Tao Zhiyao not only took her camera, but she also brought a Hanfu outfit since Shen Mozhen and Liu Man promised each other to wear Hanfus together.

Li Xiaoru was happy to see Miao Xiaomei, “Last time, I forgot to ask for your contact. Let’s add each other on WeChat! Also, what’s your Weibo? We should follow each other!”

Miao Xiaomei got infected by Li Xiaoru’s enthusiasm and smiled shyly. She held out her phone and let Li Xiaoru scan her social media.

Miao Xiaomei’s username was “Xiaomei 12345”, Liu Man and Tao Zhiyao also followed her. She didn’t post anything and only reposted makeup tutorials. Miao Xiaomei only had 20+ followers. Even counting them three, she didn’t reach 30 followers.

Shen Mozhan put Liu Man and her piece for the finale. Because there was still time, Liu Man didn’t change immediately but instead started chatting with Li Xiaoru, Tao Zhiyao, and Miao Xiaomei.

Shen Mozhen, who had already done her makeup and changed into her first outfit, appeared and greeted them four. Li Xiaoru and Tao Zhiyao had already heard legends regarding her, but it was still their first time interacting so closely.

In Li Xiaoru’s mind, Shen Mozhen was the folk song Goddess — the beautiful, cold, and the idol in every student’s heart. She had only observed this beauty from far away.

She never thought that Shen Mozhen was so easy to communicate with. She looked super nice, like a big sister, greeting them with bottles of water and snacks.

“I was afraid you guys will be bored waiting, so I brought snacks to pass the time,” Shen Mozhan smiled.

Li Xiaoru was flattered, “Thank you, senior.”

Tao Zhiyao had been evaluating Shen Mozhen. Her knowledge of Shen Mozhen came from the internet. Being female, she had to admit that Shen Mozhen was an attractive girl. At first glance, she seemed very aloof, but once she showed a smile, bringing her affinity, people couldn’t help but feel that she was a nice girl.

No wonder Liu Man agreed to perform with her.

Miao Xiaomei thought Shen Mozhen was extremely pretty as well. She observed Shen Mozhen’s facial features and her makeup, and she thought that Shen Mozhen’s makeup artist wasn’t so good.

“Mozhen, get ready to be on stage,” someone outside shouted.

Shen Mozhen said to the three, “Then, I’ll excuse myself.”

As she vanished from the doorway, Li Xiaoru immediately said what was on her mind, “Shen Mozhen is too pretty; she’s completely different from the rumors.”

Tao Zhiyao laughed, “You trust the rumors? The rumors also say Shen Mozhan and Man Man are rivals. Would you believe that?”

Li Xiaoru laughed as well. She thought Tang Tu was the biggest loser. He didn’t get Liu Man while also losing such a beautiful girlfriend. Maybe this was god’s punishment for “playboys” like him.

“It’s just that her makeup isn’t done well,” Miao Xiaomei suddenly said.

Li Xiaoru was confused, “I thought it looks great.”

“The makeup is too heavy. Shen Mozhen’s facial features are relatively classic and flat, which is more suitable for lighter makeup. The foundation color was also not correctly selected; it’s too white.”

After Miao Xiaomei’s reminder, Liu Man and the rest did think that the skin color between Shen Mozhen’s face and neck was a bit much.

The four were chatting when a familiar figure stopped by the break room door.

Liu Man and the rest noticed the sounds and looked towards the door; it was Wen Fangfei.

Li Xiaoru immediately stood up, wanting to call and greet her. Yet Wen Fangfei glanced at her, lowered her head, and walked away.

“Why is Fangfei looking at me like this?” Li Xiaoru felt confused and mistreated, “It was her who quitted on the spot. We didn’t even blame her, and now she’s acting like it was our fault!”

“Maybe she’s indifferent to hide her guilt,” Liu Man explained, “she’s not comfortable speaking with us anymore. Just let it go.”

“Aiyo, we could’ve been really good friends,” Li Xiaoru sighed.

Liu Man comforted her, “You need fate to be friends with someone. We can only say that fate didn’t want us to be friends.”

The first piece of the concert was Shen Mozhen’s solo, “Wind into the Pine”. “Wind into the Pine” was an ancient song composed by Wei Jin JiKang. The song described the setting sun in Xiling, the wind blowing into the pine and the waves, the spirit of the soul and the moon, and the realm of stringing.

The style of the whole piece was quiet and tactful, which was very suitable for the opening, allowing the audience to settle down and enter the state of the concert.

Liu Man and the rest were quietly watching Shen Mozhen’s performance from backstage.

Both the backstage and the audience was quiet. In the room, there was only the sound of Shen Mozhen’s Guzheng; everyone was listening carefully.

Of those who choose to spend their money to buy tickets to watch Shen Mozhen’s concert, only a few come from gossip, and most of them were people well educated in Chinese classical music or those who truly liked folk music. In short, the concert required the audience to have a very high level of appreciation.

In the front row of the auditorium sat the head of the folk music department, professors and teachers, and several leaders of the National Folk Orchestra where Shen Mozhen was joining. The elders of the Shen family were all present as well. Her parents were sitting in the first row, besides Professor Wei Wanru.

To Shen Mozhen, this concert was not just about her graduation performance, but it was also about proving to her family and teachers that she was now independent.

At the end of the piece, applause burst in the audience.

Shen Mozhen stood up, bowed, smiled, then sat down again to continue playing the next piece.

The whole concert would last only one and a half hours. There are nine pieces in total: the first six were solo performances by Shen Mozhen, another was a collective ensemble between her and other folk music students, the other was her ensemble with Wen Fangfei, and the last one was her ensemble with Liu Man. Each song was nearly ten minutes long.

There wasn’t much time between each piece, and there was no host to announce the pieces. As a song ended, the screens on both sides of the stage would display the name of the next piece.

During Shen Mozhen’s solo, she couldn’t change clothes, rest, drink, or even relax and had to keep on sitting on the stage until she finished her solos.

It was super tiring!

Even if Shen Mozhen already attended many big concerts and had a lot of experience, she had never played for this long.

When she was performing the sixth piece, the pressure and fatigue were getting to Shen Mozhen, making her sweat. She had to keep on adjusting her breathing.

After the performance, she exhaled deeply. She quickly left the stage to change and put on makeup again after bowing.

Meanwhile, Liu Man had just started to change and prepare.

The Hanfu Tao Zhiyao brought this time was the fourth outfit in the “Fenghua” series, named “Hui’an”.

Translated by: Yutong/Puppxteer

Edited by: Sydney