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"Bravo! Bravo!"
The audience could hardly believe that this young and handsome man could deliver such an astonishing performance. The cheers and applause continued, and on stage, Fu Weiheng seemed unfazed by the enthusiastic encouragement, merely smiling slightly as he stood tall.
The sound of three chimes echoed again, followed by a sweet female voice announcing—
"Please enjoy the second piece, 'The Nutcracker Suite' composed by Russian composer Tchaikovsky, performed by all members of the H&Y Symphony Orchestra and renowned violinist Fu Weiheng."
'The Nutcracker Suite' is a dreamlike ballet in two acts with three scenes. The creator selected eight pieces from the ballet to form 'The Nutcracker Suite,' which is divided into three movements.
The performance had begun. 'The Nutcracker Suite' is not a violin concerto, so at this moment, Fu Weiheng was seated in the principal violin position, serving as the concertmaster, leading the orchestra in presenting magical, graceful, beautiful, and light romantic dances.
The first movement began with an 'Overture,' a lively and cheerful march that overall showcased the imagery of The Nutcracker.
Next came the second movement, featuring six of the most characteristic dances—first was a 'March' reminiscent of children playing around a Christmas tree; then came the 'Sugar Plum Fairy Dance,' expressed through the celesta, evoking a light and bouncing feeling that made one want to dance on tiptoes; followed by the 'Russian Trepak Dance,' characterized by its strong and vibrant style and rhythm; then a more gentle and graceful 'Arab Dance'; next was a 'Chinese Dance,' where plucked strings and flute melodies intertwined to create a playful and joyful atmosphere; finally, there was a 'Pantomime Dance,' with a lively prelude that also conveyed a sense of elegant dancing.
In the last movement, the clarinet softly painted a harmonious scene, while the harp's flowing and beautiful sound resembled trickling water. Then, the horn gradually introduced the most enchanting 'Waltz of the Flowers,' romantic as a song.
As another piece concluded, the audience erupted in applause once more, eagerly anticipating tonight's finale.
The chimes rang again, and the clear voice announced the final piece of tonight's performance—
"Please enjoy the last piece, the violin concerto 'Liang Zhu' composed by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, performed by all members of the H&Y Symphony Orchestra and renowned violinist Fu Weiheng."
The piece "Liang Zhu" resembles a beautiful butterfly, flying into the hearts of countless people. Fu Weiheng stood up again at the conductor's podium, ready with his violin.
Conductor Joseph had lowered his baton, and the introduction began— the Flute lightly imitating the sound of birds, playing a melody, followed by the Oboe presenting a gentle theme that depicted the beautiful spring scenery filled with birdsong and blooming flowers.
Next came the main section of the music, where the Violin played a poetic love theme, followed by the Cello responding with a rich and rounded tone that contrasted with the Violin's lightness and softness, primarily expressing the sincere and pure friendship and deep affection between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The secondary section had a bright and cheerful rhythm, vividly portraying the joyful life of Liang Zhu during their three years as classmates. As it reached the concluding section, the music slowed down, depicting the poignant scene of Liang Zhu's farewell at the long pavilion, filled with reluctance to part.
Following this was an unfolding section that described three key events: "resisting marriage," "the tower meeting," and "crying for spirits, accusations, and tomb offerings." The melody played by the Violin rose and fell dramatically, expressing all emotions vividly.
In the final reprise, it primarily depicted "transformation into butterflies." The Flute's beautiful melody complemented by the Harp's glissando led everyone into a mythical paradise. Once again, the Violin played the love theme, showcasing how Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai transformed into a pair of butterflies after dying under societal pressure, freely fluttering among the flowers.
The applause at the end was continuous.
Fu Weiheng's performance tonight was undoubtedly extraordinary.
He grasped and expressed all emotional movements to perfection. Su Wan sat in the back; during her occasional moments of rest between phrases, she clearly saw him standing confidently and steadily on that resplendent stage under bright lights, his performance sparkling like stars.
As the performance concluded and most of the audience had dispersed, Su Wan descended from the stage with everyone else. As she dragged her long gown down the steps, she unexpectedly caught sight of a man leaning against the emergency exit who should have returned to the lounge by now, momentarily stunned.
"Mr. Fu."
Former team members greeted him politely as they passed by. He nodded slightly in response before stepping forward to take her Cello from her hands. With a warm smile, he asked her, "How did it feel?"
