225 Music Festival Debut
A sea of heads converged into a wave, gathering towards this stage. The noise was like a grand festival, so much so that if one was slightly further away, they couldn’t hear what others were saying.
Standing on such a stage, Pei Ningle felt her legs were a little unsteady. And the guitar hanging in front of her seemed exceptionally heavy.
She held the microphone stand and turned to look back. Standing there cheering her on were Han Yixuan and Wang Heng.
“Little Le, go for it!” Han Yixuan waved her fist.
Besides Pei Ningle, there were a bassist, a keyboardist, and a drummer on stage, four people in total. These three accompanists had only met her yesterday, and they had only rehearsed for one day. At this moment, Pei Ningle looked around, her gaze sweeping over their faces, only to realize that she couldn’t even call out their full names, only remembering the nicknames she had called many times.
“Mosquito, are we starting?” Pei Ningle shouted at the drummer.
The burly drummer with a strange nickname glanced at the digital watch on his wrist and shouted even louder, “Two more minutes, wait for the broadcast notification! After the broadcast introduces you, you say a few words to the fans, and we’ll start!”
Pei Ningle glanced at the crowd below the stage. “Where do I have so many fans?”
The bassist next to her laughed. “Be confident. You write good songs and have been on CCTV. There must be many listeners. Of course, your foundation is too shallow, so you definitely don’t have many loyal fans yet, but your passerby appeal is already great. Even if they aren’t yet, make them your fans after singing two songs!”
The keyboardist also joked, “You have to work hard. When you become a top star in the future, we can brag about you in our resumes.”
“It’s not that exaggerated. It’s good enough to support myself…” Before Pei Ningle could finish, she heard the broadcast next to the stage.
It was a host’s voice, sounding quite excited: “Does everyone remember the most outstanding student in the first episode of ‘Sing My Song’? Today, right here, she will present her only two original songs to everyone! That’s right, besides ‘Dawn’ on the show, there is another one!”
Speaking of this, a cheer erupted from below the stage. It was just that, compared to the number of people below, this cheer was obviously a bit thin.
The bassist said again, “Don’t be nervous. Just treat it as singing for friends for fun. The more relaxed, the better.”
At this time, the host’s voice in the broadcast also reached the last sentence: “Then let’s welcome, Pei Ningle!”
Another round of slightly thin applause. Soon, the area around this stage quieted down, and the audience was waiting for the voice from the stage.
On the stage, Pei Ningle held the microphone with both hands and said, “That was a bit too much praise just now. I don’t think I was the most outstanding in the show, although I am very confident in my songs… Uh, what was I going to say?”
Scattered laughter. However, for a cute girl, everyone was obviously more tolerant, and the laughter was more of a good-natured teasing.
Pei Ningle scratched her cheek and smiled. “I won’t say anything more. Today is my first time on such a big stage. A song ‘Lost Path’ and a song ‘Dawn’, hope everyone likes them!”
**
When Pei Ningle started singing, Wang Heng and Han Yixuan were standing at the back side of the stage, a place where they could see both the audience below and the singer on stage.
“She was so nervous before starting. I didn’t expect her to perform so well on such a big stage for the first time!”
Han Yixuan distinguished the singing voice she heard and couldn’t help but sigh.
Wang Heng said calmly, “Don’t look at this girl getting nervous easily. Actually, her on-the-spot performance is very good. No matter how nervous she is, as long as she closes her eyes, she can always find the feeling of singing.”
Han Yixuan stole a glance at him and asked in a low voice, “You seem to know Little Le very well?”
Wang Heng said very naturally, “Of course. I’ve been her manager for half a year and seen her sing so many times. Of course I know her.”
Han Yixuan still cared a little about the address ‘girl’ (ya tou) he just said. These two words seemed quite intimate to her. However, Wang Heng had never addressed her like this.
When Pei Ningle finished singing the first song “Lost Path” and started singing the second song “Dawn”, the girl finally couldn’t help asking, “Can you… not call me ‘Student Han Yixuan’ anymore in the future? Five characters, it sounds so troublesome.”
Wang Heng: “Then what should I call you?”
“Just like Little Le and I call each other, call me Little Xuan. We are good friends too, this is so normal…”
Han Yixuan said this, thinking that her seemingly insignificant request would be brushed off again, but unexpectedly, the next moment she heard him agree crisply:
“Okay.”
“Then can I call you Brother Wang Heng in the future?”
The girl’s hands were in the pockets of her jeans, seemingly casual, but actually, both hands were clenched into fists.
Wang Heng glanced at her, seeming a little hesitant.
Han Yixuan quickly added, “You are already 19 now, and I’m still 18. Calling you brother isn’t too much, right?”
Wang Heng: “But your temperament is much more mature than Little Le’s. And you will be my assistant in the future, helping me handle many things. Calling me brother always feels not quite right.”
Han Yixuan: “Then should I still call you Boss Wang?”
“This works,” Wang Heng nodded. “OK, let’s listen to the song. The high notes at the end of ‘Dawn’ are really good.”
The two quieted down and listened to the song silently.
However, Han Yixuan pondered the conversation just now carefully and always felt that she seemed to have been issued a subordinate card that excluded ambiguity?
**
“I hear the harp playing crystals, weaving into beautiful poems, I see you…”
While singing the last sentence, Pei Ningle subconsciously looked to the side and back. She saw that although Wang Heng and Han Yixuan were standing side by side, they maintained a proper distance of about half a meter, and they didn’t communicate with each other, seeming to be listening to her singing seriously.
Looking back again, seeing the audience below the stage, and hearing the sudden burst of applause and cheers, the girl became even happier. Especially recalling the hesitation and melancholy more than half a year ago before meeting Wang Heng, and then thinking about now, she was so happy that she wanted to jump up.
But of course, she didn’t forget that she was on stage and couldn’t behave too strangely. So she bowed to the audience, straightened up, and swept her gaze over those faces brimming with enthusiasm.
Taking the microphone off the stand, she held the guitar in front of her with one hand and the microphone with the other, and walked a few steps forward—until the very front of the stage, where she couldn’t go any further.
“Thank you for your support, thank you very much!”
Tears of excitement shimmered in the girl’s big eyes.
