Thank goodness, she only drugged someone...
Once he understood the sequence of events, he immediately got up and squeezed out a smile. "Uh, Old Zhao! It's been a while. I was a bit nervous and didn't recognize you at first. What brings you here?"
With both hands, he respectfully offered a can of hot yuzu tea.
A drink for the master.
"No worries, it's understandable."
Old Zhao took the tea and generously patted Huai Shi's shoulder, clearly cherishing this junior of boundless potential talent. "When Richard told me he saw your name on the candidate list posted at the entrance, I couldn't believe it! I had to confirm with the front desk several times—"
"Don't be nervous. Are you confident?"
Huai Shi forced a stiff smile. "This kind of exam? Isn't it practically a sure thing?"
"Oh, that's good," Old Zhao nodded slightly, then suddenly blurted out, "I was worried you might think I was being meddlesome."
"Huh?"
Huai Shi tensed, a sense of alarm rising. He unconsciously turned his head to look at Old Zhao's smiling face.
The unsettling premonition intensified.
Then he saw a group of old men and women—some white, some black, some East Asian—appearing as if by magic beside Old Zhao. Some faces seemed familiar, while others were completely unknown, yet all of them were looking at Huai Shi with smiles that made him increasingly uneasy.
"Let me introduce you."
Old Zhao set down his can of hot yuzu tea and pointed to the portly old man at the front. "This is Mr. Newman, a famous performer who happened to come to Xinhai for the fourth Chopin music symposium."
"...Oh."
Huai Shi, in a daze, shook hands with the portly old man who approached him. Then he heard Old Zhao continue, "This is Mr. Li, the principal conductor of the Dongxia Jinling Philharmonic Orchestra."
Another old man whose face he often saw on textbook covers approached and patted his shoulder warmly. "Not bad, young man."
"Huh?" Huai Shi was confused.
Old Zhao kept introducing, "This is Ms. Vivian, the ABRSM representative in Jinling..."
"This is Sir Strauss, the principal cellist of the Venice Philharmonic Orchestra..."
"This is the organizer of the Vienna World Tour of Music Arts..."
"This is Ms. Li, the vice-president of the Dongxia Artists Association..."
"This is from the London Art College..."
"This is from America..."
"This one..."
As if announcing dishes from a menu, Old Zhao finally finished introducing all sixteen elders, leaving Huai Shi utterly dazed.
The group of elders, hailing from various countries and representing institutions that comprised over forty percent of the world's major musical lineages, crowded around Huai Shi as if he were a rare treasure, exclaiming and marveling amongst themselves.
"This is truly a remarkable coincidence, such a fortunate encounter!"
The portly Mr. Newman looked around at his companions and finally rested his gaze on the trembling Huai Shi. "Mr. Huai, we just heard from Mr. Zhao about your exceptional talent and a powerful appeal no less than that of Ms. Ai Ting in her day. It's incredible! To think there's a second genius like Ai!"
"What?" Huai Shi was flabbergasted.
Ai Ting? he thought. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
Then, amidst the expectant looks from the group of elders, Professor Richard from the American Music History Association revealed a warm smile and dropped the final thunderbolt:
"So, for this examination, please, you must allow us to observe."
Huai Shi was completely petrified, his mouth agape, his eyes bulging. Are you kidding me?!
What in the blazes are you all doing?!
By now, he had finally grasped who these people were, and his knees nearly buckled. Seriously, I'm begging you, please just go upstairs and attend the Chopin music symposium! Don't mess with me, okay? What on earth is this? An examination hall or an international classical music festival?! For heaven's sake, show some discretion! If someone fired an RPG in here, it would make BBC headlines in five minutes! By tomorrow, over a third of the world's musicians would be in mourning!
Suddenly, Huai Shi's vision went dark.
It felt like witnessing holy light illuminating a pile of crap.
---
In the surveillance room, an eerie calm prevailed. Under the watch of several computers and hundreds of cameras, all information within the building was being methodically collated.
"Team One has taken position."
"Team Two has taken position."
"Reserve team in place."
"The relic has entered the venue."
"The Professor has successfully entered the venue and initiated contact with the relic. What about the others?"
In the surveillance room, the Ghoul Captain picked up the walkie-talkie. "There's a bit more interference than expected. Be careful not to involve innocents when we move in—has Bait No. 1 arrived yet?"
"She's already outside the door."
The external surveillance switched to a screen showing Fu Yi herself, holding a cup of milk tea and slurping away, but…
The captain frowned, asking in confusion,
"Who's that person with her?"