Translator: 549690339
Bai Lian, in her two lifetimes combined, had nearly gone a year without touching the guzheng, so it was understandable that her proficiency was lacking.
The main issue was that the guzheng given to her by the student council had twenty-one strings.
…But the guzheng she was previously accustomed to had only eighteen strings!
So she had just found it very awkward to play.
Her performance was not even one-tenth of her normal standard.
Fortunately, she played “The White Robed Journey.” If it had been something else, it might have been even more unpleasant to listen to.
Who was her teacher… she chose not to disgrace her mentor.
Bai Lian silently wondered if the founding master had received her reflections and repentance.
“Isn’t that so?” Chief Chen looked at Bai Lian as if she were dissatisfied with herself and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
He didn’t understand guzheng, but he could still feel the music’s power.
With her performance, Bai Lian could now join the Jiangjing Guzheng Association and, with another two years of practice, it was not impossible for her to become a concert-level guzheng performer.
Is Bai Lian setting such high standards for herself?
Chief Chen wanted to continue questioning, but the slow, deliberate gaze of the person beside him made him shudder all of a sudden.
Looking back, he indeed met Jiang Fulai’s faint gaze.
Chief Chen stiffened.
Thankfully, the arrival of Pu Xiaohan and others eased Chief Chen’s stiffness at that moment.
Pu Xiaohan and Zhang Shize were just as puzzled as Chief Chen, but with Jiang Fulai standing next to Bai Lian, not a single person dared to utter a word.
“Tell my grandpa I’ll go ahead to the school cafeteria and wait for him,” Bai Lian said as she took over her phone and two pieces of iridium.
Pu Xiaohan nodded.
Only after Bai Lian and the others had left did Zhang Shize wipe his sweat, looking at Pu Xiaohan and relaxing slightly, “Who was that just now…?”
He didn’t specify whom, but Pu Xiaohan knew he meant Jiang Fulai.
Her lack of surprise at Zhang Shize’s timidity was because even the top students would…
Pu Xiaohan did not answer, instead frowning, “What’s the deal with that longsword anyway?”
“It’s about Chen Wei calling me this morning…” Zhang Shize also calmed down.
Over at the auditorium.
Because only a faint sound of the guzheng could be heard backstage.
They missed the grand, overwhelming atmosphere of the live performance.
When Bai Lian came out, she returned the guzheng to that boy, her calm face revealing nothing.
No one backstage knew she had played “The White Robed Journey.”
The logistics staff removed the guzheng, and several people lifted the piano for Ren Wanxuan’s performance onto the stage.
Ren Wanxuan, stroking her gorgeous custom dress and lifting the hem, stepped onto the stage and bowed slightly to the audience.
As she sat down, her eyes lifted, and the smile at her lips suddenly froze—
The first row of school leaders’ seats in the auditorium were almost all empty!
Even Elder Chen was gone.
For whom was she performing then?
Not knowing what had happened, Ren Wanxuan played a piece with a disturbed mind, and sparse applause followed from the auditorium.
This had never happened before.
Even if she hadn’t put her heart into it today, Ren Wanxuan knew her piano performance had met the standard.
Why was the auditorium’s reaction so lukewarm?
She was puzzled in her heart but showed no sign of it as she walked backstage, dragging her dress, feeling vaguely uneasy.
The Chen Family and the Ren Family had both been busy with Chief Chen’s underground market affairs lately.
Nobody had found the time to come today.
Ren Wanxuan changed into her regular clothes and went outside to find Chen Zhu.
Students passing by were excitedly checking their phones, and she could distantly hear words like “guzheng” and “so cool.”
A bad premonition faintly formed in Ren Wanxuan’s heart.
Chen Zhu was still sitting in the first row, quietly sitting with his phone, lost in thought.
“Where did the principal and the others go?” Ren Wanxuan looked around.
Chen Zhu came to his senses and looked up, “They probably went to find Bai Lian, I guess?”
“Bai Lian?” Ren Wanxuan’s heart clenched, yet her face remained indifferent, “What do they want with her?”
Chen Zhu didn’t respond, just tossed his phone to Ren Wanxuan, “See for yourself.”
Ren Wanxuan caught the phone reflexively, looked down—it was the school’s forum, with the hottest post just published—
[Ah! Bai Lian’s guzheng performance was epic! I got goosebumps! You really missed out if you weren’t there to see her live today! (video attached)]
Just five minutes long.
There were already over two hundred replies.
As Ren Wanxuan scrolled further, all the posts were about Bai Lian’s performance.
She didn’t see a single one about her piano.
The entire school forum
had been completely taken over by Bai Lian!
Ren Wanxuan’s hand holding the phone was a bit unsteady. She started to understand why the atmosphere had been so tepid during her piano performance…
But how could Bai Lian play the guzheng?
She didn’t return the phone to Chen Zhu; instead, she stood still and directly opened the video.