Luyen and Thuyen have gone abroad again to follow a youth orchestra that performs worldwide in memory of Chopin. Luyen shared in a Messenger App that the orchestra aims to promote young talents, even though other musical instruments are only serving as a background for the piano. The two friends are eager to take advantage of this opportunity to develop their careers further.

Thuyen pointed out that a few musicians were reprimanded for overplaying to prove themselves, which affected the orchestra's overall performance. He also shared some recommendations with Thac about good food places, reputable Tiktokers' reviews to follow when going abroad, and stores that offer great deals for shopping.

Thac felt like he was experiencing a more colourful world than his ordinary high school student life. He has only two more years left to enter the Conservatory and is eagerly waiting for the opportunity to rush into the outside world, just like the Little Mermaid. Luyen and Thuyen, who are only in 10th grade, are already thinking about their careers, while Van Thac feels like he lags behind them. He admires his friends' ambition and hopes to catch up with them soon. And when he does, he hopes Ngoc Lam will be there too...

"Ngoc Lam!"

It's another rainy Tuesday, and Ngoc Lam walks into class calmly, as usual. Van Thac sits next to her and tries to start a conversation.

Ngoc Lam avoids looking at him because she has a hunch that every time Van Thac talks to her, it's about music, something she's always avoided.

Thac tries to talk to her again, "I want to ask you something-"

"If it's off-topic, I won't answer, Thac!" interrupts Lam coldly.

"But...I only need one person to give some comments on Wednesday because my friend has gone on tour!" persists Thac.

Ngoc Lam glares at Van Thac, and knowing he's gone too far, Thac quickly retreats, looking both pitiful and funny with a sullen face like a cooing chicken.

Thuy walks into the classroom and cuts through the tense atmosphere. She takes her seat right behind Ngoc Lam, looking like a girl who just scored 10 and wants to show off to her mother.

“I compiled all the basic knowledge myself! May you have a look at it, Lam?”

Thuy has compiled all the fundamental knowledge by herself and wants Ngoc Lam to review it. She presents a notepad with a thick blue-purple cloud-themed cover, decorated with stars and glitter, and covered with a plastic layer. The notebook contains beautiful notes in various colours, summarizing Chemistry lessons that Thuy created herself at Ngoc Lam's request.

Thac noticed that Ngoc Lam was much kinder and warmer than she initially appeared when he started studying with her. He realized that Thuy had a significant lack of basic knowledge. Although Ngoc Lam did not prepare any notes or handbook for Thuy, Thac felt that he needed to help her. He collected all the books from middle school himself, marked the pages that contained the knowledge Thuy needed, and even searched for lecture videos on the internet to send to Thuy. Thuy followed Ngoc Lam's instructions and synthesized the information, which helped her understand and remember the lessons better.

Thac shares the story of Ngoc Lam with Luyen and Thuyen during their visit. The evening at Thac's place feels like an afternoon in Europe, as the two friends are on a tour. It seems as if they just finished practising with the orchestra and are now sitting in the auditorium.

“Thac,” Luyen says

“We went around to ask about Ngoc Lam” Thuyen continues

“Guess what…”

What did we hear?”

Just like when asking about Ngoc Lam at the Conservatory, everyone's attitude when hearing about her name here was very strange. Most individuals appeared to avoid her. Yesterday, their orchestra had the opportunity to meet and interact with a renowned orchestra from Austria. During their conversation, Luyen and Thuyen asked an elderly conductor about Ngoc Lam. The conductor's eyes widened in surprise, then shock, and finally sadness. He, like others before him, did not say much about her.

Next to the conductor was a young violinist, about 25 or 26 years old. He often played the role of head violin in the orchestra and overheard Luyen and Thuyen's conversation. He looked at the two friends in a complicated manner.

Thuyen and the head violinist, Fabian, played violin together, while Luyen joined the woodwinds group. After 10 minutes of playing music together, everyone applauded for this impromptu exchange. Luyen sat with the Austrian instrumental group to discuss playing techniques and give feedback to each other. Thuyen sat down and watched the video he had recorded while interacting with the string group. The discussion lasted for about half an hour, and everyone gradually left the stage. As Luyen and Thuyen were about to leave, they suddenly heard Fabian's voice.

“I heard you guys asked about Ngoc Lam?” - Fabian spoke in English with a strong Austrian accent

“You know about her?” Luyen asked again

“Seven years ago,” Fabian replied, “I almost lost my chance to become a head violinist.”

After that, Fabian glanced at his two friends

“Do you know why?”

"Because Ngoc Lam is so good?" - Thuyen asked

Fabian laughed instead of answering

“The conductor really liked her. At that time, I was so jealous of Ngoc Lam that I always tried to compete with her on the violin. I was afraid if I didn't beat her, I would lose this position forever.”

“Have you ever competed against her?”

Luyen's question caused the atmosphere to freeze for a moment.

"I was lost." Fabian calmly replied, “But I was chosen by the teacher. Do you know why?”

"No." Luyen and Thuyen replied in unison

“Ngoc Lam doesn't belong here." Fabian pointed to the violin in his hand. " She stands out and is always encouraged to show off her full potential. Ngoc Lam's enormous talent creates a terrible invisible pressure on those who play with her."

Saying this, the violinist paused for a moment and then looked straight at Luyen and Thuyen.

“It looks like you guys are planning to awaken a monster.”

Fabian refused to reveal more about Ngoc Lam, but it seems that he considered Ngoc Lam's retirement as an obvious thing, even something that should happen.

“Why do I feel like the whole world is against her?” Master asks his two friends.

“You saw it too, right?” Luyen askes again

"Ngoc Lam's past videos showed her freakly professional level." Continues

“If it were me…”

“Me too…”

“We're also afraid of playing music with someone like that.”