Chapter 142: Critique (Subscription Requested)

"Thank you to our top patron, 'Hongmeng Purple Lotus,' for the generous reward, and to all the bosses for your support with monthly and recommendation tickets. My deepest thanks."

"Sister Qin, where is my brother? Why can't Qiu'er see him?"

In the middle of the audience seats, little Qiu'er bounced around, searching everywhere for Yang Qing, but to no avail.

"Let me look..."

Qin Xue also stretched her slender, snow-white neck to scan the area, and in an instant, her gaze locked onto the corner of the second row.

"Huh? Why is he sitting there?!"

She looked in astonishment at the elderly men sitting in the same row as Yang Qing, muttering in a daze, "Those people... they are world-renowned masters of instrumental music, aren't they? Qing, he..."

"Hehe..."

Qin Hao, who knew the situation, followed Qin Xue's gaze and chuckled, "Sis, just wait for the show to begin."

"What show?" Qin Xue was stunned, an inexplicable sense of nervousness welling up in her heart.

"Brother-in-law is about to go head-to-head with the Japs!"

"This... what is going on?"

Qin Hao shook his head, offering no answer. Instead, he looked at the anxiously bouncing little Qiu'er and said affectionately, "Little darling Qiu'er, would you like Brother Hao to carry you? That way, you'll be able to see your brother."

Little Qiu'er’s large eyes brightened instantly, and she grinned sweetly, "Thank you, Brother Hao."

"Haha, you're welcome. Come here."

...

At three o'clock sharp, as a melody drifted through the air, Wang Ying appeared on stage in a white dress, immediately drawing a round of applause.

Little Qiu'er, held in Qin Hao's arms, clapped her hands until they were red, her little mouth babbling "Sister Ying" in a milky voice.

Following that, amidst the music, Wang Ying's ethereal singing began. A piece titled "Memories of Time" kicked off the International Musical Instrument Exchange.

When the song ended, thunderous applause erupted. Then, as the hosts, the China Symphony Orchestra took the stage.

The grand and majestic symphony "Voice of the Great River" filled the entire venue with a surging, passionate energy.

A few minutes later, as the music concluded, the orchestra stood up to bow. Then, the masters' critiques began, accompanied by simultaneous translation.

The masters speaking first were several foreign gentlemen. Yang Qing was completely baffled by their American English, but luckily, there was a translator.

After hearing their critique of the Chinese orchestra, Yang Qing couldn't help but nod with a smile.

The critique was fair. Masters are masters for a reason; they were very insightful. Although there were slight flaws in the Chinese performance, it was still quite perfect.

Yang Qing felt content. As a Chinese, he sincerely hoped for his country to excel in every aspect.

After the first Chinese symphony, the American orchestra followed, then Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany...

After the symphony of each country concluded, masters from various nations gave their critiques. Even Lu Baiwu spoke three times.

After six performances, the twenty or so masters in the first and second rows had all spoken, except for Yang Qing. This silence led many who knew the situation to look down on him even more.

Youth is youth. Just because you sit in a master's seat, do you really think you are one? Heh... going up against the Japs was just empty talk.

Lu Baiwu couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Yang Qing a few times; his anxiety was self-evident.

"Master Lu, you suddenly proposed this master critique session, was it for that young man named Yang Qing?"

A refined woman sitting next to Lu Baiwu spoke up. She was Zhao Yuezhu, one of the Chinese officials in charge of the exchange.

"Minister Zhao is joking," Lu Baiwu replied with a faint smile after a momentary pause.

Zhao Yuezhu looked at him and smiled, then flipped through the brochure in front of her, pretending to be casual. "The next group to perform is the Japanese Symphony Orchestra. I wonder how they will interpret the symphony 'Flowing Fire,' composed by Inoue Gangban."

With that, she fell silent, though her eyes traced a path toward Yang Qing in the corner of the second row.

The smile on Lu Baiwu's face vanished instantly, and he began to look through the score of "Flowing Fire."

"It's a decent symphony. Amidst the aura of destruction, there is a spirit of unyielding resistance..."

Yang Qing had finished reading the score. He gave a fair assessment in his heart, then turned his gaze to the stage, a smile curling at the corner of his lips.

On stage, the Japanese symphony orchestra appeared. A moment later, the performance began.

As the music swirled, the venue was instantly plunged into a tense atmosphere, like the helpless despair one faces in the wake of a disaster.

