Chapter 31
Chapter 31: Can You Play the Piano?
At five o’clock in the afternoon, the conference hall was packed.
On the stage, a huge red curtain hung quietly, arousing curiosity about the great show being prepared inside.
In front of the stage, a row of chairs was set up, with red nameplates bearing many names, and each had a white porcelain cup beside it. Behind them were the seats for each class.
Class Four was on the right side of the auditorium. Everyone sat down according to their class seats. Since Fu Chengque, who was next to Wen Yu, had gone onstage to perform, her seat was temporarily vacant.
Then, important guests entered.
After the guests were seated, the host took the stage to deliver the opening speech, officially starting the art performance.
Talent shows from the first and second years took the stage, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up.
Backstage.
Unlike the front stage’s joy, backstage was busy and tense, with urging voices constantly heard.
“Is everyone from Class Eight of the first year here? Are you ready? You’re up next.”
“We’re all here, and so are the teachers!”
“Alright! What about Class Eleven of the second year? Your performance is street dance. Hurry up and change your clothes. Why are you still wearing school uniforms?”
“We’re coming, we’re coming, teacher. One of the pants’ zipper broke…”
“Just use a safety pin to fix it. Quick, quick, quick. For the piano solo from the third year, are both performers here? Have you changed your clothes?”
Someone nudged Fu Chengque, “Fu Chengque, they’re calling you.”
Fu Chengque quickly responded, “Teacher, I’m here!”
“What about your partner? The guy playing the piano. You two can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
Fu Chengque looked around but didn’t see Chen Minghe from Class Seven.
She asked the person next to her, “Where’s Chen Minghe?”
“I don’t know. It’s been a while since I last saw him.”
Fu Chengque started to feel anxious and hurriedly went to ask the homeroom teacher of Class Seven.
“Teacher Sun, where’s Chen Minghe?”
The homeroom teacher of Class Seven was surnamed Sun, a middle-aged female teacher who also looked worried.
“Fu Chengque, are you ready? We’re also looking for Chen Minghe. I’ve repeatedly told him not to wander around, but I’m afraid he might be doing just that!” She was so angry that her eyebrows were twitching. “Ji Ling, did you check the men’s restroom? Is he sneaking in there to smoke again?”
“Teacher, he’s not in the restroom.”
Teacher Sun’s anger flared up. “If he were my child, I’d really beat him to death!”
The group once again collectively searched every corner of the school, but Chen Minghe was still nowhere to be found.
At this time, with only two performances left before the seniors went on stage, the chaotic situation backstage reached the office of the Director of Education, Lin Wannian. He apologized to the principal and others, then quickly left his seat and hurried to the backstage.
As Lin Wannian appeared, the chaos backstage quickly calmed down.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Teacher Sun stepped forward. “Director, we can’t find Chen Minghe from our class.”
“What time is it now? Is there a conflict?”
“No, someone saw him go into the restroom last. After that, no one saw him.”
“How long has it been?”
“2 to 3 hours…”
“You waited this long to get worried?!” Lin Wannian was quite angry. “Have you searched everywhere? Have you tried calling his phone or messaging him on WeChat?”
“We did, but his phone is off.”
Lin Wannian was furious. “This kid! After the performance, I’ll personally visit his parents!”
Just then, a teacher hurried over and pulled Lin Wannian and Teacher Sun aside for a brief conversation.
Soon after, everyone heard Lin Wannian’s furious roar and saw Teacher Sun’s shocked and fearful expression.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Fu Chengque was very anxious, extremely anxious.
She had worked hard for this performance for a long time. Although she wasn’t the original performer, her perseverance was entirely worthy of this stage.
She absolutely didn’t want this performance to fall through. Even if Chen Minghe was absent, she would go on stage alone, even without piano accompaniment, and finish this dance.
Summoning her courage, she approached the teachers.
“Teacher, how’s Chen Minghe? Is there still time?” Fu Chengque asked.
Lin Wannian angrily replied, “Chen Minghe sneaked out of school. He’s at the police station for some reason. We’re preparing to pick him up. He’s fine, but he definitely won’t make it to the performance.”
Fu Chengque felt as if struck by lightning.
She steadied herself against the wall, took a few deep breaths, and firmly said, “Teacher, I can go on stage alone.”
Lin Wannian and Teacher Sun exchanged glances.
“But…”
“Teacher, I can do it. Even without accompaniment.”
Lin Wannian hesitated.
After thinking for a moment, he gave instructions, “Teacher Sun, please contact Chen Minghe’s parents, and then go to the police station to bring him back. Also, get a few other students to go to the senior classes and see if there’s anyone who can play the piano. They shouldn’t be too inexperienced. If you find someone, bring them along.”
Then, he looked at Fu Chengque. “You’re Fu Chengque from Class Four, right? You led the team for the last big poster, didn’t you?”
“Yes, that’s me, teacher, but that time it was mostly done by classmates.”
“Alright, that’s fine. Now go change clothes, do your makeup, and prepare yourself mentally: either you finish this performance alone, or the performance is canceled. Understand?”
With another sigh, Lin Wannian left.
Fu Chengque sat back in silence at her seat and began to tidy up her appearance.
She didn’t actually feel any sadness in her heart, just a sense of—
The Empress, how could she fall here?
***
The final performance before the solo dance ended.
Next was Fu Chengque’s turn.
A teacher hurried over and said quickly, “Are you Fu Chengque? They haven’t found a suitable replacement for playing the piano over there. The decision made by the leaders is, they don’t want to waste your efforts, so it’s up to you to decide whether to go on alone. If you think it’s okay, go ahead; if not, the next performance will replace it. The host will delay for five minutes for you to make a decision. Rest assured, regardless of success or failure, the teachers won’t blame you for your choice.”
Fu Chengque felt that there was actually nothing to think about. The decision had long been made in her heart.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Wen Yu. He also had an electronic keyboard. Could he play the piano? Would he dare to come up?
At the last moment, she took out her phone and sent a message to Wen Yu:
【Fu Chengque】: Can you play the piano?
【Fu Chengque】: Help me.
Putting down the phone, she walked towards the stage…
***
The senior solo performance was coming up soon.
The seniors were excited, especially the students from Class Four. Fu Chengque dancing, that’s truly rare. The most beautiful flower of Class Four was finally going to bloom to its fullest!
She belonged to Class Four!!
As the last performance of the juniors before the intermission ended, the anticipation reached its peak.
At this moment, a worried-looking classmate approached Chen Xiongguo and whispered something to him.
Chen Xiongguo’s expression changed immediately.
He turned and began quietly asking nearby classmates, who then passed on the information.
By the time Wen Yu heard about it, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
“The teacher’s asking if anyone can play the piano, if so, go and tell the teacher.”
“Piano? We haven’t heard of anyone in our class who can play, what’s going on?”
“Suddenly asking for someone who can play the piano, could something have happened to Fu Chengque’s performance? Only her performance involves playing the piano…”
In these fragments of conversation, many people guessed that there might have been an accident with the piano solo performance.
The pianist couldn’t play anymore.
Now they were trying to find someone to replace her, but playing the piano isn’t like typing on a computer keyboard. Who could replace her? Who would dare to go on stage at a time like this?
Wen Yu’s phone vibrated slightly.
He checked it and surprisingly, it was a message from Fu Chengque:
【Fu Chengque】: Can you play the piano?
【Fu Chengque】: Help me…
Indeed, there was a problem.
Wen Yu steadied himself and replied:
【Wen Yu】: I’m on my way.
【Wen Yu】: But remember the favor.
Then he stood up and headed towards Chen Xiongguo…
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