Chapter Twenty-One: The Artistic Gala Performance

  After that weekend, Geng Yan didn't appear again. Before long, it was time for the National Day Art Performance.

  In the background, the four of them were leisurely, and it was hard to tell that they would be performing on stage soon. However, the four of them, dressed in British-style plaid skirts, even with their simple attire, still attracted the attention of passersby.

  "Are you nervous?" The counselor's silhouette appeared in front of them, and the four immediately straightened up. No matter how casual they were usually, it didn't affect that they were good kids who respected their teachers and valued friendship.

  "It's okay!" Zi Qi replied, and the three people next to her nodded in agreement.

  "Be good!" The counselor patted their shoulders again. "Don't go back to your seats in the classroom?"

  "No need, teacher. We'll just wait here, it's almost time anyway!" The words were spoken in unison, and the other three nodded seriously at the instructor.

  The instructor looked at their tacit movements and smiled, saying: "Looking at how tacit you are behind the scenes, I can predict that our class will definitely get a good ranking this time!"

  "We'll try our best, teacher!" Meng'er nodded in response.

  "Take care of yourselves, I'll leave first!" He patted them on the shoulder in a habitual motion to show encouragement. Then he turned around and left the backstage area.

  After watching the counselor leave, Mei'er looked at the people who had finished performing and returned, stroked her soft and fluffy long hair, and said: "There are still two programs left for us, those who need to go to the bathroom should hurry up!"

  "I'm going, what about you guys?" Meng saw that they all shook their heads, so she said: "Then you guys wait for me here!"

  Meng'er walked towards the door, but a light and agile figure caught her eye. A snow-white long dress fluttered in the wind, with long hair tied back with a blue ribbon on her waist, and a white sash around her waist. From behind, her entire figure looked even more slender. This outfit brought her back to the Holy Yue Dynasty, where she also favored white clothes. Meng'er wondered who would be performing what, just as she was about to move forward. The person in front of her slowly turned around, holding a guqin. Her eyebrows were like ink paintings, her skin like frozen cream, her nose straight and her mouth small. Two strands of hair hung down from her chest, making her look even more elegant. First, her eyes met the smiling face of Zou Bing.

  "Meng'er, do you have a performance too?" Zou Bing's voice asked softly.

  "Uh-huh. Just two more to go! You, play the guqin?" Meng'er pointed at the zither in her arms and asked somewhat uncertainly. "Or dance?"

  "The zither and dance together!"

  It was unclear whether it was due to shyness or the blush, but after Zou Bing finished speaking, her face became even more rosy.

  "Bing, it's your turn! Hurry up and get ready!" As soon as the words were spoken, someone came to drag Zou Bing away. Zou Bin walked while turning his head back to say to Meng Er: "Meng Er, let's play together when you're free. We haven't had a good gathering since we parted ways at the cafeteria last time."

  "Okay!" Meng'er waved at her again and headed towards the bathroom.

  When she returned to the back, Mei'er dragged her for questioning: "So long in the restroom last time?" Babbling and scolding Meng'er.

  At the same time, a low piano sound started. "Shh!" Yan'er spoke out to stop her, and Mei'er stopped scolding. "Who's performing now?"

  "Can't be Bingbing, right?" he said hesitantly.

  "Zou Bing!" Mei'er looked at the program schedule and replied affirmatively to Yan'er. "How did you know again?"

  "I just went to the bathroom and saw her, that's why it took so long." Meier hummed in response and didn't continue to pester him anymore.

  They walked forward, lifted the thick curtain, and saw a woman in a white dress sitting elegantly on the stage playing the piano. The ethereal music flowed from her jade-like fingers like the mist of Jiangnan, taking people into the ancient charm of a small town in Jiangnan.

  "Meng Jiangnan. Her piano skills are quite good!" Mei'er said in a low voice.

  At this moment, she left the guqin, but the sound of the piano did not stop. Zou Bing's body moved with the music, her soft and elegant posture perfectly capturing the gentle and beautiful scenery of Jiangnan Water Village, a dreamy and sentimental scene. The white smoke on the stage spread out just in time, as if it would take people into a kind of ethereal paradise.

  "Why can't she just find someone to collaborate with? Why does she have to do everything herself, jumping and dancing around?" Yan'er furrowed her brow, looking at the person dancing on stage with an incredulous expression.

  "It seems like she's very talented!" Zi Qi interrupted.

  "Your news is quite timely, huh?" Mei'er teased, looking at Zou Bing who had already stopped dancing and was bowing to the audience below.

  "What's going on?" Xiang Er looked at Mei Er excitedly, while Meng Er felt helpless looking at the two of them gossiping.

  "You forgot, didn't you say we were choosing the main character? Didn't you say it was about playing ancient emperors? There have to be concubines and empresses, right? Those women should at least have some skills. Rather than pretending, it's better to use real skills."

  "Oh..." The young man nodded in understanding.

  Meng'er lowered her head and fiddled with the bracelet on her hand, which had suddenly become cool. Was it because she had just touched water? When she looked up again, she saw that the performance was already over, the staff had moved the guqin to the side, and the host was about to go out and announce the end of the show.

  "Alright, it's our turn." Meng'er called out to them, without even putting down the bangles in her hand.

  The host finished speaking, and the four of them walked hand in hand towards the stage. They spread out, stood still, and the accompaniment started playing. Zi Qi walked out lightly, her singing voice accompanied by the melody, which wrapped around her clear and crisp vocals like water flowing through every corner of the grand hall. Next, Meng Er's voice came from behind, connecting with Zi Qi's as they exchanged a smile, almost brushing shoulders before their hands clasped together. Meng Er followed Zi Qi's lead, turning lightly in a circle. After Meng Er finished singing, an interlude started playing, and just as the two of them walked hand in hand back to their original positions, waiting for Yan Er to start speaking, the music stopped. The audience below let out a collective sigh, and they looked at each other in confusion, glancing at the sound engineer backstage. The sound engineer shrugged his hands, indicating that he was also unsure what had happened. Meng Er looked at the three of them, slightly bowed her head, and lowered her voice to say to Zi Qi, "I need you to take me over to the guzheng!"

  Ziqi was taken aback and stared at Meng'er with wide eyes, but quickly came to her senses. She took Meng'er's left hand with her right hand and started waltzing across the campus; while Meier, who was standing beside them, saw Ziqi doing this and also pulled along a stunned Yan'er, following Ziqi's rhythm.

  Meng'er sat down under Zi Qi's hands, after two rounds, she turned to the guzheng side. Meng'er sat down, plucked the strings, and the melody of "Friendship Lasts Forever" from the guzheng version reappeared in this concert hall that had become a bit noisy due to the stoppage of music. At this time, Mei'er and Yan'er also came to their side, surrounding Meng'er's back with Zi Qi.

  They followed the pre-arranged order and started again. However, this time they all faced sideways to the audience, but they no longer cared, just wanting to fully showcase the song. Just like their friendship, there will be some setbacks on the road ahead, but they will overcome them with their intelligence and wisdom.

  The audience under the stage was stunned by this sudden change, the woman playing the zither was focused and elegant, with those slender hands like jade, as if they were born to play the zither. The three girls surrounding her were graceful and beautiful, each forming a bright landscape line.

  The music ended, they stood up and bowed. One second, two seconds, three seconds... There was no reaction, so they had to stand up by themselves. Just as they were about to walk down from the stage in disappointment, a thunderous applause erupted from below. They looked at each other, excitedly hugged each other tightly on the spot.