The song "The Actor" at the beginning stunned me with its portrayal of the aloof school be

The lights in the auditorium dimmed.

Only a spotlight shone on the grand piano in the center of the stage, illuminating the black lacquer finish of the piano and the figure sitting in front of it.

The prelude was slow to begin.

The audience below the stage was filled with murmurs and discussions.

Everyone was still reeling from Lin Xier's amazing performance.

"That song was so good! The school beauty truly lives up to her name!"

"To be honest, I think the grand finale tonight might not be able to hold its own. Lin Xi'er's performance is a perfect example, and whoever comes after her will be overshadowed."

"Who was the grand finale again?"

"I saw Jiang Che from the music department outside just now, and it looks like he got dumped."

"Huh? He still dares to go on stage?"

"Not only did he dare to go on stage, he also just said that this song is 'dedicated to love that has already died,' tsk tsk tsk..."

"Damn it, it's probably a breached defense scene."

"Holy crap, she got dumped and then went on stage to sing love songs? Isn't that like holding her own public funeral?"

The whispers from the audience were tinged with schadenfreude.

Some people sympathized with him.

Some people are waiting to see the joke.

After all, he had just been dumped by his ex-girlfriend and was now forced to go on stage and sing love songs; it was practically a public execution.

......

The third row of the audience seats.

Lin Wei sat in her seat, arms crossed, staring coldly at Jiang Che on the stage.

There was even a barely perceptible smile on his lips.

She knows Jiang Che too well.

To be precise, she knew the Jiang Che from before all too well.

That honest man who would give up anything for her.

That quiet, reserved guy who blushes even when he speaks loudly.

This kind of person, after being dumped, still insists on going on stage to sing?

Lin Wei was certain that Jiang Che couldn't hold on.

Jiang Che's earlier nonchalant attitude was mostly an act to save face.

She had even imagined what would happen next.

As soon as the stage lights came on, Jiang Che opened his mouth with red eyes. His voice trembled from the very first note, then grew softer and softer. In the end, he probably wouldn't even be able to finish the chorus before he had to run off the stage crying.

Thinking of this, Lin Wei felt a surge of pleasure.

She didn't know where this feeling of pleasure came from.

Perhaps it was because Jiang Che's retreating figure when they broke up that she was so annoyed.

She needed Jiang Che to be embarrassed to prove something.

This proves that he can't do anything without her.

Only then could she tell herself with a clear conscience that getting rid of Jiang Che was the right thing to do.

......

On the other side of the stage.

Wang Haoran sat in the corner, covering his face with his hands, curling up into a ball.

At this moment, his 180-pound frame looked like an ostrich.

"It's all over, it ......"

"The school beauty sang so amazingly just now, and now my brother is going up there feeling like he's about to break up with his girlfriend. Isn't that just suicide?"

"I told him not to go, but this stubborn mule wouldn't listen!"

He didn't even dare to look at the stage.

He was afraid that his brother would lose face.

......

Backend entry.

Lin Xi'er had already reached the end of the passage.

She was holding the bouquet of ninety-nine roses of a bizarre origin in her arms, just about to push open the door and leave.

But then, as if possessed, his steps stopped.

She turned and looked towards the stage.

The light illuminated only Jiang Che; the rest of the room was in darkness.

He sat behind the grand piano, upright and with his fingers on the keys, as quiet as a painting.

He doesn't seem like someone who just broke up.

They look more like professional singers preparing to go on stage.

Lin Xi'er couldn't explain why she stopped to look.

It might be because of that insightful comment just now.

It could also be due to some kind of intuition.

In short, she didn't leave.

She stood in the shadows at the backstage entrance, holding the bouquet of roses, quietly gazing at the stage.

......

on the stage.

Jiang Che gently lifted his slender fingers.

Fall.

Ding.

The first note of the piano resounded throughout the entire auditorium.

cool.

restraint.

It carries a strange sense of narrative.

It was completely different from the heart-wrenching tragedy that everyone had anticipated.

As soon as that sound fell, the murmurs in the room seemed to be strangled by an invisible hand, disappearing at a visible speed.

Then the second note follows, then the third note, and then the fourth note.

The music was continuous, yet every note was perfectly placed.

It was neither too fast nor too slow, neither too heavy nor too light, like the first snow of early winter falling on a lake, quiet yet powerful.

Then, Jiang Che spoke.

The moment the song entered my ears.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

There was no sobbing.

There was no accusation.

There was no hysteria.

There was a sense of detachment in his voice, as if he were telling a story that had nothing to do with him.

It was as bland as the autumn wind.

