Chapter 623  : Volunteered Himself

It remained firmly in his thoughts, though. Xiao Jing would never dare to say something like that to Yao Tang’s face.

This time was no different.

Seeing that their options were limited, he decided to volunteer himself.

“How about this, Yao Tang? You know that I specialize in piano, but you also know that my violin is good, right? Why don’t I be your violin concertmaster?”

Xiao Jing spoke emphatically, as though this was just a matter of course.

Then, to drive his suggestion home, he added, “I tried thinking of other candidates, but I really won’t be able to find anyone at this point.”

He ended it with a dramatic sigh.

If Yao Tangdidn’t know any better, she would have thought that he was reluctant to do her this favor, and was only forced to volunteer since they had no other choice.

In any case, if she refused his offer now, she might ruin the chances of her orchestra even participating in the assessment.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jingwas feeling rather giddy as he patted himself on the back. He was confident in his abilities, and he knew that he could bringYao Tang’s orchestra to where they wanted to be.

Yao Tang pinched the bridge of her nose. “All right.”

Xiao Jing punched the air and danced a little victory jig.

She explained the arrangements to him, and they made plans to meet at the rehearsals the following day.

“All right, Captain Yao! I’ll see you there!”

Yao Tang hung up the phone and looked up to find the curious eyes of her classmates. They were silently asking her what the call was about.

She blinked at them, hoping they would drop it, but their eyes only seemed to widen further with anticipation.

“It’s just another test. An assessment.”

Qin Jing nodded knowingly. “I heard you say that your orchestra is short of people. Do you need our help?”

Her eyes twinkled with anticipation. If she was recruited to help with Yao Tang’s orchestra, then she would be exempted from doing the test papers, right?

She had been hunched over those cursed papers for the last few days, and Qin Jingwas sick and tired of it. She was willing to do anything if it meant she wouldn’t have to look at another test paper again, at least for a while.

“No,” Yao Tangsaid, much toQin Jing’s dismay.

Her tone was calm and almost dismissive, as if she wasn’t having any problems at all.

However, underneath that single word, Qin Jing knew that Yao Tang was telling her to stick to the test papers.

Her shoulders slumped. “Are you sure? Don’t you need a runner to take care of the odd jobs during your rehearsals and performance? You lack people, don’t you?”

Although Qin Jingwasn’t entirely happy with the prospect of being an errand girl, it was still better than doing the test papers.

She knew Yao Tangneeded all the help she could get. She had heard it herself—the orchestra was short of hands.

But Yao Tangdidn’t even giveQin Jing’s pleading expression a second glance. “There’s no need. I’ve already found the people to take over.”

Qin Jing frowned. She had to stifle the urge to launch a barrage of questions atYao Tang.

‘How can you possibly find people on such short notice? Aren’t you just a transfer student who grew up in the countryside? How come you have so many connections?’

Luckily, reason prevailed, and she managed to keep the questions to herself.

Qin Jing changed tactics and said, “Well, how can you be sure about the skills of these people you just found? Should I help you in making sure that they’re qualified? I can run a background check on them if you like.”

She went so far as to wink at Yao Tang, hoping that her cute act would win her a day off.

But Yan Yuchose that moment to step forward. He was oblivious toQin Jing’s intentions and had been ponderingYao Tang’s predicament for a while now.

“Yao Tang, allow me to go with you,” he said. “I’ve studied music for years. If anything happens, maybe I can help.”

“No, it’s fine,” Yao Tanginsisted. “It’s just a minor competition. There’s no need for you to bother yourselves.”

All throughout, her expression remained blank, her tone neutral.

But a spark had already been lit, and her classmates were willing to stand by her in case things didn’t go as planned. In the end, she had no choice but to agree to let them come.

The problem was that only members of the Music Associationcould attend its assessment event.

On the day of the performance, the students of Class 20 would have to wait outside.

In another part of the city, Fang Huihad just received the recent update fromYao Tangand relayed it to the rest of the orchestra.

It garnered mixed reactions, with some fearing that these substitutes might not be reliable or compatible with them, while others expressed outright disbelief that Yao Tanghad found replacements in less than an hour.