How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 205

“Not bad! It’s quite remarkable for a student to play at this level.”

“Haha… our Hai City Conservatory of Music is full of talent!”

“This is probably thanks to Qing柠. If she hadn’t led everyone in practice, I doubt it would be this good.”

“Qing柠, you can go out and wait. There shouldn’t be any problems. You’re significantly ahead of the other groups.”… Li Qing柠 and the others were overjoyed, feeling confident that they were in, and the opportunity to join the national orchestra was right in front of them.

However, Li Qing柠 was still a bit uneasy and said, “Thank you for the praise, esteemed judges. If we are chosen to represent the academy in the performance, I can invite some influential figures from the opera house and symphony orchestra to attend. If they [the judges] perform well enough, they could be directly scouted.” *This woman is quite cunning, using social connections to entice the teachers to let them pass.*

No wonder the students outside wanted to withdraw from the competition. Li Qing柠’s connections alone were enough to overshadow them. There was no need to even compare professional skills.

This made the judges very happy. Even they, as teachers, might not have such strong connections.

Now that Li Qing柠 could invite these leaders to directly recruit people, it meant that the Hai City Conservatory of Music would soon have more students with secure government jobs.

“Haha… Qing柠 is indeed a role model for all the students in our school.”

“Anyway, I think if there are no surprises, it will definitely be her group representing the school in the performance.”

“There can’t be any surprises. I’m sure of that. I even heard people outside saying they were going to withdraw from the competition, too afraid to compete.”

“Then why don’t we ask if there are any other groups who want to participate? If not, we can end it and announce Qing柠’s group as the winner.”

“I think that’s a good idea! It’ll save everyone’s time!”… Hearing the judges’ words, Li Qing柠 and the others smiled happily.

Liu Yi, the head of the piano department, walked out and said with a smile, “Did I hear some students saying they wanted to give up the competition? Are you all giving up?”

“Yes! We have no choice but to give up! Senior Qing柠 and her group are too amazing. I don’t think there’s any point in continuing the competition.”

“It would just be embarrassing to go in. It’s better to save some face.”

“Tang Xia and her group want to compete. She even said she could defeat Senior Qing柠’s group.”… Liu Yi looked at Tang Xia and said with a smile, “Tang Xia, does your group want to challenge Qing柠’s group?” Tang Xia said confidently, “Not challenge, but participate according to the process.” Liu Yi nodded and said, “Okay! Are there any other groups who want to participate?” The others shook their heads, indicating they would not participate.

Liu Yi: “Okay! Tang Xia, your group can come in.” Tang Xia turned to Yang Chen and said, “Brother Chen, we’re going in.” Yang Chen: “Okay. Just perform normally. You’ll definitely crush them.” Tang Xia and the others nodded and walked in with their heads held high.

Li Qing柠 and the others had to go out.

“Tang Xia, good luck, don’t disappoint me,” Li Qing柠 said with forced generosity. *But in her heart, she was thinking, “A bunch of clueless fools, still trying to compete with me for a spot. You could have chosen to save face, but you insist on embarrassing yourselves. Hmph!”* Tang Xia smiled and nodded, saying, “Thank you, Qing柠’s encouragement, we will do our best.” Li Qingmang sneered, “Overestimating themselves!” Li Qing柠 quickly said, “Hey, don’t say that. Young people should be confident. If Tang Xia and her group can beat us, that would be great, meaning our Hai City Conservatory of Music will soon have more students who can go out into the world. As a senior, I would be very happy.” The judges nodded in agreement.

“Qing柠 is indeed the pride of our Hai City Conservatory of Music.”

“That’s right. If we could cultivate more students like her, our Hai City Conservatory of Music would soon be among the top art schools in the country.”

“Come on, let’s enjoy Tang Xia’s group’s performance. I’m really looking forward to it.”… Li Qing柠 and the others exited, and Tang Xia and the others sat down to test the piano and prepare.

At this time, Li Qingmang was scolding Tang Xia and the others.

“What are they pretending for? They’re obviously going to lose, but they still insist on wasting everyone’s time. She’s the biggest show-off in the entire Hai City Conservatory of Music,” Li Qingmang said.

