"Duke, should we invite Miss Gu over so you can speak with her alone?"

The man was dressed in a sharp suit, with a few strands of white hair at his temples, but his upright posture was like a strong pine tree, exuding an aura of power and charisma that was impossible to look directly at.

His face was handsome, and the smooth lines of his features exuded a cool and dignified air that only comes with the passage of time. Even though he was over fifty, one could still sense the handsomeness and elegance he had in his youth.

Country Y is located in the Northern Hemisphere, and enters winter earlier than Beijing. He held a thermos in his hand, and wore a humble smile on his face.

"She's already here in Country Y, do you think it's still a long time before we meet?"

Looking at the joy in the Duke's eyes, the subordinate could tell that he really liked this girl named Gu Momo, but he still couldn't understand what this young girl was capable of that made the Duke go to such lengths to invite her to the competition.

Even if she wins the championship, it will only mean she can perform one more song at the annual meeting, which will not help their current situation at all.

Knowing he shouldn't ask, he couldn't resist his curiosity and inquired:

"Duke, what is so special about this woman?"

“Heh…” Li Tianyi raised his delicate, jade-like eyebrows slightly, and his thin lips curved into an intriguing smile.

My daughter-in-law is naturally the most special person in the world!

The piano competition officially began, and Maria was the first to take the stage. She stunned the audience with her own composition, "Annabelle." Amidst the enthusiastic applause and cheers of the audience, she stepped off the stage and defiantly met Gu Momo's eyes.

Because the person who will be on stage after her is Gu Momo.

There's an unwritten rule in competitions: if a very strong player performs before you, you'll become very passive and easily suffer losses.

Because everyone has already formed a bias and liked the first performance, unless your performance is superior to the first one in terms of both style and technique, you will be overshadowed.

Maria seized on this point and concluded that Gu Momo could not beat her.

After all, everyone is familiar with the song "Annabelle," and it once created quite a music trend in Country Y.

Gu Momo looked at her confident smile, simply lowered her eyes and smiled, then lifted her skirt and walked back onto the stage.

The piece she was about to play was none other than the one composed by Li Zhanting's father.

She had only heard this piece twice: once in Li Zhanting's room on CD, and the other time at a concert when Lin Wei played it.

With such a limited number of attempts, it would be extremely difficult to play this piece completely.

However, in order to let Li Zhanting's father know that they were trying their best to find him, Gu Momo still decided to take the risk and try.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Gu Momo lifted her skirt and slowly walked onto the stage.

She sat in front of the piano bench, her hands on the keys, but hesitated to begin playing.

Even the audience members below the stage were getting impatient and started whispering among themselves.

"Is Gu Momo any good? Did she forget the song as soon as she got on stage?"

"And this is the champion of the Beijing Piano Competition? Is this all the level she's at?"

"She's not qualified to compare with Maria. You have to know that Maria is backed by the royal William family. It seems that the championship tonight belongs to Maria."

The audience's voices kept pouring in, mixing with the musical notes in Gu Momo's mind. She forced herself to close her eyes and concentrate on recalling the tune she heard when she woke up at Li Zhanting's house that day.

As if by some kind of magic, with a light tap of her fingers, a melodious and beautiful tune was born.

Among those present were members of royalty and nobility, who stared in astonishment upon hearing her play the piece.

Maria, a member of the William family and residing in the waiting area, had heard this piece long ago. However, she never expected that Gu Momo would play a piece that had no representation of her country on Y country's territory.

Ironically, this piece of music resonates with the majority of people in country Y.

When the song ended, the room fell silent.

Three seconds later, deafening applause resounded throughout the palace. Maria clenched her fists tightly. Seeing the audience's excited expressions, she knew she was doomed to lose this time.

Soon, the judges announced the scores, and Gu Momo advanced to the final round with the highest score, along with Maria.

Piano competitions in Country Y never emphasize efficiency. After this competition, the Queen will announce the final time for the next round. The invited contestants and guests will all attend a gala after the preliminary rounds and enjoy a gourmet feast prepared by the Royal Family of Country Y.

Gu Momo stepped off the stage, intending to take advantage of the party to sneak into the rooms of each of the dukes and search for traces of Li Zhanting's father.

But as soon as she stepped off the stage, Maria and several of her noble friends blocked her way.

Maria angrily questioned, "Gu Momo, where exactly did you steal this piece of music from? Do you know that only royalty has ever heard this piece? How dare you, an outsider, steal a royal piece of music!"

Even Maria first heard this piece of music through a videotape.

At a masquerade ball, a man wearing a mask played this piano piece, causing a sensation among the royals, but no one knew the performer's identity.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!