The Gala Part 2
Qin Shi walked backstage and saw a group of teenagers in white shirts surrounding Zhang Yanli, each looking nervous and uneasy.
“There are so many people below! And leaders too!”
“Oh my god, I’m so nervous. I need the toilet again.”
“Quick, quick, let’s practise one more time. I’m scared I’ll forget the lyrics or sing off-key, waaah.”
The children chattered over one another about their nerves, making Zhang Yanli feel a little uncertain too. But she didn’t dare show it, afraid it would affect them. So she comforted them, “It’s fine, it’s fine. You’ve all practised so much. Just sing like usual.”
“Teacher Qin is here!” A sharp-eyed child spotted Qin Shi and immediately called out.
“You’re finally here.” Zhang Yanli breathed a sigh of relief and waved Qin Shi over quickly.
She hadn’t been a teacher for many years, and this was also her first time leading a class. When something happened, she still felt a bit unsteady and couldn’t quite control the scene.
Qin Shi smiled at her, then said to the nervous children, “It’s alright. Teacher will watch you from below the stage later. When the time comes, look at my mouth shape and sing along with me. Don’t be afraid.”
“It’s fine even if you forget the lyrics. Just open your mouth. There are so many people singing that no one will hear one person forgetting.” Qin Shi deliberately joked, “But don’t all of you forget, or our chorus will turn into a mime performance.”
“I’ll be fine below the stage. I’d just worry that you’d be too embarrassed to come down.”
“Hahaha!” The students burst into laughter, and some of their nervousness disappeared.
“We won’t! We’ve practised it so much!”
“My dad came too. He said he’ll watch me the whole time!”
“My dad too! He said if I perform well, he’ll reward me with braised pork!”
“Wow!”
The children chatted with bright smiles. Knowing their parents had come to watch them perform made them very happy.
When the third performance began, Qin Shi and Zhang Yanli led the children to wait beside the stage. Once the performers finished and the host began announcing the next act, they quickly directed people to move the platforms for the children onto the stage.
Zhang Yanli directed the children to walk onto the stage row by row. Qin Shi bent down and went to crouch at the front of the stage. Only when the music began did she straighten up.
When the students onstage saw Qin Shi lift her head with an encouraging smile on her face, they inexplicably relaxed.
The opening melody sounded. Following Qin Shi’s hand gesture, the students began singing together.
The youths sang their praise for the motherland in clear, bright voices. As the people below listened, their eyes lit up.
The leaders seated in the front row couldn’t help smiling when they saw the children on stage.
“Good. The song is good, and the children are good too.”
“Eh, I heard the host say just now that these are the children from Class Two, Year One. Old Zhang, isn’t your youngest son in there?” Division Commander Li turned to ask the person beside him.
Staff Officer Zhang laughed loudly. Looking at his youngest son standing in the last row, his eyes were full of satisfaction. “Yes. Third from the left in the back row.”
Someone found it strange. “Why is he standing so far back?” Did they not know this child belonged to Staff Officer Zhang’s family?
Staff Officer Zhang glanced at that person. “They’re arranged by height. My Mingming is tall.”
The person realised he had misspoken, smiled awkwardly, and stopped talking nonsense.
Staff Officer Zhang watched the children sing seriously, thinking that not giving special treatment was very good. He liked that.
His gaze swept over Qin Shi’s back and paused for two seconds before moving away.
After the song ended, the children collectively wished the motherland a happy birthday, then bowed to the audience.
Thunderous applause rang out below the stage. Everyone used warm applause to express their heartfelt fondness.
Hearing the applause, the students were overjoyed. They held back their excitement and left the stage according to the order they had rehearsed. Only after returning backstage did their hearts completely settle, and they began cheering together.
“Hahaha! I didn’t sing wrong! None of us made a mistake!”
“I saw my mom! She even waved at me.”
“Me too. I was so nervous when I first got on stage, but when I saw Teacher Qin, I relaxed.”
Zhang Yanli smiled so widely she could barely close her mouth, praising them over and over. The already excited students became even happier.
When Qin Shi returned backstage, she also praised them, and the place stayed lively for a while. Whatever remained was handed over to Zhang Yanli. Qin Shi no longer got involved and went back to Lu Zetian’s side.
As soon as she sat down, An’an rushed over excitedly. “Mom! I saw you just now!”
Qin Shi smiled and scooped her into her arms. The family chatted while watching the performances, the atmosphere warm and peaceful.
The people nearby watched this scene and were secretly amazed.
She really had skills. It hadn’t been long, yet she had both the children and the man completely obedient.
Tsk, impressive.
Qin Shi didn’t care what others thought. She was enjoying this rare moment of leisure. She had been too tired recently. Now that everything was over, she could finally relax.
After a while, Qin Shi heard the host announce Mo Ling’s piano performance. She immediately sat up straight, ready to watch seriously.
Lu Zetian, beside her, noticed her movement and paused while getting water for Pingping.
The piano was moved onto the stage. Mo Ling appeared in a red dress and instantly drew everyone’s attention.
Mo Ling’s gown had a small V-shaped crossover neckline. The upper body was relatively loose, but the waist was fitted, fully showing her slender waistline.
With a high waist and a two-metre-long sweeping skirt, it was not tight or revealing, yet it was still sensual and full of feminine charm.
Mo Ling sat down gracefully. The skirt covered the chair and spread behind her. Under the stage lights, the hem gave off little specks of starlight.
