A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: The Performance

◎The End◎

Startled by Li Ruoruo’s words, Gu Zhu’s hand slipped, and she fell directly onto Bai Tan, her teeth hitting Bai Tan’s collarbone. Both of them let out a sharp “hiss.”

Quickly scrambling up from Bai Tan, Gu Zhu lowered her head and covered her face. The tips of her ears, hidden by her side hair, were completely red.

“What do you mean, ‘divine understanding’?”

It was truly a moment of panic and confusion.

Bai Tan also sprang to her feet. She touched her collarbone, where she likely had a tooth mark, and pulled at her clothes to cover it. She deliberately put on a stern face and stared at Li Ruoruo. “Are you a ghost? You make no sound when you walk?”

“I have a light step. And these shoes are pretty soft. But you know, I was actually talking before I got here. I don’t know why neither of you could hear me or respond.” Li Ruoruo pouted and stared back, her gaze darting between the two. “Are you two keeping a secret from me?”

Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Gu Zhu kept her face covered, avoiding eye contact. She secretly tugged on the back corner of Bai Tan’s shirt, a silent plea for help.

“Ahem.” Bai Tan got the signal. She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “What secrets could we possibly have? Get back to what you were saying.”

Li Ruoruo let out a “Tsk,” but decided not to pry further. Time was short, and she needed to finalize their segment. “The pipa singer role will be a joint effort. The opening pipa performance and the final sacrificial scene will be done by Gu Zhu. The part where she shows her charming and changeable side in the middle will be done by Bai Tan. I’ll use props and makeup to cover the difference between you two. So this performance will really require you to cooperate perfectly.”

This was why she had said they had a “divine understanding.”

The two of them finally understood her meaning, and that inexplicable feeling of guilt crept back in. Gu Zhu pursed her lips, pretending to be calm as she continued to listen.

Once the roles were assigned and both had a clear understanding of their parts, it was time for intense rehearsals and practice.

Gu Zhu not only had to play the pipa but also perform a short dance. Bai Tan, on the other hand, had a large number of dance moves to master, with her part almost taking up the entire second act. Because time was tight, they had to start from scratch, spending time practicing their individual parts while also rehearsing with the whole cast, perfecting their positions and rhythm.

With less than ten days until the dress rehearsal, the group was practically living in the dance studio. On top of that, they couldn’t fall behind on their schoolwork. For the first time, they felt the pressure of time, as if they were getting a taste of the frantic third-year high school life, racing against the clock for the college entrance exam.

“…Here, you must quickly remove the props. When Bai Tan comes on stage, Gu Zhu will go backstage with the prop crew to wait for her cue…”

“Don’t rush the tempo or the moves… Someone sang the wrong lyric just now. Let’s do it again!”

“Everyone, keep the rhythm and remember your positions. Don’t bump into each other… Good, that part was great. Let’s move on…”

Li Ruoruo was serious about the performance and had high standards, with her own unique vision. She showed no timidity in front of her supervising teacher, and the actors below followed her commands without question.

“Alright, nice. Take a ten-minute break, everyone. Get some water.”

With that part over, Gu Zhu sat on the floor, letting out a sigh of relief. Sweat beaded on her forehead. She wiped it away with a tissue, her cheeks a faint pink from the exertion.

“Here, for you.”

She took the water Bai Tan handed her and drank a sip. She used the break to continue teaching Bai Tan the posture for holding the pipa and the simple motions of plucking the strings. In the second act, the singer had to come on stage holding the pipa, then put the instrument away, put on a military uniform, and play the role of a female Red Army soldier in an anti-war play. This scene represented the singer’s ideological awakening, so there was a solo dance show for her.

Gu Zhu curved her hand into a half-circle, demonstrating the techniques for plucking with her right hand and twisting the strings with her left. Her movements went from slow to fast as she demonstrated, and the motion of her fingers impressed Bai Tan.

When it was Bai Tan’s turn, her hand often stiffened up like a chicken foot. She rubbed her nose. Fortunately, the part on stage didn’t require such difficult techniques; she just needed to pluck a short, simple piece of music. Most importantly, she had to get used to the pipa so she wouldn’t give away the illusion on stage and make the audience lose their immersion.

