Perfect Harmony

Ling Ke sat uneasily in the back of the multipurpose hall, watching the talented boys and girls, paired up on the spot, take turns performing. The pairs who worked well together deserved applause; the ones who fell apart gave everyone a terminal case of secondhand embarrassment.

The hosts announced the talent-show results on the spot, too. Anyone who performed poorly got no second chance—just outright elimination. It was painfully brutal.

One boy-girl pair put together an act combining singing and public speaking, but the girl couldn't hold up her end, making mistake after mistake and dragging the boy down. When the host announced that they had both been eliminated, the boy couldn't take it. "I don't think that's fair!" he protested.

The host Jiang Ying had called "Mr. Wang" asked, "What's unfair about it?"

"I could've done better with a different partner," the boy said indignantly.

The girl felt terribly guilty, too. Her head hung low, and she was so upset she was on the verge of tears.

The students whispered among themselves in the audience, seemingly all sympathizing with the boy who had been dragged down. To their surprise, Mr. Wang asked a young host standing nearby to go onstage and do a piece with the girl, who was nearly crying from distress. It was Li Xuan—the very person who had originally been assigned to interview Ling Ke, only to dash off to the restroom at the last minute.

Li Xuan went onstage and told the girl, "Don't be nervous. Let's just do a little bit."

She was rather stiff at first, but after Li Xuan guided her along for a while, she gradually relaxed. With one playing the comic and the other the straight man, they actually put on a convincing performance. Toward the end, the girl even delivered several great lines in a row.

Li Xuan left the stage in under five minutes. The boy had stood off to the side watching the whole thing, looking both envious and embarrassed, but his judgment wasn't over yet.

Mr. Wang tapped his fountain pen against the table and looked at him with a faint, unreadable smile. "See that? Hosting isn't a solo showcase. It's about working with your partner. When your partner made mistakes, not only were you unable to salvage the situation, you simply left her there feeling embarrassed and panicked. Do you think that highlighted your excellence? No. It exposed your tendency to be self-centered, and that's why we eliminated you. Any other questions?"

The oldest people in the audience were only fourteen or fifteen, and Mr. Wang's harsh critique stunned them all.

Every one of them was brimming with talent, either the apple of their family's eye or the pride of their school. Being selected to come here only proved they were the cream of the crop. When had any of them ever been taken down so mercilessly in public?

The boy's face went red, then white. In a fit of anger, he stomped off the stage and stormed out, slamming the door without looking back.

Mr. Wang shook his head and sighed. "Not a shred of manners. Spoiled rotten."

Just then, Ling Ke heard girls in the rows ahead let out little gasps.

He turned to look. Just after that boy ran out, another happened to come in from outside.

Dressed casually, he had one hand in his pants pocket and held a violin in the other. Once inside, he swept an indifferent gaze around the room.

Ling Ke froze. Once he got a clear look at the boy's face, he went completely blank!

...Qi Feng?

The girls had gasped because he was so handsome. Although the room was already full of good-looking boys and girls picked from thousands, he still outshone them all—not just because of his looks, but because of the air about him.

People who hadn't seen much of the world always felt a little intimidated facing a crowd of strangers. Take Ling Ke: from the moment he stepped into the TV station, he'd been wound tight. Every time he met someone, his whole body instinctively stiffened, and he couldn't relax.

But the boy who had just walked in wasn't like that. He was perfectly at ease, without a trace of awkwardness despite all the eyes on him. It gave everyone the oppressive sense that a formidable competitor had arrived.

Ling Ke was even more astonished than the others. His lips slightly parted, he stared fixedly at the familiar figure by the door.

It really was Qi Feng. Although they hadn't seen each other in a year and a half, Ling Ke had slipped into "Feng's Island" to lurk more than once over the past four months. Qi Feng had always been exceptionally good-looking, and over the past year his features had matured a little, making him even more handsome.

There were plenty of people in the world who looked alike, but Ling Ke absolutely refused to believe there could be a second person who looked exactly like Qi Feng.

Jiang Ying stood up and waved Qi Feng straight over to sit beside her.

That seemed to answer some people's questions. The whispering in the audience grew louder, because as far as they were concerned, here was yet another kid who had gotten in through connections.

Poor boy who had just been eliminated—in less than a minute, Qi Feng's arrival had driven him clean out of everyone's minds.

