Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism
Chapter 82 Broken By Violeta For The First Time!

"Yes, President, our popping dance is more challenging. With so many of us, our stage presence is superior!" "She can't compare to all of us alone. If the audience has any discernment, they will definitely vote for us!"

"Just now, the applause when we left the stage was much louder than hers. What's the big deal?"

"Isn't that right, President?"

Lucy's eyelashes trembled, and she couldn't replace the words to respond.

She didn't want to admit that they had lost. However, as a professional dancer, Lucy couldn't deny that Violeta's performance just now was impressive.

She could only turn her head and look at Zelena, asking, "Didn't you say she had no dance background?"

Zelena immediately clicked her tongue, "I... I don't know when she learned. She has no dance background."

Someone raised a question, "Could it be that Violeta found a teacher?"

"But didn't Lucy say before that there is no one else who can teach at such a high level except for the master of classical dance, Grace?"

"Grace has stopped accepting students. How could Violeta have been taught by her?"

Lucy said, "Strictly speaking, Grace isn't stopping accepting students. She only accepts the last one as her final closed-door disciple."

"Six years ago, Grace made it clear that she would carefully select her final disciple, choosing only the best of the best."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

If Violeta is truly Grace's disciple, she must be the one in a million that Grace had spoken of.

It was already rare to be recognized by Grace as a dancer, but to receive such high praise meant that Violeta must be someone exceptional in her eyes. Casey clenched her fists and firmly declared, "It's impossible. Violeta can't be the one. Don't be discouraged, everyone. She's just better at stage design than us." Zelena nodded in agreement. "That's right! Besides, the results haven't been announced yet. We must be the winners!"

Could Violeta alone have the potential to break their reign as number one?

Just the thought of it made them feel extremely dissatisfied.

However, reality always had a way of humbling people.

Finally, the voting results were announced.

As expected, the tennis club won by an overwhelming majority of votes.

The dance club had lost!

Upon hearing the news, everyone backstage jumped for joy.

"Wow, we won!"

"We won! This is amazing!"

Kaylee happily embraced Violeta and said, "Vio, we won!"

"Violeta, you truly are our tennis club's treasure! This is the first time we've felt so triumphant. We finally defeated the dance club at the Moon Festival! Let's see if they dare to be arrogant next time we meet!"

"This is fantastic!"

Everyone gathered around Violeta, spinning in circles of celebration.

Violeta had put a lot of effort into practicing her dance. Now that she had achieved first place, she was naturally overjoyed.

She also felt that she had fulfilled her dedication to herself in her previous life. Even though her ballet performance had not been broadcast on television, it had been performed in front of so many audience members, which made all her hard work worthwhile.

"Oh, by the way! Now that the competition is over, we can settle the score!"

"The people from the External Affairs Department just informed us that they have reviewed the surrounding surveillance footage and indeed found someone who came backstage the night before. But that person was wearing a mask and a hat, so the footage doesn't reveal the identity."

Kaylee said, "But the earring Vio saw backstage earlier is solid evidence. After conducting an investigation, the External Affairs Department has decided to publicly announce this incident on stage and punish the culprit severely."

"That's great. Let's go out quickly."

"I am curious to know who would commit such a despicable act."

Everyone left the backstage area.

At that moment, most of the audience in the front were ready to disperse. The Minister of the External Affairs Department took the stage and grabbed the microphone to make an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please wait a moment. Although the Moon Festival has come to an end, we have encountered a highly deplorable incident today. We owe an explanation to the tennis club. Therefore, we have decided to reveal the truth right here."

If it were any other club, the External Affairs Department would not have attached such significance to it.

The tennis club had several influential members, so they couldn't be taken lightly.

Therefore, they had to provide an explanation, and doing so publicly on stage was the best approach.

As soon as these words were spoken, the people who were about to leave the venue returned.

Archer and his group sat comfortably in their chairs, observing the unfolding drama.

"Perhaps you are not yet aware, but before the start of today's performance, the champion club of the Moon Festival, the tennis club, experienced an unprecedented act of malice. Their props on stage were deliberately destroyed!"

The majority of the audience below the stage were students from Toland University. They began to whisper and discuss among themselves.

"What? The props were destroyed? That's outrageous! We almost missed out on such a wonderful dance performance."

In a corner of the audience, members of the dance club gathered. Lucy casually rested her arm on her waist, looking coldly at the Minister of External Affairs Department.

She didn't care as long as it wasn't the dance club's doing.

But she would never have expected that the person behind this incident was actually someone from her dance club!

Suddenly, a spotlight shone on Lucy. Her expression froze for a moment.

The Minister of External Affairs Department said, "Lucy, as the president of the dance club, you need to explain what happened here."

Lucy's heart tightened, and a hint of panic appeared on her face. She asked, "Me? Explain what? I don't know anything."

"You don't know? The surveillance footage revealed that the person who destroyed the tennis club's props came out from the backstage of your dance club. However, she was wearing a mask and a hat, so her face couldn't be seen. As the president of the dance club, shouldn't you be held responsible for this?"

Lucy was stunned.

Zelena, who was standing behind Lucy, had a slight change in expression.

Obviously, they didn't expect this matter to involve so many people.

The Minister of External Affairs Department invited Violeta to come forward and provide evidence. Violeta took out the crystal earrings she found at the scene.

"You should recognize this earring. It belongs to one of you! Lucy, as the president, if you cover up for them, the school will punish your entire club."

Lucy had the support of her family behind her, so punishment was irrelevant to her.

But most of the members of the dance club were ordinary students. How could they withstand punishment from the school? If this matter escalated, it might even delay their graduation. So everyone panicked.

"How is this possible? Who went and destroyed the tennis club's props? Come forward!"

"Wait, this earring looks familiar. It seems like Zelena wore it."

"Yes, I remember Zelena wearing it."

"So, Zelena is the one who destroyed the tennis club's props?"

Everyone's gaze immediately turned towards Zelena. "Zelena, if you dare to do it, you should have the courage to admit it. Don't involve everyone else!"