89 points.
A score no one had ever imagined.
The moment the score came out,
not only did the audience below erupt in dismayed murmurs, but the cellists backstage were completely dumbfounded.
(Teacher Steven had only just arrived, and the scoring style of the entire judging panel had changed this drastically?)
(Teacher Meyer was fourth in Group B! If he only got 89 points, then what am I supposed to do?)
(That's way too strict! I can't find a single flaw in Teacher Meyer's performance!)
In the livestream,
Zhang Dong had already revealed a look of despair.
"Modern Pop Music. Mainstream tastes. A flawless performance. That was already the perfect answer."
"He even had the International Musicians Association behind him!"
"If even a performer like that only got 89 points, then the ones after him..."
Zhang Dong did not dare continue.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the judges' view currently displayed on the big screen.
Steven, who had invisibly steered the previous scoring, calmly picked up his teacup and took a sip of hot water. There was not the slightest expression on his weathered face.
It was as though the tsunami-stirring "89 points" from moments ago had nothing to do with him.
"From a professional perspective, 89 points isn't entirely unreasonable. Meyer's cello performance was excellent, but it was too conservative. If this were the finals, it lacked a bit of creativity. How many points it deserved depended on the judges' personal preferences toward a 'conservative approach.'"
He Shumo stroked his chin and seriously analyzed the previous performance.
"It's just that I really didn't expect an 89-point score to come out right at the start of the competition."
Even so, He Shumo could not help but curse, "Damn!"
For performances that were this "conservative," different judges had different scoring standards.