Chapter 200 - 200 153 The Fool's Performance_2

Words : 1236 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

200: Chapter 153: The Fool’s Performance_2 200: Chapter 153: The Fool’s Performance_2 “I need to go to the bathroom again,” Lin Mengran clutched her stomach as she ran outside, and Qu Xiaojing quickly followed, “I’ll go with her.” “Aren’t they going to the venue?” Yang Xiaoli blinked and turned to Qiao Ningyi, “Squad Leader, seeing as we’re not as nervous now, why don’t we also check out the venue?” Qi Jihong quickly agreed, “Yes, Captain, it’s suffocating staying cooped up here. We were originally worried that if we went over there to look for bathrooms and couldn’t find any, we’d embarrass ourselves, but since we’re feeling better, let’s join in on the fun, okay?” “Squad Leader, I’m better too,” Yuan Mengmeng “rolled” out of bed, “Squad Leader, it’s a rare opportunity, let’s go broaden our horizons.” After feeling out her own condition, Qiao Ningyi nodded, “Alright, let’s go take a look.” In fact, she said this with great concern. It was a desperate measure to decide that the four people who hadn’t been poisoned would perform onstage, and Lin Chuxia had even brought her accordion with her, which made Qiao Ningyi even more anxious. She could tell that Lin Chuxia was different from the average rural girl, but the accordion was definitely not something just anyone could play. However, Lin Chuxia had already suggested it, and Qiao Ningyi felt bad rejecting it. At that moment, Chuxia and the others were at the entrance, up next for their performance. Seeing her companions’ nervous wreck, Chuxia could only take several deep breaths, trying to appear calm, and she reminded them again, “Once we’re onstage, just follow my lead and sing. Just perform as we did during the rehearsals in Captain Zeng’s office, and as long as it’s like that, we won’t embarrass ourselves!” “Okay...” Luo Xiaoqiong’s response trembled. “Okay...” Liu Meijun wasn’t much better off either. “Okay!” Sun Shangmei, on the other hand, sounded full of spirit, but her expression betrayed her—it was clearly the result of extreme nervousness. “Just pretend that the audience is a bunch of cabbages, don’t think about anything else, and sing as we planned...” “Hehe...” Zeng Meili, who had come over at some point, couldn’t help but chuckle upon hearing Chuxia’s attempt to console her peers. When they looked at her, she leaned forward and lowered her voice, “Just keep the cabbages to yourself.” Chuxia’s face turned “red” in an instant. She only remembered that in her time, people were comforted by being told to imagine the audience as cabbages, so she said it without thinking. Fortunately, the other squads were too nervous to hear her speak. Otherwise, she would’ve really stirred up a hornet’s nest. In this era, daring to call the officers and soldiers cabbages would be asking for trouble! “It’s alright,” Zeng Meili comforted her with a pat, “I believe in your performance, and I believe you all won’t let Squad Three down.” Right then, the host began announcing. “Next, please welcome Lin Chuxia, Sun Shangmei, Luo Xiaoqiong, and Liu Meijun from the Women’s Medical Team’s Squad Three. They will be presenting the accordion-accompanied choral performance ‘Returning from the Shooting Range’! Let’s give them a warm welcome!” “Wow wow wow...” The trio stepped onto the stage to the rhythm of applause, with Chuxia sitting on a chair that was already placed to the side, clutching the accordion to find her position. When she turned her gaze to the three dummies, she was speechless—they were all staring at their toes as if they were being punished... Okay, there were quite a few cabbages in the audience, and she was incredibly nervous too, but, given the era, she had similar stage experience. So, she could perfectly mask her own nerves. Unlike those three, when had they ever done such an unskilled thing in this kind of setting? They were already on stage, any reminders now were too late. All she could do was to get the tune right—okay, now she had reduced her expectation to not necessarily singing well, but just not singing off-key! Why was the women’s medical team so highly sought after? Originally, she did not want to be the one to stand out, but Captain Zeng had said that the higher-ups were closely watching the women’s medical team and had specifically requested every squad to perform on stage. If Squad Three were the only one missing, it would be unacceptable. What Captain Zeng precisely said was, “Just go up there, sing the song completely, that’s enough; don’t think about whether you’re off-key or not.” Could she take that last sentence to mean, don’t consider whether you’re embarrassing yourself or not? After all, she was a professional grade pianist who had passed level twelve (though forced into it, she had genuine talent)—how could she accept singing off-key on stage? And she believed she had the ability to lead everyone without going out of tune. So, making sharp preparations, she practiced right there in Captain Zeng’s office and managed to impress Captain Zeng herself, not to mention the three simpletons. Afterward, the three also performed very well, but who would have known that once on stage, the three clowns would become so pitiful... Never mind, there’s no turning back once the arrow is shot from the bow; she might as well do her best to save the situation. At this moment, the expressions of Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe, as well as Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan in the audience, were no stronger than those of the three clowns on stage. Especially for Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe, after much anticipation, they finally got to see their daughter, but before they could feel thrilled, they were shocked. Their daughter actually took a hand accordion on stage? Okay, they had seen that instrument in school and among the educated youth, but they had never seen their daughter touch it before. Now, with their daughter holding that big thing on stage, what was she going to do? In the midst of their shock, a pleasant musical prelude began to play. Could their daughter actually play a tune? And such a familiar one at that? Zhao Yulan turned her head robotically towards Lin Baohe, her mouth half-open, her eyes full of confusion. Lin Baohe’s reaction was similar to Zhao Yulan’s. After coming back to their senses, they turned their heads back just in time as the prelude ended, and Chuxia took the lead, “As the sunset casts the mountains in a red glow, soldiers return to camp from their shooting practice... to camp they return...” Thankfully, she had started off well, and the three stiff-backed simpletons finally adjusted their mood. Standing up tall, looking straight ahead, they belted out, “Red flowers on their chests reflect the colorful sky, joyful songs fly high into the sky...” Although there were only four of them, their morale was not a bit weaker than other squads’. Just then, Qiao Ningyi and others who happened to come by copied the expressions of Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe—mouths half-open, a look of disbelief...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

Chapter 200 - 200 153 The Fool's Performance_2

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