened even more than when they saw Osborne not recognizing Saul and Rachel.
Amelia had been searching for Michael in the crowd. Hearing the familiar voice, she turned around, slightly surprised: "Osborne?"
Osborne knew Amelia?
Amelia addressed Osborne by his first name?
Could it be that Osborne had been looking for Amelia all along?
This reality hit everyone unexpectedly.
They watched in shock as Osborne quickly walked over and hugged Amelia, his face full of enthusiasm, a stark contrast to his earlier demeanor.
"Amelia, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Osborne said, "I arranged for your classmates to sit in the front row so you can enjoy the performances when you're not on stage."
"When you told me you composed a new piece, I was so excited. I even brought a recorder, see?"
Osborne pulled out a small, elegant black recorder from his suit pocket.
Someone with sharp eyes noticed that the recorder was one of the most top-tier in the world, costing over thirty thousand dollars.
But no one cared about the recorder now.
The focus was on Osborne saying he arranged front-row seats for Amelia's classmates. What did that mean?
Did it mean the front-row tickets they got were not because of Saul, but because of Amelia?
In other words, they were all there thanks to Amelia?
But Amelia had never mentioned it to the class!
Everyone again turned to look at Rachel.
Rachel's shoulders trembled immediately.
The piano competition tickets—they weren't from Saul asking the organizers?
Rachel, as the class president, was responsible for class affairs.
When she asked Saul in the morning to help get tickets for the class, the competition organizers contacted her in the afternoon, saying Osborne had prepared fifty tickets for them.
Rachel naturally assumed it was Saul who had arranged it with the organizers, and she thought Osborne did it for her sake.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
Osborne didn't even know who she and Saul were, so how could he have arranged tickets for them?
It was because of Amelia?
How did Osborne know Amelia?
Seeing the complex expressions around her, Rachel felt like her head was about to explode, feeling both embarrassed and anxious. If it weren't for the upcoming competition, she might have wanted to run away.
Luckily, a shout from the crowd saved her from this awkward situation.
"Ryan is here! Ryan is actually here to watch the piano competition! Everyone, look!"