Song Siming immediately said, “Li Qingmang, can you have some class? It’s not right for a decent person to talk bad about others behind their backs. If you have the guts, say it to their faces. And since it’s a competition, why can’t they participate? Can’t you just get a spot because you perform well?” Li Qingmang knew that Song Siming liked Tang Xia and that he was a rich second-generation [a person born into wealth], so she didn’t dare to argue with him.

However, Li Qing柠 had some connections, so she wasn’t too afraid of Song Siming.

“Song Siming, you’ve been chasing her for so long and haven’t gotten anywhere. Are you even capable? You’re so protective of her, but she doesn’t even want to look at you. Aren’t you just being one-sided and presumptuous?” Li Qing柠 said with a mocking smile.

Song Siming immediately retorted, “Isn’t that normal? Who doesn’t have a few people they like but can’t get? Everyone, tell me, isn’t that the truth?” Everyone nodded, agreeing that what he said made sense.

Song Siming continued, “I’ve already come to terms with it. I’m not pursuing her anymore. I now fully support Tang Xia and Brother Chen being together. As long as they become a couple, I’ll be satisfied.” Yang Chen quickly said, “Young Master Song, don’t involve me. You can continue to pursue Tang Xia. I don’t have any special relationship with her. Don’t misunderstand.” Song Siming: “Don’t say that, Brother Chen. I sincerely hope you two can be together. If Tang Xia is with someone else, I definitely won’t accept it. But if she’s with you, I’ll be completely convinced.” Yang Chen wanted to say something, but the performance inside began.

The difficult piece was captivating from the very first note. Before Yang Chen, no one could play this piece solo, so it naturally amazed everyone from the start.

The judges all sat up straight, watching Tang Xia and the others play with serious expressions. Outside the door, Li Qing柠’s expression changed drastically. As the most talented student in the Hai City Conservatory of Music in the past decade, she could certainly tell how well Tang Xia and the others were playing.

The other students also gradually quieted down, all showing shocked and puzzled expressions. *What piece is this?*

It sounds a bit familiar, but they can’t remember where they’ve heard it before. But the difficulty of this piece is really high.

It seems like it would be impossible for one person to handle it alone.

Yang Chen focused all his attention on Tang Xia, knowing that as long as she didn’t make any mistakes, the rhythm of the others wouldn’t be off.

Tang Xia also held her breath, determined to prove herself. Just because Li Qing柠 has a reputation, they looked down on others and wanted to deprive them of their right to compete. She had to beat Li Qing柠 this time.

As the piece entered its climax, all the judges left their seats and came to Tang Xia and the others, watching closely how their fingers struck the keys.

Seeing the judges’ reactions, Li Qing柠 outside the door became extremely nervous. When Tang Xia struck the last key, the 《[Title of the piece]》, which no one but Yang Chen could play solo, was finally finished.

The judges were amazed and speechless. Sun Zeping was the first to recover, clapping and laughing loudly, “Haha… I knew they would give us a surprise.” The judges then reacted from their shock.

“I thought Li Qing柠’s group was already the best, but I didn’t expect there were even better students than them.”

“Haha… I didn’t expect our Hai City Academy to have so many outstanding students. If I had known this, we should have held more competitions like this to discover more talented students.”

“If I’m not mistaken, this piece should be the one played by the protagonist in 《The Legend of 1900》 that no one can play solo.”

“I heard that you were originally preparing 《Für Elise》, how did you suddenly switch to this extremely difficult piece?”

… Facing the teachers’ questions, Tang Xia didn’t reply directly, but happily ran out and grabbed Yang Chen’s hand, insisting on pulling him in. Yang Chen didn’t want to be in the spotlight and quickly said, “No, no, no, I won’t go in. Did you win?” Tang Xia: “I don’t know, the teachers haven’t announced the results yet.” Sun Zeping walked over with a smile and said, “Brother Yang, come in. Everyone wants to meet you. Everyone, this is the taxi driver I told you about. He taught Tang Xia and the others this piece. Do you believe me now?” Being able to teach Tang Xia and the others to play this most difficult piece in a week shows that Yang Chen’s piano skills are indeed superb.

