NOVPUBXia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruawen took turns guest-starring as hosts, their performance no less professional.
The brainwashing melody of "Little Apple" instantly spread to everyone present through the sound system. The five girls glanced at each other and then nodded affirmatively in unison before starting to sing:
[I planted a seed~]
[Finally, it bore fruit~]
"What kind of song is this, so weird!"
"Are original songs like this?"
"It’s pretty impressive for middle school students to have this level."
At first, the audience had mixed opinions during the first verse, but by the time the chorus ended and the second verse began, the murmurs had disappeared because they were all singing "You are my~ little cutie little apple~ no matter how much I love you, it’s never too much~"
"Everyone, turn on the flashlights on your phones, and let’s sway to the beat, okay?"
"Okay!"
The venue’s benches were already full, and many without seats stood in every corner. It was conservatively estimated that there were nearly two thousand people.
Looking down from the stage, there was a sea of heads. The girls were a bit stage-shy at first, but when they saw that some in the audience were singing along, they gradually became more confident and poised.
When over a thousand flashlights swayed in the night sky, the heavens overhead were dim, but a galaxy of lights shone at their feet, a shock of the night that the girls would remember for a lifetime.
They sang seven or eight more songs in a row, and the crowd kept growing, so they had no choice but to make another call to Fang Xiaohai, summoning the police to maintain order at the scene.
During the intermission, Xu Qingfan’s fun Q&A session as the host heated the atmosphere even more and bought the girls some precious time to rest and recover.
The lights were bright at Licheng Middle School a street away where students were in the classrooms for their Sunday night self-study, unaware of the performance happening outside. You couldn’t help but wonder what they would think if they heard the singing from outside.
Suffering doesn’t necessarily lead to sweetness, but a sweet beginning is always sweet. Qingfan shifted his gaze back and continued to draw the next audience member to answer a question.
The performance continued, "The following song is still an original one, still created by your beloved Brother Fan. He said the name of this song is ’Regret for the Dogs at the Sound of the Prelude’. Just a little joke, here’s ’Anhe Bridge’ for you all!"
The audience, originally curious about this elaborate song, were instantly silenced when Xu Qingfan played the prelude of "Anhe Bridge" on the erhu.
Of course, the Anhe Bridge sounded better on the Matouqin, but Qingfan couldn’t play it!
[Let me take one more look at you~ from south to north]
[Like the eyes blinded~ by the Fifth Ring]
Unfortunately, the girls’ voices and experience could not convey the emo feel, so the audience didn’t really feel any regret, it was just a very nice song.
Ever since they met Xu Qingfan, the growth and experiences of the five of them went too smoothly. Unless they experienced heartbreak, the girls probably wouldn’t understand what regret meant.
The two original songs successfully elevated the prestige of the night’s performance, and many people remembered their band’s name "After School Tea Time". The TV station staff also felt their trip was worthwhile.
"Lastly, we invite all students from Grade 6 (16) of the Experimental Primary School to come up together and sing ’Childhood’ to put a perfect end to our childhood, shall we?"
"Okay!"
All thirty-six classmates from back then showed up, lining up according to what they remembered, even though the tall ones from then might not be the tallest anymore.
On the banyan tree by the pond,
The cicadas are loudly heralding the summer.
Only the butterflies rest upon it,
The teacher’s chalk on the blackboard is still furiously scribbling away.
It seemed as though tonight everything had returned to the very beginning, they were still those first-graders.
A common thought in everyone’s hearts at this moment:
"How wonderful!"
