Chapter 33 Welcome Party
Jiang Jinyue's glassy blue eyes were open blankly, and all he saw was darkness.
They were all drenched in the rain before hiding in the teaching building, and their bodies were damp. At this time, Jiang Jinyue was pressed against an iron cabinet on the side by Lu Qingmian. He could clearly feel the wet fabric sticking to his body, transmitting each other's body temperature, and making the small space even more ambiguous.
Lu Qingmian's voice entered Jiang Jinyue's ears, and he became even more panicked. His tail fin hanging in the air swayed helplessly, as if he was looking for a pillar to lean on.
The touch of the tongue tip was gone, and Lu Qingmian did not make things difficult for Jiang Jinyue. His fingertips left Jiang Jinyue's mouth. Jiang Jinyue could not see anything in the darkness, but only felt a wet mark left on his lips.
Although Lu Qingmian's fingers had left, his body was still pressing against Jiang Jinyue, and his voice was still ringing in Jiang Jinyue's ears, with a more serious tone. Because he was afraid of being heard by people outside, Jiang Jinyue could even feel Lu Qingmian's lips gently opening and closing when he spoke.
"Did you have any visions?"
Jiang Jinyue was stunned for a moment, then slowly shook her head, her hair brushing against Lu Qingmian's nose.
He was too nervous, and all his attention was focused on Lu Qingmian. Facing the darkness in such a small space and Lu Qingmian's touch on him, he should have had terrible hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, but this time he had nothing.
The rapid heartbeat filled his ears, and Jiang Jinyue felt a complex emotion in his heart. His tail fin, which was hanging in the air, tilted up and accidentally touched something piled in the corner of the cabinet. The thing fell to the ground with a crisp crash.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the freshmen outside the closet to hear.
“There really is a sound!”
"It seems to be inside the cabinet!"
Several freshmen stopped arguing, and someone's footsteps gradually approached the locker.
Jiang Jinyue was so nervous that she held her breath and clutched Lu Qingmian's clothes tightly with both hands. Faced with such a situation, she had no idea what to do.
He also has a fish tail. If his classmates saw him...
Fear defeated everything and slowly invaded Jiang Jinyue's heart. The dark atmosphere in the cabinet overwhelmed the ambiguity. The approaching footsteps were constantly amplified and distorted in Jiang Jinyue's ears, accompanied by the occasional hideous laugh, which aroused Jiang Jinyue's stress response.
Lu Qingmian held Jiang Jinyue's neck, gently rubbed Jiang Jinyue's small Adam's apple with his fingertips, and said in a low voice: "Jiang Jinyue, close your eyes. Trust me, you won't be discovered."
"Lu Qingmian..." A weak voice came from Jiang Jinyue's mouth, and a few tears rolled down the corners of her eyes, hitting the iron cabinet with a crackling sound.
Jiang Jinyue's eyes were covered by a warm hand. He breathed hard and finally closed his eyes obediently.
Lu Qingmian used his legs to press his coat against the lower part of Jiang Jinyue's tail, blocking the beautiful tail fin, and then pressed his body more tightly against Jiang Jinyue.
The footsteps finally stopped in front of the iron cabinet.
"Squeak..." The cabinet door was opened a crack, and a thin ray of light shone into the dark cabinet. The boy who came to open the door took a look inside and met Lu Qingmian's dark eyes.
Those black eyes were cold and terrifying, half of his face was still hidden in the darkness, and under his thin lips, a displeased arc was pressed, and he said silently: "Get lost."
The boy swallowed his saliva, and a sudden fear arose in his heart.
He closed the cabinet door gently again, turned around and walked out.
The other students asked, "What did you find? Is there anyone inside?"
The boy said perfunctorily: "Haha, how could there be someone? There were too many things piled up inside, and it fell down."
"Oh, let's go then."
"Let's go, let's go. We're already chasing each other for no apparent reason."
Several people walked out while talking. As the sound of the door opening was heard, the footsteps became farther and farther away and gradually disappeared.
Lu Qingmian let go of Jiang Jinyue's eyes and pushed open the cabinet door.
