Xia Yu arrived with Feng Ma from the Second High School. Along the way, Feng Ma kept his eyes lowered, still feeling embarrassed about the previous incident.
Also traveling with them were Xia Yu’s principal and the principal of the Second High School.
This time, the principal did not bring the Chinese teacher, as the organizers had only given him one seat.
After getting off the high-speed train, the group first went to the hotel. The organizers had arranged a two-bedroom suite, with one room for Xia Yu and another for the principal.
As Xia Yu was about to return to his room, the principal called him over.
“Don’t forget to wear this tonight,” the principal handed over two sets of suits. “You must wear them tomorrow and the day after as well. We can’t be as casual as we were in Zilang during the competition in Kaiyang.”
Back in Zilang, Xia Yu had only changed into a suit right before going on stage.
Xia Yu took the suit and returned to his room to put it on. The suit fit him perfectly since it had been custom-made using allocated funds.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Xia Yu nodded in satisfaction and adjusted his tie.
At 5:30 PM, he and the principal went to the tenth floor of the hotel where the banquet was to be held.
Many participants had already arrived. Most were skillfully holding glasses of juice and chatting with each other, though a few seemed somewhat at a loss.
The banquet started at 6 PM. Xia Yu scanned the hall and noticed that An Siyao had not yet arrived.
Given the girl’s personality, she would definitely come unless her chaperone or another official had told her not to.
After scanning the hall again, Xia Yu spotted Zhong Yunze, who also noticed him at the same time.
Zhong Yunze was greatly surprised and approached Xia Yu.
“Your guzheng playing is so terrible—how did you even qualify?” he asked in astonishment. “This competition is going to be broadcast on television. Did you even fix the results?”
Zhong Yunze’s judgment of Xia Yu’s guzheng skills was still based on the first time he had heard him play.
“…Since my guzheng isn’t good, couldn’t I just play another instrument?” Xia Yu didn’t bother explaining his guzheng proficiency.
“Let me see what you played.” Zhong Yunze took out his phone, found the link to the Zilang competition on the official forum, and scrolled to find Xia Yu’s performance.
“Your piano skills are amazing—why did you even bother learning the guzheng!” Zhong Yunze looked at Xia Yu.
“Because I need the guzheng to make it to the finals,” Xia Yu replied truthfully.
“Hahaha, don’t kid me,” Zhong Yunze assumed Xia Yu was joking. “We might not even make it to the third round, and you’re talking about finals!”
“What’s the situation with this competition?” Xia Yu took the opportunity to ask.
“I’ve heard that about four or five people will likely advance. Among them, there are two from Yaoguang who are in a completely different league, taking two spots. Kaiyang also has two in a different league, taking another two spots. We can only hope for the last one left,” Zhong Yunze explained.
“But that last spot isn’t guaranteed either.”
“Right, that last spot isn’t guaranteed! It might not even exist—it might only be those four advancing,” Zhong Yunze sighed. “There are just too many strong competitors.”
“It’s a provincial-level competition, and Yaoguang participants are involved,” Xia Yu casually comforted Zhong Yunze while thinking deeply.
Those four were on a completely different level from Zhong Yunze. Excluding the exceptional An Siyao, the rest were probably around the upper-middle level of Lv3.
With his distinctive piece “Fran’s Old Wolf,” Xia Yu could stand out among the Lv3 mid-tier players. If there was a fifth spot, he was confident he could secure it.
But what if there wasn’t?
He couldn’t reveal his guzheng skills yet. His guzheng playing was only at the upper Lv3 level, and he wasn’t very fluent with the corresponding pieces. Suddenly advancing to Lv4 in the third round would draw too much attention.
Rubbing his forehead, Xia Yu sighed.
Fortunately, he had prepared in advance.
After exchanging a few more words with Zhong Yunze, Xia Yu scanned the hall again and spotted An Siyao.
An Siyao was wearing a white evening gown, standing in a corner. The tight dress outlined the curves of her body.
She was holding a glass of pomegranate juice, occasionally glancing around like a vigilant hamster.
Now Xia Yu understood why she didn’t go on the school trip.
If she felt fearful even in the hotel lobby, it would be even worse outside.
“That’s one of the two from Yaoguang. She’s not in the same league as the other three. Many famous pianists can’t match her!” Zhong Yunze also looked toward An Siyao.
A smile appeared on Xia Yu’s lips. She had taught him piano for over a month—how could she not be amazing?
“The northern girl can’t compare to her either. She’s practically the guaranteed champion!” Zhong Yunze’s tone was tinged with envy.
There was another expert from the north? Xia Yu noted the information.
Well, he only aimed to reach the finals anyway. There were ten spots in the finals!
He looked at An Siyao again, wondering whether to go over and greet her.
Two seconds later, he abandoned the idea. Sudden approach from a stranger would only increase the girl’s stress and leave a bad impression.
However, someone else approached her.
Three boys surrounded An Siyao.
After exchanging a few words, the boys sensed An Siyao’s reluctance, but since the girl didn’t directly or indirectly drive them away, they didn’t leave.
There were thirty participants in total, ten of whom were female. An Siyao was the most beautiful and the most skilled.
“Those three are from Kaiyang. Except for the one without glasses, the other two are the guaranteed qualifiers,” Zhong Yunze said.
Xia Yu didn’t respond. He directly walked toward An Siyao.
The three boys, who had been trying to chat with An Siyao, noticed Xia Yu approaching. They stopped talking and looked at him.
If someone with weaker nerves faced this silent gaze, they might have walked away themselves, but Xia Yu was not a coward.
“Mind if I join your conversation?” Xia Yu waved his glass of juice.
“We’re discussing some private matters,” one of them, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, said. He seemed to be the leader among the three.
“Then I won’t disturb you,” Xia Yu turned and looked at An Siyao.
He had originally planned to use the excuse of discussing private matters to pull An Siyao away.
But he wasn’t sure if An Siyao would follow him. In her eyes, Xia Yu was no different from those three guys—just a lion compared to jackals.
He said to An Siyao, “Then, would this lady mind having a brief chat with me?”
An Siyao shook her head, indicating she didn’t mind.
Xia Yu knew she actually did mind. With such a personality, if she hadn’t been born into a wealthy family, Xia Yu would have already tricked her away without anyone intervening.
Seeing An Siyao agree, the three boys looked displeased. The one with the gold-rimmed glasses said to Xia Yu, “I’ve seen your piano playing. ‘Fran’s Old Wolf’ is indeed good, but unfortunately, Fran still couldn’t escape its fate of perishing early in World War I.”
He meant that Xia Yu could only show off in the preliminary round and would be eliminated in the second round.
Xia Yu followed up, “I’ve also heard your piano playing. ‘Rosalie’s Bedside’ was performed very well.”
“I didn’t play that piece,” the one with the glasses looked puzzled.
“Is that so? Then maybe it wasn’t last week’s performance, but this week’s? Perhaps today? That exquisite first part truly amazed me,” Xia Yu smiled.
Not only the one with glasses, all three turned red.
The first part of “Rosalie’s Bedside” was jokingly referred to by some as “reckless and shameless wandering” around Rosalie’s bedroom. This was a subtle jab at their behavior of clinging to An Siyao.
An Siyao didn’t understand the complex verbal sparring. She looked confused, which the guilty-looking one with glasses misinterpreted as teasing.
He immediately finished his glass of juice and left, with the other two following shortly after.
Only Xia Yu and An Siyao remained in the spot.
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