Chapter 118: I Have Never Seen Someone So Gifted!

As An Xiaoxiao and Zhang Shuo exited to the dressing room for a change of costume, Zhao Jinzhi, waiting behind the curtain for her cue, stood with her eyes wide open. Li Shixin had told her about the script revisions yesterday, but she had never imagined they would be like this.

Had the plot changed? No. The lines were only slightly adjusted. However, the introduction of the new prop—the photo album—in the latter half of the second act, and that song, which she had never heard before but which amplified the emotions on stage and projected them to the audience, had changed everything. Most importantly, the more direct and clever transition at the end of the second act had fundamentally altered the rhythm of the entire play.

"Xiao Zhao, this play has four acts. You don't necessarily have to save all the core emotional release for the very end."

Zhao Jinzhi finally understood what Li Shixin had said to her on the way back from the plaza yesterday. Before, she had only admired the vitality in Li Shixin that defied his age. But now, in the darkness, feeling the coolness of the tears streaming down her face and listening to the uncontrollable sobbing throughout the theater—a reaction far more intense than at the premiere—Zhao Jinzhi closed her eyes.

She had to admit it. This man, whose days were numbered, who would shamelessly use his age or stage ridiculous stunts just to get famous and fulfill his dream... possessed a talent beyond the reach of ordinary people. Like a piece of fine jade with deep fissures, he was irresistibly compelling, and just as irresistibly heartbreaking.

"Anyone in front? Move aside, move aside, don't bump into anything! Emma, Teacher Zhao? Why are you still standing there in a daze? The stage is set, you can go on!"

As Zhao Jinzhi was lost in thought, the big guy who had finished setting up the stage in the dark passed by her, whispering a hurried reminder.

Down in the audience, several officials from the Bureau of Culture and retired cadres in the front row were busy wiping away tears. They were not young; even the youngest among them, Zhang Guowei, was thirty-six, and his child was about to enter high school. Thinking of the loneliness and desolation of the father after his daughter had started her own family in the second act, he felt a sharp pang of sorrow.

After the sorrow came a wave of intense guilt. By the dim light of the emergency exit sign, he looked at his father-in-law sitting nearby, leaned over, and wrapped his arm around Sun Yaozhong’s shoulder.

"Dad, let’s have you move in with Ling'er and me tomorrow."

Sensing the irrepressible emotion in his son-in-law's voice, Sun Yaozhong shook his head. "You two just live your lives well. For a parent, love for their children is never about possession, but about giving. Good child, I know you have a filial heart. Treat your own parents well, and come back to see me with Ling'er when you have time; that’s enough for me."

The other officials nearby, hearing the low conversation between the father-in-law and son-in-law, wiped their tears, stood up silently, and patted Sun Yaozhong’s hand. At this moment, there were no leaders in the front row, only a group of fathers whose own children had grown up and started their own lives, all resonating deeply with Sun Yaozhong.

On the other side of the auditorium, a figure wearing a duckbill cap wiped away her tears, crouched under her seat, and quietly opened her phone. After searching for the lyrics of "Where Did Time Go" and finding only a bunch of irrelevant information, she quickly closed the phone. Beside her, Yang Kuan was beyond excited. He had previously watched "Only You" via video, and the impact was incomparable to the live performance!

Silently, he clenched his fists. "This IP must be acquired!" he whispered to his colleagues from the Copyright and PR departments who had rushed over from Shanghai today.

Just then, the stage lights came up. As the middle-aged daughter walked to the front of the stage, Yang Kuan paused.

"Hey? This actress, why does she look a bit like our Chairwoman?"

"Impossible." Beside him, the Vice President of the Copyright Department looked closely at the middle-aged daughter on stage and laughed. "The Chairwoman is so busy, we barely see her a few times a year. How would she have the free time to come to this backwater place like Rongdian to do some play?"

"Can't you even see that? Did you donate your eyes? What are they for?" The PR manager, after taking another look at the actor, said decisively, "Chairwoman Zhao is much younger than this actress! It’s definitely not her!"

Everything happened fast. The transition time between the second and third acts was only about twenty seconds. While the audience's emotions were still lingering on the second act, the third act, "I No Longer Recognize the Person in the Mirror," unfolded on stage.

"Your father's Alzheimer's is quite severe. It's unlikely he'll be able to take care of himself in the future. It would be best if one of you could look after him full-time to prevent him from wandering off or getting agitated..."

The daughter supported her father, listening to the doctor's orders with a look of agony. Then, she quit her job to stay home and care for him. The son-in-law struggled to support two households; faced with the long-term illness, his attitude gradually soured. Influenced by her husband's emotions, the daughter, feeling neglected and resentful at home, also grew increasingly impatient with her father.

At the premiere, the five-minute break between the second and third acts had allowed the audience to calm down, leading to a more singular emotional response. But now, the continuity between the acts created a stark contrast between the father's tender care for his daughter in her youth and her current impatience. Beyond sorrow, the audience felt a surge of anger toward the daughter. Your father loved you so much, and now, when he needs your help the most, how could you be like this?!