The light completely illuminated the interior of the cabinet. Without Lu Qingmian's suppression, Jiang Jinyue slid down the cabinet, his fish tail curled up aggrievedly, next to several baseball bats piled in the corner, and the translucent glass color was stained with a little dust.
There were traces of tears in the corners of Jiang Jinyue's eyes, and a few sparkling white pearls were piled up in the folds of her shirt.
The sunlight shone into the cabinet from the window. The glass-colored eyes and fish tail reflected the faint seven-color light. The milky white skin also took on a hazy color under the sunlight. Jiang Jinyue seemed to be glowing.
There was no place to sit in the small sports equipment storage room. Lu Qingmian picked up his coat and shook off the dust. He dragged a single table out from the corner, threw his coat on it, turned around, took the frightened mermaid out of the cabinet, and placed her on the cabinet.
Jiang Jinyue was still a little overwhelmed. Turning around and seeing the sunlight outside the window, he shuddered, "Lu Qingmian, the window..."
Lu Qingmian pulled the curtains shut. It had been hung for who knows how long since they were washed. A thick cloud of dust flew up, choking Lu Qingmian and making him cough violently. Jiang Jinyue was sitting a little further away, but was also affected and started coughing too.
The two of them coughed and looked at each other, and smiles gradually appeared in their eyes.
After coughing, Lu Qingmian opened the window and a breeze blew in. It was sunny outside the window and the rain had stopped.
Lu Qingmian looked at Jiang Jinyue: "Are you okay?"
The curtains were only half drawn, blocking the side where Jiang Jinyue was. The sky outside the window was clear blue. Jiang Jinyue looked out the window and let out a breath softly: "Well, Lu Qingmian, I..." I've caused you trouble again.
Jiang Jinyue didn't say the rest of the words. Lu Qingmian looked over, frowned slightly, and oppression appeared in his dark eyes, as if if Jiang Jinyue said such words again, he might punish Jiang Jinyue in some terrible way.
Lu Qingmian called Chen Keai, and soon Chen Keai came over with a bunch of bed sheets.
He knocked on the door first, and after confirming it, he pushed it open and came in: "Lu Qingmian, why did you ask me to go to the infirmary to steal bed sheets? And you insisted on asking for new ones..."
Chen Keai looked over, opened her mouth wide, and forgot to say the rest of the words.
Jiang Jinyue sat on the table, her tail curled beside her. Under Chen Keai's shocked gaze, she awkwardly raised her tail fin, "Chen Keai?"
Chen Keai came to her senses and immediately rushed in front of Jiang Jinyue, so fast that Lu Qingmian couldn't stop her.
He lowered his head and looked carefully at Jiang Jinyue's fish tail. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but in the end he didn't touch it, as if he was afraid that touching Jiang Jinyue would break it.
"Jiang Jinyue..." Chen Keai was so shocked that she was incoherent.
Jiang Jinyue was very nervous. To him, Chen Keai was his second friend besides Lu Qingmian. If Chen Keai disliked him like this...
"You're such a wonderful person!" Chen Keai exclaimed, handing the bed sheet to Lu Qingmian. Then, she became worried again, "Are you guys not discovered by others? Are you sure no one saw you?"
Seeing Chen Keai's worried look, Jiang Jinyue breathed a sigh of relief, his heart warming. He shook his head and said, "No one discovered me. Lu Qingmian protected me very well."
The word "protection" was spoken by Jiang Jinyue for the first time. It was also the first time he realized that Lu Qingmian had actually been protecting him all along.
Lu Qingmian shook out the bed sheet and wrapped Jiang Jinyue in it, interrupting the sentimentality between him and Chen Keai. "I'll take you home."
Chen Keai quickly followed: "I'll go with you!"
Just as Lu Qingmian was about to pick up Jiang Jinyue, he thought of something. He walked back to the iron cabinet, picked up a few small pearls from it and put them in his pocket. He picked up Jiang Jinyue's shoes and torn pants, and then picked up something else and put it in his pocket.
Jiang Jinyue saw that it was a piece of white cloth, which was his underwear that was torn by the fish tail.
