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Su Yi waited anxiously, but Xu Xiaoqin was nowhere to be seen. A bad feeling began to creep into her heart.
When they parted ways that evening, Xu Xiaoqin had said she was going to the bathhouse to wash up and get ready before coming to find her.
But now the performance was about to start, and there was still no sign of her.
Su Yi quickly entrusted the two children to Aunt Yao and Aunt Zheng.
She slipped out of the auditorium quietly and headed towards the dormitory to find Xu Xiaoqin.
To their surprise, as soon as they stepped out, they ran into Xu Xiaoqin.
Her makeup was smudged from crying.
Su Yi hurriedly approached her and asked, “What happened?”
Xu Xiaoqin wiped away her tears and handed the silk gourd (hulusi ) to Su Yi, saying, “I found out before leaving that the silk gourd was broken, and the reed inside was snapped. What should we do?”
“I ran to the town outside just now to buy a new one, but they didn’t sell it at all.”
Su Yi’s heart sank too, and she quickly took Xu Xiaoqin by the hand and headed towards the backstage. “Don’t cry, let’s go talk to Commander Zhou Deng and see if they have a spare one.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoqin wiped her tears and followed Su Yi as they made their way from the side of the auditorium to the backstage.
When they reached the backstage and found Commander Zhou Deng of the art troupe, they hurriedly explained their situation.
“Commander Zhou Deng, do you have a spare silk gourd that we could borrow?”
Before Commander Zhou Deng could respond, a female comrade beside Bai Ruolin burst out laughing, “Do you think this is a general store where we have every kind of instrument?”
“We don’t have a silk gourd, maybe the canteen does.”
Bai Ruolin smirked slightly, “Don’t say that, they’re always stuck in the kitchen, how would they know about all these things?”
After speaking, Bai Ruolin kindly went over to persuade her, “Comrade Xu, we really don’t have a silk gourd, but we do have a violin, accordion, and other instruments. Would you like to switch to a different instrument?”
Xu Xiaoqin’s face flushed red with anger. She could only play the silk gourd, wasn’t this deliberately trying to make her look bad?
Commander Zhou Deng glared at Bai Ruolin and the other woman, “The silk gourd is also a musical instrument with a long history in our country. You shouldn’t make fun of it like that.”
Then, he looked at Su Yi and Xu Xiaoqin with a helpless expression, “But we really don’t have a silk gourd, and it’s almost your turn to go on stage.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoqin couldn’t hold back her tears and cried out, “Su Yi, it’s all my fault. I didn’t check the silk gourd beforehand. What should we do now?”
“I don’t know how to play any other instruments. I’m so useless, I’ve held you back. Commander Zhou Deng, could you ask someone else to help with the accompaniment?”
Bai Ruolin and the others immediately refused, “We’re all here to participate in the program. If we help you, it wouldn’t be fair to everyone else.”
Commander Zhou Deng frowned and glanced at her team, suddenly feeling a pang of shame.
However, since no one was willing to help, she couldn’t force them. She suggested, “What about Su Yi performing a solo? If that doesn’t work, it’s fine if you don’t want to go on stage. There will be other opportunities in the future.”
Su Yi scanned the instruments backstage, her gaze finally landing on a guitar.
She had been obsessed with the guitar for a while and had taught herself for a long time, so she could try playing it.
Besides, apart from Xu Xiaoqin, she couldn’t trust anyone else here.
She would rather try it herself than rely on others.
Everyone was stunned when they heard her asking to borrow the guitar.
“Do you even know what this is? You just ask to borrow it?”
Bai Ruolin also pretended to be kind and reminded her, “Comrade Su, this guitar was just purchased from Shanghai, it’s very expensive. If you damage it, you’ll have to pay compensation.”
Ignoring the whispers of the crowd, Su Yi looked seriously at Commander Zhou Deng and repeated, “Commander Zhou Deng, I’ll be careful with it.”
Commander Zhou Deng looked at her, noticing a confident and determined glint in her eyes.
For some reason, she believed that Su Yi knew how to play the guitar.
She personally retrieved the guitar and handed it to her, “Comrade Su, I hope you can perform well! I look forward to your outstanding performance!”
Su Yi smiled and nodded, “Thank you, I’ll do my best.”
With the guitar in hand, Su Yi quickly found an empty space to familiarize herself with it.
Xu Xiaoqin stood beside her, watching as Su Yi adjusted the guitar for a few moments. Soon, beautiful melodies flowed from it.
Her sadness immediately turned to joy, “Su Yi, you really know how to play the guitar?! It sounds so good~~”
Su Yi smiled and said, “I do, but I’m a little rusty. I need to practice a bit more.”
Xu Xiaoqin burst into laughter, “That’s good, that’s good.”
Seeing her crying and laughing, Su Yi gently stroked the guitar and smiled as she comforted her, “Alright, wipe your tears. You’ll be watching my performance from the audience later.”
“By the way, go back and ask around, did anyone go to your bed while you were taking a bath today? I feel like something is fishy about this whole thing.”
Xu Xiaoqin nodded repeatedly, “I just asked, everyone said they didn’t see anyone. But I also think it’s too coincidental. I’ll try to find out more tomorrow.”
Just as Su Yi was getting a feel for the guitar, Zhou Jinchuan quietly called Xie Xiaojun over.
“Go to the back and ask around about what happened.”
He had just seen Su Yi rushing to the backstage with someone, and she hadn’t come out for a long time.
Xie Xiaojun went and returned quickly, whispering the situation to him.
“Right now, Sister Su is borrowing a guitar and practicing backstage. I don’t know if it’ll work out.”
Zhou Jinchuan pondered for a moment, “Go investigate tomorrow and find out why Xu Xiaoqin’s instrument broke so coincidentally.”
Xie Xiaojun quickly nodded in agreement.
Moments later, it was time for Su Yi to go on stage.
Commander Zhou Deng was afraid she would be nervous, so she personally came to call her, “Comrade Su, just do your best to play and sing. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
Su Yi had already adjusted her mindset and regained her old touch on the guitar.
She smiled and said, “Thank you, Commander Zhou Deng. Don’t worry!”
With that, she confidently stepped onto the stage.
Seeing this, Bai Ruolin and the others backstage started to feel uneasy.
“Does she really know how to play?”
“Maybe? I heard a little from next door, she played pretty well.”
Bai Ruolin bit her lip and sneered inwardly.
Even if she happened to know a few chords, so what?
Brother Qin said she was tone-deaf, and once she opened her mouth, she would become a laughingstock.
Just wait and see!
Su Yi took a deep breath, held the guitar in her arms calmly and walked to the center of the stage. She then sat down on the stool.
After adjusting the microphone, her fingers gently glided across the strings.
The moment she strummed, a silky smooth melody filled the air…
“The night at the military port, so quiet…”
The moment Su Yi opened her mouth, the entire auditorium fell silent.
Everyone held their breath, as if they were immersed in the quiet night, the sound of gentle sea breeze blowing past their ears.
When the song ended, everyone finally came to their senses and burst into thunderous applause.
“Bravo!”
Someone started clapping, and suddenly, the well-behaved audience began cheering.
The entire auditorium erupted in excitement.
“Encore! Encore!”
Su Yi was about to get up when she heard the cheers growing louder.