Chapter 20
Shen Chumo heard a heavy sigh from the other side of the curtain and asked,
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know how the performance is going...I usually force them to rehearse, and I guess they just breathed a sigh of relief when they saw they didn't have to perform," Shen Huaixin muttered to himself, "It must have been cancelled at the last minute."
“Sister Xin, I think…” Shen Chumo paused, “You should go.”
"This is what you've always wanted to do, right? Why the stage fright?"
Shen Huaixin's back froze, as if she had stopped breathing. After a while, she asked in a deep voice,
"Why do you think so? You obviously don't understand me."
Shen Chumo didn't answer.
He really didn't understand her, but he wanted to see through the layers of disguise to see her transparent soul and soft heart. He wanted to pursue what she wanted so much that he was rash and abrupt, but when he touched on forbidden areas, he would get scared and avoid talking about it.
"sorry."
"..." Shen Huaixin suddenly asked, "Do you think it's too late for me to go now?"
In the cultural and sports center, the applause was so long-lasting that it almost blew the roof off.
"good!"
"One more!"
After the song was finished, the lingering sound and the passionate melody still echoed in the ears. The audience was immersed in the situation created by the girls on the stage and could not forget it for a long time.
The hosts glanced at each other and shook their heads simultaneously. With such a good performance, it looked like the next show would be a disaster. However, they still had to go on stage.
"Thank you all three for the wonderful performance. I'm curious, I heard you guys went up in key. Was this planned from the beginning?"
"No, it's just a spur of the moment! Are you surprised? Are you happy? Yeah!" Xiong Chentao, who was singing happily, stretched out his arms and waved them upwards.
The audience cheered in unison: "Happy! Yeah!"
Seeing that the atmosphere was about to get heated again, the host reacted quickly to prevent it from getting out of control. He quickly handed the microphone to another child with a quieter look. "I saw in the program that you were all backup singers. I didn't expect you to perform so well on the spot."
Tianyu smiled, her eyes sparkling, and clasped her hands together. Thinking of Fang Xiaozheng's words, she felt happy for her bravery: "Well, we are both lead singers."
“…”
The host was at a loss as to how to handle this confusing conversation, so he could only look to the last person for help.
"Xiao Zheng, congratulations on winning everyone's favor. Is there anyone you want to thank?"
Fang Xiaozheng opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment and no sound came out of the microphone.
The host thought the microphone was broken, so he quickly changed it and handed it to her.
Fang Xiaozheng nodded, her eyes fixed on her mother in the audience, her eyes welling with tears. She felt as if she were the only one left in the packed auditorium. The stage lights shone on her face, and she saw that her mother had more wrinkles and graying temples. Perhaps she wasn't as glamorous as other parents, but...
"My mother," she held out her hand, palm facing the man, "I want to thank my mother."
Fang's mother's tears welled up in her eyes, and she smiled and clapped. The audience erupted in applause. The initial skepticism, after the absolutely wonderful performance, turned into goodwill, and they gave back to the girls who had put in their best efforts without reservation.
The host nodded and continued, "Everyone, thank you for your hard work! Thank you all for your wonderful performance. Let's introduce the next person..."
The three of them held hands and skipped down the stage, and a classmate joked,
"Sign your names, three big stars?"
Fang Xiaozheng smiled. As a seasoned lackey, he didn't forget to flatter his boss: "You haven't heard it, Sister Xin is the real deal. Her pitch is so good, she's like a singing god descended to earth."
"I think it's the Pigeon God." The classmate tsk-tsk-tsked.
As they were talking, the door to the cultural and sports center opened, and a breathless girl ran in. She was sweating profusely, and when she glanced at the stage, her heart sank—the next act on the stage was "Chasing Dreams."
"…Am I late?"
Several people looked at her silently, with regretful expressions.
The classmate crossed his arms and looked at him dismissively: "You obviously just backed out at the last minute and waited until Fang Xiaozheng and the others finished singing before pretending to rush over? You're really pretending."
Shen Huaixin's heart darkened. She ignored the sarcasm of others and took Fang Xiaozheng's hand: "Are you guys going on stage to sing? How's your singing?"
Fang Xiaozheng nodded: "Not bad."
"Very good." Xiong Chentao added.
Shen Huaixin smiled, feeling both relieved and regretful. She was relieved because they were willing to go on stage and sang well, but she was also regretful because without her, they performed smoothly and were very popular.
Her friends seemed to have grown up without her noticing, but she was still standing still, hesitating and missing out.
Tianyu asked with concern: "Sister Xin must have encountered something unexpected, right? Otherwise she wouldn't have abandoned us. Is it resolved now?"
"No, it's my problem."
[System: Character OOC warning! Implementing mild electric shock...]
Chen Huaixin: Dalai Lama, I'm telling you to save the shocks for the evening. You should follow the rules and continue the shocks as long as necessary. I must say these words.
【system:……】
[Chen Huaixin: I screamed and yelled from the electric shock, isn't that also an OOC character?]
【System: Approved.】
Shen Huaixin breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Fang Xiaozheng and Tianyu with a smile. Xiong Chentao was slightly taller and hugged them from behind. She heard Shen Huaixin's gentle tone, like the warm sun in winter shining on her body, which was an unprecedented warmth and encouragement.
