Chapter 71 Assistance and Recognition

"Creak~"

"Hoo-hoo~"

The weather in Jiangcheng had turned cold over the past few days, with temperatures dropping to just one or two degrees Celsius. The weather forecast even suggested it might snow.

The moment he stepped outside, a howling, biting wind rushed through the courtyard, making Cheng Kaiyan shiver instantly. He hurriedly wrapped his coat tighter around himself and pulled on his hat.

Looking up into the distance, sure enough, Liu Xiaoli was wrapped in a heavy military-style overcoat. Beneath it, she still wore her dance costume, with only a pair of thin, translucent silk stockings covering her legs.

At that moment, she was walking anxiously toward the dormitory building, calling out Cheng Kaiyan's name from time to time.

"Sister Xiaoli!"

Cheng Kaiyan hurried over and blocked her path.

"Kaiyan! I finally found you! I need to ask you something. You know how to play the piano, right?"

Liu Xiaoli let out a sigh of relief. Having finally found him, she immediately voiced her urgent question.

"I do. Tell me what's wrong first, and I'll definitely help if I can."

Gazing at the girl's pale face numbed by the cold beneath her oversized coat, and seeing her thin, bare-looking white stockings trembling from the freezing air, Cheng Kaiyan felt a sudden pang of deep heartache.

Putting aside whatever the issue might be, he quickly grabbed Liu Xiaoli's hand and ran with her back toward the dormitory building.

Back in the dorm, Cheng Kaiyan quickly found a pair of thick trousers for her to put on.

Watching the color gradually return to the girl's face, Cheng Kaiyan asked, "Sister Xiaoli, what urgent matter made you run out without even changing your dance clothes? Aren't you in the middle of rehearsals right now?"

Feeling the thick, men's fleece-lined trousers warming her chilled legs, Liu Xiaoli's eyes flickered as she explained, "Here's the thing. The dance we're performing today is *The Dying Swan*, and we had prepared for a live piano accompaniment.

"However, the person scheduled to play for us had an accident yesterday and is currently in the hospital. That means we don't have a live pianist anymore—only a recorded track. But if we use a recording, the stage expression and artistic quality will be greatly compromised.

"Although I can play the piano myself, I don't know how to play *The Swan*. So, I wanted to come and ask if you might know how."

Finished speaking, Liu Xiaoli looked at Cheng Kaiyan with a trace of embarrassment, her eyes holding not only shyness but also a fierce, burning expectation.

To be honest, placing such high hopes on him was hardly reasonable, but the girl simply felt deep down that he might actually be able to do it.

Perhaps it was merely grasping at a final straw that had made Liu Xiaoli run out to find him without even changing her clothes, draped only in a heavy military overcoat.

"So that's how it is."

Cheng Kaiyan nodded thoughtfully. Before him, the girl lifted her chin, her ink-black eyes reflecting the light from outside the window as she stared directly at him.

Seeing this, Cheng Kaiyan patted his chest with quiet confidence. "Of course I can! I've listened to this piece many times while watching your rehearsals. Let's go to the auditorium so your friends and teacher don't get too worried."

"Really?"

Liu Xiaoli exclaimed in pleasant surprise. At that moment, the light in her eyes shone brighter than before, and a radiant smile bloomed across her face.

She did not question Cheng Kaiyan for a second; she only knew that he would never lie to her.

"Let's go then."

...

Auditorium Lounge.

Teacher Jiang Ling stood at the doorway peering outside. Seeing that Liu Xiaoli had not yet returned, she frowned and asked anxiously, "Danping, why isn't Xiaoli back yet? Where on earth did she go?"

"I don't know. She didn't say. It looked like she went to find Brother Kaiyan."

Wang Danping shrank into her stool, wearing a troubled expression.

"Our rehearsal is coming up next, why hasn't she returned yet? That girl, the moment she gets a boyfriend she wants to see him every single day, without paying attention to the time!" Teacher Jiang Ling sighed.

