Chapter Ninety-Three: The Banquet

  Normally, after the actors take their final bow and exit the stage, the host walks on to conclude the show perfectly. But there was Chen Chufan on stage, and everything didn't go as usual. After the curtain call, before the host could even walk on stage, he picked up the microphone, ignoring everyone's surprised gaze, and took over as the temporary host.

  "The birth of 'Jade Blue Night Rain' actually originated from a promise I made. Yes, it was a promise - I promised my girlfriend that on the day of the school anniversary, I would perform a program for her. I remember when I asked what program to perform, she told me to think of one myself, because only then would she have expectations and surprises for my performance!" Chen Chufan paused here, turned his head to look at Han Xiaoxi standing beside him, and without hesitation, pulled up her small hand.

  The audience under the stage was stunned by this sudden scene, and the applause gradually stopped, waiting for Chen Chufan to continue speaking. However, Chu Principal's face, along with several other school leaders', turned somewhat strange.

  Chen Chufan didn't care about that much, pulled up He Xiao Xi's smooth small hand and continued to say "But because of various reasons, I couldn't leave the suspense at this moment tonight, because she also became a member of the performance team. So I always feel that if I go down like this, then my promise to my girlfriend would be incomplete. Because I didn't give her the surprise she deserved!"

  Chen Chufan's bold confession and unrestrained actions stirred up the passion of countless students in the audience. Whistles and cheers filled the air, starting from the first shout of "Chen Chufan, good job, we support you!" Countless young men and women enthusiastically echoed this slogan, their voices so loud that they even drowned out the sound of the loudspeakers, forcing Chen Chufan to temporarily stop his speech.

  The backstage was in a mess, the young music teacher in charge of the backstage stood with the host who was stunned like a wooden chicken, looking at the boy who dared to confess on the school's 100th anniversary celebration party. "Should I rush out and pull him back?" This was indeed a dilemma for the young teacher.

  Even the other performers standing with Chen Chufan looked at the young man in their midst with astonished eyes, as if they had not rehearsed this segment before. What is this kid trying to do? And how should they react? Walking directly offstage didn't seem like a good idea, and just standing there waiting for Chen Chufan to speak wasn't very suitable either. In short, they were all very perplexed.

  The only exception might be Han Xiaoxi, who hung her head low, her small face already flushed bright red from the boy's sudden confession in front of the whole school. Like a ripe apple.

  "What does he want to do?" Han Xiaohui's father frowned and muttered angrily under his breath. If it weren't for the evening party, he would have definitely scolded this young man who dared to hold his daughter's hand in public and speak nonsense.

  "How romantic!" said Hana's mom. But it was a completely opposite reaction. "Ah, Hana is really happy!"

  ............

  The school's centennial celebration party was thrown into some confusion by Chen Chufan's sudden speech. The students, who were eager for excitement, of course cheered loudly for this brave classmate. Firstly, the school rule that forbids romance is extremely unpopular, and more importantly, not everyone has the guts to openly express such romantic words in such an important occasion. Especially when it comes from a talented and artistic male student.

  So the students were really not so calm, shouting slogans, whispering in the front row, occupying the mainstream. If it weren't for the school leaders and big shots in the front row, many students would have rushed onto the stage. And even so, many people started squeezing forward desperately, just to get a clearer look at Chen Chufan and Han Xiaoxi on stage.

  The students of the History and Music departments were even more exaggerated, with various slogans ringing in their ears, the entire performance venue was filled with joy. Except for the first two or three rows at the front.

  Most of the school leaders sitting in the front row didn't look so good, if eyes could kill, Chen Chufan standing on the stage would have been carried away with all over scars. What is this? To show that the emotional life of Min University students is so rich? Especially Principal Chu, seeing Secretary Liao's ambiguous gaze at him out of the corner of his eye, his face turned green with anger.

  "Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me, okay?" Chen Chufan had to raise his voice in order for the explosive scene to hear his words clearly. Chen Chufan's words made the students on the scene calm down a bit, and the noisy voices began to subside somewhat.

  "I've prepared another song to give her, my girlfriend Han Xiao Xi a surprise. I want to take this opportunity to dedicate it to her!" Chen Chu Fan turned around and faced the girl beside him, saying softly: "Although I'll be studying abroad in the second half of the semester, please believe that my heart will always be here. A song 'Believe in Each Other' for you, Xiao Xi!"

  The bold words of love had not been finished, the whistling and cheering from below, the joyful shouts, various blessings, once again erupted. Chen Chufan, however, ignored the commotion from below and led Han Xiaoxi to the piano on stage.

  The other four people understood Chen Chufan's idea and took advantage of the opportunity to walk directly down to the stage, leaving the entire stage to this young couple.

