MY UNKNOWN HUSBAND, VOLUME 2 - Season 3 Episode 85

When Vivian played the piano, she was elegant and charming. All the lights and eyes were focused on her.

They were filled with admiration.

May, however, noticed from the corner of her eye that a well-known artist was frowning slightly. She realized then that Vivian must have made a mistake.

She said nothing, and continued to watch.

She knew that something would happen anytime soon.

Beside her, Jessica nodded her head earnestly and sang praises for her friend. “Vivi really is a good girl! She would have made a perfect wife, but unfortunately…”
“You seem to like Miss Ye very much.” May took two glasses of wine from a passing waiter and handed one to Jessica.

The other woman accepted it, and twirled the stem of the glass between her fingers, watching as the red liquid swirled in sync. “Of course. Anyone would adore such a girl.”

“Yes, of course,” May nodded. “I think Nina is just as brilliant. She has gained fame and excellence at such a young age after all.”

“She’s just a painter,” Jessica scoffed. “Vivi, on the other hand, has won various ballet and piano competitions. She comes from the Ye family and is one of the most prominent figures in Lexingport City. She’s so much better.”

“Who do you think is more suitable for Mr. Shi?” May asked with a faint smile playing at her lips. “Ms. Lu or Miss Ye?”

“Vivi, of course.” As if to emphasize her words, Jessica turned to Nina’s direction and gave the latter a look of contempt. “Nina isn’t qualified enough.”

“Not qualified? But I think she is more beautiful than Miss Ye.” May followed the direction of her eyes and gave a small nod of approval.

She liked Nina mostly for her beauty.

May thought that she herself should just quit if Nina also entered the entertainment industry.

Jessica only sneered. “Beauty will fade sooner or later. There are some things that go beyond beauty, and remain unchanged over time, such as one’s talents and family background.”

“So what you’re saying is that Ms. Lu falls short in terms of her family ties, which makes her unqualified to be Mrs. Shi.” The playful smile on Mays lips grew wider.

‘Jessica is not as remarkable as the grapevine says. I suppose she has great taste in fashion, but when it comes to judging people, she is terrible.’

“Yes, exactly.” Jessica was blunt and firm.

“Quite,” May finally assented, though her eyes sparkled with meaning. “They really don’t match in that department.”

‘A CEO of a multinational company and a princess of C Island? It truly is a ridiculous pairing,’

she mused to herself. ‘There’re countless multinational companies in the country, and there’re countless CEOs. Mr. Shi is indeed famous, but there’s only one princess of C Island.’

Jessica turned to face her, and raised her glass in a toast.

“Cheers!” May obliged her, then took a sip of the red wine. She couldn’t help but grin in delight. “This is the popular red wine of C Island called Tipsy, so-called for its tendency to cause a light buzz in the head. This was specially crafted and blended by the prince for his sister, you know. Despite its repute, it isn’t particularly intoxicating, because the princess of C Island is said to be weak when it comes to drinks.

The princess sure is loved deeply by her brother; I’m so jealous.” She ended her story by taking another sip. The wine was sweet to the taste, and flowed smoothly down her throat.

“There’s no point being jealous. She’s a descendant of the royal family; I’m sure she’s loved by everyone,”

Jessica commented. “I do wonder who would be chosen as her husband though. Whoever manages to win her hand in marriage would surely be a fortunate man.”

“Very true.” May was speaking the truth, and as she was enjoying this conversation, she proceeded to ask a question with much interest. “What will you do if the princess of C Island actually marries into your family?”

The other woman chuckled derisively. “How is that even possible? Even though our Shi family is rich and powerful, the royal family is still very much out of reach. The princess deserves to marry into a noble family, nothing less.”

“Well that isn’t always the case. What if…let’s say, the princess falls in love with someone from your family?” There was a wealth of significance in May’s tone as she kept prodding, but Jessica remained oblivious.

“James would never be so lucky.

Something’s wrong with that boy. He has been spending all his time with this nobody called Emma Lin. But I don’t think it’s a problem. She can never marry into the family anyway.”

May eyed Jessica with disdain. ‘She really cares about family background. How did such a woman ever convince someone like Jason to marry her?

