Chapter 43 – “I Have Reviewed”
At this time, Lan Qingqing stood beside Lin Rumeng. Hearing their conversation, she let out a cold laugh, “Some people really do dream big. The competition isn’t even over yet, and they’re already daydreaming about glory.”
Chen Qianxi rolled her eyes. “Let’s not bother with her. They’re just jealous.”
Lin Yuejiu smiled. “Alright.”
The competition gradually drew to a close.
“May the participants waiting backstage please come up to the stage.”
Those who had already performed came up one by one.
A judge took the microphone, his gaze sweeping across everyone present, “Just now, everyone has already performed, and we judges have scored you. Now it’s time to share our evaluations and decide who qualifies to enter the Association. Who would like to hear theirs first?”
The contestants on stage looked at each other, but no one stepped forward.
Lin Yuejiu had been about to raise her hand, but Lin Rumeng was faster. Seeing this, Lin Yuejiu gave up the thought of volunteering.
“You are Lin Rumeng, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You want to hear our evaluation first? Are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
“Good.” The judge picked up the scoring sheet and began,
“When did you start learning violin?”
“Not long ago. I only just started recently—about a month.”
“To reach this level in a single month is already quite impressive.”
“So what is my score?”
Lin Yuejiu glanced at Lin Rumeng, who looked full of expectation.
“Out of ten points, you scored 7.5.”
A flash of disappointment flickered in Lin Rumeng’s eyes, but she quickly recovered, holding up a smile, “Thank you, judges.”
“Who’s next?”
Lin Yuejiu had just moved her hand slightly, but once again someone beat her to it. She simply gave up trying to be first, deciding to wait patiently—after all, her turn would come.
There were a total of ten contestants. The ones who went before her scored similarly, most around seven points. One contestant surpassed Lin Rumeng with eight points, while two received only six.
At last, only one person remained.
All eyes in the room turned toward Lin Yuejiu.
“You are Lin Yuejiu, correct?”
“Yes.”
“How many points do you think you deserve?”
Lin Yuejiu smiled. “That’s not something I should say recklessly—it depends on the judges.”
“So you don’t even have a basic sense of your own ability?”
“Oh, I do.”
“And how much would that be?”
“Eight points.”
The hall fell silent. The judges all stared at her with interest.
“You just said you couldn’t speak recklessly, but now you’ve given yourself eight points—the same as the current highest score. Don’t you think that’s a bit arrogant?”
Lin Yuejiu’s expression didn’t change. “Didn’t you just say one must at least have a basic grasp of their own ability? This is my assessment of mine.”
Lin Rumeng watched, waiting for Lin Yuejiu to embarrass herself.
The judge glanced at his colleagues, the corners of his mouth curving with a hint of meaning, “Then it seems you may not fully understand your own ability.”
Lin Rumeng’s heart leapt with joy. So, Lin Yuejiu is about to be humiliated?
The students of Class 1 of Grade 3 tensed up.
Oh no, oh no—please let our goddess pass!
Even the Xu family members felt nervous—everyone except Xu Nianshen.
“Your score is—”
Backstage, Chen Qianxi’s heart shot up to her throat.
“Nine points! Congratulations!”
Lin Yuejiu froze for a moment, then bowed to everyone.
Thunderous applause filled the hall. The students of Class 1 of Grade 3 cheered her name excitedly.
Lin Yuejiu heard them and gave them a smile.
Classmates of Grade 3, Class 1: Ahhh! The goddess smiled at me! She’s so beautiful when she smiles!
Chen Qianxi was so moved she nearly cried. Her Jiujiu succeeded!
“Alright, now that all the scores are in, we can announce who will be admitted into the Music Association.”
Everyone held their breath.
“The purpose of this competition was to recruit fresh blood into the Association. Before it began, we had already decided on the qualifying score. That score is…”
The judge deliberately drew out his words.
“Eight points. Congratulations to all contestants scoring eight and above!”
Applause burst out again.
Lin Yuejiu lifted her lips in a smile, glancing toward the Xu family parents and Xu Nian.
On their faces was undisguised joy. Xu Nian couldn’t help shouting, “Jiujiu, you’re amazing! I knew it—no one’s better than my sister!”
Xu Nian’s friends shouted: “Little sister is the best!”
Xu Nian: “Get lost, you idiots! That’s my sister!”
Lin Yuejiu’s smile grew even brighter.
The host said, “Congratulations to the two who have been accepted into the association. As for the others, though you didn’t make it this time, don’t lose heart. Our Music Association will be back next year, and you’ll still have another chance.”
Everyone nodded. Except for Lin Rumeng, the rest all felt it was normal that they didn’t make it in. They weren’t particularly outstanding, nor had they trained for very long. More importantly, losing to Lin Yuejiu wasn’t shameful at all. She was genuinely excellent and had practiced the violin for eleven years. They themselves enjoyed listening to her play, so losing to her wasn’t disgraceful.
