No one knows what Mr Woods said to Thanh that made him stop trying to contact or appear in front of Ngoc Lam. Van Thac is also temporarily reassured to keep his friend safe from that man, Mr Hieu, and Mrs Phuong. However, he is more worried about Ngoc Lam's feelings. That day, her shoulders kept shaking. She must have mustered up so much courage to face the abuser who always oppresses her with the death of Minh. And the death of him, Ngoc Lam's beloved senior, always torments her.

Several times while waiting for Ngoc Lam to return from treatment, he sees her eyes are red and watery with tears. The doctor said that all the emotions that had been bottled up for so long were trying to come out. She needs time to relax and rebalance. The performance will likely be a pivotal moment in her therapy.

The day of the performance has arrived.

From behind the scenes, Luyen and Thuyen constantly exclaim about the guests. Not only are they great names in the music world, but K and M also did not hesitate to invite Mrs Phuong and her husband. Thanh also had a ticket, of course, but his face and identification were sent to all the bodyguards, in case this guy tried to sneak in and attack Ngoc Lam. The families of Van Thac and Ngoc Lam were also sent invitations. Ngoc Lam did not forget to prepare two more tickets to send to the kind-hearted landlady and her husband. The two of them immediately went to France the day before the show. When she met Ngoc Lam, the old lady held her hand and smiled.

“The sound of his trumpet finally could wait for the day to be with your music. How lucky I am!”

The artists backstage are all prepared and ready to take their positions. Emmy is the conductor, and Ngoc Lam steps on stage to shake hands with her as the lead violinist. Sitting behind her is Thuyen. Luyen plays the clarinet in the orchestra, and not far from him is Van Thac with the trumpet.

The performance remains similar to last year's pre-Christmas performance. There are a few changes in arrangement and personnel to help make the ensembles more impressive, the members' skills are also enhanced with the appearance of Ngoc Lam. The guests and audience all nod at M's maturing ability, a new face proving to the music world that she is not only an excellent violinist but can also become a musician. A trustworthy leader who does not rely on her husband's position.

In the first half of the show, everything is pretty good. Ngoc Lam, following M's words, focuses on her teacher and tells herself at this stage here, the teacher can protect her. She is determined to play well and helps lead the violin ensemble to perform excellently in front of the critics. But in the second half, when the lineup changes with a performance dedicated to strings, woodwinds, and brass, Ngoc Lam gradually feels uncomfortable with the haunted feeling behind her. She tries to suppress that feeling of horror and continues to complete the string performance. However, her instability does not escape the eyes of observant people. Some of them start repeating rumours about her mental illness. Mrs Phuong and her husband hear those discussions and smile triumphantly. Putting a girl with mental illness and stage phobia on stage to be the main star. They'd better believe that K and M have lived on fame for so long that they want to self-destruct to experience the feeling of their prestige falling to the bottom. Mrs Phuong and Mr Hieu are so confident that they don't need to spend any more effort on ruining the performance, but Ngoc Lam and the Moreau couple will dig their own grave.

After the performance for strings is one for woodwinds. As soon as Ngoc Lam enters backstage, Van Thac is there to support her. He also realizes that Ngoc Lam is becoming unstable. He quickly helps her back to the dressing table, calls the makeup artist to wipe away the sweat and apply another layer of makeup on her face.

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"It's OK!" Van Thac puts a coat on Ngoc Lam's shoulders, "You have tried very hard. You did a great job. Everything is fine."

"Sorry." Ngoc Lam cannot stop herself from trembling and sobbing. Her tears almost fall from her eyelids.

"Don't cry." Van Thac put his hands on her shoulders, trying to help her calm down. “This foundation on your face is very expensive.”

Ngoc Lam is unable to control her emotions when she hears that and bursts out laughing. The makeup artist standing nearby laughs, too. Because she cannot handle her emotions and expressions in time, two large drops of tears fall from her eyes.

“My tears have just fallen.” Ngoc Lam whimpers slightly.

"No problem." Van Thac uses a tissue to carefully wipe away the tears on her face. "After the show, your income is enough to buy a dozen bottles of foundation."

Ngoc Lam cannot help but laugh.

A moment later, the melodious sound of the music on stage echoes backstage, and Ngoc Lam gradually calms down, although her hands are still shaking a bit.

“Thac.”

“Hmm?”

“What if I cannot continue on stage?”

“There will be next time. This time, I can play as a soloist.”

“But what about the reputation of the Orchestra?”

“Everyone has prepared for the worst-case scenario. Do you know what it is?”

"What's that?" Ngoc Lam tilts her head to look at Van Thac.

“You run away from the stage right at the start. Look, you have been staying until the end of the string performance. So, it's not the worst, isn't it?”

Ngoc Lam listens and laughs again.

Van Thac has been observing Ngoc Lam all this time. He realizes that at the performance five years ago, Ngoc Lam was able to play professionally because she had previously asked to stand in the back, hidden in the dark, got covered by two other players. In the first half of today's performance, there were many people on stage. The audience was already more focused on the conductor, and other artists were distracting spectators' attention towards her. But when only the strings performance, of which she was the head violin, the increased attention towards her made Ngoc Lam feel insecure. It won't be surprising if she cannot hold on as the people's concentration is at its peak as she performs with Van Thac as a duo, standing forward, completely dominating the stage.

Van Thac gently touches Ngoc Lam's fingertips. He remembers what she told Thanh and feels the calluses as proof of the hard training she has gone through. It's obvious that she always puts effort into anything she does without negligence.

"Ngoc Lam." Van Thac gently holds her fingertips, "If there ever comes a time when you are ready to duet with me, I hope you will only listen to my trumpet. Behind you, there will always be me. You can borrow my back to lean on whenever you feel insecure, okay?"

Before Ngoc Lam can answer Van Thac, his assistant calls him to prepare for the brass performance.

“I will always be waiting for you on stage.”

Van Thac quickly leaves. Only then does Ngoc Lam feel a bit of emptiness at her fingertips. She takes the violin, hugs it tightly, and closes her eyes. The music of the brass band sounds. Ngoc Lam lets herself be immersed in those sounds and searches for the sound of Thac's trumpet, mentally repeating what her mother and M had said, and also Van Thac's words earlier.

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The performance of the brass is complete. The audience is curiously waiting for announcements about the upcoming duet. Many people predict it will change from a duet to a solo and then the conductor will issue a press release about the incident and compensate the audience. For a mentally ill person like Ngoc Lam, she may have been hospitalized by now.

Contrary to their expectations, Ngoc Lam shows up on stage with a violin. She and Van Thac walk forward, both facing away from each other. Upon receiving Ngoc Lam's nod, M begins swinging the baton.

Van Thac starts first. The trumpet's sound begins, carrying a brilliance similar to his passion and soul. Ngoc Lam closes her eyes, feeling the music from behind her.

When she opens her eyes, Ngoc Lam sees Minh in monster form.