CHAPTER 16 (PART 2)

With a song-and-dance number, The Army and the People Are One Family, the gala officially began.

Sitting backstage, Su Yuan bent over her score, reviewing it carefully. The third act was In Praise of the Red Plum Blossom — and it needed her piano accompaniment.

The dancers were also ready to go, one of them being Fang Erya.

Su Yuan happened to look up, and their eyes met briefly before both of them looked away as if they hadn’t seen each other.

But Fang Erya was puzzled. She’d seen the program list — Baiyun Village’s choir performance was the sixth act. What was Su Yuan doing backstage so early?

Fearing Su Yuan might be up to something against her, Fang Erya immediately grew wary, her nerves taut.

Soon, it was time for Ode to the Red Plum Blossom to take the stage.

When Fang Erya saw Su Yuan walk up and sit down at the piano, she froze, looking as if she’d just seen a ghost. She had never expected Su Yuan to have such a skill.

One of her dance partners noticed her odd expression and quickly whispered for her to focus.

At that moment, Su Yuan sat upright on the piano bench, her back straight, her presence merging with the instrument. Her nimble fingers danced like fluttering butterflies, letting each note leap with life.

The audience was enraptured. Compared to the dance, they seemed to appreciate the beauty of the piano piece even more.

Under the pressure, Fang Erya’s performance fell apart. Mistakes piled up, and the more she tried to fix them, the worse it got.

Backstage, the instructor was furious, nearly yanking her off the stage to avoid ruining everyone else’s performance.

Even the leaders seated in the front row frowned deeply at the scene.

Focused entirely on the keys, Su Yuan had no idea Fang Erya was making a fool of herself.

Only when the piece ended did she finally notice her surroundings — and was met with thunderous applause that made her heart tremble.

She gave a polite bow and quickly stepped down to prepare for her next performance.

Yet the applause lingered, still echoing when Fu Mobai entered the auditorium, the sound almost hurting his ears.

Qiu Ye followed behind, curious. “What was that act just now? The applause is insane.”

Fu Mobai casually found a seat in the last row, which nearly made Qiu Ye blow a fuse. “Brother, I brought you here to build rapport with the higher-ups. Sitting all the way back here — what’s the point?”

Ignoring his chatter, Fu Mobai asked, “Where’s Qian Feng?”

Qiu Ye stared at the sea of heads in front of them. “How should I know? Can’t even see anyone’s face. How about this — when the show’s over, I’ll stand at the door and arrange for you two to ‘bump into’ each other?”

Fu Mobai gave him a mild glance, thought for a moment, and said, “That works.”

“…”

Qiu Ye regretted bringing him here at all. It was just a joke, but he’d taken it seriously.

—

Backstage.

Su Yuan was surrounded by a chorus of praise. She smiled politely and thanked them, though her palms were damp — the tension still hadn’t completely faded.

Fang Erya, on the other hand, stood there dejected, being scolded by the instructor so harshly she didn’t dare lift her head.

Shen Qing and the others also witnessed this, their hearts feeling delightfully refreshed.

Feng Shumiao sat beside Su Yuan, sincerely praising her. “That piano piece was amazing! Did you learn it from a music teacher?”

“No.”

After a few seconds’ pause, Su Yuan replied, “I learned from a neighbor’s older brother. He had a piano at home.”

“Wow~ then he must be even better than you, right?”

Thinking of a certain someone’s impatient expression whenever he practiced… Su Yuan’s lips curved faintly. “He’s just a wave that got slapped back onto the beach by me. His skill’s pretty average.”

As the saying goes, think of someone and they’ll sneeze.

At that moment, Fu Mobai sneezed.

Qiu Ye was instantly alarmed. “The Northeast isn’t as warm as Beijing. Why are you dressed so lightly? If you catch a cold and those old men hear about it, they’ll chew me out.”

As a soldier, Fu Mobai’s constitution was rock solid. He tuned out Qiu Ye’s nagging, his gaze scanning the crowd for his target.

He’d seen Qian Feng’s photo in the archives — finding him wouldn’t be difficult.

But just as his eyes swept past the tenth row, a young girl stepped onto the stage. Her movements were light, her beauty like poetry and painting.

In the next instant, she sat down at the piano, every gesture achingly familiar.

Qiu Ye noticed Fu Mobai’s fixed gaze and followed it. “Hey, you know that girl?”

Fu Mobai didn’t answer, eyes locked on Su Yuan.

When the piano began, the familiar melody tugged at memories.

Back when they were little, whenever Su Yuan was bullied, she would hide under his windowsill. At first, he hadn’t understood why.

Later, he realized — she liked the sound of the piano coming from his house…

“That girl’s gorgeous. She must be from the art troupe, right? Bet she’s got plenty of admirers.”

Fu Mobai finally turned his head just enough to shut him up.

On stage, with Su Yuan accompanying them, the choir delivered a flawless performance of Waves on Honghu Lake.

When the song ended, the group took bow after bow before leaving the stage, excitement on their faces.

Su Yuan was about to step down as well, but the host blocked her path.

She blinked, puzzled about what he wanted.

“Hello, may I ask — are you about to become a military wife?”

“…?!!”

Under the gaze of the entire audience, Su Yuan’s pupils contracted. She wanted to deny it, but couldn’t. Her only option was to give a guilty little nod, avoiding looking at the crowd entirely.

Fu Mobai’s lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze sharp enough to cut.

Beside him, Qiu Ye — ever tactless — teased, “Ohh, so she’s a military wife? Guess neither of us stands a chance, huh?”

On stage, the host continued, “Can you tell us how you two met?”

Su Yuan rubbed her brow and spoke softly, “We’ve known each other since we were kids. You could say we grew up together.”

“Oh, childhood sweethearts!”

Qiu Ye was listening with great interest, while Fu Mobai narrowed his eyes in thought…

Worried the host might ask for more details she couldn’t answer, Su Yuan quickly added, “I’m just an ordinary person. Our relationship is a very ordinary revolutionary friendship. There’s really nothing much to say — let’s give the stage back to everyone else.”

The program segment was scheduled for five minutes, and the host still had questions to ask:
“When do you plan to get married? Have you mentally prepared yourself for life as a military wife?”

Su Yuan deliberately ignored the first question and answered the second instead.
“Becoming a military wife has always been my wish. I’m already prepared.”

“Can you tell us which military district your other half is in, and what his name is?”

“…”

Now this was fatal.

Su Yuan’s mind raced, sifting through all her childhood friends—eliminating the ones who were already married, not soldiers, liked her, or lived within a thousand miles. Finally, with no way out, she gritted her teeth and said, “His name is Fu Mobai. He’s in the Southern Military District.”

“What the—!”

Qiu Ye nearly jumped to his feet. Turning to the man beside him, he asked in a trembling voice, “Since when did you get yourself a girlfriend behind my back?!”

Fu Mobai sat ramrod straight, staring blankly at Su Yuan. For once, his expression broke free from its usual icy severity—pure, stunned disbelief.