Chapter 288.

Chapter 288.

Chapter 288. An Insidious Trap. (5/8)

The competition Jass provided was actually quite effective because of how competitive Zale was. He obviously couldn’t tolerate losing a girl to someone younger than him.

When the song Zale selected played, he sang in a soft tone, “You've got the words to change a nation but you're biting your tongue.”

It was Read All About It by Emile Sande which had much lighter vocals. It was a stark contrast to the heavy death metal tone from before.

“You've spent a lifetime stuck in silence afraid you'll say something wrong.”

Honestly, I had to give it to him, he had a really good singing voice, he was much better than Jass. It seemed he was good at just about everything.

“So boooriiinnnng,” Rosa disinterestedly complained aloud but it didn’t stop Zale from continuing.

“If no one ever hears it, how we gonna learn your song? So come on, come on. Come on, come on.” Zale glanced at Izora and signaled her to sing the next verse. It wasn’t a song intended for a duet, but Izora still went along with it.

Only... it definitely didn’t sound anything like it was intended when she opened her mouth.

“You've got a heart as loud as lions so why let your voice be taaamed? Maybe we're a little diiiiiffereeeeent there's no need to be ashaaaaaaaamed. You've got the light to fight the shadows so stop hiding it away! Come on! Come on! Come OOOOOONNNNNN!”

Zale naturally hadn’t expected Izora to give the song he selected a death metal rendition. But he still somehow recovered from his stupor by the next verse.

“I wanna sing.”

“I wanna shout!”

“Pffthahahah!” Rosa couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out into hysterical laughter while clutching her stomach as their performance continued.

Zale looked like he wanted to cry when Izora took that line.

The two of them sang the next line together but Izora completely overpowered him.

“I wanna screeeeeeam 'til the words dry ooouuut!”

Alicia’s body trembled as her lips quivered uncontrollably. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek while her eyes darted about the room to find a distraction. If she opened her mouth, she’d definitely crack. She was desperately trying to not be rude.

“So put it in all of the papers.”

“I'm not afraid!”

“They can read all about it. Read all about it, no-”

“OOOOOOOO-”

“Hmph! What fun is there in singing with someone who’s good at everything? It’s boring and not interesting in the slightest.”

“Rosa, you’ve lost your mind. Singing with someone who’s good at it is way more fun than singing with someone who sucks.”

“Then, Izora, who is it? Who’d you have more fun singing with? Zale, or Jass?”

“Huh? Uh. Why am I suddenly the one being put on the spot?” Izora leaned back on the couch and raised her hands up in front of her.

“You’re the one who sang with both of them, so it’s only obvious you’re the only one who can decide, right?”

“Decide...”

“Yeah. Decide. Soooo~ who did you have more fun singing with, Izora? Zale, or Jass~?”

Rosa leaned forward with mischievous fox-like eyes. Something about her smile right now was fatally attractive, even devilish.

What the hell? Is she stealing my gimmick?

To my left, Alicia had a stiff awkward smile. A similar thought had likely crossed her mind about how Rosa resembled a certain scammer she was all but too familiar with. Me.

Izora unconsciously averted her eyes away from Zale in Jass’s direction.

“Jass... I guess,” Izora mumbled to herself.

Zale’s entire body stiffened up when Izora’s words sank in. Impossible, was what his reaction conveyed. It was incomprehensible to him. Losing. How could I lose again?

He’d written it off as a one-off fluke the first time it happened with me, but this time, his loss had a much greater impact on him as he personally knew the person he lost to. For the first time in his life, his overwhelming self-confidence in his abilities wavered. His inflated ego took its biggest blow yet. Insecurity around his peers, he’d probably never felt such a thing before.

Am I not as great as I once thought? I’m special though. I stand above those around me at the top. It shouldn’t be possible for me to lose someone below me.

I could only imagine those were his thoughts right now.

“Ria... you meant to say my name just now, didn’t you? It was obviously more fun to sing with me, wasn’t it?” Zale’s voice was low and deep. His eyes gleamed scarily when he raised his arm and gripped Izora’s upper arm tight in his hand. Izora’s face scrunched up a little in pain.

I immediately recognized it was a big red flag for an abusive toxic future relationship if the two wound up together in the end. This wasn’t good at all. It was the worst-case scenario I considered if Jass was introduced into the equation.

Jass grabbed Zale’s wrist, squeezed down hard, and rebuked, “Dude, let go of her man. Can’t you see you’re going to hurt her like this? Who she says she had more fun singing with isn’t even that big a deal, is it? So why’re you taking it so seriously? This isn’t like you at all. It’s just some fun and games, no need to take it to heart.”

Zale, startled by his own actions, released Izora’s arm. Thankfully, Jass’s words seemed to snap him out of whatever strange state he was in.

“R-Right. It’s just fun... and games... what am I doing... getting so worked up over this... little game. Sorry, I’ll be right back, I’ve got to use the washroom.” Zale unsteadily stood up, shook off Jass’s hand, and exited the room. Izora stared at his back worriedly on his way out.

The atmosphere in the room turned awkward as silence persisted after Zale exited the room.