Chapter 49, Song 49...

On the deck of the yacht, a gentle breeze blew and the waves surged. Qu Jiaying was no longer aware of the beautiful scenery of the blue sea and sky, and she was no longer so dizzy. Her attention was all on Grandma Yuan.

"Good child, I haven't danced in a long time, I'm very happy today," Grandma Yuan said with a gentle smile.

Qu Jiaying smiled politely, unsure of how to respond. She felt a little nervous, as the host and slides had just introduced Grandma Yuan, and she admired her greatly.

Grandma Yuan and her husband worked hard in their early years and made a lot of money from scratch. Later, because the elderly in the family fell ill, they started a charity. They gradually expanded from public health to other areas and invested more and more, donating most of their wealth to charity.

"Did you arrange the piece? You did many variations; it's very good," Grandma Yuan praised.

Qu Jiaying was somewhat surprised. It seemed that someone in the foundation was quite knowledgeable. She nodded and said, "This is my first attempt, and time was limited, so I didn't make too many changes."

Unlike Xiang Min, who ensured harmony between the different parts of the original piece, she only retained the main melody, with the other two instruments making variations, sometimes harmony, sometimes rhythm, and sometimes key changes. The instruments that played the main melody were the violin, viola, and cello, which took turns playing.

Grandma Yuan nodded in satisfaction: "Xiao Liu, you had the chance to try out that Stradivarius violin from our foundation's collection, right? How did it feel?"

“It’s excellent. I used to think it couldn’t be that magical. It’s just an instrument, and the performance still depends on us musicians. I never imagined that its legendary status was not an exaggeration,” Qu Jiaying said.

"That's good, Xiao Liu. It's a waste to leave that zither idle in the storeroom." Grandma Yuan then looked at Qu Jiaying and smiled. "A good musician can't be without a good zither. I'll lend you that zither. Don't even think about returning it for the next three to five years."

Qu Jiaying quickly thanked her, unable to hide her surprise and excitement. Usually, a musician like her who was not yet famous could only participate in one competition even if she had the opportunity to borrow a famous instrument. Grandma Yuan was so generous in preparing to lend it to her for three to five years.

After seeing off the somewhat tired Grandma Yuan, Liu Ru explained to Qu Jiaying that the collector who donated the zither to the charity foundation before his death was Grandma Yuan's husband.

Grandma Yuan married a husband who also loved classical music. In their early years, the couple went into business together and made a lot of money before picking up their hobby again. Her husband liked to collect musical instruments, while Grandma Yuan liked to invest in promising young musicians. Later, she focused on charity work.

"So don't worry, this is her habit of many years," Liu Ru comforted them, and then told them not to rush to leave after the performance.

Qu Jiaying got off the yacht, completely bewildered, and waited by the side, gazing at the scenery. The sea in the harbor wasn't as beautiful as it used to be, but she still had her eyes opened. There were yachts all lined up, and the one they were on was the largest.

Le Yi muttered to himself, "Seeing this yacht first, and then finding out they donated a lot of money, it's such a complicated feeling."

Yan Zheng said, "Maybe it was bought by other members. We can't just conclude that Grandma Yuan was not frugal without knowing the details."

“But her clothes are haute couture,” Xiang Min reminded her.

Qu Jiaying didn't want to comment, because no matter what, Grandma Yuan and the others donated a lot of money and did a lot of good deeds. She checked the official website and the information about the charity foundation was very transparent, which was enough.

However, she never expected Grandma Yuan to be so impatient. Of course, it could also be described as decisive and efficient. Grandma Yuan, who had regained her energy, and Liu Ru dragged Qu Jiaying and the other three to the charity foundation headquarters. Teacher Zhong was waiting for them with the Stradivarius violin.

Qu Jiaying was surprised: "Teacher Zhong, when did you arrive?"

Teacher Zhong smiled helplessly, "I received the message a few hours ago, and I quickly booked a plane ticket to come over."

Qu Jiaying first looked at the contract, and gasped when she saw the compensation clause. If there was serious damage, her whole family would have to pay it all.

Yan Zheng carefully helped her study the details and reminded her, "I don't understand a lot of legal knowledge either, so why don't you take a picture and show it to your aunt?"

Qu Jiaying immediately called her mother and signed the contract only after confirming it several times. Afterwards, she took several promotional photos.

Qu Jiaying carefully carried the violin case out of the clean, spacious, and understatedly luxurious foundation headquarters, and sighed, "I've finally obtained it. I must use it carefully."

Yan Zheng and Xiang Min both felt the same way and nodded, saying, "Seeing so many zeros after the compensation, I just want to enshrine it."

Le Yi disagreed, saying, "I think we should use it more often. We can use this piano at the music festival the day after tomorrow. Aren't you happy?"

"I don't plan to use it at music festivals, at least not for international competitions and tours," Qu Jiaying said.

"Then what's the point of you getting it?" Le Yi said.

Qu Jiaying remained silent, and Yan Zheng, seeing this, quickly said loudly, "We've been busy all this time and haven't eaten anything. I'm starving! Aren't you hungry?"

Xiang Min quickly took out his phone to check nearby restaurants, complaining about the high prices here, and set off according to the map.

Unfortunately, the nearest restaurant Xiang Min found wasn't to her liking, and Qu Jiaying's expression worsened.