Yet, some middle-aged or younger audience members, seeing the father’s Alzheimer's symptoms manifest in embarrassing ways, couldn't help but ask themselves: If I were in her shoes, would I do any better? Many fell into a deep, silent contemplation.

In this atmosphere, the plot reached the climax of the fourth act—the father, suffering from severe memory loss, wandered off on a stormy night due to the daughter’s negligence. The whole family scrambled in a panic. The confused and senile father, braving the thunder and rain, arrived at the abandoned school and slowly sat down at the dilapidated entrance. Amidst the thunderclaps, he curled his body like a child, his eyes full of terror, yet still calling for his daughter.

"Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao, where are you?"
"Xiaoxiao, don't be afraid! Daddy is here to pick you up!"
"Xiaoxiao... Xiaoxiao... Daddy didn't forget. We made a pinky promise..."

The calls echoed on stage for a long time until his voice grew hoarse and he collapsed like a stray dog in front of the school. Only then did the tardy daughter find him. Upon learning that even though he had forgotten everything else, he still remembered the promise made during her middle school years to pick her up on rainy days, she burst into heart-wrenching tears.

Because of music copyright issues, Li Shixin had modified this part of the script. He tightened the pacing, making the second, third, and fourth acts a seamless flow, carrying the emotions of the second act directly into the rest.

An Xiaoxiao, who had returned to the stage, had been told by Zhao Jinzhi to follow the premiere's pattern. But at this moment, she felt that no song was needed to set the mood. Because of the changes, the rhythm and emotional engagement were already perfect; to force a song in now would be gilding the lily.

Amidst the sound effects of reminiscing, An Xiaoxiao walked gently onto the stage, standing before the father and daughter who were once again embraced.

"How can you still remember this!?" Following the script, Zhao Jinzhi cried out her final line.

This time, there was no voiceover in reply. As the question hung in the air, the curtain slowly fell. When it was fully lowered, the house lights came on. A large banner on the black curtain was particularly striking: "Because you are the concern I can never forget in my life."

Without the father's reply, this ending provided an even more profound interpretation of Alzheimer’s. The whole play became more three-dimensional and impactful.

Silence spoke louder than words.

*Clap!*

At this moment, the entire audience rose to their feet, tears streaming down their faces. Thunderous applause, mixed with weeping that no longer needed to be suppressed, echoed through the hall! It took a full three minutes for the applause and sobbing to subside.

Just as the audience sat back down, still caught in the emotional afterglow, a figure in a duckbill cap stood up, wiped her tears, and walked to the front of the stage to hand a USB drive to the sound engineer. She then took the microphone. As the prelude to "Time Thief" began, she took off her cap. Her highly recognizable voice flowed out.

"Don't let go of what you can hold, don't pull at what you can embrace. Time is washing away in a hurry, forgetting what..."

Seeing some young audience members staring at her with wide eyes, Jin Wenqi, the original singer and songwriter of "Time Thief," held up a finger in a "shh" gesture.

"Forgive the twists and turns we’ve walked, it turns out everything left behind is true. Even if it's like a dream, half-awake, laughing and crying, it's all living..."

"Who let time be such an unexpected thing? Sunny with wind, cloudy with rain. Fighting in vain against the days, longing for the past. It stole the dark hair but replaced it with a you... Because of you, only for you, willing to be with me, watching... the clouds drift light and the breeze blow soft."

"There are no miracles in this world. What we lose now, perhaps we will never have a chance to make up for in the future. So from now on, cherish that person who is slowly growing old, perhaps starting to be forgetful, perhaps starting to nag, starting to be annoying. Hello everyone, I am Jin Wenqi..."

What was supposed to be the soundtrack for the emotional climax of the fourth act had become the closing theme.

*Ding!*
"Received cheers with added [Moved] value: 167,421 points!"

On stage, Li Shixin, who had been listening to the singing from the front, felt a slight hum in his mind. Good heavens! Hearing the largest amount of cheers he had received since leaving Tiancheng, Li Shixin felt a surge of energy!

"Who says life cannot be young again? The water in front of the door can still flow west! Ha!"

In his arms, Zhao Jinzhi, who was still caught in the emotions of the play, looked up, hearing Li Shixin reciting poetry for no reason. "Isn't 'Huan Xi Sha' a bit out of place?"

Hearing the jab, Li Shixin chuckled. "Out of place?" He looked at the lowered curtain and the lights on the ceiling, grinning. "In the shadow of the lights, amidst the embroidered curtains..."

"Bah! Lewd and vulgar! And there are children here!" Zhao Jinzhi blushed, looked at An Xiaoxiao nearby, and covered Li Shixin's mouth, blocking the rest of the lines about jade arms and lotus steps.

"It's just 'San Yan Liang Pai' (Stories to Caution the World)." An Xiaoxiao pouted. "Is that what Feng Menglong called lewd? Wu Cheng'en is the real old turtle. That part about the Spider Spirit, the belly soft and tender, the back smooth and clean..."

Zhao Jinzhi, face dark, covered An Xiaoxiao's mouth with her other hand. "You two... that's enough!"