Time flew by in this frantic pace, and soon it was the night of the July 1st gala.

The auditorium was brightly lit. The audience seats were already set up, with nameplates and water bottles placed in the front VIP rows. In the back were the seats for the third-year students, and each seat had a bottle of water and a gift bag with some school merchandise as their final memento.

This gala was highly regarded because there were many distinguished guests. The school gate’s iron doors were opened early, security was increased, and checkpoints were set up at various points. A special area was designated for parking.

As one of the representatives of corporate investors and also an outstanding alumna, Luo Ning was among the invited guests. After getting out of her car, she shook hands with the school’s representative and was led to the VIP reception room. After a brief chat with the people inside, a new guest arrived.

She looked up at the door and saw a woman in a black suit-dress and pants, with wavy hair and sunglasses. One hand was in her pocket, and her expression was cold and her presence powerful.

Luo Ning’s polite smile slowly faded. She and the woman at the door, who had stopped in her tracks, stared at each other through their sunglasses. The sudden halt of movement and the silence in the room caused the reception area to fall into a hush.

“Do you two know each other?” Someone’s voice broke the slightly awkward atmosphere.

“Yes, we do. Zhu, if it’s convenient, let’s step aside and talk for a moment.”

The woman at the door pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, turned to the side, and gestured for Luo Ning to go ahead. Luo Ning nodded to the others in the room. “Please excuse me for a moment.”

These two were representatives of major corporations—one from the Bai Group, the largest leading enterprise in the south, and the other from the wealthy Zhu family in Hong Kong. To see them both in this small county was quite a coincidence. The others in the room looked at each other, secretly speculating.

Ignoring the thoughts of the others in the room, at the end of the hallway, Luo Ning crossed her arms, her expression much uglier than before. “What are you doing here?”

Hearing her question, Zhu Li leaned against the windowsill, raised her chin, and looked at her with a condescending gaze. “What I do here is none of your business. I come when I want and leave when I want. But you, you applied for a transfer and couldn’t wait to run here. Are you trying to stop me?”

“Zhu Li!” Luo Ning reprimanded sharply. “It’s best for her if you don’t show up. I won’t let you get close to her.”

Zhu Li watched her for a long time, then put her sunglasses back on. “You’re not her. How can you know what she wants? I can give her a better life. She can have anything she wants. I can even find a way to pluck the stars from the sky for her. I have everything. Why should she have to struggle like a normal person?”

“You’ve always been so overbearing and arbitrary. You already killed her. Are you going to kill her daughter now? Zhu Li, look into your heart. Do you think this is right?”

“Right or not, we’ll only know if we try.”

The host at the auditorium stage was doing a sound check, and the broadcast was announcing the upcoming gala. The conversation ended on bad terms.

The school representative came to inform them and led them to their seats through the front entrance of the auditorium. Soon, the host announced the start of the gala and began the segment of introducing the guests.

The opening act was a large chorus. Gu Zhu’s and Bai Tan’s act was the fifth one. In the waiting room, they were still rushing to prepare.

Gu Zhu was wearing a light pink cheongsam. To match the character, she wore a long wig styled with the popular waves of that era and a veil covering her face.

She was holding her own pipa, sitting behind the dressing table and watching Bai Tan, who was still getting her makeup done.

Bai Tan, with the same costume and makeup, had a completely different vibe. If you had to describe it, it would be the difference between a white rose and a red rose.

Gu Zhu’s shoe heels were a little higher than Bai Tan’s. At first, she wasn’t used to them, but after walking a while, she got used to it.

After Bai Tan finished getting ready, she pulled Gu Zhu to the full-length mirror to admire their new look. When she put on the veil hanging by her ear, the two of them looked almost identical.

They were on one stage, jointly creating a single character.

It was as if on this stage, she became Bai Tan, and Bai Tan became her.

Perhaps, at some unknown point in the river of time, they had also become each other?

Just thinking that made their souls seem to want to embrace each other eagerly.

