Mysterious Assistant of the Washed-Up Queen-Chapter 464 - 308: The First Rehearsal, Silence Throughout (3)_2
"Oh, what a blessed child!"
"A daughter is wonderful, truly wonderful! When she grows up, she’ll definitely be a beauty!"
With the start of the video, an excited voice rang out. Then, the voice faded as background music wove in, growing louder.
The audience below was instantly drawn to this voice. Some recognized it at a glance as a clip from a TV drama, while others were curious about the significance behind it.
Then, the scene shifted. The screen still displayed the same village, only now it had become much quieter. A lone, white-haired elderly person sat at a doorstep, eyes fixed on the seemingly endless road ahead, as if waiting for someone.
"The old tree by the door sprouts new leaves,"
"In the courtyard, dead wood blossoms anew."
"Half a lifetime of words stored away,"
"Hidden beneath a head full of white hair."
Xu Qingqiu’s voice, which had been brewing for a long time, suddenly resounded. It was like the background music for the video, yet also as if the protagonist of the video were telling their own story.
But as soon as her voice emerged, accompanied by the simple yet story-rich lyrics, it instantly pierced the hearts of everyone present.
Just then, the scene changed again. In the yard, a little girl with pigtails, wearing a floral jacket, was laughing and running endlessly around the wall.
"HAHAHA, come and catch me!"
"HEEHEEHEE, you can’t catch me, you can’t catch me~"
"Dad, you’re so clumsy, you can’t even catch this!"
"Oh my, Little One runs too fast! Daddy can’t keep up. Let Mommy try to catch you."
...
"Those little feet in memory,"
"That chubby little mouth."
"A lifetime of love given to them,"
"All for that one call of ’Mom’ and ’Dad’."
After the song, it seemed as if time itself sped up. The chasing figures of the family of three instantly froze, becoming an immobile picture.
Then the image began to fade, growing old and mottled. In the blink of an eye, it was covered with the traces of years.
At the same time, photo after photo appeared incessantly, like stacked leaves falling.
From full moon photos, to kindergarten, to primary school, to secondary school, to...
The photos chronicled one person’s first half of life and two people’s second half.
It was clearly a matter of over ten years, even decades, yet it seemed to pass in a blink, just like the scenes before their eyes.
And what remained, apart from those few photos, were the parents’ wrinkled faces and white hair, and you and I, insignificant in the vast sea of people.
"Where has the time gone?"
"Barely tasted youth before it aged."
"Raising sons and daughters, a lifetime spent,"
"Mind filled with children’s tears and laughter."
Time is the cruelest of knives, cutting to the bone without drawing blood.
It had to be said, Xu Qingqiu’s singing was, as if by magic, flawless in tone to begin with. But when she poured all her emotions into it, it resonated most deeply with people.
Paired with the video playing behind her, its impact was devastating.
The originally somewhat restless venue had quieted down by the time she sang the first verse.
By the chorus, many of the few dozen staff members sitting in the audience were already in tears.
Who hadn’t been a child once? Who didn’t have a childhood?
For some, who hadn’t consciously thought about it before, the moment the song began, images of their parents’ aging faces suddenly flooded their minds. They tried to remember how their parents looked when they were young, but they couldn’t recall, no matter how hard they tried. All they remembered was sitting on their father’s shoulders back then—those shoulders so broad, like sitting atop a mountain. But now, they suddenly realized that even that mountain could stoop, that the father who seemed so tall in their childhood wasn’t even as tall as they were now.
The mother of their childhood was a goddess who loved beauty; she had all sorts of cosmetics. As a thoughtless child, they had secretly smeared on lipstick and worn her huge high heels; their little feet seemed lost inside those shoes, as if in a bottomless pit. Lipstick drawn all over their face, vanishing cream smeared all over their body... the most vivid memory was of the stinging spanking they received after being caught, yet they couldn’t remember the names of those cosmetics.
When was it that Mother never wore makeup again? It seems that makeup products haven’t been seen in the house for a long time. And the high heels—since what year had Mother stopped wearing them?
