Chapter 17 A Series of Confrontations
Seeing the hopeful look in Madam Gu's eyes, Tu Yao swallowed the beef tendon and slowly nodded.
Madam Gu immediately stood up, quickly walked to Tu Yao's side and sat down, her thin hands gripping Tu Yao's wrists, her voice trembling as she asked, "Really?"
"You..." She was clearly very excited, but she was also afraid of disturbing something. "You're only eighteen years old, how could you have heard of this?"
"Do you...do you think I sang well?"
Tu Yao immediately felt a sharp pain in her wrist.
This Mrs. Gu... she's so thin and small, how come she's so strong...
Tu Yao quickly broke free and rubbed her wrist. She blinked, realizing that if she shook her head, the woman in front of her might break down.
She didn't want to see the elegant lady sad, so she nodded despite not having heard of it before.
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu seemed to radiate an unprecedented glow, no longer displaying her previous calm and composed demeanor, and even her breathing became more rapid.
Just moments ago, the hands that were holding Tu Yao's grip unknowingly gripped his own, the force so strong that it seemed to instantly leave a ring of bruises.
She murmured, "Really...really? You've heard it, and you think it sounds nice."
The viewers in the live stream were stunned by what they saw.
[The Story of the Jade Bracelet? Did Madam Gu also perform in operas?]
I don't know... Isn't she a full-time housewife?
Yes, my mom is an amateur singer of Gu Feihong's opera. She says he thanks his wife after every performance, saying that because of her, he can devote himself to his career without any worries. My parents are quite envious of that.
Everyone at the dinner table looked completely bewildered.
Seeing this, the director asked in a low voice, "Mr. Gu? Does your wife also perform opera?"
Gu Feihong, who had been all smiles the whole time, suddenly stiffened, but then smiled again in a second.
He tried to keep his tone calm: "Yes, it was a long time ago."
On the other side, Madam Gu was still tightly gripping her wrist, and upon closer inspection, her eyes were slightly red.
Seeing Madam Gu's attitude, Ma Zhiyuan knew that Tu Yao's words had hit the nail on the head, and immediately said sarcastically, "Little girl, I remember you dropped out of school a long time ago, right? It's one thing to be a fan of celebrities, it doesn't require any skill, but opera is a refined art, can you even appreciate that?"
It was blatantly mocking her, a country girl who pretended to know everything.
As soon as he finished speaking, at least three or five people at the table looked displeased.
Just as Tu Chaoxi was about to retort, Luo Meili slammed her chopsticks on the table: "Our Xiao Mao didn't drop out of school voluntarily. It's because our village is too far from the county high school, Xiao Mao isn't in good health, and she can't walk that far. Plus... plus our village is too poor, so we didn't send her to school!"
She couldn't say it was a household registration issue in front of the camera.
"Once we have money, Xiao Mao can go to high school if he wants, and he can go to junior high if he wants!"
Ding Yingjun also snorted: "How can Xiao Mao not understand art! Xiao Mao can learn anything perfectly. It takes others half a year to learn Auntie San's shamanistic dance, but our Xiao Mao learned it in half a month!"
Ding Dapang didn't understand, but said, "That's right!"
Tu Chaoxi raised an eyebrow and casually rubbed Tu Yao's head.
Everyone at the table: ...
With someone backing her up, Tu Yao was full of confidence: "Who says I don't understand! I do understand!"
"Madam Gu's surname isn't Gu. Her name is Lu Ping. She was born into a family of opera performers and started performing on stage at the age of seven. On the contrary, your teacher Gu is someone who started out later in life!"
"Not only do I understand, but my brother understands too!"
She grabbed Tu Chaoxi and pulled her up, head held high, and said:
“When my brother first started out, he had a stage performance. During an interview, he said that the background opera singing used Lu Ping’s “Suo Lin Nang”. He said that although this play was only performed four times in the past thirty years, the performer’s eyes were bright and the performance was lively and natural. The opera singing was melodious and moving. It is the best “Suo Lin Nang” that the audience has given feedback to in recent years!”
