Second Piano Concerto

After the first half, Qin Haiou returned to the backstage in good spirits, with a happy smile on his face.He felt that the time passed quickly. During the performance, he had almost no chance to feel the pressure of the scene. What he had was the overwhelming excitement and joy, which allowed him to successfully complete the first half of the performance.He returned to his lounge, wiped his sweat, drank water, changed his sweat-soaked clothes, and took a short rest.The room was very quiet, only the management team stayed here to take care of him, but soon, these people also left.This is Qin Haiou's habit. During the intermission, he needs a few minutes of his own time to calm down, or close his eyes and meditate on the repertoire to be played in his mind, or play on the piano in the lounge Play for a while to warm up for the second half of the show.But today he didn't choose either, he just held the score of "Return" in his hand and flipped through it aimlessly.

For all the details of this work, Qin Haiou has long been familiar with it, even those places that have been changed, from the first draft to the final polish, he can tell the evolution process one by one.This work was born from the same root as his memory of the past year or so, and has thus been integrated into his life. Wherever he turns the score, the music there will come alive from the score, echoing the music in his heart.But at the same time, a clear and strong idea gradually rose up and occupied his mind—he and Tan Shuo, they finally waited for this moment, and after just a few minutes, Tan Shuo's "Second Piano Concerto" " will be played on stage for the first time, and as the premiere performer of this work, this time, he will personally complete the performance that bears the painstaking efforts and efforts of the two of them and bears their common expectations.

Thinking of this, Qin Haiou's heart suddenly churned and became no longer calm.He didn't seem to think about anything, but it seemed that there were countless contradictory feelings colliding and merging with each other, making his heart full and swollen, and it was too heavy for him to bear.He couldn't tell whether it was a loss of control or pressure, excitement or nervousness. He only knew that this performance could only succeed and not fail, and everyone present, including Tan Shuo, would watch from the audience. he.

It wasn't until this moment that Qin Haiou finally realized the weight of everything they had experienced in the past—not only his own, but now Tan Shuo's was added—together.But what he is facing today is exactly what he tried his best to achieve. He has no way out at this point, but it is himself who has been stubbornly wanting to take this step.

Qin Haiou felt a hot and humid feeling in his palm, and his fingers subconsciously rubbed the music paper between his fingers, and soon a layer of sweat broke out on his back.The tightness in his chest and his rapid heartbeat made him feel uncertain: Is it he who is wavering and wants to retreat?Isn't all this, this stage, exactly what he wants?Shouldn't he be open to all possible outcomes?But what if he really disappointed Tan Shuo?Will he really be able to complete the next performance smoothly? ... He told himself that he should immediately put away these meaningless feelings, stop thinking about it, and get rid of distracting thoughts.But when he realized this, his body and mind were already out of the state they should be before the performance, which ran counter to the direction he wanted to work hard.

Less than 5 minutes before the start of the second half of the performance, Qin Haiou was suddenly surrounded by unprecedented pressure and tension.With yesterday's experience, he didn't immediately panic, but his time was running out.He looked at the score in front of him, trying to focus on those familiar notes, but he couldn't stop the situation from getting worse.Although the air-conditioning in the room is sufficient, he still feels extremely stuffy and hot, and beads of sweat keep coming out of his forehead. He hurriedly wipes it off with a handkerchief, grabs the cup and drinks water, but the sweat in his palm makes his hands slippery, forcing him to put down the cup , Wipe your hands again and again.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and Chen Ganning pushed the door open and smiled at him: "Seagull, it's time to play!"

Qin Haiou froze, and tightly held the crumpled handkerchief with his fingers. The hot sweat on his body was completely cold at this moment.

Seeing that Qin Haiou didn't respond, Chen Ganning was also taken aback for a moment.When she entered the door just now, her tone was brisk, her expression was relaxed, and she was beaming, like an ordinary music fan, looking forward to the second half of the performance with joy.But at this moment, when she carefully looked at Qin Haiou's expression, the smile on her face froze quickly.

Chen Ganning was very familiar with this look. For a long time in the past, before going on stage, Qin Haiou would show the same nervous and anxious look.But Chen Ganning didn't understand what happened.Qin Haiou's perfect state in the first half made everyone who worried about him feel at ease and happy, and made Chen Ganning think that he would no longer feel nervous, and everything going on will go smoothly. Today's concert Sure to be a hit.

But why did things suddenly become like this?

Chen Ganning opened her mouth in horror, not knowing what to say, at a loss, Qin Haiou finally took action.He walked towards the door silently, with his lips tightly pressed, and before she could react, he walked out the door beside her.When he passed by, Chen Ganning could clearly see the beads of sweat on his forehead rolling down his temples, leaving a wet mark on the side of his face, dripping into the collar of his dress.She could feel his whole body tense, as if every step he took was a great drain on determination and perseverance.But Qin Haiou didn't hesitate or pause in his footsteps. After walking out of the lounge, he walked straight to the entrance of the stage.

Yu Doudou was on the phone outside the lounge. When she saw Qin Haiou coming out, she turned her head and took a look. Then she realized something was wrong, hung up the phone and followed.She didn't rush to speak to Qin Haiou, but quietly turned her questioning gaze to Chen Ganning.

Chen Ganning was completely panicked at this moment, and Qin Haiou at this moment reminded her of the last time he appeared on stage last year.That was the scene she least wanted to recall, but today she unexpectedly relived the nightmare—no, it was far more serious and terrifying than the nightmare. Just a few minutes ago, she was still so happy, but the situation took a turn for the worse in the blink of an eye. Her heart almost stopped beating, and when Yu Doudou looked over, her eye circles turned red, and she squeezed out a sentence: "Sister Yu..."