To make matters worse, the next day, as they were preparing to leave for the music festival venue, Qu Jiaying arrived at the high-speed rail station and cried out in panic, "Where's my guitar?"

"Which one?" Yan Zheng asked, but she knew in her heart that only the Stradivarius would make her so panicked.

Xiang Min quickly offered a suggestion: "Think back, you went to the restroom just now. We've been watching your things here, and nothing was left behind. The next stop is the taxi station. Did you take your things when you got off the train?"

Qu Jiaying anxiously recalled, "It seems not."

Le Yi quickly called the ride-hailing driver, only to find that the driver said he hadn't left anything behind.

All four of them broke out in a cold sweat.

"Calm down, let me think about it some more." Qu Jiaying took a deep breath, trying to convince herself while recalling the events.

Further ahead is the exit from the hotel. Qu Jiaying remembers waiting for them in the lobby on the first floor for a while. Did she leave the zither in the hotel lobby?

I was just about to call the hotel front desk when they called me instead.

"Hello, yes, it's there? Great, thank you, we'll come pick it up." Yan Zheng hung up the phone and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Because the violin was so valuable, I put it in the safe and completely forgot about it when I checked out.

"Luckily it wasn't lost. I'll take a taxi there," Qu Jiaying said.

Yan Zheng nodded: "There might not be enough time for a round trip, I'll go change my ticket."

Just as Xiang Min was about to say he would accompany her back, Yan Zheng pulled him hard, making him sway.

Le Yi then said hesitantly, "Then I'll go with you."

“…Okay, you can continue calling a car,” Qu Jiaying said.

After Qu Jiaying and Le Yi had walked away, Xiang Min glared at Yan Zheng with annoyance: "Why are you being so kind?"

Yan Zheng succinctly resolved Xiang Min's concerns with a single sentence: "Do you want to affect her performance tomorrow?"

Xiang Min knew very well that what Qu Jiaying cared about most was her performance. If she and Le Yi didn't reconcile and she didn't recover, her way of getting along with them might revert to the old ways.

Actually, Qu Jiaying was more upset about herself at the moment. How could she have forgotten to put the zither in the safe? She almost made a big mistake.

She kept sighing as she sat in the ride-hailing car on her way to the hotel.

Le Yi noticed that she was sulking and comforted her, "That's why you forgot about it because you haven't truly accepted it as yours yet."

Qu Jiaying said helplessly, "It seems we still need to use it more often. I'll use it today to catch the high-speed train to the rehearsal there."

Le Yi said softly again, "I'm sorry."

Qu Jiaying wasn't really angry with Le Yi anymore, but she took advantage of the situation. She had wanted Le Yi to be her piano partner for next year's competition for quite some time, but she had previously felt that he was unwilling to participate in the competition, even as a piano partner. However, after practicing with Gao Ying a few times, Gao Ying was finding it difficult to keep up.

“I’m sorry…” Le Yi refused, and continued, “I can accompany you during your exam, but I can’t participate in the competition.”

Qu Jiaying asked, "Why?"

"This has nothing to do with you, it's my own problem." Le Yi was silent for two seconds before confessing with difficulty, "It's not entirely because I didn't want to go."

Qu Jiaying had a general idea and quietly looked at him.

Le Yi took a deep breath, trying to overcome his fear, and explained, "I don't know how to play the piano in a competition."

Qu Jiaying asked gently with concern, "Have you seen a doctor?"

Le Yi shook his head and then nodded, saying, "No, but the old principal tried many ways to help me, but he couldn't improve the situation, so he stopped insisting."

Qu Jiaying hesitated for a long time but still didn't ask him what had happened.

Despite the many things that have happened in the past few days, Qu Jiaying was a little late for rehearsal, but her performance was not affected.

However, a small problem occurred the day before the official performance.

I didn't realize it during rehearsals; I just thought the plaza below the stage was huge. But today, audience members started arriving, and soon it felt like it was full of people.

The maximum capacity of a concert hall is no more than two thousand people, but even the smallest music festival has several thousand people.

Not to mention that this music festival is the largest in China, with more than 90,000 people from all over the country expected to attend. The next one will definitely attract more than 100,000 people.

Qu Jiaying was unusually nervous.

Her hands were trembling, and she tried to take several deep breaths, but it didn't help.

"I'd like to have a drink," Qu Jiaying said.

Le Yi and Yan Zheng looked at each other, realizing that it would be difficult to find wine in this unfamiliar place in a short time.

Just as Le Yi was about to say he would ask someone, Xiang Min agreed.

"Wait for me a moment."

Qu Jiaying nodded and quietly memorized the score, trying to calm herself down.

More than ten minutes later, just as Xiao Xing and the band were about to go on stage, Xiang Min rushed back, drenched in sweat, carrying a small bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

"This is all I could find." Xiang Min knew that Qu Jiaying didn't like drinking baijiu, but to achieve the desired effect, beer wouldn't work, so he had to use strong liquor. This place was very remote and there weren't any bars, so he had to buy baijiu at a nearby small restaurant.

"That's fine." Qu Jiaying poured out a bottle cap, frowned, and gulped it down. The burning sensation quickly shot from her throat to her stomach.

There wasn't enough time; the alcohol hadn't even kicked in yet, and she had to go on stage first.

Xiao Xing stood behind her and whispered, "Sister Jiaying, I'm just as nervous."

Qu Jiaying smiled softly, climbed the steps, walked to her spot, and waited for the spotlight.