"You guys are amazing, you did a great job, I'm proud of you."
[System: Character OOC warning twice.]
"You are all very good girls. In the future, please don't do bad things to me. I am not worth it."
[System: Character OOC warning three times.]
Fang Xiaozheng was stunned: "Sister Xin...what does this mean?"
“Literally.” Shen Huaixin blinked.
"You don't want to disband, do you?"
Shen Huaixin shook his head: "You forgot, what is our slogan?"
"Xinxin Girls Team, we will never be separated!"
Shen Huaixin smiled and nodded. Although she had accumulated three electric shocks, she was still very happy.
They sat together in the audience to watch the performance. Shen Huaixin listened to the three of them talk about their performance on stage and was worried for them until the end of the show. After that, there has never been a performance as sensational as "Chasing Dreams".
At this time, it was almost time to go home from school, and Fang's mother came over to take Fang Xiaozheng home.
Xiong Chentao suddenly remembered something and scratched his head: "Oh, Xiao Zheng, I forgot to ask, didn't you say Auntie..."
Tianyu hurriedly pushed her. Xiong Chentao didn't understand why, so he hummed twice and pushed her back. Then the two of them started fighting with each other.
"Sister Xin, this is my mother." Fang Xiaozheng introduced.
...Something seems to have happened? Whatever it is, it's a good thing.
Shen Huaixin smiled and nodded politely: “Hello, auntie.”
[System: Character OOC warning four times.]
[Chen Huaixin: ...I haven't had any electricity for a long time. I guess you finally found an opportunity, right?]
After saying goodbye to them, Shen Huaixin sat back in the audience and looked at the stage. The lights were off, and the stage was empty. The silence spoke volumes.
It asks, why stage fright? Why not sing out loud your own "Run Forward"?
Shen Huaixin remained silent. Before his eyes, he imagined a girl singing on a deserted mountaintop, the rustling of leaves accompanying her. Then the scene changed, and she was standing on a stage, singing with all her heart, Fang, Xiaozheng and the other two singing in harmony, to the applause of the audience. And in the blink of an eye, everything returned to silence.
After a long time, she slowly stood up, glanced at the stage, and left the auditorium. When she reached the door, a staff member hurried over from the backstage and stopped her.
"Classmate, wait a minute!"
Shen Huaixin stopped and asked, "How can I help you?"
"No, a classmate just told me that he missed the performance and asked if he could make it up." The staff member smiled and said, "Of course, while the equipment is still warm. So he was talking about you?"
Shen Huaixin looked towards the backstage door and saw a familiar figure walking out. He raised the corners of his lips and waved at her. She could see the Band-Aid on his hand.
"……have a finger in the pie."
Her eyes were red, she pursed her lips, and muttered something in a way that was in line with her character.
The staff went to the side to fiddle with the computer. Shen Huaixin jumped onto the stage and stepped on the wooden floor of the stage. The ordinary wood became light and strangely warm, making her want to tiptoe and reach out to touch the high-hanging neon lights.
Like touching the sun.
Shen Chumo turned on the light, and a beam of light hit her, blurring her face.
Shen Huaixin held the microphone and could hear her own breathing amplified infinitely in the hall. It was uneven and a little cramped. Shen Chumo sat in the audience and clapped vigorously to warm her up.
Looking at his silly look, Shen Huaixin lowered her head and smiled.
The prelude of the music sounded, like a tennis ball at 260 km/h hitting her head-on, and the whistling wind asked her, can you catch it?
Qi Yi pushed open the door to the last row of the cultural performance and stood in a corner where no one could notice him. He took out his mobile phone, clicked on the record button in the center of the stage, and closed his eyes.
Where is the world full of flowers?
The first line of the lyrics was a little trembling, and her performance was not as good as that rehearsal. Would she be nervous with only Shen Chumo as the audience? Fortunately, in the second line, she was stable and fast, gradually getting into the groove.
He thought about how he grew up with his parents' earnest expectations. The love and pain they gave him were just right, suffocating him to grow up without causing him to die prematurely. He was not sure if every parent was like this.
After secretly raising a bird without telling his parents, he would eat its meat at the dinner table one day; after getting second place in the school exam, he was not allowed to eat dinner. Of course, he was not allowed to sit at the table to eat without his parents' invitation.
(I never gave up on my ideals, even on the darkest days.)
Qi Yi lowered his head, shook his head, and smiled. For him, it seemed that following the path his parents had paved for him was already a must, including choosing his marriage partner. So he was unwilling to do so. At least in this matter, he wanted to choose the girl he truly liked.
(Maybe I don’t have talent, but I have the innocence of dreams, and I will prove it with my whole life.)
What does she want to prove?
Qi Yi held his breath as he listened. The girl's singing seemed to express her inner feelings. He felt the same emotions as in that rehearsal, perhaps even more so.
(Fate cannot make us kneel down and beg for mercy, even if our arms are covered in blood.)
(I want to sail on the bluest sea there, no matter whether I can come back or not.)
He slowly clenched his fists.
Is this the answer she gave to her fate?
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