Chapter:201 Playing the Marimba
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Sun Bin was writing feverishly at his desk. Anger flashed in his eyes when he turned his head and saw that Qiao Yue was asleep.
How could Qiao Yue be sleeping? Was he trying to insult him?
Two days of exams passed by quickly. It was Friday afternoon, and time for the music exam.
Qiao Yue wasn't that confident in her playing skills, but she found a way.
As an assassin, she had the habit of counting time. She broke the rhythm of the music down to seconds, counted the seconds in her heart, and then played the instrument. She should be able to get the rhythm right for the piece, right?
When she arrived at the music room, Qiao Xin was already waiting there.
She had done well in the quiz, so she was the first to take the exam.
She walked up to the stage and gave Qiao Yue a disdainful glance.
She was the most musically gifted in the family and had plans to go into the music industry in future. She was confident that she could do a hundred times better than Qiao Yue in this field.
Qiao Yue was in the limelight during the physical education exam two days ago. Qiao Xin wouldn't lose today.
Qiao Yue didn't care about this kind of arts-related exam. Compared to the arts, she was more interested in science and business. To her, the arts were there to enrich one's life.
Qiao Xin smiled at the teacher from the stage before she picked up her mallets. She took a deep breath and music flowed from her nimble hands on the marimba.
She played "Flight of the Bumblebee", which Qiao Yue had played previously.
Qiao Xin had practiced hard for a long time and broke several pairs of mallets. She thought that she could easily master this song, but after learning it, she realized that her hand speed couldn't keep up with the intended rhythm at all.
She hadn't been revising her academic subjects lately. Instead, she had spent most of her time practicing the marimba. She finally made headway in the past two days and played this piece better. Although she played it a little slower than intended, it was already very good.
Qiao Yue found it interesting that Qiao Xin would actually fight to the death for this song.
Qiao Xin finished playing the song in one breath, and the audience burst into applause. Jin Lu also nodded. Qiao Xin was indeed musically gifted, and she interpreted the piece quite well.
"Next, Qiao Yue."
Everyone held their breaths as they watched Qiao Yue walk up the stage.
Qiao Yue played "Flight of the Bumblebee" really well the last time. Qiao Yue's performance in the physical education exam two days ago was also very impressive. Everyone wanted to see what special performance Qiao Yue would give in the music exam.
Qiao Yue chose a quiet pop song.
This was one of the few pop songs she liked, and it was a song from probably more than a decade ago. The tune was quiet and melodious, and the lyrics told the story of a woman who had to support her family alone because her husband was always away.
The story wasn't a bitter complaint, but a faint sorrow of longing.
She only discovered this song recently and was touched the first time she heard it.
Her mallets struck gently, and notes flowed softly to tell the story of the song.
Everyone was mesmerized, including Qiao Yue, who was playing it on the marimba.
She remembered the dream she had after she was injured. How she saw her mother in the dream, and how she experienced the same type of longing. As the song reached its climax, she felt her heartbeat accelerate slowly.
What kind of magic did this song have? Why did she feel a heartache when she heard it?
Bits and pieces of her childhood memory seemed to appear before her eyes, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes.
She gave up counting time and played the song instinctively. At the end of the song, everyone applauded.
"I thought Qiao Yue was going to take the technical route. I didn't expect him to take the emotional route."
"Yeah, it's really quite pleasant to hear. His performance was so emotional."
...
After Qiao Yue finished playing, she bowed to the audience. She bowed to hold back her tears so they wouldn't roll down her face.
This song must have meant something to her.
The music exam was soon over. The other students played ordinarily. Xu Hao even broke his mallet.
Qiao Yue's mood improved after she watched Xu Hao embarrass himself.
After the exams, it was time to grade the papers. Harvey had been using computer-assisted grading, so the teachers were able to grade the entire department's papers in a day or two.
Zhang Cheng, as the head of the mathematics department, oversaw grading of the mathematics papers.
He browsed through the scores for each question marked by the teachers. When he saw the marks for the last question, he frowned.
Didn't Qiao Yue solve this question? Why didn't he get full marks?
Zhang Cheng then checked the test paper with the highest marks, but the last step was left out.
Could this test paper be Qiao Yue's?
