Chapter 161: Those Who Wish to Leave, Now Is the Time

"My teacher told me that the pianist is no longer coming over to our side; she went to our competitor instead."

The more the square-faced boy spoke, the more grim his expression became. "My teacher dropped a hint to me that the pianist's teacher had been observing the situation with our conductor. Only moments ago, he received word that our conductor is... which is why he decided to choose another orchestra."

At this, he could not help glancing at Gu Ci, his complexion turning even worse.

Just then, another person's phone rang.

After hanging up, he looked apologetically at everyone present. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I also have to leave for a while..."

The square-faced boy's expression shifted drastically. "Kevin, what do you mean by that?"

Kevin stammered nervously, "I... I also have a sudden personal matter to attend to, and I'm afraid the timing..."

The square-faced boy was so irritated he almost threw a punch at the boy's face, but after holding back, he ended up slamming his fist against the wall beside him instead.

"Why do you suddenly have something to come up? Haven't we cleared our schedules for this entire period precisely to prepare for this performance?"

Startled, Kevin instinctively covered his head.

His eyes darted around evasively as he said with a guilty conscience, "Didn't something suddenly come up at home that requires me to go back? I really have no choice..."

"You!"

"Alright, alright! Fang Che, don't get so worked up," a round-faced girl hurriedly stepped forward to stop the square-faced boy, whose name was Fang Che.

Afterward, she looked at Kevin with utmost earnestness, grabbing his sleeve. "Kevin, what happened at home? About how long will it take for you to come back? If it's soon, we can wait for you... You are the concertmaster of our cello section, we can't do without you..."

Everyone else also looked at Kevin with intense anxiety.

In a symphony orchestra, every section has a section leader, and they play a role even more crucial than ordinary musicians.

Gazing at these bandmates they had spent more than two months getting along with, a flicker of internal struggle appeared in Kevin's eyes.

After a long moment, he finally shook off the girl's grip on his sleeve and said through clenched teeth, "Forget it, I'll just be blunt!"

"It was my teacher who called me. He already found out about the situation here and told me that the pianist who just chose the rival orchestra is a newly taken disciple of a Class C musician in the Musicians' Association, whereas our side is... Because of this, my chances of successfully entering the Musicians' Association through a solo performance are much higher than staying in this orchestra. This is my very last grading opportunity. If I fail, I'll have to wait another half year, and I simply can't afford to waste that time! So... I'm sorry!"

With that, Kevin gave everyone a bow.

Everyone fell silent.

After a moment, another person in the orchestra still wanted to offer a word of retention, "Kevin, maybe the situation isn't as terrible as you imagine. You could totally give it a try before making a decision, perhaps—"

"There's no perhaps!" Kevin directly cut the person off, casting a faint, sideways glance at Gu Ci.

"I advise you all to find a way out quickly as well. Either go register for solos immediately, or switch to another orchestra! In short, staying here until the actual performance will only lead to one outcome. You've all worked hard for so long, and our previous performance alone successfully passed the grading. Many of you here have already passed once before, just like me, right? Since you've made it this far with such difficulty, why insist on dragging things out on this final attempt..."

In fact, apart from conductors, the vast majority of musicians can undergo grading through solo performances. However, that places much higher demands on the individual, because those who dare to participate in solo performances are entirely those with immense self-confidence, exceptional talent, and a very high level of performance skill.

Therefore, many musicians whose skills are not as prominent choose the alternative approach: orchestra grading.

Naturally, this type of collective grading also carries risks.

While it lowers the individual performance requirements, it also introduces more uncertainties stemming from overall team coordination and the band members themselves...

Moreover, the Golden Orchestra had been temporarily formed just to enter the Musicians' Association, making the unstable factors within it even more numerous...

Furthermore, they had just lost a conductor with whom they had finally managed to build a good rapport.

In truth, the identity of this newly arrived conductor was the final test for the various musicians' behind-the-scenes mentors to observe this orchestra.

Yet, the one who came this time was Gu Ci, a young girl barely seventeen or eighteen years old...

Hearing Kevin's words, everyone fell silent once again.

Kevin bowed once more and turned to leave.

Anxiety surged within the round-faced girl's heart, and she took two steps forward, preparing to grab Kevin's arm.

However, right at that moment, she was held back by Gu Ci.

"Let him go."

"But..." the girl said anxiously.

Before she could finish, Fang Che also spoke up, "Ruan Ruan, let him go."

The girl named Ruan Ruan stamped her feet in place with conflicting feelings, but ultimately obeyed Fang Che and released Kevin's arm.

Seeing this, Kevin cast a disdainful glance at Gu Ci, let out a cold snort, and walked out of Music Hall Number 3.

Gu Ci's cold gaze swept across everyone present. "If anyone else wants to leave, do it now."

Surprisingly, Fang Che did not speak this time either, simply standing quietly to the side.

It was evident that he, too, tacitly accepted Gu Ci's words.

Observing the hesitant, mutually bewildered expressions on everyone's faces, she spoke up again, "Go if you want to go. Leave now, and I won't blame you."

Finally, two people could no longer hold back and stepped forward, saying through clenched teeth, "Brother Che, I'm sorry..."

While they had originally intended to give Gu Ci a morning to try things out, upon learning that the pianist who went to the rival orchestra was the disciple of a Class C musician, they completely abandoned that thought.

With the first and second people leaving, groups of two or three people began saying goodbye to Fang Che and departing one by one.

Among them was even the section leader of the brass instruments.

Before leaving, he could not help but lecture Fang Che.

"This is your last grading chance too, and you completely have the ability to participate in solo evaluations yourself. Why torture yourself for the sake of others..."

Fang Che impatiently cut him off, "None of your business."

The brass section leader flared up as well. "Then do whatever you want! Let's see if you regret it when you fail your final attempt!"

With that, he walked out.

Several people in the orchestra looked at Fang Che with varying degrees of guilt.

Someone couldn't help but speak up, "Brother Che... We dragged you down. Why don't you just..."

Fang Che instantly glared at that person. "If you still consider me a friend, don't say such things!"

That person hurriedly shut their mouth, though guilt remained unabashedly visible in their eyes.