As she spoke, her eyes had already scanned through the entire room. That can’t be, she thought. I clearly saw H coming this way. Why isn’t she here? “I’m waiting for Mikayla here. She’s the host, isn’t she?” Elise answered without even flinching. Sensing something amiss with Elise, Addison asked suspiciously, “Was anyone else here?” Continuing with her pretense, Elise asked, “Does Mikayla count?” Disappointed, Addison thought, Looks like I really came looking in the wrong direction. “It’s alright. Wait for her, then. I’m going back now.” She was about to leave when she heard Mikayla trotting happily toward the lounge while calling Elise’s name excitedly, “Elise, Elise! You sang so well!” When the last word left her lips, she happened to run face-to-face into Addison.
It didn’t occur to Mikayla that there would be someone else besides Elise in the room, and thinking that she might have exposed her idol’s secret, she was momentarily stumped for words. Meanwhile, Elise desperately cast her looks, but to no avail. Addison was no fool, and she glanced from left to right. Finally, she fixed her eyes on Elise, confirming her as the target and pointed at her. “You are H?” While there were people who adored H in a loud and flashy manner, there were also those who liked her in a silent manner, and Addison belonged to the latter group. The lyrics written by H accompanied her though all the important stages of her life, and their existence were akin to a religion for her. Never did she mention this to anyone else, and she would just like to cherish this by herself.
The moment the woman in a mask started singing on stage, Addison already recognized the voice, and she was literally the first one who tried to rush to the backstage. However, the security guard took his job very seriously, so she had to go downstairs and up again in a detour to sneak in through the back door, all for the sake of meeting H once. Seizing the uncertainty in Addison’s voice, Elise decided to play it to her advantage by ‘admitting’ to it. Raising her chest, she said, “Yes, I’m the H who performed earlier.” As she had expected, Addison would doubt her when she answered with such confidence. Narrowing her eyes, Addison tried to make sure again, asking, “So, it wouldn’t be a problem if you sing one of H’s famous songs, ‘Zero’, to prove yourself, right?”
With a shrug, Elise opened her mouth with the music, but this time, she deliberately changed her tone. “The things on the weekend…” Sure enough, she had barely finished two sentences when Addison crossed her arms over her chest and gestured for her to stop. “Stop! That’s enough.” She waved her hand, lowering her head in disappointment. “You’re not her.” She’s merely someone who sounds closest to H so far, Addison thought. I was too impatient. Just like God, H is above everyone else and wouldn’t show herself easily to the commoners. Seeing this, Mikayla decided to follow up with Elise’s plan. Jumping behind Addison, she then clung onto her like a hook. “You’re amazing! You can recognize her voice so quickly! She really sounds like H, doesn’t she? I think so too, and that was why I begged her to come here and help me out.
So many people outside thought the same as you, thinking that H really came to Tissote University!” Awkwardly, Addison smiled, but she was secretly feeling helpless. Thanks to you, so many people just had a daydream! Then, she turned to Elise and saw that she still had a nonchalant look on her face, as though everything that happened to her were like fists hitting cotton and had no effect on her at all. I should really learn to be as composed as her! Nearby, Alexander watched all of Elise’s expressions carefully, and he almost crushed the cell phone he was holding in his hand. This was the same way Elise got away with things in front of him. Exactly how many identities and secrets are this woman—the only one who caught my heart—hiding from me?
Regarding Sare, he had sought to verify it many times, but he only found out the truth from someone else in the end. Indeed, there weren’t so many coincidences in this world. If there were, they were merely planned by some people. In her life, am I also one of the chess pieces she could manipulate as she likes? With this question in his mind, Alexander left the spot and waited for a while behind the door. When he saw Elise coming out, he hid behind a pillar in the hallway and gave her a call. Hearing the vibration of her cell phone, Elise stopped in her tracks and placed her phone next to her ear. “Hello, Mr. Griffith. Do you miss me a ton after not seeing me for just a day?” Alexander forced out a chuckle and diverted the topic bluntly. “Elise, are there two different people in this world with the exact same voice?’
“I don’t know.” Feeling rather lighthearted, Elise continued walking as she spoke. “But I think that’s possible; otherwise, how can you explain the existence of twins?” Almost immediately, he replied, “So, are you and Sare the same person?” The expression on her face froze, and she stood frozen on the spot as her mind went blank. “What made you say that?” Furrowing his brows deeply, he gritted his teeth tightly and said slowly after controlling his emotions, “I compared your voice prints to that of Sare’s, and it’s almost a perfect match.” Stepping out from behind the pillar, he slowly paced toward her. His eyes, which were fixed on her back, didn’t blink or relax for even a second, and the unease in his heart was like a big, black patch of dark clouds hovering over the skies.
Even he didn’t know what he was worried about, but he felt that Elise was so near and yet so far from himself at the same time, as though they couldn’t face each other honestly, and he could never walk into her heart. Reaching out his hand, he was about to pat her shoulder and call out her name when he heard her voice from the call, saying casually, “It’s only almost a perfect match.” He hung his hand mid-air and froze there, unsure whether to move forward or keep away. Relieved that he had used the word ‘almost’, Elise continued, “Since it’s not a perfect match, that shows that it’s only similar. Voice prints and IDs are the same. Everyone has their own unique voice prints and IDs. That can’t be wrong.”
The more she spoke, the softer her voice became, and when she sensed that he didn’t want to continue the topic, she decided not to go on. “Are you really suspicious that I’m Sare?” she asked tentatively. But there was no reply from him, and she urged, “Alex, are you listening?” Behind her, Alexander turned off his phone slowly and stuck his hands into his pockets. Letting out a long sigh, he said with an exasperated look in his eyes, “I’m not suspicious. I know for sure that you’re her.”
For a moment, Elise was confused before she finally realized that the voice came from behind herself. Turning around, she then saw the hurt look on his face, and she asked in puzzlement, “What happened to you?” Alexander couldn’t be sure whether he should laugh or cry; until now, Elise still didn’t think that it was a big deal to hide her identity from him. However, when he gazed at her composed face, it suddenly struck him—she didn’t trust him.
