Hello Everyone, I just want to rant about something that I just found out today. Someone got into my Patreon account, changed the banking info, and transferred the funds out, so now I am sad, disappointed, and broke as fu*k.šš
=====
The atmospheric shockwave hit the venue as everyone stood in unison!
From the guest panel, Chen Cheng, Sheng Yue, Zhao Guochang, Yuan Quan, Chen Xuejian, Xu Hong, and Alejandro, to the main contestants, including Su Wen, Jiang Yue, and many others, as well as the male commentator Tao, the female commentator Nana, and the live audience members filling the arena: every single person stood to their feet, their applause thunderous and deafening!
Together, they were bearing witness to the magnificent moment right before the rise of a legendary piano master!
The female commentator was so deeply moved that tears welled up in her eyes. Voice trembling, she cried out, "I love Shuying to death! She is truly our ultimate female role model, a fiercely independent and uncompromising paragon for women everywhere!"
"This time, without anyone's help, she truly stood on her own feet and rose to the top!" The male commentator, Tao, shook with overwhelming excitement. After all, who could possibly help her now?
Yu Ye's memory was fragmenting and slipping away on his journey home, his condition worsening with every passing moment. As for the rest, even someone like Liu Shi, they could only offer assistance after the milestone. Now, it was Little Shuying who was demonstrating her true, unadulterated power. The real, unleashed version of herself.
"Yu Shuying!"
"Yu Shuying!"
Wild, deafening cheers echoed across the massive stadium like rolling thunder.
Yet Yu Shuying simply reached out a hand, gently pressing her palm downward to calm the tempestuous crowd. She was far too accustomed to all these cheers and adoration; after all, they had been meant solely for her ever since she was eight years old.
And yet, a subtle thrill still fluttered in her chest. In the previous playback footage, a faint shadow of that man had still lingered over her narrative. Now, it was completely gone. Finally, thoroughly gone.
'What about you? Did you manage to show up?' The silent question echoing in Yu Shuying's heart mirrored the iconic statements Little Shuying had once delivered on the grandest musical stages of her youth.
In an instant, headline news and social media exploded simultaneously! At this exact moment, live online views shattered records, surpassing 30 million real-time viewers as the comment section turned into an absolute tidal wave of bullet chats:
"At this moment, Little Shuying hasn't just defeated Yu Ye; she has transcended the greatest figures of every era and surpassed the elite across every field!"
"She shines like a brilliant beacon! Is this the true, blinding light of Little Shuying?"
"Everyone who praised Yu Ye before should shut their mouths now. Yu Ye couldn't possibly help her this time! How could he? His illness is getting worse by the day."
"From this point onward, Little Shuying has no rivals left. Even twelve years into the future... she remains utterly unrivaled!"
Those who had previously defended Yu Ye were now being mercilessly condemned by Yu Shuying's fiercely loyal fans. Among all platforms, the backlash on the small video site Bilibili was by far the most severe. Even in the live broadcast of the program, a massive influx of Yu Shuying's supporters spat out mocking comments:
"Do the so-called distinguished professors finally understand what a true modern woman looks like now?"
"You bunch of historians who spend your lives writing about the past shouldn't interfere with modern affairs. Do you honestly think you can comprehend Shuying's true strength?"
At that moment, the cameras shifted to Qu Haibo and Professor Zhang Cihai.
Qu Haibo was visibly agitated; he was deeply worried that the bad press generated by this episode would cripple the overall broadcast ratings for the program.
Meanwhile, Professor Zhang Cihai, a man usually known for his carefree, cheerful demeanor, abandoned his lighthearted front entirely. Eyes locked firmly onto the live broadcast monitor, he declared word by word with unwavering gravity: "Yu Shuying may never be able to win over her father in this lifetime."
This statement ignited an explosive wave of fury across the chat. Furious at the provocation, Shuying's fans unleashed a barrage of scathing insults, mocking him as an outdated, stubborn old fool.
Cihai didn't bother to explain himself. He simply kept his gaze fixed on a replayed clip.
In the video, Shuying was showcasing her peerless talent within the Grand Music Theatre, driving the crowd into an ecstatic frenzy. Yet right outside the venue, howling cold winds whistled through the air as heavy snow danced across the sky. Lonely and silent, Yu Ye paced back and forth with his hands folded, waiting in quiet solitude.
Looking at the screen, Cihai suddenly let out a faint chuckle, and tears trickled down his cheeks. The image before him brought back vivid memories of his own father, a stubborn, uneducated peasant who had raised him in the rugged countryside. His father hadn't been able to provide him with academic guidance or career advantages.