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Chapter 202: Genius
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Teacher Zhang, Qiao Yu did pretty well this time. I've looked through the papers, and only Qiao Yu attempted the last question. The other students didn't even try." Chang Yuan, the lead teacher for the first years at Harvey said as he tidied up the test papers.
Zhang Cheng's face changed. "Who did you say it was? Qiao Yue?"
"What Qiao Yue? It's Qiao Yu, the top student in our grade. He did pretty well in other subjects too."
Chang Yuan took out Qiao Yu's test paper from the pile. The handwriting on the paper was neat, and every step was written in detail. Other than the last question, which was a difficult one where he missed five points, he basically scored full marks for the rest of the paper.
"Where's Qiao Yue's test paper? When I was invigilating the exam, I remember that Qiao Yue solved the last question." Zhang Cheng started searching through the pile of test papers.
"Qiao Yue, Qiao Yue..." Zhang Cheng mumbled as he anxiously searched for Qiao Yue's paper.
"Teacher Zhang, why do you suddenly want to look at Qiao Yue's test paper? Aren't his grades bad, always at the bottom of the class?" Chang Yuan found it a little strange, but he helped Zhang Cheng look.
Chang Yuan was Qiao Yue's math teacher. Whenever he heard the name Qiao Yue, his head would hurt.
Qiao Yue was a grandson of the Qiao family. He had the support of the deputy mayor when he entered Harvey. The principal had repeatedly urged the teachers to discipline this student, but Qiao Yue was apathetic every day.
Zhang Cheng yanked out Qiao Yue's test paper from the pile.
Qiao Yue's handwriting wasn't as neat, but it was elegant.
Zhang Cheng looked through Qiao Yue's test paper and found that he answered the paper well. Except for two multiple-choice questions, he basically got the rest of the questions right.
Also, Qiao Yue had left the last question unanswered. It was blank.
Zhang Cheng asked with a frown, "Teacher Chang, does the school keep the students' draft papers?"
Chang Yuan shook his head. The school didn't keep the draft papers. They had probably been sold as scrap long ago.
Zhang Cheng frowned. "Teacher Chang, when I was invigilating the exam, I saw Qiao Yue solve this question on his draft paper. I don't know why he didn't copy the solution over to his actual test paper."
"Qiao Yue?" Chang Yuan picked up Qiao Yue's test paper and looked at it. "Although he has improved a lot, it's not to the point where he can solve questions of this standard, right?"
The two multiple-choice questions that Qiao Yue got wrong were also quite difficult. He must have studied hard lately; he knew his stuff.
It was normal for Qiao Yue to not know how to answer something out of syllabus.
"My eyes weren't playing tricks on me, he really solved it." Zhang Cheng kept staring at the blank on Qiao Yue's paper, as though Qiao Yue's solution would appear miraculously.
Chang Yuan didn't believe Zhang Cheng. He thought that Zhang Cheng must have been so busy lately that he was a little muddle-headed. However, Zhang Cheng argued with conviction that Qiao Yue had answered the last question.
As the two of them were talking, the results of the other subjects were released.
Zhang Cheng and Chang Yuan went to the computer to look at the overall scores. The two students who had improved the most were Sun Bin and Qiao Yue.
Sun Bin's ranking had improved by more than a dozen places and he was now in the top ten. Qiao Yue's improvement was even more shocking. He made it from the last place to the third place of the entire grade.
His results in advanced mathematics and computer science results were far ahead, only second to Qiao Yu.
"Qiao Yue has worked hard recently." Chang Yuan commended with a nod. "I've never seen any of the Qiao's perform badly in their studies. Although Qiao Yue's foundation was poor, he's caught up."
Zhang Cheng was still struggling with the last question on the advanced mathematics paper.
Looking at his old friend's conflicted expression, Chang Yuan patted Zhang Cheng on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'll ask Qiao Yue to explain his train of thought for this question in class on Monday."
Zhang Cheng nodded. "You are the best."
Everyone was very nervous during the first period on Monday.
As it was the homeroom class, Chang Yuan announced everyone's results.
Sun Bin was so nervous that his face turned pale. He clenched his fists tightly and was at the brink of vomiting.
Qiao Yu was also a little nervous. The questions this time were more difficult than expected and he wasn't sure if he could get the results he wanted. Only Qiao Yue looked calm.
