Chapter 75

When Zhou Kang Sheng saw the handsome young man take the stage, he froze. After his name was announced, he slapped his thigh. “Yes! That’s him!”

The French director had told him to pay special attention to the student named Qi Mu at this assessment. Now that he had appeared, Zhou Kang Sheng had to diligently take notes and more photos.

Zhou Kang Sheng had been in France for three years, and he didn’t know much news from the mainland. This was his first time seeing the young man named “Qi Mu.” Zhou Kang Sheng couldn’t help but point 100% of his attention to Qi Mu. He looked to the bright stage, not blinking.

“Qi Mu will be performing Paganini’s 《Bell》. This is a difficult piece. I don’t know how well this Qi Mu can. . . play?”

After taking two photos with his SLR, Zhou Kang Sheng set it down. He intended to dutifully listen to the performance. Even if it wasn’t good, he had to listen with patience. Who told the headquarters to pay so much attention to Qi Mu?

Once Qi Mu’s bow touched the strings, Zhou Kang Sheng was frozen in his seat.

《Bell》 was one of Paganini’s signature works. The violin devil had magical hands, and it was said his left hand could bend into an unbelievable arc. It allowed him to press the strings in unbridled ways.

《Bell》 began with a short and intense staccato, a signature trait of Paganini’s. Zhou Kang Sheng had been in the classical music industry for 6 years. He’d listened to three versions of 《Bell》 but. . . he had never seen anyone with an accuracy of such unprecedented level!

Once the bow touched the strings, it would inevitably create a sound. Amateurs often slipped and made it even louder. Even professionals could only minimize it.

The entire concert hall was shrouded in the bell-like melody. Light and warm, every time the bow glided across the strings, a bronze bell gently chimed. The youth’s slender left hand kept sliding along the strings with broad range but somehow made it look relaxed.

His right hand controlled the bow with such precision the tremor was reduced to the minimum!

In the pale golden music hall, everyone held their breath and listened to the magnificent and flawless 《Bell》. The violin was like a brook in the mountains, rushing over broken stone and tree branches, creating an ethereal echo.

By the time the song progressed into the second half, the youth’s white fingers had stretched from the forefront octave to the end of the black fingerboard. The cluster of sound emerging from the strings was like streams converging into a small river, and from a small river. . . to a great flood.

The song eventually reached its final high tide, and the melody once again surged forth with momentum. If Langston’s 《Dante Symphony》 was a river running, then this student’s 《Bell》 had a real soul, rolling with the will of the ocean.

The difference was never the song, but the person who played it.

Liszt and Paganini were both representative figures of the “dazzling technique” genre, but as students who play these two masterpieces separately, it was obvious. . . the black-haired Chinese youth in front of them was better!

The performance ended.

Zhou Kang Sheng stared blankly at the young man under the spotlight. His lips moved, but he had yet to recover from the music. A second, low “Bravo” rang out, and he turned in the direction the voice came from. He saw. . .

Zhou Kang Sheng was even more shocked!

Min Chen actually took the initiative to get up and gave this student a “Bravo”?!

Zhou Kang Sheng picked up his SLR and took a photo on pure reflex. The angle he was standing at was unique. He could capture the image of both Min Chen’s left profile and the smiling young man on the stage.

Then Zhou Kang Sheng clapped, still in utter shock. He whispered to himself, “This is really. . . Can a student have such strength? Could Qi Mu be. . . the next Min Chen?!”

Onstage, sweat glistened from Qi Mu’s forehead. The piece was complicated and had taken its toll on him.

When the first “Bravo” rang out, roaring applause resounded in the concert hall. It was as shocking as the mountains.

Qi Mu politely bowed and waited for the judges to rate and comment on his performance. Most judges gave him nine points, though some offered 10. All gave praise as if the former performers were air.

When it was Master Leonid’s turn, he looked at Qi Mu and said solemnly, “Your 《Bell》 made me return to a performance from over a decade ago. . . Someone played Liszt’s 《Bell》 in Xiaosai and was the only person to get a full score.”

Surprised, Qi Mu turned to look at the man sitting at Leonid’s side.

Leonid didn’t say Min Chen’s name directly, but many in the audience were already whispering, “I didn’t expect Leonid to give this student such a high evaluation,” “He even compared him to Mr. Bertram from that competition,” or, “Leonid’s judgment has always been accurate.”

Leonid looked at the elegant young man on the stage and finally sighed, “Your 《Bell》 is the best I’ve heard in the ten years. So I will give you. . . 10 points.”

Although he already obtained two full marks before this, when Leonid said the words “10 points”, the audience was still amazed.

Unexpectedly, after this, Bella Kim gave a high score of 9 points with a smile. Frankly, she said, “Your violin is worth 10 points, but your understanding of 《Bell》 and mine are different, so. . . I can only give you 9 points.”

After the nine judges gave their score, Qi Mu’s total reached 85 points! As long as Min Chen gave him more than 5, he would surpass Langston’s score and be the first with 90 points or more!

The eyes of the crowd could not be more concentrated on the man sitting in the center of the judges. They all remembered. . . when Qi Mu finished playing, he was the first to stand and applaud.

So. . .

“Your 《Bell》 is excellent. Your portamento, staccato, and chords are skillful and concise. You also have a unique understanding of music.” In the primary judge’s seat, the cold and noble man’s thin lip curled. He whispered, “Very good, well. . . 9.5 points.”

When the score “9.5 points” was uttered, most of the audience was stunned, but Qi Mu was relieved. He smiled and walked off the stage. His high score of 94.5 points made many students congratulate him. The ones in the violin department cheered and asked Qi Mu to treat them for a meal.

“Oh my, Little Seven, that 9.5 points given by Mr. Bertram! It’s not the same! You’re 5.5 points higher than Langston!”

“Yes, Seven, you must treat us today. But it’s a pity. . . you almost got 95 points, if only Mr. Bertram gave you that 0.5. . .”

. . .

At the over violin students’ cheers, Qi Mu felt like. . . the person who played just now wasn’t him, but them.

However, them being so happy for him made him feel touched. He didn’t want to get 10 points from Min Chen like Angelo had mentioned.

When he heard Min Chen’s comment, Qi Mu gave him a look. The student hoped Min Chen wouldn’t give him an outrageous score because of their friendship.

He believed his 《Bell》 still had room for improvement. It had yet to reach perfection.

At the judges’ table, a certain man sighed at his “low score.”

When he was speaking, Qi Mu kept staring at him. Min Chen understood. . . Qi Mu was worried that he would be biased because they knew each other. Only Min Chen knew, to avoid suspicion, the perfect score he wanted to give dropped to 9.5 points.

“Auston, I didn’t expect you to give 9.5 points. That score is really high, I thought you wouldn’t give more than 9.” Mr. Leonid sighed, “But I didn’t expect a student with such a skill. . . Auston, you really have a good eye.”

Bella, on the other hand, said, “Leon, do you really think. . . Auston just picked that student on the spot?”

Leonid was surprised. “He didn’t?!”

Bella laughed and said nothing.

Leonid turned to Min Chen only to see him calmly staring back at him with an eyebrow arched. Min Chen asked, “Will you write the review?”

Leonid: “. . .”

“Well?”

“. . . Will write. . .”

Later, Leonid said, “But Auston, you have to tell me, do you know that Chinese student?”

A smile flashed in Min Chen’s dark eyes, and he asked, “Do you think?”

Leonid: “. . .”