Chen Keai suddenly asked in surprise: "Yueyue, why is your face so red all of a sudden? Are you dehydrated?"
Lu Qingmian also looked over, and Jiang Jinyue immediately shook his head: "Nothing! Let's go back!"
Chen Keai glanced suspiciously at Jiang Jinyue's fishtail, which was already wrapped in the bed sheet, and warned, "If you feel uncomfortable, you must tell me!"
Jiang Jinyue nodded, and when Lu Qingmian came over, he stretched out his arm. Lu Qingmian bent down and stretched out his hand, then took Jiang Jinyue into his arms.
Chen Keai was watching from the side and suddenly felt that he might be a little prejudiced against Lu Qingmian.
When he didn't know about Jiang Jinyue's specialness, Lu Qingmian had always been by his side. Now it seems that Jiang Jinyue is no longer averse to Lu Qingmian's touch. He knows how much effort it takes to be non-averse, both for Jiang Jinyue and Lu Qingmian.
The journey to send Jiang Jinyue back was smooth. Because it had just rained, the playground was very quiet. At this time, the rain stopped and the freshmen had all run back to the dormitory to hide, for fear that the instructors would notify them to return to the playground to continue military training.
Back at 1203, although Chen Keai was very curious about Jiang Jinyue's fish tail, she knew that now was not the time to ask, so she left quickly.
After Chen Keai left, only Lu Qingmian and Jiang Jinyue were left in 1203.
Lu Qingmian took out the small pearls from his pocket and put them one by one into the round-bellied glass jar that Jiang Jinyue had placed on the coffee table. There were already some small pearls in the glass jar. It was obvious that Jiang Jinyue had secretly watched a touching movie when Lu Qingmian was not around.
After putting the little pearls in, Lu Qingmian reached into his pocket again and slowly pulled out a piece of torn white cloth. It was vaguely visible that it was a pair of small triangle panties.
Lu Qingmian placed the broken panties on the armrest of the sofa, with no expression on his face the whole time.
Jiang Jinyue quickly moved over from the other side of the sofa. His tail seemed particularly flexible at this moment. He grabbed his panties and hid them behind his back, trying to be as calm as Lu Qingmian, but was directly exposed by Lu Qingmian.
"What are you hiding? I've already seen it."
The panties became a hot potato, neither to hide nor to throw away. Fortunately, Lu Qingmian did not mention it again, but instead carefully observed Jiang Jinyue's fish tail.
The fish tail was very delicate, and the marks left by the previous times when it tore through the pants had disappeared. This time when it turned into a mermaid, because Lu Qingmian helped Jiang Jinyue take off his pants quickly, it only tore a small piece of soft fabric of the panties, and did not hurt the fish tail.
Jiang Jinyue knew what Lu Qingmian was looking at, so he stretched out his tail, raised his tail fin, and shook it up and down, "Look, it's not being squeezed by my pants!"
He seemed to have recovered from the sudden chaos just now, and his tone was much lighter, but his long bangs looked a little messy. He had taken off his heavy glasses, but his eyes were still blocked by his bangs, and the emotions in his eyes were vague and unclear.
"Well," Lu Qingmian said nothing more. He just walked over and patted Jiang Jinyue's head gently. "Thank you for your hard work."
Jiang Jinyue suddenly became quiet and didn't speak for a long time.
Lu Qingmian didn't stay in 1203 for long. Before leaving, he looked at Jiang Jinyue, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa, and asked, "Are you coming tomorrow? Watch my military training."
Jiang Jinyue didn't say anything, just shook his head slightly, and finally revealed a deep sense of fatigue.
Lu Qingmian lowered the corners of his lips, looked at Jiang Jinyue deeply, and left 1203.
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Jiang Jinyue's shoulders trembled, then he slowly arched his back and covered his cheeks with his hands.
"I'm so tired."
Jiang Jinyue, who had always been hiding herself, and who needed to wear armor before going out, today exhausted all her courage to stand beside Lu Qingmian and not run away.