Liu Yi, the head of the piano department, walked over with a smile and shook hands with Yang Chen to greet him.

“Young man, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Liu Yi, the head of the piano department. I heard about you from Teacher Sun before, and we thought it was impossible for there to be such a piano genius in the world. It seems we were narrow-minded, it’s really embarrassing.” Yang Chen replied with a smile, “Director Liu is joking, I’m just a taxi driver, not a genius.” Liu Yi: “Young man, don’t be modest. You can train Tang Xia and the others to this level in such a short time, your own strength is definitely beyond our imagination.” Tang Xia: “Of course, Brother Chen can play 《[Title of the piece]》 solo, don’t you think he’s amazing?” Most of the people present were teachers and students from the piano department, and they all knew how difficult this piece was.

Hearing Tang Xia say this, everyone expressed their doubts.

“Impossible! No one can play this piece solo!”

“I don’t believe it either. So many piano masters can’t play it solo, how could he possibly play it solo? I might believe it if he were a piano master.

But Teacher Sun just said he’s just a taxi driver. If a taxi driver can play this piece solo, wouldn’t we all have wasted millions learning the piano?”

“I think so too. This piece has already been proven to be played by two pianos and presented with post-production effects. Tang Xia and the others can play it to this level, I think it’s really amazing. But you say he can play it solo, I don’t believe it even if you beat me to death.”

“Haha… if he can play it solo, I’ll eat this piano alive.”

“Haha…” Tang Xia, who had never suffered a loss since she was a child, immediately said, “Why are you saying so much? If he plays it solo for us to hear, wouldn’t that be enough? If he can play it solo, our group will automatically give up. Is that okay?” Just as Yang Chen was about to refuse, Sun Zeping pulled him to the corner of the classroom and whispered, “Li Qing柠, the sister of that Li Qingmang, said she would invite leaders from the Hai City Opera House and Orchestra to the scene to select people. This is a very big temptation. You know that what we teachers care about most is the employment rate of our students and their future achievements. I can tell you very clearly that Tang Xia and the others’ performance is perfect, and they should definitely win based on their true strength. But if the other teachers consider Li Qing柠’s connections, it’s hard to say which group will advance. You’ve worked hard to train them for a week, and you don’t want them to lose the competition because they’re not as good as others, right? Li Qingmang just boasted that as long as you can play it solo, Tang Xia and the others will win. Why don’t you show everyone what you can do and make sure Tang Xia and the others win, so that your hard work in training them for so many days won’t be in vain. What do you think?” Yang Chen: “Damn! You guys are doing this kind of thing. Then why not just say whoever has the stronger connections wins, why bother putting on a fake competition?” Sun Zeping looked embarrassed and said, “There’s no way, this world is like this. Didn’t the internet expose a children’s football match a while ago, where the champion was decided by the number of likes instead of the results? This world is so chaotic and dirty, we can’t change the world, we can only adapt and make good use of the rules.” What he said made sense. Where there are people, there is society, and where there is society, there will be disputes. There has never been absolute fairness in this world since ancient times.

Yang Chen hesitated whether to reveal his identity, but after thinking about it carefully, he decided against it. It’s not a big deal, it’s just a piece of music that can solve the problem.

“Okay! Then I’ll play it once,” Yang Chen said with a smile. Sun Zeping was overjoyed because he really wanted to recommend Yang Chen to the school and have the school hire him as a teacher.

In Sun Zeping’s opinion, someone with such high talent should not be a taxi driver.

“Haha… that’s great. I have a very high opinion of you, but my colleagues don’t believe my judgment. Now let them see if there’s anything wrong with my judgment! Haha…” Sun Zeping said happily.

Yang Chen smiled and stretched his fingers, then walked to the piano that Tang Xia was sitting at and sat down. Tang Xia was extremely excited and said, “Everyone, listen carefully, this is definitely the only time in your life you’ll hear someone play 《[Title of the piece]》 solo.”

“Really? Is he really going to play this piece solo?”

