REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight-Chapter 47: Find out who did it...

Elara stared at the man standing only a short distance away.

Lioren.

What was he doing here?

He was looking at her too and his eyes did not move away. Neither of them spoke.

Behind Elara, the six students had gone completely still. Their excitement had turned into silent shock.

Ziva stood straight beside Elara. Her face was calm as she looked at the man.

Lioren’s attention was completely on Elara. He began walking toward her at a slow pace, one hand resting inside his pants pocket. He stopped when he reached her.

"I wasn’t sure it was you at first," he said. "I heard your voice through the walls."

Elara looked at him calmly. Still trying to recover from his sudden arrival.

"You were in the building." she finally spoke up.

"Yes, at another wing." Lioren said.

"I see," Elara replied.

Lioren glanced around briefly. They were standing near the exit. Apart from the students here, not many people were paying attention, but he knew very well that some people might already be taking pictures of him without asking. With his status, that could quickly become troublesome. "We should step out of this place," he said quietly.

Elara gave a small smile. Ziva also nodded.

Elara then waved at the group of students. "Bye," she said.

The students were still staring at Lioren with wide eyes as the three of them walked away. They moved toward a quiet space near the backstage area. When they stopped there, Ziva quickly stepped forward. She stood beside Elara in a way that looked both professional and a bit exaggerated.

"I’m Ziva, Elara’s assistant." She said calmly to Lioren. Lioren looked at her with a warm expression.

"Lioren," he said simply.

"I know," Ziva also replied simply. Then Lioren turned his attention back to Elara. He asked where she was staying now. Elara answered without hesitation.

"How long have you been in Starfall City?" he asked.

As he asked this, Elara remembered when he said, ’Call me when you get to Starfall city’. How could he be so sure that she would come that time. And as fate would have it. Here she is.

She told him the number of months she had spent in Starfall. Ziva remained standing beside Elara the entire time. Her eyes moved around the room as if she were checking everything carefully. She did not look directly at Lioren.

After a moment, the conversation between Elara and Lioren paused naturally. Then Lioren looked at Elara again.

"There’s a place nearby, it is quite... and they have good food. I was going there anyway." He paused slightly. "You should come."

Not would you like to. Not if you’re free. Just a simple statement.

You should come.

Elara looked at him quietly.

She was very tired and her mind was full of things she still needed to think about. She also had Ziva standing beside her, and they both have a lot of things to do.

But she also thought about something else. He had heard her voice through a wall and had come looking for her. And now he was standing here asking her to eat with him.

A memory from her past life flashed in her mind and her expression hardened. But she pushed it away quickly.

This time was different. Surely different from that time.

All of these thoughts passed through her mind in only a few seconds. Then she nodded at Lioren.

"Alright," she said. Ziva turned her head immediately to look at Elara. Her expression was stunned, as if silently asking if Elara knew what she was doing.

Elara only gave her a small nod.

Ziva’s jaw dropped, then she cleared her throat. "Alright, alright, I’ll go get a cab."

"I brought a car," Lioren said quickly.

"Don’t worry," Ziva also replied quickly. "We have money."

A short silence followed.

"Ziva," Elara said quietly while Ziva looked at her. After a moment she sighed and nodded.

"Alright then," she said with a small shrug, speaking to no one in particular.

Before they left, Elara took out her phone. "In case," she said simply.

Lioren looked slightly confused for a moment. When he understood what she meant, a warm smile appeared on his face. He took out his phone as well.

They quickly exchanged numbers. When it was done, Lioren glanced down at his screen for a moment. He did not say anything, but something small moved at the corner of his mouth.

Elara put her phone away.

They began walking toward the back door. Elara and Lioren walked side by side while Ziva followed a short distance behind them.

After a moment, Lioren spoke again. "You didn’t call."

Elara looked at him, confused at first. Then she understood what he meant. She looked away briefly.

"I didn’t need to," she said.

"The card, are you still with it?" He asked.

"Yes," Elara replied.

"You kept it?" He asked again, with a strange glitter in his eyes.

Elara paused slightly.

"Yes," she said.

He considered this for a moment.