Yu Doudou pressed her shoulder, signaling her not to say any more.The two followed Qin Haiou to the entrance of the stage without saying a word, their faces very solemn.Along the way, Yu Doudou frantically filtered all kinds of possibilities in her mind over and over again. She couldn't figure it out. Even though the first two rehearsals were so smooth and the performance in the first half was so successful, why did Qin Haiou still appear behind the scenes? Sudden recurrence during the break, why this time!

She was very anxious, but she didn't show too much emotion in front of others. While thinking hard about the countermeasures, she was not sure what to do was the most appropriate.At this moment, she suddenly thought of Tan Shuo—it would be great if Tan Shuo was here, if Tan Shuo was here, he might have a way to appease Qin Haiou and ease his tension.However, only this time, Tan Shuo was not here.

Qin Haiou quickly came to the entrance of the stage.The door is still closed right now. Standing beside the door are the conductor Yu Song, Yu Song's assistant, the music director of the orchestra, and the staff of the concert hall.Qin Haiou didn't know how he got here, his legs were walking mechanically, he only knew that he couldn't back down, because there was no way back behind him.He desperately recalled the scene before the rehearsal yesterday, and kept telling himself that all this was only temporary, that he was different today from a year ago, and he could overcome it, the false alarm yesterday was the best proof.This thought maintained his remaining sanity and composure, allowing him to come to this door.But what to do next?Now everyone inside and outside the door was waiting for him, but he knew in his heart that if he came on stage in this state, he would definitely screw up the show.

Seeing Qin Haiou coming, everyone turned their attention to him.Qin Haiou stood still not far from the door, not daring to look into the eyes of others. The handkerchief used to wipe sweat was soaked, but he still kept wiping his fingers with it, as if it would help him concentrate.

At this time, the conductor Yu Song was ready, and outside the door, the band had already tuned up, the chief took his seat, and the audience fell silent.Qin Haiou came a little late. As soon as he was seated, the staff of the concert hall only waited for the conductor and the pianist to express their opinions before opening the door.However, after Qin Haiou stood still, he neither spoke nor expressed anything, even Yu Song's gaze towards him did not respond.He turned a blind eye to everything around him, no one knew what he was thinking, and no one besides Yu Doudou and Chen Ganning knew what was going on.

As a famous conductor active in the international music scene, Yu Song has experienced various emergencies in concert halls all over the world, and has accumulated rich performance experience for decades.It was not the first time he and Qin Haiou had worked together, and he also knew Qin Haiou's performance habits. Seeing him ignoring him now, with his eyes downcast and his forehead dripping with sweat, he immediately realized that the situation was different.But he didn't ask any questions, and he didn't signal the staff to open the door. After exchanging glances with Yu Doudou behind Qin Haiou, he didn't do anything else, just waited quietly where he was.

Yu Doudou didn't know whether Qin Haiou's condition could improve within a reasonable time, but she knew that she would never let him forcefully take the stage.Seeing that Yu Song had also noticed something, she didn't rush, so she knew that this moment was temporarily stable.But how things will develop next, and if Qin Haiou really can't take the stage, how should she deal with it——Yu Doudou has a lot of thoughts in her mind, and while paying close attention to the situation in front of her, she has already begun to quickly sort out her preparations in advance. emergency plan.

The time is measured in seconds, passing slowly.Usually, the interval between the chief seated and the audience being quiet until the conductor and performers take the stage is only about ten seconds, but today, both Yu Song and Qin Haiou stayed put.The staff of the concert hall waited from ten seconds until half a minute passed, and the more they waited, the more surprised they became.They are well-trained, and no one dares to do anything without the consent of the conductor and the pianist.But this time it was too long to wait. From half a minute to 40 seconds, the time continued to move forward.When will this door be opened, and will it be opened or not?The staff finally couldn't hold back anymore, so someone stepped forward and asked cautiously, "Yu Zhi, do you see...?"

Yu Song glanced at Qin Haiou, who had closed his eyes at some point, lowered his head, and naturally hung his arms at his sides, as if he was immersed in his own world.So he said, "No hurry, just wait."

These five words were spoken extremely calmly, with an affirmative tone that could not be questioned or refuted.As soon as the staff heard it, they knew that they could not ask any more questions, so they had to continue to wait patiently.

Yu Doudou cast a grateful look at Yu Song, feeling that the master is indeed a master, and the more he can show his superhuman adaptability and demeanor at such a critical moment, the conductor this time really did not choose the wrong person.However, even so, she was not at ease.Seeing that the two had delayed their appearance on stage for almost a minute, if this continues, there will be commotion in the auditorium sooner or later.

Chen Ganning was obviously worried about the same thing.Afraid of alarming Qin Haiou, she even turned her back to watch the time secretly, until she couldn't bear it anymore, then took advantage of Qin Haiou's eyes closed, and said in a barely audible voice to Yu Doudou's ear: "How about , I'll go find Brother Tan..."

Yu Doudou immediately shook her head slightly.It was not that she had not considered the possibility of doing this just now, but it would be a big move to find Tan Shuo under such circumstances.Not to mention that the lights outside the arena have been turned off and the auditorium is dark. Is it convenient to find someone? Other guests including Kazuo even attracted the attention of more audiences.After the first half of the performance and the intermission, Tan Shuo has become the most eye-catching figure in the auditorium. Everyone knows that he is the composer, but when the conductor and pianist have not appeared for a long time, the composer suddenly left. Xi, this is tantamount to telling everyone that something happened backstage.

Yu Doudou knew that unless it was absolutely necessary, he must not rush to find Tan Shuo.However, how could she conclude that this moment is not a "last resort" moment?

Yu Doudou did not agree to Chen Ganning's proposal.At this time, on the stage and auditorium just one door away from them, people finally began to notice something strange.