But it is precisely this calmness that sends chills down your spine more than any roar.

Keep it simple.

Keep your way of speaking simple.

Please omit the progressive emotions.

"You're not an actor."

"Don't design those plot points."

Every word was sung with a light and breezy tone.

Yet every word struck a chord deep within people's hearts.

Those viewers who were waiting to see him break down fell silent.

This is not how someone who has just broken up should feel.

This is clearly a bystander watching a show from the shore.

He was singing someone else's story.

No, to be precise, he was singing about a love that had already died.

To use a definitive, final tone.

Neither sad nor happy.

No resentment, no hatred.

Calm as an autopsy report.

This contrast immediately brought the audience's anticipation to its peak.

Everyone held their breath.

No one whispered anymore.

No one is looking down at their phones anymore.

They even deliberately softened their breathing.

The entire auditorium was so quiet that only the sound of the piano and Jiang Che's singing echoed.

......

In the audience seats.

Wang Haoran slowly removed his hand from his face.

He originally didn't dare to look.

But as soon as he heard the song, he couldn't help but raise his head.

Then he was completely stunned.

The person on the stage.

His back was straight, his fingers moved swiftly across the piano keys, and his voice was as clear as a mountain stream.

Is this the Jiang Che he knows?

Jiang Che sings very well.

But it's not that bad!

Wang Haoran's mouth was wide open, big enough to fit an egg.

He even forgot to applaud.

I forgot to breathe.

He just stared blankly at the figure on the stage illuminated by the spotlight.

......

Lin Wei's expression also changed.

The amused smile on her face gradually froze, like a lake freezing over in winter.

She waited for ages for the broken voice to come, but it never came.

The sobbing didn't come.

There was no sign of utter disarray.

The only person who arrived was Jiang Che, who was unusually composed, and a song she had never heard before.

Is this song good?

It sounds good.

It was so beautiful it sent chills down her spine.

Because every line in the lyrics seems to be talking about her.

"No objection, I just want to see how you're going to cover it up."

"Your sadness is too superficial, like an actor without talent."

"The audience can see it at a glance."

Lin Wei unconsciously clenched her arms.

She suddenly realized that this song was not a tribute to any "dead love" at all.

This song is about her being an actress.

An actor who is acting from beginning to end.

Jiang Che was using this song to satirize her.

Lin Wei's face visibly turned ugly.

Jiang Che's singing continued.

"I should play along and pretend I didn't see it."

"Forcing the person who loves you most to perform an impromptu act."

"When did we start lowering our standards?"

"Adapt to the changing times and watch those clumsy performances."

"But you loved me so much, why did you act out those details?"

"What should I become to delay this boredom?"

"So this is what happens when love lets its guard down."

"That's the real test..."

......

Backstage.

Lin Xi'er held the bouquet of roses and didn't move an inch.

Her eyes were frighteningly bright.

From the moment the first note fell, she knew this song was extraordinary.

The way the piano is played is very special; the bass notes in the left hand are not simply based on the root note.

Instead, she used a descending semitone technique rarely heard in pop songs, creating a subtle tension with the melody of her right hand.

The arrangement structure is frighteningly sophisticated.

The intro is extremely short, the melody of the verse is gentle and restrained, and the emotions are driven entirely by the lyrics and subtle changes in breath, without relying on high notes at all.

This approach is known in the industry as "restrained narrative," and it is extremely difficult to execute.

Because you have nowhere to hide your shortcomings.

Every pitch, every breath, every word was exposed to the audience's ears.

If you're not careful, it can turn into a lukewarm pool of water.

But Jiang Che's performance was flawless.

Lin Xi'er fell into a strange state.

She's listened to far too many songs.

From childhood to adulthood, she has listened to the works of almost all the well-known musicians in the industry.

But she had never heard this song anywhere before.

Not a single melody matches.

Not a single lyric matches.

Her heart began to race.

......

The song has reached the transition section between the verse and the chorus.

Jiang Che's voice suddenly dropped slightly by half a degree.

The piano music also subsided, like the last calm on the sea before the tide recedes.

The atmosphere in the entire auditorium suddenly became extremely tense.

Everyone could sense that something was about to happen.

Twelve hundred people held their breath at the same time.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Only the last bass note of the piano slowly dissipated into the air.

Jiang Che's fingers hovered above the piano keys, not falling.

That explosive chorus line got stuck in his throat.

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

The audience was completely silent.

Twelve hundred pairs of eyes were fixed on the figure bathed in light on the stage.

wait.

Everyone is waiting.

Waiting for that climax that hasn't been uttered yet.