"Then why didn’t you call?"

"I didn’t need to," Elara repeated.

Lioren looked at her from the side for a moment. But he did not say anything more.

Behind them, Ziva watched the two of them closely, her face stern.

_

Late in the evening, Adrian was still in his office. He sat behind his desk doing nothing in particular. A pen rolled slowly between his fingers as he turned it again and again. His eyes were fixed on the office door, as if he was waiting for someone to enter. Not long after, the door opened and Harris walked in holding a tablet.

"This is it, Boss," he said cheerfully, placing the tablet on Adrian’s desk with his usual exaggerated bow. Adrian lowered his gaze to the screen. A video was already playing.

On the screen, a young woman was standing on a stage, singing under bright lights. Adrian watched silently. His eyes stayed on the figure on the stage. When the performance reached the part where he was waiting for, the part where her voice suddenly broke, Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He watched carefully as she stepped back and removed the earpiece from her ear. Then instead of leaving the stage or explaining the problem, she started singing again from the beginning. With no microphone but only her own voice. And what surprised him was that she did not panic at all. Her movements still remained calm and her expression did not change.

Adrian’s gaze darkened slowly. Someone had clearly done this on purpose. He replayed the video. Then he replayed it again. At one point he paused the screen and the image froze on her face.

Her expression was calm even in a time like this.

Adrian stared at the screen quietly. For some reason, his eyes did not move away from that face.

After a while, Harris noticed that his boss had become unusually quiet. He cleared his throat.

Adrian did not look at him, but his eyes finally shifted away from the screen.

"Did you find anything about the problem?" he asked.

Harris immediately shook his head.

"Well... not yet," he said quickly. "But the problem definitely came from the technical team. Something with the microphone system. And if you ask me, Boss... I really don’t think it was an accident."

He leaned forward slightly as he spoke. "I mean, things like that don’t just happen suddenly. Someone must have touched the equipment. Someone really wanted to cause trouble for Miss Elara Veyne."

Harris continued talking as usual giving a deep sigh.

"She’s actually quite unlucky, if you think about it. She just came to Starfall not long ago, and already people are trying to mess with her performance. That’s really harsh, Boss. The girl is quite pitiful if you think about it—"

Adrian gave a soft snort.

Pitiful indeed, he thought.

Out loud, he simply said, "Find out who did it."

Harris froze for a second. Then a strange smile appeared on his face. "As you wish, Boss," he said quickly. After a moment he continued speaking.

"Oh right, there’s also something else. About the prize and the contract that was given her today."

Adrian did not respond at first. But then his brows slowly furrowed. "Contract?" he asked. "Who approved it?"

Harris waved his hand lightly. "It’s only temporary, just one year. A standard agreement for the Rising Voice winner." he explained.

Then Harris moved closer to the desk, clearly ignoring Adrian’s cold expression.

"There were also some other things sent along with the report," he said. He leaned forward slightly but before he could move closer, Adrian raised one hand. It was a silent signal telling him to stop.

Harris immediately gave an awkward smile and stepped back a little.

"Right, right... personal space," he muttered. Then he showed several photos on the tablet. Adrian looked at them without much interest.

There were photos of Elara standing with the judges. Photos of people congratulating her. Photos of her with a group of students who looked excited.

Harris kept scrolling through the pictures. Then one photo appeared on the screen. One of Elara standing with a man.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

Harris giggled.

"Isn’t that Lioren Valoire? They look pretty close. See how they’re smiling at each—"

"Shut up."

The words came out through Adrian’s gritted teeth. Harris immediately closed his mouth. Adrian stared at the screen with a faint sneer.

This time he reached out and scrolled through the photos himself.

There were more pictures. Elara and Lioren walking together. Elara and Lioren standing close while talking. Then another picture of them getting into the same car.

Adrian scoffed quietly. That assistant of hers clearly could not stop her. She always did whatever Elara wanted.

First the boy from the Adrelo family. Now Lioren Valoire. She really knows how to attract attention, Adrian thought coldly.

She had not even spent a year in Starfall City and people were already plotting against her.

Adrian stared at the photos for one last moment. Then he turned off the screen immediately...