Just as her voice trailed off, a flurry of footsteps echoed from outside.

Then, Liu Xiaoli pulled Cheng Kaiyan into the room.

"Teacher Jiang, I found someone! I found someone who can play!"

Liu Xiaoli shouted breathlessly.

Her voice instantly drew the attention of everyone in the lounge, and upon hearing the news, the group immediately grew excited.

"Found someone?"

"That's wonderful! Finally, we don't have to use the recording. It's full of static, dancing to it feels completely lifeless."

"Exactly, how could a recording ever compare to live accompaniment?"

...

"Xiaoli, you don't mean Comrade Xiao Cheng, do you?"

Teacher Jiang Ling asked doubtfully, looking at Cheng Kaiyan, whose hand was still intertwined with Liu Xiaoli's.

So Xiaoli hadn't run off to play; she had gone to fetch reinforcement. She had misunderstood the girl entirely.

To be completely honest, though, she found it a bit hard to believe that Cheng Kaiyan could play this particular piece.

The other teachers and the girls from the dance troupe also calmed down, turning their gazes toward Liu Xiaoli and Cheng Kaiyan to see what was happening.

"Don't worry, Teacher Jiang. Over these past few days, I've listened to this piece countless times while standing outside the training room. There won't be any problem."

Faced with everyone's skepticism, Cheng Kaiyan replied calmly. Standing there, he exuded an aura of total composure that naturally compelled people to believe him.

"Alright, then give it a try. It doesn't matter even if you can't play it well. Comrade Xiao Cheng, you don't need to feel any pressure; after all, you're just here to help out, and I thank you regardless of the outcome."

Teacher Jiang Ling gave his shoulder an earnest pat, looking deeply into his eyes.

Right now, they had no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were still alive.

Still, Jiang Ling did not believe the young man was lying, as doing so would be far too foolish. Once they got on stage for the rehearsal, whether he could play or not would become glaringly obvious.

There was simply no point in telling such a lie.

While the teachers remained half-doubting, feeling that there was no harm in trying since they could always fall back on the recording if necessary, the girls from the dance troupe grew cheerful upon hearing Cheng Kaiyan's assurance. They immediately began active physical warm-ups, preparing for the upcoming rehearsal.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the lounge came back to life.

"One, two, three, four, two, two, three, four..."

"Heave! Ho."

Liu Xiaoli stood not far from Cheng Kaiyan, rising onto her tiptoes to stretch her posture, uninhibitedly displaying the graceful curves of her body with utmost concentration.

Xiao Caiyun asked, "Can your Comrade Xiao Cheng really pull this off, Xiaoli?"

Wang Danping bit her finger and chimed in, "Yeah, Sister Xiaoli, can someone just learn to play by listening outside the training room door? Is he some kind of genius?"

"I believe in him. Besides, he has no reason to lie to me!"

Liu Xiaoli covertly glanced back at the fellow sitting in her seat, her heart brimming with anticipation for the moment he would drop everyone's jaws.

...

Cheng Kaiyan sat contentedly on a stool cushioned by a military overcoat, pleasantly watching the girls perform their vibrant, lively warm-up exercises.

It felt almost like stepping into the Kingdom of Women; he had finally made it inside the training room.

Not long after.

A staff member walked in from outside and shouted, "Jiangcheng Song and Dance Troupe, it's your turn to rehearse. Hurry up and come out."

"Everyone, let's do our best. This is our final rehearsal."

Teacher Jiang Ling waved a fist, sweeping her gaze across everyone before finally resting it on Cheng Kaiyan.

The girls walked out toward the door with high spirits, the worry from earlier entirely gone.

Cheng Kaiyan followed among them, walking out of the lounge and stepping onto the stage alongside the girls.

On the stage, a piano sat quietly, accompanied by a dynamic microphone on a stand. The model was old-fashioned; when Cheng Kaiyan walked closer to inspect it, he saw that the piano was a Yamaha grand piano, and the microphone was a piece of equipment manufactured by the 714 Nanjing Radio Factory.

