Chapter 144: Auntie, Who Are You Looking For? (Extra Chapter—Please Subscribe)

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On the stage, Zhuo Yi cast a complex glance at Yang Qing before leading his group off with their instruments. Although Zhuo Yi harbored deep dislike, even hatred, for Yang Qing, at this moment, standing where he was, he had to acknowledge the other’s formidable professionalism and skill. More than that, he admired his courage. To face the dwarf nation’s musical delegation alone, Yang Qing had fully embodied the fierce spirit of a passionate young musician, expressing the reckless audacity of youth.

“Ah…” Zhuo Yi sighed with a trace of melancholy, reluctance, and the weariness of dusk as he left the stage. Next came performances featuring the traditional instruments of various nations: the hand-cranked accordion from Fasiran, the saxophone from Germany, the Scottish bagpipes from the British Empire, the Native American flute from the United States, and more. Each country showcased their heritage through music, followed by judges’ comments. Without Yang Qing’s pointed remarks, the rest of the exchange passed without incident.

Many Chinese spectators sighed internally; the music was pleasant, but watching Yang Qing spar with the dwarf nation was far more thrilling. Yang Qing himself felt a bit frustrated, wondering why the dwarf nation’s traditional instruments hadn’t appeared yet. He had already prepared his remarks in advance, but they simply did not take the stage. According to the program booklet, the shamisen performance from the dwarf nation was supposed to come earlier, yet it never arrived.

“Could it be… they’re afraid? Or is there some scheme at play?” Yang Qing speculated silently but dismissed the thought. Before absolute strength, all conspiracies were but paper tigers.

Time passed swiftly, and by six o’clock in the evening, after the traditional Korean gayageum performance and its critique concluded, a Chinese official representative took the stage to announce the close of today’s exchange, to resume at nine the next morning.

The audience began to exit in an orderly fashion. Little Qiu’er, cradled in Qin Hao’s arms, bobbed her head excitedly, gazing in Yang Qing’s direction and cooing, “Brother Hao, where’s my brother? Why hasn’t he come out yet? Let’s wait for him!”

Qin Hao smiled, “Let’s go outside and wait for your brother. And we’ll take our little cutie to get something delicious to eat. You must be a bit hungry, huh?”

“Hehe…” Little Qiu’er giggled in her sweet voice, “Qiu’er wants to eat with brother. Brother must be hungry too.”

Qin Hao grew even more fond of the little one and cast a glance at Qin Xue beside him. “Sis, I think I want a daughter.”

Qin Xue rolled her eyes. “Focus on getting Xiao Rou sorted out first before talking about daughters!”

She scooped up Little Qiu’er affectionately, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Let’s go eat first, then we’ll text your brother to come over, okay?”

“Okay!”

The three of them left, and Yang Qing was about to follow the crowd when Lu Baiwu grabbed him firmly.

“Xiao Yang, come. I’ll introduce you to several internationally renowned masters.”

Without waiting for a response, Lu Baiwu pulled Yang Qing into a circle of elderly gentlemen, and soon Yang Qing found himself meeting a host of giants in the instrumental music world.

At this moment, Yang Qing was humble, embodying the demeanor of a respectful junior—shaking hands, exchanging embraces, or even receiving a gentle kiss on the cheek from some. Well… don’t read too much into it; different countries had different customs for showing respect.

Finally, an Italian master named Francesco embraced Yang Qing warmly, gave him a thumbs-up, and then spoke a string of English words with hopeful eyes.

Yang Qing was momentarily confused—there was no simultaneous translation this time. He could only look helplessly at Lu Baiwu for assistance.

Lu Baiwu shook his head with a wry smile. “Xiao Yang, young people should study more. Mandarin is the future, sure, but knowing another foreign language never hurts. See? Right now, they’re scolding you, and you don’t even understand.”

Yang Qing: …

Come on, I can still catch the insults in English!

“Ha ha…” Lu Baiwu saw Yang Qing’s exasperated look and chuckled. “Master Francesco really admires you. He asked if you play piano and wants to exchange ideas about piano pieces during the upcoming master sessions.”

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“Oh, piano?” Yang Qing smiled. “Sure, I actually have a piano piece I’d like the masters to give me some pointers on.”

“Uh…” Lu Baiwu froze, staring at Yang Qing in surprise. “A piano piece?! You composed it yourself?!”

“Cough, cough… well… luck, just luck,” Yang Qing replied awkwardly.

Lu Baiwu: …

“Don’t mess around. These masters’ expertise is mostly in piano music—it’s the mainstream worldwide. Don’t just bring out some piano piece to bluff your way through. If you embarrass yourself, it won’t just be you—it’ll be a stain on the entire Chinese ensemble’s reputation!”