Come to think of it, Jason was always glued to his wife, but I haven’t seen him at all today. That’s a little strange.’

She swept the room to check and confirmed that Jason was indeed absent. In the end, May thought nothing of it.

Meanwhile, Jessica still wasn’t finished. “Chester, of course, is only ten years old. I’m afraid he won’t be so lucky either.

When he grows up, the princess of C Island would have already married and would probably even be a mother.”

“Yes, that’s very true.” May decided not to go on with the discussion.

Vivian’s performance was about to come to an end; it was time to carry out her next plan.

The last note rang around the hall. The recital had ended, and the guests applauded.

“Thank you.” Vivian stood up and gave a graceful bow to her audience.

She was just about to step away from the piano when May spoke, her voice loud and clear. “I’m lucky to hear this music once. Miss Ye plays very well, and it is so pleasant to hear that everyone is immersed in it, but…”

Vivian had raised her chin to accept the praise with pleasure, but what was said next confused her.

May took a deep breath. “I just feel that something is different.”

She actually didn’t know what it was; Leon only told her that there was an error somewhere in the sheet music that was laid out, and that the flaw wasn’t easy to find. Only a truly excellent pianist would be able to figure it out.

May was not in the least interested in piano, of course. No, she was just acting as she was paid to do.

“What? What do you mean, May?” Vivian was sure she hadn’t made any mistake. She played true to the score.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.” A frown furrowed May’s brow, and she took a couple of seconds to contemplate something to herself. Then, out of the blue, she called out to Nina. “Mrs. Shi, may I invite you to play this same piece?”

“What?” Nina was caught off guard.

Since the moment Vivian had played the wrong melody, she had turned her attention elsewhere and blocked out the rest of the music.

The sudden attention brought her back to her school days, when she sat listlessly in class and her teacher suddenly called her name to answer a question. And like back in her school days, she reacted in the same manner: she remained seated, saying and doing nothing else. It was a sharp contrast to her usual collected and intelligent bearing.

Noah burst into laughter. He had never seen Nina look so innocent and clueless. It was cute and refreshing.

“Nini, May asked you to play the music just now.”

“She doesn’t even know how to play the piano. All she knows is to paint and solve some cases on the side. Why would you even ask her to perform for us?” Jessica cut in.

“Mrs. Shi has won Mr. Shi’s affection, so there must be something special about her. It’s just one piano piece, it isn’t such a difficult thing to do, is it, Mrs. Shi?”

As she spoke, May gave Vivian a sideways glance, giving the latter an illusion that this was a scheme to humiliate Nina in front of everyone.

As expected, Vivian jumped right into it, and gave Nina a bright smile. “Yes, Nina, why don’t you just give it a try?”

Leon’s voice came through Nina’s ear piece then, pulling her back to her senses. “Do it, Nini. I haven’t heard you play this song for two whole years.”

She finally nodded and said, “Okay.”

Her reply was directed to her brother, not that anyone knew. She had written this piece for him, after all. Leon had been everything to her when they were growing up—a brother, a parent, a friend…

She had written the melody in order to soothe the loneliness she felt, and to pay tribute to her brother, who had been the sun that gave her light and warmth.

Her ankle was no longer hurting, and she walked to the piano.

When Vivian sat in front of the piano, she looked like a graceful heiress.

When Nina sat there, she changed into the noble princess that she was, despite the fact that she was barefoot.

She position her fingers over the keys, and as the first few notes came to life, everything and everyone dimmed into the background. Nina was alone in the spotlight, shining like a solitary star in the night sky.

Vivian had interpreted the score to be about the love between lovers. The truth, however, was that it spoke of love between brother and sister.

The music flew true under Nina’s hands, and the message it held quickly came over everyone present, evoking emotions they hadn’t been feeling just mere moments ago.

Even Vivian was stunned.

‘Can she really play the piano?’

As the piece built up to a crescendo, she smiled viciously to herself.

Vivian had a very good memory, and had long developed the skill. At this point, she could remember a piece after reading it only once, and play it without the aid of music sheets.

And she was sure that Nina had just made a mistake.

She cackled deep in her heart. ‘Oh Nina. I can’t wait to see you make a fool of yourself once you’re done playing.’