"Why aren't you nervous at all?" Qiao Yu asked.
Qiao Yue stretched lazily and played mindless games on her phone. "It's okay. It's just an exam anyway. The results are already out. It's no use being nervous, right, fourth brother?"
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Chapter 203: Hallucination
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"After all, I very much look forward to the reward you are giving me." Qiao Yue said with a smile.
"You really thought about this." Qiao Yu teased.
As the two of them spoke, Chang Yuan had already walked up to the podium and turned on the projector.
The noisy class suddenly quieted down, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the words on screen.
Qiao Yue's eyes were glued to her game.
The results were out, and Qiao Yu remained top of the class, which was within everyone's expectations. However, as the class looked down the list, they almost screamed in surprise.
"Qiao Yue is in third place?"
The students all looked at Qiao Yue.
Qiao Yue had her headphones on, and her hands were busy swiping and tapping her phone.
Qiao Yu nudged her with his elbow.
"What's up?" Qiao Yue took off her headphones and saw that everyone was staring at her.
"Qiao Yue, although you got third place this time, you're not at the level where you can play games in class." Chang Yuan said.
Qiao Yue put away her phone and looked at her scores on screen.
Her scores were all within her expectations, except for the higher-than-expected score in music.
Sun Bin grabbed his wrist, his eyes wide open.
How did Qiao Yue get such high scores? Although Sun Bin had worked hard, studying day and night, even hired a tutor to help him with his homework, he still did worse than Qiao Yue.
Could Qiao Yue be a genius? How could he have improved so much over such a short time?
Qiao Yu looked at Qiao Yue and smiled. "You can pick your gift when we get home."
After announcing the results, it was time to discuss the exam questions.
When Chang Yuan got to the last question, he deliberately asked Qiao Yu to stand up and explain his process.
Even though Qiao Yu missed the last step, his idea was correct. Qiao Yu's explanation was also very detailed. Chang Yuan nodded in approval.
After Chang Yuan sent Qiao Yu back to his seat, he looked at Qiao Yue, who was dozing off at her desk.
"Qiao Yue!" Chang Yuan frowned and called out.
Qiao Yue raised her head and looked at Chang Yuan in confusion.
"Do you have any thoughts on this question?"
Qiao Yue squinted at the question on the blackboard and shook her head. "I don't know how to answer this question."
Qiao Yue's expression was blank, not revealing any hint.
"Then tell me how you would go about it," Chang Yuan said.
Qiao Yue pursed her lips and frowned, looking clueless.
"Use linear algebra," Qiao Yu reminded her in a low voice.
Qiao Yue said blankly, "Use linear algebra to..."
Chang Yuan's face was red from anger. He cleared his throat and said, "Sit down."
Chang Yuan looked at Qiao Yue and said, "Some students did well this time. But that's the result of their recent hard work. They shouldn't relax after this but keep working hard."
He didn't know what Zhang Cheng was thinking. Although Qiao Yue had improved significantly this time, he wasn't that good yet.
After class, Chang Yuan walked into the staff room and threw the test papers on his desk.
"Zhang Cheng, you must have seen something wrong. I've explained the last question today in class and that Qiao Yue didn't even remember it, and had to rely on tips from his classmates."
Zhang Cheng followed Qiao Yue's method the other day and worked out the last question on a draft paper. It was a more elegant method than the standard answer he had written.
"Chang Yuan, come and look at this solution."
Chang Yuan lowered his head and looked at the solution on the draft paper. His jaw dropped and then he clapped twice in an exaggerated manner.
"This solution is too ingenious. How did you come up with it? Wow, Zhang Cheng, you've improved."
"Believe it or not, this is the answer I saw on Qiao Yue's draft paper. I didn't think of this method."
Chang Yuan shook his head. "Although Qiao Yue has improved a lot this time, I've already tested him. He doesn't understand at all. Have you been too tired recently? Do you need a break?"
Zhang Cheng looked at the draft paper and sighed. Perhaps he had been too tired and was hallucinating.
"However, looking at the situation now, I'm afraid that our college will have some difficulties in the advanced mathematics competition."
"There's still half a year to go. I wouldn't worry about not finding anyone. I think Qiao Yu is a very good candidate." Chang Yuan was optimistic instead.
