Chapter 35: with translation of chapter title

Shu Shu smoothly made her way to the violinist recruitment point here.

To keep the venue orderly and quiet, the former passage was shut; she couldn't go down, so Shu Shu had to cross the huge audience seats and, from afar on the side, watch the audition below.

This side is obviously much more formal than the pianists' side.

The judges' seats were full of people, including several foreign faces.

The atmosphere was solemn.

Shu Shu clung to the railing, watching each young contestant go on stage, pricking up her ears to listen; her legs went numb from standing, yet she never heard the name "Pei Muyin" called.

As she saw only three contestants left, the third-from-last wasn't Pei Muyin, the second-from-last wasn't Pei Muyin, and even the last wasn't Pei Muyin—but it was a name that made Shu Shu stare in disbelief.

Shi Yao.

Shi Yao—the name of the "lead female protagonist's daughter" in her dream.

In the dream, her daughter Pei Muyin was Shi Yao's control group, and Shi Yao was also a violinist.

Shu Shu then saw a girl in a British-style uniform, with a tranquil appearance, carrying a violin onto the stage; she politely nodded at the judges' bench, then raised her hand and slightly lifted her chin.

Next, a delicate and elegant violin sound came forth.

This girl played superbly; at first listen you could tell she had sacrificed her after-school time and, since childhood, had been meticulously taught by professionals.

Sure enough, after her solo, she handled the judges' "random spot-check" with ease.

The people on the judges' bench all showed expressions of praise.

If Shi Yao had come, then where was Pei Muyin?

However, Shu Shu only saw the people on the judges' bench rise and leave one after another, indicating the violinist audition had ended.

Pei Muyin was not there.

Was it that she had been delayed just then, arriving late and thus missed her daughter's audition?

Or perhaps her daughter didn't take part in this recruitment drive for the orchestra.

Or perhaps… that girl just happened to also be called Shi Yao, and there actually is no such person as Pei Muyin; the dream was false.

The broadcast sounded the notice to clear the venue—

Having found nothing, Shu Shu could only leave the theater first.

Thus she noticed that, after she turned around, a foreign-looking woman who had been about to leave the judges' bench was holding a document, and in accented Chinese she asked the colleague beside her with some concern:

"Where is this violinist named Pei Muyin from, and why haven't we seen her come…"

…

Shu Shu came out of the theater and, upon reaching the entrance, discovered that it was pouring heavily outside.

She pulled out her phone to check the time—it was already nearly 1:30 PM.

She had no umbrella.

Fortunately, she had booked a VIP suite at the hotel the previous day; she contacted the hotel, and within less than three minutes, staff from the opposite hotel came to pick her up.

Not having found her daughter, Shu Shu naturally wouldn't linger in Jing Shi; she skipped lunch, completed checkout, and flew straight back to An Shi.

The rain kept falling in a steady patter, the sky darkened by the curtain of rain.

Pei Muyin returned home practically soaked through.

Water from her hair and hem dripped down her chubby frame; she clutched the violin case in one hand, while the other palm tightly gripped something pressed to her chest, her lips pale and trembling, her whole body shivering from the cold.

"Eldest Young Lady?!"

The servant at the door was startled by her disheveled appearance: "You weren't going to the orchestra audition—how did you end up like this?"

Pei Muyin seemed not to hear the servant's words, lowered her eyes, and went straight upstairs to her room on her own.

The servant, apparently used to her aloofness, glanced at her back twice, muttered a couple of remarks, then picked up a rag and went back to work.

On the second floor, the room door closed.

Pei Muyin set down the violin case, without even attending to her soaked self, and first went to check the black voice recorder she had been protecting in her right palm.

She pressed play again, and upon hearing the violin's melodious recording intact, her heart finally settled completely.

This recorder, and the recording inside it, are the things she treasures most.

It is also her patron deity.

Whenever she enters an important competition or a violin audition, as long as she listens to it once, she passes smoothly.

This morning, on her way to the Berlin Su Orchestra violinist audition, she would normally have put on earphones to listen to the recording, but after pressing play and waiting a while, there was no sound; she immediately grabbed the recorder to look, and realized it wasn't hers.

Pei Muyin suddenly recalled that yesterday after school, she had collided with a classmate; both of their belongings scattered on the ground, and two identical voice recorders fell out.

Her recorder had a tiny nick less than a centimeter on the tip; she picked up the one nearest her, saw the nick, and naturally assumed it was hers, then after gathering the other fallen items she hurried away.

Only when she was on the car this morning did she notice something amiss.

Pei Muyin anxiously looked up that classmate's contact number and asked about the whereabouts of the other recorder.

The classmate apologetically replied that her own recorder was broken; after mistakenly picking it up yesterday, she had simply tossed it into a school trash can, but couldn't recall which one.

Pei Muyin was immensely relieved that the school's Friday cleaning would be postponed to Saturday; she immediately had the driver turn the car around and head to the school.

The heavy rain began just as she was rummaging through trash can after trash can, tearing open bags.

She paid no mind, frantically searching, and finally, after tearing open who-knows-how-many trash bags and her fingers aching, she found the recorder.

At that moment, she had completely missed the Berlin Su Orchestra violinist audition.

By the time she reached the grand theater, the audition had just ended thirty minutes earlier…

Probably because she had been drenched for so long, Pei Muyin started sneezing and her head felt foggy.

Realizing she might have caught a chill, she took a hot shower, swallowed a cold pill, then curled up under the blankets, placing the recorder carefully by her pillow, and gradually fell asleep.

Before sleeping, she glanced at the calendar and vaguely saw that today was the 5th.

The Pei Family has a tradition: the 5th of each month is a family gathering day.

Thus, it is also the day when Father comes home.

Pei Muyin slept deeply this nap, she was vaguely awakened by a burst of laughter and chatter.

She opened her eyes, a thought spurred her to bolt out of bed barefoot, run to the window, look outside, and see the exclusive parking spot in the courtyard completely empty.

She sighed.

Although her father had continuously missed the monthly family gathering on the fifth for over ten years, Pei Muyin still repeatedly hoped to see his car appear in that parking spot.

Yet this time was no exception; her father still did not return.

And outside, that burst of laughter and chatter—

"Knock knock knock."

A knocking sounded at the door; it was a servant.

"Eldest Young Lady, dinner is ready."

Pei Muyin sat dazed on the bed for a moment, changed her clothes, opened the door, and slowly walked down the spiral staircase.

In the luxurious living room.

The Pei Family's former matriarch, Madam Song, sat upright on the sofa.

Although she was seventy-seven years old, thanks to proper care and a life of ease, Madam Song did not look very old; her earlobes and neck adorned with jade accessories, she was dignified and luxurious, and one could see from her face the graceful charm of her youth.

At this moment she looked contentedly: "Xiaoqing ah, the tea I've drunk all my life, none suits me as well as the tea you brew."

The one called Xiaoqing was a gentle‑looking woman, wearing a plain‑colored cheongsam, her hair tied up, sensible and proper.

Shi Qing.

A senior English teacher, eight years ago she accidentally rescued Madam Song at a burning banquet, earning Madam Song's favor, and was often summoned by Madam Song to dine at the Pei Family's main residence.

Later, even such special occasions as family gatherings were no exception.

Madam Song liked Shi Qing very much, and she also doted on Shi Qing's two children, not minding at all that Shi Qing was a single mother.

Everyone speculated that Shi Qing was very likely to become the next generation's matriarch of the Pei Family.