Chapter 209: Evening Gala (Part Two), Totally Awesome! (Requesting Base Guarantee)

What?

Not the erhu he's good at? But a tao flute?

What's going on here?

The audience below stared blankly; Li Heng's performance of "The Moon Over the Second Spring" during the military training cultural show had left a deep impression, so even a month later, everyone still remembered his face.

But what the hell is a tao flute?

Just like Ye Ning and Sun Manning had been confused before, many boys from the countryside had never even heard of a tao flute, let alone played one?

Even among the urban students, a significant number had never encountered this instrument.

Of course, those who knew a little about the tao flute watched the stage entrance with eager anticipation.

For example, Yu Yu Yu Shuheng.

This Professor Yu had initially assumed Li Heng would play the erhu or the flute, never expecting a tao flute; thinking of how she'd occasionally played the tao flute herself over the past month, she smiled faintly, straightened up slightly, and waited for the next performance.

She wanted to see what other tricks this boy, whom Wang Wang Runwen cared about so much, could pull off besides writing and the erhu?

Thinking of Li Li Li Lingyu's explosive opening act, Mai Sui felt nervous, her hands unconsciously gripping her pant legs as she sat upright, staring at the stage.

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe, sitting beside her, glanced at her friend and grew more serious.

Sun Manning and Ye Ye Ye Zhanyan were also tense; the former cared out of loyalty to her friend and hometown companion, while the latter wore visible worry—even though she'd earlier told Li Heng not to feel pressure, now she was more anxious than he was.

Liu Yue hid backstage, first squinting across at her supposedly well-concealed aunt, then at Li Heng.

Her emotions were extraordinarily complex.

In fact, yesterday's conversation with Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi in the girls' dormitory had been entirely deliberate on Liu Yue's part.

For instance, she scolded the umbrella, calling it a "stingy bastard," and asked her aunt, "Why do boys use blue umbrellas?"—all to spark her aunt's interest, thereby drawing out Li Heng's name and the date and location of tonight's show.

Even the question she deliberately asked—"Auntie, why don't you come support me tomorrow night?"—was a test of her aunt's reaction.

Ha! Yesterday's test yielded an answer today.

Yesterday she refused to come, yet today her aunt showed up silently, changed her outfit, ditched the sunglasses she'd criticized, and now wore ordinary large-framed glasses. She'd slipped in secretly without telling her.

What does this mean?

The thought in her mind was begging to surface.

If before she teased Li Heng out of boredom, finding him different from other boys, then later, when she deliberately sat beside him, picked fights with him, passed him notes—it was all to test and gather evidence.

Now she had thirteen notes in her pocket, all written in Li Heng's hand.

She'd decided: tomorrow, after her aunt left home, she'd sneak into her aunt's house with these notes, compare them with the letters, and see how many matching characters appeared in their everyday writing—check if the handwriting matched.

She suspected for five reasons:

First, Li Heng always flipped through newspapers in class, especially articles about the outside world's reactions to the writer Writer Writer Shiyue and "The Bitter Journey of Culture."

Second: she'd read her aunt's letters and always felt a strange familiarity, as if she'd seen them somewhere before—until, during class, she began exchanging notes with Li Heng, and suddenly realized the source.

Third: her aunt had inadvertently confessed—yesterday she refused to come to the show, yet today she came alone.

Fourth: the media all said writer Writer Writer Shiyue came from Shaoshi; coincidentally, so did Li Heng. Her aunt's letter address was Shaoshi No. 1 High School; coincidentally, so did Li Heng's alma mater.

Fifth: when discussing writer Writer Writer Shiyue, her aunt seemed unwilling to speak much, even warning her: "Don't be curious! Don't be curious! Or else..."

This was far too unusual.

What are the odds of all this happening by chance?

All these details together seemed to point toward something, guiding her toward the truth.

Yet one thing puzzled her endlessly: Li Heng's age—he hadn't even turned nineteen yet this year, so how could he possibly be writer Writer Writer Shiyue?

But conversely, her aunt's silence when asked whether writer Writer Writer Shiyue was married or had grandchildren matched perfectly.

Could it be that her thirty-three-year-old aunt was too embarrassed to admit she'd fallen for a boy under nineteen—especially one who was her own classmate?

Amid the crowd's pent-up curiosity and collective anticipation, Li Heng walked onstage carrying a tao flute, moving slowly to the center.

Just before stepping on stage, Ye Ye Ye Zhanyan clenched her fist and cheered: "Li Heng, go for it!"

Li Heng turned and gave her an OK sign.

Liu Yue stayed silent, holding the microphone, hands folded over her abdomen, standing still as she watched him ascend.

Here he comes!

The venue fell silent; everyone fixed their eyes on Li Heng on stage, on the short tao flute in his hand—their doubts were about to be resolved.

Reborn as a man, this was Li Heng's third time facing thousands of eyes—and he felt fine. The usual fear and tension vanished; not a single hair stood on end.

"Old Li, push hard!"

"Heng Ge, go for it!"

"Heng Ge, if you win first place, we'll find you a girlfriend!"

Suddenly, from the back row of Statistics Class 1 in Xianghui Hall, the guys from Dorm 325 all stood up, clapping and shouting!

Of course, the third line was screamed hysterically by the unruly Li Li Li Guoyi—no one else had the guts.

This scene made the entire venue burst into laughter, then the whole Statistics Class 1 clapped and cheered for him.

Li Heng said nothing, only smiled and gently pressed his hand down in response.

Soon after, he slowly closed his eyes, gathering his emotion.

Then all the stage lights went out at once, plunging the stage into darkness.