  The lighting engineer also started to follow the chaos, directly turning off the main light and shooting out a beam of light, enveloping the two people inside. It was as if it had been arranged in advance like a program.

  Chen Chufan sat down at the piano, and the light also followed him to the piano. The young man looked up at Han Xiaoxi standing beside him and began to press the keys. The smooth piano sound rose, suppressing the noise of his classmates below. And the students were very considerate, seeing Chen Chufan start playing the piano, they all quietly settled down. Or maybe they were also curious about what kind of song Chen Chufan would give to his girlfriend. Of course, it was impossible to completely control the whispers.

  "This kid is quite good at stealing the spotlight!"

  "This is what we call having star potential! You understand? Not being afraid of the stage!"

  "I didn't record it completely just now, don't forget again this time!"

  "You're still talking about it, but the tape recorder has been stopped all along!"

  ................

  "This kid is actually quite good, you see the guqin playing well, can also play the piano, and can even compose lyrics! Just now it seemed to say that this child is still a history major, Principal Chu, your school really has hidden dragons and crouching tigers!" The young man on stage had just started playing the prelude, and Liao Secretary, sitting next to Principal Chu, commented.

  This time, Principal Chu really didn't know how to respond. Was the leader praising or being sarcastic? It was really puzzling. So Principal Chu just twitched his facial muscles and forced out a smile, which was enough as a response. Actually, Principal Chu had overthought it this time. Secretary Liao was just casually sighing, who hasn't been young before?!

  As green as the school leader's face, it was Han Xiaohui's father, Secretary Han. What is this situation? A young man openly showing affection to his own daughter in public? Moreover, there were some of his colleagues sitting below, which made the conservative and traditional Secretary Han somewhat unacceptable.

  But Han Xiao Xi's mother went to the other extreme. She was more and more satisfied with this young man, what a romantic child, her daughter must be feeling very happy now?

  It's hard to know a girl better than her mother, and Xiaohui's mom was right. From the moment Chen Chufan started speaking, Xiaohui was stunned, and she remained in a daze until Chen Chufan pulled her to the piano. Then she was deeply moved. After practicing together for so many days, Chen Chufan had never revealed to anyone that he had prepared a special song just for her. So at this moment, she was extremely surprised, and she even forgot that her parents were sitting in the audience, only gazing lovingly at the boy playing the piano with rapt attention.

  Ye Siyi didn't leave immediately after walking behind the curtain, but instead stood on the stage blocked by the curtain, gazing at Chen Chufan who was performing on stage. From their first meeting in the music classroom to getting to know each other in a coffee shop, from agreeing with Xiaohui's suggestion and becoming his girlfriend, to that night by Nanhu Lake when she told him it would be better for them to just be friends. From discussing musical instruments and theory every day, to finding out in the hospital that he was going abroad...

  In short, the moments they spent together, accompanied by the sound of the youth's piano, turned into colorful scenes replaying in the girl's mind. She suddenly felt that she had also gotten used to having this boy around in her life. Thinking about this, her heart couldn't help but feel a little sour, and her eyes became slightly moist.

  Yang Tao, Meng Wei, Chen Xi, and everyone else familiar with Chen Chu Fan watched him perform intently on stage from their own unique perspectives.

  Finally, amidst everyone's anticipation, the young man's clear and bright voice began to ring out. This was a love song specially for Han Xiao Xi, which was both romantic and fitting for the occasion, as well as a promise for their future together. So the young man sang with great emotion and focus. Not only did he move Xiao Xi, but also the audience; even the whispers in the crowd couldn't be heard anymore, and everyone remained silent at that moment.

  "It's so hard for me to let you go"

  Because you gave me the most beautiful memories

  Looking out of the window at the drizzling rain

  It seems like your tears of sorrow

  Every time I bow my head and think of the past

  The encounter with you is so beautiful

  Let me sing another song for you

  In order to separate

  A thousand times reluctant to part with you

  I will be leaving soon

  The road ahead may be filled with wind and rain.

  I need your encouragement so much

  I will entrust someone to bring back news of peace

  You can't easily forget me

  Let's drink up the wine in our cups

  In order to separate

  Baby

  Don't cry

  You have left my heart here

  Don't forget

  If someone chases you, say no

  Don't doubt that on the road of love there's only you and me

  No one can compare with your affection towards me

  Don't cry

  I have so many things I want to tell you

  Don't forget

  If someone chases you, say no

  Don't doubt it

  Take good care of yourself

  On the road of love we believe in mutual dependence.

  ......

  P.S. Writing song lyrics is really not something Bao Dding can do, so I'll directly borrow "Believe in Mutual Dependence" by the Ballad Prince. Later on, I'll be borrowing many songs that Bao Dding likes, and won't consider the release time of the songs either. Hope everyone doesn't mind!