"Eh, Su Bei's 'opening performance' is actually a piano!" Holding the program booklet, one of the girls exclaimed in surprise.
"You only know that Su Bei is going to perform a piano now? This matter has been spread in the forum for days."
"I thought it was just a one-side remark from Song Xinyi's fans who wanted to step on Su Bei..."
"But, do you think that Su Bei's performance will end up in total failure as they said in the forum?"
"I'm really not sure. After all, Song Xinyi's piano is already proven. Su Bei, however, I never heard a word about her talents."
"If she really failed, then it will be the first epic failure show in the history of our Weiming Middle School's 'opening performance', haha. Why am I still looking forward to it."
At this moment, many people were looking forward to Su Bei's piano performance. Some supported her, while some were her haters, who even formed the [anti-Su army] spontaneously. Several students even started a live broadcast, specifically planning to broadcast Su Bei's live performance in real-time. They even prepared provocative captions: [The first 'school flower' epic failure show in the history of Weiming Middle School!], [School Flower or joke? See you tonight!]
(T/N: School flower or joke: This is a wordplay. School flower: xiaohua(校花), joke: xiaohua(笑话).)
"To be honest, although I am not Song Xinyi's fans, it is still our school's prided 'opening performance' after all. It is better to find a student with a proven ability to perform. If Su Bei failed, the whole school would also be embarrassed."
"No way, Su Bei got the first place in the school flower vote."
"Didn't you see how her victory came. If it were not for male god Xie and young master Su's fervent campaign, Su Bei's votes probably couldn't even compare with our class flower."
"Really enviable, ah. There are also Liu Kai and his group in her class. They even made a warning post for Su Bei's sake in the school forum before."
"My god, is that true? What kind of warning? Not allowed to vote for people other than Su Bei?"
"Of course not. It was because someone spread the gossip that Su Bei and Su Xiaobao are illegitimate children."
...
Illegitimate children? Hearing these two words, Mr. Qin's face suddenly darkened.
At this moment, the lights in the auditorium were dimmed. Someone shouted excitedly, "It started!", and the whole audience gradually quieted down. 'Opening performance' began before the MC got into the stage. There were no opening speech nor announcement beforehand. The dimmed lights in the auditorium meant that the performance was about to begin. The curtains opened. There was a grand piano in the center of the stage, lighted with a spotlight. Su Bei walked onto the stage in a white dress and saluted gracefully.
"How beautiful-"
In the quiet auditorium, someone suddenly exclaimed in a low voice. But obviously, this remark coincided with many people's mood at this moment. After all, Su Bei and Su Xiaobao hasn't been transferred to Weiming Middle School for long, and they were usually low-key. Therefore, not many students outside their class have actually seen Su Bei directly.
Most students' knowledge about the new school flower was from her photo holding the thermos taken on the basketball court before. However, who knew whether that photo has been tinkered by a skillful PS user or not, or how many beauty filters did it use.
So at this moment, when the students finally saw Su Bei in person, many were surprised: because they found that Su Bei was really beautiful, and her face was even prettier than her photo!
"I finally know why those guys in class 8-7 are always bragging about Su Bei's face..." Someone whispered. They weren't bragging, but merely telling the truth.
"I also think that from her face value alone, Su Bei actually truly deserves the 'School Flower' title."
Su Bei's face wasn't less pretty than Song Xinyi's, and on such formal occasions, her imposing posture was even more eye-catching.
On the stage, Su Bei also heard the voices, and she subconsciously glanced down to the seat below. However, because of the darkened auditorium, she could not see anything at all. Su Bei still had to greet the audiences. She showed a smile and expressed her gratitude.
After that, Su Bei walked calmly to the piano and sat down. Because her sight was now being blocked by the piano, her initial tension loosened. Su Bei took a deep breath, her fingertips resting lightly on the black and white keys, and her whole body finally calmed down completely.
"Ting-" A clear melody flowed, relaxing yet lively. With each tune played, the whole song seemed to be injected with vitality. The background and lighting on the stage were constantly changing with the ups and downs of the melody. Suddenly, a lot of light sticks were lit under the stage, creating the illusion of a starry night. Su Bei's white dress and black grand piano made a great contrast. She was like a fairy under the moonlight, dancing in the sea of stars.
Inside the auditorium, everyone who had been waiting to see the epic failure scene was shocked. They subconsciously held their breath and fervently watched Su Bei's performance on the stage. After the song ended, some people were still trapped in the atmosphere, unable to recover for a long time.
—
Su Bei's opening performance was very successful. Compared to the unexpected shock brought by her, the following few programs seemed to be less attractive. At the moment, the art performance's programs were still continuing one by one, but Weiming Middle School's forum has already exploded.
[Fuck! Su Bei really can play the piano, and she is also not bad!]
[Nonsense, if she really doesn't have the ability, why does she still dare to go to the stage? To make a joke of herself?]
[Hahaha, originally I came to watch the epic failure scene, but did not expect it to become an actual stunning performance!]
[Thermos little sister, I love you!]
[After being suppressed by Song XX's brainless fans for so long, I can finally say this sentence loudly: Thermos little sister boldly flies, followed forever by the wolfberry and malva seeds!]
