Chapter 41 (2/2)

“The older sister who had given her that piece of candy earlier was wearing a white tutu dress like that as well, wasn’t she?”

After the Edelweiss dance ended, thunderous applause sounded from the audience.

While the audience applauded, the host walked onstage with a smile, full of praise for the performance that had just ended. Then, after making some other remarks, he promptly announced the next performance, which would be “Jingle Bells” performed by Class One of the fourth grade.

The stage curtains slowly opened, and a black piano could be seen gleaming with dazzling luster under the spotlight. Cheng Zhiyan sat quietly at the piano, wearing a black suit, a white oxford shirt, and a red bow tie.

As he started playing, notes flowed like water from his fingers.

The melodious and catchy notes of “Jingle Bells” instantly quieted the noisy audience, which had started humming with conversation during the announcements.

Xiaotu’s eyes teared up as she stared transfixed at Cheng Zhiyan performing onstage.

His eyes were downcast as he stared intently at the piano keys. His profile was all the audience could see under the spotlight: his prominent nose, his pink lips pursed in concentration, and his lustrous skin.

As his fingers gracefully bounced over the keys, the music became increasingly upbeat, and two rows of children in red costumes immediately skipped onto the stage with chiming bells in their hands.

“Do you see the person in the center who is wearing a red skirt and a hat? She is the one you are going to give the flowers to later.” Teacher Zhao sat beside Xiaotu and pointed to the pretty girl who was dancing onstage to remind her once again of what her task was going to be.”

“Yep, yep, I see…” Xiaotu nodded, yet her eyes never left Cheng Zhiyan for a second as he sat there onstage, playing the piano.

“You’re going to climb up onstage from the steps over there in a moment, do you understand?”