Evening Party Begins

In the grand auditorium of Hua University, near the front where the staff welfare seats were located, the counselor discreetly found a seat near the back. He then sent a message to Xia Yu, asking if he had arrived. After receiving Xia Yu's affirmative response, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He had arrived early, and the auditorium was only half-full. He looked around but did not see Xia Yu; instead, he saw Shen Shengsheng approaching. Sitting next to the counselor, Shen Shengsheng asked, "Xiao Fu, has that boy Xia Yu arrived?"

"He's here, he's here," the counselor immediately replied.

"That's good," Shen Shengsheng nodded in satisfaction, too lazy to leave. He sat next to the counselor and waited for the party to begin.

The counselor, feeling both honored and anxious, sat upright with a serious expression, watching the stage. At 7 pm, the party officially began, with two handsome and beautiful alumni wearing suits and evening gowns as hosts.

There was a small uproar among the audience, as these two alumni were somewhat famous hosts. After watching for a while, Shen Shengsheng yawned and patted the counselor on the shoulder, "When it's Liu Manman's turn to perform, call me."

With that said, he took out an eye mask and earplugs from his pocket, put them on, and slept. The counselor hurriedly took out his mobile phone and asked for detailed information about Liu Manman's performance, keeping an eye on the stage.

When the last act before Liu Manman's performance was coming to an end, the counselor woke up Shen Shengsheng. Removing his eye mask and earplugs, Shen Shengsheng asked, "Is it time?"

"It's about to end, then it's her turn," the counselor said.

"Good, it's time for me to wake up," Shen Shengsheng picked up a cup of goji berry tea and took a sip.

He asked again, "Is Xia Yu still here?"

He had been thinking, if he wanted to save Xia Yu from the pitfalls of the Chinese Literature department, in addition to making him feel that Chinese had no future, he also had to remind Xia Yu of the charm of music. That's why he wanted to bring Xia Yu to watch the party, as Liu Manman was performing.

Liu Manman was Xia Yu's former rival and a good teammate. Seeing her, Xia Yu might change his mind.

"Let me ask Xia Yu's classmates," said the counselor. The three tickets he gave to Xia Yu were consecutive numbers with four other tickets given to their classmates, so asking the classmates would reveal whether Xia Yu was there or not.

He first scanned the seat numbers, but he didn't recognize any of the four people. So, he randomly chose a person and sent a message.

The other party did not reply, probably engrossed in the performance.

He then clicked on the second person.

It was Qin Youliang who, upon being asked if Xia Yu was still there, looked around in confusion and replied:

There is no Xia Yu, he never came in the first place

What! Who is sitting in the seats with the first three numbers in front of you? The counselor hoped that Qin Youliang was mistaken.

Qin Youliang sent him a photo, which featured the backs of three junior high school girls.

Xia Yu could not possibly be among them, as he wasn't that small.

The counselor felt a chill in his hands and feet.

Xia Yu had actually lied to him! He didn't come at all!

"What's wrong?" Shen Shengsheng noticed the counselor's unusual expression.

The counselor didn't dare to conceal anything and told Shen Shengsheng the whole story.

Shen Shengsheng frowned, but didn't blame him, only saying "let it be."

However, the counselor was very anxious and couldn't help but send a message to Xia Yu:

Weren't you supposed to come here?

I'm here, Xia Yu replied.

Then where are you?

I can't talk anymore, I'm going on stage.

What stage? What are you talking about?

The counselor was confused, and kept asking but didn't get a reply.

The counselor calmly analyzed the situation and came to an incredible conclusion.

He looked at the stage, where the host had already announced Liu Manman's program, an ancient guqin ensemble Rain Falling on the White Horse. The performers were Liu Manman and...

Xia Yu.

Shen Shengsheng swiftly turned his head to look at the big screen, and indeed, Xia Yu's name appeared in the caption.

He turned his head again, and exchanged a bewildered glance with the counselor.

On the stage, the two performers in Hanfu had already appeared.

Shen Shengsheng and the counselor were sure, that it was Xia Yu.

Why weren't you sitting quietly in the audience, but ran onto the stage to perform?

Weren't you not participating?

After roaring in his heart a couple of times, Shen Shengsheng calmed down and looked at the big screen again. The title of the Guqin piece was Rain Falling on the White Horse.

Although his signature instrument was the sheng, Shen Shengsheng was also very familiar with other music, especially the ancient instruments of Zone One.

So, he could be sure that he had not heard this piece before.

Not even a similar name.

Was this an original piece?

Shen Shengsheng thought of the piece Isolation in the Land of Origin.

Although Xia Yu was holding a guqin instead of a sheng, which made Shen Shengsheng somewhat dissatisfied, he still relaxed his body and prepared to appreciate the piece.

He's going to listen carefully and then tell Xia Yu: You're even better at composing sheng music, guqin and xiao are just average.

It was the harmonious sheng that gave the piece Isolation in the Land of Origin its sense of decay amidst tranquility, while the melody of the xiao and guqin were not outstanding.

Upon seeing Xia Yu's name, not only were Shen Shengsheng and the counselor excited, but also Yuxue and the other three.

Yuxue's two classmates excitedly grabbed her hand: "It's your brother!"

"Mhm, mhm, mhm," Yuxue smiled reservedly, looking calm and collected.

Behind them, Qin Youliang and the others, who had bought two extra tickets for the hidden box, were even more shocked.

This Xia Yu, without making a sound, went on stage to perform?

The girls with the other two tickets were overjoyed. They had watched all of Xia Yu's performance videos and were very excited to see him on stage in person.

They couldn't wait to share the news in the 19-member girls-only group chat.

Even those who originally didn't plan to watch all gathered around, watching the live broadcast of A-Fang Stage on their laptops.

On the stage, Xia Yu and Liu Manman bowed to the audience together, placed the guqin on the table, and sat down in the proper position.

The experienced cameraman zoomed in, allowing the audience to see Xia Yu and Liu Manman's faces clearly.

Liu Manman's appearance and temperament were both outstanding, instantly attracting the male viewers' attention. In comparison, Xia Yu's handsomeness was not as stunning as Liu Manman's, however, the quiet and leisurely aura surrounding him at this moment made the female viewers' eyes light up as well.

In the girls' group chat, they all simultaneously said how handsome he was.

Yet, this was not the peak.

Many people could pose with either a melancholic or charming temperament in still shots, but they couldn't keep it up in moving shots.

However, Xia Yu's elegance skill had the same effect while he moved.

After the performance began, even some male viewers couldn't help but take a second look at Xia Yu.

In the girls' group chat, there were countless messages of admiration.

The audience who didn't understand music were immersed in the pair's beautiful faces, while those who did were attracted by the unfamiliar piece.

The more Shen Sheng listened, the more astonished he became.

This piece seemed not to be an ordinary one as he had thought, but rather quite brilliant.

Closing his eyes, Shen Sheng began to appreciate it.