"It doesn't sound good, Brother Hao, this doesn't sound good at all."

Little Qiu'er frowned. As a pure-hearted, happy child, she preferred natural and sunny music, not this dark and oppressive sound.

"Haha... right, it sounds terrible. How about we let your brother scold them later?" Qin Hao laughed.

Little Qiu'er said in a milky voice, "Uh... no, that's not nice! You shouldn't scold people!"

"Gah!"

The smile on Qin Hao's face froze. Qin Xue glared at him and said, "Don't teach Qiu'er bad things, or I'll deal with you!"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare," Qin Hao said, sounding cowardly. He then looked toward the front row and whispered, "Sis, you came back this time and didn't even visit Mom. Is that really okay?"

Qin Xue glared at him: "Listen to the music!"

"Oh... but Mom..."

"Shut up!"

While the Qin siblings chatted, Li Dongning was feeling restless.

He was nervous—nervous for Yang Qing. To his ears, while this Japanese piece was dark and oppressive, it was also brilliant and perfect. He didn't know how Yang Qing would strike back.

Minutes later, the Japanese symphony "Flowing Fire" concluded. After the applause, the critique began.

This time, it was the turn of the foreign gentlemen sitting in the second row with Yang Qing. Soon after, the critique finished. Just as the Japanese representative was about to bow in thanks, a voice suddenly rang out:

"Hmm, the masters' critiques were very accurate and fair, but... they were too fair. They didn't point out any of their mistakes."

Yang Qing stood up, bowed slightly to the gentlemen who had just spoken, and said apologetically:

"The masters must not be used to this kind of critique, or perhaps they felt it wasn't necessary at this exchange. But in fact, we have an old saying in China: 'Acknowledge your mistakes to correct them, know your shortcomings to improve!'"

"So, I, a junior, will dare to point out a few things about this performance of 'Flowing Fire'!"

After speaking, Yang Qing sat back down. He took a sip of water, then turned a sharp gaze toward the Japanese orchestra on stage.

"Boom!"

At that instant, the previously quiet venue erupted in whispers.

The officials and international masters in the first row turned their eyes to Yang Qing, as did the masters in his own row.

In the audience, Li Dongning’s face flushed as he clenched his fists, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Qin Hao, holding little Qiu'er, whispered with immense excitement: "The show I've been waiting for has finally begun!"

"First point..."

The next moment, as the crowd was filled with suspicion, doubt, shock, anticipation, and excitement, Yang Qing's voice rang out:

"The first error: a failure in emotional expression. The core theme of 'Flowing Fire' is the unyielding resistance of life amidst dark disaster. Yet, in your performance just now, I heard only dark oppression. I don't think this was a mistake, but rather that you didn't understand the piece at all!"

"Boom!"

As Yang Qing finished, the Japanese orchestra on stage was struck as if by lightning, followed by a wave of indignation. Their representative was about to speak, but Yang Qing's voice, tinged with disdain, rang out again:

"Want to refute? You can, but only after I'm finished! I've only stated the first point, and you already can't hold back? Is that all the poise you Japanese have?"

"Cough, cough!"

Hearing Yang Qing begin to fire salvos that were veering off-topic, Lu Baiwu couldn't help but cough dryly.

"Apologies, I got a bit too excited."

Yang Qing immediately caught himself. After a brief apology, he continued: "Second point: errors in rhythm!"

"This symphony, 'Flowing Fire,' is composed of three instrument groups: strings, brass, and percussion. In the performance just now, the strings started, and the brass joined in. But in that transition, you were one beat fast, and then when the percussion entered, you were two beats slow! This is a failure of the conductor!"

"Third point!"

This time, Yang Qing did not pause:

"Errors in the pitch of the string section. This piece should begin in the C key for violins, followed by the G key for cellos and the D key for violas, but you..."

"Fourth point..."

"Fifth point..."

...

Yang Qing spoke, and his voice was the only one in the entire hall.

The audience was completely dumbfounded, staring blankly at Yang Qing and listening in a daze.

Qin Hao had put aside his desire for entertainment and said in a daze:

"Brother-in-law is truly... awesome! He’s not giving the Japs any face at all! He's still going on at the eighth point! I am... completely impressed!"

When he finished, he turned to his sister, only to see her looking at Yang Qing's back with glowing eyes. He was speechless.

A woman in love is truly terrifying!