Chapter 28: Will You Leave Me?

"With much sorrow, one knows the cold of night; how can this affection be understood..."

"A moment of infatuation back then; a reunion delayed by half a lifetime..."

"When two hearts are in love, who could bear to part from this..."

"With a single frown or smile of yours, you gift me eternal longing..."

The sound of the ancient xun, carrying a young girl's voice, hummed softly in everyone's ears, immersing them in that helpless, sentimental pain.

The cradle rotated slowly, bringing forth the girl's narration: "From childhood to now, I don't know how many people have tried to please me, how many rare treasures they have sent, but..."

She said softly, "Even if all the treasures in the world were placed before my eyes, they could not compare to this sleeve of yours that wipes the bamboo for me."

The young man turned to the back, and the young girl picked up the zither again.

The sound was light and slow, but the melody gradually rose...

"I scatter my tears, singing with you; the song has a voice, and you have feelings..."

Tang Yuehua's eyes in the audience brightened slightly.

The layman watches the excitement, but she, an expert, knew that the entire performance was supported by Qin Jian's superb execution; Ning Rongrong could at most avoid holding him back.

Just like this high-pitched section, it had to be pushed up slowly, yet without being rushed or impatient, and it also had to convey the emotions within to the audience; the requirements were extremely high.

But Qin Jian achieved it perfectly, and performed it to the fullest.

She did not know that Qin Jian's true form was a Love Flower with Million Year Spirit Power, which was most adept at conveying and perceiving emotions, which was why she was so surprised.

At this moment, on the stage, the huge cradle had approached the ground.

Qin Jian and Ning Rongrong, at some unknown point, had sat together with great tacit understanding, facing all the audience below the stage.

"I heard that Li Xun of Fenxiang Valley... has proposed to you?"

Qin Jian's voice seemed slightly hesitant.

"Yes, I am unwilling."

But the smile on Ning Rongrong's face carried an unusual tenderness.

And this dialogue of theirs caused Xue Qinghe's expression backstage to change, a strange look flashing in their eyes.

"Come away with me!"

On the stage, Qin Jian seemed to blurt it out quite impulsively.

A blush flashed across Ning Rongrong's face, and then she said word by word: "I... am... very... happy!"

"Where to go..."

Her gaze was somewhat drifting.

"Anywhere, to the ends of the earth."

Qin Jian said without hesitation.

Ning Rongrong looked at him, her expression appearing both like crying and smiling, her voice slightly choked: "Then... what about Bi Yao?"

Qin Jian shuddered, his whole body suddenly losing all its strength...

Below the stage, Jian Douluo frowned; he did not know why he always felt that Qin Jian's state of mind at this moment seemed to portend something.

"With much sorrow, one knows the cold of night; how can this affection be understood..."

"A moment of infatuation back then; a reunion delayed by half a lifetime..."

At this moment, Qin Jian's voice was even more dejected and painful.

"When two hearts are in love, who could bear to part from this..."

"With a single frown or smile of yours, you gift me eternal longing..."

Ning Rongrong just looked at him quietly, a tear slowly flowing down the corner of her eye...

The girl's narration sounded: "The Bell chokes, the hundred flowers wither, the figure grows thin, and the temples turn like frost."

"Deep love is bitter, a lifetime is bitter; infatuation is only bitter because of heartlessness."

Then came the young man's narration: "In this life of mine, I do not want loneliness, I do not want immortality; what I want is just to be together well with the person I love..."

The two looked at each other and shed tears, actually causing many emotional audience members below the stage to have slightly red eyes.

At this time, the last line of the song sounded: "A thousand thoughts are useless, who can stop themselves..."

The zither and the ancient xun played together again, lingering and affectionate, only fading after a long time...

Everyone thought this was the end of the program, but Tang Yuehua's voice suddenly sounded as the final narration.

"Many years later, when you look back on the past, do you still remember that back then, someone once whispered their heart's words to you?"

"Do you still remember those words that were somewhat fanatical because of youth and innocence?"

"Like a vow deeply carved into the heart, never to die or abandon!"

"Have you opened your arms and held that beloved person in your embrace?"

Qin Jian and Ning Rongrong embraced tightly.

The snow-white cradle rose gradually, and the white light dimmed slowly...

The entire great hall was silent.

A long time passed.

"Clap, clap..."

Until a slight sound of applause arose, and then it was as if it had been detonated; the applause came like a mountain torrent and a tsunami, submerging the entire great hall.

The applause lasted for a full three minutes before it slowly subsided, because at this time the stage had become bright again, and vast golden light filled the great hall.

Dozens of backup dancers appeared on the stage, and Xue Qinghe and Xue Ke stood in the center.

But looking closely, one could notice that Xue Ke's expression was slightly unnatural; she had also been immersed in Qin Jian and Ning Rongrong's performance, and was still somewhat dazed at this moment.

"I intended to be the finale, but I didn't expect it to feel like a coda instead..."

Xue Qinghe thought while dancing gracefully with Xue Ke: "With their pearls of excellence before us, no matter how grand our momentum is, it is useless, because in terms of emotional impact, we are far, far behind..."

"This Qin Jian... is truly interesting..."

"......"

Not mentioning the seemingly rather cloying Xue Qinghe and the other person on the stage in front, Qin Jian was also a bit flustered backstage.

"Rongrong, stop crying, the performance is already over..."

Against his chest, Ning Rongrong kept wiping her tears on his clothes: "Wuu wuu... I still haven't been able to come out of the emotions... wuu wuu... it's all your fault for writing such moving narration, wuu wuu..."

Qin Jian could only hold her tightly in his arms: "Alright, alright, it's all just a story, don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously."

"Then..."

Ning Rongrong raised her little head, looked into Qin Jian's eyes, and asked cautiously: "Qin Jian... will you leave me?"

"I..."

Qin Jian was slightly stunned and suddenly fell silent.

Because his soul power had just increased by another 1 level, reaching Level 20.

This meant that Ning Rongrong's feelings for him had reached their peak, and he would no longer be able to increase his soul power after this.

Unless it was... a breakup...

"Qin Jian, Qin Jian, why aren't you saying anything?"

Seeing him fall into silence, Ning Rongrong slowly began to panic.

Qin Jian tugged at the corners of his mouth, then reached out his right hand to wipe the tear stains from Ning Rongrong's cheeks, and said softly: "Rongrong, rest assured, we will definitely be together in the end."

Ning Rongrong breathed a sigh of relief.

She failed to hear the subtext in Qin Jian's words...

And at this moment, the performance in front had also ended, and all the students began to return to the stage one after another.

"Alright, we should go too..."

The two of them smoothed out the wrinkles on each other's clothes, and only then did they return to the stage hand in hand.

And the moment they appeared, they attracted almost everyone's gaze.

"Hmph, isn't it just that the song was good and the narration was moving? Who is first is still not certain!"

Seeing all the attention fall on Qin Jian and the other person, Xue Ke felt sour inside.

At this time, Tang Yuehua also walked to the center of the stage.

"This half-year session of etiquette training has now come to a complete end. Every student has reached the graduation standard, and as for the first-place pair..."

She paused, then continued: "I already have the answer in my heart. I don't know what you all think, but at least for me, they are the well-deserved first place."

She turned to the side, slowly scanned all the students, and then said: "The first-place student pair is..."

(End of chapter)