One of the judges cleared their throat, quieted everyone down, and called the next pair up to the stage.

The judges' table was in the front row, with nothing blocking it. Qi Feng propped his violin to one side, folded his arms, and lazily stretched out his long legs, watching the next performances with casual indifference.

Sitting in the back, Ling Ke was both delighted and nervous. He also couldn't help wondering what Qi Feng was doing here.

Was he here to take part in this event, too? Right, he could play the piano... But why had he only just arrived?

Thinking of the way Jiang Ying had treated him just now, Ling Ke's imagination ran wild. Could he know Ms. Jiang? In that case, had Jiang Ying kept him here so Qi Feng could be his partner? They both played the piano—would they play a four-hand duet?

...No. It suddenly hit Ling Ke: hadn't Qi Feng come in carrying a violin?

He stared at his back in shock. Qi Feng played the violin, too?

As far as he knew, Qi Feng already did all sorts of odd sports, plus drawing, Go, and writing poetry. Add piano to the list, and now violin... Holy shit, where did this guy find the time to learn so many things?

Th-that was just too fucking impressive!

The mere thought that he might be performing with Qi Feng in a little while sent Ling Ke's heart thumping wildly.

...Would Qi Feng recognize him?

He unconsciously touched his nose. Honestly, he hadn't changed much over the past year and a half.

Middle school was prime growing age. Almost everyone around Ling Ke, boys and girls alike, seemed to look different every day. One boy in his class had even shot up in a single month, growing faster than bamboo shoots. Yet Ling Ke's own growth spurt stubbornly refused to arrive. Since graduating from elementary school, he'd grown only three centimeters.

Thinking about that made him inexplicably irritated again.

There weren't many people left. Another twenty minutes or so later, everyone's impromptu performance assessment was over.

Except Ling Ke's.

Only then did Mr. Wang turn around and call, "Where's the student without a partner? Come up here."

With everyone watching, Ling Ke slowly walked to the front. He didn't dare look directly at Qi Feng, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw him stand up with Jiang Ying, making him even more certain that the two had a close relationship.

Ling Ke came to stand before them. Just seconds earlier, his mind had still been racing: How should he react if Qi Feng recognized him? Should he introduce himself to Qi Feng before that happened...?

But when he looked up, the eyes that met his held no recognition whatsoever.

Yes, it was as though Qi Feng were seeing him for the first time. There wasn't a trace of hesitation or curiosity in his gaze, not even the slightest hint of sizing him up.

Ling Ke felt as though someone had dumped a basin of cold water over his head, washing away every last bit of his anticipation and unease.

—Qi Feng really had forgotten him.

Though he'd prepared himself for this possibility, Ling Ke still found it a little hard to accept when it actually happened.

Especially after he'd spent so long nervously wondering whether Qi Feng would recognize him. That left him feeling all the more at a loss.

Ling Ke stood blankly before Qi Feng as Jiang Ying said, "All right, one of you on piano, the other on violin. Improvise something together—anything you like. You have three minutes to prepare."

Qi Feng didn't waste any words on Ling Ke. He simply picked up the violin beside him, gave him a look signaling him to get onstage, and turned to lead the way.

This reaction was nothing like Ling Ke's first impression of him, either. The Qi Feng he remembered had been warm and outgoing, like summer sunshine. But the Qi Feng before him was ice-cold, as though he'd become a completely different person in the past year and a half.

But his attitude wasn't the only outrage. There was also his height.

Ling Ke had seen the photos and could vaguely tell that Qi Feng was growing taller and bigger, but only when he stood in front of him did he truly feel the difference their unequal rates of development had made.

The Qi Feng before him was now well over half a head taller than he was!

Just a year and a half ago, they'd been about the same height...

Now Ling Ke felt he didn't just come up short psychologically—he was physically a notch below him, too.

There was a piano onstage. Ling Ke went straight around to the bench and sat down, turning to look at Qi Feng with an equally cold gaze.

He knew the other boy's attitude was affecting his own, but he couldn't stop the inexplicable anger burning inside him.

Qi Feng didn't seem to care. "What are you playing?" he asked.

The boy's voice had the slight rasp peculiar to a voice in the midst of changing.

Ling Ke couldn't help deliberately lowering his own voice. "Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata."

Qi Feng nodded and tucked the violin between his shoulder and neck. "Go ahead, then. I'll accompany you."

