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墨書 Inktalez
The dining location is at Venus Hotel.
When Su Wan and Fu Weiheng arrived, Fu Weijin had already been seated with Qin Mu's family for a while and was chatting amiably with Su Yue.
Fu Weijin smiled and said, "You're here."
Seeing them arrive, Qin Mu quickly pulled Su Wan to the empty seat next to her.
Fu Weiheng greeted everyone with a smile and then leisurely pulled out the chair next to Su Wan to sit down.
Su Wan glanced at Su Yue and Old Qin sitting directly across from her and politely called out, "Auntie, Uncle." Then she looked at Qin Yan, who was sitting next to Fu Weiheng and focused on his phone, saying, "Brother."
Qin Yan didn't look up and simply replied, "Mm."
Noticing her slightly puffy face that clearly showed she had just woken up, Su Yue spoke up, "Just woke up?"
Feeling embarrassed, Su Wan lowered her gaze and nodded.
Su Yue clicked her tongue and said, "You child, you have a performance tonight. Why haven't you had any snacks?"
Fu Weiheng poured a cup of tea for Su Wan and gently explained, "Auntie, Guan Guan was a bit nervous and didn't sleep well last night. She woke up late this morning."
Qin Yan, who had been tapping on his phone screen, paused his fingers and raised an eyebrow at Fu Weiheng without changing his expression: "Are you two living together?"
At this remark, both Su Yue and Old Qin turned their attention to them. Su Wan felt shy and lowered her head, remaining silent.
Fu Weiheng remained calm, saying, "Hmm, I am worried about Guan Guan staying outside alone."
Su Yue and Old Qin exchanged knowing smiles.
Qin Yan suddenly had a thought, "Are you sure there are no ulterior motives?"
Su Wan and Qin Mu sat up straight, silently observing the subtle conflict between the two.
Fu Weijin leaned back in his chair, holding a teacup, leisurely watching the drama unfold.
Fu Weiheng set down the teapot, took a sip from his cup, and glanced at Qin Yan with a composed expression. He quietly said, "Actually, there are ill intentions."
Qin Yan: "…………"
Su Wan: "…………"
Qin Mu burst out laughing, "Hahaha, you talk too much! Serves you right!"
Qin Yan immediately shot him a glare.
...Silence.
Fu Weijin stifled a laugh and tugged at Qin Mu's sleeve thoughtfully, saying, "I feel like your brother and my younger brother have great chemistry."
Qin Mu nodded vigorously in agreement, "I! Also! Think! So!" His tone was filled with barely concealed excitement. "It's like a love-hate relationship; because I love you, I want to kill you! Hahaha, I even came up with a name for their pairing—it's called 'Perfunctory!' Perfunctory CP!"
Fu Weijin couldn't help but applaud, "What a great name!"
Su Wan: "…………"
Qin Yan: "………………"
Fu Weiheng, with a calm expression, turned slightly and pulled Su Wan's chair closer to him, creating distance between her and Qin Mu.
As Qin Mu and Su Wan exchanged confused glances due to Fu Weiheng's sudden action, they heard him casually say, "Bad influences; those who get close to ink turn black. Keep your distance."
Su Wan: "…………"
Everyone: "……………………"
In the gaps of conversation, the dishes were almost all served.
Fu Weijin scooped some soup into her bowl and asked with a smile, "Guan Guan, I heard from Mu Mu that today is your birthday?"
Qin Mu suddenly realized, "Oh right! I just remembered, and then I forgot!" He raised his glass to toast her, "Sister! Happy Birthday!"
Su Wan was taken aback and then remembered; she had been so busy with the performance these past few days that she had almost forgotten: "… Thank you."
Fu Weijin intentionally glanced at Fu Weiheng and pouted, "Neil didn't mention it to me, so I didn't have time to prepare a gift for you…"
Su Wan looked at him; he was calmly peeling shrimp for her. She turned back to Fu Weijin and smiled, "It's not necessary; I'm not too concerned about these things."
Su Yue also smiled, "That's true, but your uncle and I have prepared a red envelope for you. Since it's your birthday, and it's your first time performing on stage today, you should have some good luck."
Qin Mu nodded in agreement, "Exactly." He then took out two red envelopes from his backpack and handed them to Su Wan. "One is from my parents, and the other is from me and Qin Yan. I don't have much pocket money, so I asked Qin Yan to chip in."
Su Wan raised her hand to push them away. "No need..."
"Just take it. I didn't give you anything for your birthday in the past few years," Qin Yan interjected.
"Right, right, Sister. It's rare for Qin Yan to be so generous; you should accept it quickly," Qin Mu said while stuffing the red envelopes into Su Wan's bag, not allowing her to refuse.
