The concert had already begun, and on stage, Xia Yiwei was performing. Qi Shejiang sat with Li Jing in the VIP section, and only a few surrounding audience members recognized him. Halfway through the program, Xia Yiwei suddenly said, “Actually, today, my son Jesse is also in the audience.” In the three seconds that followed her statement, the fans at the scene responded with enthusiastic reactions. She smiled and said, “Thank you, I believe many of you already know that Jesse has another name, which is Qi Shejiang.” At that moment, the live director also turned the camera towards Qi Shejiang; he appeared on the big screen, revealing his thick eyelashes as they fell like half-closed eyes, stunning the audience. The fans started screaming, half because he was the goddess’s son, and half because Qi Shejiang had a face that made people want to scream. He was in casual attire, without any embellishments, but his features were already pleasing to the eye. Xia Yiwei beamed, “The next song is an old ballad, released just the year Jesse was born, so I want to invite him up here to perform with me. I hope everyone can support him with applause, just like you support me.”
She simply couldn’t hold back and wanted to immediately recommend her son to everyone. Xia Yiwei turned expectantly to her son. Qi Shejiang: “……” It wasn’t that he had suddenly changed his mind and didn’t want Xia Yiwei’s help anymore, but rather… how could he sing his mom’s classic songs!?
However, the applause had already begun, and the staff brought another microphone. No one considered this question; how could Qi Shejiang possibly not know how to sing his mother’s classic hits?
Qi Shejiang encountered many accidents in his professional career, but this was truly the first of its kind. He slowly calmed down, thinking about how to break the awkward situation while walking up to the stage.
His gaze scanned the area and landed on the live band; tonight, there were not only Western instruments but also traditional instruments like pipa, sanxian, and erhu. Qi Shejiang could play the sanxian, and since Xia Yiwei had only mentioned performing together without specifying it would be a duet, he pondered whether he could play a sanxian piece to navigate through this.
He realized he needed to interrupt Xia Yiwei’s dialogue and take control of the scene. This was part of Qi Shejiang’s expertise; even before stepping onto the stage, he had already raised the microphone, ready to speak—
The teleprompter displayed the name of the next song and the first few lines of lyrics: “He Bi Xi Xiang.”
“
At the same time, Xia Yiwei asked, “Is there a young person in the audience who can sing this song? It’s an old song from traditional Chinese themes.”
In that instant, Qi Shejiang changed his mind!
From the song title and lyrics, he recognized it as rooted in an ancient Chinese novel of the same name. “He Bi Xi Xiang,” also known as “Mei Hua Meng,” originally took the form of a storytelling novel, later appearing in various traditional performances.
Qi Shejiang couldn’t sing Xia Yiwei’s version of “He Bi Xi Xiang,” but as a crosstalk performer, he was like a general store, needing to learn and master everything.
Let’s put it this way: he could learn and sing all the versions of “He Bi Xi Xiang,” including in storytelling, drum tunes, Beijing opera, and Henan quyi, among others!
Thinking this through, Qi Shejiang found himself right in front of Xia Yiwei, who took his hand and smiled.
When the prelude began, Qi Shejiang recognized the shadows of a drum tune within it, which gave him more confidence.
Drum tunes refer to a genre of folk arts comprised of many styles, including Jingyun Dagu, Meihua Dagu, Handeng Dagu, Henan Zhuizi, Shandong Qinshi, and so forth.
Having been in the entertainment industry for years, Xia Yiwei felt at ease on stage and said, “Come a little closer, don’t hide! Now everyone knows we’re mother and son.”
A crosstalk performer could never let a comment fall to the ground. With quick reflexes, Qi Shejiang shot back, “If we stand too close, I’m afraid we’ll both break!”
The audience below took two seconds to react, bursting into laughter. Qi Shejiang’s words clearly implied that the media playfully referred to them as a vase couple, suggesting that two vases shouldn’t be too close together to avoid breaking.
Xia Yiwei didn’t expect Qi Shejiang to pick up her cue and make a joke, but there was no time for her to think further; they had to start singing: “I must have cultivated the plum blossom body for many lifetimes, sharing clear breezes and drinking myriad cups. Casually observing life and death, while deeply valuing wine, the world and the rivers and mountains are a shared journey…”
As soon as she began singing, it all carried the flavor of pop music, with the accompaniment and lyrics reflecting traditional material, which was not surprising.
The fans in the audience didn’t care what others said about Qi Shejiang.
They were fans of Xia Yiwei, and even if Qi Shejiang’s singing wasn’t up to par, it didn’t matter; the song’s significance lay in Xia Yiwei’s duet with Jesse.
Thus, the enthusiastic audience were well-aware and hadn’t anticipated a divine live performance.
But not expecting perfection was one thing; it was another for Qi Shejiang not to sing.
What looked like a duet actually had Qi Shejiang and Xia Yiwei holding hands, with Xia Yiwei glancing at Qi Shejiang, but Qi Shejiang showed no signs of opening his mouth.
Since it hadn’t been announced that there would be such a guest, they couldn’t be sure if it was all planned this way. If it was indeed arranged like this, with Xia Yiwei nearing the chorus and Qi Shejiang still not speaking?
“Isn’t it a dream of love in the sky and earth, waking to an endless world, why must the heart be startled in the West Chamber? The storytelling recast the plum blossom dream, falling to the memories of a rendezvous on a painted boat…” Xia Yiwei had just finished the chorus and she seemed a bit surprised.
Several times earlier, she had wanted to stop and let Qi Shejiang sing, but he showed no intention of doing so, not even lifting the microphone; she could only continue on her own.
During the instrumental break, only the sounds of the sanxian, erhu, and other instruments remained.
At this moment, Qi Shejiang finally spoke.
Thus, the audience saw from the big screen that Qi Shejiang finally took the microphone up, appearing composed, and began to sing: “Paper window, plum shadow with the moon rising, half a couch of remnants by a blue lamp. At this moment, I almost doubt that I have transformed into a butterfly, while Yanfu Ao sends a feather light.”
In an instant, he overwhelmed the sound of the instruments.
His clear voice and melody filled with traditional flavors were integrated with the accompaniment of sanxian and erhu, instantly pulling people back to a century ago in ancient China.
Thousands of audience members were stunned.
Xia Yiwei was stunned.
The musicians invited from the provincial quyi troupe, playing sanxian, pipa, and other instruments, were also stunned!
…
“This singing has quite a charm… isn’t this song derived from traditional folk arts?”
”
“Right, this part added was also well done!”
Moreover, they had low expectations, even if they didn’t understand folk arts.
