After being dumped by the diva, I was picked up by her arch-enemy.

Jiang Yichen sat in the chair, placed the bow on the strings, and exerted force with his wrist.

The stirring prelude of the jinghu (a two-stringed bowed instrument used in Peking Opera) instantly resounded throughout the

Li Guochun stood in the center of the stage.

He closed his eyes and slightly raised his hands.

Warm up your voice.

"I am viewing the mountain scenery from the city tower—"

"I heard a great commotion outside the city—"

"Banners flutter and shadows dance in the air, but it turns out to be Sima's troops—"

A loud, high-pitched voice soared into the sky.

There is no microphone.

There was no modern audio equipment.

But that confident singing voice clearly reached every corner of the theater troupe.

The composure of Zhuge Liang in "The Empty City Stratagem" was vividly portrayed by this man in his seventies.

The audience below the stage were all stunned.

Even young people who usually only listen to pop songs were completely captivated by the powerful and penetrating Peking Opera singing at this moment.

This is the charm of traditional Chinese culture; this is the strength of a leading nation.

Ma San and the other members of the Jinghua Pear Garden Troupe were all huddled in a corner at that moment.

He swallowed hard, lowered his voice, and gave a wink to his accomplice beside him.

"Go. Go quickly."

Several people hunched over and slid out along the base of the wall.

Sharp-eyed spectators nearby immediately spotted them.

"Hey, weren't you being pretty tough just now? Why are you running away now?"

"Don't go! Keep booing!"

"You disgraceful thing, get out of here!"

The audience didn't hold back in mocking them.

Ma San and the others didn't dare to talk back. They covered their faces and scrambled out of the theater.

The threshold was too high, and Ma San tripped on it, falling flat on his face.

This caused the surrounding audience to burst into laughter.

.......

On the stage.

Li Guochun's performance continues.

He walked with measured steps, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Every movement exudes the weight of time.

Jiang Yichen's piano playing followed perfectly, without missing a beat.

The old and the young worked together perfectly.

"Two page boys, one on the left and one on the right—"

"I have neither an ambush nor soldiers—"

"Don't let your mind wander and become unsettled—"

"Come, come, please come up to the city and listen to me play the zither—"

The song ended.

Jiang Yichen brought his bow to a steady stop.

The entire theater was silent for two seconds.

Then, thunderous applause and cheers erupted, almost lifting the roof off.

Li Guochun stood on the stage, slightly out of breath.

Looking at the enthusiastic young faces below the stage, the old man's eyes reddened slightly.

He bowed to thank the audience.

The following performance went very smoothly.

The premiere was a great success.

.........

The backstage area of ​​the Qilin Opera Troupe branch.

Tan Yunxiao was so excited that he spun around in the room.

"Third brother, we've completely turned this around today!"

"Those bastards of Ma San's will probably never dare to show their faces here again in their lifetime!"

Meng Lingyu leaned closer, her big eyes filled with admiration.

"Third Senior Brother, you look so cool playing the violin!"

Jiang Yichen removed her makeup and changed into casual clothes.

He walked up to Li Guochun and handed him a glass of warm water.

"Grandmaster, we are so grateful for your presence today."

Li Guochun took the water glass and took a sip.

"You haven't lost your touch, kid. And you play the violin quite well too."

"Remember, no matter how noisy it is outside, we can't lose our real skills."

"As long as you have real skills, no one can crush you."

Jiang Yichen nodded.

"Don't worry, Grandmaster, I understand."

..........

Online, the domestic opera circle is also abuzz with this confrontation.

However, the situation is quite different on overseas platforms at this time.

Jiang Yichen casually registered an overseas Douhai account and uploaded four cross-dressing videos: "Red Actress", "Puppet Show", "Wujiapo", and "The New Drunken Concubine".

Without any promotion, it was accurately captured by the algorithm of overseas platforms.

It was immediately featured in the top recommendations.

A university dormitory in North America.

A blond, blue-eyed boy is lying on his bed scrolling through short videos.

Suddenly, an image of Jiang Yichen wearing a white shirt popped up on the screen.

Followed by.

The music and drumbeats erupt.