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Chapter 204: Reward
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qiao Yu was indeed a very good candidate for the competition.
Qiao Yu's advanced mathematics results had always been good, and not many people could answer the last question to such an extent.
Chang Yuan nodded. "I'll get Qiao Yu to form a team and pick out a few more talented students."
Zhang Cheng moved on from Qiao Yue's matter, treating it as a hallucination on his part.
Qiao Yue was very happy with her progress and was in a good mood, not so much for Sun Bin.
Sun Bin had been studying day and night and had moved up by more than ten places. It was already a significant improvement, but compared to Qiao Yue, he was still far behind.
In the car on his way home, Sun Bin cried alone.
People said that men shouldn't shed tears too easily, but at this moment, he felt very wronged.
When he got home, Sun Bin's parents joined him for a rare meal together.
Sun Bin's family was in business, mainly foreign trade. His parents travelled often, so it was rare for the family to sit together happily for a meal.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Sun Bin was so excited that he almost stuttered when he saw his parents.
"I heard from Teacher Chang that you did very well this time. I specially pushed back the conference in D-Country to come home." Sun Bin's mother said to Sun Bin with a smile.
Sun Bin's father also asked him to sit.
Sun Bin looked at all his favorite dishes on the dining table and felt his eyes tear up.
His parents were rarely together, and they were not on good terms. Sun Bin had not experienced such a happy family gathering since he graduated from elementary school.
"Dad, Mom..." Sun Bin held back his tears and ate the rice in his bowl, "Actually, I didn't do that well. There's a boy named Qiao Yue in my class. He improved all the way to third place this time."
Sun Bin's mother, Cheng Yue, patted Sun Bin's head and said, "Don't worry. You've improved a lot this time. You don't have to be the best."
"You can't say that. Dad will always support you to work hard and surpass your classmate... Qiao Yue, right?" Sun Wu picked up some food with his chopsticks for Sun bin.
Sun Bin stacked his parents' hands together and said, "Dad, Mom, I will definitely work hard."
Sun Bin's parents looked at each other. Their eyes were filled with disdain, but when they saw Sun Bin, their eyes turned kind again.
Cheng Yue quietly pulled her hand away. "Alright, let's eat."
"Dad, Mom, does it mean that if I study hard, you two will come home together more often?"
Sun Bin looked at his parents with anticipation. Cheng Yue looked away and nodded.
The family began to enjoy a happy meal together.
At the Qiao residence, dinner was also very sumptuous tonight.
There were hot pots on the table with three kinds of soup base: spicy mala, tomato, and chicken collagen.
The chicken collagen soup base was specially prepared by Qiao Yue for Old Master Qiao.
Old Master Qiao had also specially ordered the kitchen to buy plenty of seafood and high-quality wagyu for this hot pot meal.
"I've arranged for this special meal to celebrate the significant progress that Xiao Yue and Xiao Ying made in the recent exams." The old master's face was ruddy, and he looked much more energetic than usual.
He raised his teacup. "Come, let's have a toast."
The whole family stood up and clinked their glasses with the old master and Qiao Yue with a smile.
Only Qiao Xin's face was black. No one knew what she was thinking.
Seeing his daughter's expression, Qiao Li reminded her in a low voice, "No matter how much you don't like your fifth brother, he's still your grandfather's favorite. Give him some face."
Qiao Xin stood up reluctantly and clinked glasses with Qiao Yue.
"Fifth brother did really well this time. Keep up the good work." Qiao Xin said with a fake smile.
"Xin'er, you have to learn from Xiao Ying. Xiao Ying has improved a lot this time. You can't always just focus on music and ignore your other subjects." Old Master Qiao said.
Qiao Xin nodded, but she was still a little indignant.
If she did well in music, she could become a star like Qiao Ze. How could any studious nerd do better than her?
Qiao Yu clinked glasses with Qiao Yue as he said softly, "You'll know what your present is in a moment."
Qiao Yue raised her eyebrows. "Fourth brother has prepared in advance? Are you a prophet?"
Qiao Yu nodded and made a gesture of zipping his mouth. "Just you wait."
Qiao Jing cleared his throat and said, "I've also prepared a gift for you this time. I'll give it to you later."
Qiao Yue laughed. Why did they all start giving her gifts now that she had good grades?
