Chapter 52 The concert is a sacred and soul-stirring ritual.
Liang Yizhi scrutinized the figure and silhouette with her eyes, and then concluded that she could not mistake Gu Yinyan's back view.
She suddenly felt a dull ache in her heart.
This feeling is hard to describe.
It was a huge sense of disparity.
It wasn't jealousy or resentment, just a feeling of tightness in my chest, like a lump of mud blocking my way.
Gu Yinyan didn't tell her he was back, but he brought a girl to her concert.
She dared not, nor did she want to, speculate about their relationship.
The moment Liang Yizhi saw the girl's shadow, she couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.
How can someone be so beautiful even from behind? Long, wavy hair, a slender waist, and an elegant and graceful demeanor.
She exclaimed from the bottom of her heart:
it's beautiful.
Unable to resist glancing at it a few more times, she whispered to Wu You, "I don't know either. Let's stop looking and go."
Liang Yizhi pulled Wu You and turned to the parking lot without hesitation.
Wu You and Shi Ruocheng exchanged a glance from behind, but said nothing.
The entrance to the exhibition hall was dimly lit. Gu Yinyan stood outside the door, looking inside repeatedly, but he couldn't see the person he wanted to see.
Si Kexin had stood in front of him for so long, yet he always only gave her a side profile. Feeling uneasy, she asked:
"What are you looking at that keeps going in there?"
"It's nothing," Gu Yinyan replied dismissively. "I'm waiting for someone. You can go back now."
"That's really ungentlemanly of you," Si Kexin teased him, as her driver's car was parked right in front of them.
She added, "I'll head back now. I'll send you a message when I get home."
Gu Yinyan did not respond to this, but simply said goodbye to her briefly.
After Si Kexin left, he turned back and stepped into the theater lobby. As a violinist from the orchestra passed by, Gu Yinyan stopped him and asked if Liang Yizhi had come out yet.
The other party told him that he had seen her and Wu You leave not long ago.
So Gu Yinyan had no choice but to turn back and get back into the car.
He waited quietly for a while, watching the passersby through the windshield and counting the time bit by bit.
The phone next to him suddenly vibrated. Gu Yinyan immediately picked it up and looked at it. It was a message from Si Kexin:
I'm home.
Have you met the person you're supposed to see yet?
Gu Yinyan tossed his phone aside, not in the mood to reply.
This is the first time he has met Si Kexin.
Three hours earlier, he entered the concert hall and took his seat in the audience.
There weren't many people at today's show; many seats in the front and back rows were sparsely filled.
Gu Yinyan took out the song list and glanced at it.
As the show was about to start, a girl walked in, found a seat, and sat down to his right.
Gu Yinyan didn't pay much attention.
Because once the orchestra came on stage, his gaze was constantly drawn to the solemn, black-and-white orchestra.
As the conductor raised his hand, an elegant melody began to play, with the violin leading the main theme and opening the curtain on the performance.
Attending concerts is a way for Gu Yinyan to relieve stress when he feels overwhelmed.
The melody slowly entered his mind, and his gaze locked onto a point in the arc-shaped formation on the stage. He entered a world so quiet that it could only contain musical notes.
Gu Yinyan was so engrossed in the music that he didn't notice the girl next to him was watching him intently or unintentionally.
During a break between songs halfway through the performance, Gu Yinyan suddenly felt a light touch on his shoulder.
It's the girl next to her.
Gu Yinyan was certain he had never seen this unfamiliar face before.
The girl smiled, not minding his aloof expression, and simply said with a smile, "It seems you didn't know."
"?"
"Don't look at me like that. Aunt Yu Rong invited me here." The girl smiled and said, "She said you're right next to me, and I can just come in and find you."
Si Kexin wore a white dress, exuding a graceful and elegant air, and carried a handbag that matched the style of her dress. Her hands rested on the bag, her fingers slightly curled, indicating a hint of nervousness.
She introduced herself: "My name is Si Kexin. My father is Si Cheng, and he is a business partner of Uncle Gu. I don't know if you've heard of my family?"
Gu Yinyan then realized what was happening.
"I know," he answered slowly, then asked, "So this is?"
Si Kexin lowered her head slightly, feeling that he lacked tact. How could he make the girl answer all the questions on their first meeting, without giving her any way out?
She looked embarrassed and said, "Oh dear, I don't know! You should ask Aunt Yu. She said we should meet here."
Gu Yinyan frowned slightly.
Once inside the concert hall, he switched his phone to Do Not Disturb mode and didn't notice the pop-up message.
Yu Rong sent him this message an hour ago:
Are you at the concert hall?
I've arranged a meeting with Si Kexin for you. The Si family and our family are on fairly good terms. You and Kexin are the same age, so you should get to know each other better.
Mom likes her very much.
Gu Yinyan lowered his eyelashes slightly and turned off the screen.
Yu Rong knew his habits, so it wasn't difficult to find out that he was attending the concert.
But arranging the first meeting at this location was clearly intentional. Judging from Si Kexin's expression, she knew this wasn't just a simple meeting, but more like a date.
Halftime is over.