Upon hearing this, Tu Chaoxi frowned slightly and looked at her thoughtfully.
Madam Gu's eyes were almost red, and she immediately shed tears.
Look at Tu Yao, then look at Tu Chaoxi.
So... there really are people who remember.
She quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of her eye.
The entire audience was stunned.
Ma Zhiyuan was momentarily speechless, his face flushing red and then turning pale as he muttered softly, "...Thirty...who can know what happened thirty years ago?"
"Teacher Gu never said that."
Everyone instinctively looked at Gu Feihong, only to find that his expression had already darkened considerably. Unable to adjust himself for a while, he turned away to avoid the camera.
The group looked at each other and began to whisper among themselves.
Some quick-thinking viewers in the live stream were already searching for this play, and they immediately came back to provide feedback after searching.
[My goodness, I actually found it! Lu Ping's father was the renowned Peking Opera artist Lu Huanzhang, and her mother was a Huangmei Opera actress. This couple dedicated their lives to traditional opera, but sadly passed away thirty years ago. Lu Ping herself was also a Peking Opera actress thirty years ago, and was nominated for a prestigious opera award. She retired from the opera world after getting married.]
[I also watched a clip; although the picture quality was blurry, the music was so beautiful. Even I, someone who doesn't usually listen to opera, found it enjoyable!]
Wait a minute! What did my sister say? How did Tu Chaoxi know?
[A fan posted this unsolicited, along with a link to a stage performance and interview from two years ago.]
In a short time, millions of netizens clicked on the link.
Tu Chaoxi debuted with zero experience. People who don't know him are still stuck in the pre-debut period when he was clumsy and awkward, thinking that his skills don't match his current fame.
As Ma Zhiyuan said, his virtue was not commensurate with his position.
At this moment, netizens were amazed to see Tu Chaoxi's precise movements and top-notch choreography skills in the video.
[Wow... he's got some skills after all. Even his interviews are insightful; he even researched footage from thirty years ago.]
[He was just starting out back then, and he was already this good? The background music is so nice, are you sure he did the arrangement?!]
The fans were speechless.
Please, if he weren't talented and hardworking, why would we possibly vote for this grumpy, unprofessional guy?
As netizens continued reading, they were surprised to discover—
It seems Gu Feihong is sitting on the judges' panel?
Tu Yao, determined to slap Ma Zhiyuan's face until it was swollen, had already taken out Tu Chaoxi's phone and searched for this episode's stage.
Sure enough, after the video finished playing, Ma Zhiyuan's face turned as red as a palette of colors.
Tu Yao was satisfied and was about to turn off her phone when, a second later, Gu Feihong's rather intense voice suddenly rang out from the video.
"I don't know which version of 'The Story of the Jade Bracelet' you referenced, but as a professional opera enthusiast, I think the background opera you added is a mistake!"
He abandoned his usual gentle demeanor, his tone and expression becoming indignant.
They even went on and on about the opera "The Story of the Jade Bracelet," feeling that it was completely unsuitable for adaptation and integration with modern music!
As they talked, they also subtly implied that the play was not worth adapting.
Tu Yao couldn't stand it anymore and immediately turned to look at Gu Feihong beside her.
"Why is it unsuitable? The program is called 'Collision,' and its theme is to use modern music to promote traditional art. Since you participated in the program, it means that you agree with this point. You can say that Tu Chaoxi's arrangement is not good, but why say that 'Suo Lin Nang' is unsuitable and not worthwhile?"
"Don't you want more people to hear and see 'The Story of the Jade Bracelet'?"
"And how could you not know which version he referenced? Haven't you heard of Lu Ping's plays before!"
As Tu Yao spoke, she became increasingly angry and simply turned off her phone!
"Most importantly, I don't think this stage is as bad as you say!"
After he finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.
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