Something occurred to her then. “How many people did Xiao Jing bring with him?”
The others considered for a moment before replying. “Three. Four of them arrived in total.”
A new wave of anxiety washed over Yao Ran.
“What’s wrong?” someone asked. “Is there a problem?”
Yao Ran’s eyes were burning with hatred and resentment.
“The number of people we got rid of… there were four as well.”
At first, she thought that Xiao Jingwould supervise and maybe guide theGlory Orchestrawhile they rehearsed.
But after learning that the number of people who had come matched the number of people their rival group was missing, she felt a deep sense of foreboding.
If Xiao Jinghimself took part in tomorrow’s assessment, then the gap between theShanna Orchestraand theGlory Orchestrawould be huge and obvious.
After a brief hesitation, Yao Ranfumbled for her phone and called her teacher.
“Hello, Teacher Zhang. This isRanran. I’m really sorry for calling out of the blue, but this matter is very important.”
Her tone was urgent, but she took care to remain polite so as not to annoy her teacher into refusing to help her.
“What’s wrong, Ranran?” the man asked. “What happened?”
“My team members saw Xiao Jingcome into rehearsals earlier,”Yao Ransaid, sounding aggrieved. “He brought people to replace those who had quit theGlory Orchestra. But that’s no big deal. The real problem is that something happened to Captain Wu’s family, and he had to rush home right away. We’re worried that he might not make it to tomorrow’s competition.”
…
The venue for the Music Association’s Annual Assessment was the auditorium in the city center.
This was a special day for many aspiring music students.
After all, today marked the turning point in their career, and whether they could bring honor to their respective families or not.
Each participant had high hopes to enter the Music Association.
Qin Man alighted from the car withYao Ran.
She held her head up high and practically preened as they walked into the hall.
Yao Ran was taking part in such an illustrious event at a young age. Of course,Qin Manwas proud.
It also helped that the prestige brought a lot of social benefits with it.
Qin Man had never been able to truly fit in with the upper society circles, but now, she finally had something to talk about with those snobby socialites. Some even came up to her for advice, asking her how to develop a child’s musical talents.
Unfortunately, this was all brought about by Yao Tang’s acceptance into theMusic Association.
But no matter. Although Yao Ranwasn’t a member yet, she had already become an apprentice of the renowned Master Zhang.
It was as good as a guarantee that she, too, would be admitted to the Music Association.
In a way, Yao Ranalso had a hand in raising theYao family’s social status.
Qin Man took comfort in that thought as she sauntered forward.
But her smugness was soon dampened when she caught sight of Yao Tangstriding across the floor withFang Huiin tow.
Qin Man turned toYao Ranand said, “Ranran, you’re confident this time, right? You’re sure that you’ll get into theMusic Association?”
Yao Ran pressed her lips into a tight line and nodded. She had to resist the urge to ball her hands into fists.
Was Qin Mandoubting her, even now?
“My team and I have put a lot of effort into our rehearsals. We’ll definitely give it our all.”
With this, she was subtly implying that she didn’t carry the performance on her back alone—it was a group effort, and they will bear the results as a group as well.
The smile returned to Qin Man’s face, and she nodded in satisfaction. “Good. In that case, Mom can rest assured. Just as I expected, my daughter is really outstanding, unlike some bumpkin from the countryside.”
Qin Man’s voice was dripping with disdain as she said the last bit.
Yao Ran lowered her head to hide a derisive smirk.
Qin Man might appear to be praising her, but in reality, she was praising herself for bringing up a child that she could boast about to her peers.
She was the outstanding one for nurturing Yao Ranand honing her skills, as ifYao Ranwere some commodity instead of her child.
Qin Man only wanted to prove that the daughter she had raised was better than a girl who grew up in the countryside.