Chapter 288: Chapter 288
She now has the confidence that the music she plays will surely astound everyone and will certainly give Professor Lancaster a deeper appreciation of her talent.
Having both a gift for research and such talent for the violin, she must be the most satisfactory disciple Professor Lancaster has ever received.
After finishing playing "Zigeunerweisen", Skylar Hughes stood up and took a bow, modestly and reservedly saying, "Hello everyone, I am Skylar Hughes. I believe I don’t need to introduce myself, as you all already know who I am. I’ve always enjoyed the violin, and upon learning that Professor Lancaster shares this interest, I took the liberty to play this piece at his birthday banquet. I hope Professor Lancaster likes it."
Skylar Hughes finished speaking and looked expectantly at Professor Lancaster, "Professor Lancaster’s accomplishments with the violin are well known. I wonder if I might have the fortune of receiving guidance from Professor Lancaster?"
Everyone now looked at Professor Lancaster, eager to see his attitude towards Skylar Hughes.
Professor Lancaster, however, did not speak for a long time.
Recently, he was certainly aware of the things Skylar Hughes had been doing, creating quite a sensation, making the whole world aware that Skylar Hughes was his student.
He thought that an online stir by Skylar Hughes would suffice, but he didn’t expect her to be bold enough to appear at his birthday banquet.
In Professor Lancaster’s view, Skylar Hughes’s piece wasn’t played very well; even if it was really played excellently, he couldn’t bring himself to like Skylar Hughes.
After all, no one enjoys the feeling of being cornered.
——Now Skylar Hughes has crafted such an impressive persona for herself, putting Professor Lancaster in a position where not taking her on would seem dubious, thus forcing him into a corner.
Under ordinary circumstances, someone like Skylar Hughes could be directly shown the door by Professor Lancaster.
But today was his birthday banquet; everyone was so joyful, doing so would dampen the mood somewhat, so it’s unnecessary to fuss with a girl.
Skylar Hughes was still awaiting Professor Lancaster’s evaluation. She considered her performance excellent, certain to catch Professor Lancaster’s eye, so naturally, he would commend her lavishly.
Unexpectedly, after waiting a long while, Professor Lancaster remained silent.
Gradually, the atmosphere started to become rather awkward.
Skylar Hughes was still on stage, the lighting technician not up to par, and presently, she was the only person standing in the spotlight, attracting everyone’s attention.
If she had received Professor Lancaster’s praise at this moment, it would’ve been fine, but the issue lay in his silence, making her alone under the light seem somewhat awkward.
Skylar Hughes thought Professor Lancaster was too enraptured to react, thus she spoke again to remind Professor Lancaster, "Professor, I apologize for my presumptuousness. I hope you liked this piece I presented to you. If my playing was lacking and requires improvement, I ask you not to hold back your guidance so I can progress."
Finally, at this point, Professor Lancaster spoke, but not to Skylar Hughes; rather, he addressed the staff. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥
He asked them to turn on the lights, and the hall instantly brightened.
Professor Lancaster then, as if ignoring Skylar Hughes, spoke to Paige Sterling, "Professor Sterling, what gift did you prepare for this old fellow today?"
Paige Sterling’s gifts were always exceptionally anticipated.
Paige Sterling smiled and handed her gift to Professor Lancaster.
Professor Lancaster, eager, immediately unwrapped it in front of the crowd.
Everyone was filled with expectancy concerning Paige Sterling’s gift, yet they were surprised to find that the gift was merely a pair of seemingly very ordinary running shoes.
The attendees were all a bit taken aback, not expecting Paige Sterling to present such an ordinary gift to Professor Lancaster, yet he seemed elated, smiling gleefully.
"Looks like my birthday this time has coincided with good fortune."
Saying this, he immediately sat down to put on the shoes Paige had given him.
With one look, he noticed these shoes had hidden features, certain to be something worthwhile.
Skylar Hughes never anticipated, after painstakingly practicing her piece hoping to delight Professor Lancaster, that she would be directly overlooked, and instead Paige Sterling, gifting a pair of athletic shoes one could buy for a few hundred at any store, could bring such joy to Professor Lancaster.
Her self-claimed public acclaim now seemed like a meticulously prepared joke, and she was the clown standing center stage, receiving a fleeting moment of attention.
To say Paige Sterling didn’t instigate anything in front of Professor Lancaster, Skylar Hughes wouldn’t believe even if it killed her.
She even suspected Paige Sterling came deliberately to cause disruption today.
Skylar Hughes felt some resentment towards Professor Lancaster as well.
She had originally thought him to be someone of substance and vision who would appreciate her talent in research and music, and thus feel a kinship with her, but only to find him to be so shallow, easily swayed by Paige Sterling, he became repulsed, entirely ignoring her existence.
Her sentiments ultimately couldn’t compete with Paige Sterling’s scheming.
Suddenly, Skylar Hughes felt the world was not merely unfair but utterly devoid of justice.
People like Paige Sterling are always favored by fate, getting whatever they want.
She had tried so hard, living resiliently, yet was constantly suppressed by people like Paige Sterling.
Seeing Paige Sterling and Professor Lancaster happily chatting away, Skylar Hughes grew more and more unwilling.
She walked over with a smile, "Paige, these shoes you bought are quite suitable for the elderly. Professor Lancaster seems to really like them. What brand are they?"
She said this to let everyone know that Paige’s shoes could be bought anywhere, inherently not worth much, whereas her music was art, was heartfelt, wasn’t something money could buy, and inherently more precious and valuable than shoes bought by Paige.
However, Skylar Hughes’s self-righteous actions once again angered Professor Lancaster.
After putting on these shoes, he realized their specialty was in their automatic massage function.
Elderly people often have this and that kind of ailment, especially scientists like Professor Lancaster, constantly standing up and rushing around, with a heap of issues on their bodies, mostly chronic ailments accumulated over time, which can’t be cured easily.
It’s said illnesses begin in the soles of the feet, Paige had designed an automatic adjustment massage function according to one’s health status in the shoes, greatly relieving the pain caused by Professor Lancaster’s chronic ailments. He had already felt the benefits of these shoes, so how could he tolerate an outsider calling Paige’s gesture into question here?
Professor Lancaster said with a smile, "To design such an intelligent massage system on a small pair of shoes, Professor Sterling, you’ve certainly outdone yourself."
Upon hearing Professor Lancaster’s words and seeing his radiant face, everyone was left with only envy.
Everyone knew that Paige Sterling’s creations were certainly high-quality products; since Professor Lancaster said these were intelligent massage shoes, they had to be personally crafted by Paige, surely something money could hardly buy.
The crowd gathered around Professor Lancaster, asking him about his experience wearing the shoes.
Professor Lancaster enjoyed this feeling of admiration and being the center of attention.
Even Old Mr. Keating at this point was left with only envy towards Professor Lancaster.
He pondered whether he should also organize a birthday banquet, at least to have Paige Sterling gift him one or two items?
By now, the focal point of the banquet was long since Paige Sterling, with nobody even remembering Skylar Hughes.
The men dared not approach due to Paige Sterling’s imposing presence.