Gu Zhiqi didn’t want to show her face, so she deliberately wore a mask before going on stage.
However, even with a mask on, Tang Yichen and Fu Xiyan, who were familiar with her, recognized her at a glance. Seated next to Yi Tingfeng and partially hidden behind him was none other than Gu Zhiqi.
Tang Yichen blinked, his eyes widened, and he instinctively looked to the side.
He found that, indeed, there was no one in the seat next to him.
Not only was Gu Zhiqi not in her seat, but Su Yunling was also absent.
"It’s Gu Xiaoxi." As soon as Tang Yichen turned his head toward Fu Xiyan, he whispered, then took out his phone and messaged Su Yunling.
[Old Four: Third Brother, where did you go?!]
[Old Four: Gu Xiaoxi is on stage!]
Unfortunately, after sending out two messages, there was no response from Su Yunling.
Su Yunling did not respond, but the performance on stage had already begun.
Elsewhere, Su Yunling had made her way to the backstage area.
Having not found anyone in the resting room, Su Yunling continued to search until she finally arrived at the waiting area.
There, a staff member spotted her.
"Hey? Who are you? Don’t you know that the backstage is not allowed..."
The staff member’s words were cut off before she could finish.
Following the voice, Su Yunling saw Xiao Ye.
Having been a guest at the Yi siblings’ concerts and being a frequent visitor during performances, Su Yunling had some impression of Xiao Ye, the assistant who had been with the Yi siblings for two years.
He nodded toward Xiao Ye.
Xiao Ye immediately approached Su Yunling and started speaking with a hint of distress, "Teacher Su, since you’re here, why didn’t Brother Feng and Sister Yu invite you to be a special guest?"
Compared to Gu Zhiqi, a little junior sister whom Xiao Ye had never seen and who had appeared out of nowhere, he trusted Su Yunling a lot more, a talented childhood friend who had performed on stage with the Yi siblings on numerous occasions.
Hearing this, Su Yunling arched an eyebrow slightly. She didn’t tell Xiao Ye that Yi Tingfeng had invited her, but she had declined.
However, if she wasn’t the one to step in, someone else would need to...
"Who is stepping in?" Su Yunling casually asked.
"Ah? It’s Brother Feng and Sister Yu’s little junior sister. I only found out today that they had a little junior sister. I don’t know where she came from; she hasn’t even rehearsed, and I don’t know if she can manage..." Xiao Ye murmured with a troubled look.
Upon hearing the phrase "little junior sister," Su Yunling paused for a moment before stepping forward and heading straight toward the entrance for performers.
"Hey? Teacher Su, where are you going? The performance has started, you..."
Xiao Ye followed Su Yunling to the entrance, and then he clearly heard the sound of the piano coming from the front stage.
Xiao Ye’s steps momentarily faltered.
Seemed a bit different.
Just now, due to the fear of mistakes happening on stage, Xiao Ye really didn’t have the courage to listen to the performance, so he stood where he couldn’t hear it.
Now, standing where he could hear the performance, Xiao Ye naturally heard the music and noticed something extraordinary about this piece.
Xiao Ye was all too familiar with the Yi siblings’ style of playing.
Over the past two years, he had followed them and listened to countless performances, and being their fan, he was especially familiar with their style.
So Xiao Ye instantly noticed that this performance was different from any other they had given before.
It wasn’t just the style and technique that were different, but the artistic conception as well.
Scholars focus on technique, masters on the artistic conception.
Yi Tingfeng and Yi Tingyu’s playing level had been certified as master level by the Jingyin Alliance, allowing them to effortlessly compose a myriad of artistic conceptions with their performances.