Chapter 88

Wu Di, tall and slender, wearing a suit and tie, had a face shaped like a melon seed, with fine eyebrows and expressive eyes, a typical boyish beauty that girls found very attractive, like a prince on a white horse.

Wu Di had participated in too many competitions, both domestic and international professional piano competitions. The top few spots would always have a Chinese name, either his or Su Yuxi. Overall, he had won more awards than Su Yuxi, as she didn't participate in many competitions, usually only the major ones. In contrast, Wu Di would participate in any competition, big or small, as his family's financial situation didn't allow him to be picky. As long as there was a prize, he would join. Therefore, he was also known as a competition specialist.

Actually, the piano department of the Central Conservatory of Music was slightly stronger than that of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The reason Wu Di didn't choose the Central Conservatory was that Su Yuxi was in Shanghai.

Her back view was Wu Di's lifelong goal to chase.

Wu Di walked gracefully toward the piano, his movements elegant, a smile on his lips. Immediately, he won the unrestrained squeals of many girls. If it weren't for the restraint of being college students, some would have rushed up to ask for autographs.

Many of the examiners also knew this young prodigy. He didn't participate in the preliminary round but directly entered the final round. In fact, he could have applied for admission without an exam, but Wu Di found high school boring and wanted to come to Shanghai earlier, so he declined the proposal and took the exam. For him, this exam was just a trip, just a game.

Wu Di bowed, adjusted the stool, and seemed to have forgotten to announce the name of the piece he was about to play.

The entire audience focused on this young and proud prodigy, all agreeing that this year's arts exam was full of hidden dragons and tigers. Among the 20 candidates, none were there just to fill the seats. But the surprises kept coming, one after another, and at the end of the exam, a nuclear weapon appeared, making everyone feel that sitting there for so long was very worthwhile.

When Wu Di's hands touched the keys, his entire demeanor changed. He bent his waist deeply, almost burying himself in the piano.

Originally, he only planned to play casually, but the previous girl's performance of Schubert's piece had sparked his desire to show off.

The audience saw his hands fall forcefully together, and the piano keys immediately produced a fierce resonance. The weight of his palms and forearms was evenly distributed to the keys. The seemingly imperceptible wrist movements made the piano produce deep and resonant chords, from light to heavy, from nothing to something, without any abruptness or chaos, everything was so natural and smooth.

The music reverberated in the music hall of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Many people covered their mouths to prevent exclamations. Most of those who understood music and the piano recognized that this was Liszt's Transcendental Etude No. 4, "Mazeppa," the sixth most difficult piece in the top ten challenging piano works.

Wu Di's upper body was deeply bent, his expression focused and serious, his thin lips tightly pressed together, his hands flying over the piano.

His right hand, flexible and skillful, quickly swept up from the low register of the piano, bringing a series of minor key notes with a tragic tone! His left hand heavily struck the high register, squeezing out a mournful sound, making the piano produce a series of wondrous tones.

Suddenly, his right hand exerted force in the high register of the piano, producing two crisp and clear chords, like the spray of waves hitting rocks.

Wu Di maintained such a standard hand position even in his intense playing, which greatly surprised Li Yunling, showing how solid his basic skills were. At this moment, seeing this technically demanding right-hand rapid arpeggio, Wu Di performed it so perfectly that all the examiners were amazed. Clearly, Wu Di's excellence exceeded their expectations.

This piece required a strong sense of rhythm, no disorder, almost no wrong notes, and the ability to play out the layers and contrasts of the sections, ultimately completing the performance smoothly and completely, which was extremely difficult.

Wu Di had strong confidence to play such a piece in such a setting.

The examiners in the audience were also captivated, clearly for them, this was no longer an exam but a magnificent musical feast.

Those three-line parallel musical scores, the temporary sharps and flats crammed into the measures, and the large number of ornaments, in Wu Di's hands, were like obedient sprites, flying freely in the music hall with his undulating body and waving arms, captivating all the audience.

The piano was not just a sound enjoyment; in the performance of a master, every expression, every wave of the hand, every nod and bow were part of the music, a moving music that we could all appreciate.