Gu Yinyan said to her, "Let's go outside and talk about it. Let's watch the performance first."
The orchestra members are arranged in a fan shape, with each instrument playing its specific role.
He immediately focused on the right side of the stage, on the cello in the first row to the right of the conductor.
The music started playing again.
Si Kexin wanted to strike up a conversation with Gu Yinyan, but she could tell that he was really not interested and the conversation would fall flat after only a few sentences.
The music was loud, and she moved closer to him, asking in his ear, "You really enjoy listening to concerts?"
"like."
Si Kexin said, "Unfortunately, I don't know much about this."
She had been sitting there for over an hour. Compared to the performances she had seen before, there were fewer people in the audience, and Gu Yinyan was very sparing with his words. She had been watching the orchestra play on stage the whole time, and it was incredibly boring; her eyelids were practically drooping.
This wasn't quite the date she had imagined.
She couldn't help but yawn: "These pieces of music are so long, don't you get bored?"
She found it hard to believe that anyone could listen to the entire performance.
Gu Yinyan, however, said, "Feeling bored is a normal reaction."
Si Kexin was amused by his words, and her sleepiness dissipated considerably.
"Really?" She became somewhat interested in the man in front of her, and asked him while resting her chin on her hand, "Then do you have any secrets to teach me how to enjoy a concert?"
Gu Yinyan: "The key to appreciating a concert is not to concentrate."
"Don't concentrate?" Si Kexin asked, puzzled. "You mean I don't need to listen carefully?"
She didn't understand the deeper meaning behind his words.
Gu Yinyan said, "Just like in class, you can't concentrate for 40 minutes straight, so you need a ten-minute break to relax."
For him, most classical music is indeed very long, but not tedious.
Each movement of music has its own meaning.
Restraint and a calm, measured approach are the best medicine for soothing the mind.
First, let your body muscles relax to the music, and you can take the opportunity to drift off and have some indescribable daydreams.
Gu Yinyan looked at the stage.
Today, Liang Yizhi wore a dark black long dress, and her silky hair was half tied up at the back of her head, cascading down along the smooth curve of her shoulders and neck.
She didn't look at the score; her eyes were downcast. When it was her turn, she naturally raised her hand to draw the bow, completely absorbed in each note.
Gu Yinyan sat in the dimly lit audience section.
He couldn't take his eyes off it, and became completely absorbed in it, feeling the overlapping movements and the unfolding of the magnificent theme little by little.
Wait for that soothing rhythm to pass before the climax arrives.
The moment I was suddenly pulled back to reality by the melody was also an impact from the soul of the music.
For him, attending a concert is a sacred and liberating ritual.
It may be long and tedious.
But it is only after the tedious wait that you can truly appreciate the charm that bursts forth from the music.
Si Kexin looked at his profile, and in his slightly dim pupils, there was a single glimmer of light.
After leaving the concert hall, Si Kexin wanted to have a meal with Gu Yinyan. She hinted at him several times, but Gu Yinyan hesitated to say anything.
She wanted to be reserved, after all, it was their first date, and she couldn't always be the one to lower herself.
She noticed that his mind was always elsewhere, and finally lost interest, so she said goodbye to him.
Gu Yinyan sat in the car for a while, but didn't see anyone, so he took out his phone and sent a message to Liang Yizhi.
Have you gone home yet?
Liang Yizhi did not reply.
Should we meet?
Still no reply.
Liang Yizhi was at home when she saw the WeChat notification, but she was in a state of confusion and didn't want to reply to him immediately.
She took a shower in the bathroom, and when she came out, she saw a photo that He Xintu had sent her of a plate of salad and a glass of wine.
She replied: 【Eating now, Mr. He?】
He Xintu said: [Yes, it's a newly developed menu. When will you come and try it?]
Liang Yizhi initially wanted to type "okay," but then she thought again that one should think things through before acting.
She replied to him: "I've been a bit busy these past few days."
It depends on my mood.
Although the phrase "I'm a little busy" sounds like an excuse, Liang Yizhi was indeed busy.
She found a rehearsal room, extended her practice time, and shuttled between several places in a very short period of time.
It was this oversight that led her to discover that her instrument appeared to have been bumped or knocked; there were slight cracks in the side panels and a few tiny nicks.
Liang Yizhi immediately took her zither and rushed to her usual studio to ask the craftsman for help with paint touch-up and repair.
After delivering the instrument and chatting with the craftsman for a few more minutes, Liang Yizhi prepared to go home and come back to pick it up in a few days.
But what she didn't expect was that on such a short distance, she would encounter an unexpected person.
When Zhao Ling and she met eyes, Zhao Ling's gaze was not intimidating; instead, she smiled at her repeatedly, her demeanor relaxed.
Liang Yizhi originally intended to pretend she didn't see it and walk by naturally.
But Zhao Ling called her back again.
Liang Yizhi turned around indifferently.
Zhao Ling pointed to the coffee shop next door: "Shall we talk here?"
Are we that close?
"Not familiar with her." Zhao Ling slightly curled her lips in agreement.
She insisted, "Just give me a chance to apologize to you."
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