They had all thought that those four had abandoned them out of selfish interests.
It turned out that they had been forced against their will.
Wu Hai scoffed. “I see that you people like to spout nonsense. When the assessment is over, I hope you still have that bluster.”
He then flicked his hand, signaling his teammates to leave.
Before they could get a move on, however, a cold voice came from the entryway.
“I could say the same thing to you. Once the assessment results are out, you’d better bark as loudly as you do now.”
The members of the Glory Orchestraturned in unison, their faces etched with surprise and delight as they watchedYao Tangsaunter over.
“Captain Yao! You’re back?”
She nodded before facing the Shanna Orchestra. “Were you the ones behind our team members’ misfortunes?”
Although she gave them a question, only a fool wouldn’t recognize the underlying threat in their words.
The people of the Shanna Orchestrafelt shivers run down their spines.
But the one who had the worst of it was Zhou Hao. He felt as though his heart was being squeezed by a huge, iron fist. He could hardly breathe.
And then, the sensation just vanished in the next second.
The Shanna Orchestraheaved a collective sigh of relief. They had to wonder whether they had hallucinated the whole ordeal.
That was impossible, though, right?
How could they be imagining the same immense fear and panic at the same time?
As it was, they were still rather shaken that none of them thought to speak of the experience among each other.
Wu Hai squared his shoulders and resisted the urge to step back. He balked at the presence ofYao Tang, and was more than intimidated by her.
He had only dared to berate the Glory Orchestraearlier because he knew that they were on level ground. If anyone were in higher positions, it would be the handful of musicians from theShanna Orchestra.
But the same could not be said for Yao Tang.
If Wu Haiopenly went against her, he might find himself in a difficult position withPresident Tanand theMusic Associationin general.
“Miss Yao Tang,” he greeted lightly. “You are a promising apprentice of the esteemedPresident Tan. Why do you lower yourself to stand side by side with these mediocre people?
“You must be overflowing with talent yourself. This sham of an orchestra will only slow you down, you know that, don’t you? If they don’t perform well and fall behind, they will drag you along to the bottom.”
Wu Hai wanted to try his hand at reasoning withYao Tang. He wanted her to understand what was at stake and help her see the light.
“It’s not like the results of the assessment would have an impact on you, anyway, right?” he insisted. “Those who would be greatly affected would be the rest of the Glory Orchestra.
“I doubt President Tanwould even bother with your teammates. His only concern would be you, his treasured apprentice. Why don’t you just skip the assessment? There’s no need for you to go through so much trouble, is there?”
Yao Tang’s blank expression never changed throughout Wu Hai’s speech.
Her lips only twitched slightly toward the end, when Wu Haiimplied that she was practically exempt from the assessment.
“Are you saying that President Tan’s apprentice doesn’t need to go through this test?” she asked.
Wu Hai blinked, perplexed at her question. He wasn’t sure what it was, but something didn’t feel right aboutYao Tang’s inquiry.
Still, he nodded. This was his goal, after all. He needed to get her out of the competition.
“Miss Yao, given your position, it’s only natural that you forgo the assessment. One can even say that it is expected. If it’s the experience you’re after, you may participate in the assessment after you’ve become an official member of the association. There’s no need for you to do any of this at all.”
But Yao Tangwas no longer listening to him. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and a dangerous glint appeared in her eyes.
So, this was what the old man had in mind.
Initially, Yao Tanghadn’t wanted to be the captain of theGlory Orchestra, either. However, the old man had told her that she could only enter theMusic Associationif she passed the assessment.
It was because of this that she had taken up the helm again after so many years.
To think that she could have easily entered the association without going through all the trouble… President Tanhad purposely withheld this information from her.
In another part of the city, President Tanwas taking a nap when he suddenly sneezed, jolting him awake. He squinted at his ceiling in a daze.