The constant gazes, the occasional discussions, and the constant attention all made Jiang Jinyue nervous and scared.
He thought he hid his fear well, but Lu Qingmian still saw it.
After entering university, Lu Qingmian received more attention than before, and was not even comparable to a small Ze County No. 2 Middle School. Jiang Jinyue had to rely on herself to stand next to such a Lu Qingmian.
The sound of labored breathing came from between his palms. Jiang Jinyue put down his hands, took out his mobile phone, hesitated for several times, and finally clicked on the H University forum.
The forum is still bustling with new posts appearing every time it is refreshed, but the first few most popular posts with the word "explosive" are still about Lu Qingmian.
Each title was so eye-catching that it made Jiang Jinyue shudder.
"Shock! The newest school idol is actually gay? Breaking countless girls' hearts!"
"Lu Qingmian's mysterious boyfriend shows up! He's fully armed with a mask and glasses, and his looks are a mystery!"
"Why is the campus idol carrying his boyfriend on his back and running around on a rainy day? His boyfriend seems to be embarrassed!"
Jiang Jinyue took a few deep breaths and clicked on one of the posts. What he saw was a photo of Lu Qingmian. This time, there was not only Lu Qingmian in the photo, but also Jiang Jinyue standing next to Lu Qingmian.
He looked at the photo of himself where his face was completely invisible, and suddenly felt it was very jarring.
"Jiang Jinyue, you should be so dazzling."
Lu Qingmian's voice suddenly appeared in his mind. Jiang Jinyue held the mobile phone in his hand, and his vision gradually blurred. One after another, white pearls hit the screen of the mobile phone and rolled to the ground.
To escape or to stand up, Jiang Jinyue once again faced a life choice.
The next day, Lu Qingmian sent a WeChat message asking Jiang Jinyue if he wanted to watch his military training, but Jiang Jinyue refused.
That day, he locked himself in the room, depressed and doing nothing.
On the third day, Lu Qingmian sent a WeChat message in the morning as usual to ask Jiang Jinyue whether he would go to watch his military training. This time Jiang Jinyue did not reply, and Lu Qingmian did not send any other messages.
On the fourth day, Jiang Jinyue did not sleep all night. Early in the morning, Lu Qingmian sent another WeChat message asking exactly the same question as the previous message. Jiang Jinyue stared at the phone for a long time and replied with two words, "No."
At this time, Jiang Jinyue's fish tail had turned back into legs, but he still locked himself in the rental house and did not go anywhere.
On the morning of the fifth day, Lu Qingmian did not send another WeChat message to ask Jiang Jinyue whether he wanted to watch his military training. Jiang Jinyue was lying on the bed, with little pearls rolling around his pillow.
On the sixth day, Lu Qingmian still did not contact Jiang Jinyue, but Chen Keai came over early in the morning. When she opened the door and saw Jiang Jinyue's listless look, she was shocked.
Lu Qingmian didn't send a WeChat message to Jiang Jinyue this morning. He felt like he had completely lost contact with Lu Qingmian.
Chen Keai brought a steaming hot breakfast with everything: steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and tofu pudding. He placed boxes of breakfast in front of Jiang Jinyue and said, "Have breakfast first. Have you not eaten well these past few days?"
Jiang Jinyue wanted to smile at Chen Keai, but the corners of his mouth were stiffly raised and he couldn't smile. "Thank you..."
Chen Keai shook his head and didn't say that it was Lu Qingmian who asked him to come.
He sat across from Jiang Jinyue, eating breakfast with her. As they ate, he chatted, "Aside from the heavy rain that day, the weather has been exceptionally good these past few days. Those freshmen are practically tanned like dried salted fish, their faces as red as monkey butts. It's going to be fun taking a group photo on the day of the parade."
Jiang Jinyue was very quiet, drinking soy milk slowly. He seemed to have no appetite. He only nodded to Chen Keai when Chen Keai looked at him. It was unclear whether he listened to what Chen Keai said.
