Chapter 121: Free Face

The three girls recognized Xia Yu very early on, but were somewhat uncertain.

Since there was Kong Han, who seemed to be on a date with Xia Yu, they felt it was inconvenient to go over and ask. Now that Kong Han had finally walked away, they eagerly approached Xia Yu.

Kong Han, who had just taken a couple of steps forward, turned her head to glance at the three girls with disdain.

Girls from small towns are truly clueless. They get so excited at the sight of a slightly good-looking boy.

Talent is the most important.

She continued walking forward but then heard the three girls exclaim again.

“It really is you! We didn’t even believe it when we saw you on TV!”

TV? What TV?

Kong Han stopped in her tracks, puzzled.

“We couldn’t even find any information about you online. Don’t you update your own encyclopedia?” the three girls asked again.

“I merely got second place in the entire region. Nothing worth creating an entry about,” You Xue interjected.

Second place in the entire region.

Kong Han furrowed her brows. She tried hard to recall recent competitions, but since she didn’t follow the music scene, she didn’t remember Xia Yu’s name. If it were An Siyao, she would immediately recall that the second place wasn’t as prominent as the first.

Turning her head, she intended to ask Lu Zhiwen, but the latter, who should have been by her side, had disappeared.

Lu Zhiwen had approached Xia Yu, his face excited: “I thought you looked familiar. It really is you! I watched your E Finale; it was truly breathtaking.”

Surrounded by the three girls and Lu Zhiwen, facing their constant questions, Xia Yu found it hard to keep up. Fortunately, You Xue could help him deal with the girls.

The commotion at this table also caught the attention of other customers, who joined in observing Xia Yu.

Eventually, from others’ conversations, Kong Han learned of Xia Yu’s reputation.

World’s fastest violinist, inheritor of the Hua School Guzheng, the only solo performer of the E Finale, second place in the regional middle school instrumental competition, and the triple threat of piano, violin, and guzheng…

Now she understood why Xia Yu had such a calm expression. In comparison, her own competition achievements were insignificant.

Thinking about her earlier bragging and her previous thoughts, Kong Han quickly walked out of the teahouse while no one was paying attention.

She was so embarrassed. Soon, everyone in town would know, and she wanted to go home, back to Kaiyang!

…

Holding You Xue’s hand, Xia Yu walked out of the teahouse and sighed in relief.

Fortunately, this was just a small town with not many people, most of whom were just curious onlookers. Otherwise, it would have been hard to get away.

“Come to my place sometime,” Lu Zhiwen waved goodbye to Xia Yu, looking forward to discussing music and painting with him.

Xia Yu waved back. He thought this guy was pretty nice and might invite him to play games together sometime.

“That woman sure ran off quickly,” You Xue huffed, expressing her dissatisfaction with Kong Han.

“After all, she’s still a child, a bit childish is normal.”

Although Xia Yu was somewhat surprised by Kong Han’s behavior, he did not feel much aversion.

Kong Han was an only child, and her parents spoiled her. It was normal for her to have some teenage drama. In his previous life, when Xia Yu was around sixteen or seventeen, he had done many foolish things too.

“I’m not childish at all,” You Xue said proudly.

“Mature people wouldn’t say things like that.” Xia Yu patted the girl’s head as he walked home, thinking about how to explain this to Xia Nianhong.

His worries were unnecessary. At this moment, the two elderly people were only concerned about what second place he had achieved.

Since it was a small town, news spread quickly. Bored elders, upon hearing the news, immediately came to tell Xia Nianhong.

However, the two elderly people didn’t take it seriously. Grandpa was kneading dough and preparing ingredients, while Grandma sat at the table watching TV.

When Xia Yu returned, they asked, “We heard you got second place in a regional competition?”

“There’s no second place; it’s just the second place,” Xia Yu replied.

“Don’t try to fool me. Isn’t second place the same as runner-up?” Xia Nianhong didn’t believe him.

“The organizers didn’t specify champions or runners-up.”

“No problem if they didn’t. Anyway, you are the runner-up.” Letting Xia Yu sit down, Xia Nianhong asked excitedly, “Does it count for extra points?”

After a moment of reflection, Xia Yu realized the elder was asking about extra points for the college entrance exam.

“I didn’t really pay attention to whether there were extra points or not,” Xia Yu answered.

In principle, this competition should grant extra points. However, those who could stand out in a regional competition were all the protégés of veteran musicians, destined to inherit their masters’ legacies. Their university paths were already arranged, so they didn’t need to care about extra points.

Moreover, extra points would be useless for him since he had already received a recommendation from Huada University.

Just as he was about to tell Xia Nianhong, the elder cut him off: “Didn’t pay attention? Then there probably aren’t any.”

The passion on Xia Nianhong’s face disappeared. She slapped the table: “Alright, don’t sit here anymore. Go upstairs and study.”

Xia Yu was worried about when he could go to Xu Youxiang today. Hearing Xia Nianhong’s words, he swallowed his explanation.

If he mentioned the Huada recommendation, he would be dragged around to show off again. He wouldn’t have time to visit Xu Youxiang today.

He quickly walked upstairs.

At this moment, the thing he was worried about happened.

“Oh, right, didn’t you go to meet that girl Kong Han? How did it go?” Xia Nianhong remembered the main topic.

Weighing the pros and cons between exposing Kong Han’s faults and losing a day’s freedom, Xia Yu decided, considering their past relationship, to give Kong Han a favor.

Otherwise, with Xia Nianhong’s ability, everyone in town would know about Kong Han’s matter by tomorrow. For a child of that age, it would be quite embarrassing for a while.

“In fact, whether there are extra points or not isn’t important,” Xia Yu changed the subject.

“How can extra points not be important?” Xia Nianhong was stunned.

“I’ve already been specially recruited by Huada,” Xia Yu continued.

Da—

The dough in Grandpa’s hand dropped to the ground.

“What special recruitment?” Xia Nianhong’s face was stunned.

“It’s Huada,” You Xue helped explain, “That regional competition isn’t an ordinary one. Many participants have already been on TV, even celebrities!”

The celebrities You Xue mentioned were Liu Manman, the granddaughter of Liu Ronglan.

Just like in the earthly world, where singers and athletes can become celebrities, instrumentalists can also become celebrities.

Moreover, there were quite a few celebrities who became famous through piano and guzheng.

You Xue continued, “So, my brother got second place and received a recommendation from Huada!”

To ordinary people, Xia Yu received the Huada recommendation because he got second place. However, in reality, after the competition ended, the invitations that came were all from music conservatories. Huada had no interest in art subjects like music and painting and had no intention of inviting Xia Yu at all.

Regarding Xia Yu’s firm decision to go to Huada, the principals and other informed parties were somewhat puzzled.

They didn’t know that Xia Yu had no intention of pursuing a career in music.

Leaning against the wall, Xia Yu sighed.

I just wanted to get a job at a cafe. How did I suddenly become the triple threat of piano, violin, and guzheng, and the highly anticipated inheritor of the Hua School?

At this moment, You Xue finally clarified everything.

As Xia Yu had imagined, he was kept in the noodle shop to help out.

Xia Nianhong went to get a banner and hung it at the entrance of the noodle shop.

“To celebrate a student from our town being admitted to Huada University, today’s vegetarian noodles are free.”

When passersby came in curiously to ask who had been admitted, Xia Nianhong proudly announced Xia Yu’s name, enjoying the other person’s shocked expression.

All day long, the noodle shop was bustling with visitors, and Xia Yu also got to know a group of aunts and uncles.

At 8 p.m., he finally escaped the noise and returned to his room.

He logged into Xu Youxiang’s body.