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Chapter 205: Fireworks
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qiao Yu's gift to Qiao Yue was a Harley-Davidson with a full set of accessories and parts for modifications.
This motorcycle was a limited edition that was produced a few years ago. It was very expensive, and the total price was tens of millions of yuan.
Qiao Yue stood in front of the garage with her arms crossed. She elbowed Qiao Yu's arm and said, "This bike is not bad. Was it very expensive?"
"No gift is too expensive for my brother."
This motorcycle was actually part of Qiao Yu's collection. He cherished it very much and would not ride it unless there was a very important race. When he said he was going to give Qiao Yue a gift, he immediately thought of this motorcycle.
This motorcycle looked like a little black beast in the dark, exuding a charming yet dangerous metallic glow, just like the feeling Qiao Yue gave him.
"Actually, I saw you solve the last question that day." Qiao Yu chuckled.
"What?" Qiao Yue said with a frown.
"You solved the last question, but you left the answer on the draft paper."
"How did you know?"
Qiao Yu didn't answer Qiao Yue's question. Instead, he turned around and looked deeply into Qiao Yue's eyes, as if he wanted to see through the depths of her heart and through her disguise.
"I also want to know what kind of person my fifth brother is. Why is he in disguise like me?"
Why was she in disguise?
All Qiao Yue wanted was to fulfill her mother's wish and be filial to the old master. She didn't want to stand out.
Although the offspring of the Qiao family were all outstanding, there were still all kinds of disputes and sabotages. Instead of being an extraordinary bird that was shot, it was better to be a person with no ambition and ability.
"Maybe it's because I'm gifted?" Qiao Yue yawned. "I'm a member of the Qiao family. How can I be so bad?"
Sensing that Qiao Yue didn't want to answer his question, Qiao Yu smiled. "I hope that one day, fifth brother will face me with his true self."
Qiao Yue lowered her head, feeling a little down.
Her true self, who was her true self? Was it the person in charge of KA, a member of the organization, or was it the identity that she was most unwilling to admit?
"I've always shown my true self in front of fourth brother," Qiao Yue replied.
Qiao Yu smiled and ruffled her hair. "Alright, let's go back. It's a cold night."
It started to snow lightly as the two of them walked back together.
The old master was in a good mood and said that he was going to make tea with his grandchildren in the snow.
The servants got busy. They erected a canopy in the courtyard and set up a tea table with snacks on it.
Qiao Yue walked over and put on a furry hat and gloves for her grandfather. "Grandpa, it's cold outside. You must wear more warm clothes."
She didn't object to the old master admiring the snow outside. He was still recovering from his illness. Exercise and fresh air were both good for his health.
All the grandchildren came out to accompany the old master. Only one person from their parents' generation turned up and that was Qiao Ren.
Qiao Ren sat in front of the tea stove, wearing a down jacket. He used a charcoal rake to move charcoal around under the stove and stared at Qiao Yue.
"I haven't seen snow in a long time. I'm getting old, and I don't know if I'll be able to see snow in future."
"Grandpa, don't worry. You still have a few more decades." Qiao Ying said.
Everyone laughed. Qiao Ying was usually quiet but her usually talkative self today made everyone very happy.
Everyone was eating desserts and drinking warm black tea when loud roars were heard from the sky.
Different kinds of fireworks exploded in the sky, forming beautiful patterns.
When Qiao Yue turned her head to look, the fireworks in the sky had just formed the shape of a red carp, before turning into a fiery red rose, lighting up the entire night sky.
Qiao Yue looked at Qiao Jing.
Qiao Jing didn't look back at her, but stirred the tea in his cup with a spoon.
"It's so beautiful." Qiao Yue praised.
As she spoke, she saw the corners of Qiao Jing's mouth curl up slightly.
For some reason, Qiao Yue felt her mood improve.
The fireworks went on for more than ten minutes. Qiao Ren watched the fireworks with a little sadness in his eyes.
After everyone finished watching the fireworks, the snow was also letting up. Everyone packed up and went back to their bedrooms.
As soon as Qiao Yue entered hers, there was a knock on her door.
When she opened the door, she saw Qiao Jing standing outside, holding a small box.
For a moment, Qiao Yue panicked. Why did the box in Qiao Jing's hand look like a ring box?
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