His voice carried a deep sensuality typical of mature men. Su Wan felt somewhat dazzled; after witnessing his mesmerizing performance, seeing him again gave her an impression of nobility and brilliance.
She was not an insecure person, but at this moment, it was hard to imagine what merits she had to be the one he loved.
Su Wan was momentarily lost in thought, gazing at his handsome features with a smile that lit up her eyes, and said, "I'm so excited that I can hardly calm down."
Her first group performance, while not perfect, was already an extraordinary achievement for her usual self.
He chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair with deep affection. "Let's go, Grandpa and my parents are waiting for us."
As they approached the lounge, Su Wan spotted a familiar figure standing at the corner in a black dress, poised and seemingly having waited for a long time.
Fu Weiheng glanced at Jiang Yun, who was walking toward them, and casually took the bow from Su Wan's hand. "I'll go in first."
Su Wan nodded.
When Jiang Yun reached her, she bit her lip and paused for a long moment before saying, "The performance was wonderful."
Su Wan smiled softly, her gaze inadvertently catching sight of a few strands of white hair at Jiang Yun's temples. She felt a pang of sadness but merely nodded slightly in response. "Thank you."
Jiang Yun seemed encouraged by her reply and tentatively asked, "Are you hungry? Do you have time to grab something to eat together?"
"No, thank you," Su Wan politely declined.
Although it was the expected answer, Jiang Yun couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. She straightened her expression and was about to say goodbye when she heard Su Wan add, "I'm a bit tired tonight; let's do it next time."
The lonely expression suddenly flickered with a hint of surprise. Jiang Yun looked up in disbelief, stunned for a few seconds. When he finally spoke again, his voice trembled with excitement: "Okay... okay."
Su Wan smiled and pointed to the Lounge door: "Then I'll go in first."
Jiang Yun had not expected her response, so he naturally did not want to be rude and quickly nodded, saying, "Alright, you go ahead. Take care of yourself."
"You too," she replied, "... Mom."
Jiang Yun was taken aback.
The Lounge door had already closed, and the person in front of him had left.
In that moment, Jiang Yun felt a pang in his nose, overwhelmed with emotion and on the verge of tears.
After the performance, Su Wan requested a long leave from Fu Weiheng.
As graduation approached, she needed to start preparing for her thesis defense and graduation concert. Once again, she was thrown into a whirlwind of endless busyness.
June marked another graduation season.
The day before the college entrance examination, Su Wan thought of Qin Mu, who was about to take the exam, and took some time to give her a call.
The phone was answered by Su Yue. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Su Yue handed the phone to Qin Mu.
"Sis." The voice on the other end was weak, which surprised Su Wan a bit.
She smiled and asked Qin Mu, "What's wrong?"
Qin Mu cleared her throat and said seriously, "I'm anxious, afraid I'll do too well on the exam."
Su Wan responded with silence.
Qin Mu giggled a couple of times and asked, "What have you been busy with lately?"
Su Wan replied, "Thesis defense."
Qin Mu suddenly realized, "Oh right, you're graduating too."
Su Wan confirmed, "Yeah."
"Sis," Qin Mu lowered her voice, "after you're done with graduation, can I come visit you in Yan Chuan?"
Su Wan welcomed the idea and readily agreed, "Sure, good luck with your college entrance exams."
A few days later, after enduring the tense thesis defense, everyone welcomed the long-prepared graduation concert.
For the graduation concert, Su Wan ultimately chose six pieces from Maybach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites. The solo performance posed a certain level of challenge to the performer's technique, with each suite showcasing different forms.
As this set was Su Wan's favorite Cello solo suite, she was highly confident in her ability to express all its emotions vividly.
On the day of the graduation concert, she woke up early and went to school with Fu Weiheng, only to unexpectedly see Jiang Yun outside the Concert Hall.
Jiang Yun had also just arrived not long ago. A few days earlier, he learned from Jiang Zhi Yan that Su Wan would have her graduation concert today and wanted to quietly sit in the audience to watch her performance before leaving. He didn't expect to run into her directly.
After some previous exchanges, Jiang Yun approached her without hesitation and said calmly, "I'm here to watch your graduation performance."
Su Wan smiled and responded with a soft "mm," unsure of what else to say.