"So..." Qin Yan leaned back with his elbows resting on the table, looking meaningfully at Fu Weiheng beside him, his tone teasing, "What does Mr. Fu have to say about this?"
Su Wan was taken aback for a moment before looking at Fu Weiheng. He seemed to have forgotten due to being busy lately, but Su Wan wasn't upset; she never cared much for these formalities. Smiling lightly, she spoke up for him first, "He gave me a gift."
Qin Yan stared at him intently and pressed further, "What did he give you?"
Su Wan frowned slightly as she glanced at the unchanging expression of the man beside her, finding it hard to grasp his current emotions and thoughts. After a few seconds of thought, she blurted out, "A card! He... gave me a platinum card."
Upon hearing this, Fu Weiheng looked at her in surprise and subtly curved his lips.
Qin Yan scoffed, "That's just perfunctory."
Su Wan was left speechless.
After dinner, Fu Weiheng and Su Wan headed to the Concert Hall early to prepare for tonight's performance.
During this time, Jiang Yun received a phone call.
"Guan Guan, are you in rehearsal?"
Su Wan happened to be on a break during the rehearsal. She took a sip of mineral water and replied, "Mm."
Jiang Yun chuckled, "It's your birthday today. Mom will come early tonight to bring you a Red Egg."
"Thank you, Mom." Su Wan fiddled with the torn part of her jeans and gently added, "You’ve worked hard too, Mom."
"It's not hard." Jiang Yun paused for a moment. "Did your aunt and the others come?"
Su Wan replied, "Mm, they came."
Jiang Yun said, "Then I won't disturb your practice. I'll wait until your performance is over to have dinner with your aunt and uncle."
"Okay."
After hanging up the phone, Su Wan noticed several WeChat messages on her screen and clicked to check them.
[Jinjin's Little Chengyang: Guan Guan!! Happy Birthday!!!]
[Jinjin's Little Chengyang: Your performance will definitely be a great success!!]
The messages were sent an hour ago.
[Swan: Thank you (heart)]
The message was sent out, and a notification popped up in the group.
It was a picture sent by Qin Mu—a selfie with Yao Ye.
[Mumu Baby: Hanging out with Sister Yao]
Su Wan smiled as she glanced at it. Before she could reply, Fu Weiheng walked in to remind her that the halftime was over, so Su Wan hurriedly put down her phone and followed him out.
——
In the evening, one hour before the performance.
Su Wan changed into a bright red strapless gown, with a flowing train. The vibrant dress made her skin appear even more fair and delicate, like fine jade. Her long, shiny black hair was tied up in a high ponytail, revealing her exquisite and beautiful face. To complement the bright red gown, the makeup artist applied bright red lipstick on her; the stunning look was particularly eye-catching.
When Fu Weiheng entered the Lounge, he saw her resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought. He walked over slowly, touched the top of her head, and gently asked, "Are you nervous again?"
Su Wan paused for a moment, turned to look at him, her dark and sparkling eyes filled with a soft glow. She shook her head, "Not nervous anymore."
This was the truth; after preparing for so long, she felt confident about the piece.
Fu Weiheng smiled reassuringly, "Mom and Dad and Grandpa are here..."
Su Wan: "Are they outside?"
Fu Weiheng: "Hmm."
"I'll go say hello..." Su Wan said as she prepared to stand up.
Fu Weiheng raised his hand to stop her and pulled out a container from behind: "They are chatting with your family. Our mom sent you Red Egg, and I brought it for you."
Our mom...
Su Wan looked at the bright red eggs, her face slightly flushed as she took one, peeled the shell, and held it up to his mouth: "Do you want to eat?"
He glanced at the Red Egg in her hand, leaned down to kiss her, but Su Wan instinctively turned her head away, softly reminding him: "Lipstick..."
Fu Weiheng chuckled, moved his lips to nibble on her earlobe, his voice low: "Guan Guan, happy birthday."
At seven-thirty, the performance officially began.
All the audience members had taken their seats early, and the orchestra members, including Fu Weiheng, the Concertmaster, were already on stage.
The lights in the venue changed, followed by three chimes. The Conductor strode onto the stage and then turned to welcome the main performer of the evening.
Applause erupted as Su Wan stood behind the safety gate, holding her Cello and Gongzi. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage while lifting her skirt.
According to etiquette, she first bowed to the audience, then turned to shake hands with both the concertmaster and the Conductor, before finally sitting down on the Piano Bench next to the Conductor, securing her cello's endpin into the non-slip mat.
