Day Two.
There was still a rehearsal in the evening.
Feng Huai and Yu Rui arrived at the stage waiting area one after the other, and the pianist was already there.
“Oh, it’s you guys, you came the earliest, looks like you had a nice break.” The pianist said.
He smiled as he sized up the two of them, and then suddenly added, “The performance will be tomorrow, Feng Huai, have you prepared your cello?”
Feng Huai frowned slightly at his words, his cello?
His eyes darkened slightly as he gently took out the cello that he had placed in his case.
Feng Huai tried the tone, it was thick and rich, an excellent instrument.
He looked at the pianist and raised his eyebrows slightly, “It’s very good.”
“Of course, of course, of course it’s good.” The pianist said several times in a row, he smiled as he looked at the beautiful cello, the tan colored body was clean and bright, the spruce wood fragrance was faint, he turned to Feng Huai, then asked, “Do you know who its former owner was?”
Not needing Feng Huai to answer, he went on, “Its owner was once a legend, a genius, Gerfried played countless times for the Sife Opera House, and the last one was in 2005, the first public performance after the reconstruction of the Opera House.”
“I always thought that it was consigned to the grave along with Gerfeld’s death, never to be seen in the public eye again, but I never thought that it would come back to the Opera House in a circle, in your hands.” The pianist said softly.
“Look at her, how happy she is to be back here, and listen to her voice, how wonderfully cheerful it is.” The pianist continued, “She must have missed performing here, what an honor it is to perform in the old Opera House.”
Feng Huai and Yu Rui looked at each other in silence, they both knew very well that the Opera House had undergone a major remodeling, and the glory that had once been showered on it had been whisked away by a group of arrogant capitalists who didn’t know anything about art and were condescending.
“Why are you silent?” The pianist finished and turned to Feng Huai and Yu Rui, his voice steeply rising, “Don’t you agree?”
Feng Huai met the pianist’s gaze that appeared somewhat morbidly frenzied, and he responded after a pause, “It’s just a bit of a shame that she can’t perform again in the same hall she once did.”
The pianist looked as if he had been appeased as he slowly nodded, “You’re right.”
He went silent, as if pondering something.
Yu Rui glanced at Feng Huai and said in a low voice, “Let’s go to the long corridor and take another look while there is light.”
Feng Huai responded.
In 2005, it was the first public performance after the reconstruction again, and it seemed that too many last songs appeared in that performance.
The two men returned to the gallery where they had run last night, and on the wall hung a picture of the site of the event curated from all the years of the event, accompanied by a caption.
“It was here that tenor Luhnow offered the last song of his life, ‘The Wandering Moon,’ and the second song of the same event in the same year, the famous cellist Gerfeld’s song ‘Cornédré,’ deeply shocked the audience with a prayer that was somber and sad and full of devotional conviction, with the ultimate peace swirling around in long, gentle tones … …”
“Wagner’s March under the Flag of the Two Eagles, presented by conductor Nolan, drum and bugle orchestra, and pianist Seger, alternating between grandeur and flowing beauty, is Austria’s most beautiful and unique melody ……”
Yu Rui looked at it as he said, “Let me guess, this is also conductor Nolan’s last piece, right?”
Feng Huai nodded slightly as he found Conductor Nolan’s biography on the wall across the corridor, 1939-2005.
He looked at one of the pictures hanging up on the long corridor, the performance of that march from Austria, there were only a few panoramic pickups from different angles, and the pianist’s image was almost always obscured by the conductor’s arm or the piano.
The only thing that was clearly visible was a necklace pendant that fell on the pianist’s chest, and it was a very unusual pendant in the form of a completely silver finger pointing upwards.
Just as the two of them were scrutinizing the picture information on the promenade, a low male voice came from close by, “Yu Rui! Feng Huai, good evening. Have you guys already gone into the rehearsal hall to walk through the tasks?”
Ji Jian came striding over from the other end of the corridor, he quietly covered his mouth and lowered his voice, “When I came here, I stopped by the backstage utility room last night, I saw that the door that was kicked down by the night watchman over there was repaired, and the iron frames that were knocked down were returned to their original place, it’s hard to tell what we did last night.”
Yu Rui nodded to show that he knew.
This was a game, so of course it was normal for scenes like this to be restored. Only a newcomer like Ji Jian would be surprised.
“What are you guys doing now? Going into the rehearsal hall?” Ji Jian asked.
Yu Rui and Feng Huai looked at each other and responded in unison, “Going in.”
“Let’s go together then. Sister Mu Zi and Brother Tan Lin don’t seem to have arrived yet, and Zhang Xiaofeng said he’d come by himself, so I don’t know if he’s arrived yet.” Ji Jian said as he walked.
As he was talking, Zhang Xiaofeng hurriedly walked over.
“Hey! Be careful!” Seeing Zhang Xiaofeng, who was rushing towards him, Ji Jian hurriedly stopped him and called out.
Zhang Xiaofeng looked up at Ji Jian in a bit of a daze and let out an “Ah”, “It’s you!”
“Why are you walking so fast? The rehearsal hall is here, I almost walked by.” Ji Jian asked in a puzzled manner.
Zhang Xiaofeng looked back suspiciously and asked Ji Jian in a lowered voice, “There’s no one behind me, is there?”
Ji Jian looked, then shook his head, “No.”
Zhang Xiaofeng nodded skeptically, “It’s fine, I felt as if someone is following behind me, so I walked faster and faster without paying attention to the road.”
“By the way, when I came here, I saw that night watchman from last night, still sitting in that pavilion at the entrance, and there doesn’t seem to be any major changes after trapping him last night.” Zhang Xiaofeng said.
“Maybe he came to work with injuries.” Ji Jian said, “Hurry up and get into the rehearsal hall, we’re all going to be late.”
Zhang Xiaofeng nodded and followed Ji Jian as he quickly walked into the rehearsal hall.
Feng Huai fell behind, and he looked thoughtfully in the direction Zhang Xiaofeng had come from.
The long corridor was empty, not even a flying insect could be seen.
It wasn’t until Feng Huai also walked into the rehearsal hall that a slender and slim figure slowly walked out from the corner of the empty corridor.
She was pressed against the wall, both shoulders drooping down as if they had been knocked off, emphasizing her even longer neck.
The woman walked with her body swaying lightly from side to side as if she had a hangover.
A pair of lifeless eyes opened extremely wide, the pupils reacting to the light became thin and narrow and faintly green, looking like some sort of creature of the night.
Her plump lips were coated with a positive red lip glaze, which seemed to be of inferior quality, haloing at the corners of her mouth as if she had raised her lips in a smile.
If you looked closely, you could see that she crossed her toes and stomped her heels as crookedly as that, it was as comical as a penguin, yet too weird to laugh at.
It was Mu Zi.