You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

The song ended.

Su Qinghe sat motionless on the piano bench, her fingers still in the position of pressing the keys, without moving for a long time.

Although the secondary melody line of "That Summer" is not complicated, it requires a thorough understanding of the structure of the piece to improvise it without any preparation and to keep the harmonic relationship between the two melodies harmonious at all times.

He truly remembered the song.

The last time Jiang Che practiced and performed this piece was four years ago, when they were still in the orchestra.

They had just become friends then, and during their lunch break, she pulled him aside to practice the piece alone.

But it was just for entertainment and amusement, not preparation for any important performance.

But after many years, he not only did not forget, but his proficiency was no less than it was back then.

Su Qinghe felt a lump in her throat.

She didn't say anything, but simply put her fingers back on the keys.

This time, instead of starting with the intro, she went straight into the chorus and played it again with even more power than before.

Jiang Che's piano music followed immediately.

The two maintained an amazing tacit understanding. Every time Su Qinghe played a long note in the high register, Jiang Che's violin would precisely shift from a low position to a high position, smoothly catching up with a harmonic.

Exactly.

Su Qinghe finally couldn't help but curl up her lips.

After the last note fell, she gently lifted her hands off the keys and turned to look at the doorway.

Jiang Che just then put his violin down from his shoulder and met the girl's gaze.

Jiang Che placed the zither and bow on the low cabinet next to him, walked over and sat down again next to Su Qinghe.

He then jokingly asked, "How is it, Teacher Su? Are you satisfied with the accompaniment?"

Su Qinghe stared at him for several seconds, then reached out and ruffled his messy hair.

"I'm satisfied, but your appearance is terrible. Your hair is unkempt and your clothes are unbuttoned. What kind of image do you present when you stand on the stage playing the violin?"

"I'm not performing on stage," Jiang Che grabbed her mischievous hand. "I'm just practicing with you at home. It's not me who's going on stage."

Su Qinghe blinked twice, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Didn't we agree to put together a performance? Aren't you coming on stage with me?"

"I only said we'd choreograph the show together, not that we'd go on stage together," Jiang Che said matter-of-factly.

"But you clearly said 'we'll play together' this afternoon."

"Entertainment is playing together at home, while going on stage is you going on stage alone."

Jiang Che took her hand and straightened her fingers one by one, placing them on the piano keys. "Qinghe, our high school also had a welcome party, and every year three or four people would go up to play the piano. You should remember, right?"

Su Qinghe nodded obediently, "Yes, I remember."

Jiang Che continued, "At last year's freshman welcome party, a girl from the class next to ours played a piece by Chopin, but the applause from the audience was sparse after she finished. Why do you think that was?"

Su Qinghe thought for a moment: "Because everyone thinks she doesn't play well?"

"Well, you could say that, but the reason why people think she doesn't play well is, in my opinion, because she doesn't have anything she wants to express."

"In other words, the music has no soul."

Jiang Che's tone was unusually serious. "She played Chopin because her teacher told her that this piece would get her a high score, not because the piece had any special meaning for her."

"No matter how good the technique is, it's still just technique. The audience sitting below may not understand music, but they can feel whether the performers on stage have poured out their true feelings."

He lifted Su Qinghe's fingers off the piano keys and held them tightly in his palm.

"But you are different."

"You played this piece to thank Teacher Xie, for yourself, and for that little girl who couldn't reach the pedals when she sat on the piano bench back then."

"You have something you want to convey, and you are destined for success."

"Therefore, this stage can only belong to you; I cannot take it from you."

Su Qinghe stared at their clasped hands, her eyes welling up with tears.

She blinked hard to force back the sour feeling, then stood up from the piano bench and reached out to close the piano lid.

"Alright, I'll go alone then."

Her voice returned to its usual lightness, but a slight nasal tone lingered at the end of each note. "But you have to sit in the first row on Friday night so I can see you at a glance."

"If you dare to sit in the back, you'll be in big trouble when you get back."

Su Qinghe clenched her fist and waved it in front of Jiang Che.

Jiang Che raised his hand in salute, "Yes, Teacher Su!"

……

Friday evening, Peking University Auditorium.

Fifteen minutes before the start of the event, the Great Hall of the People, which can accommodate 3,000 people, was already about 70-80% full.

The freshmen, dressed in their respective college uniforms, sat in designated areas, with the colorful uniforms dividing the venue into several distinct zones.

The School of Economics and Management's area happened to be located in the front row, so the eight students from Jiang Che's dormitory and Su Qinghe's dormitory occupied the first row of this area.

Xu Wenbin was incredibly excited about tonight's welcome party. Holding the glow stick he'd just gotten from the entrance, he tapped Song Mingxuan on the shoulder and peered towards the stage: "Hey Lao Song, can you check the program for me? Where's Qinghe's performance?"

Upon hearing this, Song Mingxuan pushed up his glasses, then took the program out of his pocket and squinted at it for a long time under the not-so-bright lights in the venue.

"Hmm... the eighth one. Before that, there were two solo singers, one street dancer, one skit, one poetry recitation, and a senior student playing the pipa and a violin solo."

"A violin solo?" Xu Wenbin turned to look at Jiang Che, who was sitting next to him scrolling through his phone. "By the way, Lao Jiang, didn't you say you could play the violin? Why aren't you on stage accompanying Qinghe today?"

Jiang Che raised his eyelids and glanced at him, then slowly locked his phone and put it in his pocket: "She doesn't lack accompaniment, she lacks someone who can sit quietly in the audience and watch her play the piano."

Xu Wenbin was stunned for a full three seconds by those words, then closed his eyes in pain and turned his head to the other side.

He's just so sharp-tongued; he always has to ask one more question.

Well, now I've been force-fed another dose of PDA.

Lin tide sat next to Xu Wenbin, wearing an avocado green T-shirt that made her look very lively.

She leaned over Xu Wenbin and glanced at Su Qinghe's seat, which was empty.

"Where is Qinghe?"

"Where's the backstage dressing room?" Shen Shiyu answered for Su Qinghe, who wasn't present. "She has a performance, right? Jiang Che said she went there to prepare at four o'clock this afternoon."

"Four o'clock? That early?" Lin tide's eyes widened. "Then I'll have to take a good look at how prepared she is later."