Chapter 160 Zhong Manhua's Unprecedented Regret [2 Updates]
Foreigners are always straightforward.
Especially for artists, they never really consider the feelings of those who aren't interested in them.
Ying Luwei's face immediately turned red.
She stood there helplessly, her face burning with pain.
Besides feeling embarrassed, there was also shock.
Her agent said that Bart Heber accepted her invitation, so how could he have come for Ying Zijin?
Is Ying Zijin capable and qualified to make a world-renowned pianist make a special trip from O continent?
She didn't believe it at all.
Zhong Manhua was stunned: "Mr. Bart, what did you say?"
“Another one! Another performer!” Bart looked around the backstage but didn’t see her. He turned around angrily and yelled, “Berg, you idiot, the female student you said was better at drawing than you isn’t here at all.”
At the corner, Berg walked over with a cup of ice cream, looking quite pleased: "Thank you for looking into it for me."
Bart: "..."
He knew it; art students are inhuman!
Zhong Manhua's head was spinning and throbbing, and she couldn't quite understand what Bart was saying.
A female student even better than Berger's paintings?
Ying Zijin?
How is that possible?
"Let's go, let's go." Bart didn't want to stay a second longer and glanced at Ying Luwei one last time.
"Bate, don't forget to help me persuade Master Ying."
"I know, I know, how annoying!"
"Mr. Berg, wait a minute, please wait a minute." Zhong Manhua hurriedly caught up with him. "Mr. Berg, wasn't your last trip to Qingzhi because someone cheated?"
“Cheating?” Berg hadn’t intended to respond, but upon hearing that word, he had to stop, his anger flaring even more. “How dare you insult Master Ying? If she cheated, I’m not worthy of painting!”
"Don't talk to me, get out of here."
He was furious and pushed Zhong Manhua away.
Ying Luwei quickly stepped forward to support her: "Sister-in-law!"
Zhong Manhua was completely stunned and couldn't come to her senses.
Master Ying!
The honorary professor of the Royal Academy of Arts in O Continent calls Ying Zijin "Master Ying"?!
Her English is only at the level of daily communication, but she can still understand things without making mistakes.
Zhong Manhua recalled that when the person who called her claimed to be a staff member of the Chinese Calligraphy Artists Association, he also used the same title, and she thought he was a scammer.
As it turns out, the Ying family really does have a Master Ying!
Zhong Manhua didn't have time to think. She hurriedly took out her phone, found the number that had been blocked by her, and dialed it.
After three rings, the call was answered.
Zhong Manhua's heart pounded: "Hello, I'm Master Ying's mother. You two previously—"
"Beep beep beep".
Before she could finish speaking, the other party hung up the phone.
When Zhong Manhua dialed back, the line was busy.
She was blocked.
Zhong Manhua stared blankly at her phone, a blush creeping onto her face.
An unprecedented sense of regret filled her heart, churning it so hard she could hardly breathe, a sharp, stabbing pain.
She could almost imagine that if she hadn't thought the call was a scam, she would now be able to drink tea and chat with masters of Chinese calligraphy.
She had dreamed of this before, after all, she was very interested in calligraphy and painting.
Unfortunately, neither Tianlu nor Xiaoxuan has much talent in this area.
Zhong Manhua had no choice but to give up.
But now she has rejected an opportunity to bow before her, and even offended the Chinese Calligraphy Artists Association.
How could Ying Zijin know how to draw?
Zhong Manhua's mind was a complete mess, and she felt even more regretful.
Ying Luwei asked, half puzzled and half nervously, "Sister-in-law?"
“…It’s nothing.” Zhong Manhua came to her senses in a daze. “Luwei, let’s go.”
**
It's almost seven o'clock.
The Great Hall was already full of people.
The online broadcasting equipment has also been turned on, and the live stream currently has 120,000 viewers.
Including the fans who came today, these are Ying Luwei's only remaining active fans.
Grandpa Zhong, Jiang Ran, Xiu Yu, and others sat in the front row. Zhong Manhua was also there, but she was quite far away.
There was an empty seat next to Grandpa Zhong; it was a prime spot.
"Xiao Ran, is your mother coming?"
"No." Jiang Ran's expression froze for a moment. "My mother went back to the capital."
"That's strange," Old Master Zhong said, puzzled. "Here—"
"Grandpa Zhong".
A lazy, nonchalant voice fell from above him, carrying a hint of cynicism.
Upon seeing who it was, Grandpa Zhong clutched his chest and said, "You brat, you're just as bad as your grandpa, always trying to scare people."
Fu Yun Shen loosened his collar, sat down next to him, and drawled, "Generational inheritance?"
Grandpa Zhong snorted coldly and ignored him, staring at the stage in front of him.
The curtain rises, revealing a piano already set up on the stage.
As soon as the concert began, the number of comments on the online live stream started to increase.
[Ahhh, I'd heard for ages that Luvie's piano was by Fazioli Bruni, and today I finally saw it for myself!]
[This piano is only found in a few world-renowned concert halls in O continent. Our Luvie is truly amazing!]