“Then I really have to open my eyes. Please let me squat in front, I want to see how fast his hands are.”

“You need the hand speed of someone who’s been single for thirty years! Not a year less!”

“Haha…” Just as everyone was joking, the music started. An expert knows what’s up as soon as they make a move.

Almost everyone present was a piano major, and they immediately felt Yang Chen’s superb piano skills.

All the judges surrounded Yang Chen, watching his fingers move quickly on the keyboard with shocked expressions. They were so fast that they could only see afterimages.

Li Qing柠 outside the door was deeply shocked. She had always thought that her piano talent was outstanding among young people, at least within Hai City, she had never met a pianist of similar age who could compare to her.

But now, a taxi driver was playing 《[Title of the piece]》, which even world-class piano masters couldn’t play, which instantly shattered her confident and arrogant beliefs.

A taxi driver is better than her, what is there for her to be proud of? When Yang Chen’s hands left the keyboard, the entire piece was finished.

He stretched his fingers and said, “This piece is indeed quite difficult, my fingers are a bit sore.” *Listen to that, is that human language?*

The piece that is recognized by pianists all over the world as impossible for one person to play solo, he played it solo, and it only made his fingers sore, which is too much of a flex [boasting or showing off].

Sun Zeping laughed heartily and said excitedly, “Everyone, what do you say about this? I didn’t exaggerate, did I? Haha…” It can be seen that this teacher played a lot of games when he was young.

The other teachers were immediately awakened and praised Yang Chen one after another.

“Amazing! Young man, how did you do it?”

“My God, I can’t imagine that a person can have such hand speed and reaction speed. How did you train?”

“Director Liu, we must take down such a genius.”

“Yes! No matter how much money it costs, we must keep him at the Hai City Conservatory of Music. If other schools find out, they will definitely snatch him away.”

“If our school has such an awesome teacher, piano students from all over the world will rush to study here.”… More students means more money, and more money means better treatment for the teachers.

How could they not be excited? Director Liu quickly grabbed Yang Chen’s hand and said, “Young man, come with me to see the principal, you can make any conditions, we will do our best to satisfy them, as long as you become a teacher at our Hai City Conservatory of Music!” Yang Chen withdrew his hand and said, “I said, I just want to be a taxi driver and enjoy this free life. I don’t want to be a teacher, and I can’t be a teacher. Thank you for your kindness, I really appreciate it. But I’m really not suitable.” Zhang Heng: “How about this, you can be a visiting professor at our school. Whenever you feel like playing the piano, or want to exchange ideas with like-minded people, you can come to our school to teach a lesson. We will pay you according to the standard of 100,000 yuan per lesson. What do you think?” Huh?

This suggestion is not bad. Yang Chen will definitely have times when he feels like playing the piano, and it seems like a good thing to come over and brag to some professional teachers and students.

“Okay! Then let’s do it according to Principal Zhang’s idea. Whenever I have an idea, I’ll tell you in advance, you arrange it, and I’ll come and share my experiences with everyone,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

Zhang Heng: “Haha… no problem! No problem! Then it’s settled. You go ahead and get busy, and I look forward to your next visit to the Hai City Conservatory of Music to teach our teachers and students.” Yang Chen: “Haha… I hope so. Everyone, you go ahead and get busy, I’ll leave first.” After speaking, Yang Chen left.

Tang Xia and the others quickly followed to see him off. 100,000 yuan per lesson, which made all the teachers and students present envious.

But, to be honest, Yang Chen doesn’t care about that little money at all. If he didn’t really want to play the piano, he wouldn’t have come.

“Wow, Principal, you’re too generous. 100,000 yuan per lesson, aren’t you afraid that he’ll teach ten lessons a day?”

“Seriously, I’m really envious. I’ve been working for more than twenty years and only earn a little over 10,000 yuan a month.”

“If I could find a job that pays 100,000 yuan per lesson, I would take off immediately.”… Zhang Heng said with a smile, “If you were candidates, would you rush to apply if you heard that the Hai City Conservatory of Music has a teacher who can play 《[Title of the piece]》 solo? So, do you still think I’m paying him too much for a lesson?” Everyone was speechless…