CHAPTER 574: 224 LOVE AS LIFE, BEAUTY CARRIES POISON

Ling Yue’s cheeks burned with shame.

All those complaints, suspicions, and distrust towards Shen You’an now felt like slaps to her own face.

He wasn’t being dismissive or evasive; he possessed genuine confidence and overwhelming talent.

She thought back to Qin Xiangge’s three rehearsal performances that afternoon.

Compared to Shen You’an’s playing, what did Qin Xiangge’s even amount to?

Their skill difference was like heaven and earth, utterly incomparable.

The students who got into Lanya High School all came from wealthy or influential families, their exposure to the arts from a young age being almost a given.

From an early age, her parents forced her to learn piano. She was good at it at first, and she wanted to pursue it further, but her parents stopped her.

They only wanted piano to be a supplementary skill, a jewel in her socialite identity, rather than a career path. After all, her life had been mapped out by her parents from birth.

Thus, she gave up piano and became just another unremarkable product of exam-oriented education.

Even though she stopped playing piano, she had already earned a Level 10 certificate. Honestly, the certificate didn’t mean much; with proper guidance from famous teachers and a bit of effort, passing the exam wasn’t hard.

She firmly believed that plenty of her classmates held similar piano certificates.

In wealthy families, parents heavily emphasize education and especially focus on cultivating artistic talents—not for mastery, but for elegance and bragging rights. Piano was an ideal choice for that purpose.

Before this, she always thought Qin Xiangge to be one of those naturally gifted individuals—someone with her parents’ vigorous support who could go far along this path. Deep down, she envied Qin Xiangge and was even willing to offer her certain levels of help.

But now she realized she had been terribly wrong.

Qin Xiangge’s supposed talent was nothing compared to Shen You’an’s genuine genius.

She was struck by the realization that she had been misled by Qin Xiangge all along.

The so-called "piano princess" was nothing more than a result of her own self-promotion; tonight, President Lan removing her performance wasn’t Shen You’an’s doing. Shen You’an probably never even regarded her as worth his attention.

Gao Yuyue’s words were the truth: President Lan took her program off the schedule because he didn’t want her embarrassing herself in front of Pearl. And yet, she unfairly blamed Shen You’an, even trying to mislead her.

Ling Yue realized she had misjudged Qin Xiangge all along.

"Qin Xiangge, you should be grateful President Lan canceled your performance."

Otherwise, tonight would have been public humiliation for Qin Xiangge.

Qin Xiangge noticed Ling Yue’s gaze directed at her. Instead of its usual warmth, it was cold and mocking.

Qin Xiangge opened her mouth to speak but suddenly found herself speechless.

She stood still as her classmates, who had heard her piano rehearsals, silently compared the two performances in their minds. Anyone with half a brain could see the gap between them.

Everyone looked at Qin Xiangge in her overly glamorous outfit and couldn’t help but think how ridiculous it seemed.

Shen You’an, on the other hand, wore a simple black dress, devoid of any jewelry, plain and elegant, yet her hands had conjured the most difficult and beautiful music in the world.

Qin Xiangge’s extravagant attire only served to deepen the awkwardness and disgrace she faced.

Ah, humans—they crumble under comparison.

Qin Xiangge wished she could dig a hole and bury herself in it. She couldn’t stand there another moment and was about to flee when suddenly a loud "bang" rang out, reverberating through the backstage floor.

Immediately after, shocked gasps erupted from the audience.

Ling Yue’s expression changed abruptly. She pushed through the crowd and rushed toward the stage.

When she reached the side of the stage, the sight before her left her utterly stunned.

She couldn’t stop herself from shouting: "What happened?"

On the stage, Shen You’an and a young boy had fallen onto the floor, entangled together, while the white piano had been smashed by an enormous overhead spotlight. The lamp pressed down on the piano keys, emitting chaotic and dissonant sounds that irritated the ear, making the scene even more disorienting and chaotic.

Ling Yue had only one thought in her mind: It’s over.

She had been praying for the event to go smoothly, yet trouble had still struck.

The falling spotlight was a serious accident. As the person in charge, there was no escaping responsibility for her.

Wang Chiru, however, remained remarkably calm. He instructed the stunned Li Xiaojun standing behind him, "Call 120 immediately, then report to the police."

With that, he swiftly stepped forward.

The two people on the ground were tightly entangled, the boy pinning Shen You’an beneath him, clutching her protectively. The way they were positioned made them resemble conjoined twins, utterly inseparable.