Chapter 78

Since that day when Cheng Xiaoyu made a grand display of his power in the class, the open rumors and gossip in the class had significantly decreased. As for what was happening behind the scenes, no one cared much about it. However, most of the students were focusing their energy on the college entrance exam. A large red calendar was posted on the wall, counting down the days until the exam.

Each page torn off every day seemed to be telling you how far you were from the most important battle of your life. Each class had its own slogan, and for Class 3-2, it was "Without experiencing the pain of hell, how can one achieve the rebirth of a phoenix?"

The number of test papers increased exponentially, and everyone used their free time to review voluntarily. They all gave up all legal holidays and rushed to tutoring classes.

The homeroom teacher, Wang Wei, sent a motivational quote to the QQ group every day. These quotes were all his original creations. After sending them, he would always add: "Less phone, more books."

The students' QQ spaces temporarily stopped updating, and everyone was busy. Although it wasn't summer yet, the heavy atmosphere made everyone irritable, but they had to sit steadily in their seats, studying the solution to each problem.

When the bell rang, as the whole class rested their heads on their desks, the next teacher would come in with a stack of test papers, sigh at the listless students, and then start distributing the papers.

Occasional entertainment was writing in each other's yearbooks. Strangely, Cheng Xiaoyu was particularly popular, and many students who had never spoken to him before handed him their yearbooks, asking him to write something.

Cheng Xiaoyu's poetry was published in "Pengpai," and the school widely publicized it. The first page of the publication was "Dreaming of a Horse." Many students knew about this talented poet, but Cheng Xiaoyu didn't leave overly grandiose poems in the yearbooks.

For the girls, he mostly wrote: "I do not wish to lose the memories of spring breezes, summer rains, autumn frosts, and winter snows, nor will I forget the laughter we shared on our journey through life." "The rings of time, like the black, spinning record, play the beautiful old love songs in the depths of our hearts!" "Many things will flow away in the river of time. Will the red leaf of our meeting fade as well?" and so on.

For the boys, he mostly wrote: "Studying is like defecating; no matter how hard you try, what comes out is just a fart, so be content with what you have." "Our relationship can be described by the curve of a high-degree equation." "A talented man must be accompanied by a beautiful woman! I wish you success in your endeavors and blessings for your descendants!"

As for Chen Haoran, he didn't bother with yearbooks at all. His Fudan University recommendation exam was approaching, but he wasn't the least bit nervous.

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't ask anyone to write in his yearbook either. Instead, he created a more ambitious project, an alumni book.

For Xia Shamo's yearbook, he drew a musical staff, and for Wang Ou's, he wrote lyrics. Together, they formed a complete song.

Cheng Xiaoyu promised to record the song after the art exam, burn it onto a CD, and give one to each of them.

Now, after class, Cheng Xiaoyu would go straight home to practice the piano. Occasionally, when Wang Ou didn't go to the sports club, they would play in the forest of lights for an hour or two.

Recently, Cheng Xiaoyu had increased his practice time and no longer reviewed for the college entrance exam during dinner, continuing to practice the piano instead. He had boasted to Aunt Zhou that he didn't need a teacher, and he didn't know why he had refused to hire one. It was a decision made without much thought, unrelated to his confidence.

These days, Cheng Xiaoyu devoted more energy to piano practice. For him, the art exam was more important than the college entrance exam. As long as he passed the art exam, the college entrance exam score requirements were not very high.

The initial art exam at the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) was scheduled for May 3rd. Zhou Peipei had already registered him, and after the New Year, she had wanted to find a teacher for him, but Cheng Xiaoyu refused. Seeing his confidence, Zhou Peipei didn't insist.

Moreover, she had already spoken to a few friendly exam supervisors, asking them to take care of the internal students. Zhou Peipei was well-liked at STA, being down-to-earth and generous, and she got along well with everyone. When people asked for her help, she usually did her best to assist, and she had some background. Therefore, when she asked for help, many people were willing to lend a hand, as they owed her favors that might come in handy later.