He had been paying attention to the school bulletin boards and forums these days. The discussion about Lu Qingmian had never stopped, and the fact that Lu Qingmian was gay had been concluded by the freshmen. As a result, a large number of voices criticizing Lu Qingmian appeared, with all kinds of bad words. Even Jiang Jinyue would be dragged out and scolded.
Chen Keai knew all these things because there had been a collective dreaming incident in the nearby university town. This time, most of the people discussing Lu Qingmian were concentrated in the freshman group.
Chen Keai suddenly said, "Yueyue, do you still remember why we met?"
Jiang Jinyue paused and immediately thought of Chen Keai's two attempts to commit suicide.
Lu Qingmian also said that people who want to die cannot be saved.
Chen Keai took a big bite of the soft and crispy dough sticks and said as she chewed: "Thinking about it now, I was such an idiot. Why did I punish myself for someone else's mistake? But..."
"I'm pretty brave, aren't I?"
Jiang Jinyue clenched the spoon, scooped up a spoonful of soy milk, stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it, nodding vigorously: "Yeah! You are very brave!"
It is easy to live in other people's words, but it is difficult to walk out of them.
He can stay in his shell forever and avoid all harm in advance.
But it was very dark inside the shell, there was no sunlight, no Lu Qingmian, and no me.
Jiang Jinyue ate almost all of the breakfast that Chen Keai brought. He ate very hard, like a hungry ghost who had not eaten for several days. He choked several times but refused to stop.
After breakfast, looking at the mess on the table, Jiang Jinyue suddenly leaned on the table and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears came down.
Chen Keai sat aside, quietly watching the small pearls rolling onto the table. He reached out and picked up one, and the small pearl even had some residual warmth in his hand.
These pearls transformed from tears are so beautiful, just like the dark and ugly land can produce the most beautiful flowers.
On the seventh day, Lu Qingmian, who had not contacted Jiang Jinyue for two days, suddenly called.
Jiang Jinyue looked at Lu Qingmian's name on the screen, his chest pounding with intense emotions.
When he answered the phone, Lu Qingmian's voice was still clear and pleasant, but Jiang Jinyue felt as if he was in another world.
"The welcome party is scheduled for tonight. I'll be playing the piano in the penultimate segment. Jiang Jinyue, would you like to sing? I'll accompany you."
Want to sing?
Jiang Jinyue thought of that night in the auditorium when he and Lu Qingmian played the piano and sang the simple and childish "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in the sea of flowers. He was so happy that night.
But that was completely different from singing at the welcome party. At the welcome party, he would face thousands of freshmen, he would be completely exposed, he would have nowhere to hide...
Jiang Jinyue thought of countless possibilities, each of which was accompanied by danger and fear, and each of which shocked his nerves. He did not give an answer for a long time, and Lu Qingmian remained silent.
No one spoke on the phone, only the faint sound of each other's breathing could be heard.
Jiang Jinyue's hand gripped the phone more and more tightly, until it began to tremble.
Finally, he closed his eyes, his voice was very soft and even trembling, but every word of the answer he spoke was clear.
"I'm going to sing, Lu Qingmian, please accompany me."
As soon as Jiang Jinyue finished speaking, Lu Qingmian immediately replied, "I'll be waiting for you in the auditorium at 7pm. See you there."
Lu Qingmian seemed to have prepared this answer for a long time, and he hung up the phone after saying it.
Jiang Jinyue looked at the phone that had been hung up, then looked at the watch hanging on the wall, his expression becoming more and more determined.
See you at 7pm.
It was soon night. Jiang Jinyue was full of ambition before going out, but he still wore glasses and a mask after going out.
He walked towards the auditorium very nervously. At this time, the freshmen had already gone in and taken their seats, and the noisy sounds inside the auditorium could be heard from outside.
There was someone waiting at the door of the auditorium. It was not Lu Qingmian, but Chen Keai with pink hair.
Jiang Jinyue felt a little disappointed, but also relieved. He was afraid that Lu Qingmian would be disappointed to see him still wearing a mask and glasses.
Chen Keai walked forward, took Jiang Jinyue's hand, and led him into the auditorium. The lights in the auditorium were turned off, only the lights on the stage were on. They walked along the edge.