With a flick of his sleeves, Jiang Yichen transformed into a martial arts performer in a crimson-gold python robe.

His eyes were sharp, and his posture was upright.

The boy suddenly sat up in bed, his eyes wide open.

"Oh my god!"

He frantically clicked the replay button and then forwarded the video to all his friends.

The same scene is playing out all over the world.

Foreigners are completely captivated by the visually striking traditional Chinese clothing and cross-dressing activities.

The comments section was completely flooded with foreign languages ​​from various countries.

"What kind of magic is this? How did the clothes change so quickly?!"

"This golden robe is so gorgeous, it's practically a work of art!"

"That girl's headdress is so beautiful, like an ancient Eastern princess!"

"Chinese Kungfu! Is this the mysterious power of China?!"

In a short period of time, the total number of views for these four videos exceeded 50 million.

The number of likes is in the millions.

Many overseas internet celebrities have started trying to imitate this cross-dressing style, but because they lack real costumes and physiques, they have all ended up looking like dogs instead of tigers.

Jiang Yichen's overseas account followers are also skyrocketing.

however.

Jiang Yichen, the person involved, was completely unaware of this.

After returning to the alley, he was busy with the branch office's affairs.

I never logged into that overseas account.

The phone also did not have push notifications from external networks enabled.

Let's turn our attention back to China.

The online debate about "traditional opera rules" has reached a fever pitch.

The online trolls of the Jinghua Liyuan Society are posting frantically on various forums.

They insist that the Qilin Opera Troupe is destroying tradition and using internet celebrity tactics to tarnish the national essence.

Xing Tieshan's apprentices even publicly boycotted him on Weibo.

"Traditional opera needs to meet certain standards; we can't abandon our principles just to cater to the masses!"

"Jiang Yichen's actions are disrespectful to our predecessors!"

Although the fans of Qilin Opera Troupe fought back with all their might, they seemed somewhat powerless against the massive online offensive launched by the other side.

Public opinion began to slowly shift.

Some uninformed passersby were also swayed and began to criticize the Qilin Opera Troupe.

Inside an old house on the Second Ring Road of Beijing.

Xing Tieshan sat in his armchair, looking at the tablet computer his apprentice handed him.

The screen was filled with comments from netizens criticizing Jiang Yichen.

Xing Tieshan's lips curled into a smile.

"Does Old Man Li think he can settle this matter by personally performing a play on stage?"

"That's too naive."

Xing Tieshan put down his tablet and picked up the purple clay teapot.

"We live in the internet age; public opinion isn't so easy to suppress!"

Pei Linchuan stood to the side, nodding repeatedly.

"Master is wise."

Just as the master and apprentice were feeling smug.

Pei Linchuan's cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

He took out his phone and glanced at it; his expression changed instantly.

"What's wrong?" Xing Tieshan asked, frowning.

Pei Linchuan's fingers flew across the screen, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

"Master..."

Pei Linchuan swallowed hard. "The central media...the central media has published an article!"

Xing Tieshan paused. "What article should we post?"

Pei Linchuan handed the phone directly to Xing Tieshan.

That is the most authoritative official media account in China.

A newly published long article was immediately pinned and pushed to the top of major platforms across the internet.

The title, in black on a red background, is extremely eye-catching.

"The Rebirth of Traditional Culture: A Review of the Qilin Opera Troupe's Path to Breaking Boundaries".

Xing Tieshan's gaze fell on the screen.

The article is full of insightful and powerful words.

"In recent years, traditional opera has faced the dilemma of losing audiences and shrinking market."

"How to bring traditional Chinese culture back into the public eye has become a difficult problem."

"However, the Qilin Opera Troupe and young artist Jiang Yichen have provided us with an excellent example."

"They did not adhere to traditional rules and regulations."

"Instead, it cleverly utilizes modern communication methods such as short videos and costume changes to showcase the beauty of traditional opera costumes and movements to the younger generation."

"Let ancient art be revitalized in a brand new way among young people."

The final paragraph of the article sets the tone directly.

"Inheritance is not about sticking to old ways; innovation is the best form of protection."

"Thumbs up for the Qilin Opera Troupe! Thumbs up for Jiang Yichen!"