Chapter 32. Confession

Inside the lounge.

After leaving the stage, Song Huai kept staring at his phone and grinning foolishly.

He was completely unaware that Bai Xiao's company and the S City Grand Theater were worlds apart, and there was no way they could be on the same page. Anyone with a clear head would realize that Bai Xiao's words couldn't stand up to scrutiny.

Unfortunately, Song Huai was completely out of his mind at that point.

At this moment, Qiu Wu brought Song Huai a cup of hot chocolate. "My goodness, what happened to you just now? How could you play such a familiar tune wrong?"

"Ah, this..." Song Huai lowered his head and took a tactical sip of his drink. "I'm just... just nervous."

"Pah!" Qiu Wu rolled his eyes. Song Huai had seen far bigger events than this in the past few years, and he had always delivered a perfect performance. Nervous? What a joke!

Song Huai still had half a performance left, and Qiu Wu was too lazy to argue with him. He just patted him on the back and said, "Drink slowly, don't burn yourself."

The performance continued.

The lights in the audience area dimmed again, leaving only the stage lights on.

Amid applause, Song Huai returned to the stage.

In the second half, Song Huai began to play a piece of music composed by his mother before her death. Through the music, he communicated with his mother across time and space.

Song Huai's mother, Gu Tan, was a great pianist and composer. She made her stage debut at the age of eight and won the Chopin International Piano Competition at eighteen—the youngest winner in the competition's history. Overnight, the world recognized this young pianist from the East. World-renowned symphony orchestras vied to record with her. It was at this time that her first original composition was created, receiving high praise from numerous musicians and critics. The world marveled at her unparalleled talent. In the following years, she continued to compose many immortal works; her inspiration seemed inexhaustible.

Sadly, this exceptionally talented musician's life ended abruptly before she turned thirty, just like her name, a fleeting moment of brilliance. Unexpectedly, Gu Tan married and had a child at the peak of her career, but died in childbirth the following year. Before she passed away, she only had time to name her child "Huai" (meaning "pregnant").

Rumor has it that even the heavens were jealous of her talent, which is why they ended her life so early.

Song Huai had only ever seen his mother on videotapes. From childhood to adulthood, whenever Song Huai suffered from insomnia, he would watch Gu Tan's videotapes in bed until dawn. In the videotapes, his mother would sit at the piano, gentle, dignified, and elegant. Whenever he did this, he would secretly vow that he would become an excellent pianist like his mother, and that he would leave behind his own music in this world.

However, Gu Tan was truly a genius, unmatched by anyone after her. When Song Huai listened to his mother play, he felt both proud and ashamed. He had studied music for more than 20 years, but he could not even compare to one of Gu Tan's fingers.

In music, time always flies by, and before the audience can even react, the concert is coming to an end.

The final piece was none other than Song Huai's favorite nursery rhyme, "Lupin Flower." Everyone was surprised when they saw the program, as this nursery rhyme seemed out of place with the other pieces in the concert, let alone being the final piece.

Holding the microphone, Song Huai, panting, slowly said, "The next piece is dedicated to my mother." He paused, then softened his voice, "And... also to my younger brother."

"If anyone knows this song, you can sing along with the music, thank you."

When Bai Xiao heard Song Huai mention "younger brother," his eyes darkened. Besides lamenting the untimely death of the boy, he felt even more heartache for the person on stage. Song Huai had lost his mother at birth, his father Song Chengping was practically nonexistent, and now his beloved younger brother had died in an accident. Song Huai was utterly alone in this world, and to make matters worse, Bai Xiao, as his husband, had treated him so badly on their wedding night… Bai Xiao couldn't imagine how Song Huai had endured all this; his heart ached terribly.

Song Huai sat back on the piano bench and began to play the last piece of the day. The gentle music gradually bloomed like flowers, spreading throughout the entire concert hall.

At first, there were only a few scattered voices in the audience, but later, almost everyone was humming along to this familiar song.

"The stars in the sky are silent, the children on the ground miss their mothers..."

"The stars in the sky twinkle, and my mother's tears are like lupine flowers..."

As the music played, Song Huai was filled with countless thoughts.

Although Song Huai had never met Gu Tan in person, he knew that his mother must have loved him very, very much. If his mother were still alive, she would be like any other mother, gently humming lullabies and reading fairy tales to him at night, stroking his little head and coaxing him to sleep.

And then there's Song Boyu. Over the years, Song Huai has had this dream more than once—his younger brother is still alive and well, like a child who never grew up, pestering him to play his favorite nursery rhymes for him. One time isn't enough; he always begs Song Huai to play them a few more times. And Song Huai, unwilling to disappoint his brother, patiently plays the piece again and again until his brother falls asleep. After his brother falls asleep, he carefully tucks him in and then quietly leaves the room.