After a long thirty seconds of darkness, as questions began to form in everyone's minds, a single spotlight suddenly illuminated the stage.

Under the spotlight stood a figure, the rest of the stage still swallowed by darkness.

Long moments passed. Li Heng opened his eyes, placed the tao flute gently to his lips, and blew—so lightly, in the gaze of thousands.

A note that shook the soul exploded into the air, and the next second filled the entire Xianghui Hall.

Explosive!

Truly explosive!

It wasn't noisy; instead, it was pure, melodious—but the effect was swift, explosive!

Below, whether the principal and other leaders, teachers like Yu Yu Yu Shuheng, the sweet-song queen Li Li Li Lingyu, the general student body, or even Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi who'd come out of curiosity—every single person fell silent, stopped talking to those beside them, stopped daydreaming, all lifted their heads, mouths slightly open, as if frozen by a spell.

Their skulls buzzed, their souls swayed with the notes, their entire bodies tingled as if electrified, collectively sinking into an unprecedented, mystical state.

They say good music, you may not understand it—but it understands you.

As Li Heng continued playing "Original Landscape of the Hometown," its mournful, profound tone, everyone in Xianghui Hall was drawn into a lonely, desolate world, feeling the solitude and weary desolation far from the noise of the world.

It made each person present recall their own past struggles, the quiet simplicity beyond drifting, the places where their dreams and hopes once lay.

Resonance!

Thousands resonated with the tao flute's sound as one.

At this moment, their gazes were hazy, expressions entranced, staring dumbly at Li Heng on stage, their movements unnervingly synchronized.

In this moment, they shed their identities, their grudges, their confusion, their suffering.

In this tao flute melody—full of human warmth yet untouched by worldly dust—they felt a beauty, an ineffable, ethereal beauty, as if sensing a soul's voice gently tapping at some unfathomable, trembling emotion deep within.

At this moment, time seemed to halt!

The air froze!

The blood stilled!

The vast Xianghui Hall was utterly silent, so quiet a pin could be heard dropping—as if the world had shattered, leaving only the bamboo flute's sound and the otherworldly boy playing it.

Yu Yu Yu Shuheng's eyes gleamed; for the first time, her gaze toward Li Heng shimmered with color.

Mai Sui's ten fingers tightly interlaced, her heart racing!

Beside her, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe lowered her eyelids slightly.

Nearby, Ye Ning dared not even breathe, staring at Li Heng in shock, wanting to ask: "Suisui, what's your classmate's background? How is he this amazing?"

But Xianghui Hall was so still, Ye Ning couldn't ask—couldn't dare to ask—this song wasn't over yet; she had to listen first. These peripheral curiosities could wait until later.

Liu Yue squinted, then squinted again—she was beginning to understand her aunt, beginning to comprehend her. Watching the figure onstage, her gaze grew deeper, thoughts swirling through her mind.

The most relaxed was Ye Ye Ye Zhanyan. Seeing Li Heng's godlike performance, she exhaled deeply, clasped her hands together in front of her chest—her tension gone, replaced by pure excitement, admiration, and awe. This was even better than her last listening session—this junior was incredible! She'd had good taste! She'd won her bet!

The guys from Dorm 325 clenched their fists, veins bulging, chests heaving, throats choked—inside, they screamed over and over: "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"—now they cheered for Heng Ge, celebrated for Heng Ge.

The classmates from Statistics Class 1 were also elated; at this moment, they had witnessed a miracle, and felt a proud sense of shared honor.

Li Xian felt her pants wet, nearly collapsing—her heart flooded with a thousand regrets, cursing herself: she should've begged her master to let her stay! He was truly her absolute favorite type!

The 107 Friendship Dorm stared at Li Heng, expressions varied, but one common thread: admiration! Admiration! Admiration!

Liu Liu Liu Yanling's gaze burned hot, her massive 36D chest trembling, as if she wanted to devour him!

The boys were jealous, nearly driven mad—wanting to devour him!

The girls' eyes sparkled, also wanting to devour him!

Sun Manning felt both delighted and frustrated, thinking: How come she'd never heard him play such a dazzling piece? Did Mai Sui know? Were they teaming up to isolate her again?

In the corner, Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi was unlike anyone else—amid overwhelming surprise, her pupils held nothing but Li Heng.

If Li Heng asked her to do anything now, she'd do it without hesitation, without asking why—her pounding heart told her: Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi would do anything for this man she'd barely met.

This trip was worth it, Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi thought, relieved—if she'd missed tonight's brilliance, she'd regret it for years.

No matter how beautiful, how moving, as the clock moved forward, 4 minutes and 40 seconds reached its end.

When Li Heng blew the final note, it was over.

The piece ended!

Li Heng lowered the tao flute from his lips and bowed slightly toward the audience.

In response: thunderous applause! Applause like rolling thunder!

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Everyone clapped, everyone cheering for him from the heart.

The applause lasted about half a minute; just as he turned to walk toward the backstage, Liu Yue and the male host stopped him, requesting an interview.

Liu Yue whispered her blessing, audible only to the two of them: "Your performance was wonderful—perfect."

Li Heng smiled and nodded.

The male host stood on one side, the female host on the other, with Li Heng between them.

The male host shouted: "Was Li Heng's performance good?"

The audience roared: "Good!"

The male host asked again: "Was it exciting!"

The audience roared: "Exciting!"

The male host said: "It truly was exciting—Liu Yue and I were so absorbed we nearly forgot why we were here today. But if you hear the next piece of news, you'll think Li Heng is even more incredible, even more impressive! How impressive? This piece right here."

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Afraid my family would wait too long, I decided to post one chapter first—I'll try to add more words in the next.

(Still more)

(End of chapter)