Just before they went on, Li Ruoruo checked their clothes and makeup one by one. After confirming that there were no mistakes, she gave them a final boost. “Don’t be nervous, everyone! You must believe in yourselves and believe that all our hard work will not be in vain. Tonight, please enjoy your moment on stage together. Let’s cheer for ourselves one more time!”

“You got this!” Everyone held out their hands in fists, as if they were hitting each other in the air, a sense of inexplicable excitement surging through them.

Hearing the host’s announcement, they waited at the exit, their heads held high and their eyes firm.

Gu Zhu, who had always been fearless in all kinds of exams, found her heart pounding at that moment. She took a deep breath, and someone’s finger hooked hers and gave a little shake. Bai Tan was next to her, silently mouthing, “Don’t be nervous. I’m here.”

Bai Tan could always effortlessly capture her emotions. It was as if all of her previous thoughts were being confirmed at this moment.

Gu Zhu looked at her for a few seconds and gave a gentle nod. It was like a calming pill, and the nervousness in her heart slowly receded.

After the props were set, the actors took their places.

There was a light screen in front of Gu Zhu, and as the lights came up, her shadow fell on it.

The curtain was drawn. She raised her hands, doing dance moves, twisting and swaying, showing off the pipa. Then, the sound of the pipa flowed from slow to urgent.

Soon after, pairs of men and women slid into the center of the stage and began to dance. On a small, separate stage, a female dancer began to sing:

—Night Shanghai, night Shanghai, you are a city that never sleeps…

The music of the pipa and the song of the dancer converged. When the backstage band joined in, the entire stage was harmonious and bustling.

When the song and dance ended, the lights returned to the pipa singer. She would use her pipa and her dance to interpret the rise and fall of her character, showing the charm and helplessness of a songstress.

The light screen was removed, and Gu Zhu retreated. Bai Tan appeared, a girl dancing with a pipa. At her designated spot, her veil dropped, revealing a beautiful, alluring face. Finally, the sounds of bombers and gunfire. In the midst of panic and confusion, they exited the stage, and the first act came to an end.

In the second act, Bai Tan had to change her costume and makeup quickly. While the makeup artist was working on her face, Gu Zhu helped her put on a gray-blue military uniform, and her long hair was tucked into a hat. As she was about to go on, Bai Tan rushed to give Gu Zhu a quick hug.

Gu Zhu was stunned by the sudden collision, then smiled faintly. “You can do it,” she whispered.

While Bai Tan was performing, the makeup artist changed Gu Zhu’s makeup, smearing her face with gray powder to conceal her appearance. Compared to Bai Tan’s neat clothes, Gu Zhu’s were full of patches, covered in dust and blood.

In the final act, she sat amidst the smoke and once again played the pipa, which she hadn’t touched for a long time. The passionate tune of “Ambush from Ten Sides” made the epic group dance scene even more stirring and magnificent.

Gu Zhu quickly strummed the strings, entering the final part of the music. She looked up and her gaze unexpectedly met with someone in the VIP section. At that moment, her eyes widened, and her strumming lost all control.

With the final gunshot sound, the pipa string snapped with a loud “thud.” The tearing echo jolted her awake. As the curtain fell, she slowly collapsed.

The stage floor was cold, causing her to tremble slightly. Beyond the curtain, the final narration of the play began, but her mind was a blank. It wasn’t until Bai Tan, who had returned to the stage, helped her up that she dazedly rose.

The curtain opened again, the bright lights hurting her eyes. She lowered her gaze, hoping that what she had just seen was just a mistake.

She stole a quick glance, and the person who shouldn’t have been there was indeed real. Gu Zhu’s thoughts were a tangled mess.

On the stage, the host was giving the final remarks. “…May our motherland’s mountains and rivers be forever peaceful and prosperous… May our students’ lives be happy and joyous, and their dreams set sail. Thank you again to our cast for a wonderful performance, thank you!”

This was supposed to be a perfect performance, something that should have been exciting. But Gu Zhu felt that there was no moment more helpless than this one.

She stood on the stage, lost in a daze, until Bai Tan gently patted her back. Only then did she seem to come to her senses and bow to the audience.

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