school gate. Before Su Cen arrived, she would only go to school and back home every day without noticing anything else around her—occasionally reporting briefly to her parents in the grand living room...Chapter 92: Day Two (Part 2)
This is the last chapter update for today. As he walked down the street, Su Can was constantly sorting out his thoughts. He heard someone calling him and looked up to see that he had unknowingly arrived at the entrance of his workplace. It was Xue YiYang who came out.
Dragging Su Can onto the platform, Xue YiYang continued talking incessantly, "Damn, you really got everyone pumped last night with your extreme unit rush strategy! It was like a medic on steroids! And Reu and I originally thought that we could take down any高手with our combined efforts. But in the end, it was still you who suppressed us to death! You didn't see how crazy things were at the internet cafe yesterday as everyone was trying to simulate your tactics!"
Su Can smiled and said, "If you keep studying like this, you'll soon surpass me."
Xue YiYang looked skeptically at Su Can, "I don't know about that. I doubt there's anyone in Xiahai City who can match your level! The bus is here; we need to hurry or the cultural performance will start on time at 7 pm and we'll have to change clothes!"
Xue YiYang was very concerned about this cultural performance because it seemed that since his middle school days, he had never been able to perform on stage. So even if they were just background characters, it didn't matter; being able to show themselves in front of the whole school was a great honor.
The auditorium at City No. 1 High School was quite large and located on the right side as you entered the school gate. It was a grand building built long ago but its scale rivaled that of Xiahai's old theater, which had not yet been torn down.
Other high schools like No. 3 Middle School and No. 2 High School didn't have their own auditoriums. Su Can remembered from the future that every year, No. 3 Middle School rented out an old theater for its cultural performance, which was similar to a movie theater. He once secretly followed Xue YiYang to watch City No. 1 High School's cultural performance; the auditorium there was clearly more beautiful than the old theater and what caught his eye the most were all the girls participating in the performances at City No. 1 High School.
At that time, he must have drooled a lot. Chen Lingshan’s performance almost drew him into another world. Now things had changed; not only was he a student of City No. 1 High School, but also performing on stage with Chen Lingshan. Even though it was just as an accompanist, the situation was quite extraordinary.
Although they arrived early, they saw long queues of students along the way. Inside the auditorium, the venue was decorated beautifully and Xue YiYang, who had been chatting happily with Su Can earlier, now seemed to have his heart squeezed by a rope as he started showing signs of stage fright.
There were already many performers from various classes backstage, busily preparing. From their place, they could clearly see the bustling crowd in the large hall; more people kept coming in continuously, making it grand and lively.
Many students were privately discussing this year's cultural performance, such as which boy would perform a solo song and how cool he was! Which class's girls would dance passionately and excitedly! The piano prince would play a pure music solo; everyone looked forward to it!
Before the rehearsal, they felt relaxed. But now when faced with the real performance, even Su Can felt a bit anxious.
This probably relieved him from the chaos caused by Wang Bo's incident.
Hurriedly putting on the golden costume, backstage became gradually more orderly. Teachers from different grades were anxiously directing and adjusting the sequence of performances.
The four hosts walked onto the stage; the front area quieted down.
With passionate opening remarks, Principal Ding Juntao stepped up to address everyone, "Teachers and students: I feel honored to be with you all here today. I hope that all of you can sing well and dance beautifully! Be bold and step onto the stage to showcase your talents! Today's songs will be the most melodious; today's dances will be the most splendid! Everyone here will be the happiest people! Wishing Xiahai No. 1 High School's cultural performance a grand success!"
This led to enthusiastic applause.
The entire auditorium suddenly darkened.
There was a moment of silence as everyone held their breath.
The spotlight shone down, and the school dance team dressed in red costumes with small braids, short pants, and waving red scarves appeared on stage, marking the start of the opening dance performance.
Su Cen realized that one of the hosts was Yue Zijiang when he returned to the backstage host team. Clearly, Yue Zijiang had also noticed Su Cen. Su Cen smiled at him, and Yue Zijiang nodded in response before giving him a thumbs up, signaling that everything went smoothly with his performance.
In fact, Yue Zijiang wasn't an unpleasant person; not everyone is naturally inclined to backstab others. In the presence of conflict, friends might turn into enemies, let alone Tang Wu, who would likely be a girl no one with self-confidence in pursuing her would easily give up on.
Yue Zijiang's expression slightly froze when he looked this way and then turned his head away to start discussing the next announcements with the host team.
Su Cen only now turned around to look at Chen Lingshan, who was wearing a white gown, light makeup, a touch of red on her brow, and phoenix eyebrows.
"You should appreciate the next program. It's called 'Dream Wedding' played by Xiao Yu, the so-called piano prince of our grade. His skills won't be worse than Tang Wu's; it should satisfy your taste." Her eyes seemed to carry a faint resentment as she spoke.
Su Cen shook his head, "I don’t know how good a piece is; if he can finish and I can listen through without issues, that would be great."
Chen Lingshan couldn't help but laugh, “You’re not going to tell me you're tone-deaf, are you”
"At least I'm not as talented as you," Su Cen replied.
On the backstage, people were already looking at them. A dance team was passing by; when they saw Chen Lingshan, some guys’ eyes lit up but then turned to see Su Cen and showed a look of relief with “Oh, that’s why” in their gaze. Some pretended it didn’t matter, but inside, they looked down on Su Cen for being able to have such an intimate conversation alone with Chen Lingshan.
"Do you know why I started dancing" Chen Lingshan sighed softly. "When I saw traditional Chinese dance 'Han Tang' on TV before, scenes kept recurring in my mind of myself wearing a splendid robe with long sleeves and tassels, performing on a stage where everyone is looking at me, taking them back to the Han and Tang dynasties."
