Chapter 75: Wild Bees

Entering the venue, after listening to a dull opening speech, the competition officially began.

Xia Yu sat in a front seat alongside a group of participants, with the seats divided into male and female sections. Zhong Yunze was on his left, and an unfamiliar person was on his right.

“I’m going to challenge a high-difficulty piece,” Zhong Yunze said nervously, taking advantage of the moment before the first contestant went on stage to talk with Xia Yu.

Looking at the number three on Zhong’s wrist, Xia Yu replied, “Good luck.”

The first two contestants performed their pieces unremarkably. Zhong Yunze then took the stage and, as Xia Yu had expected, failed to successfully perform the high-difficulty piece.

After making a mistake in the middle and panicking for a few seconds, Zhong Yunze barely managed to finish the rest of the piece and walked off the stage.

He had originally thought he would, like the protagonist in a fantasy story, suddenly excel under pressure. To increase the likelihood of this happening, he had recalled his deceased birth parents before playing.

But it turned out to be useless.

“Anyway, even if you succeed, you might not necessarily advance. Just relax,” Xia Yu comforted him.

“Just a little off; that one note was wrong, and everything fell apart afterward,” Zhong Yunze lamented.

After two more contestants performed, it was the turn of the bespectacled man from the previous night. He played a modern piece called “Owl.”

The melody of “Owl” implied the story of a general usurping the throne, revealing his great ambition.

The five judges on stage nodded and offered their comments:

“Although he focused a bit too much on technique and neglected emotion, it was still a great piece.”

“Young people should practice techniques; they will only understand emotions when they get older.”

“You can’t say that young people can’t understand emotions either. There’s an example, after all. Being able to play the soul of the music is the ultimate pursuit.”

The five judges had a small debate. Fortunately, they remembered they were at a competition and quickly restrained themselves.

Standing aside, the bespectacled man had kept smiling, but his mouth was already twitching slightly.

After stepping down from the stage, he glanced at Xia Yu.

The example mentioned by the judge was Xia Yu. If it weren’t for Xia Yu, the bespectacled man would have received nothing but praise.

After Xia Yu smiled at him, he grew even more furious.

Returning to his seat, two companions tried to comfort him.

“What’s the use of soul? Technique is the current standard for evaluating piano performances. He won’t advance,” one of them said.

Reassured by their words, the bespectacled man calmed down and smiled: “Wait until he performs. I want to see what kind of evaluation this guy, who can play with soul, will receive.”

Soon after, it was the ninth contestant’s turn. As his performance was nearing its end, Xia Yu entered the backstage area.

The ninth contestant’s skill level was at the lower end of Lv. 3. One judge reluctantly offered a word of encouragement, while the other four judges couldn’t even be bothered to comment before letting the ninth contestant leave.

(Note: I made a minor correction from “contestant” to “contestant” in the second instance for consistency, though both spellings are technically acceptable. The original translation was already very accurate, so I only adjusted the tone slightly by replacing “勉强” with “reluctantly” for better fluency.)

“The next one is that young guy,” one judge perked up.

“The one playing ‘Old Wolf of France’?”

“He’s a bit lacking in technique, but technique can be trained. His future potential is foreseeable.”

“But his technique is really poor. I’m afraid he won’t advance.”

“If you value talent, you could take him as your apprentice. He learned piano from his mother, without a teacher.”

“I heard his mother plays the guzheng. No wonder his piano technique is poor.”

“What do you think? If you don’t want him, he’s mine.”

The five judges quieted down only when Xia Yu finally took the stage.

They leaned back in their chairs, ready to enjoy “Old Wolf of France,” only to see Xia Yu not approach the piano but instead place a violin under his chin.

“??? What’s going on?”

“What’s happening?” the judges were greatly surprised.

“What’s going on?” Zhong Yunze couldn’t figure it out.

“Why did he bring a violin on stage!” The bespectacled man stared in disbelief.

Among the audience, some had specifically come to hear Xia Yu’s performance of “Old Wolf of France.” They were equally confused and began whispering among themselves.

Xia Yu’s principal was also questioned by the principal from No. 2 High School.

“Why did he use a violin?” the principal from No. 2 High School grabbed the other principal’s hand.

“I don’t know either. He didn’t even tell me. But he does know how to play the violin,” the principal replied, equally puzzled.

Amidst the near-universal commotion, Xia Yu placed the bow on the strings.

A hurried melody abruptly sounded and continued at an unrelenting pace.

In an instant, the hall seemed filled with bees, buzzing noisily.

The audience and judges were all stunned.

Halfway through Xia Yu’s performance, when he put down the bow and plucked the strings to produce a “ding” sound, the judges finally realized and recognized the piece.

“The Flight of the Bumblebee!” They exchanged glances.

Placing the bow back on the strings, Xia Yu continued playing rapidly.

Before most of the audience could even react, he had already ended the piece with a long note followed by two short notes.

A brief silence fell over the venue before the judges led the applause, which soon echoed throughout the theater.

“The Flight of the Bumblebee” was originally a classical piece with many adapted versions, and Xia Yu played one of these adaptations.

This piece was famous for its fast tempo and sound resembling a swarm of bees. It posed an enormous challenge to both technique and hand dexterity. Without at least a year of rigorous practice, it was practically impossible to perform well.

However, the above wasn’t enough to excite the five judges. What they cared more about was:

“How long was that just now?”

“I don’t know, but it must have been close to the record!”

“We can calculate the time from the video camera.”

“Why check the camera when the performer is right here!”

So the five judges turned their attention to Xia Yu and asked him to play again.

Unprecedentedly, Xia Yu sat back down on the stool and performed the piece for a second time.

The intense violin sound rang out again, spreading passion throughout the theater.

This passion stirred everyone’s emotions, making their bodies want to tremble along.

After finishing the piece, one judge checked his phone, took two deep breaths, and solemnly announced, “Sixty-six seconds.”

The world record for “The Flight of the Bumblebee” was also sixty-six seconds.

The knowledgeable audience members began murmuring excitedly again, and even those unfamiliar with the violin joined in after receiving explanations.

Zhong Yunze inhaled sharply. Although he felt a bit envious, he still sighed in admiration at Xia Yu’s incredible performance.

The bespectacled man in front of him, however, was far from balanced.

Suddenly switching from piano to violin was one thing, being able to play “The Flight of the Bumblebee” was another, but breaking the world record? Becoming the fastest violinist in the world?

They were all here to compete, so why can you be so impressive!

On stage, Xia Yu glanced at his skill bar.

Playing “The Flight of the Bumblebee” required techniques at the upper end of Lv. 3. The remaining challenge was purely about speed, which depended on hand dexterity—not just the right hand that moved the bow, but also the left hand that pressed the strings.

If his dexterity hadn’t reached Lv. 3, he wouldn’t have been able to play at such a fast speed.

In fact, he could have gone even faster by another second or two, but that would have caused the rhythm to fall apart.

Rhythm was the foundation of music. Without rhythm, it was no longer music, just fast and valueless noise.

“Bravo!” One of the judges was particularly excited, pounding the armrest of his chair.

He was a violinist.

“If you continue down the path of violin, your future prospects are boundless!” said the violinist judge.

“Cough, your violin playing is indeed impressive, but your ‘Old Wolf of France’ already showed signs of mastery. As long as your technique improves, your future is also promising,” the pianist judge tried to pull Xia Yu to his side.

“What did you say!” Of course, the violinist judge wouldn’t agree.