Watching this boy who had become one with the piano, it seemed that every piece of music, every note, had been transformed into an emotion, passionate, angry, sad, joyful, making everyone feel the same.

The heavy and slow strikes at the end opened the final shackles of the listeners, their emotions following Wu Di's slow movements, falling into the cold sea.

With the final wave of his hands in the air, the performance ended. Many in the audience finally understood what a performance was, what a piano was, what music was.

Wu Di was drenched in sweat, his hands hanging at his waist, his head slightly raised, his eyes closed, feeling the intense spotlight on his face.

He silently thought, "Su Yuxi, I'm here. This 'Mazeppa' is my grand declaration of war."

The audience had to stand and applaud; such a brilliant performance deserved respect.

The examiners also revealed their scores, with Kong Jianjun even giving a perfect 100 points, and even the most stringent Li Yunling gave a high score of 95 points.

In the end, Wu Di scored 98 points, the highest score in the history of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music's piano department final exam. Many people felt that the first place in this year's arts exam for the piano department was about to be decided.

No one had dared to play "Mazeppa" in the exam before, and even the top ten most difficult piano pieces had never appeared in the exam. Of course, this was also because many geniuses were directly admitted without taking the exam.

But it was undeniable that Wu Di's piano skills had reached a new, awe-inspiring height.

At this age, in China, probably only Su Yuxi could compare. Given time, he would surely become a top piano performance master, and there might even be a chance to win the International Chopin Piano Competition, Li Yunling thought as she clapped.

Now, the displeasure she felt because of Cheng Xiaoyu was completely gone, as this genius belonged to their department.

Wu Di walked off the stage, and Hu Bing, the president, took the microphone and said, "Today's exam was truly spectacular! We have our prospective student Duanmu Linsha, and such a genius as Wu Di. I believe the future of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music will be incredibly brilliant. Let's thank the school leadership for their wise decision, turning this public exam into a magnificent concert." At this point, Hu Bing paused to let the applause die down.

Hu Bing then smiled and said, "There is one more candidate today, the one everyone has been looking forward to, Cheng Xiaoyu. Please, Cheng Xiaoyu, come to the stage."

Cheng Xiaoyu's name echoed in the hall, but no one responded. Hu Bing asked again, "Is Cheng Xiaoyu here?"

Someone in the audience jokingly whispered, "Not here!"

But in the silent music hall, this voice was amplified infinitely, and laughter quickly spread throughout the hall, turning into a chorus of jeers.

Then Hu Bing looked at the examiners in the audience, unsure who would decide if the exam was over.

Duanmu Linsha held her phone but didn't press the call button. After listening to Wu Di's performance, her confidence wavered, and she began to doubt whether Cheng Xiaoyu was afraid and didn't dare to come on stage.

Pei Yanchen frowned, feeling somewhat regretful, thinking that Cheng Xiaoyu's fear of the exam was partly his fault.

He Mingzhe was also very upset. If Cheng Xiaoyu's exam had been earlier, the humiliation would have been more intense. He had put in a lot of effort to make Wu Di shine, which made him somewhat unhappy.

But compared to that, the ability to prevent Cheng Xiaoyu from entering the Shanghai Conservatory and to secretly manipulate someone's fate was a very satisfying thing.

He Mingzhe was delighted inside but showed no expression on his face. He looked for Duanmu Linsha in the crowd, wanting to see if she was utterly disappointed.

As the noise in the music hall grew louder, Li Yunling stood up and took the microphone on the stage, saying, "Since Cheng Xiaoyu is not here, we will consider it a withdrawal from the exam!" Before she finished speaking, the music hall erupted in a loud boo, feeling that this was not a perfect ending.

When you are ready to beat someone up, and they run away, it leaves you with no outlet for your frustration, which is an extremely unpleasant thing.

Everyone confirmed the cowardice and incompetence of this fat girl. Some had already stood up, disappointed, ready to leave. For most people, it was just missing the final act of beating a fallen dog.

Just as everyone was feeling a bit disappointed, the main door in the middle of the music hall opened, and Cheng Xiaoyu, holding a rolled-up score, drenched in sweat, walked in.