"What?" Qin Xiaoyu was so startled she almost jumped up.
"They're out!" Commander Wang pointed forward, and thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
The first performance was a duet between the younger sister and Zhou Xing's mother.
Zhou Xing's mother, holding a violin in one hand and leading her younger sister onto the stage with the other, was met with a burst of applause that had just subsided.
You could tell from the audience’s eyes that the applause was not perfunctory, nor was it because the person on stage was the Commander’s wife. Who doesn’t love beautiful things?
The two people on stage are so beautiful.
Zhou Xing's mother wore a royal blue velvet cheongsam, paired with a royal blue velvet flower in her hair, making her look radiant.
Qin Xiaoyu had never seen anyone wear a velvet cheongsam like this before. How did she maintain such a figure? It was as if she would look fat if she gained an inch and thin if she lost an inch.
The younger sister is like a princess who stepped out of a fairy tale. I wonder how many people's dreams she will adorn tonight. She is a fairy incarnate.
Walking to the center of the stage, the young woman lifted her skirt and curtsied, her serious demeanor eliciting laughter from the audience.
Zhou Xing's mother led her younger sister to the piano. The younger sister struggled to climb onto the piano bench, and there were bursts of laughter from the stage. Although the laughter was well-intentioned, Qin Xiaoyu was still a little worried that her younger sister might get stage fright.
The little girl finally sat down, raised her chubby little hand, and nodded solemnly to Zhou Xing's mother.
A series of melodious piano notes rang out, followed by the melodious sound of a violin. The entire hall fell silent, and everyone was captivated.
Qin Xiaoyu's nose tingled, and tears streamed down her face. Afraid that others would see, she could only secretly wipe them away one by one, but she couldn't wipe them dry no matter what she did.
When the piece ended, Zhou Xing's mother lifted her little sister off the piano bench. Only then did the audience realize what was happening, and thunderous applause erupted, wave after wave. Zhou Xing's mother had no choice but to take her little sister back on stage again and again for the curtain call.
Qin Xiaoyu's hands ached from clapping, and she didn't even bother to wipe away her tears. Before she knew it, she turned around and saw that Commander Wang's eyes were also red.
"Aunt Wang, what's wrong?" Qin Xiaoyu didn't expect Commander Wang to be so sentimental; she seemed like such a carefree person.
“I’m happy for Zhou Xing’s mother; her heart has finally been freed from its knot.”
"What do you mean by that?" Qin Xiaoyu sensed a hidden meaning in Commander Wang's words.
"Aren't you also wondering why Zhou Xing's mother, who has everything she wants and is a person of absolute authority in the military region, is so doting on your daughter?"
"Why?"
"That's a long story," Commander Wang sighed.
It turns out that Zhou Xing's mother was originally in the performing arts troupe. Although she came from a poor background, she was a very good violinist, and the troupe was short of talent at the time, so they recruited her.
At that time, Commander Wang was just a young singer. The two were about the same age and became close friends who could talk about anything.
During a performance to entertain troops, Commander Zhou happened to be there. The next day, Zhou Xingma was taken away by her superiors. When she returned, her eyes shone with a different light, and she told Commander Wang that she was getting married.
Zhou Xing's mother has always admired heroes, so marrying a hero was her ideal, and now it has come true.
Unexpectedly, not long after her marriage, Commander Zhou was suddenly denounced and imprisoned. Those two years were the darkest time in Zhou Xingma's life. Her status in the cultural troupe plummeted. Before marriage, she was an unapproachable princess, envied by girls and admired by boys. Now, married and as the wife of a rightist, everyone kept their distance.
Only Commander Wang, remembering their past, would occasionally lend her a hand. During her most difficult time, she also discovered she was pregnant.
As her belly grew larger, she could no longer perform, which displeased the management even more. They assigned her all the dirty and tiring work. What was once a glamorous and beautiful star performer suddenly became Cinderella; such humiliation is truly unbearable for most people.
Fortunately, Zhou Xing's mother pulled through and gave birth to a kitten-like baby girl naturally. The birth of her child brought her understanding once again.
After all, there are many kind people. Everyone understands how difficult it is for a young woman to raise a child alone.
In addition, her daughter is also quite adorable.
"That daughter was incredibly beautiful, with big eyes and rosy lips. She was a late talker and didn't like to speak much, but she would smile at everyone she met. Everyone in our troupe adored her." Commander Wang was lost in his memories.
"Was Zhou Yue really that pretty when she was little?" Qin Xiaoyu could hardly believe it.
“It’s not Zhou Yue.” Commander Wang’s gaze was sharp, and Qin Xiaoyu knew she had said the wrong thing.
That child was Zhou Yue and Zhou Xing's older sister, but she didn't survive. When the child was a little over two years old, she caught a cold, and since Zhou Xing's mother had a performance, she left her with the neighbor's grandmother.
The neighbor's grandmother didn't notice when her child suddenly developed a high fever. By the time Zhou Xing's mother returned, the child was already having convulsions. They took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with acute encephalitis.
“The child became mentally impaired after that,” Commander Wang said, tears welling in his eyes.
"How pitiful, what happened next?"
"Later, Zhou Xingma left the cultural troupe and went to the countryside to find Commander Zhou, who had been sent down to the countryside. Unexpectedly, a heavy rain caused a landslide on the road, and the child was buried in the mud and water and could not be saved." Commander Wang could not continue.
Qin Xiaoyu looked up and could see a corner of the audience where Zhou Xing's mother was holding her little sister, pointing towards the stage, probably explaining the performance. The little sister looked serious, but her little hands, wrapped around Zhou Xing's mother's neck, were restless, pulling on a strand of her hair and twisting and turning.
"Does that child look like the little sister?"
"You're so smart, you're practically identical. I even suspect that child has been reincarnated."
Commander Wang nodded and continued, "You don't know, after that, Zhou Xing's mother became a completely different person. Until Commander Zhou was reinstated and both children were born, she didn't care about them at all. She would just leave them with the nanny after they were born and wouldn't even glance at them. I've never seen her care about any child like that before."
Qin Xiaoyu understood everything. She was a little scared, afraid that if Zhou Xing rashly exposed the matter, another person would get hurt.
After the performance, Commander Zhou sent a car to take his wife and grandparents back home.
Qin Xiaoyu was afraid they would feel embarrassed, so she went home with them in the car.
"Our Tang family has brought honor to our ancestors," the wife said loudly as soon as she entered the house.
Qin Xiaoyu knew that these words were meant for those behind the walls to hear. Tomorrow, the news would spread throughout the dormitory: the Tang family's granddaughter had gone to perform at the military region, and the commander had even sent people to bring the Tang family back. There was nothing more prestigious than this.
"You guys should get some rest, you must be tired. I still need to go back to school to check on things." Qin Xiaoyu had been out for most of the day and was a little worried.
"Little Fish, come in with me." The lady didn't let her leave.
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