### Chapter 143: The Brilliant Art Examination Student
At this moment, several students peeking from outside the door began to realize that something was off.
“Why does it sound so smooth?”
The soundproofing of the sight-reading examination room was top-notch; typically, it was tough for those outside to grasp what piece was being played inside.
However, even if they couldn’t make out the specific tunes, they could still vaguely catch the overall tonal quality if they pressed their ears against the doors and windows.
Since the performance began, the piano had played in an uninterrupted flow.
“And no pauses in between!”
“Seriously?!”
One examinee couldn’t help but exclaim,
“He can really play, huh?”
“Maybe he’s just randomly banging on the keys? I tend to play through when I hit a wall, too!”
“No doubt about it! He’s definitely faking it! Everyone else plays like they’re auditioning for a sad drama, and yet he gets to act like a superstar!”
Even though they couldn’t hear the details, just the continuous rhythm was already outrageous.
Especially when they saw Lin Tian even play with his eyes closed for a section—everyone collectively lost it!
No way, can someone really be that cocky?!
“Wait, he doesn’t seem to be messing around; look!”
One examinee shot their finger through a crack in the door, pointing to the other side.
“Check the proctor, she looks like she’s smiling!!”
Everyone gasped and scrambled to peek through the gap.
The previously stoic female teacher was now lounging comfortably, arms crossed, as if watching a musical performance, gazing at Lin Tian playing the piano.
“…”
For the teacher, this boy’s performance had been the highlight of her monitoring duty all day.
This was no longer an exam.
This was a one-on-one show!
At first, she even wondered if he had known the exam questions in advance and memorized them.
But upon reflection, that seemed impossible.
There were just too many scores in the repertoire. Even if he memorized them all, he couldn’t possibly play with such mastery.
This level of piano playing was clearly beyond her!
So why was he participating in the art examination? With skills like that, did he really need to?
“…”
When the sight-reading recording ended, Lin Tian stepped out of the examination room and was immediately engulfed by a crowd of curious gazes.
The number of examinees outside had more than doubled since Lin Tian walked in.
Rumors were swirling in every art student group chat.
They were saying A7’s sight-reading exam featured a genius!
The only examinee who could make the proctor smile during the exam!
While others were cursing the exam questions as ridiculous, this student breezed through without a hint of pressure.
Before long, a gaggle of students who had just finished their tests gathered around to gawk.
“That’s him!”
“Isn’t that the handsome guy we saw in the square?”
“No way! Too bad he’s not in the A7 exam room; I really want to see him perform!”
“With skills like that, he can’t possibly be from 【Spring and Autumn】.”
Taken aback by the sudden commotion, Lin Tian blinked.
Then, while politely saying, “Excuse me,” “Make way,” he squeezed through the crowd.
“…”
Once he finally broke free, he hurried off.
Wonder how Gan Yan Yu’s doing?
Lin Tian thought to himself.
With some time left, he pondered whether he should check A9.
In theory, Teacher Gan’s expertise should assure him.
However, when it came to Gan Yan Yu, worrying was never off the table.
Even though he’d passed his sight-reading, he was still eager to see how she fared.
Halfway through, Lin Tian stopped.
Since they had agreed to meet afterward, he’d choose to trust her!
Next up, he rushed toward his next exam location.
### Music Theory Exam
Music theory basics—this was the type of exam that was child’s play for Lin Tian, relying mainly on rote memorization.
He completed it effortlessly.
### Dictation Exam
This was another written test assessing candidates’ musical hearing, memory, and score recognition abilities.
Once again, Lin Tian breezed through it; when the bell rang, he was the first to hand in his paper.
“…”
Suddenly, Lin Tian noticed he had inexplicably become a celebrity during today’s art exams.
Everywhere he went, he could overhear people discussing him.
He was enjoying the treatment of a gossip king!
What he didn’t know was that, in the small art exam circle, even tiny details spread like wildfire, far quicker than in the ordinary high school scene.
Lin Tian’s sudden rise to fame made many art institutions feel on edge.
Several teachers even began digging into Lin Tian’s background.
This newcomer, with no background, was wreaking havoc at the exam rooms—he was a total ringer!
This completely disrupted the predictions and plans many institutions had made regarding who would be in the “Top Ten” before the joint exam, sending them into a panic!
“…”
After Lin Tian wrapped up all his subjects, only the last one remained—Instrument Performance.
While on his way to the exam room, a long-haired young man suddenly blocked his path.
“Hi!”
“Huh?”
Lin Tian stopped in his tracks.
“I’m Wu Yi, an examinee from 【Spring and Autumn】,” Wu Yi said with a smile.
“Oh, hello.”
Lin Tian recalled seeing flags for “Spring and Autumn” in the square; it seemed to be quite a prestigious training institution.
“What’s up?” Lin Tian asked.
“You haven’t heard of me?” Wu Yi looked surprised.
“Why would I have?”
“Ah, you must not be from a local training institute.”
“I don’t attend any training institute.”
“Oh~ impressive.”
Wu Yi’s eyes sparkled with interest as he visually sized up Lin Tian.
“I heard you scored full marks on your sight-reading test.”
“Who said that?” Lin Tian was taken aback.
“Ha-ha, that’s the word going around.” Wu Yi chuckled amiably.
“Oh, okay.”
“We’ll be in the same room for the instrument performance exam; looking forward to seeing your show,” Wu Yi said.
Then, with a hint of mischief in his tone, he added quietly, “By the way, I also got full marks on my sight-reading!”
“Cool.”
Lin Tian smiled, patted Wu Yi on the shoulder, and said, “Good luck to you too!”
He then quickly moved on, leaving Wu Yi standing there in shock.
After a moment,
Wu Yi buried his face in his hands, displaying an expression of pure horror.
The sky was falling!
“Oh no, oh no, oh no…”
“Why on earth did I have to act like such a hotshot in front of the teacher?! Saying things like ‘an interesting rival’—I only said that because I thought it was cool!!!”
(End of Chapter)
