Chapter 212

Wu Guangren glanced at her and said with deep meaning.

"Heh, you certainly know how to stick up for people."

"Fine, since you've come, sending you back empty-handed would make it seem like our piano department doesn't understand the ways of hospitality."

"Jian Mingcheng!"

"Teacher Wu, I'm here!" A male student stood up and said respectfully.

Wu Guangren said casually.

"You're also one of the contestants for this exchange activity with Berkeley, so go and have a little practice match with this young lady first."

"Yes, Teacher." The male student walked out with an indifferent expression.

He extended his hand in a "please" gesture and said lightly.

"Teacher Deng, the guest of honor goes first—after you?"

At this point, Deng Ziqi could only feel helpless.

She slowly sat down at the piano, placed her ten fingers on the keys, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down.

Her fingers flew at will, dancing rapidly across the keys.

A beautiful melody flowed out slowly.

It was a classical piece widely circulated in this world.

It had to be said, Deng Ziqi, as a professional musician, was not without good reason for her fame.

Her piano skills were genuinely not bad.

Even many of the teachers and students present showed a hint of surprise on their faces.

It seemed a little better than expected.

……

In the livestream chat, praises were already ringing out from all sides.

"Ziqi really is a treasure singer—her singing sounds great, and her piano playing is this good too?"

"Love it, love it! I only knew before that Ziqi could play piano, but I never expected her to play this well?"

"Now I finally get it—I was wondering why Su Meng dared to come cause trouble at the piano department. Turns out he has that much confidence in Deng Ziqi?"

"Please, this is the piano department of the Imperial Capital Yinyuexue Academy! Deng Ziqi plays well among singers, but here? Heh…"

"Based on my understanding of Master Su, he definitely wouldn't put all his chips on Deng Ziqi—he still has to rely on his own suona!"

"The happier you are now, the sadder you'll cry later. Once the suona comes out, everyone cry for me—no objections accepted!"

"Betting's open—guess whether it'll be 'The Grand Funeral' or 'The Peaceful Road to the West'?"

"Suona versus piano, now that's interesting."

……

When the piece ended, Wu Guangren nodded slightly.

"Not bad, fairly decent."

"But playing the piano requires a calm heart and complete devotion."

"You had distracting thoughts just now, and were too nervous—your mindset still needs adjusting."

Deng Ziqi hurriedly stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Teacher, for your guidance."

Wu Guangren nodded, then turned his head and said to Jian Mingcheng.

"Mingcheng, let me test you—what technical problems were there in that passage just now?"

Jian Mingcheng thought for a moment, then began to speak.

"I heard six problems."

"First, the harmony and tonal color aren't full enough."

"Second, during the variation…"

"Third… fourth… fifth… sixth…"

A long string of professional terminology poured from his mouth, instantly dumbfounding the netizens in the livestream chat.

Why is it that I understand every single word when you say them apart, but once they're put together I have no idea what you're saying?

Wu Guangren nodded, a hint of gratification also appearing on his face.

"Not bad—your fundamental skills are very solid; you've spotted most of the problems."

"Additionally, the handling of the trailing notes still has some inappropriate phrasing, and the emotional expression got out of control."

"This point—you do occasionally make this kind of mistake."

"Yes, Teacher, I'll definitely study hard." Whether Jian Mingcheng actually understood or not, he agreed to it right away.

Deng Ziqi, however, listened in complete bewilderment.

Many netizens in the livestream chat were the same.

How does this talk keep getting more and more far-fetched? Even emotional expression has come into it?

Has your piano become sentient or what?

……

Su Meng, who had been standing to the side ignored for a long time, suddenly let out a snicker and cut in.

"Ziqi, didn't you understand?"

"This thing is actually the same principle as blowing the suona, and not much different from everyday speech."

"Like if I asked you—have you eaten?"

"If you put the stress of the sentence on the last word 'eaten,' it sounds really awkward to the listener."

"So that's how it is!" Deng Ziqi suddenly had a revelation.

"If you'd said so earlier, wouldn't I have understood? Why make it sound so mysterious…"

"Ah, I'm sorry, Teacher. I was too dumb to grasp your instruction."

Wu Guangren, however, ignored him, and instead glanced at Su Meng with a hint of surprise.

"It seems I've underestimated you."

"But the suona and the piano… heh heh…"

He still ended his remarks with a "heh heh," then turned his head and said to Jian Mingcheng.

"Mingcheng, you play a short piece too. Let me see if you've made any progress lately."

His attitude made quite a few viewers in the livestream furrow their brows.

Many viewers still had a good impression of Deng Ziqi.

The one who came to cause trouble this time was Su Meng, but Deng Ziqi's attitude was still decent.

But judging by the way things were going, this person simply hadn't taken that celebrity seriously at all?

Acting all high and mighty, looking down on everyone.

They call it an exchange, but after watching for so long, isn't he still just teaching his own students on his own?

So damn infuriating!

……

Jian Mingcheng also sat down at the piano and played a piece.

Actually, for ordinary people, whether their playing technique was good or bad, regular folks simply couldn't tell.

On the contrary, because Deng Ziqi was good-looking, everyone actually felt she played better.

Mm… I'm a looks-judger, no problem with that!

When the piece ended, Wu Guangren gave his routine commentary, then continued.

"Alright, let's end today's exchange here. Consider it an even match."

"Everyone get ready for class."

WTF!

Su Meng immediately took offense. I'm standing right here, such a big person, and you didn't even notice?

"Director Wu, since I'm the one who came to cause trouble, shouldn't you arrange for someone to exchange with me next?"

"You?" Wu Guangren didn't even lift his eyelids.

"We don't have anyone here who plays the suona, only people who play the piano."

"You've come to the wrong place."

"Heh heh…" Su Meng smiled meaningfully and said lightly.