Chapter 545: I Am Seven Leaves

Fiona’s every word was drenched in tears, her delicate eyes shining with unshed drops that looked ready to fall at any moment.

"Teacher Fletcher, Cecilia, one of you is my own blood, the other is the music master I respect most. I used to be proud of both of you, but now, you’ve let me down so much!"

Fiona’s voice and posture were the very picture of pitiful fragility, and in her lovely features there was now a fragile beauty, like a rose battered by storm—though its leaves are withered and only a few petals remain, it stands out more than ever.

As she spoke, Fiona broke down completely, sobbing her heart out.

"I’m really hurt that you’ve both become so mercenary and shameless! I’m sorry, I know I don’t have the right to question you like this, but how can I bear to see everyone fooled by a fraud? Teacher Fletcher, I even want to ask: sitting today as Stellerton University’s Veridia judge, do you really feel no guilt?"

...

Fiona’s voice grew stronger and stronger; her real aim had always been to kill two birds with one stone—striking down Cecilia was the first priority, but taking down Desmond Fletcher was necessary, too.

Because if she wanted to snatch the Youth Ambassador position between Veridia and Glamora, then no matter how Mr. Adams’s voting power outweighed Fletcher’s, Fletcher still wielded decision-making influence. As long as she toppled him, and then Cecilia, her path to the top would be much simpler.

Fiona didn’t believe that, after Cecilia’s black horse appearance, there would be any performance better than hers.

And once Cecilia had a moral stain on her record, no matter how well or vividly she played the ancient zither, she’d never shake Fiona’s position.

...

Plotting her little scheme, Fiona couldn’t help but feel smug, almost letting a smile slip onto her face. Thankfully, she knew how to keep calm, and quickly put on a solemn look again, keeping every trace of a smile hidden—leaving only tears and sighs.

Cecilia looked at this little performance, feeling both disgusted and amused.

"Fiona, are you finished?"

"..."

Fiona stared dizzily at Cecilia, unable to believe that after being denounced so harshly, Cecilia could still stand there, arms folded, looking down at her so casually.

She furrowed her elegant brows.

"Sis, are you still going to argue? Good thing the ’There are branches on the mountain’ show crew released their theme song preview in time, otherwise we’d never know who the real composer was."

"Pfft...."

Cecilia felt the whole thing was even more absurd.

The people nearby were totally baffled at how Cecilia could still laugh, when after Fiona’s speech they’d all gone to check the "There are branches on the mountain" crew’s official Weibo.

Sure enough, just as Fiona said, the crew had released the theme song "Life" an hour ago.

...

Director Chapman had originally been agonizing over how to launch his theme song. After all, "Life" was just too bleak and grand, and might lose some fans’ appreciation.

But he never expected, after all this drama, that the click count would skyrocket.

Director Chapman was stunned; after learning the whole story, he pulled a weird smile, at a complete loss for words.

—For no reason at all, he suddenly wanted to go to Stellerton University’s auditorium to see the action in person....

If Fiona knew that not only was Cecilia the composer of "Life"—even the author of the "There are branches on the mountain" comic, Seven Leaves, was Cecilia—well, Fiona’s face would be absolutely priceless, wouldn’t it?

Director Chapman hadn’t always borne such ill will toward Fiona, but who told Fiona to leak so many PR pieces smearing the female lead, Claire Sinclair, and even accuse Chapman of seducing rookie actresses—Fiona even got kicked from the lead role because of it.

For someone as hot-tempered as Chapman, that was utter bullshit!

Who would ever cast a weeping white lotus as the heroine? Even if hell froze over—just how blind would I have to be?!

...

But at this moment in Stellerton’s grand auditorium, not everyone was as in-the-know as Chapman.

One busybody, a Fiona fan, had always resented Cecilia for overshadowing their goddess, and now couldn’t resist whipping out a speaker, plugging in a mic, and blasting the "There are branches on the mountain" crew’s "Life" live in the hall.

"Listen, everyone! They’re exactly the same! This is the song Cecilia just played on stage!"

Fiona was brimming with smugness, but on her face she immediately put on a look of pain, and pointed dramatically at Cecilia.

"Sis, what have you got to say now? Everyone’s just heard the truth."

Cecilia didn’t even bother with her, and strode right over to the guy playing the song preview.

She smiled sweetly at the boy. Her makeup-free eyes had seemed distant onstage but up close now, coupled with the downward angle, the flawless features hit even harder.

Cecilia’s eyes were her best feature—though similar in shape to Rosalind White’s almond eyes, Cecilia’s were strikingly black-and-white, but not with babyish innocence, nor Rosalind’s delicate allure. Instead, they glimmered with cold sharpness.

"Exactly the same? Are your ears broken or what?"

"..."

The boy was a shameless fangirl at heart, and his heart skipped a beat under Cecilia’s gaze. But when she snapped at him, his face flushed with indignation.

"Everyone, listen—where are they different?!"

Just as Cecilia was about to reply, Teacher Fletcher finally raised his mic after sitting in silence all this time.

"The key is different, the emotions in the third passage are different, and even in the ending there’s a sharper chill hidden in the smoothness."

The crowd admired Teacher Fletcher’s attention to detail, but were also more disheartened, thinking he and Cecilia were clearly working together.

"Teacher Fletcher, you’re the one pointing out the different musical feelings—your hearing really is something. You must be the most familiar with the original."

Teacher Fletcher looked at Cecilia in appreciation and just smiled, saying nothing.

After a long moment, he finally spoke slowly.

"No, I’m just the lyricist for this piece. If Miss Fiona looked carefully at the sample, she’d see there’s no composer named."

"Because, the composer is the ’There are branches on the mountain’ comic’s author, and this Weibo post was published even earlier, before I’d even connected with Director Chapman."

...

The crowd traded bewildered looks.

"But even so, Cecilia still isn’t the original creator."

Unless...

The possibility made everyone’s hearts pound—in particular Fiona, who recalled her past disputes with the crew, and could barely stand steady.

Veins bulged on Fiona’s forehead as she glared at Cecilia, nearly bursting with rage.

"Seven Leaves’s pen name—was you!?"