As soon as the voting poll was opened, the students began to vote for their favorite contestants. The live voting was broadcast on the virtual screen for the audience to see. Charvi, standing behind the backstage, had a gloomy look on her face when she saw the margin between her and Sylvia growing higher by the seconds. “Although I do want to cast my vote for the participant from my academy, I can't deny the fact that the last contestant sang the best among them. As a result, I'm going to be fair in my judgment and put my vote on her.” “You're right. The Hermes Academy contestant deserves our support. I'm also going to cast my vote for her.” The majority of the audience decided to cast their vote for Sylvia. Some students from Roland Academy, most especially those who had a crush on Charvi began to get agitated seeing Charvi's vote on the ranking list becoming lower. “Charvi is our goddess! We can't let her be overtaken by someone from a lower academy.” One of Charvi's fanboys shouted. A student of Hermes Academy heard his shout and immediately got offended. “What shit are you spouting. Our Hermes Academy is the ace of the interschool competition, while your Roland Academy only managed to snatch away the second position. If one should be classified as a lower rank academy between the two, then it should be your Roland academy, not ours.” “You-” The fanboy became furious hearing the Hermes Academy student's words. He was about to lash out at him when his friend next to him suddenly stopped him. “Don't. There are hundreds of thousands of people here. With just the Roland Academy population alone, do you think Charvi would be able to bag the first position? Let's be realistic here. That student from Hermes Academy deserves the championship title.” “Yo-you.” The fanboy stammered; his eyes widened in shock when he heard his friend's words. “You betrayer! How dare you support others over Charvi? I can't believe you're such a traitor.” Seeing the other party going insane because of what he had just said, the boy shook his head in disapproval and willingly tapped his vote on Sylvia. Although he likes Charvi, that doesn't mean he would blindly support her every time. Watching his friend casting his vote on Sylvia, the fanboy's eyes widen in disbelief. “You traitor! You betrayer! We swore to always support Charvi at all costs. Yet, you betray the promise between us. It's over between the two of us. Don't you dare talk to me.” The boy stormed off from his seat. The Hermes Academy student who didn't have the opportunity to continue his argument shut his mouth when he witnessed this scene. Well, looks like the fight has ended before I even had the time to participate in it. --- Sylvia had no idea that the decision to vote for her had caused a split between two close friends. Neither did Charvi realize that she had a devoted fanboy who wouldn't hesitate to dissolve his friendship just for her sake. Five minutes later, the voting poll concluded. From the total score on the screen, it was undeniable that Sylvia was the champion of the singing contest. Some participants also became happy, seeing that their rank had moved higher. One of them was Euphrasia, who saw that she had jumped from the 24th position to 23rd. She couldn't help but get excited when she saw this. The male contestant who was pushed down from the 23rd position had an unpleasant look on his face when he saw the results. “Now, it's time to call out the top 5 contestants and award them for their wonderful talents.” Sylvia, along with four other contestants, walked out to the stage. Vashti stood on the stage, presenting the medals to each of them. Reaching the figure standing in the first position, Vashti stopped and smiled. “Here is the championship award for your wonderful performance, Miss Sylvia.” He handed Sylvia the golden plaque. “Along with it, you'll be rewarded with ten million coins. The amount would be transferred to your account once the event is over.” Hearing the amount given to Sylvia as a reward, some students couldn't help but gasp out loud. “Fuck. That's a freaking ten million.” “Damm. How many zeros are in that? Wow, the teachers are really generous this time.” One of the judges immediately took over the mic when he saw the intense reaction of the students. “Please be aware that the reward given to the champion is just ten thousand coins. The nine million, nine hundred and ninety thousand to be paid into Sylvia Austen's account came from Sir Vashti himself. So, do not expect such a high monetary reward to be given during the next activity.” The moment the judge announced, the enthusiasm in the audience died down. “Ah, what a shame. I should have realized it sooner. How can the teachers be so generous all of a sudden?” “But that is still a lot of money. How I wished I had also been chosen.” “Sir Vashti is so nice. Giving a huge amount of money in appreciation of a talent.” “You're right. He indeed is.” Under the applause of the audience, Sylvia and the other four retreated to the backstage area. Vashti turned to the crowd and began to announce the next activity. “Next is the second activity. Let's see what it's all about. Oh…” His voice trailed into Sylvia's ear as she arrived backstage. “Congratulations.” The other contestants hadn't left began to congratulate the five of them. Sylvia responded to them with a nod and was about to make her way out of the room. “Stop there for me, Sylvia.” The voice commanded, but why would Sylvia bother to obey it? Seeing that Sylvia was still walking away, Charvi became furious. “I said stop there! How dare you defy my order?” Despite her threatening words, the person in question didn't halt her footsteps a bit. “Ahh!” Charvi angrily smashed the award plaque given to her on the floor. The 2nd position written on it appeared to be taunting her, so she stomped harder on it. Unfortunately for her, the material the plaque was made of seemed to be a tough one and was able to resist her raging stomping. The people in the room watched this scenario with a shocked expression on their faces. Most especially those who had thought of Charvi as a gentle person. How can the smiley and soft-spoken girl suddenly transform into a crazy woman? “What are you staring at!” Charvi turned her head and growled fiercely at them. The students jumped backward in fear and immediately turned their sights away from her. Is this the true face of Miss Charvi? Wow, I don't want to be associated with such a two-faced person. Charvi didn't expect herself to lose control in a public place. But there was no way she could hold back her outburst, seeing Sylvia walking out on her. How dare that trash! How dare she walk out on me?Sylvia had always been someone she looked down on. A trash that couldn't match up to her fingertips. A trash she could stomp on anyhow she wanted. And yet, that trash had stolen her limelight today, becoming a dazzling gem in front of the whole crowd. While she, was reduced to a clown who was desperately clinging to the second position. How can the proud her accept that she has been defeated by someone she didn't even consider as an opponent? “You all!” Charvi's gaze became fierce as she stared at the students in the room. “If I dare hear anyone speak about what you saw in this room today, I swear I'm going to make you and your entire family life a living hell.” “Yes!” “Rest assured, Ms. Charvi. My mouth is all sealed!” The students began to answer one by one as they shook in fear, due to Charvi's threatening words. “Hmph.” Charvi let out a sneer and picked up the pitiful plaque that had managed to resist her brutal stomp. “Don't think you can all outsmart me. If I dare hear any rumors going on outside, every one of you here will bear the repercussions of my wrath.” Charvi strode out. When she was about to arrive at the open space, her expression immediately switched to a cheerful look. “I can't believe that Miss Charvi is such a scary person.” One of the students spoke out after Charvi had left. “It looks like the rumors that the students from the top-tier academy are actually crazy are true.” “Okay. That's enough. Let's all pretend that we didn't see anything.” “Yeah. Her gaze earlier was terrifying.”“We should head out. The next activity is about to commence.” The students began to head out. There was a bit of fear in their eyes. However, the camouflage smile on their faces didn't bring on any suspicion in the mind of the audience.