[By the way, shouldn't they change the caption?]
After the art performance went more than halfway, the topic about Song Xinyi also began to appear.
[Song Xinyi is also performing a piano solo today?]
[Song Xinyi has finished her performance just now.]
[Is it? I was so busy browsing the forum that I didn't even notice!]
[Song Xinyi made a mistake?]
[How is it possible! Isn't our goddess always play well? You above, if your eyes or ears have problems, go to the hospital to check.]
[Song Xinyi is on the sixth program list. If a piano solo is placed in the middle instead of the opening, it indeed will be disadvantaged.]
[To be fair, Song Xinyi's piano play is excellent. In terms of technical skill alone, Su Bei and Song Xinyi are incomparable. Still, from the stage presentation, Su Bei is also very beautiful today.]
[Resources: Recorded video from the fourth row in the auditorium seat.]
At this time, the group of girls sitting near Mr. Qin started chatting again.
"Look, there's a video of Su Bei's performance in the forum."
"How beautiful!"
"The effect is too superb. The spotlight on the stage and the light sticks below are blended perfectly, it is so fantastical."
"We should do the same for our performance, it's so beautiful!"
"Impossible. This effect is planned by the students from class 8-7. They also prepared the light sticks and chose their seat position beforehand. Even if our class wants to imitate, our seat is in a different place, and there is no way to create the same effect."
......
Mr. Qin wasn't interested in the conversation of a few little girls. However, he just overheard when they praised his daughter's beautiful performance. The corner of his lips unconsciously arched, and if looked carefully, there was a pride in his eyes.
However, Mr. Qin's inner 'joy' was soon broken by the words they said next.
"I heard that class 8-7 managed to sit in that area this time was because male god Xie specifically come to find director Liu to make the application. Is it true?"
"It's true, ah. And didn't you see it, when class 8-7 raised the light sticks, male god Xie and his group also lighted up LED signs."
"Oh my god, the two male gods give her full support, what kind of fairy treatment is this. Su Xiaobao still okay, but even male god Xie..."
"Eh, do you think that the gossip about Su Bei and male god Xie are dating is true or not?"
"Where did you hear this?!"
"A lot of people are talking about it. After all, that male god Xie, who doesn't even put Song Xinyi into his eyes, is helping Su Bei gather votes and even let his gang dispel Su Bei's rumor. Why did he do that if they aren't dating?"
"Oh my god......"
Mr. Qin who was eavesdropping with a dark face from the side: "...."
The word 'dating' seriously stimulated Mr. Qin's nerves. His face darkened even more.
Male god Xie? Who was that? The little brat from Xie family? Mr. Qin frowned. He recalled how Su Bei recently always rushed to the room after dinner to play with the computer every night, and her 'abnormal' expression when looking at her mobile phone during the day.
—
Su Bei's second program was the modern group dance performance of class 8-7. Previously, someone posted on the forum the video recording of Su Bei's 'laughable' dancing practice. Initially, those from [anti-Su army] were also looking forward to see Su Bei's dancing skill.
The result, once again, made them disappointed. Although Su Bei's position in the group wasn't the most prominent, nor did she dance spectacularly, but she never made any mistake either. The entire group performance passed smoothly.
Many people now saved many photos of [The new girl] and [Thermos little sister] in their mobile phones.
......
After their performance ended, Su Bei and other dancers left the backstage and returned to class 8-7.
"Thank you." Su Bei said to her classmates. Although Su Bei couldn't see the audience's seat during her piano solo, her eyes still caught the glow from the light sticks and LED signs waving. Especially Xu Yangyang and his group, they must exert a lot of effort. In the second round of the "Red Hacker Challenge", she would bring Xu Yangyang to fly with her—Su Bei secretly determined.
Xie Minxuan who was sitting lazily on a seat straightened his posture. With a somewhat casual tone, he said, "The success of your performance also benefitted our class."
On the side, Xu Yangyang and his group: "......"
Why did they never know before that their brother Xuan was someone who had such strong class solidarity?
"Still, thank you." Su Bei said.
Xie Minxuan turned his head to look at Su Bei, and immediately stunned-seeing Su Bei's appearance, he suddenly didn't know where to put his eyes.
"Just doing my responsibility." Throwing these words slowly, Xie Minxuan turned his head away and moved his gaze. However, Su Xiaobao moved faster. He already took off his school uniform jacket and covered Su Bei's body with it.
The two boys stared at each other, looking at the coldness in the other's eyes.
...
After all the performances finished, the lights in the auditorium turned on again. Su Bei got up and turned to look at the back rows. However, she didn't see anyone sitting on the seat previously occupied by Qin Shao. Her gaze swept the whole auditorium but still failed to find the man.
"Maybe he left long ago." Su Xiaobao's displeased voice rang from Su Bei's side.
"Maybe he had to go back to the company." Su Bei nodded. There was a little disappointment in her eyes that she herself didn't even notice.
Right then, Su Bei's cell phone suddenly rang. It was a short message : [I'm at the gate, contact me when the show is over.]