"Lu Qingmian has someone reserve a seat for you on the side. I'll sit on your left to block the way. In addition to Lu Qingmian's seat, there will be two extra seats on the right. Don't worry about someone coming over. When Lu Qingmian is ready to play the piano, I'll send you backstage." Chen Keai whispered.
Jiang Jinyue nodded and followed Chen Keai to sit in the first row. The seats for school leaders were two meters in front of them, so there was no need to worry about being bumped into by others.
Soon, the noisy auditorium quieted down, and a pair of hosts in suits and dresses walked onto the stage and began to introduce the subsequent procedures.
Jiang Jinyue was very nervous. Lu Qingmian's piano program was ranked second to last. He thought it would take a long time before he could see Lu Qingmian, but he didn't expect the host to call out Lu Qingmian's name so quickly.
"Now, please welcome our H University's most popular freshman representative this year, Lu Qingmian, to give a speech!"
Chen Keai leaned over to Jiang Jinyue and whispered, "Why are you so surprised? Didn't Lu Qingmian tell you that he was the freshman representative?"
"I said..." But Jiang Jinyue forgot about it.
The host walked off the stage, leaving only a beam of light falling on the podium. A tall figure walked up to the edge of the stage, but the figure seemed to look a little strange.
It wasn't until that person walked to the podium that Jiang Jinyue's eyes widened instantly after seeing clearly, and the freshmen behind him also let out a huge uproar.
On the stage, Lu Qingmian was wearing a black suit on the upper body, but not suit pants on the lower body, but a bright red skirt. The skirt was very long and reached to the ankles. The hem of the skirt was even decorated with lace. Under the skirt, a pair of very incongruous leather shoes were revealed.
The school leader sitting in the front row frowned fiercely and his expression turned very bad, but the welcome party had already begun, and stopping it halfway would only make things worse.
Lu Qingmian obviously did it on purpose. In order to let everyone see the skirt he was wearing, he even picked up the microphone and did not stand behind the podium.
"Dear school leaders, teachers, and classmates, I am Lu Qingmian, the freshman representative..."
Lu Qingmian began the usual opening of the freshman representative's speech, but his gaze pierced through the darkness under the stage and fell directly on Jiang Jinyue.
Jiang Jinyue stared at Lu Qingmian on the stage in a daze. The noise in his ears gradually faded away, and gradually only Lu Qingmian's voice was heard.
In addition to Lu Qingmian's voice, Jiang Jinyue also heard another sound, loud, heavy and rapid, which was his heartbeat.
Jiang Jinyue knew why Lu Qingmian wore a skirt. Lu Qingmian had once said that skirts and pants were just clothes, and how they were worn was a matter of personal preference, not labeling. Words like "sissy" and "effeminate" weren't offensive because you were a boy or a girl, but because such words themselves were problematic and shouldn't be used on anyone.
Everyone has heard this truth before, but for the victim, empty talk is just a second blow from a condescending and self-righteous person.
So Lu Qingmian put on a skirt. At the university's welcome party, in front of thousands of freshmen, and amid the anger of the school leaders, she fearlessly wore a skirt that was labeled as female.
He heard countless shutter sounds as the freshmen kept taking photos and recording videos, all of which could become weapons to harm Lu Qingmian in the future.
Lu Qingmian personally handed these weapons to others, but he didn't have to do so.
Chen Keai was also quite frightened. He never expected that Lu Qingmian would put on such a scene at such an important occasion as the welcome party.
Suddenly, he heard Jiang Jinyue beside him laughing.
It started as a chuckle, which gradually turned into a loud laugh. Jiang Jinyue held his stomach and laughed until he couldn't breathe. After he had laughed enough, he sat up straight and looked at the stage.
On the stage, Lu Qingmian was still looking at Jiang Jinyue, his speech without a single stutter, his cold and steady voice carried through the microphone throughout the entire auditorium.
Jiang Jinyue met Lu Qingmian's gaze, pulled off his mask, and made a face at Lu Qingmian.
"You always say I'm stupid, but you're obviously not that smart either." Jiang Jinyue murmured softly.