"Professor Jiang," Fu Weiheng happened to walk up while carrying her cello, greeting him with a smile. "Let's go inside."
When Su Wan arrived at the backstage Lounge, Xu Chengyang and Yao Ye were already there. Both looked confident and seemed to feel no pressure at all.
Xu Chengyang said, "Ah, after today, we really will be graduating..."
Yang Erjin, sitting next to Xu Chengyang, chimed in, "Yeah, Aunt Xu."
Without hesitation, Xu Chengyang playfully gave him a light tap on the head and said, "I'll give you another chance. What should you call me?"
Yang Erjin forced a smile and said, "Sister Xu."
Yao Ye couldn't help but shake his shoulders, "I really have to watch you two show off your love right before graduation. This is enough."
Xu Chengyang rolled her eyes proudly and reached out to put her arm around Su Wan's shoulder, "Guan Guan, are you nervous?"
Su Wan replied honestly, "No."
Xu Chengyang said, "Oh, not bad, little girl."
Yao Ye looked at Xu Chengyang and asked, "Are you nervous?"
Xu Chengyang scoffed, "Please, if I were nervous, why would I participate in Paganini?"
Yao Ye clapped, "Impressive, Sister Xu. Just don't forget the score when the time comes."
Xu Chengyang replied, "Hmph, if I forget, there's no way you would forget the score!"
Yao Ye responded with silence.
At that moment, the teacher at the front desk called for people according to the order drawn yesterday. Su Wan was third, followed by Xu Chengyang in seventeenth place, Yao Ye in twenty-third place, and Yang Erjin was further back in forty-ninth place.
Each person's performance time was half an hour. When Su Wan took the stage, she saw Fu Weiheng and Jiang Yun sitting together in the audience. There were also many more people than when she first entered. Fu Weijin had brought Ye Fan along and sat next to Fu Weiheng, looking excited and eager.
Fu Weiheng sat below, his expression calm, his eyes fixed on her the entire time without wavering.
Su Wan sat in the center of the stage, adjusting her posture. After receiving a nod from the examiner, she slowly began to play the melody.
The six pieces from Maybach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites were mostly graceful dance tunes, including Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Minuet, and Gigue.
Su Wan was already thoroughly familiar with all the pieces; she mastered every position, every pitch, every segment of melody, and the emotions to be expressed with great precision.
Since hearing Su Wan's performance by chance in London five years ago, Fu Weiheng knew that she was an exceptionally talented cellist in every aspect.
Otherwise, how could she have moved him so much that he remembered her for four years?
After the performance ended, she stood up on stage to bow in gratitude and slowly walked off to a round of enthusiastic applause.
Backstage, Xu Chengyang proudly gave a thumbs up: "Orchestral Flower, your performance was incredible!"
Yao Ye clapped in admiration: "It can already be said to be extraordinary, Orchestral Flower!"
Su Wan chuckled, feeling completely relieved at this moment: "You both keep it up."
Both replied: "Definitely!"
When Su Wan changed her clothes and came out of the dressing room, she saw Fu Weiheng leaning against the white wall of the corridor, looking down at his phone. It was clear he had come specifically to pick her up.
Hearing the noise, Fu Weiheng turned his head and walked a few steps closer to her, reaching out to tousle her hair. His deep, sexy voice carried a clear hint of amusement: "That was impressive."
She smiled, her eyes curving: "Thank you, Mr. Fu."
"Guan Guan," he said, "congratulations on your graduation."
And congratulations to me as well; I am about to graduate.
...
The subsequent graduation performance went mostly smoothly. Yao Ye chose Schumann's "Three Romances," and true to its name, the piece was beautiful, gentle, and romantic. For Yao Ye, who had been learning the clarinet since childhood, performing on stage was effortless.
Xu Chengyang selected Ravel's "Rapsodie Espagnole," a piece of high difficulty, yet she played it with ease. Her nimble fingers moved gracefully across the instrument, showcasing her unique style.
Even the usually critical Fu Weiheng couldn't help but applaud and say, "Not bad."
In response, Xu Chengyang remarked, "Hmph, as Fu Weiheng's junior sister, if I didn't have this much talent, what would I be doing as a Ghost Nine Sister?"
"............"
As the last student finished their performance, this annual graduation concert finally came to a successful close.
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