I am a Big Player
Chapter 620 - 611, Professor Xiao’s student_1

Chapter 620: 611, Professor Xiao’s student_1

Yang Xi entering a piano competition was quite the spectacle to begin with. Although the competitors’ list wasn’t released before the contest, and notifications were made individually, the audience would inevitably find out once here, given Yang Xi’s significant influence. She was recognized on her way over.

The tickets for this piano competition weren’t free either—at 198 yuan each, those who bought tickets felt they got their money’s worth. Even if they couldn’t watch the piano competition, it didn’t matter; just seeing Yang Xi was enough!

Now that word of Yang Xi’s participation had spread, one could predict that hordes of reporters were en route.

Usually, the media had no idea where Yang Xi lived; her nanny car would take long, circuitous routes home. The driver of that nanny car was really at the top of his game, driving with the skill of a level 6 pro!

Now that they finally had the chance to catch Yang Xi at a public event, they could finally get a scoop. If Yang Xi won first prize at the piano competition, wouldn’t that be big news?

However, while on the way, the rushing reporters suddenly received a notification: drop the news on Yang Xi’s appearance.

Everyone was puzzled. Why? Such good material for a story, and they were just dropping it? Even the boss can’t make such an unreasonable decision!

As a result, some perplexed youngsters questioned their superiors and then found out—oh, it turns out that Qinghe Group had a little "communication" with the bosses...

In Chinese, the term ’communication’ is nuanced; between equals, it refers to exchanging ideas. You share your thoughts, and I share mine. But when there’s a disparity in status, like when a major shareholder like Qinghe Group "communicates" with the media, it’s more about giving a heads-up. No need for discussion, just get the hint...

Well, time to head back. Other than feeling a bit stifled, there was nothing else to it. The real kicker is... Qinghe Group sure does meddle a lot, don’t they? Just because their big boss and Yang Xi were middle school classmates? Showering her with such attention—were they trying to steal Knight’s thunder?

If Ren He knew what they were thinking, he’d probably have a toothache...

Ren He felt it was necessary to act this way. After all, he knew his internet-addicted girl wouldn’t make it into the top three. And although the internet-addicted girl didn’t care, there was no need for the media to start another smear campaign against her because of this.

Headlines would soon read: "Yang Xi Overestimates Herself in Piano Competition."

"Yang Xi Fails to Win the Championship Due to Lack of Skill."

Many unscrupulous tabloid reporters do such things far too often. They don’t care whether your piano playing is good or bad; they wouldn’t understand anyway! The idea of ’noble defeat’ might appear in newspapers but only for Olympic athletes, to maintain political correctness. Regular celebrities were not so fortunate. Speaking of which, Ren He felt that before his transmigration, the public was indeed becoming more lenient towards Olympic heroes; a silver medal was no big deal, as long as they had tried their best. This attitude was the right one. The nation’s honor shouldn’t all rest on these Olympic athletes. Is China disgraced if they lose a match? Hardly. Even in defeat, these people had well deserved everyone’s respect, having given much more than most.

Of course, there are always a few who tarnish the group.

The audience was very curious about whom Yang Xi was searching for in the spectator seats; some even speculated: Knight might just be in the venue!

This thought instantly excited everyone. Who cares about the competition if Knight is there? Knight had been missing for over half a year now, and every day his Weibo was bombarded with fans begging him to post a new video. The admins of TK’s official website were in even more distress, even receiving threatening letters: if Knight didn’t post a new video soon, they were going to bulldoze the TK Corporation building!

Yet, as everyone followed Yang Xi’s gaze towards the back, there was no one wearing a Red Scarf—who could tell who Knight was?!

Yang Xi’s piece began, and it was only then that the audience reluctantly shifted their attention back to the stage, several older judges were somewhat puzzled about what the spectators had been looking back at...

They had never seen Knight’s videos; for the elderly with potentially weak hearts, watching Knight’s videos could be dangerous. Liu Erbao was very particular about how he made videos, striving for excitement and thrills.

There once was a rumor that someone watching Knight’s video suffered a heart attack, which caused a wave of anxiety. When it was later confirmed to be false, there was a collective sense of disappointment...

Yang Xi had chosen "Croatian Rhapsody" which, frankly, wasn’t particularly difficult, at least not among competition pieces. But usually, people think that the more difficult the piece, the easier it is to win first prize, which isn’t always the case.

In the end, it’s all about overall strength, or the ability to handle a piece; if you can play "To Alice" in a way that touches people’s hearts, you can still win first prize.

Not everyone is capable of playing "Croatian Rhapsody" well, because it contains many emotional shifts that are hard to handle without having lived through certain experiences.

It’s a somewhat mystical claim, but when it comes to art at this level, speaking in mysteries is almost a necessity to emphasize its elegance...

In fact, Ren He felt that Yang Xi played "Croatian Rhapsody" better than the others. This time, he even thought that Yang Xi had outdone herself.

Before he knew it, Ren He felt as if he had been transported back to the war-torn battlefield through the music.

He had heard from Yang Xi that once, while she was in a warzone with Yang En, they encountered a family of three. At that time, riots had broken out and foreigners were being expelled, so the husband had placed his wife and child within the protection of the Chinese embassy’s security perimeter, while he himself, being a target, could not stay there.

Yang Xi recalled watching from the second-floor window of the embassy as the wife sat helplessly on the ground inside the barricade, clinging to her child, while continuous gunfire roared just beyond the perimeter, turning the outside world into a veritable hell on earth.

At this moment, Ren He felt as if he could see it all, sensing Yang Xi’s sadness as if it were a river flowing in endless twists and turns.

Brilliant—Yang Xi’s exceptional performance in the competition was truly brilliant. Ren He admired it, thinking that perhaps she could snag a third prize, or with a bit of luck, even a second prize, depending on the judges’ favor...

Yang Xi played very well, but the competitors here represented the crème de la crème of the young generation in the piano field. Even without Liu Jiamin, there were indeed others who played better than Yang Xi, and Ren He had to admit that.

His deeper connection to the piece was partly because Yang Xi had shared with him some of the stories from her time in the war zones.

Just as Yang Xi’s piece ended, Joseph unexpectedly stood up and began to clap, shocking everyone with his praise, "Worthy of being the Little Professor’s student. I was deeply moved when I heard the Little Professor play this piece back in the day! Although you haven’t reached his level yet, you’re close."

Yang Xi was a student of the Little Professor? This was the first time the domestic classmates had heard about it, and any aficionado of classical music knew the status the Little Professor held in the field!

Listening to Joseph’s indirectly complimentary words, Ren He felt a pleasing sense of delight...