Howard had always felt outmatched by Kaiden, both in terms of personal achievements and in winning Ellie’s affection.

“Howard, are you going to perform a solo on the violin later?” The student union member who brought up the topic was also in on the secret of Howard’s crush on Ellie. He had even spread rumors about Howard and Ellie before.

The more thrilled he was when he first shared the rumors, the more mortified he felt now.

Howard wasn’t competing with other contestants. He took the stage simply to bid farewell to his juniors as a senior.

“Yes, but I’m going to switch it up.” Howard pulled out his violin and started tuning it.

The last time Howard had hastily said goodbye to Ellie in the hospital, he felt it was an awful way to part ways.

The students backstage whispered among themselves.

“It’s such a shame. I really thought Howard and Ellie made a great pair.”

“Do you think Mr. Thorpe is aware that Howard has feelings for Ellie? And if Mr. Thorpe does know, could there be trouble?”

“Howard is such a sweetheart. But Mr. Thorpe seems pretty great too.”

“Shh! Enough of that.”

Kaiden looked away and found himself squeezing Ellie’s hand a little tighter.

“What’s wrong?” Ellie turned her focus from the stage to Kaiden.

“It’s nothing.”

Ellie gave Kaiden a suspicious look, trying to figure out what he was thinking. She had been so focused on him that she hadn’t been paying attention to what the host was saying. When her eyes finally moved back to the stage, she was taken aback.

Howard was dressed in a casual white suit, holding a violin against his shoulder.

Ellie immediately realized why Kaiden had been acting so strangely earlier. She gave him a quick look.

“Are you feeling guilty?”

Kaiden shot a glance back at her.

“Guilty? Me? No, I had no idea Howard was going to be here.” Her voice betrayed a hint of guilt.

Ellie hadn’t expected Howard, who was about to graduate, to be involved in such an event, let alone perform on stage.

Kaiden scoffed, turning his attention to Howard, who was now under the spotlight.

The sound of the violin filled the air, playing a tune that was both sad and beautiful, unlike the sweet or gentle love songs that had been played before. The song’s climax was so moving that it brought tears to the eyes of some students right away.

“It’s Confession Night,” someone whispered.

The students, who had been attempting to avoid looking at Ellie, found themselves unable to resist stealing glances at her. Seated in the center of the second row, she drew their attention.

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