Xu Qingfan stepped onto the stage one step at a time, and the previously noisy auditorium suddenly quieted by several decibels, as if to salute his handsome appearance that day.
Many girls, astonished, forgot to breathe and stared unblinkingly at the slowly moving figure.
It was not until Xu Qingfan took the microphone from the teacher's hand and spoke the first words of the evening that they realized looking at a handsome boy did not affect their breathing.
The sound of static crackled overhead, and sensing the sudden quiet atmosphere, classmates who had been chatting and playing on their phones like him also stopped what they were doing, and the auditorium became utterly silent.
It was as if all the noise of the night was just for this moment, like when the protagonist of an animated story appears, and all the spectators grow quiet.
Under the stage lights, he seemed enveloped in a layer of misty light, clearly visible yet unable to form a complete image in the mind.
Just before getting on stage, Xu Qingfan had decided on the piece he would perform, a song that perfectly depicted their vibrant youth at sixteen.
He gripped the microphone, calmly looking at Lin Wanning excitedly waving at him from below.
"Brother Qing Fan, look here, I'm here, duck!"
Despite the strange glances from classmates and teachers around her, the girl shouted undeterred, with eyes only for Xu Qingfan.
"Brother!" encouraged by this, Zhang Yiyi also raised her voice and shouted.
"I see you," Xu Qingfan pressed his hand towards them, then continued, "Fellow students and teachers, good evening."
It was a rather cliché introduction, and just as someone thought so and prepared to continue playing with their phone, Xu Qingfan spoke his third sentence of the night:
"Many nights, a melody has been swirling in my mind, I find it particularly fitting for us at sixteen, I dedicate it to everyone."
After finishing, he bowed at a forty-five-degree angle to the audience and handed the microphone back to the host, then started communicating with the piano.
There was also a murmur among the audience, many did not quite understand what Xu Qingfan had just meant.
"What does it mean that a melody has been swirling in his mind? What is he going to perform?"
"How should I know, if I knew, I would be the one showing off on stage right now!"
"Damn, I feel like I can't be the school's heartthrob with him around!"
"Can you just go die?"
Wang Xuan also didn't understand the meaning behind Xu Qingfan's words and curiously asked Xiao Ruawen, "Ruan Wen, what did... what did Fan just say?"
She had initially wanted to call him 'Brother Fan' directly like the others, but when she met eyes with Xiao Ruawen, she inexplicably changed her wording.
"It's nothing, just the literal meaning. Brother Fan sometimes writes songs in his spare time, probably got some inspiration again!" Xiao Ruawen showed her white teeth, looking very happy.
[Brother Chou Fan is finally writing a new song, it's been almost half a year since I updated my videos!]
"Oh, oh, it's about writing songs… writing songs… huh?" Wang Xuan nodded confusedly, then gasped in realization with her mouth wide open.
"Wonder if it can match Xu Song."
"Bullshit, how could a high schooler compare to Xu Song!"
Clearly, Xiao Ruawen wasn't the only one knowledgeable about music theory; after some explanation from enthusiastic folks, many understood what Xu Qingfan was planning.
Xiao Ruawen squinted her eyes and ignored the surrounding comments.
[Hilarious, they have no idea how amazing Brother Fan is!]
Soon after tuning the piano, Xu Qingfan sat down at it.
His fingers gently swept over the black and white keys, the emitted notes enchanting as if magical, and the softly murmuring auditorium once again quieted down.
"A melody obtained from a dream, I've named it Fireworks, I hope you all like it."
2351 2351, the ten slender fingers began to wander on the piano keys, the notes danced, and a melodious melody began to echo in the auditorium.
If it were ten years later, just the intro would have nearly ninety percent of the audience shouting out the name of the song—Launching Fireworks!
But in the late summer of 2011, everyone just found it refreshingly new, and instinctively closed their eyes.
Midsummer, seagulls, azure seawater, wind like a girl's dancing hair.
Temple fairs, liquor, splendid fireworks, half bright, half night sky, just a girl smiling back.
Everyone felt differently, but it was invariably about the most wonderful things hidden at the bottom of their hearts.
The beginning of the song didn't make waves, like most people's youth, without dramatic love stories or spectacular experiences.
Attending classes, finishing classes, going home after school, though bland like plain water, yet still loving everything that belongs to them!
Just as everyone thought this way, Xu Qingfan's fingers on the piano keys moved faster, the dancing notes grew denser.
Like fireworks ascending, bursting splendidly at their highest point.
Like telling each other about their youth.
Like each cicada that must hide underground for seventeen years, only to emerge and sing for two months of high summer, then youth quietly passes by.
Many eyes reopened, emotions surging, inexplicably feeling an urge to cry.
On the stage, the young man continued to play the piano music, and under the dim lighting, only a blurry outline was visible.
Though the melody stumbled at times, though the auditorium's speakers were wholly defective, this was exactly what their youth ought to look like!