Chapter 160: Uninvited Guest

Qin Yi was taking on a new disciple, and the initiation banquet was held today.

In the classical music circle, this was a matter of considerable note. Qin Yi had invited many renowned musicians he knew within the industry to attend, allowing them to witness the demeanor of his new disciple firsthand.

While it was an initiation banquet, it was essentially also a networking gathering.

Therefore, Lu Zhou placed great importance on this event.

He had locked himself away in his studio's piano room for days of grueling practice, solely to ensure that today he would not disappoint the high expectations Qin Yi had placed in him.

This was a banquet held for him; it should be filled with applause, cheers, and acclamation, rather than being disrupted and subjected to all sorts of skeptical and questioning glances.

Before all the invited guests had arrived, Qin Yi took Lu Zhou around to introduce him one by one to the well-connected figures he favored.

There were professional performers of various instruments, heavyweights in the field of composition, and fellow professional musicians of his own generation...

There were both domestic and foreign faces.

After a round of greetings, had it not been for the memories of his rebirth, Lu Zhou would never have been able to remember the names and faces of so many people all at once.

Ye Fangfei had also deliberately made time to attend this initiation banquet, most likely to show respect to Elder Qin and Lu Zhou by making an appearance. After all, she was the first person to recommend Lu Zhou to Elder Qin, and also the very first to know that Elder Qin intended to take on a new disciple.

Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei exchanged a brief greeting, after which they essentially did not converse further.

Wang Yanhua and Song Yi arrived quite a bit later.

These two were the legendary direct disciples of Qin Yi.

Both of them enjoyed a high reputation in the piano world at a young age, having participated in countless international piano competitions and won the highest accolades.

If Wang Yanhua was a passionate and adventurous piano performer, then Song Yi leaned more toward a calm, contemplative, and exploratory style. Although both possessed top-tier performance skills, their styles differed vastly.

In terms of fame outside professional circles, Wang Yanhua was much better known than Song Yi.

Song Yi kept a lower profile, and his performances were more steady and composed.

Wang Yanhua was more high-profile, and in recent years, his pursuit of art had become less pure than Song Yi's.

Having climbed to the pinnacle of the domestic piano world, Wang Yanhua had tasted the sweetness brought by financial abundance and high social standing. He began to grow greedy, no longer pursuing merely the heights of musical art, and gradually became enamored with a life of luxury and hedonism.

Consequently, disregarding Elder Qin's objections, Wang Yanhua ultimately and resolutely chose to step into the entertainment industry, dabbling in the persona of a piano idol, where money came faster and more substantially.

Qin Yi was dissatisfied with this behavior, but since it was Wang Yanhua's personal pursuit and he had already touched the heights of art he was capable of reaching, Qin Yi had nothing more to say about him seeking other paths.

In the domestic piano world, leaving aside Qin Yi's accumulated prestige over the years, purely in terms of piano performance technique, Wang Yanhua and Song Yi were currently the most formidable figures in the country.

Elder Qin was getting on in years, after all, and compared to the younger generation in terms of physical dexterity, the younger generation was bound to have the upper hand. Still, one could not deny that he had once stood at the pinnacle.

As his direct disciples capable of inheriting his mantle in piano playing, an aging Elder Qin felt deeply gratified, and nowadays he was more enthusiastic about deeply cultivating the field of composition.

Why did he choose to take Lu Zhou as his disciple?

Qin Yi did not choose him because of how superlative Lu Zhou's piano skills were. To be honest, talented piano players were not rare in the country nowadays. If he had merely wanted to nurture another formidable pianist, he would not have gone all these years without taking on a new disciple.

What he valued more was Lu Zhou's compositional ability, which happened to be the shortcoming of his direct disciples Wang Yanhua and Song Yi.

However, the proud and arrogant Wang Yanhua did not know the true reason why Elder Qin wanted to take Lu Zhou as a disciple. Coupled with the fact that when he previously inquired, Elder Qin had repeatedly praised Lu Zhou's talent, mentioning how he could do this and that, making him seem multi-talented...

Wang Yanhua had once been Elder Qin's proudest student, and hearing him shower such praise on someone else made it hard for Wang Yanhua not to feel jealous.

He privately assumed that Elder Qin was dissatisfied with his performance over the past two years, which was why he had recruited a new disciple.

He felt he was falling out of favor.

