You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

To be fair, Ye Qingru's playing skills are indeed solid.

Moreover, her performance today was quite good.

Chopin's Nocturnes flowed gently from her fingertips, producing a series of tender and lingering melodies.

The tone is mellow and full, and the breathiness of the musical phrases is just right.

The professors on the judging panel nodded slightly.

One elderly professor with white hair even put down his grading sheet, closed his eyes, and listened attentively.

Shen Yue, sitting in the audience, listened to Ye Qingru's entire piece with his arms crossed, but his expression remained unchanged throughout.

Seeing this, the vice president next to him couldn't help but lean over and whisper, "President, what do you think of Senior Ye's skill level? I think she plays quite well."

Shen Yue thought for a moment and gave a rather restrained evaluation: "There are no technical problems, and the tone control is very good."

The vice president immediately understood the hidden meaning in Shen Yue's words. "But?"

"But she has no emotions."

Shen Yue's gaze fell on the girl in the burgundy dress on the stage, and he analyzed calmly, "Although every note she played was correct, if you listen carefully, you will find that in the end all you hear is technique, and no emotion."

The vice president nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

His skill level was rather amateurish; he couldn't reach the pinnacle of playing technique like Ye Qingru, nor could he express the emotions that Shen Yue spoke of.

Soon, the music ended.

Ye Qingru slowly raised her arms, held them in the air for a few seconds, and then gracefully placed them back on her knees.

The audience erupted in applause once again.

It was even more intense than before.

Under the watchful eyes of countless spectators, Ye Qingru gracefully rose with a smile and bowed once again to the judges and audience to express her gratitude.

But the moment she stood up, her right foot subtly reached under the piano and slammed down on the sustain pedal's connecting rod.

She slammed the metal rod into the ground with her heel—

A very faint "click" was drowned out by the applause.

After doing all this, Ye Qing casually withdrew her foot, her face still bearing a dignified and elegant smile.

He then turned and walked towards the side stage. As he passed the edge of the stage, his gaze swept over Jiang Che in the audience again.

Jiang Che still didn't look at her.

Ye Qingru gritted her teeth, but soon, her hatred transformed into a cold smile, which slowly rose from the corner of her mouth.

It's okay, Jiang Che. After today, you'll have no choice but to look at me.

Because your precious darling is about to lose face in front of hundreds of people and run off the stage crying.

The thought of Su Qinghe soon making a fool of herself in front of hundreds of people, losing face in front of the judges, and looking utterly pathetic on stage in that tampered dress—

Ye Qingru couldn't suppress her schadenfreude at all.

"Su Qinghe, Su Qinghe, I originally didn't intend to make things so ugly because you're my sister."

"If you have someone to blame, blame your good mother. She's the one who pushed me down this path step by step."

Ye Qingru walked onto the side stage and just happened to brush past Su Qinghe, who was about to go on stage.

The two girls' eyes met briefly on the dimly lit side platform.

Ye Qingru's lips curled up slightly, revealing a gentle smile.

Su Qinghe glanced at her indifferently before looking away.

Her beautiful eyes held no emotion.

At the same time, the host walked onto the stage and announced into the microphone: "Next, please welcome contestant number seven in the piano group, Su Qinghe, a freshman from the School of Economics and Management at Peking University."

"The piece she played was Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3."

A low murmur immediately rose from the audience.

"Rachmaninoff? Are you out of your mind?"

A freshman playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3? Is he here to compete or to cause trouble?

"This piece is recognized as one of the ten most difficult piano pieces in the world. Even professional pianists dare not touch it lightly. How dare she, a freshman, compete with this?"

Shen Yue also sat up abruptly, his pupils dilating slightly in disbelief.

He certainly knew the significance of this piece of music.

The third movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 is known for its extremely dense clusters of notes and terrifying technical demands.

The entire movement is filled with fast scales spanning a wide range, dense octave chords, and explosive passages that require immense physical strength.

This piece puts an extremely demanding test of the performer's finger independence, endurance, and explosive power.

More importantly, this piece requires extensive use of the sustain pedal to control tonal layers.

Shen Yue's brows furrowed involuntarily.

Just then, Su Qinghe walked out from the side platform.

The entire room fell silent.

The deep blue dress shimmered like a galaxy under the spotlight, with fine sequins flickering with each step she took.

Her shoulders and neck were as slender and graceful as a swan's, and the dress's fitted cut perfectly accentuated her slim waist and tall figure.

Her long hair was half up and half down, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears.

Her delicate features, illuminated by the stage lights, resembled a meticulously sculpted work of art.

Her steps were unhurried, without the slightest bit of nervousness or stage fright typical of a newcomer.

All the hands holding up their phones in the audience froze in mid-air.

"My God, is Su Qinghe real? How can she be so beautiful?"

"This is so beautiful... Are all the beauties at Kyoto University this stunning?"

"No, this one seems to be on a completely different level compared to that Senior Ye from before."

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Su Qinghe gracefully walked to the center of the stage and stood there, then bowed slightly to the judges' panel and the audience.

As she stood up, her gaze passed through the spotlight and landed steadily on the audience seats not far away.

Jiang Che was sitting there at that moment.

This time, he stopped looking down at his phone and stared straight at her.

Their eyes met in the scorching light.

Jiang Che nodded gently at her in encouragement.

Su Qinghe's eyebrows curved into a smile.

Lin tide, sitting in the back row, grabbed Shen Shiyu's arm and shook it wildly, screaming in a low voice, "My He is so beautiful today! I'm going to faint!"

Shen Shiyu almost spilled her milk tea because of her shaking.

But his eyes were fixed on the stage just like the audience below, and his excitement was no less than Lin tide's.

Su Qinghe turned and walked towards the piano.

She first adjusted the distance of the piano bench, then lifted her skirt and sat down on the bench.

The deep blue skirt spread out, creating a soft halo around her feet.

The girl gently placed her hands on the piano keys.

She pressed a few keys first to feel the touch and feedback of the piano keys.

Then he pressed the sustain pedal with his right foot to continue testing the sound.

However, the tone produced is exactly the same as the tone before pressing the sustain pedal.

Su Qinghe's hands paused slightly. She thought she hadn't stepped on it properly, so she stepped on it again.

This time, she could clearly feel that the pedal was loose and unreliable, without any damping at all.