Lin Rumeng’s hands at her sides clenched tighter and tighter, her nails digging into her palms.
How could this be? Hadn’t she already worked hard enough? And hadn’t her mentor praised her, saying she carried some of Lin Yuejiu’s shadow in her performance? Then why was Lin Yuejiu’s score so much higher than hers?!
Before she could think further, staff members ushered them offstage, leaving only those who had passed.
The host invited the two winners forward. The other girl still looked as if she couldn’t believe she had made it. Lin Yuejiu smiled and asked, “Surprised?”
The girl shook her head, then nodded again.
“I’m Lin Yuejiu. And you are?”
The girl blurted out instinctively, “I’m Li Shule.”
“Let’s look after each other from now on, okay?”
Finally snapping out of her daze, the girl shook her hand. “Please guide me.”
At this moment, the head judge stepped onto the stage and introduced himself. “I’m Huang Weixue, one of the organizers of the Music Association. Welcome to our association.”
“How should we address you?” they asked.
“Just call me Teacher. I’ll be teaching you in the future as well.”
Both chorused: “Hello, Teacher.”
Huang Weixue, smiling warmly, handed them their Music Association passes.
A photographer came up to take photos—Huang stood in the middle, the two girls on either side. The image was captured by the camera.
When the competition ended and the crowd dispersed, Lin Yuejiu held her pass and was about to head backstage. As she turned, she spotted Xu Nianshen not far away. She lifted the pass and shook it, her face glowing with a bright, dazzling smile.
Xu Nianshen gave her a big thumbs-up—then pressed it down, then raised it again.
Lin Yuejiu laughed and returned the gesture, but bent her thumb halfway down.
It was their secret, a hand signal that only the two of them understood.
—July 20, a certain year.
Fifteen-year-old Lin Yuejiu sat at a wooden desk, a black gel pen in hand. On the table lay a math test paper, but she hadn’t written a single word.
Dressed in a white shirt and black pants, Xu Nianshen walked out from behind her. Seeing that she still hadn’t started, he curled his finger and tapped her lightly on the head.
Lin Yuejiu covered her head, looking at him with a wounded gaze. “Why did you hit me?”
Her tone carried a touch of grievance.
“This math problem—you’ve been staring at it for seven minutes already. What, do you think it’s some ancient relic you’re supposed to admire?”
Lin Yuejiu pouted. “You don’t get it. With math problems, you have to carefully observe them first before you can figure out the solution.”
Xu Nianshen gave her a sidelong glance. “And? Have you figured it out?”
“…Not yet. But I’m close! Just give me ten more minutes, and I’m sure I’ll figure it out!”
Xu Nianshen couldn’t resist knocking her head again.
The girl’s voice grew even more aggrieved. “You hit me again! I told you, just give me a little more time and I’ll get it.”
Xu Nianshen scoffed, “Even if I gave you a hundred more minutes, you still wouldn’t get it. If you don’t understand, just ask me. It’s not like I can’t teach you.”
Lin Yuejiu muttered under her breath, “Always asking you makes me feel like I’m terrible at math. But I’m only ten points lower than you…”
He heard her and let out a quiet, amused laugh. “If you don’t understand, then ask. Just staring at it won’t magically give you the answer. You can’t even tell a sprout from a flower.”
Lin Yuejiu pouted harder.
With a sigh that sounded like reluctant compromise, Xu Nianshen said, “Fine. It’s not that you have to ask—I want to teach you.”
Her expression instantly brightened. “I knew it! Quick, come look at this problem!”
As she smiled at him so brightly, he sighed inwardly, helpless but indulgent. He propped one hand on the desk, circled a few key points on the problem with the pen in his other hand, and explained: “These are the critical clues. From them, you have to figure out which concepts are being tested…”
He didn’t spoon-feed her the whole solution, only nudged her when she looked lost. Before long, Lin Yuejiu solved the problem on her own. The moment she got it right, she nearly jumped up with joy.
Xu Nianshen’s lips curved in a faint smile as he gave her a thumbs-up—then pressed it down, then raised it again.
Lin Yuejiu blinked in puzzlement. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“One thumbs-up means great. Two thumbs-ups mean twice as great.”
Lin Yuejiu burst out laughing, lifting her head to look at him. “Where did you learn that from?”
“Made it up myself.”
Thinking for a moment, Lin Yuejiu gave him a thumbs-up too, then bent her thumb halfway down.
Xu Nianshen turned his head slightly to look at her. “And that means?”
“It means I’ve understood. In old-fashioned language, it’s like saying: ‘The Emperor has read it.’”
He raised a brow. “Where’d you pick that up?”
“Same as you. Made it up.”
—July 20. The weather was bright, the sky blue with scattered clouds. Tall trees stood proud and unmoving, cicadas calling from their trunks. The lush leaves carried out photosynthesis while their interwoven shadows fell across the wooden desk. One boy standing, one girl sitting, both holding up their own invented hand signals, smiling as they looked at each other.
