First Steel, Second Lift, Third Zither

The five judges listened in amazement to the melody that played from Xia Yu's fingers.

Not only was the melody flawless, but it was also somewhat outstanding?

"It's Tears of the Moon," one of the judges who played the guzheng recognized the piece.

The other four nodded in agreement, not saying anything more. They watched Xia Yu's performance, observing his movements.

Originally, music was an auditory pleasure, and closing one's eyes while listening was normal. However, none of the five judges nor the audience could shut their eyes.

They were not only listeners now but also spectators.

On stage, Xia Yu's graceful movements and melodious music intertwined, captivating the audience.

"It's the Huapai Guzheng!" An audience member who was a fan of guzheng recognized the style.

Only the Huapai style of guzheng would cater to the visual effects.

The five judges exchanged glances.

There was only one line of the Huapai style, and undoubtedly, it was Liu Ronglan's disciple.

Who had said earlier that this contestant had no teacher? This was clearly Liu Ronglan's successor!

After a brief moment of surprise, the five judges calmed down and listened to the music.

Tears of the Moon had no complicated emotional changes; it was a simple, elegant piece with a touch of sadness.

Tears of the Moon was the name of a blue bellflower. When played in other styles, it would evoke images of a sea of blue flowers.

But Xia Yu's performance transformed him into a Tear of the Moon, blooming on stage with a brilliant glow.

There was no wind in the hall, but the music seemed to create a breeze, swaying the blue flowers. Xia Yu's body seemed to drift along with the wind.

As the piece came to an end, the audience was still immersed in the beautiful scenery.

"An excellent rendition of Tears of the Moon," one of the judges broke the silence.

The judge had intended to use the word "beautiful" to describe it, but Xia Yu's guzheng performance had already transcended just auditory pleasure.

"Didn't expect the Huapai Guzheng to still have a successor," another judge sighed.

"Is Liu Ronglan your teacher?" another judge asked.

"Yes," Xia Yu answered.

"How come I've never heard of you?" A judge asked with curiosity.

"My mother is Teacher Liu's student, and I have been learning with her all this time," Xia Yu used Kong Hanyue as a shield.

"I see, it's a family tradition," the five judges nodded.

"Piano, violin, and guzheng, each more skilled than the last, truly extraordinary," they sighed.

"Even your teacher back in the day didn't play this piece as well as you did."

After offering some encouraging words, the five judges let Xia Yu leave the stage.

Back in his seat, Xia Yu sat down.

In the row behind him, the gold-rimmed glasses wearer stared at Xia Yu's back, filled with mixed emotions.

Yesterday, he had told his friend that Xia Yu might play the guzheng, and both had laughed about it for a long time, not expecting that Xia Yu would really play the guzheng today and even more skillfully than the violin!

Xia Yu's guzheng performance was already at a level where it could convey the emotions of the music itself, something he wasn't capable of achieving.

Recalling the events from the first to the third competition, the gold-rimmed glasses wearer felt somewhat wronged.

In the first round, he had been proud to see Xia Yu's piano performance just one step behind his own.

In the second round, Xia Yu changed his violin, and demonstrated the same level of skill as before, as well as his fast hand technique, which put him on an equal footing with his opponent. However, in the third round, the rival brought out a guzheng and exhibited a skill that far surpassed his own.

Why didn't you use the guzheng in the first round? Why go through all this? Xia Yu scratched his head and sighed.

The remaining contestants didn't show any amazing performances, and by four in the afternoon, the contest ended for the day, and everyone left the venue. Xia Yu was disappointed when he returned to the hotel because he still hadn't seen An Siyao. Although An Siyao's competition number would be shown tomorrow, all the other contestants who would participate tomorrow had already gone to the venue.

It seemed An Siyao still hadn't recovered from her cold. Not worried, Xia Yu already knew from Liu Ronglan that her cold wasn't severe and that she would participate in tomorrow's competition.

After finishing dinner, Xia Yu, who had nothing else to do, went to bed early. At six in the morning the next day, he returned to the body of the white cat.

There was one last wave of adopters coming today, and hopefully, there would be someone reliable among them. At this time, Tina and a group of children had already gotten up. They could sense when an adopter arrived to take someone away, giving them a feeling of anticipation.

Except for those two troublemakers. The two boys had completely given up hope. After they were finally let out of their room, they happily played by themselves, only to run into Xia Yu again.

The two of them hesitated for a moment and decided to give the white cat some face on this festive day, so they wouldn't cause him any trouble today. However, harsh words still had to be said.

Xia Yu yawned in response to their provocations, jumped onto a nearby windowsill, and kicked a basin of succulent plants to the ground. The wooden basin tilted, and soil and plants spilled out.

The two boys were overjoyed, thinking that they didn't dare to bother the white cat, but now it had given them a chance to take revenge! They laughed and brought a nearby staff member to complain.

However, to their surprise, the staff member didn't scold the white cat, but instead gave the two boys a stern lecture: "You two have learned to set traps now!"

"We didn't do it! It was the cat who pushed it. Look, it's still on the windowsill!" The boys presented their evidence.

"I know what you guys are up to, placing the cat on the windowsill after pushing the plant down, huh? Why didn't you put some mud on its paws?" The staff member grabbed the boys' hands and pulled them away. "The cat is so well-behaved, and you still want to frame it? Come with me to see the director."

"We were framed!"

The two boys turned their heads to look at the white cat, which was calmly watching them, looking self-satisfied, as if everything were under its control.

The boys shivered with a sudden chill and felt a sense of fear.

From now on, would they be blamed whenever the white cat caused trouble?

They decided to stay away from this cat in the future!

Watching as the two boys were led upstairs, Xia Yu sighed, bemused by their overconfidence.

He looked out the window again, the bus had arrived, and there were even more people getting off this time.

Opening the window, he slipped out and circled around beneath these people's feet.

He took an interest in a couple among them; the warmth emanating from them was only slightly less than that from Tina.

They were probably in their thirties or forties, wearing ordinary clothes, and looked like they were just average in terms of their circumstances.

Ordinary was already enough.

The couple entered the hall and saw a group of children playing.

Their gaze was immediately drawn to a blonde, blue-eyed girl among them.

But after exchanging glances, they didn't look any further.

Although they were considered rich in their own small town, they were nothing special in the big city. Such a beautiful girl wouldn't end up with them anyway.