"Later when getting involved in this, I realized that our country's traditional dance is quite awkward; each school is formed by many people. The greatness of their training method lies in making someone who never danced before reach a level needed for dancers through basic skills. But the essence of Chinese classical dance focuses on body and spirit training, which isn't easily achieved without good teachers." From then on, I knew that dancing could only be an interest to me.
Returning to the Han Tang era must be many people's dream, right Yet in this world, there are dreams shattered under the dirty sewers of bustling city streets.
She paused and smiled at Su Cen. "Now I don't chase after those dreams that attract everyone’s attention; all I hope is to someday dance for someone I like."
The words seemed to require much courage, making Chen Lingshan blush slightly. "If this dance has music accompaniment, it would be wonderful. But unfortunately, there's no live music."
"Dunhuang Dunhuang," Su Cen sighed softly. "Can I use poetry as the accompaniment, along with background music"
Chen Lingshan showed a look of surprise, "Really Then this dance isn't just dancing but a musical drama!"
Su Cen nodded, “I'll try my best.” In this manner, he could make for a perfect farewell.
Chen Lingshan pressed her rapidly beating heart. "I’ve only heard your speeches and never your poems; what if I mess up" Then she bit her lip. "We can just mess up together then!"
Jia Zhiyu, wearing a golden costume, walked to them and told Chen Lingshan, “Lingshan, I saw another set of clothes in the backstage that seems more beautiful; go check if you should change into it."
“Alright.” Chen Lingshan found her hands trembling with nervousness. She looked at Su Cen with unprecedented expectation and said, "You’d better get ready now; see you soon!"
Su Cen nodded and ignored Jia Zhiyu’s wary gaze as he walked toward Yue Zijiang, pulling him into a hug and whispering something in his ear. Yue Zijiang took a step back, staring at Su Cen in shock before quickly nodding.
After each program, Yue Zijiang once again took to the stage.
"Next up, please enjoy a classical dance drama 'Dunhuang' brought to you by Class 5, Grade 2!"
The entire venue erupted into screams, clearly indicating that they had been eagerly anticipating this performance for some time. Immediately following were murmurs of confusion: "Wasn't it supposed to be a classical dance How did it turn into a drama" However, these brief doubts vanished in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the dimming lights brought a hush over the audience as everyone understood that such performances required an atmosphere. All the students present were aware of this.
Amidst the darkness where no one could see clearly, Su Cen, equipped with a portable microphone, was already in position on stage.
The lights suddenly illuminated Chen Lingshan standing at the center, her white dress as pristine as snow, sleeves as delicate clouds, and black hair cascading like a waterfall. She looked ethereal and graceful.
With all the male students behind her dressed in golden attire, she was particularly eye-catching.
The background music began to play, and Chen Lingshan's elegant body started moving gracefully. The people behind her began their dynamic movements, but everyone noticed that the man standing directly behind her remained still, his eyes gently observing the audience with a soft gaze.
Su Cen’s calmness juxtaposed against Chen Lingshan's movements elicited immediate and intense applause from the crowd.
Many instantly recognized Su Cen as the student who gave a speech on happiness at the school assembly in the previous semester. At this moment, everyone was filled with anticipation. What kind of performance would they put on
As Chen Lingshan danced, Su Cen's rich and resonant voice echoed through the venue.
I want to carry a bag full of dreams
Tie a rein to my horse and head towards that distant place where sandstorms swirl
I wish to follow the ancient path stretching far, far away
In search of my dreamy desert Dunhuang
Pass through June snow falling on Qilian Mountains
Dive into the vast desert where hot winds blow sand
I wish to find a stone axe left there by ancient people
To see if it still holds the light of fire from over four thousand years ago
Pursue the setting sun on the Silk Road
Traverse the Hexi Corridor where war drums once echoed
I want to find the pottery left by the Sanmiao people
Let it be filled with the cold and vastness of history
The audience on stage are closely watching, many have their eyes misty. Su Cen's voice and somewhat melancholic tone seem to narrate a lifelong pursuit of dreams,觸動了他們內心最深處，對理想追逐的夢境，是如此魂牽夢繞，醒來卻隻剩下枕邊潮濕的眼淚。
Chen Lingshan shrugged her shoulders; for the first time she felt that her dance was filled with divine charm. Even her every move and gentle smile were poeticized in Su Cen's chant. Naturally, her eyes welled up.
"I see the smoke signals of Emperor Wu of Han
Raise the flags to block out the sun, a heroic and magnificent scene
Vanishing into the wind on the endless frontier path
The singing sands... ringing continuously for thousands of years
Mysterious Dunhuang
Your mystical scriptures and paintings allure hearts and minds
Your world-famous Silk Road Flower Rain scene intoxicates one with sorrow
Unforgettable Dunhuang
The tales of splendor are like the sunset in your vast desert
Bright history, a dazzling chapter"
Chen Lingshan, draped in her white robe, moved gracefully toward this rugged man. Her bright eyes brimmed with tears while her pert nose reddened. The Su Cen before her seemed to be accompanied by a soul traversing time and space, deeply captivating. Listening to his chant made her feel an urge to weep.
"You know, the final part of my performance was already prepared."
The sleeves fluttered around her like swirling clouds, gradually falling.
"Didn't you say before that you wanted to see my performance" Chen Lingshan smiled gently. "Now I'll give you...my performance."
Her white dress flowed like a veil as she leaned in, her red lips slightly parted, and her teeth bit down on Su Cen's lip.
This moment was captured with the last syllable of Su Cen's chant and his final leap.
The lights were dazzling yet softened this grand hall of Shi-Zhong High School in spring 2000.e school road, attracting nothing but attention.If her own mother were to see such a scene, she might very well say that it's "inappropriate."Thinking about this made Tang Wu feel an indulgent sense o...