Zhou Sihe’s Liu performed well; his fans were all fond of him, many loving crosstalk and understanding opera.
The girls who bought tickets to support Qi Shejiang applauded especially loudly.
Zhang Yue sat in a position not too far back from the center, making it easier for him to hide himself. However, it seemed there were two of Qi Shejiang’s fans sitting behind, discussing in low voices.
“Is that Jesse’s partner today? Not Teacher Meng, could this be the future main partner? Seems alright!”
“I’ve heard he’s Zhou Sihe’s disciple; I wonder if he can match up, don’t get too happy too early; he might only be a concubine.”
Zhang Yue: “……………”
…… Damn it, what kind of unserious fans are these!
“Good evening, let me introduce myself first; I am the crosstalk actor Qi Shejiang, and this next to me is Liu Qing.” At this moment on stage, Qi Shejiang had already started speaking; his tone and inflection were very pleasant, emphasizing the last few words, naturally drawing the audience’s attention to him.
This is called “Ling Zhao,” meaning attracting the audience’s eyes to look at the performer, but Qi Shejiang didn’t use any particularly exaggerated actions or words; it was all based on his natural aura.
Liu Qing, standing beside him, responded and then said, “I know you; aren’t you the star from the variety show, ‘Return to the Countryside,’ that’s being broadcast everywhere?”
That variety show indeed had good ratings; even if the audience hadn’t watched it, they had at least heard the name and knew Qi Shejiang was a celebrity.
Qi Shejiang said with a cheerful “Hi,” “Not recording anymore, I withdrew; that show is a scam.”
This piqued the audience’s curiosity; what was this, a scoop?
Under Liu Qing’s questioning, Qi Shejiang shook his head and said, “The production team put me and Zhang Yue together; we really don’t get along!”
Viewers watching the live broadcast expressed:
[Should we laugh now or follow the script?]
The popularity of the songs by the Guanshan Band remains high, and Zhang Yue’s sharp-tongued nature has landed him in numerous entertainment news articles; even those who didn’t recognize him still enjoyed listening.
Liu Qing nodded at first, then revealed an incredulous expression and shouted, “Wait! Forget about purebred or not, you know ‘Mei Duan’ is short for American Shorthair, right?”
Qi Shejiang calmly shot him a glance, “Never heard of gene mutation?”
Liu Qing put down his hands, “…Alright then.”
Qi Shejiang continued, “I have a long-haired American Shorthair; he, however, has a rural Akita…”
“Wait a minute!” Liu Qing chuckled helplessly, “The Akita isn’t from the countryside; the Akita isn’t a Chinese rural dog, it’s not Chinese at all!”
Qi Shejiang: “Huh, is that so?
Liu Qing shook his head, “Looking at it this way, you two actually have quite a bit in common.”
“Not just that; there are other things too.” Qi Shejiang started counting on his fingers again, going from lifestyle habits to collaboration, constantly mentioning “Zhang Yue,” turning him into a joke.
Zhang Yue in the audience initially thought he was just casually making fun, but little did he know, Qi Shejiang kept using him as a target for jokes and hadn’t stopped since the performance began! Zhang Yue was already in despair; why did he even come to the show??
Qi Shejiang spoke as if it were true, and the audience would occasionally erupt in laughter, successfully taking the first step to warm up the atmosphere.
“And the most important thing is, I think Zhang Yue’s artistic literacy is lacking; I need to criticize him.” When Qi Shejiang reached this point, those who often listened to crosstalk understood that this was entering a segment of the performance.
“You see how poorly written the lyrics of his song ‘Autumn Water’ are,” Qi Shejiang said. “Is it really that bad? Why don’t you explain?
Qi Shejiang reached for the microphone, and at that moment, anyone familiar with the Guanshan Band, whether present or watching on screen, couldn’t help but think, “This is amazing!”
“The song goes like this: you count the thirty-nine leaves of the phoenix tree flying up over the green hills, only to find your face all red from drinking,” Qi Shejiang began to sing, and as soon as he opened his mouth, the audience couldn’t help but applaud.
As Qi Shejiang raised his voice, imitating Zhang Yue’s vocal position and singing techniques, he indeed captured some of the essence. Even Zhang Yue looked a bit surprised at him.
“There’s no issue here, but there’s still a line after—’No grass grows, the flying weed also drifts away with the wind,'” Qi Shejiang said after singing. “Now look, what’s going on here? Earlier it was green hills and phoenix leaves, how did we get to ‘no grass grows’? That shouldn’t be the green hills; it should be the yellow hills, right?”
“Now that you mention it… it really is,” Liu Qing replied. “But that’s how pop songs go; they are all about the rhymes. If you are concerned about logic, go listen to something else.”
Qi Shejiang replied, “No way; whatever I listen to, I can’t help but think about it.”
Just the other day, I was listening to Peking Opera, and I found contradictions there too.” That engaged the audience. Liu Qing asked, “Hey, that’s a national treasure; what contradictions did you notice?” Qi Shejiang thought for a moment and said, “In the classic piece sung by Master Mo Gan, ‘The Fourth Young Master Seeks His Mother,’ in that scene in the palace. The Fourth Young Master comes in and his first line is an introduction.” “How does it go?” Liu Qing asked, taking his time. Qi Shejiang slightly shook his head twice and immediately recited, “Jin Jing locks the phoenix tree, sighing emptily with a few gusts of wind—” Before the last note faded, the earlier restrained applause from the veteran opera enthusiasts was no longer contained; they clapped and shouted: “Wonderful!!” Mo Gan’s rendition of ‘The Fourth Young Master Seeks His Mother’ is distinctive, with a low, strong voice and a bright, robust high pitch, perfectly portraying the Fourth Young Master.
Despite Qi Shejiang’s somewhat Westernized appearance, in just this short line he not only resembled Mo Gan to a degree but fully captured the essence of his style. As soon as he opened his mouth, it was a complete sense of desolation and purity; his phrasing and enunciation were an impressive one-to-one restoration, capturing both form and spirit.
If there wasn’t applause at this moment, then when would there be?
Chapter Seventeen Was a single line enough to stun the veteran fans, making them call out in exhilaration? Clearly, it wasn’t enough. The audience continued to cheer, while the two on stage remained at ease. Liu Qing mirrored, “That’s how it goes. But what’s the problem?” Qi Shejiang explained, “The Fourth Young Master’s introduction has no issues on its own, but if you ponder the content—’Jin Jing locks the phoenix tree,’ by this line, we can infer that it was autumn then.” Liu Qing nodded, “Exactly.” Qi Shejiang continued, “But if you listen to what’s next, the Iron Mirror Princess sings those four lines in the Xipi tune, it falls flat.” He raised his voice and began to sing. The Iron Mirror Princess’s role requires excellent singing skills, and the rhythm in the Xipi tune poses high demands on the performer, needing to adapt to the emotional context of the lyrics, which calls for deep understanding by the performers.