As May 3rd approached, Cheng Xiaoyu wasn't particularly nervous. He even ate two extra buns for breakfast.

Su Yuxi rarely said "Good luck" before school, but she did that day.

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled and said, "Thank you."

After returning from Beijing, the two of them strangely never ran into each other at school. At home, they only saw each other during meals, and the rest of the time, they practiced in their respective music rooms.

They had gone to pick up Xu Qinling for hot pot twice on weekends, but Xu Qinling ordered them to stop, for reasons unknown.

The two siblings were used to it by now.

Cheng Xiaoyu drove himself to STA. Zhou Peipei had already told him that as long as he performed at a normal level, he should be fine. After all, the art exam was more subjective, and it was easy to give a pass, which made Cheng Xiaoyu feel more relaxed.

The exam started at 9:00 AM, and early in the morning, a large crowd gathered at the entrance of STA. Some came with their parents, and others came as a class or school group.

The dense crowd surprised Cheng Xiaoyu. Since the exam was being held at STA, vehicles from outside were not allowed to enter. Fortunately, Zhou Peipei had already arranged a pass for Cheng Xiaoyu, but the massive crowd could only slowly move forward. Cheng Xiaoyu, driving a high-profile white Ferrari, immediately became the center of attention.

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't mind the anxious gazes focused on him. He turned up the music to drown out the noise outside and slowly drove through the crowd.

Most of the candidates were from out of town. To prepare for the STA exam, they usually rented a place near STA two to three months in advance. Cheng Xiaoyu, living in the city, had a much easier time.

Finally, he entered the campus, found a parking spot, and headed to the piano department's exam location with his admission ticket.

There were many exam location signs around the campus, and many STA student volunteers were maintaining order and guiding the candidates.

As Cheng Xiaoyu walked, he reviewed the content of the exam. The initial exam was relatively simple.

1. One piece from Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier (only the fugue part) (Fugue is a method of musical composition, a fixed form of polyphonic music, not a type of musical form.)

2. Two technical fast etudes (two etudes played consecutively, both must be from Chopin's Etudes Op.10 or Op.25)

Candidates must play from memory, or their exam results will be invalidated.

Cheng Xiaoyu believed that the initial exam would be easy for him. For the second round, he couldn't see the level of his opponents, making it hard to judge. As long as his opponents weren't all at Su Yuxi's level, he felt he should be fine.

Exams and competitions generally test accuracy rather than one's understanding of the music, which was a disadvantage for Cheng Xiaoyu.

He had neglected the piano for over a year. He remembered winning a piano performance award at 16, not the champion but in the top three. So his level at that time was quite good. After this period of intensive practice, although he didn't think he had fully recovered to his level from a year ago, he felt his current level was sufficient for the exam.

Moreover, in the arts, once a certain level is reached, technical skills are not the primary focus. Laypeople usually only pay attention to speed, strength, and accuracy, but many performers do not pursue or care about these (except for accuracy).

Professionals generally place more emphasis on technique, which is much more complex than technical skills. Technique includes technical skills and more. Some performers value technique over technical skills, but this doesn't mean their technical skills are poor.

At this point, Cheng Xiaoyu had unconsciously placed himself in the position of a performer rather than a student. Overall, he was quite confident.

For the second round, he didn't choose a highly difficult performance piece. With Aunt Zhou's backing, as long as he performed without errors, he would be admitted to STA, so there was no need to play a high-difficulty piece.

Therefore, for the first item of the second round, a classical sonata (selected from works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert), Cheng Xiaoyu chose the third movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata.

For the second item, a foreign piece, he chose Chopin's "Black Key" Etude.

The final exam item was basic music theory (the score does not count towards the total, but there is a qualifying line):

1. Music theory

2. Sight-singing and ear training (written and oral)

These basics were a piece of cake for Cheng Xiaoyu, who had excellent ear training.

At this moment, Cheng Xiaoyu felt confident that he had one foot in STA.

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