Female Novel
Chapter 790
Chapter 790
Isabelle's vote count was unexpectedly high, firmly ranking below Harold's vote count.
Harold had the most votes, leaving the other candidates far behind.
Isabelle's votes were always just a few thousand less than his.novelbin
Harold increased his votes by a lot and she followed suit.
The fact that a female candidate could rank second in Middle Evroya was shocking to everyone.
Especially since it was a male-dominated society, this seemed like a sign of change?
Harold wasn't an overly conservative man, especially after meeting Sylvia, he no longer dared to
underestimate any woman. He deeply admired and respected Sylvia from the bottom of his heart but
he didn't dare express it.
Just as the presidential election in Middle Evroya was raging on, Vienna's piano competition
preliminaries began.
"If Jenna makes it to the finals smoothly, then I'll have to face her head-on," Ashlyn said impatiently
following Mrs. Ritter. "Mom, can you think of any solutions?"
"Sylvia is cunning and well-connected; she even registered Jenna for this competition. What can we do
now? Louis is the president of Global Piano Association and Sylvia has higher status in music circles
than me so what else can I do?" Mrs. Ritter was also frustrated. "Although Mr. Guzman has
connections too but if we ask him for help, then he probably won't agree..."
Ashlyn suddenly had an idea after hearing some gossip these past few days here: "Mom! I heard that
Mr. Guzman doesn't get along with Louis because he wants to take over as president of Global Piano
Association but Louis passed it on to Sylvia instead."
"Really?" Mrs. Ritter brightened up immediately. "One of the judges for preliminaries is Mr. Guzman; let
someone tell him about Jenna and Sylvia's relationship."
What will happen when Mr. Guzman takes action remains to be seen.
The judges for preliminaries were ordinary ones while those for finals were industry bigwigs including
Mr. Guzman himself who arrived at the venue ten minutes before start time along with several other
judges taking their seats at judge table together.
Due to being finals, there were clearly more spectators than during previous two days' preliminaries,
filling almost all seats in audience area, while Sylvia and Franklin sat down at their own positions too.
Brayden kept his eyes fixed on the stage, as if he was the one competing instead of Jenna. Jasper was
the most composed, because Evie wasn't here. He watched Franklin and Sylvia together, Brayden and
Jenna being affectionate with each other, and his heart ached with envy.
Was being single really that bad? Did he have to be forced to see their PDA.
Look at Master Brayden - he pursued Jenna and they were about to get married soon. It was like a
rocket speed.
Jasper encouraged himself internally - after watching the competition, it would be time for him to woo
Evie.
At this moment, another contestant was eliminated on stage. She couldn't hold back her tears as she
ran offstage. The audience sighed in sympathy.
Backstage, many contestants were waiting anxiously. Gracie and Lena stayed by Jenna's side all
along.
Lena told Jenna and Gracie about how her father always compared her unfavorably with Sylvia: "You're
both the same age! Why haven't you achieved anything yet? Look at how you cooked this steak! It
looks like expired poop."
"It's such an insult," Lena said dramatically while making exaggerated expressions that made Jenna
laugh out loud.
"Don't worry," Jenna reassured her friend, "Sylvia is just a normal person too."
"I follow her Twitter account," Gracie chimed in happily while smiling widely. "She's very low-key but
talented too! I even started learning embroidery just because I heard she did so well at Lady Queena
Bell's birthday party..."
Listening to their lively discussion made Ashlyn feel extremely uncomfortable with an angry expression
on her face.
What makes Jenna so special that two socialites are fawning over her? Who does Sylvia think she is
anyway?
However, she didn't have the courage to confront the two socialites.
Gracie's family business was much more impressive than Ritter Group's.
While Ritter Group may be well-known domestically, it wasn't as recognized internationally.
Evelyn whispered in Ashlyn's ear, "The news has already spread."
Ashlyn nodded in agreement, "Good."
As soon as Mr. Guzman finds out about Jenna's identity... there will be a show to watch.
