24. Piano Sonata D.537
◎You've been wronged, little genius◎
After Liang Chuling and Zhou Xu collaborated, performance invitations filled their schedules.
The authorities sensed an excellent marketing opportunity and hyped up the names of the two shining stars and the golden duo.
On the poster, Liang Chuling and Zhou Xu stand side by side, one lively and the other flamboyant, the lighting is just right, and they do seem to be a perfect match.
Liang Chuling looked at the face magnified several times on the billboard and felt speechless. She turned her head and rolled her eyes at the other person next to her.
Zhou Xu, hands in his pockets, didn't seem to care at all: "Media outlets in every country love to do this; it's just a traffic-generating tactic. Treat them like they're chanting sutras."
"Chanting scriptures isn't this annoying," Liang Chuling said irritably.
As the "golden duo" label gained more and more popularity, the initial overwhelming praise for this couple gradually shifted.
Online discussions about Liang Chuling and Zhou Xu have evolved into a miniature battlefield of public opinion.
The fighting mostly focused on Liang Chuling:
[Every time I watch their performances, Liang Chuling is more like the finishing touch that enhances the overall effect.]
Great minds think alike! To be honest, Liang Chuling's skills are good, but Zhou Xu is more experienced.
[Every time there's a curtain call, Zhou Xu has to signal her first before she'll bow; she's got quite the airs.]
[Have you heard about their first collaboration? Zhou Xu's clever pause was absolutely brilliant! How can he be so talented! He can even perform "The Afternoon of the Pan" like that! Liang Chuling probably fell for him after that performance...]
[+1! This is the song that got me hooked! Every time I hear that pause, I get goosebumps. Liang Chuling is so lucky to have the opportunity to perform such a masterpiece.]
At first, it was just nitpicking, until—
It happened suddenly.
That afternoon, Liang Chuling and Zhou Xu had just finished a performance, their clothes soaked with sweat. Liang Chuling went into the dressing room first. The room was stuffy, and she turned her back to the window that had been left slightly ajar for ventilation, struggling to untie the ties of her costume.
I was only halfway through undressing when I felt like I was being watched. I looked back and my heart almost stopped—
A man's face was pasted on the window, with the phone camera pointed directly into the room.
Liang Chuling was so frightened that she bristled and blurted out a curse:
"Damn it!" She yanked her coat over herself. "Someone's taking pictures of me!"
The accompanying staff came in upon hearing the noise: "What are you doing! Get down here!"
The man outside the window clearly hadn't expected to be exposed so quickly. He probably hadn't been doing this for long and was in a bad state of mind; his hands, gripping the windowsill, were trembling.
Just as the staff member reached out to grab his leg, he panicked and let go, falling down with a scream.
Liang Chuling hurriedly dressed, opened the door, and rushed out. Zhou Xu also came out of his dressing room. The staff had already run downstairs.
The man who was secretly taking pictures fell into the green belt downstairs, clutching one leg and grimacing in pain. Luckily, it was only on the second floor.
When Liang Chuling, still shaken, arrived downstairs with the staff, she was greeted not with an apology, but with the man turning the tables on her.
He pointed at the security guards who rushed to the scene and the growing crowd, and then accused them first: "They pushed me! They pushed me down! Ouch, my leg! A celebrity hit someone! Someone's going to die!"
Liang Chuling trembled with anger: "You're talking nonsense! You fell down on your own! You think you're right to take pictures without my permission!"
The man yelled even louder: "Who took these pictures? My leg is broken! You pushed me down! Everyone, look! This is what you call an artist! Heartless!"
Zhou Xu grabbed Liang Chuling, who was about to rush forward, and shielded her behind him. Looking down at the man rolling and throwing a tantrum on the ground, he regarded him as trash: "Pushing you? Our people are meters away from you, how could you exert force from a distance? You're holding your phone so tightly, are you afraid we'll get evidence? Do I need to remind you that taking photos in the locker room without permission could constitute a criminal offense?"
The man covered his leg and stopped talking, only howling, continuing his shameless act.
The scene was chaotic.
Some people were whispering, while others were taking pictures with their phones.
The staff pulled Liang Chuling and Zhou Xu away, saying that all they could do now was wait and not to act rashly, and that everything should be handled by the lawyer.
Liang Chuling felt a surge of anger rising in her chest: "Are you crazy? What kind of person is this?!"
"Extreme CP fans." The staff member's tone was nonchalant. "Be careful when you come in and out in the future."
