Chapter 622  : Easier to Handle

If Yao Tang had been with Xiao Jing at that moment, she would have seen the way his eyes sparkled with interest.

“Captain,” she replied blandly.

Xiao Jing sucked in a breath. His hand flew to cover his mouth, his heart pounding with excitement.

He had to take some time to calm down before saying, “Those kids are so lucky to have you leading them in this event. I can’t believe you’ve already forgotten about us so soon.”

The bitterness in his tone was unmistakable, and Yao Tanghad to stop herself from scoffing.

“Haven’t I taken care of you and your team for the longest time? Besides, I only took on this position so that I can pass the assessment.”

But Xiao Jingrefused to be mollified by her words.

“If you wanted to enter the Music Association, you should have just reached out to us. Why did you have to go with someone else? Isn’t it tiring to start from scratch and train these newbies? Or is it that their relationship with you is tighter than ours?”

Yao Tang cracked a smile at his obvious sulking. “What do you mean, did I have any sort of relationship with you guys?” she teased.

She heard Xiao Jingchoke on air from the other end. “Yao Tang! Let bygones be bygones, all right? Don’t dismiss our progress and the rapport that we’ve built with each other over the years!”

Despite what he said, Xiao Jingcouldn’t help but want to slap his younger self for the way he had treatedYao Tangin the past.

Before she had taken over their orchestra, they were a bunch of arrogant jerks who couldn’t care less about their music careers. They had even forced a good number of previous concertmasters due to sheer frustration.

It wasn’t until Yao Tangthat they finally started getting their act together.

Looking back at it now, Xiao Jingknew that without her, they wouldn’t be where they were now.

Well, knowing that was one thing; recognizing it out loud was quite another.

He could never get over how he always lost Yao Tangwhen it came to banter, among other things.

“This orchestra is much easier to handle than you guys,” Yao Tangsaid brutally.

She wasn’t lying, though. Fang Hui’s team was very united and in synch. There was very little friction among the musicians, which translated well into their overall coordination.

Xiao Jing’s team, on the other hand, had taken a little over a year to achieve the bond they needed to participate in an orchestra.

At first, they were just like random strangers ambling about, minding their own instruments, which kept them from creating a harmonious sound.

Xiao Jing growled over the phone. “How can you say that,Yao Tang? Aren’t we your pride and joy? Have you forgotten all the glory we’ve achieved, despite our humble and chaotic roots?”

He knew that it wasn’t easy to manage an orchestra—any orchestra—but her words still stung.

As for Yao Tang, she wasn’t interested in this line of conversation anymore. “Just give those people a call and bring them over. We need to do a sound test before we decide on anything. We still lack a violin concertmaster, though. Do you think you can find one by the end of the day?”

Xiao Jing rolled his eyes. “No, I’m afraid that’s a very tall order.”

In fact, they only got lucky with the three other substitutes.

Most other musicians would likely be preparing for the Music Association’s assessment as well.

Of course, Xiao Jingand his orchestra members might just be the exception.

Everyone else wanted what the Music Associationcould offer—prestige. And with prestige came power and influence.

Xiao Jing himself wasn’t sure how this came to be, but he had heard talk that theMusic Association’s board consisted of highly powerful people.

Their influence even extended to Beijing, where they lorded over other similar organizations.

As it was, there was no shortage of ambitious people who wanted to use their musical talents to climb the social ladder.

But Xiao Jingand his teammates were not one of them.

Even so, that didn’t mean that they didn’t qualify. If Yao Tanghad approached them first, they would have said yes in a heartbeat and passed theMusic Association’s assessment without a hitch.

This was another mystery for Xiao Jing.Yao Tangalready had an orchestra that she had built and nurtured from the roots, so why didn’t she tell them about her plans?

Instead, she had opted to go with some unknown orchestra.

Xiao Jing sometimes wondered ifYao Tangalso had lapses in sensible judgment.