He received what Lu Qingmian wanted to convey to him.
It is courage, the courage that never gives up.
Soon, Lu Qingmian's speech ended, and the host returned to the stage to start the next process.
One wonderful show after another was presented. No matter it was energetic singing and dancing or hilarious skits, Jiang Jinyue watched them all with great interest. Sitting in an auditorium with so many people, he was unusually relaxed.
It was not until the third-to-last show that Chen Keai took Jiang Jinyue out of their seats and went backstage.
When Jiang Jinyue opened the curtain, he saw Lu Qingmian at a glance.
Lu Qingmian sat on a chair in the corner, legs crossed, his bright red lace skirt casually gathered around his waist. From time to time, people pointed and whispered in his direction, but Lu Qingmian ignored them all and was playing games on his phone.
As soon as Jiang Jinyue entered, Lu Qingmian put down his phone and walked over as if by telepathy.
"Are you ready?"
Jiang Jinyue nodded seriously: "I'm ready."
Lu Qingmian placed his hand on Jiang Jinyue's shoulder, the warmth from his palm passing through her clothes. "Only 30 seconds."
Jiang Jinyue laughed, "30 seconds is enough."
It was Lu Qingmian's idea to let Jiang Jinyue sing at the welcome party. The length and process of the welcome party had been rehearsed long ago. It was impossible for him to force a program for Jiang Jinyue in the middle of the party. This behavior was very irresponsible, so Lu Qingmian planned to squeeze out these 30 seconds from his own piano music.
After the third to last performance, it was finally Lu Qingmian's turn.
The host in front of the curtain has finished announcing the name of the program, and the stage lights have dimmed again.
Lu Qingmian walked onto the stage, still wearing the incongruous black dress with a bright red lace skirt. He sat in front of the grand piano, his slender and beautiful fingers hovering over the black and white keys, and suddenly pressed them down hard.
A faster and more urgent tune than the original was played. The freshmen in the audience were confused at first, and then they broke into a huge uproar.
"Holy crap! Does this have a built-in 2x speed? 'Willow' is so difficult, and he can still play it so fast?" A classmate who can play the piano expressed shock.
"What speed? What's Lu Qingmian playing? It sounds terrible! Is he just playing randomly?"
"It's not random, it's just too fast and sounds messy."
"I've practiced this piece before. He played it right, but..."
"Just what?" someone asked.
The student's face twisted for a moment, and he said in confusion, "It's just that the way he plays... there's no emotion, only technique!"
Amidst the clamor, Lu Qingmian managed to finish a song 30 seconds early, then pulled the microphone in front of him and suddenly said loudly:
"Please welcome Jiang Jinyue!"
"Jiang Jinyue? Who is Jiang Jinyue?" People in the audience asked questions from time to time. The host standing backstage kept looking through the program list to make sure that the name Jiang Jinyue was not there.
At this time, the stage lights came on again, and two headlights shone towards Lu Qingmian, and the curtain behind Lu Qingmian suddenly opened.
There was actually a thin white curtain behind the crimson curtain. Under the illumination of the headlights, one could see a person standing behind the curtain.
The figure reflected on the white screen looked a little thin.
Suddenly, an ethereal and clear humming came from behind the curtain. At the same time, Lu Qingmian played the piano again. This time the piano sound was gentle, just accompanying the humming, and did not steal the show.
There are no lyrics in the humming, but the tune is gentle and melodious. Just a few tunes can arouse the emotions of the audience below the stage.
Not only were there freshmen sitting in the audience, but there were also some sophomores, juniors, and seniors who came over to join in the fun.
The restless atmosphere in the auditorium slowly dissipated, and gradually no one whispered to each other anymore. Everyone's attention was focused on the stage, or more accurately, on the figure behind the white curtain, and they were immersed in the singing.
Behind the curtain, the light fell on Jiang Jinyue. Jiang Jinyue closed his eyes slightly, put one hand on his chest, and hummed attentively and seriously.