After that, public opinion changed:
[I heard Liang Chuling has a terrible temper in private and changes assistants three times a month. Is that true?]
[Seriously, my classmate's older sister's boyfriend works in an orchestra, and he witnessed her giving him the cold shoulder. Did you know she even hit someone? She's a total delinquent!]
[Wow... elaborate on that.]
Some people also came forward to defend it:
[Stop criticizing Liang. She was Zhou Zhou's chosen partner; give Zhou Zhou some face.]
Liang Chuling does have some issues, but Zhou Xu is willing to play with her, so let's extend that affection to her.
[Can those who are criticizing Liang Chuling please shut up? Do you have to embarrass Zhou Xu? What good will it do Zhou Xu if their relationship sours?]
When Zhou Xu is occasionally criticized for being too flamboyant or for handling things poorly, the responses from CP fans and his personal fans are usually:
[So what if a genius has a bit of a personality? He has the right to be arrogant!]
That's the artist's expression!
You don't understand his musical world! Go listen to his "Afternoon of a Faun," and you'll fall in love with him.
The verbal sparring was fine, but some people started fabricating bizarre rumors, describing everything from Liang Chuling's private life to her professional attitude in great detail, as if they had witnessed it themselves.
They say she only won awards through connections, that her awards are all worthless, and that her skills are extremely mediocre. They claim she climbed to her current position by relying on powerful connections.
They spread rumors about her chaotic private life, how she was abroad, and how she is now in China.
Liang Chuling found those offensive remarks absurd!
She's not unfamiliar with criticism, but this kind of malice based on gender and conjecture still feels shameful.
"What are you looking at? You look terrible." A staff member came over.
Liang Chuling turned her phone screen around.
The staff glanced at it a few times, still unfazed: "Don't pay attention to their trash talk. The more you care, the more they'll escalate it."
"What gives them the right to spout such nonsense?"
In a moment of impulsiveness, Liang Chuling edited a Weibo post and sent it out:
"Go to hell if you're spreading rumors! I'll say it again, cooperation is work, relationships are professional! Mind your own business! Those who think I play badly, have you ever studied piano? No one who hasn't studied piano is allowed to speak! No one who's deaf is allowed to speak!"
What followed was an even more intense media storm:
Are public figures really this rude?
[He really does have a bad temper; it seems the rumors were true.]
[A girl like that, so arrogant, she has absolutely no manners.]
She's panicking! She's panicking!
[Looking for information about Liang Chuling. Does anyone know her? Please share your thoughts.]
The wind blows and the fire burns, speculation becomes fact, and fact is maliciously interpreted.
Liang Chuling's performance video was reported and taken down, but then the thief cried foul, claiming that Liang Chuling's side deleted it because they felt guilty.
This means that most people have never heard her play, making it easier for them to blindly follow her.
There were voices supporting her, but they were quickly drowned out by more ridicule. The public was unwilling to see such an unhumble female musician.
Looking at the comments section, which had collapsed again, Liang Chuling didn't know how to respond.
The mind controlled the hand and made a phone call to Li Xun, but no one answered.
The busy signal dampened some of her burgeoning anger.
If it were Li Xun, what would he do?
He'd probably frown, put down his phone, and say, "It's okay, they're not talking about me."
This statement was too "absolutely correct" for Liang Chuling to refute. But she couldn't be that gentle, so this imagined gentleness acted like a wall, separating her from reality.
She couldn't be as nonchalant as him; her anger and resentment were real, and the thought of "not being able to reach his level" brought a new kind of pain.
Her suspicions about Li Xun thus became a fact.
--
Li Xun's recording work has entered its final and most grueling stage.
Liang Chuling has a key to his house, and every day after dinner she would go over to see Chestnut and play with him for a while.
Just as I was about to leave the house that day, Ms. Ma passed by and asked, "Are you keeping a cat outside?"
Liang Chuling was shocked: "How did you know?"
Ms. Ma smiled and pointed to her cardigan: "This is cat hair."
Liang Chuling stammered, looking down and patting the door: "Then I'll use a lint roller to stick it to the door next time I go home."
"Take it home and raise it," Ms. Ma said gently. "It's October, the weather is getting colder and colder, and it gets dark early. It's so pitiful."
It's so pitiful. I don't know if I'm talking about the cat or Liang Chuling.
Ms. Ma came back this time for surgery, and she hasn't left since. Aunt Zhang has taken very good care of her. She has always had a poor appetite, looks pale and weak, her palms are as cold as her eyes, and her body is as thin as her eyelids.
