There is more than one top pianist like Zhao Shengxun, and it is very difficult to get the first place.
After waiting for a while, the first round of the competition officially began in the Vienna Golden Hall.
The competition was very intense, with many players achieving high scores and the atmosphere on the field being extremely tense.
Finally, Ye Ju appeared.
Ye Ju was wearing a simple yet elegant black dress, with her long black hair falling over her shoulders, making her skin look as white as snow.
She walked lightly and gracefully to the piano and sat down. Her fingertips gently landed on the keys, and the first note flowed out - Chopin's "First Ballade".
Her playing was not as flamboyant as Zhao Shengxun's, nor did she pursue the gorgeous accumulation of techniques like other contestants. She had a profound and restrained power, like the surging undercurrent beneath the calm sea, or like fireworks quietly blooming in the dark night. Every note was precise and emotional, as if telling a story that no one knew.
In the judges' seats, several masters leaned forward slightly, surprise flashing in their eyes.
In the audience, some people held their breath unconsciously, and some had red eyes.
Ye Ju entered the second round with the highest score, causing the students of Ocean University to cheer.
The number of participants in the second round dropped sharply to 20, but the competition was just as fierce.
When it was Ye Ju's turn, she chose Liszt's "The Bells".
This piece is known for its extreme difficulty, a challenge many pianists would never dare to tackle in their entire lives. However, Ye Ju performed it with ease, her fingers flying across the keys as light as an elf, yet with tremendous power. Most astoundingly, despite her ultimate technique, she still maintained the purity and poetry of the music, advancing to the third round with the highest score once again.
In the third and final round, the number of participants was reduced to four. Each of these four people was a top pianist, and the competition was the most intense.
Among them, the Korean genius Zhao Shengxun played "Willow" and performed exceptionally well, achieving a near-perfect score of 99.8 points, almost securing the victory.
The atmosphere on the field was already frozen. The students from Hai University watching the live broadcast did not dare to breathe heavily. The pressure was like a knife hanging over their necks.
Finally, it was Ye Ju's turn to go on stage.
It is still that simple and elegant black long dress, her temperament is still ethereal and clear, and her beauty is still unique in the world.
She slowly sat down on the piano bench, her fingertips hovering over the keys, and was about to play Chopin's "Farewell".
This piece of music is a very simple etude, and is far less difficult to play than Zhao Shengxun's "Willow Fire". In terms of song selection, Ye Ju lost to Zhao Shengxun.
But Ye Ju still chose this song and began to play it.
When the first note fell, someone in the judges' seats exclaimed in surprise.
Ye Ju's piano sounds like a sigh, like a whisper, like the ripples of fallen leaves falling into the lake in late autumn. Ye Ju's fingertips are extremely light, yet extremely steady. Every note seems to be squeezed out from the depths of the soul, carrying unspeakable pain and tenderness.
When the key changed in the second section, the first sobs were heard from the audience.
Ye Ju leaned forward slightly, her fingertips sliding across the keys as if caressing her lover's urn. She played several repeated single notes in the high pitch, each one lighter and slower than the last, as if she was watching something important slipping through her fingers.
In the center of the judges' seats, the German judge known for his sharp tongue suddenly took off his glasses. When the camera zoomed in, the live camera clearly captured a drop of water falling on the back of his hand.
In the last eight bars, Ye Ju did something crazy—she slowed down the original score by three times.
This should have been a disastrous outcome, but when the ending chord, which should have been crisp and clear, turned into a long, dying aftertaste, the entire concert hall seemed to be strangled by an invisible hand. Some people bit their collars tightly, some buried their faces in their palms, and even Zhao Shengxun froze in the contestant seat, his nails digging deep into his knees.
After the last note faded, silence lasted for a full ten seconds.
Then--
The judges stood up and applauded!
Seven out of the ten judges immediately gave full marks, and the remaining three hesitated for a few seconds before adding full marks in unison.
When the score on the big screen jumped and froze, even the director was so shocked that he forgot to cut the camera——
100 points!
A true full score!
At the same time, in the dormitory area of Haikou University, the screams that erupted throughout the building almost blew off the roof. Some boys smashed their keyboards, and some girls cried and hugged their roommates, their mascara smeared. The cafeteria aunt rushed out with a spoon in hand and shouted "Ye Ju is awesome!", but Lin An was stunned in place, the light in his eyes dimming inch by inch.
Last December, Lin An accompanied Ye Ju to practice a piano piece for a long time. At that time, he didn't know the name of the piece. Now the piano piece Ye Ju played in the final was the one she practiced in front of him in December. Now he knew the name of the piece, "Farewell Song". Ye Ju had already foreseen some of the endings.
Or perhaps Ye Ju had been hinting that the two of them would end up parting, and had been wanting him to speak up and keep her.
But he did not change the outcome of missing his first love.
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