That businesslike tone was especially aggravating.

Ling Ke raised his hands, drew a deep breath, and tried to calm down before pressing the keys.

A gentle melody slowly flowed from beneath his dancing fingers. Before long, Qi Feng's violin joined in. Startled by how suddenly and perfectly they fit together, Ling Ke grew flustered and struck a wrong note.

Qi Feng stopped as well and looked at him expressionlessly. "Try again?"

Ling Ke's face warmed slightly. He didn't dare let his mind wander again.

They started over. Qi Feng brought in the violin at the same spot, blending in as naturally as coffee poured slowly into milk...

Ling Ke found it novel. This was the first time anyone had accompanied him while he played the piano, and it sounded surprisingly good.

But that small spark of brightness was soon smothered by the gloom inside him.

It pissed him off. It really pissed him off.

Qi Feng didn't even remember him anymore. Why should he be the only one acting like he could never forget?

Damn it... What a fucking idiot.

Suddenly, he was immensely grateful he hadn't told Qi Feng who he was on QQ, and that he hadn't rashly called him by name.

Their instruments continued in harmony, but Ling Ke's thoughts were a tangled mess.

He wasn't sure what came over him. The next second, without even warning Qi Feng, he flicked his wrists and switched straight to another piece.

Qi Feng abruptly stopped playing and stared at Ling Ke in surprise. After listening for a moment, he asked uncertainly, "Chopin's... Fantaisie-Impromptu?"

Ling Ke raised an eyebrow, impressed by Qi Feng's ear, though on remembering that he studied piano too, he was no longer surprised.

This was a piece from the amateur Grade Ten repertoire. Four months ago, Ling Ke had still been practicing it dozens of times a day at home. He knew it inside out and could play it with his eyes closed without making a mistake.

Fantaisie-Impromptu opened at a climax. Its technically demanding fingerwork, arpeggios, and leaps spanning several octaves let him vent his emotions on the keys without restraint.

As he played, he turned to glance at Qi Feng, his eyes full of a thoroughly childish challenge.

—Come on, then. Can you keep up with this one?

—Didn't you forget me?

—I'll pretend I don't know you, too! Like I've never met you!

Qi Feng raised an eyebrow, lifted his violin into position, and began chasing Ling Ke's music.

Panic stirred in Ling Ke's chest. As though desperate to shake him off, he played faster and faster.

Qi Feng gave up trying to follow every beat and chose sustained notes instead, wrapping entire passages of those leaping notes in something like soft, flowing silk. He followed close behind, and before long, their instruments had successfully blended into one.

Ling Ke's heart raced. He was excited and frightened, with a sense of defeat he couldn't quite shake.

Why could Qi Feng do everything? Why did someone so perfect exist in this world...?

But at this point, he could no longer indulge himself, because he couldn't stop. It was as though Qi Feng had enveloped him completely, leaving him no choice but to follow him forward, forward... He forgot where he was, forgot what he was playing, and simply surrendered on instinct to their seamless duet.

Slowly, he calmed down.

He didn't know whether it was the music that soothed him or the way Qi Feng played in harmony with him.

He even felt a little like crying over this understanding that needed no discussion beforehand.

Like a hang glider, after a raging storm...

Slowly, smoothly coming in to land.

A fine sheen of sweat covered Ling Ke's body. His head was buzzing, and his fingers were still trembling involuntarily from how completely he had thrown himself into playing.

Qi Feng brought the piece to a close, even throwing in a flourish, rocking back and forth as he played and looking ridiculously cool.

Taking his hand off the strings, he was breathing a little hard too. He looked at Ling Ke beside him, whose chest was likewise rising and falling slightly, and curled his lips into a smile. "You play pretty well."

Ling Ke: "..."

After a moment of silence, applause erupted from the audience. Whether or not the two of them had "connections," their skill and all-but-perfect coordination had won everyone over.

Jiang Ying exchanged glances with the other hosts beside her, seemingly reaching some unspoken agreement. She stood up with a smile and looked at them, joining in the applause. "That'll do. Very good."

But unexpectedly, as soon as Jiang Ying finished speaking, Ling Ke stood up and turned to face her, saying quietly, "I'm sorry, Ms. Jiang. For this selection, I've decided to... withdraw."

[A Little Interlude]

Ling Ke: "I'm going to pretend I don't know you too!"

Qi Yu: "???"