[Conservatively estimated, this piano is worth 3 million, and only a true socialite like Lu Wei could own it. As for that other person, tsk tsk.]
[Warning! Warning! The first three pieces will be performed by Lu Wei, and with the introductions and other steps, the time will be approximately forty minutes. Then it will be someone else's turn.]
Bart, who was sitting below, had no interest in Ying Luwei at all and kept yawning.
It wasn't until the piano appeared that he finally perked up a bit.
Sitting next to him were Zhuo Lanhan and Che Yu, both of whom were over fifty years old.
Che Yu was also very interested in the piano, and thus had high hopes for Ying Luwei's upcoming performance.
But he fell asleep after listening to only a short section of the first song, finding it boring.
Zhuo Lanhan frowned after listening to the first section.
The more she listened, the more her wrinkles tightened, and her expression darkened.
When Ying Luwei started the third song, Zhuo Lanhan couldn't listen anymore: "Is this all you've got?"
Four words woke up the drowsy Che Yu: "Ah, Teacher Zhuo, I'm sorry, I fell asleep listening to that."
Zhuo Lanhan shook her head: "It's a good thing you were asleep, otherwise it would have really offended my ears."
If someone is just practicing piano and their playing level is already very high, she won't hesitate to give them praise.
But this is a pianist!
Zhuo Lanhan could instantly judge Ying Luwei's piano skills just by listening to her.
"Oh, okay." Upon hearing this, Che Yu closed his eyes again. "Teacher Zhuo, I'll sleep a little longer. I taught students until 2 a.m. yesterday, and I'm a bit tired."
Zhuo Lanhan nodded, forcing herself to listen further.
Most of the fans were laymen, but they were very excited to hear it.
[This is so beautiful! Our Luvie truly deserves to be called the next Vera Hall.]
[To be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I became a fan of Lu Wei because of her excellent piano skills, but this time listening to her didn't give me the feeling I expected at all.]
[The person in front said that Lu Wei practiced very hard and prepared for this concert very seriously. How can you ignore her efforts?]
Ying Luwei played three pieces in one go, her forehead covered in sweat.
She took a few breaths before standing up and taking the microphone from the host: "Thank you all so much for coming to my concert, and thank you so much, Professor Zhuo, for coming too."
"However, today is not just my concert. I also want to give you a grand introduction to my niece, the second young lady of the Ying family, Ying Zijin."
“She has been learning piano with me for a year. Although it’s not a long time and she can’t compare to others, I don’t want her to miss such a good opportunity to showcase her talent. Please give her a chance.”
After he finished speaking, the fans below booed.
Zhuo Lanhan's expression darkened further: "Don't these people have any self-awareness about attending a concert?"
They were making a huge fuss and were very rude.
She really shouldn't have come.
But the noise didn't last long; all the sounds in the hall suddenly went silent, and the comments on the online live stream also stopped instantly.
The girl entered the stage from the right side, slowly and deliberately.
She wore a retro court dress, a very simple outfit without any extra embellishments, yet she looked like a princess from the O continent who had stepped out of an oil painting.
The girl walked casually, yet with grace.
The moment she looked up, Ying Luwei became nothing more than a background figure.
This is the first time that Ying Luwei's fans have been directly confronted with the stunning beauty of Ying Zijin.
[...]
The sarcastic comments on the screen disappeared completely.
Ying Luwei didn't need to look; she knew from the expressions of the audience below that the smile on her lips could barely be maintained.
Her expensive custom-made dress was actually less appealing than Ying Zijing's all-black outfit.
The audience.
Fu Yunshen's gaze lingered on the girl's upper body for half a second before quickly shifting away.
That was a miscalculation.
You chose the wrong one.
Surprisingly, such a conservative dress didn't provide much coverage.
Grandpa Zhong was very proud: "My granddaughter is so beautiful."
Amidst the awkwardness, Ying Luwei finally found her voice: "Xiao Jin, don't be nervous. Just like your aunt taught you before, relax and you can play fluently."
Ying Zijing didn't look at her.
Ying Luwei wasn't annoyed, but just looked at her with a puzzled expression: "Xiao Jin, didn't you prepare a piano for yourself?"
She paused, then said helplessly, "If your aunt knew you weren't prepared, she would definitely have prepared one for you."
Ying Zijing finally glanced at her.
Ying Luwei sighed, "I'm so sorry, this piano is very precious, and I really can't lend it to you. How about you use the spare electric piano here first?"
Fans watching the online live stream have finally found a breakthrough.
"Seriously? You don't even have your own piano? What's the point of playing then?"
【Of course we can't lend it. Does she have your playing level, Luvi? This piano is so expensive, what if she breaks it?】
If there's no piano, then let's just go downstairs and let Luvie continue playing.
The quality of the piano can affect the quality of the performance, but then again, an electric piano is enough for her; she can't really produce anything worthwhile anyway.
Fu Yunshen raised his hand and pressed the Bluetooth earpiece in his right ear.
He gazed at the stage, his eyes indifferent, and lowered his voice: "Bring it up."
(End of this chapter)
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