In their memory, she was most often by the stove, preparing all sorts of their favorite dishes, or sitting in front of the TV, watching those mindless dramas. But wasn’t she once a lively and cheerful girl? She would put on beautiful makeup, invite her best friends to go shopping, follow celebrities, and sing the latest popular songs. So why is it that, when they searched through all their memories, they found only the mundane details of household chores and daily life? Is that really how a mother should be? No, it isn’t! Just as fathers shouldn’t become men who work all day only to be silent at night, mothers shouldn’t spend their entire days consumed by housework, year after year revolving around the kitchen. What was it all for? For this family? To raise them?
They thought about themselves, working in major cities, shuttling every day through high-end office buildings in the busiest districts, drinking coffee, wearing designer brands, keeping up with the world’s latest fashion trends, their vision filled with the glamour of celebrities. It was as if they were standing at the forefront of global fashion, yet they had forgotten their parents, who seemed to have been left behind by time.
In an instant, complex expressions appeared on many faces. Some clutched their chests, feeling an oppressive tightness there.
"Mom, Dad, I’m back."
With the song’s end, the video also reached its conclusion.
The young figure pushed open the old door, shouting just as always, but their shouts could no longer reach the people who had once been there day and night.
When the camera turned to the two black-and-white photos hanging on the wall in the room.
When the person in the video knelt, choking back sobs and calling out for their parents.
Every single person in the audience, without exception, broke down in tears.
"Damn it!"
Some cursed out loud, frantically wiping away tears, but the tears seemed to have a mind of their own, streaming down relentlessly.
"This song is incredible, it’s..."
"SOB SOB SOB, I haven’t been home for a year..."
"Isn’t this just a show? Why are they twisting the knife like this, damn..."
Unlike the unrestrained emotional expressions of the younger people, the older ones were mostly silent, just shedding tears quietly.
Zhao Fengsheng took off his glasses and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. He looked at Xu Qingqiu, still standing on the stage, then hurriedly put his glasses back on and applauded vigorously.
"Great! That was fantastic! This act is a lock! We must have this song!"
After saying this, he turned to everyone present and said with a smile, "No one has any objections, right? Or any different thoughts?"
Normally, even as the director, he would usually discuss which act to choose with the team. Of course, if he really set his heart on one, it wouldn’t be a problem; as the chief director, who could say otherwise? Moreover, now that Zhao Fengsheng had spoken, there was even less chance of opposition.
The key point was, nobody wanted to object to this act in the first place.
"I agree, this act is too good!"
"Director Zhao, this act is like a bomb, especially for the Spring Festival Gala. I’m afraid the entire nation will be in tears."
"That’s precisely the effect we want from this ’bomb’! Young people these days like to venture out and forge their own paths. Whatever paths they take is fine, but they shouldn’t forget their parents."
"The Lunar New Year is a time for family reunions. This song could evoke some warmth, and if it inspires them to honor their parents during the holiday, then our program will have truly served its purpose!"
Once the key figures agreed, the others had little to say.
But it had to be admitted, the song truly deserved such recognition.
The song itself was good enough, but damn, that video—whoever made it—was an absolutely perfect match for the lyrics. It really was a tearjerker bomb.
"Come here, Xu, don’t rush off. Let’s have a good chat. Don’t worry, your act is a go. Unless something completely unexpected happens, I guarantee it’ll be in the Spring Festival Gala!"
Zhao Fengsheng was all in. Mainly because he loved the song so much, he didn’t even bother with appearances and boldly guaranteed its inclusion then and there.
Only Xu Qingqiu on the stage was at a loss.
Just by singing a song once, it was decided? After the lukewarm responses she had received before, she thought her chances were slim. So why such a drastic change?
The truth was, it wasn’t so much a drastic change in attitude as it was the sheer power of the performance. Damn, it had moved an entire room to tears! If they didn’t approve it after that, finding a plausible excuse would be incredibly difficult.