“Uh… you don’t believe me?”

Lu Baiwu: …

Damn! If I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t have arranged this master critique on short notice! Nor would I have introduced you to these bigwigs!

Lu Baiwu was on the verge of cursing.

After a moment, Master Francesco laughed heartily, patted Yang Qing on the shoulder, and departed.

Seeing the masters leave, Yang Qing chatted with Lu Baiwu a bit more, then was about to turn away when a woman’s heels clicked nearby.

Turning, he saw a beautiful lady approaching with a radiant smile.

Yang Qing’s heart tightened. He didn’t know who she was, but earlier she had been seated in the center of the front row—a true heavyweight among dignitaries.

“Mr. Lu, aren’t you going to introduce this young man to me?” the woman, Zhao Yue Zhu, said with a smile.

Lu Baiwu laughed casually, “Don’t you already know who he is? Yang Qing, this is Minister Zhao Yue Zhu, one of the main organizers of this exchange from the Chinese government.”

He paused before adding, “Oh, and that impromptu master critique I suggested? Minister Zhao approved it.”

“Swish!” Hearing this, Yang Qing’s respectful expression deepened. “Minister Zhao, thank you for your support.”

Zhao Yue Zhu smiled, “Mandarin is the future. I admire that phrase you said. Everything has cause and effect. You didn’t let me or Mr. Lu down, so we’re the ones who should be thanking you, right, Mr. Lu?”

“Right! Ha ha…” Lu Baiwu laughed heartily. “I was so happy watching those Japanese guys turn green with envy. How about it, Xiao Yang? Want to grab a few drinks with me?”

“Uh… thanks for the offer, but no,” Yang Qing smiled. “My sister’s still waiting for me, so…”

“Ha ha,” Lu Baiwu winked. “Is she your biological sister or your sweetheart? Being young is great. Back in my day…”

Yang Qing: …

At a loss for words, Zhao Yue Zhu interrupted with a smile, “Mr. Lu, you’re already drunk without even drinking.”

“Ha ha…” Lu Baiwu laughed, then patted Yang Qing’s shoulder with feeling. “Xiao Yang, keep it up. The future belongs to you young people.”

Before Yang Qing could reply, Lu Baiwu turned to leave. Zhao Yue Zhu smiled meaningfully at Yang Qing.

“I look forward to our next meeting, Xiao Yang.”

Yang Qing hurriedly smiled back, “Thank you, Minister Zhao, for your kindness.”

“Hmm, keep working hard.”

With that, Zhao Yue Zhu departed, followed by Lu Baiwu. Yang Qing stood frozen, pondering for a long while. He felt there was some hidden meaning behind her words but could not quite grasp it.

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“Ah, so tiring!”

Since he couldn’t figure it out, Yang Qing let it go and pulled out his phone to call Qin Xue.

…

As dusk fell at Qin Xue’s home, Yang Qing was busy in the kitchen cooking.

Yes, in the end, they didn’t eat out. Mainly because Yang Qing thought it was too expensive—fifty yuan for a plate of tomato scrambled eggs? What, were the eggs laid by exotic birds?

Qin Xue had gone to shower, and Little Qiu’er, already bathed and dressed in new pajamas Qin Xue had bought her, toddled down to the living room. She looked at Qin Hao, who was playing video games, and called sweetly:

“Brother Hao, when will my brother be on TV?”

Qin Hao glanced at the clock and smiled, “At eight o’clock, an hour from now. Why, want to notify your friends?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Little Qiu’er nodded eagerly, “I have to tell Xi’er, Xiao Bai, Dudu, and Nian Nian to video call. Qiu’er wants brother’s phone.”

She started running toward the kitchen, but suddenly the doorbell rang. Her little body froze.

“Brother Hao, the doorbell’s ringing! Someone’s here!”

“Oh, okay, Qiu’er, go open the door.”

Qin Hao was at a critical point in his game but spoke casually.

“Okay!”

Little Qiu’er happily ran to the door but was too small to reach the handle despite jumping several times.

So she ran to fetch a small stool, climbed on it, and clicked the door open.

“Auntie, who are you looking for?”

Little Qiu’er asked in her sweet voice, looking at the beautiful woman at the door.

“Hello, little cutie. I’m looking for Qin Xue. Is she home?”

“Hehe… Qin Jie Jie is taking a bath.”

“Oh, and where’s Qin Hao?”

“Brother Hao is playing games.”

“Hmm, and Yang Qing?”

“Eh! Auntie, you know my brother?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Hehe… Auntie, come on in! My brother’s cooking.”

“Hmm… thank you, you’re so adorable.”

“Hehe…”

1 Second Remember 114 Chinese:

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