It was soon Ashlyn's turn to take the stage and she left directly from backstage. The sound of a
melodious piano filled the air and her playing skills were decent with natural talent but still not quite on
par with Jenna.
However, among all of the contestants, she could still be considered one of the best.
After finishing her piece, she finally received her ticket into the finals and breathed a sigh of relief upon
seeing those two words: "Finals."
As long as she doesn't run into Jenna during finals, then there is no doubt that Ashlyn can win first
place.
So... Mr. Guzman must eliminate her!
Jenna once again drew last place for this round and when it was time for her performance, there wasn't
anyone else backstage except for a few staff members.
She walked onto stage gracefully, bowing towards each judge before sitting down at the piano.
She wore a white dress that hugged every curve on her body perfectly along with white high heels,
while having styled princess braids which made her look elegant and sophisticated.
Music flowed effortlessly from her fingertips carrying an astounding sense of gracefulness that seemed
like music itself had become one with Jenna without any separation between them at all.
The pieces played during this round were even more difficult than those played during preliminaries but
even so they couldn't stump Jenna since these scores had been memorized long ago by now.
Despite this fact though, almost every judge gave high marks except for Mr. Guzman who narrowed his
eyes slightly before giving low marks instead , which caused an amused smile to form on Mrs. Ritter's
face.
"Looks like she'll definitely get eliminated," said Ashlyn smirkingly
Mrs. Ritter furrowed her brows slightly before saying, "Not necessarily since these scores are based on
average points given by other judges. If they give higher points, then maybe just maybe..."
"How could that happen?" exclaimed Ashyln quickly, "Mr. Guzman only gave 4 points!"
Out of a possible ten points, Jenna only received four... This score was extremely low, as no other
contestant had received such a low score from the preliminary rounds to the qualifying rounds. The
lowest scores were all at least five points.
Ashlyn didn't think Jenna would make it to the finals.
When Jenna saw that one judge gave her a score of four, she was instantly confused.
Four points?
She looked at the middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes, Mr. Guzman...
Was this the first time she had seen him? Did he really dislike her piano playing? Or did she make
some mistake?
How could there be such a low score?
Not only was she shocked, but Sylvia, Franklin and others were also surprised.
"Why only four points?" Brayden's eyes turned red with anxiety. "What if she gets eliminated?"
"Don't worry," Sylvia said calmly. "The judge who gave her a low score has some conflict with my
master. He probably couldn't bully my master so he wanted to make his presence known through
Jenna."
Anyone who understood music could tell that Jenna had great talent and skill on the piano; it was
impossible for her to receive such a low score of just four points.
Since it happened anyway, there must be something fishy going on here...
The audience members were also shocked!
They stared incredulously at the scoreboard displaying just four points for Jenna's performance.
Those sitting in this audience either knew music or played music themselves; anyone could tell that
Jenna played exceptionally well!
"Does Mr. Guzman have hearing problems?"
"Or is he just getting old?"
"Maybe his brain is malfunctioning!"
As everyone discussed among themselves, the host's voice rang out. "Mr. Guzman gave our
contestant an incredibly low mark of 4! Could you please explain why you scored her so harshly?"
Mr. Guzman cleared his throat twice before speaking up, "She played well enough and completed
every note perfectly... However, emotionally speaking, I felt like something wasn't quite right about how
she performed - like floating above rather than being grounded in this piece - which is why I gave her
such a poor rating."
What nonsense!
He spoke so grandiosely yet everything he said amounted to nothing but nonsense!
Brayden was so angry that he wanted nothing more than to storm onto stage and beat up Mr. Guzman
himself - clearly this middle-aged man did it intentionally!
Jenna stood on the stage, feeling disappointed despite her polite words of gratitude to Mr. Guzman's
guidance.
The host was also helpless. Although she thought Jenna played flawlessly, she wasn't a judge.
"The final score for Jenna's performance and whether or not she advances! I'm sure everyone is dying
to know!"
She exclaimed loudly, "With the lowest score of 4 points and the highest score of 9. 9 points removed,
her average score is!"