When Zhou Kang Sheng saw the handsome young man take the stage, he\nfroze. After his name was announced, he slapped his thigh. “Yes! That\u2019s\nhim!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The French director had told him to pay special attention to the\nstudent named Qi Mu at this assessment. Now that he had appeared, Zhou Kang\nSheng had to diligently take notes and more photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhou Kang Sheng had been in France for three years, and he didn\u2019t\nknow much news from the mainland. This was his first time seeing the young man\nnamed \u201cQi Mu.\u201d Zhou Kang Sheng couldn\u2019t help but point 100% of his attention to\nQi Mu. He looked to the bright stage, not blinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQi Mu will be performing Paganini\u2019s \u300aBell\u300b. This is a difficult\npiece. I don\u2019t know how well this Qi Mu can. . . play?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After taking two photos with his SLR, Zhou Kang Sheng set it down.\nHe intended to dutifully listen to the performance. Even if it wasn\u2019t good, he\nhad to listen with patience. Who told the headquarters to pay so much attention\nto Qi Mu?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once Qi Mu\u2019s bow touched the strings, Zhou Kang Sheng was frozen\nin his seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u300aBell\u300b was one of Paganini\u2019s\nsignature works. The violin devil had magical hands, and it was said his left\nhand could bend into an unbelievable arc. It allowed him to press the strings\nin unbridled ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u300aBell\u300b began with a short and\nintense staccato, a signature trait of Paganini\u2019s. Zhou Kang Sheng had been in\nthe classical music industry for 6 years. He\u2019d listened to three versions of \u300aBell\u300b but. . . he had never\nseen anyone with an accuracy of such unprecedented level!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the bow touched the strings, it would inevitably create a\nsound. Amateurs often slipped and made it even louder. Even professionals could\nonly minimize it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The entire concert hall was shrouded in the bell-like melody.\nLight and warm, every time the bow glided across the strings, a bronze bell\ngently chimed. The youth\u2019s slender left hand kept sliding along the strings\nwith broad range but somehow made it look relaxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His right hand controlled the bow with such precision the tremor\nwas reduced to the minimum!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the pale golden music hall, everyone held their breath and\nlistened to the magnificent and flawless \u300aBell\u300b. The violin was like a brook in the mountains, rushing over\nbroken stone and tree branches, creating an ethereal echo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time the song progressed into the second half, the youth\u2019s\nwhite fingers had stretched from the forefront octave to the end of the black\nfingerboard. The cluster of sound emerging from the strings was like streams\nconverging into a small river, and from a small river. . . to a great flood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song eventually reached its final high tide, and the melody\nonce again surged forth with momentum. If Langston\u2019s \u300aDante Symphony\u300b was\na river running, then this student\u2019s \u300aBell\u300b had a real soul, rolling with the will of the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The difference was never the song, but the person who played it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liszt and Paganini were both representative figures of the\n\u201cdazzling technique\u201d genre, but as students who play these two masterpieces\nseparately, it was obvious. . . the black-haired Chinese youth in front of them\nwas better!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The performance ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhou Kang Sheng stared blankly at the young man under the\nspotlight. His lips moved, but he had yet to recover from the music. A second,\nlow “Bravo” rang out, and he turned in the direction the voice came\nfrom. He saw. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhou Kang Sheng was even more shocked!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Min Chen actually took the initiative to get up and gave this\nstudent a “Bravo”?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhou Kang Sheng picked up his SLR and took a photo on pure reflex.\nThe angle he was standing at was unique. He could capture the image of both Min\nChen\u2019s left profile and the smiling young man on the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then Zhou Kang Sheng clapped, still in utter shock. He whispered\nto himself, “This is really. . . Can a student have such strength? Could\nQi Mu be. . . the next Min Chen?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Onstage, sweat glistened from Qi Mu\u2019s forehead. The piece was complicated\nand had taken its toll on him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the first “Bravo” rang out, roaring applause\nresounded in the concert hall. It was as shocking as the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qi Mu politely bowed and waited for the judges to rate and comment\non his performance. Most judges gave him nine points, though some offered 10.