144. The Unloseable Exam
Ever since he was a little kid, Wu Yi knew it.
He had musical talent far beyond the average person.
At the age of five, while other kids were still zoning out in front of the TV, he was sent to piano class. His extraordinary insight impressed even the teachers.
Shortly after, he took the crown at a youth music competition.
From that day on, Wu Yi became known as a prodigy.
He was often used as a “positive role model” by adults who gushed about him among friends and family.
Wu Yi became his mother’s pride; wherever they went, Wu Yi went too. At various social events, all the adults lauded Wu Yi’s mother for her successful parenting and spoke about how young Wu would become a great pianist one day.
Wherever he went, Wu Yi was the focal point of everyone’s attention.
It was from then that little Wu Yi experienced, for the first time, this suffocating pressure.
He no longer represented himself.
He was now representing his mother’s face, the talk of the village, and the positive figure for children.
If a person finds their worth in feeling needed by others,
Then Wu Yi’s whole existence was for someone else’s need to have a goddamn “next-door idol.”
From then on, he must constantly work hard, study, and strive to maintain his persona, showing off his charming personality.
To be the Wu Yi that everyone needs.
This environment followed him all the way to his third year of senior high school.
He once again excelled and became a beacon of hope and ambition for all the students at the training institution.
Everyone said.
“The top music scorer this year will definitely be Wu Yi!”
The aspiring artist should be just like him!
The same heavy mountain always sat on top of Wu Yi.
In teachers’ and classmates’ eyes:
Wu Yi should be the rebellious, confident artist.
In every art exam, he should be the cool-as-ice genius.
“Heh.”
Wu Yi was used to this.
So, when his teacher chatted with him on the field and asked him,
“Wu Yi gave a cool, satisfying answer as expected.
But only Wu Yi knew,
Masked behind the facade, he was just another ordinary man…
And this young man he bumped into just now,
Wu Yi could immediately sense his aura.
That unmistakable confidence, the belief that he’d ace all the exams.
A smell Wu Yi was painfully familiar with after so much chasing and trying to match his ideal.
“Huh.”
The phone rang and Wu Yi answered.
“How are you doing? You’re doing well for the beginning exams, right?” asked the teacher.
“No worries, just the musical instrument exam left.”
“I hear some students from a local training center seem really good.”
“Yeah, I had a chat with one of them, seems he’s not from there and has no training center background.”
“Oh~” the teacher’s voice sounded surprised, “Wow, how did you manage that! Then…”
“He’ll be a tough opponent, but I’ll beat him.”
Wu Yi stated firmly.
“Haha, as expected of you! I knew you’d do fine, Wu Yi! Keep it up. Post-exam celebration tonight!”
Laughing heartily, the teacher hung up quickly.
Wu Yi understood clearly:
No turning back for him now.
If the facade broke, the avalanche of doubt and mockery would consume him.
He had to become the role model everyone needed.
However, earlier—what kind of strength did the younger guy really have?
Promises made had been made.
There was no going back.
Under no circumstances could he lose now!
For the 2024 Art Performances in Musical Instrument category in Qingjiang Province, there were four subjects:
Music Theory 15 points, Aural Skills 15 points, Sight Reading 30 points, and Instrumental Performance 240 points. Totaling 300 points.
What came before all this, was merely child’s play.
Coming up, the instrumental performance exam would be the real deal.
Final Stage.
Lin Tian drew his number.
He was number 13.
With different instruments, the instrumental exam was divided into 12 classrooms, mostly on the same floor.
The hallways now crammed with anxious candidates and the mixed sounds of instruments.
Irony at its finest, Gan Yanyu’s cello classroom was the one furthest away from Lin Tian.
Looks like he’d have to wait until after finishing the cello to check hers out.
“.”
Soon, the piano exam began.
As the piano melodies filled the room, the hallway atmosphere heated up.
Unlike sight reading, which was more complex, the instrumental exam was simpler.
In eight minutes, candidates played 1 to 2 pre-prepared pieces.
On-site officials scored them before uploading recorded videos for public reassessment online.
In theory, being able to prep content ahead made this exam easier than randomly picked sight reading.
However, while sight reading setups usually included just an invigilator and a recording device, this instrumental exam had multiple invigilators watching each player throughout the process from a table.
Pressure hit Wu Yi like a train!
“Quick! Quick!! That looks like [Spring and Autumn]’s Wu Yi!”
One candidate shouted from a classroom window.
Many people crowded over.
Wu Yi had already approached his classroom and sat down at the piano.
“No surprise, a Spring and Autumn performer. Just looking at his hair, he seems terrifying!”
“Gosh, he was mentioned quite a bit in our classes. They said he played piano superbly and worked incredibly hard!”
“He sure seems like a top-scorer!”
As the top student at the most prestigious art training institution, Wu Yi naturally received a lot of attention.
Seated at the piano, Wu Yi took a deep breath.
He felt those eyes of other candidates piercing through him.
This classroom didn’t have the same acoustic isolation as the sight reading rooms.
Someone outside might hear his playing soon.
In any case, Wu Yi was used to it.
The constant gaze of others.
Good students had to act like good students.
This was something Wu Yi believed religiously!
No matter how you looked at it,
I’ve been training since age five. Won the children’s cup at 11. And today, I’m the art student from Spring and Autumn.
The advantage’s on my side!
(The chapter ends)