Turning his head, Cheng Kaiyan saw the girls of the dance troupe looking at him with worried expressions. He smiled and said, "Don't worry."

He then sat down on the piano bench. Rummaging through the memories in his mind, notes emerged one by one with crystal-clear precision.

This was precisely why he had dared to claim he could play *The Swan*; his memory was truly extraordinary.

"Music starts! Dance starts!"

At Teacher Jiang Ling's command, everyone present silently watched the ballet troupe, eagerly anticipating the performance they were about to deliver.

Even during rehearsal, there was an audience in the hall.

The moment the command was given, Cheng Kaiyan's ten slender, powerful fingers began to dance gracefully across the black and white keys like butterflies fluttering through flowers. A serene, soothing melody flowed through the microphone and filled the auditorium.

Hearing the familiar melody, the girls were overjoyed. Following the rhythm of the music entering their ears, they swayed their soft, graceful bodies in dance.

Before long, the piece drew to a close, and the dance ended along with it.

The people in the audience broke into applause, and Teacher Jiang Ling looked as though she might burst into tears of relief—they had finally passed the hurdle safely!

"We danced even better! Xiao Cheng played wonderfully too!"

As the dance concluded and everyone stepped off the stage, Wang Danping flew directly into Jiang Ling's arms with a chime-like laugh, exclaiming, "Teacher Jiang, we danced brilliantly, didn't we?!"

"Oh my... yes, you danced wonderfully, absolutely brilliantly!"

Teacher Jiang Ling rubbed her stomach, then looked out at the group with deep emotion. "Everyone did a fantastic job, I can rest easy about tonight's performance. Xiao Cheng, thanks to you being here today, I listened carefully just now and your playing was phenomenal. On behalf of the dance troupe, I want to thank you."

One had to know that the piece *The Swan* was no simple tune; back when they were selecting someone to play it, only old Wang had been able to handle it with true proficiency.

Yet Cheng Kaiyan had only listened to it a few times outside the training room, and he had managed to memorize it and play it flawlessly?

That was simply too incredible!

"That's right! Thanks to Xiaoli's boyfriend, I'll buy you some candies tomorrow, young man!"

A twenty-six or twenty-seven-year-old woman with a thick braided queue looked at Cheng Kaiyan with deep gratitude. She had never expected that Cheng Kaiyan, whom everyone in the troupe had initially written off, possessed such hidden talents.

True masters really did keep their abilities concealed!

"Of course, could Xiaoli's taste ever be anything less than exceptional?"

Hu Yanzhang chimed in at that moment. In truth, she was also genuinely grateful to both Cheng Kaiyan and Liu Xiaoli; after all, this dance belonged to the entire team, where everyone shared the same honor or disgrace.

"Oh-ho! Yanzhang, the sun must have risen from the west today!"

The others pointed at Hu Yanzhang and laughed teasingly.

In truth, minor conflicts among them were normal in daily life, but people of this era possessed a strong sense of collective honor and still saw the big picture clearly when it mattered most.

"It's nothing. You're Xiaoli's teacher, and everyone here is Xiaoli's colleague and classmate. We're all one family, so it's only right," Cheng Kaiyan replied with a warm nod.

His words left everyone present nodding in satisfaction. At last, they all understood why Liu Xiaoli had chosen him instead of Professor An, who possessed far better material conditions.

A man who could step up and handle things at a critical moment was truly worth entrusting one's life to, and his character was top-notch.

Standing to the side, Liu Xiaoli watched Cheng Kaiyan surrounded by the group, her eyes filled with smiles.

The feeling of having one's partner recognized and accepted by the people around her was actually rather wonderful.

However, this wasn't even the half of it. Tonight, he would undoubtedly drop all their jaws completely—not just with his piano-playing skills, but because he could write songs and was even an author!

He was far from an ordinary person!