\nAll gave praise as if the former performers were air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it was Master Leonid\u2019s turn, he looked at Qi Mu and said\nsolemnly, “Your \u300aBell\u300b made me return to a performance from over a decade ago. . .\nSomeone played Liszt\u2019s \u300aBell\u300b in Xiaosai and was the only person to get a full score.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surprised, Qi Mu turned to look at the man sitting at Leonid\u2019s\nside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonid didn\u2019t say Min Chen\u2019s name directly, but many in the\naudience were already whispering, \u201cI didn\u2019t expect Leonid to give this student\nsuch a high evaluation,\u201d \u201cHe even compared him to Mr. Bertram from that\ncompetition,\u201d or, \u201cLeonid\u2019s judgment has always been accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonid looked at the elegant young man on the stage and finally\nsighed, \u201cYour \u300aBell\u300b is the best I\u2019ve heard in the ten years. So I will give you. . .\n10 points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although he already obtained two full marks before this, when\nLeonid said the words “10 points”, the audience was still amazed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unexpectedly, after this, Bella Kim gave a high score of 9 points\nwith a smile. Frankly, she said, “Your violin is worth 10 points, but your\nunderstanding of \u300aBell\u300b and mine are different, so. . . I can only give you 9\npoints.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the nine judges gave their score, Qi Mu\u2019s total reached 85\npoints! As long as Min Chen gave him more than 5, he would surpass Langston\u2019s\nscore and be the first with 90 points or more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The eyes of the crowd could not be more concentrated on the man\nsitting in the center of the judges. They all remembered. . . when Qi Mu\nfinished playing, he was the first to stand and applaud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Your \u300aBell\u300b is excellent. Your portamento, staccato, and chords are skillful\nand concise. You also have a unique understanding of music.” In the primary\njudge\u2019s seat, the cold and noble man’s thin lip curled. He whispered,\n“Very good, well. . . 9.5 points.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the score “9.5 points” was uttered, most of the\naudience was stunned, but Qi Mu was relieved. He smiled and walked off the\nstage. His high score of 94.5 points made many students congratulate him. The\nones in the violin department cheered and asked Qi Mu to treat them for a meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Oh my, Little Seven, that 9.5 points given by Mr. Bertram!\nIt\u2019s not the same! You\u2019re 5.5 points higher than Langston!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Yes, Seven, you must treat us today. But it\u2019s a pity. . .\nyou almost got 95 points, if only Mr. Bertram gave you that 0.5. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the over violin students\u2019 cheers, Qi Mu felt like. . . the\nperson who played just now wasn\u2019t him, but them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, them being so happy for him made him feel touched. He\ndidn’t want to get 10 points from Min Chen like Angelo had mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he heard Min Chen\u2019s comment, Qi Mu gave him a look. The\nstudent hoped Min Chen wouldn\u2019t give him an outrageous score because of their\nfriendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He believed his \u300aBell\u300b still had room for improvement. It had yet to reach perfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the judges\u2019 table, a certain man sighed at his “low\nscore.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he was speaking, Qi Mu kept staring at him. Min Chen\nunderstood. . . Qi Mu was worried that he would be biased because they knew\neach other. Only Min Chen knew, to avoid suspicion, the perfect score he wanted\nto give dropped to 9.5 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Auston, I didn’t expect you to give 9.5 points. That score\nis really high, I thought you wouldn\u2019t give more than 9.” Mr. Leonid\nsighed, “But I didn’t expect a student with such a skill. . . Auston, you\nreally have a good eye.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bella, on the other hand, said, \u201cLeon, do you really think. . .\nAuston just picked that student on the spot?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonid was surprised. \u201cHe didn\u2019t?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bella laughed and said nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonid turned to Min Chen only to see him calmly staring back at\nhim with an eyebrow arched. Min Chen asked, \u201cWill you write the review?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonid: \u201c. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c. . . Will write. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, Leonid said, \u201cBut Auston, you have to tell me, do you know\nthat Chinese student?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A smile flashed in Min Chen\u2019s dark eyes, and he asked, \u201cDo you\nthink?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonid: \u201c. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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EditorKuro: <\/h4>\n\n\n\n