Li Xiaoru’s voice wasn’t that loud, and the environment was noisy.

However, strangely, everyone suddenly went silent, and all looked towards Li Xiaoru and Liu Man, who was half a step behind.

The backstage manager stared at Liu Man for quite a while, too, with a subtle expression. He said, “I thought you gave up, and I’ve already had the third group take your place. Since you’re here on time, then we will use the original sequence.”

He announced this news to the leader of the third group in a loud voice, and the students in that group didn’t mind this arrangement.

The backstage manager then called the other behind-the-scenes staff as he scrolled through the original contents of the program list, “Yes, yes, yes. After the quintet, prepare two grand pianos and a table for Guzhen…”

The backstage manager then asked Liu Man and Li Xiaoru, “Where’s your Guzhen?”

“Here,” Yu Zhan walked up and stood the Guqin, still inside the bag, on the ground.

“Oh, okay. Put it here for now.”

Guzhen and Guqin tables were the same, and Yu Zhan didn’t know much about the folksong instruments. He thought he was holding a Guzhen.

“Where’s the other performer?” The backstage manager read the name on the programs list out loud, “Where is Wen Fangfei from the 1st class of Guzhen major?”

Liu Man said honestly, “She’s not coming; it’s just the two of us performing.”

Someone started whispering, and someone laughed out loud.

The backstage manager felt weird and thought Liu Man was here to be funny, “Your piece is a trio. How do you plan on playing it with only two people? And you even want me to put all three instruments on stage,” He reminded them out of kindness, “Since you are one person short, then give up. If you don’t pass, you can try again next time. Don’t think you can do it when you can’t, or else you will make a joke out of yourselves on stage later. This performance is different from the other ones, where students only play to have fun. The seats are also all full, and your actions will be filmed and posted onto the internet.”

The backstage manager had a good intention and was thinking for the students to mention the word “internet.” Hanfu Goddess’s reputation on the internet was already bad enough. If she made another scene at the concert today, not only would she become a complete joke, but she would also never be able to lift her head on campus. Even the school headmaster might notice her, and her future would be over.

“Thank you,” Liu Man showed appreciation to the backstage manager, “Please trust us. We really can pull this trio off.”

“Wow, she’s making such a big claim that she cannot even prove. I’m impressed.”

Other performers started mocking Liu Man and Li Xiaoru, whispering:

“How will two girls from the piano major play the Guzhen? As if they are playing on cotton products?”

“Hahahaha, that’s possible. Playing on cotton products like they are playing chords; that’s a trendy idea.”

TL’s Note: Basically, by saying they would by playing on cotton products, the other performers are suggesting their skills would suck.

“Is her brain broken or something? Someone like her can steal Tang Tu away from Shen Mozhen? Tang Tu must be blind, and Shen Mozhen must be disgusted.”

“I guess she’s intentionally trying to make Shen Mozhen disgusted to perform Guzhen on stage, the instrument Shen Mozhen is the best at.”

“Guys, stop. I think Liu Man has gone crazy from all the exposure online. Don’t stimulate her anymore.”

“Yes, I feel like she’s very pitiful.”

“I also think she’s pitiful. She went from an admired cyber star to a clown that everyone hates. Don’t say any of this in front of her. Why do you even care about the affairs between her, Tang Tu, and Shen Mozhen?”

…

Not every comment was negative. Some students chose to stay neutral.

Liu Man faced cold words with her usual expression as if she hadn’t heard them at all.

Humiliating someone in real life was even more fatal than defaming someone online. She didn’t know those people online, and she could pretend those criticisms were nothing. But these people in front of her were her classmates; they were the people she saw every day.

If she was just a normal twenty-year-old girl, she would have started crying from the humiliation and run out. She wouldn’t have continued her performance.

A weak woman would never be able to survive in the cold palace. Liu Man had gotten used to the supercilious eyes, humiliation, and even almost-fatal punishments from the servants and the abandoned concubines. She had already developed an iron-like shell to protect herself.

It was impossible to defeat her with simple words.

Li Xiaoru, however, who claimed she had a strong mentality, could not keep calm already at this moment. Her face was red, and one could not tell whether it was because of the angriness or humiliation. She was just going to rush up to reason with these people.

Yu Zhan, standing to one side, heard these murmurs, too. He felt sorry for Liu Man but realized that this girl didn’t even need anyone’s pity.

Her back was as straight as a pillar piercing through the sky, and it was as if she didn’t fear thunder or rain, like a pine tree trunk. Her eyes seemed to be full of brightness. No matter how much others laughed or defamed her, she believed the truth would come out at last.

Yu Zhan suddenly calmed down as well, and there was a hint of a smile in his eyes. He looked forward to Liu Man’s performance, for he knew it was going to be a huge surprise.

At this time, Sun Weiwei and the others had also arrived at the concert hall, and they found seats on the second floor near the back. Chen Han had a poster he made in his hands, which read: “Hanfu Goddess Liu Man, I LOVE U.” However, at this time, he could find no way to lift that poster and show it to everyone else.

The first performance was close to ending, and as the last note on the violin ended, all five performers stood up to thank the audience. The applause was loud, and the curtains slowly closed.

The screen above the stage showed the next piece’s description:

“‘Butterfly Lovers’ Trio; Instruments: Piano, Guzhen; Performers: Li Xiaoru from the third class of piano major, Liu Man from the third class of piano major.”

When Liu Man’s name appeared, there was an uproar in the audience.

“Liu Man is the Hanfu Goddess?”

“Mhm, that’s her!”

“She has the face to continue performing?”

“I heard that this performance is an assessment for one of their standard courses. If they didn’t perform, they would get a zero as their score. She, of course, has to participate even if it’s too embarrassing.”

“Didn’t they say it’s a trio? Why are there only two people’s names on here?”

“The third person must have felt too humiliated that she quit.”

“Then who’s going to play that Guzhen? Is it only there as decoration?”

“Quick, just film it. We can send it onto the internet later to get popular.”

…

Within the noisy environment, the curtains pulled open once again. There was a grand piano on each side of the stage. Right in the center of the stage stood an instrument that looked like a Guzhen.

In the first row of the audience sat ten judges. Five of them were professors from the piano major, strings majors, and wind majors, with Zhu Xiyang included; they were default judges. The other five judges were random. On the morning concert, Zhu Xiyang invited five professors from the composing major and the vocal major. For this afternoon concert, he invited five professors from the folk song major, which included Professor Wei Wanru.

Wei Wanru was a very discreet, old professor. She told the other judges, “The technology staff is too careless. How did they mess up such important details as the captions on the screen? It is a Guqin on the stage. How could they have mistaken it for a Guzhen? This mistake is too low-tiered!”

Translated by: Sydney