Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Qin Ran’s personal style was extremely strong.

Her spirituality and talent were both rare to Master Wei.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so hung up on her even after being explicitly rejected for so many times.

Wei Zihang lived upstairs to Chen Shulan’s house and when Master Wei first heard Qin Ran play the violin, she was only seven years old. She was still young but had sat alone on the old balcony, her dark eyes reflecting a sense of impenetrable loneliness.

That was the first time Master Wei realized that some people could play the violin and shake people’s hearts without any skills.

She had extraordinary imagination in the way she arranged music.

Wei Zihang told him that her parents had divorced that day.

Qin Ran had a violin teacher and he was her life mentor. Master Wei knew that, so he didn’t try to seize someone else’s favorite student.

Until one day when Wei Zihang called him to tell him that Qin Ran had separated from the teacher, Master Wei hurried over from the capital.

But Qin Ran seemed very repulsive to Beijing.

Chen Shulan was very polite to him and even brought him to see Qin Ran in her room. He had seen many crumpled music sheets in Qin Ran’s trash can.

In the first ten seconds of Qin Yu’s arrangement, he didn’t hear it, but after ten seconds, the music changed to a rhythmical undulated tempo. It wasn’t a lively tempo and was the kind that oppressed and stirred up people’s hearts.

Master Wei’s sensitivity to music was terrifying.

He remembered the song that Qin Ran had played on her birthday three years ago. It had a bit of irritability, depression, and an unpredictable sense of deep grief and depression.

Everyone had their own style of playing, and Qin Ran’s style couldn’t be easily replicated.

Master Wei put his fingers on the table and looked at Qin Yu expressionlessly.

She played for five minutes, and there were several sections that interspersed a rhythm that Master Wei was very familiar with.

It added up to three minutes of her performance.

And these three minutes also happened to be the highlights of Qin Yu’s performance.

**

Below the stage, Lin Jinxuan immediately stood up and walked outside after Qin Yu’s performance.

His classmate called him from behind. “Jinxuan, your sister is awesome. I felt goosebumps in several paragraphs in the middle. She’s no less than those masters.”

Lin Jinxuan responded carelessly and wone an expressionless on his handsome face.

“Didn’t your sister say she was paying apprenticeship? Aren’t you waiting for the result?” His classmate glanced back and was somewhat reluctant.

“I’m not waiting, I’m finding Ran Ran.” Lin Jinxuan frowned lightly and took out his phone to call Qin Ran.

Lin Jinxuan seemed to mention “Ran Ran” often.

His classmate smirked and reached over his shoulder. “Speaking of this, your sister Ran Ran looks much better than your sister. She’s in the third year, right? Then, can she come to our school next year?”

“She can’t come.” Lin Jinxuan smiled lightly when he heard this, but like the ripples of a cold lake, his smile soon disappeared. “Her results are too bad.”

The classmate froze for a while and then laughed. “That’s a pity.”

At the same time.

Xu Yaoguang, who was sitting on the edge, stood up after Qin Yu’s performance.

After thinking for a while, he lowered his head slightly, said something to Ning Qing, and then went backstage with his mask on.

Ning Qing was too nervous about the result and didn’t have time to pay attention to Xu Yaoguang.

She just turned her head, deliberately lowered her voice, and asked Lin Wan, “What did the teacher in front say about Yu’er’s performance?”

Lin Wan didn’t speak, but Old Master Shen stood up while supporting the handrails. He looked at Ning Qing and laughed aloud. “Yu’er’s performance was good, and her quality was much better than usual. Come, let’s go in front and watch.”

Lin Wan looked at Ning Qing and also said in a rare good tone, “Don’t worry, but the music host also said that Master Wei would surely like her.”

Ning Qing relaxed after hearing Lin Wan’s words.

She stood up and straightened her clothes before following Old Master Shen and Lin Wan.

**

In front, it had been silent for two minutes and nobody responded.

They were showing respect to Master Wei.

Master Wei just leaned back on his chair and stared at Qin Yu with a pair of slightly muddled eyes, as if trying to figure her out.

After a long while, a teacher looked at Master Wei and asked carefully, “Elder Wei, what do you think of her?”

“Any information on her? Let me take a look,” Master Wei said lightly and clasped his fingers on the table.

It could be said to be a coincidence if only one or two segments were similar, but within the five-minute tune, he had heard three minutes of similarity, so it wasn’t just a coincidence.

Master Wei remembered that someone had told him these two students performed their original songs.

Someone immediately handed the information to Master Wei.

Master Wei took it and flipped through it slowly.

He was so serious that someone at the side whispered, “Elder Wei is looking at it so seriously, it seems he really has intentions of accepting her as an apprentice. That girl is obviously here for Elder Wei…”

Beside them, Dai Ran stood with a sullen expression on his face. He was obviously very interested in Qin Yu.

Now that the violin industry was divided into so many groups, Dai Ran obviously couldn’t compare with Master Wei, so he didn’t want to be suppressed by Master Wei on the matter of finding a successor and an apprentice as well.

Qin Yu’s tune had amazed him.

Although she was unskilled in the middle, the repertoire was spiritual enough to add points to her performance.

Master Wei was unaware of the discussions of those around him and only focused on the information in his hands.

Her resume was written, as well as her grade in violin, and the medals she had won since young.

These were all for show, so Master Wei breezed through it lightly.

Finally, his gullied fingertips stopped on a line—

The repertoire of this performance is original.

“Qin Yu, yes?” Master Wei casually put down the material and looked lightly at Qin Yu. “Did you say that this track is your original?”

Qin Yu’s hands tightened when she heard this.

The night before yesterday, she had spent almost the whole evening listening to Yan Xi’s old music.

There was indeed a track in Yan Xi’s early album that resembled this track’s style.