In the singing, he seemed to have forgotten everything, forgotten the pain of the past, forgotten the tension he should have felt, and forgotten the gazes of others. At this moment, he was just Jiang Jinyue, the Jiang Jinyue who was singing.
In just 30 seconds, the auditorium fell into a long silence.
If Lu Qingmian's piano piece just now only had technique but no emotion, Jiang Jinyue's 30-second humming was not only pleasant to the ears but also rich in emotion. The audience's hearts seemed to be wrapped in the magnificent sea water, rising and falling with the sea water.
After 30 seconds, Lu Qingmian stood up and looked behind the curtain.
At this time, the people under the stage finally came to their senses. First, there were a few rounds of applause, and then the applause became more and more, and gradually the whole auditorium was filled with thunderous applause.
Someone said in amazement, "I remember now, isn't this the siren that went viral on the forums?"
"I didn't expect the Siren to actually be from our school!"
"Who is Jiang Jinyue? Why doesn't he come out from behind the curtain?"
After the applause, the audience began to shout in unison:
"Siren! Siren! Siren! Siren!"
On the stage, Lu Qingmian was still looking at Jiang Jinyue behind the curtain, and the emotions in his dark eyes were not calm.
He didn't intend to force Jiang Jinyue to come out from behind the curtain and face so many gazes.
For Jiang Jinyue, being able to stand up and sing is already a huge improvement.
One of the stage lights went out, and before the last light went out, a corner of the white curtain was lifted. A pair of white fingertips hooked the curtain, and a thin figure walked out through the curtain.
Jiang Jinyue lowered his head and took off his mask as he walked out.
He walked towards Lu Qingmian very slowly, took off his mask, and reached for his glasses.
Jiang Jinyue finally stood in front of Lu Qingmian, under the lights, on the stage, in front of countless people, in a gaze that was unclear between good and evil.
Lu Qingmian is very tall, a head taller than Jiang Jinyue.
He stood with his shoulders straight and his back erect, but lowered his head, looked at Jiang Jinyue intently, and stretched out his hand.
Jiang Jinyue put his hand on Lu Qingmian's hand, which was shaking violently. Not only his hand was shaking, but Jiang Jinyue's whole body was shaking.
He was very scared, extremely very scared, but he still took off his glasses and mask and mustered up great courage to stand here.
Lu Qingmian shook Jiang Jinyue's hand firmly, turned around with Jiang Jinyue, and faced the stage below.
Jiang Jinyue's facial features were completely exposed in front of everyone. Under the light, her delicate features were as beautiful as the most perfect painting.
There was a moment of silence below the stage, and then a huge scream broke out.
"Oh shit! The siren is so beautiful!"
"It really is a siren!!! Mom, I saw a siren with my own eyes!!"
"Why are you always blocking me so tightly when I look like this? Are you afraid that I'll feel inferior?!"
"Ahhh, who was it that said Lu Qingmian's boyfriend was ugly before? Stand up!"
"I'm so happy to see such a beautiful face and such a beautiful singing in my lifetime. Woohoo..."
Jiang Jinyue was extremely frightened, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and her light-colored eyes looked so helpless under the light.
Lu Qingmian took him one step forward and bowed to the audience. Jiang Jinyue also bent down like Lu Qingmian, and the show ended successfully.
The last ray of light also went out.
Lu Qingmian took Jiang Jinyue off the stage and hid in a corner.
Jiang Jinyue finally couldn't bear it anymore. He jumped up and rushed forward, but was caught by Lu Qingmian and held tightly in his arms.
"Lu Qingmian, I did it. I sang the song and took off my glasses and mask. I..." Jiang Jinyue was a little incoherent.
Lu Qingmian gently stroked Jiang Jinyue's back, his dark eyes reflecting Jiang Jinyue. He praised her from the bottom of his heart: "Jiang Jinyue, you are dazzling."
Jiang Jinyue gradually calmed down, and smiled until tears came out of her eyes. "Well, I stood in the light."
Lu Qingmian lowered his head, and his slightly cool lips touched the hot tears.
"And your armor?"
Jiang Jinyue slapped his chest hard, "Here."
The strongest armor is in the heart, not outside.
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