Yet when Cihai had expressed his desire to attend university, the old man had fallen silent for a long, heavy moment... only to wake up at five in the morning, going door-to-door through the harsh winter cold to borrow enough money for his son's tuition fees.
Even when the old man lay on his deathbed while Cihai was preparing for his entrance exams, he had angrily scolded the other children, warning them not to make a single sound lest they disturb his son's studies.
In Yu Ye, Cihai recognized that very same quiet, overwhelming devotion. So he smiled warmly through his tears and whispered under his breath: "Don't hide it anymore... Show them what you're truly made of, you absolute monster."
Right now, the arena was drowning in a wave of passionate emotional outbursts. Countless young audience members were moved to tears, their hearts burning with renewed conviction. Little Shuying had set the ultimate precedent: even a person born into such a dysfunctional, impoverished family could rise to become completely invincible! If she could shatter class barriers and conquer her destiny, so could they!
Because of this, they fell madly in love with this girl, a prodigy who hailed from poverty, yet possessed an incomparable elegance and unmatched genius across all domains. As for her father? In their minds, he had been reduced to nothing more than a forgotten, unremarkable old man who had long dropped out of the picture.
Yet, sitting in the very last seat of the very back row of the venue, Yu Ye remained impeccably calm. His eyes were like deep, quiet pools, looking down upon the passing years and the shifting stars as generations transformed a thousand times over.
Beside him, Zhang Ziju felt a surge of indignation mixed with a heavy, sorrowful sigh.
"Don't be disheartened, old man," Zhang Ziju said gently, trying to offer comfort to the person he believed to be broken and forgotten. "After all, you were already too old back then to teach children properly, and you simply couldn't guide her any further..."
"These brainless fans nowadays have completely lost their minds. They've utterly forgotten every single act of kindness you showed her in the past. After all, when Little Shuying was only seven years old, your brain cancer had already spread, your memories were slipping away, and your Alzheimer's had become severe. Yet what you did for her back then was already magnificent, far better than what most parents could ever hope to do."
Zhang Ziju spoke softly, worried that Yu Ye was feeling abandoned. After all, now that Little Shuying had soared into the heavens entirely on her own strength, Yu Ye was left as nothing more than a frail, aging, disease-ridden patient sitting alone in the shadows.
Suddenly, Zhang Ziju froze. Something felt utterly off.
The old man tilted his head slightly, turning to look at him with a pair of gentle, warm eyes that held a faint, serene smile. His voice was raspy and weathered by age, yet filled with a gentle, reassuring warmth: "Young man... this grand story has only just begun. I'm feeling a bit tired now, so I'm going to close my eyes and sleep for a while. If you can't wake me up later, just remember to carry me onto the stage... take your time, my dear boy."
Yu Ye's voice was remarkably comforting. Throughout his entire life, he seemed to harbor no hostility or resentment toward the world, only a boundless, enduring warmth.
Zhang Ziju sat frozen in absolute shock... A cold shiver ran down his spine as he asked in sudden panic, "Wait, don't go to sleep, old man! You make things clear first. What on earth do you mean by that?! Could it be that you...?"
Before Zhang Ziju could finish his question, an even louder, earth-shattering roar of cheers erupted across the gymnasium, accompanied by the commentator's ecstatic announcement over the loudspeakers: "And now, at this glorious moment, let us welcome one of our most prestigious guests of the evening. The national treasure piano artist of Bangguo, Park Lengyue! Coming in right beside her is none other than Yu Shuying! Let's give them our wildest applause!"
Boom! The stadium exploded into a frenzy as the crowd's excitement reached its absolute boiling point.
Yet in the very back row, an old man rested his head quietly, so utterly exhausted that he seemed to have drifted off into a deep sleep, or perhaps fainted, amidst the cascading tide of his own memories.
Zhang Ziju stared at him in utter shock. The legendary pianist who had completely reshaped Shuying's destiny had actually arrived in person! And what had the old man just meant by a hidden change in the narrative?
He stared at the old man's peaceful posture, taking in his slightly closed eyes and serene, tranquil demeanor. A sudden, overwhelming realization washed over Zhang Ziju's heart: The real storm... is only just beginning!
A faint smile touched Zhang Ziju's lips. Soaking in the gentle warmth radiating from the old man beside him, he suddenly found himself missing his own family deeply.
This old man possessed an extraordinary, quiet aura, an absolute sense of security that signaled to the world: as long as he was standing, he would shield those behind him from every danger, every tempest, and every raging storm.