Chapter 89

The noisy music hall immediately fell silent, and everyone looked at the fat man nicknamed "Creepy Brother." Last year, his portrait had dominated the entire drama school forum, and no one didn't know him.

No one expected that this fat man would actually not run away and would return so foolishly!

Seeing that he had attracted so many people's attention, Cheng Xiaoyu was not intimidated. When he played rock music, he had seen crowds of up to ten thousand people.

As he walked toward the stage, he said, "I hope it's not too late. Sorry, everyone! I wasn't prepared yesterday, so I just went to the print shop to get the sheet music printed."

The audience in the music hall was in an uproar. For the initial audition, candidates had to play from memory, and while there was no such strict requirement for the final audition, no one would play from sheet music, as it would result in a significant deduction of points and a poor impression from the examiners.

Cheng Xiaoyu might as well have not said anything; once he did, boos and jeers erupted from all around, and disdainful gazes were directed at him.

Cheng Xiaoyu, however, walked calmly down the widest aisle in the middle of the music hall, as if he were a solemn emperor about to give a speech, waving the sheet music in his hand as if it were his supreme scepter.

Everyone who saw this scene found it incredibly ridiculous and gave Cheng Xiaoyu a huge round of boos, thinking that this arrogant fat man was a disgrace to the drama school.

Cheng Xiaoyu walked against the tide of cold and cruel ridicule, with laughter, jeers, and insults filling his ears. At this moment, his heart became even more peaceful.

Only Duanmu Linsha, holding her phone, felt a bit ashamed of her doubts and cheered for Cheng Xiaoyu loudly amidst the boos.

Unfortunately, the boos were too loud, and her weak voice couldn't be heard.

When Cheng Xiaoyu passed Duanmu Linsha's row, he still saw her waving her arm and mouthing words of encouragement.

He smiled at Duanmu Linsha and gave her an OK sign.

This made the drama school students even more dissatisfied, and some even shouted, "Get out!"

Li Yunling, looking at the clown-like Cheng Xiaoyu, suppressed his anger and sat down again. Since he had come, it was impossible to deny him the right to take the exam. Li Yunling could only urge through the microphone, "Candidate 511, please don't waste everyone's time. Hurry up and go on stage to perform." He did not signal the audience to be quiet after saying this.

Cheng Xiaoyu ignored Li Yunling and walked to the stage at his own pace. He needed a bit of time to rest, as running from outside the school had drained a lot of his energy, and the piece he was about to play required ample physical strength.

Cheng Xiaoyu walked quietly onto the stage, his face expressionless, as if the noise below had nothing to do with him.

He walked to the piano, placed the sheet music, and a huge round of boos erupted in the music hall. With every move he made, boos sounded, but Cheng Xiaoyu did not mind. He walked to the edge of the stage and said to the student council president Hu Bing, "I need someone to turn the pages for me."

Even the seven examiners on the stage found it a bit too perfunctory to play from sheet music. Li Yunling let out a contemptuous snort, disdainful of this rich kid's last struggle!

Hu Bing, as if he had found something amusing, looked at the small fat man with a mocking smile and raised the microphone, saying, "This student needs someone to turn the pages for him. Is there anyone willing to help?"

The large music hall fell silent, and everyone looked at the lonely Cheng Xiaoyu on the stage with a mocking gaze.

Cheng Xiaoyu did not expect the school to have such deep-seated malice toward him. He was a bit taken aback by Hu Bing's actions, thinking that as the host, it was his duty to assist him.

But at this moment, he could only turn and walk toward the piano, thinking that no one here would choose to help him.

The laughter in the music hall was waiting for the humble Cheng Xiaoyu to make a fool of himself.

Duanmu Linsha, sitting in the back, hesitated for a moment and decided to stand up and walk to the stage. However, to her surprise, a girl in front of her stood up first and loudly said, "I will." She then made her way through the row of seated people, facing countless disbelieving gazes, and moved toward the central aisle.

Although only her side profile could be seen, and her face was not clear, just her silhouette was very beautiful.

At this moment, Duanmu Linsha felt she had to do something to support her idol. She stood up with a red face and also walked to the stage, but the words "I will too" were too shy to say out loud.

When the two girls walked to the stage together, the laughter in the music hall suddenly stopped.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the two girls, as if witnessing a miracle, finding it all too incredible.

The girl in the back might not be known by name, but everyone knew she was the beautiful girl who had just played Schubert. If this was not enough to surprise people,

The girl in front, who was about to go on stage, was even more unacceptable. She was the pride of the drama school, the latest campus beauty, Pei Yanchen.

And the fat man on the stage was the very person who had almost cost her her life.

Cheng Xiaoyu was also a bit incredulous. Duanmu Linsha's courage to help him was already unexpected. He had not had much interaction with that girl and had not known her for long. He felt their relationship was not even at the level of ordinary friends. He really did not understand why such an excellent person would support him so strongly.

The girl in front, wearing the drama school uniform, seemed familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen her. Suddenly, he realized it was because she looked so much like Gakki (New垣结衣). Cheng Xiaoyu felt a bit overwhelmed, as if he were about to be transported into a Japanese drama.

The girl had a few more gentle and delicate features than Gakki, but both had a fresh and timeless beauty, pure and charming, without a trace of worldly烟火. Cheng Xiaoyu could imagine that her smile must be very sweet, but when she was not smiling, she had a melancholic aura.

At this moment, the large music hall seemed to be frozen by a spell, with only the two beautiful girls moving through time.

Everyone's mouths were wide open, unable to believe what they were seeing, as if they had seen a ghost, their brains in a state of shock.

When Pei Yanchen went on stage, she realized there was another girl behind her. But to alleviate her hidden guilt, she decided to take on the task.

She turned to Duanmu Linsha and said, "I'll do it. He's in this situation partly because of me."

Duanmu Linsha nodded. She didn't really care who turned the pages; she just wanted Cheng Xiaoyu to know that she supported him no matter what.

She did not think Cheng Xiaoyu's piano skills could surpass Wu Di's. Piano performance and pop music were two different concepts, and it was almost impossible for someone to excel in both. In a sense, piano performance was rational and logically rigorous, while pop music creation and performance were emotional and free.

She just hoped Cheng Xiaoyu could do well and get into the drama school, but it seemed he was now at odds with the entire school.

Duanmu Linsha looked at Cheng Xiaoyu with some concern. He did not bow to the audience but sat directly in front of the piano.

Pei Yanchen stood next to Cheng Xiaoyu, glanced at the sheet music, and asked, "You... are sure you want to play this piece?"

Cheng Xiaoyu nodded without speaking. He had no time to wonder why this clear and pure girl was helping him. He needed to go over the piece in his mind again, as he had not played it for a long time. He had once won third place in the Chopin International Competition with this piece.

Pei Yanchen felt it was necessary to announce the name of the piece to the audience to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

Seeing that Cheng Xiaoyu was not about to start, she loudly said, "This student will play Michael Finnissy's 'English Country-Tunes.'"

Then, the large drama school music hall fell silent for a moment before erupting like a pot of boiling water.

Even the examiners below could not help but whisper to each other.

He Mingzhe had a complex expression, a mix of disbelief, surprise, and a sudden sense of being hit. He thought this fat man might be crazy, no, he must be crazy.

He Mingzhe's hands were tightly clasped together, and his mind was filled with the name of the piece, "English Country-Tunes."

This was the second most difficult piano piece in the world.

This was an incredibly challenging and high-difficulty piece that no one had yet dared to attempt.

This was a divine piece in the world of piano music!