Sitting beside Qin Mu in the audience, Yao Ye was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. She tugged at Qin Mu's sleeve and whispered through clenched teeth, "Oh my gosh, Lao Mu Bao, your sister is absolutely stunning!"
Qin Mu felt the same way; she lightly stomped her foot and said, "She really is breathtaking! And the brother-in-law sitting behind her is incredibly handsome too. What a perfect match!"
Yao Ye nodded vigorously, "Mm-hmm!"
Qin Yan glanced over at the two of them with a calm expression and remarked, "Idiots."
Qin Mu and Yao Ye exchanged silent looks.
Mu Qing clapped his hands together and leaned toward Fu Yiyuan, whispering with delight, "Our daughter-in-law is truly beautiful."
Fu Yiyuan nodded in agreement, while Fu Quan beside him said softly, "Wei Hang is really lucky."
With everything ready, the Conductor lowered the baton, and Su Wan immediately began to play the main theme of Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto, starting softly and building in strength.
The overall direction of this piece is somber and filled with struggle, having been recorded multiple times by various cello performers over the years, maintaining its enduring charm. One can clearly feel the intricate thematic variations throughout the piece, and Su Wan excelled in capturing the performance and emotional expression of each movement.
The second piece was Haydn's C Major Cello Concerto, one of Haydn's most celebrated works. It not only embodies the elegant style characteristic of the Viennese classical music tradition but also presents considerable technical challenges in performance, making it a representative work of cello concertos from that era. The first movement is a moderately paced C major sonata form; from the monotonous accompaniment, one can sense echoes of Baroque influence. The second movement, a slow F major section, features a serene and lyrical presentation by the solo cello alongside string instruments, showcasing Haydn's unique skill in melodic composition. The third movement is a very fast C major sonata form that retains much of the Baroque flavor found in the first movement while employing nearly identical structural elements; here, the solo cello showcases the performer's technique.
Despite the stark differences in style between the two pieces, Su Wan maintained a fluid and emotionally rich performance throughout, fully demonstrating her skill and talent to all the audience members.
The final piece was Saint-Saëns' First Cello Concerto in A minor. This work features a distinct thematic character with rich harmonic color changes and distinctive rhythmic patterns that are widely appreciated. The piece begins with a plaintive and sorrowful melody in a minor key before transitioning into a gradually intensifying interlude led by the orchestra that brings back the major theme. It shifts from melancholic singing to an impassioned outburst, propelling the music to its climax before coming to an abrupt halt.
As the final note of the piece resonated in the grand hall, the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause.
Everyone was astonished by Su Wan's performance as a Cellist.
In that moment, overwhelmed by the affirmation from the audience, Su Wan felt a surge of emotion that was hard to contain. She looked up at the audience with a confident smile, held her cello tightly, and took a deep bow, remaining in that position for a while before straightening up.
She glanced back at Fu Weiheng behind her, preparing to lift her skirt and step off the stage when suddenly the Conductor on stage dropped his baton, and a gentle interlude began to play.
Su Wan was taken aback; was there still more music?
The audience looked at their programs in surprise; hadn't the performance already concluded?
Standing before the Piano Bench with her skirt in hand, Su Wan appeared bewildered and unsure. Just then, a melodious violin sound emerged from the orchestra, playing a familiar melody she knew all too well.
Su Wan froze and turned around abruptly. Fu Weiheng had risen from his seat at some point and was now standing gracefully beside her, holding a violin and skillfully playing it with tenderness.
Jiang Yun, sitting in the second row of the audience, was momentarily stunned.
"Amazing Grace"
After a while, the music came to an end.
Fu Weiheng gently placed the Stradivari violin on the Piano Bench.
Under the gaze of all the spectators, he pulled out a small dark blue velvet box from his suit pocket.
In the audience, Yao Ye was suddenly shocked by this solemn scene. She opened her mouth, sensing something: "Deity... is he proposing?!"
In the next moment, Fu Weiheng knelt on one knee and slowly opened a box, revealing an elegant and radiant diamond ring under the golden light.
The suddenly silent Concert Hall was filled with a clear, deep voice, gentle and slow—
"Guan Guan, marry me."
Except for Fu Weiheng and all the members of the orchestra, everyone present, including Su Wan, was taken aback.
She looked at the handsome man kneeling before her, and in an instant, tears began to fall uncontrollably.
He had always been taciturn; even his proposal consisted of just these five words.
Yet she understood the meaning contained within those five words that belonged to him.
Su Wan knew that if she weren't holding her violin at this moment, she would have already thrown herself into his arms.
The audience murmured in surprise.
Su Wan sniffed, carefully placed her violin on the ground, raised her hand to wipe away her tears, and softly responded to him: "Okay."
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