Chapter 365: The Torturous Results of the Competition
“Wow, this meeting’s gone on longer than an orchestra warming up for a performance.”
On the commentary stand,
They were already five minutes over the allowed rest time.
Maple Leaf sighed and declared,
“Looks like the judges have split opinions on who’s the winner.”
“It’s normal. This shows they’re taking their responsibilities seriously,” Bamboo Leaf quickly intervened to smooth things over.
Maple Leaf looked at Bamboo Leaf, who also stared back blankly.
They locked eyes and suddenly, both couldn’t help but smirk.
“What’s so funny, Ms. Bamboo Leaf?”
“I remember something hilarious—what about you?”
“I remember something amusing too!”
“Come on, Mr. Maple Leaf, we’re on live broadcast here. Keep it clean.”
“Alright, alright.”
The two commentators exchanged glances and broke into uncontrollable laughter, despite their best efforts to stay professional.
To avoid getting reprimanded by the boss, they resorted to covering their mouths with their hands.
This was too much! Maple Leaf had been waiting for such a moment since they started doing commentaries for the Dragon Zither Cup Prelims.
He’d been feeling bad for Ganyan Yu and Mr. Lin Tian. But as a music critic at heart, he couldn’t help loving the music of both Moonlight and Cat.
As a commentator, though, he needed to maintain fairness. However, his heart couldn’t help but go out to Ganyan Yu.
Unexpectedly, these high-and-mighty judges were now struggling because of Ganyan Yu and Lin Tian!
By dragging out the rest period, they were just delaying the inevitable scoring.
Maple Leaf couldn’t be happier!
Bamboo Leaf, more neutral in opinion, even though they didn’t care for the music or performers, was deeply moved by their performances and wished Ganyan Yu fair treatment, even as part of the commentary team.
They were supposed to handle awkward moments gracefully, yet all they could do was try desperately not to laugh and end up blocking their own faces.
— The intermission had been stretched out to 20 minutes.
The long break was making the energy in the Dragon Zither Cup atmosphere shift.
In the audience, people transitioned from whispering to loud discussion.
Backstage, familiar musicians chatted excitedly about “Moonlight,” their impressions of the performances, and speculations on the competition’s future trajectory—
From extending the judging time, to now stretching the meeting time—it felt like history was being made.
Yet, many were simply using small talk to hide their nervousness.
Everyone’s emotions swayed with the fate of that tiny meeting room.
Meanwhile, in Zhang Dong’s livestream,
Zhang Dong was the calmest man in China.
He faced the camera, praying:
“Brothers and sisters, lend your strength to Ms. Ganyan Yu!”
“Don’t send any gifts! Just pray!”
“Everyone, put your hands together in your chest, close your eyes,”
“Just like me.”
With sincere devotion, Zhang Dong displayed this ritual, while the netizens were cracking up:
“d*mn, if it weren’t clear it was a religious affair!”
“Heard we were a cult, Zhang Dong now?!”
“I reckon you’re better off offering your life to get Cat through!”
Despite the mockery, Zhang Dong stood firm.
Like an unshakable tree, motionless in the storm.
He prayed on, undaunted.
His steadfastness eventually moved countless viewers:
“Cat needs your strength!”
“We need a breakthrough! Start the prayer!”
“If I could marry Cat just to save her, I’d do it!”
“Enough talk! I’ve got my hands together!”
Just as tension hit its peak in the 23rd minute:
Out walked a panel of judges dressed in tuxedos — one of them raised a hand, gesturing to start the next round.
“Here comes the verdict!”
“Are we getting some results?!”
“Why’s it taking so long?”
Audience members buzzed, anxiously looking up and watching for signs of what might come.
Judges remained stoic, some clearly uneasy, others as red as beetroot. Perhaps from arguing until the last drop.
After the long 20-minute session, some appeared more concerned, mopping their foreheads, likely sensing the storm to come.
“Let the game continue,” an older judge declared, waving everyone off.
The announcer took the stage again.
Everything seemed to be falling back into place.
But the audience, inside and out, grew increasingly impatient.
“Do we get to know anything finally? This wait is killing me!”
“Can we get a straight answer? Are we getting eliminated or… speed things up a bit!”
“AAARRRGGG! If Gaoyan can’t make it to the final, we’ll take down the whole tournament team!”
“…”
“The semi-final scores will be announced when all participants finish,” Zhang Dong explained.
He glanced at the panel of judges. Their expressions were mixed.
If any of them changed their minds and gave fair scores, the overall average might still miss the top 11 mark.
But surprisingly, Zhang Dong found himself feeling calmer when the judges returned to their seats.
“It doesn’t matter what happens in the end.” He said earnestly,
“We’ve already proven ourselves to these snobbish critics, Moonlight Brother and Cat are undeniable talents.”
“Did you know Dragon Zither Cup hasn’t seen traditional classical music in the finals for 16 years, maybe not even semifinals?”
“Moonlight Brother’s music doesn’t need this event to be recognized.”
“In no time, I believe, the public will attest to their success!”
“Do we wait for the outcome—or…”
In the lounge,
Lin Tian asked quietly, “What should we do?”
Their performances were done; they could watch or leave, depending on whether someone would tell them the results later.
“Let’s go,” Ganyan Yu replied.
“Are you sure? You might really want to know as soon as possible…”
“It’s no big deal. We’ll see the result soon. Besides, there are only four performances left!”
She stood up and walked a few steps towards a large screen.
Turning around, with a bright smile,
“I’d much rather go grab some delicious food with Teacher Lin!”
(THE END)