Sensing a crisis, Wang Yanhua privately issued a challenge to Lu Zhou under the guise of an old tradition:

Back at Song Yi's initiation banquet, he too had been required to accept a challenge from his fellow senior martial brother. As a newly initiated junior brother favored by their master, Lu Zhou's strength surely could not be simple. With the banquet gathering numerous talents and industry heavyweights, such an opportunity was rare, and he certainly should not hide his capabilities; rather, he should boldly accept the challenge and demonstrate his true strength.

Upon receiving the email containing the challenge, Lu Zhou did not refuse and agreed to meet it.

Today marked the first time Lu Zhou laid eyes on his two senior brothers, Wang Yanhua and Song Yi.

The atmosphere was particularly peculiar.

The gaze with which Wang Yanhua looked at Lu Zhou carried a trace of condescension. Yet, while Qin Yi was present, he acted very warmly toward Lu Zhou, even taking the initiative to introduce him to the musicians present, laughing and chatting, striving to paint a wonderful image of a generous senior brother.

As for Song Yi, he remained relatively calm, spoke little, and merely observed quietly.

After all, Lu Zhou was the "protagonist" of today's banquet and bore the baptism of numerous gazes.

Most of the professional attendees inwardly felt not only curiosity toward Lu Zhou, but even more so, skepticism: by what right and virtue was this person included as Elder Qin's third disciple?

Therefore, Lu Zhou could indeed perceive the probing glances from the majority of those present.

With the guests nearly all arrived, the countdown to the official start of the banquet began.

The networking session was drawing to a close, and Lu Zhou sat back down beside Qin Yi, awaiting the commencement of the banquet.

Ye Fangfei was not seated at the same table as Lu Zhou and Elder Qin.

At one moment, she flashed a playful and adorable expression while dealing with her own master, likely receiving a scolding—a tactic she frequently used to defuse situations;

Having pacified her master, she would soon dart over to laugh and chat with other older-generation masters;

Before long, she had drifted over to the table where Wang Yanhua and Song Yi sat, chatting with her hands in her pockets as if bickering. In the end, Wang Yanhua appeared completely exasperated, while she curved the corners of her mouth into a triumphant smile and strolled away airily.

The spot where she finally took her seat was the table occupied by her clique of female friends.

One could only guess what they were talking about, seemingly engrossed, with continuous ripples of laughter.

From time to time, Lu Zhou could sense her gaze drifting toward his direction.

It seemed unintentional, yet also deliberate.

During the wait, a few more new guests arrived successively at the banquet.

Their very first action upon arrival was to proactively come over and greet Qin Yi, exchange a few pleasantries, and eventually shift the topic to Lu Zhou, thereby initiating a new round of introductions.

Repetitive procedures inevitably grew somewhat tedious, but the very last arrival caused Lu Zhou to instantly perk up with rapt attention.

Many people had come today out of admiration, but Lu Zhou never expected that Gao Ting'an would make an appearance at his initiation banquet.

The moment that unfamiliar yet familiar figure drifted into Lu Zhou's field of vision, his pupils abruptly constricted.

Why was Gao Ting'an here?

That wasn't right. In Lu Zhou's memory of the initiation banquet hosted for him by Elder Qin in his previous life, Gao Ting'an had not attended.

This altered scene caused Lu Zhou's brow to furrow slightly.

Gao Ting'an was not a figure from the musical world. Logically speaking, it was highly unlikely for him to appear on Elder Qin's guest invitation list. Why would Elder Qin invite him?

Filled with doubts, Lu Zhou locked his gaze onto Gao Ting'an, watching the man approach them step by step with a smile.

Carrying a bouquet of flowers and walking at a leisurely pace, he ultimately stopped right between the seats of Qin Yi and Lu Zhou.

At that moment, Qin Yi was engaged in a lively conversation with an industry senior at the same table and had not noticed the arrival of others.

A greeting from Gao Ting'an interrupted the conversation between Qin Yi and his friend.

"Elder Qin."

He spoke with a smile, his demeanor composed.

Hearing the voice, Qin Yi turned his head back. Upon seeing who it was, a look of surprise crossed his face, and he immediately stood up with a smile to shake hands with Gao Ting'an, saying, "President Gao, why are you..."

This exchange made Lu Zhou beside them realize that Gao Ting'an had not been invited by Qin Yi.

His gaze darkened slightly.

If that was the case, he had come uninvited?

What was his intention?

Meanwhile, at the neighboring table, Ye Fangfei noticed the commotion at the main table and looked over curiously, instantly wearing an expression of surprise as well.

Gao Ting'an?

She arched an eyebrow. Why was he here?