Song Huai then thought of Bai Xiao, who was less than five meters away from him. Today, he fulfilled a wish that had lasted for ten years. He told Bai Xiao everything he could and couldn't say through the music. Even if they went their separate ways and became strangers in the future, Song Huai felt that he had no regrets in his life. The beautiful memories he had with Bai Xiao were enough to support him to continue living the rest of his life.

Finally, Song Huai pressed the last note, closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down his cheek to his chin before falling to the ground.

The scene was completely silent; you could hear a pin drop. The audience remained engrossed in Song Huai's music.

After an unknown amount of time, thunderous applause suddenly erupted in the concert hall, continuing for a long time.

Song Huai rose amidst applause, crossed his arms, and bowed to take his bow.

After a long curtain call, Song Huai's first solo concert finally came to an end amidst applause.

--

After the concert, to celebrate the success of the performance, Song Huai and his staff went to a celebration banquet, but Bai Xiao declined Song Huai's invitation and rushed back to their home.

When the clock struck 11:50, Song Huai returned home covered in snow. Ever since he was on stage, he had felt an urge to see Bai Xiao alone as soon as possible, so he made up an excuse and said goodbye.

The house was pitch black. When Song Huai turned on the light, he was startled to find Bai Xiao sitting silently on the sofa.

Bai Xiao sat there quietly with his head down, seemingly lost in thought. He raised his head after hearing Song Huai's voice.

"Bai Xiao..."

“Song Huai…”

The two called out each other's names at the same time.

They both fell silent, waiting for the other to speak first.

Silence fell in the room once again.

After a long silence, Song Huai spoke softly, "Bai Xiao, why aren't you turning on the heating? You'll catch a cold."

Bai Xiao looked directly into Song Huai's eyes and answered irrelevantly, "The New Year is coming soon."

Bai Xiao's gaze was too blatant, and Song Huai dared not meet his eyes. He could only make an excuse to turn on the heater and turn away to avoid Bai Xiao's gaze.

After turning on the heating, Song Huai wanted to go to the balcony to close the window.

It snowed all day long, and now only a few snowflakes are scattered in the air. The snowflakes covered the path, the rooftops, and the branches, turning the outside world into a vast expanse of white.

Just as Song Huai stepped onto the balcony, a huge blue firework burst into the sky with a "whoosh".

Fireworks instantly filled the entire night sky.

Song Huai's eyes lit up, and he quickly turned to call out to Bai Xiao, his voice trembling with excitement, "Bai Xiao, Bai Xiao, come quick, there's blue smoke—"

Unexpectedly, he bumped right into Bai Xiao as soon as he turned around.

Bai Xiao reached out and hugged the boy who had unexpectedly bumped into her.

"I'm sorry." Song Huai quickly apologized, then broke free from Bai Xiao's embrace and took two steps back.

Bai Xiao stared at him with a complex expression.

Song Huai looked up at the man who was a head taller than him and felt inexplicably flustered.

Bai Xiao's eyes never left Song Huai as she walked towards him step by step, getting closer and closer.

Song Huai's heart was pounding faster and faster, and he could hardly breathe. He backed away step by step until his back hit the wall, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

Ice-blue fireworks scattered across the sky like a meteor shower.

Just then, the clock hand pointed to midnight.

The next second, even more fireworks shot into the night sky. In an instant, countless blue fireworks of all sizes and colors bloomed in the sky, making the whole sky look like a magnificent painting.

Bai Xiao looked down at Song Huai, who had been cornered by him. After a moment, he grasped Song Huai's hands and intertwined his fingers with Song Huai's.

Song Huai froze on the spot, his mind blank, completely at Bai Xiao's mercy.

Bai Xiao said softly, "Song Huai, be with me, okay?"

After a long pause, Song Huaicai stammered, "But we...we were...we were together all along."

All Song Huai could hear was the sound of a heartbeat; he could no longer tell whether the sound was his own or Bai Xiao's.

Bai Xiao sighed and patiently explained to Song Huai, "I mean truly being together. You and I, not just in front of outsiders, but always together."

As the fireworks gradually faded, a sapphire blue rose quietly bloomed in the sky. Its petals were layered upon each other, captivating and so realistic that one couldn't help but want to reach out and touch it—this was a rose that would never wither, created by hundreds of drones.

Song Huai stared incredulously at the blue rose in the sky, his hands tightly held by Bai Xiao, whose heavy breaths sprayed into his ears.