A single performance of "Blue and White Porcelain" completely won over Hannah Han. Even after Ian Song finished playing, she was still lost in the Jiangnan water-town world and the tragic love story he had conjured.
After a moment, Hannah snapped out of it and looked at Ian, saying, "So you play piano this well? You've really kept this hidden!"
"Well, I'm just a low-key, cultured guy," Ian said with a smug grin.
"Low-key?" Hannah snorted. "Is there anyone at Saint Night High who doesn't know your name now? You helped the police catch an A-level wanted criminal, kicked Teacher Yan down to the junior-high division—if I ever cross you, will you send me off to teach elementary school?"
"Ahem." Ian's face flushed bright red—he hadn't expected Hannah to tease him so sharply.
Suddenly, a sly smile appeared on Hannah's face, and Ian instantly realized she was messing with him.
For a moment, Ian looked at her with a slightly aggrieved expression.
Unable to stand his look, Hannah quickly said, "Alright, I'll approve your leave. But you have to bring back the championship—otherwise, get ready to clean the toilets!"
"No way, that's way too harsh!" Ian wailed.
............
On the morning of the 15th, at nine o'clock, Ian arrived at the vocal-music teaching building of Riverstone City Conservatory of Music—the audition site for the piano competition.
A red banner was already hanging outside the building, and beneath it were two tables where four staff members were distributing number plates for the competition.
Yesterday, Zhen Yun had called to explain: around eight hundred people had signed up for the piano competition, so ten classrooms were set up for auditions, each with three judges. Three votes meant direct entry to the preliminaries; two votes meant being put on hold.
At the staff table, Ian gave his name and ID, and received his number plate: 7-68.
The "7" stood for Classroom 7, and "68" was his sequence number.
The auditions started at nine-thirty. After asking the staff for directions to Classroom 7 on the fourth floor, Ian headed straight there with his number plate.
The door to Classroom 7 was still closed—the judges hadn't arrived yet. But most contestants were already waiting outside, along with their friends and family, making the hallway very crowded.
"Hey, what's your name, buddy? Here alone, no friends with you?" A lanky, long-haired, homely-looking young man greeted Ian on his own initiative.
"Yeah, I'm here by myself. My name's Ian Song. What about you?" As the saying goes, you don't hit a smiling face, so Ian replied politely.
"I'm Evan Xia, an independent musician. Here's my business card." As he spoke, he handed Ian a rather fancy card.
Evan was quite chatty and straightforward. Even though Ian hadn't asked, he started telling his story: he'd begun learning piano and guitar in high school, joined a college music club, and formed a band with classmates who shared his musical dreams.
Unfortunately, after college graduation, everyone had to make a living and went their separate ways, so the band broke up.
Only Evan didn't give up his musical dream. After the band split, he just played solo, but things hadn't gone very well for him.
Over the past two years, he'd entered lots of music talent shows. His best result was reaching the second round, but his looks weren't great and his singing wasn't strong, so he never broke through. When he heard about the big prize money for this piano competition, he signed up.
Suddenly, Evan changed the topic and asked Ian, "You're still in high school, right?"
"Yeah, senior year." Ian nodded.
"Which school?" Evan kept asking.
"Saint Night High School."
"Impressive, that's the best high school in our province. Are you an arts exam student?"
"No, I'm a liberal-arts student!"
The two kept chatting to pass the time. Finally, the staff came and opened the door, and then the judges arrived—two men and one woman.
Nine-thirty.
The staff came out to announce the start of the auditions and asked everyone to keep quiet. Then they called 701 to enter and play, and told 702 to get ready.
701 was a boy about Ian's age, with delicate features. He was clearly a bit nervous.
There were no requirements for the audition piece—just play your best song.
The classroom's soundproofing wasn't great, so once 701 went in, piano music drifted out. He played the well-known piece 'Little Raindrops.' Ian had absorbed thousands of songs by now, so he recognized it immediately.
Halfway through, Ian shook his head to himself. Maybe the boy was too nervous—he made at least five mistakes before finishing.
Sure enough, when 701 came out, he looked totally dejected. Clearly, he hadn't passed.
"702, please come in and play," the staff called loudly.
702 was an overweight boy. He came out in less than five minutes, looking very pleased. Everyone thought he had passed, but Ian's sharp hearing told him otherwise.
The auditions moved quickly. If someone performed badly, the judges would stop them before they finished. By eleven o'clock, contestant 56 was up, but less than a third had passed.
"757, please come in and play."
"My turn. I'll go in first." Evan said confidently to Ian, then strode into the classroom.
Soon, a sorrowful melody drifted out from the classroom. Ian was a bit surprised—Evan's playing was as good as Ed Huang's, probably at professional level seven.
Sure enough, when Evan came out, he looked even more pleased with himself.
"Congrats, Evan." Ian said with a smile.
"Ha, nothing special." Evan waved his hand like it was no big deal, but his pride was obvious.
Ian thought Evan would leave, but instead he insisted on waiting until Ian finished his audition.
At 11:43, the staff called Ian's number.
"Good luck!"
Evan pumped his fist at Ian.
"Thanks."
Ian walked into the classroom and greeted the three judges.
"Please begin." The middle judge said calmly.
"Okay."
Ian calmly sat down at the piano, placed his hands on the keys, and let a string of sorrowful notes flow from his fingers. The three judges' eyes lit up instantly.
As Ian played, all three judges closed their eyes, immersed in the atmosphere he created.
When the piece ended, the middle judge praised him: "Very well played. I approve."
"If I may ask, what's this piece called? Is it original?" the female judge on the right asked.
"It's called 'Blue and White Porcelain,' and it's an original piece," Ian replied.
"Excellent, I'm looking forward to your next performance. I approve as well."
"Well played, and well composed. I have no reason not to approve." The left judge smiled.
"Thank you."
Ian stood up to thank them, glanced at the staff member holding a video camera, then left the classroom.
"Did you pass?" Evan rushed up as soon as Ian left the classroom.
"Barely passed," Ian replied with a smile.
Ian and Evan headed downstairs together. On the third floor, Ian unexpectedly ran into his aunt and cousin Shelly Song; both looked surprised to see him there.
This chance encounter foreshadows a new round of family and school reactions to Ian's hidden musical talent and progress in the competition.