When people looked carefully, they realised those specks of light were actually shaped like roses. They were immediately amazed, wondering how they had been added.
After sitting down, Mo Ling bowed slightly to the audience, then lifted her fair, slender arms and placed her hands on the piano keys.
“Dong—”
The piano sounded. The grand and powerful music stunned those whose eyes had been fixed on Mo Ling. People stopped focusing on her appearance and unconsciously began listening seriously.
Mo Ling’s piano skills were superb and full of deep emotion. Her passionate and stirring performance of *Steel Torrent March* shocked everyone and made their blood boil.
Only when the piano ended and Mo Ling stood to bow did the crowd snap back to themselves and begin applauding.
Many soldiers and officers in the hall stared at that red figure, reluctant even to blink. Their eyes shone, clearly stirred with admiration.
Mo Ling was beautiful, had a good figure, talent, and a good family background. Even though she had already been married once, those who would be moved were still moved.
The men beside Lu Zetian looked at him with jealousy. When they saw Qin Shi sitting beside him, they became even more sour, gritting their teeth inwardly. How could he be so lucky?
Lu Zetian naturally felt all kinds of gazes around him. He ignored them and only turned to look at Qin Shi.
Sensing his gaze, Qin Shi turned to him and said with a bright smile, “It looked beautiful and sounded amazing, right?”
“It sounded good,” Lu Zetian replied, his eyes lingering on Qin Shi’s face for a long time.
Mo Ling was his ex-wife after all. Qin Shi didn’t care at all, and even praised her sincerely…
Lu Zetian withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyelids.
Qin Shi didn’t like him. She only treated him as a partner. That thought emerged in Lu Zetian’s heart, bringing him an inexplicable trace of disappointment.
Before he could think further, Pingping, who was in his arms, looked up and said, “Dad, I need the toilet.”
Lu Zetian came back to himself, told Qin Shi, then carried Pingping away.
Because the piano was difficult to move, Mo Ling’s performance was followed by her rival Cai Xiuqin’s. Cai Xiuqin wore a blue gown and looked elegant and charming. The piece she played was pleasant too, but compared with Mo Ling’s, it lacked impact and felt too plain.
With such brilliance before her, everyone was still savouring Mo Ling’s performance, so Cai Xiuqin’s response was only lukewarm.
Her piece was nice, but everyone preferred something passionate and stirring. If the two had switched performance order, she wouldn’t have suffered so badly. What a pity.
After leaving the stage, Cai Xiuqin was nearly furious. Mo Ling had kept everything so secret that she hadn’t known Mo Ling had also prepared a gown and even changed her piece at the last minute. Mo Ling had made a stunning appearance, while she had become the foil. Cai Xiuqin found it hard to accept.
After changing clothes, she came out and saw Mo Ling being approached by a very handsome officer. Her expression nearly cracked from anger.
Mo Ling also saw Cai Xiuqin, but she couldn’t be bothered with her. She didn’t have the patience to keep dealing with the man in front of her either. After casually responding a few times, she ran off to find Qin Shi.
When Cai Xiuqin saw that officer staring after Mo Ling with obvious admiration in his eyes, jealousy, envy, and resentment surged in her heart.
She composed her expression and wanted to go forward to speak to him, but when the man saw her, he only nodded politely before turning and leaving without hesitation.
Cai Xiuqin couldn’t hold it in anymore and threw the clothes bundle in her hand hard onto the ground.
Someone from the art troupe accidentally saw this scene and curled her lip disdainfully. When she returned backstage, she shared the gossip with the others.
Serves you right for being arrogant! Now you’ve been completely outshone by Mo Ling, haven’t you? Isn’t it just playing piano? The others in the troupe may not know piano, but they each have their own real skills. Only she always acted proud and looked down on people.
Now someone had vented their anger for them. How satisfying.
When Mo Ling came to find Qin Shi, everyone around widened their eyes, wanting to watch the drama. Their gazes kept moving back and forth between the three of them, their gossiping souls instantly awakened.
Lu Zetian’s mood was very complicated. Especially when he saw Qin Shi hand all the children over to him and leave cheerfully with Mo Ling, his mood became even more complicated.
If Qin Shi and Mo Ling had a bad relationship, Lu Zetian would probably have a headache. But now that their relationship was so good, why did he still feel uncomfortable?
An’an leaned over and said she needed the toilet.
Lu Zetian had no time to sigh. He handed Pingping to Gu Qinghai and took An’an out.
Lu Zetian lowered his head to look at An’an. “If you needed the toilet, why didn’t you tell your mom just now?”
He was a man, so he couldn’t take An’an into the women’s toilet. It wasn’t very convenient.
An’an looked up at him and answered matter-of-factly, “Mom wanted to go play with Auntie Mo. I won’t delay her. I can go to the toilet by myself.”
Lu Zetian: “…”
If you can go by yourself, why didn’t you come out alone instead of calling him?
An’an sensitively noticed that Lu Zetian’s gaze seemed strange. Although she didn’t know what it meant, she still comforted him, “It’s fine. Even though Mom left, we’re still here to keep you company. After I finish using the toilet, we’ll go back and keep watching, okay?”
Lu Zetian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He didn’t say more. “Alright. Be careful when you go in by yourself. Don’t miss your step.”
An’an waved at him and jogged into the toilet. “Okay~”
A while later, a sigh of unclear meaning sounded.
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