ECG -Chapter 143 Moonlight Sonata

After Lin Hao finished signing his name, he walked over to the side and lit a cigarette. He wanted to kill some time; he didn’t want to have any more contact with Wan Yong. As long as that guy didn’t insist on making trouble with him, then everyone could just go their separate ways peacefully.

From the looks of it, Wan Yong’s life was going pretty well, and his girlfriend seemed to have a good personality too.

Wan Yong, however, had no idea what Lin Hao was thinking at that moment. His girlfriend was currently looking at the notice board in the lobby, while he was still fuming inside.

What a narrow road for enemies! No matter where he went, he could always run into this guy!

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It seemed Lin Hao was also here to compete. Damn it, he only hoped that Lin Hao would fall down the stairs and get stuck there. That bastard…

Lin Hao sneezed twice in a row. He figured maybe Xia Yumeng or his own father was thinking about him. The thought warmed his heart.

Every weekend, he would call his father.

Although Lin Qingsheng often muttered that phone calls cost money and told him not to call so often, every time the phone rang, he would still answer eagerly, and every time he would hang up before the call reached two minutes and fifty-nine seconds.

At first, Lin Hao would try to persuade him, but later he stopped. After all, his father had been frugal his entire life. How could such habits be changed so easily?

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He glanced at the time, threw away his cigarette butt, and quickly walked back inside.

He found his name on the notice board in the lobby. He had been assigned to Group One, so he walked over to the table where Group One contestants were drawing lots. There were three students lined up ahead of him.

Soon, it was his turn. A female staff member in her early thirties wearing glasses asked for his name, then found his contestant certificate and handed it to him.

Lin Hao casually hung the contestant badge around his neck, then reached into the box and randomly grabbed a ping-pong ball.

Unexpectedly, the number written on it was 1.

The staff member hurriedly said to him, “Quick, quickly go to the first room on the left. You’re the first contestant!”

Lin Hao was also stunned. He hadn’t expected to draw number one. He had been taking his time the whole way here.

“Okay, thank you, Teacher!”

After saying that, he ran toward the room.

This was really strange. He had been assigned to Group One, drawn number one, and even the competition room was the first room on the left. Could it be that everything was arranged by fate?

Wasn’t this a sign that he was destined to take first place?

Fortunately, there was central air conditioning in the lobby, so he didn’t feel hot at all. While running, he took out his suit jacket and put it on, then casually threw the paper bag into a trash can.

When he pushed open the door, he discovered that it was a small theater, with a capacity of only about two hundred people. At this moment, it was already almost full.

Several tables were placed in the first row below the stage, with five judges sitting behind them. There were both men and women, young and old.

After entering, Lin Hao sat down in an empty seat near the door. Although there was air conditioning, because he had run over in a hurry, he still broke out in sweat after sitting down.

About five minutes later, a girl around twenty-five or twenty-six years old walked onto the stage.

In the very center of the stage was a grand piano. Because it was too far away, Lin Hao couldn’t see the brand clearly.

He thought to himself: Since this competition was sponsored by Steinway, they probably wouldn’t use another brand of piano, right?

The female host introduced the rules of the competition, then announced Lin Hao’s name, the organization that had recommended him, and his selected piece.

Lin Hao wiped the fine sweat from both sides of his nose, stood up, and walked toward the stage.

First, he bowed toward the audience below the stage, then sat down on the piano bench.

Sure enough, it was a Steinway.

The host had already announced his name, contestant number, and piece, so Lin Hao didn’t need to say anything unnecessary.

He took a deep breath.

His fingers pressed down on the keys, and a gentle melody began to flow.

Lin Hao had chosen the Moonlight Sonata by the Italian composer Aresio. This piece was seventy to eighty percent similar to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata from his previous life.

The piece had three movements. The first movement was a sustained adagio in C-sharp minor, and within the soothing melody was a faint trace of sorrow.

He played with complete immersion. Anyone who closed their eyes and was told that this was the original composer Aresio performing it would have found nothing wrong with that.

Some people in the back of the venue let out sounds of admiration. When the second movement was halfway through, an older male judge raised his hand.

From Lin Hao’s angle, he could see it clearly, so he stopped playing.

He thought the judge was going to say something, but when he saw the female host walk back onto the stage, he immediately understood.

There were too many contestants, and the judges couldn’t possibly let every participant finish their entire piece.

He stood up, gave the audience below a deep bow, then walked off the stage without looking left or right. A lot of applause sounded from below.

Two of the judges frowned and turned their heads to look back. Lin Hao found it somewhat amusing.

After all, this wasn’t a commercial performance. If it were the finals, then applause would be understandable. But during the preliminary and second rounds, random applause would disrupt the judges’ thoughts and judgment.

Sure enough, after the host came back on stage, she immediately took the microphone and announced that contestants and audience members were not allowed to applaud or make loud noises inside the competition venue.

Lin Hao felt that his performance had been fairly standard. Although it probably wouldn’t be especially outstanding, entering the second round definitely wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, these three pieces were ones he and Fan Gang had repeatedly discussed.

He sat for a while longer and watched two more contestants perform. His confidence in winning an award only increased.

So he stood up and walked outside.

He wanted to go have a cigarette.