Chapter 155 Royce

Chapter 155 Royce

The hospital room was filled with silent despair and the sharp smell of blood.

Rufus looked expressionlessly at the chaotic scene before him and coldly ordered the person behind him, "Record everything and send it straight to the police station."

With that, he turned and left directly, leaving behind only the terrified and desperate pleas for mercy.

"Sir! I already got rid of Hestia just like you asked! You can't abandon me... you absolutely can't..."

Rufus paused slightly, a cold, cruel smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

He casually raised his hand in a signal, and the annoying begging behind him was instantly cut off completely.

Just as calm and composed as when he arrived, he walked slowly out of the hospital entrance and hailed a cab to a lounge bar.

As soon as he entered the private room, Robbie immediately grabbed his arm.

"Kio, where did you run off to? I sent you the location ages ago, how did you still get lost? If you hadn't shown up soon, we were about to go out looking for you!"

Kio, also known as Rufus, froze slightly, instinctively wanting to push away Robbie's hand on his shoulder.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't move, just pulled a gentle smile and shrugged helplessly.

"The driver deliberately took a longer route and charged me an extra fifty dollars."

"How much?!"

Someone in the room exclaimed on the spot, eyes wide, "Detouring to fleece passengers! What a rotten driver!"

Rufus nodded lightly, his tone particularly serious, "Yeah, really terrible."

Everyone cast sympathetic looks his way, but it was just a small matter of fifty dollars. After a few quick complaints, they moved on completely.

Olivia was especially generous, directly offering to reimburse him for the cab fare.

Only Simon narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Kio, a faint smile on his lips, but his eyes held deep thought and doubt.

Soon, the music competition was held as scheduled.

After that successful concert, Olivia's popularity had more than tripled.

After the official announcement of her participation, the audience attendance for this event directly doubled.

Backstage at the competition, Azalea lifted the curtain and looked at the packed audience below, unable to help sighing out loud.

"There are so many people! Olivia, are you nervous?"

Olivia laughed softly at her words, lowering her head to carefully wipe the violin in her hands.

This time she wasn't using her usual practice violin, but had brought out the violin her mother had left her as a keepsake.

The same one that Hestia had repeatedly urged Ethan to try to borrow.

This violin was a custom piece from her mother's collection, and whether in terms of pitch or tone quality, it was several levels above Olivia's daily-use violin.

Olivia's deliberate choice to use this violin for the competition wasn't because she lacked confidence in her abilities.

Quite the opposite—she was determined to win the championship this time.

"Azalea." Olivia spoke softly, her tone exceptionally calm and steady, completely different from the noisy, chaotic atmosphere outside, somehow reassuring.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time. In this competition, I won't lose, and I absolutely can't lose."

Her voice was gentle yet incredibly firm. Azalea was instantly infected by this presence, the restlessness in her heart completely dissipating as she calmed down entirely.

She nodded firmly, her eyes bright as she gazed at Olivia.

Just then, the dressing room door was suddenly pushed open, and a tall figure strode right in.

Olivia looked up questioningly and asked softly, "Can I help you?"

The visitor's gaze swept quickly through the dressing room, finally locking firmly on Olivia.

He held his chin high, his eyes full of contempt and arrogance.

"Are you Olivia?"

Olivia nodded in response, quietly becoming alert.

He thrust his violin right in front of her, his tone forceful and domineering.

"My name is Royce Castillo. I'm a student Amanda took on two years ago. Listen carefully—I really don't like you, and I'm demanding that you voluntarily withdraw from this competition!"

Royce's voice was loud and powerful, instantly drawing everyone's attention backstage.

The smile on Olivia's face disappeared instantly, and the atmosphere around her suddenly turned cold.

"Royce, you have no right to make decisions for anyone, and even less right to interfere with Amanda's choice of students. Also, whether you like me or not has nothing to do with me. I don't need recognition from someone as arrogant and self-important as you."

After speaking, she glanced at Royce coolly, her presence neither humble nor arrogant.

Royce had become famous at a young age, entering Amanda's tutelage early. Handsome and exceptionally talented, he'd been showered with praise his whole life—no one had ever dared speak to him this way.

His handsome face instantly darkened as he stared at Olivia, his eyes full of hostility.

"I gave you a chance, and you didn't treasure it. In that case, don't blame me for not being nice to you."

He dropped this cryptic threat, turned and left—arriving abruptly, leaving hastily.

Olivia watched his retreating figure, carefully reviewing their past interactions, completely unable to figure out how she'd offended him.

She frowned slightly, her mood inevitably a bit down.

Just then, a girl with gentle, delicate features hurried over to her.

The girl looked at Olivia with concern and asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

Olivia shook her head gently, forcing a slight smile, "I'm fine, thank you."

The girl pressed her lips together, quickly glanced toward the door, and after confirming no one was paying attention, lowered her voice to warn her.

"You need to be really careful with Royce. He's petty, holds grudges, and is obsessive. You offended him today, so he'll definitely try to cause you trouble later!"

The girl's eyes were full of pure concern, speaking extremely quickly, afraid of being overheard.

Olivia frowned and asked tentatively, "Can I ask why he dislikes me so much? As far as I remember, I've never had any conflict with him."

The girl looked at her with disbelief and blurted out, "You don't know? It's because Amanda thinks very highly of you! Ever since your concert ended, Amanda mentions you almost every day. All of us know that you're the student Amanda most wants to take on. Plus, the girl Royce likes also signed up for this competition."

Those few sentences made everything suddenly clear to Olivia.

So Royce was targeting her everywhere because he was afraid she'd take away his crush's chance to become Amanda's student.

A wave of disgust rose in her heart. She raised her voice slightly, her tone frank and firm.

"Don't worry, I absolutely won't back down in this competition. I've always believed that everything you want, you have to fight for yourself. If Royce really wants the girl he likes to be accepted by Amanda, what he should do is help her improve her skills, not force me to step aside."

"Victory is earned through your own efforts, not given to you by others!"