This is why Liang Chuling doesn't really like her mother's sun and moon symbols; she feels they're not as good as Aunt Zhang's, who forces her mother to eat meat and rice every day. Now she looks so lively.
So even though they were talking about such a "taboo" topic, Liang Chuling couldn't remain indifferent when looking at the lively Ms. Ma. You would feel happy just looking at a bunch of plants that turned from yellow to green.
Liang Chuling hesitated, "But the cat is still very young, and I'm worried it won't recognize its home." It was hard to call this a rejection; it sounded more like a pleading.
Ms. Ma continued, "Mom and Aunt Zhang will keep a close eye on it and make sure it doesn't run away."
Liang Chuling almost blurted out, "That's great! I'll go ask Li Xun!"
Ms. Ma asked in surprise, "You and Li Xun raised it together?"
"Yes!" Liang Chuling replied, having already changed her shoes. "Mom, I'm leaving!"
The door closed behind her, and only then did she belatedly realize what she had said. Before she could think about it further, her phone vibrated.
It was Li Xun's belated reply.
Liang Chuling looked at the name, and the image of his gentle gaze floated into her mind, but she ultimately did not accept the answer.
Let that inexplicable resentment linger a little longer in the cool evening breeze.
When he arrived at Li Xun's house, he took out his key to open the door and pressed the light switch in the living room, but there was no response.
Is there a power outage?
She turned on her phone's flashlight and first cleaned Chestnut's litter box, then changed its water and food.
Chestnut rubbed against her leg and meowed softly. Liang Chuling picked it up and put it on the sofa, teasing it with a cat toy.
The room was pitch black, with only a small patch of light from the cell phone flashlight.
The quiet, dark environment was incredibly hypnotic. Leaning against the sofa, Liang Chuling's eyelids grew heavier and heavier until her head finally tilted to the side and she fell asleep.
She didn't know how long she had slept before she was awakened by a dream.
Everything was completely dark. I instinctively reached for my phone to check the time, but the screen was also black—the flashlight had been on for too long and the battery had run out, causing it to shut down automatically.
Completely baffled.
Liang Chuling felt a little uneasy. She groped her way to her feet and moved towards Li Xun's bedroom. She remembered there was a power bank on his bedside table.
The bedroom door was ajar.
As she approached, she heard a noise coming from inside.
Liang Chuling's hair stood on end!
The terrifying memory of being stalked through a window resurfaced, causing her heart to pound. It wasn't impossible that Li Xun lived on the third floor…
She held her breath and backed away step by step into the living room, groping around in the corner until she grabbed a broom and clutched it tightly in her hand.
Holding a broom, Liang Chuling approached the bedroom door again, step by step, just as she was about to shout, "Who's in there!"
A familiar voice came from inside first, hoarse from just waking up: "You're awake?"
It was Li Xun's voice.
Liang Chuling's tense nerves relaxed too quickly, and she suddenly felt exhausted but dared not let herself go. The courage she had been holding onto turned into anger: "Li Xun! Why didn't you say you were coming back! You scared me to death!"
Li Xun walked out of the room, his figure indistinct in the darkness, and said innocently, "I told you on WeChat."
Liang Chuling immediately became even angrier: "My phone is dead!"
Li Xun was amused by her robber logic, thinking to himself, "How would I know?" but he apologized, "Sorry, it's my fault for not noticing. Where's your phone? I have a power bank here, can I charge it for you before you start cursing me?"
Her voice was still sleepy, gentle, and resigned, like soothing a cat with its fur standing on end.
Liang Chuling's anger was largely extinguished by his attitude, and she sullenly handed over her phone.
While waiting for her phone to boot up, Liang Chuling thought about the phone calls she had deliberately ignored and the rumors, and her grievances welled up again, but she pursed her lips and remained silent.
Li Xun noticed her low spirits in the darkness and couldn't help but want to say something to cheer her up.
Before he could speak, Liang Chuling moved first, holding out her hand: "Let me see your phone, what time is it?"
Li Xun handed her the phone.
Liang Chuling turned on her phone, and the screen showed the Weibo post she had made. Suddenly, a wave of sadness welled up in her nose again.
Seeing her suddenly fall silent, Li Xun wanted to say something to change the subject, but Liang Chuling spoke first again: "Why are you secretly looking at my Weibo?"
Li Xun breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that he could speak: "I didn't steal anything. I was liking the comments that supported you. I'm sorry you were wronged, little genius."
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