But even though the style was similar, the arrangement was completely different.

She looked up and said politely and confidently, “Yes.”

Master Wei nodded and asked again, “When?”

“I started in September,” Qin Yu replied, matter-of-fact and natural. “I practiced it many times in school and all my classmates know.”

After getting this answer, Master Wei didn’t say a single word. He just stood up from the table and picked up his thermos again, before nodding at the other teachers. “Everyone, I have matters to attend to first.”

Everyone present, including Dai Ran, thought that Master Wei was interested in Qin Yu as an apprentice after asking such meticulous questions.

Who knew that he would leave with his cup without saying anything?

Old Master Shen, Lin Wan, and Ning Qing just arrived. They were all stunned when they saw this.

“Master Wei, what do you mean? Don’t you want Qin Yu?” Dai Ran stood up directly and asked with bright eyes.

Master Wei held his teacup and his movements toward Dai Ran weren’t difficult to understand.

His reaction had been about the same when he first heard Qin Ran play the violin.

“No, I don’t want her.” Master Wei’s voice was still faint and emotionless.

Qin Yu, who had thought that victory was in her palms, looked up in disbelief.

She was very confident of her piece since both Xu Yaoguang and Old Master Shen had praised her on it in the past few months, so she had bet her future on it.

Unexpectedly, Master Wei gave her a blow this time.

How could he say “no” so coldly?

The other teachers didn’t understand.

The boy hadn’t been as spiritual as Qin Yu, and Master Wei had even said he was “alright”.

“You really don’t want her?” Dai Ran was unexpectedly surprised, but he deliberately suppressed himself and asked again, ill at ease.

“Yes.” Master Wei continued to walk towards the exit without looking back.

Dai Ran heaved a sigh of relief. Other than Master Wei, nobody else would contest for Qin Yu with him, so he said with a smile, “Master Wei is indeed a master, he can’t even take a fancy to Qin Yu. I wonder what kind of prodigy he would take a fancy on.”

He was obviously mocking him.

Many people came for apprenticeship yearly, and this was the first time Dai Ran had seen such a spiritual student as Qin Yu.

Who knew that Master Wei would pause, turn sideways, and say with an unpredictable smile, “You’ve really guessed right.”

He seemed to think of something and was in a better mood instantly. He turned around and walked away quickly.

Qin Yu, who had been rejected by Master Wei, clenched her hands and pursed her lips. “Master Wei, was it because my original track wasn’t good enough?”

“Don’t get me wrong, there are some sections of the track you played that I particularly like. Because they were indeed spiritual.” Master Wei originally wanted to ignore Qin Yu.

Qin Ran’s repertoire always came and went, so he wasn’t sure if she had an original manuscript, but it had never been published before.

Without any practical proof, the person who plagiarized it would surely be confident and unafraid.

Master Wei thought about this indifferently and his face sank.

Qin Yu didn’t see this and continued to ask with a strong voice, “Then why don’t you want me?”

“Why?” He turned around, stared at Qin Yu, and his smile disappeared. “Because I’ve heard a similar track before. You said this is your original track, okay, so I asked you when you composed it, and you said you composed it in September this year… Qin Yu, you’re pretty impressive, how did you bring back someone else’s original track from three years ago to this year’s September?”

After saying his piece, Master Wei thought it was meaningless, so he walked directly to the gate with a solemn face.

Everyone else, including Dai Ran and the Shen family, were stunned and rooted to the ground.

**

Xu Yaoguang didn’t know the situation and went directly backstage.

He first went to find the person-in-charge.

Xu Yaoguang was a regular visitor and was here as long as there was a violin performance.

The person-in-charge knew him.

“Young Master Xu.” The person-in-charge was surprised to hear Xu Yaoguang’s request. He thought for a moment and said simply, “Follow me.”

Xu Yaoguang took off his mask, cleared his throat, and followed him.

The two of them walked up the corner from the corridor.

They happened to bump into Master Wei, who had just come off the stage.

Xu Yaoguang was very respectful to Master Wei and stopped along with the person-in-charge. “Master Wei.”

“Oh, Young Master Xu.” Master Wei’s expression softened slightly. “Where are you going?”

Previously, Elder Xu had always brought Xu Yaoguang to visit Master Wei because he liked the violin.

“I’m going to the monitoring room.” Xu Yaoguang held his mask and looked at Master Wei, his eyes cold. “There were too many people just now and I lost something in the washroom.”

This thing was probably really important for Xu Yaoguang to find the monitor himself.

Master Wei nodded and didn’t disturb him. He was anxious to find Qin Ran, so he said, “Go ahead. There are many people, so it might not be easy to find.”

Then, they bid farewell and headed in different directions.

After two steps, Xu Yaoguang paused again and turned around. “Master Wei, was there anyone in your lounge today?”

Master Wei stopped at the sudden question and also asked, “That thing… did you lose it in our lounge?”

“No.” Xu Yaoguang lowered his eyes and shook his head. “Sorry for disturbing you.”

He went to the monitoring room.

The staff let Xu Yaoguang take a look at the monitoring video from the toilet to the corridor.

“Not this one.” Xu Yaoguang didn’t sit and just leaned on the table with his fingers on the table as he watched the screen. “Do you have one of the lounge?”

The staff paused.

He looked at Xu Yaoguang in surprise, but the other party had been specially brought here by the organizer.

He had even called him “Young Master Xu” respectfully.

The lounge was a public place and had no secrets, so the staff moved his mouse and found a monitoring video in the lounge.

Xu Yaoguang pointed directly to Master Wei’s room and said lightly, “Here, enlarge it.”

The staff nodded and clicked on the file before enlarging the screen.

Xu Yaoguang’s fingers tightened on the table and he stared intently at the screen.