In this competition, the pieces the contestants were to play were not revealed in advance, so both the audience and the judges had to identify the music themselves.
This was also a kind of enjoyment.
Normally, the judges could guess the title of the piece within ten seconds of the prelude, but this time, it took the five judges a bit longer.
They even began to whisper among themselves:
“Do you know this piece? Is there such a guzheng composition?”
“It sounds a bit like ‘E Ending,’ but wasn’t ‘E Ending’ an ensemble piece?”
The five judges fell silent for a moment, trying hard to recall. Ten seconds later, one judge inhaled sharply:
“It’s ‘E Ending’! It’s that ‘E Ending’ with the secret technique of the Hua School!”
“You mean the one Liu Ronglan used to play when she was young?” The other judges finally figured it out too. Since Liu Ronglan had grown older, the solo version of “E Ending” had become a rarity, so they were somewhat unfamiliar with the piece.
Once they identified the piece, the five judges stopped talking and listened carefully. Meanwhile, their hearts were stirred.
Liu Ronglan had started playing “E Ending” only in college, but the young man before them was merely a senior in high school!
Matching the world record of the bumblebee piece, reviving the solo guzheng version of “E Ending”—even though the piano part was slightly inferior, this was already at a supernatural level!
They couldn’t help glancing at Liu Ronglan in the audience, who wore a proud expression and winked at them.
This old woman actually had such a genius disciple hidden away!
At this point, Xia Yu had already been playing for thirty seconds. His hands were moving faster and faster, so fast that the human eye could no longer follow his fingers.
The rapid playing produced an intense melody, dense and thick, like summer rain pelting down on everyone, quickening their heartbeats and sending shivers through their nerves.
The storm raged on. At the one-minute mark, Xia Yu reached the peak of his speed. The audience felt as if the sky’s dome had overturned, and floods were surging down from the heavens.
The five judges were also extremely excited. Three of them watched Xia Yu’s main hand, their hearts echoing with astonishment:
“Alternating finger techniques, sliding notes, vibrato, and that tremolo technique too!”
“This is being played with the left hand!”
In guzheng playing, the left hand is usually auxiliary, while the right hand is the main player. Although in theory both hands should be equally dexterous, in reality, the left hand often lags behind the right.
Yet, at such an incredible speed, Xia Yu managed to produce the same effect using his left hand!
The other two judges focused instead on Xia Yu’s auxiliary hand.
Generally speaking, the right hand plucks the strings while the left hand presses and vibrates them. Although the right hand appears to be the main player, the left hand is actually the soul of the guzheng.
Right-hand plucking is visible, fingers striking specific strings clearly; but the depth of left-hand pressing, the control of vibrato, the modulation of tension and release—all these can only be perceived by ear and by feel.
The same score, the same piece, can sound completely different in flavor, and that subtlety lies entirely in the left hand’s sliding and pressing techniques.
The charm of a piece comes from the left hand.
The two judges stared at Xia Yu’s left hand, watching the fluid pressing and tremolo, the fingers busy yet composed, seemingly slow despite their speed, and their hearts swelled with admiration.
As the piece reached its middle and latter sections, the tempo slowed slightly, but it ended with a sudden surge of speed and a passionate flourish.
The storm of sound stopped abruptly.
But the audience still felt the rain echoing in their ears.
After about eight or nine seconds, thunderous applause erupted.
“No one can play faster than you now,” one judge sighed.
“What a promising young man.”
“Liu Ronglan has found a worthy successor.”
They didn’t bother commenting on Xia Yu’s technique. “E Ending” was an emotionally intense piece, and during the performance, they had poured out all their passion. Now, they felt strangely indifferent.
They barely gathered their spirits and offered a few encouraging words before allowing Xia Yu to leave the stage.
It wasn’t just the judges—audiences at the scene and those watching the live broadcast on TV, no matter what they were doing or how excited they had been before, now dropped everything and felt a sense of emptiness.
At home, Feng Ma from No. 2 High School sighed while watching on TV. In the first competition, he had underestimated Xia Yu because he was from No. 1 High School. Later, he had corrected his view of Xia Yu, but still held the belief that early success didn’t guarantee final victory, hoping he could catch up and compete for the title of the best in Zilang.
But now, after hearing “E Ending,” his fighting spirit had completely vanished.
How could he ever catch up to such a prodigy?
In class, Yan Wei, who was secretly watching the live stream on her phone, slumped onto her desk helplessly.
Such an outstanding young man—how many romantic rivals would she have to face?
At the venue, Liu Ronglan and Kong Hanyue clasped hands, filled with satisfaction. Liu Ronglan was pleased that the Hua School guzheng tradition would not end with her. Kong Hanyue was delighted that Xia Yu had delivered, and the Kong family would gain a new supreme technique.
Even more emotionally shaken was An Siyao.
Her face had turned pale.
Originally, she hadn’t planned to participate in this competition, but because “he” seemed interested, she decided to come.
Before the competition, she had done her research and found no competitors more dazzling than her—this was supposed to be her stage to shine.
Especially fifteen days ago, when “he” said he would watch the live stream, An Siyao had been eagerly anticipating this event.
But suddenly, Xia Yu appeared and shattered her plans.
She knew that with such an emotionally powerful and technically superior performance ahead of hers, even if her playing was significantly better, she couldn’t regain the audience’s attention. All they would talk about afterward would be him.
She coughed softly, feeling anxious and uncertain.
On one hand, she longed for “him” to see her performance, but on the other, she feared “he” would shift his gaze elsewhere.
She had been chosen by “him” precisely because of her music. If “he” found someone better…
“Yaoyao?” Her teacher beside her patted her back gently. “If you’re not feeling well, you don’t have to participate. This competition isn’t important. Real pianists never care about such things.”
Shaking her head, An Siyao showed her determination.
Her teacher looked at her with a pained and concerned expression.
“Why didn’t you sleep last night? Things were getting better, but you sat up all night again and made it worse.”
“I’m fine,” An Siyao replied weakly, her heart still heavy with disappointment and unease.
Yesterday had already been the fifteenth day. She had hoped he would come.
“What’s wrong with Yaoyao?” Liu Ronglan noticed An Siyao’s condition from the front row.
“She caught a cold again,” her teacher answered.
“That’s…” Liu Ronglan started to speak but stopped halfway. She waved at Xia Yu, who had just come off the stage, signaling him to sit beside her.
Sitting next to Liu Ronglan, Xia Yu looked behind at An Siyao.
Earlier, from the back, he had sensed that the girl seemed listless, but he hadn’t expected it to be this serious.
That pale complexion couldn’t be caused by just a common cold.
“Yuyu, look up there—that’s your senior sister,” Liu Ronglan told Xia Yu.
Senior sister? Was that her granddaughter who learned the northern guzheng school style?
Looking up at the stage, Xia Yu saw the girl who had played “Songstress of the Amusement Park” in the third competition.
Liu Ronglan continued talking about her granddaughter, but Xia Yu wasn’t really listening. He was concerned about An Siyao’s condition.
The next contestant after the current one was An Siyao. After Liu’s granddaughter finished her performance on stage, An Siyao stood up to go backstage.
As she rose, she staggered slightly.
“Are you okay?” Xia Yu caught her hand.
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