Wild Bee

Upon entering the venue and listening to a boring opening speech, the competition officially began.

Xia Yu and a group of contestants were seated near the front, with separate areas for men and women. To his left was Zhong Yunze, and to his right was someone he didn't recognize.

"I'm going to attempt a challenging piece," Zhong Yunze said, a little nervous. Taking advantage of the time before the first contestant went on stage, he chatted with Xia Yu.

Seeing the number three on his hand, Xia Yu said, "Good luck."

The first two contestants performed averagely, and when Zhong Yunze went on stage, just as Xia Yu had guessed, he failed to successfully play the challenging piece.

After making a mistake and panicking for a few seconds, Zhong Yunze barely finished the rest and stepped down from the stage.

He had thought that he would have a burst of inspiration like the protagonists in those fantasy works, to increase the chances of that happening, he had even recalled his late biological parents before playing the piano.

But it was of no use.

"Even if you had succeeded, advancing wouldn't be guaranteed, so don't worry," Xia Yu comforted him.

"I was so close. I messed up one note, and everything fell apart," Zhong Yunze lamented.

After two more contestants went on stage, it was the turn of the gold-wire glasses from last night. He played a modern piece called "Owl."

The melody of "Owl" was about a general's story of usurpation, revealing his ambitious aspirations.

The five judges on stage nodded and commented:

"Although you focused more on technique and neglected the emotion, it's still a good piece."

"At a young age, one should practice technique. Emotion and such will only be understood with age."

"It can't be said that young people can't understand emotion. Isn't there an example? Being able to play the soul of a piece is the ultimate pursuit."

The five judges engaged in a small debate, but luckily they realized they were at a competition venue and quickly toned down their remarks.

Standing to the side, the gold wire glasses holder was already showing some facial twitches in order to maintain his smile.

After stepping down, he glanced at Xia Yu.

The example mentioned by the judge was Xia Yu. If it weren't for Xia Yu, he would have received one-sided praise.

After Xia Yu smiled at him, he became even angrier.

Upon returning to his seat, his two companions consoled him.

"What's the use of soul? Technique is the standard for evaluating piano pieces now. He won't advance," said one of them.

Under their consolation, gold wire glasses calmed down and smiled, "When he takes the stage, I want to see what kind of evaluation this guy, who can play the soul, will get."

Soon, it was the ninth contestant's turn to perform. As his performance was nearing its end, Xia Yu went backstage.

The ninth contestant's level was merely at the lower level of LV3. One of the judges reluctantly encouraged him, while the other four judges didn't even bother to comment, letting the ninth contestant leave.

"The next one is that little guy," said a judge, becoming more focused.

"The one who played François the Wolf?"

"His technique is lacking, but it can be improved. His future can be foreseen."

"However, his technique is really poor. I'm afraid he won't be able to advance."

"If you appreciate his talent, you can take him as a disciple. He learned the piano from his mother and doesn't have a teacher."

"I heard his mother plays the guzheng, no wonder his piano skills are not good."

"Do you guys want it or not? If not, give it back to me?"

It wasn't until Xia Yu took the stage that the five judges quieted down.

They leaned back in their chairs, ready to enjoy Fran's old wolf performance, but saw that Xia Yu didn't touch the piano; instead, he clamped a violin under his chin.

"???"

"What's going on?" The judges were shocked.

"What's the situation?" Zhong Yunze couldn't figure it out.

"How did he go up there with a violin!" The gold-wire glasses stared wide-eyed.

In the audience, some people came for Xia Yu's Fran's old wolf performance, and they were all very puzzled, whispering.

Xia Yu's principal was also being questioned by the principal of the Second Middle School.

"How did he go up there with a violin?" The principal of the Second Middle School grabbed the principal's hand.

"I don't know either, he didn't tell me, but he can play the violin." The principal also looked confused.

Amidst the commotion, Xia Yu placed the bow on the violin strings.

A rapid melody suddenly sounded, continuing at an unrelenting pace.

For a moment, the entire hall buzzed like a swarm of bees.

The audience and judges were stunned.

By the time Xia Yu had played half of the piece, put down the bow, and emitted a "ding" sound by pulling the strings, the judges finally recognized the piece.

"The Flight of the Bumblebee!" They looked at each other.

Placing the bow back on the strings, Xia Yu continued to play the violin vigorously.

Before most of the audience could react, he ended the piece with one long note followed by two short notes.

The scene fell silent for a moment before the judges began the applause, filling the theater with the sound of clapping.

As a classical piece, The Flight of the Bumblebee had many adaptations, and Xia Yu's rendition was one of them.

The piece, famous for its rapid performance and bee-like sound, demands great skill and flexibility in the hands. To play it well, almost a year of hard practice is required.

However, this alone was not enough to excite the five judges. They were more concerned about:

"How long did it take just now?"

"I don't know, but it must be close to the record!"

"We can calculate the time from the video camera."

"The performer is here, don't bother with the camera!"

The five judges then asked Xia Yu to play it again.

Unprecedentedly, Xia Yu sat back down on the bench to perform for the second time.

The intense sound of the violin resounded again, the passion ricocheting through the theater.

The passion stirred everyone's emotions, making their bodies want to tremble along with the music.

When the piece was finished, a judge looked at his phone, took two deep breaths, and said solemnly, "Sixty-six seconds."

The world record for The Flight of the Bumblebee was also sixty-six seconds.

The knowledgable audience began to buzz, and the non-violin-playing audience followed suit after being informed about the significance.

Zhong Yunze took a deep breath, and although he wanted to eat a lemon, he praised Xia Yu's amazing skill.

In the front row, the gold-wire glasses were somewhat unbalanced.

Suddenly changing from piano to violin was one thing, being able to play Flight of the Bumblebee was another, but also breaking the world record? Becoming the fastest violinist in the world?

Everyone came here to compete, so why are you showing off so much?

On the stage, Xia Yu glanced at his skill column.

To perform the Flight of the Bumblebee, a level 3 upper-class skill was required, and the rest relied on the speed and dexterity of the hands, not just the agility of the right hand that held the bow, but also the left hand that pressed the strings.

If his agility hadn't reached level 3, he wouldn't have been able to play at such a high speed.

In fact, he could have been one or two seconds faster, but that would have messed up the rhythm.

Rhythm is the foundation of music; without it, there's no music, just noise with speed, which has no value.

"Good!" One of the judges was particularly excited, clapping hard against the armrest of his chair.

He was a violinist.

"Keep going on the path of the violin, and you will have a bright future!" The violinist judge said.

"Ahem, your violin playing is indeed impressive, but your performance of the Franse Wolf already has a master's demeanor, as long as you improve your skills, you will also have an immeasurable future." The piano teacher judge tried to bring Xia Yu over to his own camp.

"What are you talking about!" The violinist wouldn't let it go.