125: If you love someone, then fight to the bitter end!

At the conference center on the top floor of the Yiyuan Building,

a calm before the storm and a sense of restlessness hung in the air.

The small opera hall, which was originally meant to hold five hundred people, was now packed even in the aisles.

Several faces, distorted from being pressed against the glass, were visible through the back door's windows;

they were all students from the ordinary classes who had come after hearing the news.

As the stirring "Radetzky March" began to play leisurely,

the doors of the conference center were slowly pushed open by two students acting as ushers.

The original buzzing sound of whispered conversations

instantly turned into a uniform gaze of attention the moment the line of figures appeared at the doorway.

The spotlights, as if rehearsed long ago, hit the doorway with precision.

Minister Zheng Songxue, walking at the very front, clearly enjoyed this moment of being the center of attention.

His steps became steadier, and the aura of authority that came with his administrative jacket was on full display.

Principal Jiang Changfeng followed half a step behind him,

his face wearing the humility and pride unique to a host as he walked while gesturing sideways to lead the way.

"Clap—"

The applause rang out.

Although it was clearly "ceremonial applause" that had been forced,

the sheer number of people made it sound quite impressive.

Lin Que, mixed in at the very back of the volunteer team, tried his best to shrink into the shadows.

In such an occasion, just the high-powered spotlights baking his face was uncomfortable enough;

he didn't want to steal the spotlight from the leaders.

The group walked along the red-carpeted side aisle toward the rostrum.

As they passed the audience, Lin Que could clearly feel that

those originally dull gazes instantly became burning hot when they swept over the cream-white figure in the middle of the group.

"Look! It really is Ye Xi!"

"She has even more presence in person than in her photos!"

"Those legs... those proportions... compared to her, I feel like I was just grown to make up the numbers."

The discussions were kept very low, but when gathered together,

they were like boiling water, bubbling and gurgling over.

They took their seats, tested the microphones, and the process went smoothly.

First was Principal Jiang Changfeng's welcoming speech,

which was full of clichés like "gracing us with your presence" and "strong support."

The applause from the audience was sparse;

many students had already started looking down to play with their fingers or secretly pass notes.

Next was Minister Zheng Songxue's speech.

This leader had clearly come prepared, speaking from the macro layout of art education in the province to the future prospects of quality-oriented education.

Minister Zheng spoke from macro-control to future prospects;

every sentence seemed to be copy-pasted from a document,

and even the rhythm of his pauses sounded like he was chanting a sutra.

Following him, Professor Yu Yan took the microphone, and as soon as he opened his mouth, a string of unintelligible acoustic terminology came out.

A boy in the front row, who had originally been sitting upright,

started nodding his head like a chicken pecking at rice.

Until the host read out that name.

"Next, let us welcome with warm applause our special guest for this exchange,

the internationally renowned young pianist, Ye Xi,

to come to the stage and speak!"

"Boom—"

This time, the Dean of Students didn't need to give any signals.

Thunderous applause filled the hall, the noise more than five times louder than before.

A few boys in the back row even couldn't help but whistle,

only to be glared back into silence by Fei Yuncheng.

Ye Xi stood up.

She had taken off her warm overcoat, revealing a well-tailored little black dress underneath, which made her whole person look radiantly white.

She walked gracefully to the standing microphone.

The light hit her face, and in that moment, the smile on her face was impeccable.

It had both the aloofness of an artist and the friendliness of a peer.

The restlessness in the audience instantly subsided, and everyone held their breath,

waiting to hear what profound artistic insights this genius girl would share.

"Hello everyone, I am Ye Xi."

Her voice was clear, spreading to every corner of the auditorium through the speakers.

"Actually, standing here, I'm quite nervous."

Ye Xi tilted her head slightly.

"Before coming, I prepared a very long speech about how to practice the piano and how to compete."

Ye Xi held a folded piece of letter paper in her hand but did not open it, instead placing it gently to the side.

"But just now in the car, I changed my mind."

The audience was silent, everyone staring at her.

"Just now, Minister Zheng and Principal Jiang spoke a lot about the grand significance of art."

Ye Xi's fingers rested lightly on the microphone stand, her tone becoming a bit more casual.

"Then I won't talk about big principles; let's chat about some personal feelings."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the slightly tired faces in the audience.

"I know everyone is very tired.

Every day, you're swept forward by test papers, rankings, and scores, like machines with pre-set programs.

Sometimes I'm the same; practicing the piano until my fingers cramp,

I also wonder when this kind of life will end."

The whole hall was terrifyingly quiet.

Hearing such words from the mouth of a "genius" shrouded in glory created a strange sense of resonance.

"Many people tell me to persevere, to follow the rules, and to endure for that bright future."

Ye Xi's voice softened, carrying a unique magnetic quality.

"But just recently, I saw a sentence in a book that deeply touched me."

Standing behind the curtain, Lin Que's eyebrows shot up.

Ye Xi slightly raised her chin, her eyes becoming exceptionally bright as she said each word clearly:

"The book says: Rules are dead, but faith is alive."

As soon as these words were spoken,

the originally quiet crowd below was like a bomb had been dropped.

That was in the latest chapter of 'soul ferry', 'ghost detective',

what Zhao Li said to the ghost A-Zhe who was obsessed with investigating a case; it was the strongest counterattack against rigid rules.

"Holy crap..."

A student in the back row couldn't help but exclaim.

Immediately after, whispers surged through the audience like an electric current.

"She watches 'soul ferry' too?"

"Oh my god! Goddess Ye Xi is actually a fan of Dream Weaver's books too?"

"I copied that sentence into my notebook too! That's my motto!"

The original gap between the "high and mighty artist" and the "miserable high school students"

vanished without a trace in an instant because of this one sentence.

Ye Xi didn't seem to hear the commotion below as she continued:

"Whether we study art or academic subjects,

those restrictive rules shouldn't be the shackles that bind us.

True passion should be like the... the protagonist in that story,

even across life and death, one must hold onto their inner justice and warmth."

She didn't name the book, nor did she mention the name "Dream Weaver."

But most of the students present understood.

This was a tacit understanding that belonged only to young people.

Like a secret code, one line of dialogue confirmed that everyone was from the same world.

"So, no matter how tired you are, don't forget to keep a light in your heart."

Ye Xi smiled, this time her smile had a bit more sincere mischief.

"Just like that convenience store that's always lit, warm yourself and illuminate others."

"If you don't love, please don't hurt. But if you do love, then please stick to it to the end."

Ye Xi took half a step back and bowed slightly.

"Thank you, everyone."

"Clap—!!!"

This time, the applause was no longer ceremonial,

but carried a sense of near-fanatical identification.

Some people even stood up in excitement, clapping wildly.

Minister Zheng Songxue and Professor Yu Yan, sitting in the first row, also clapped, with approving smiles on their faces.

"Well said."

Minister Zheng nodded.

"This child's awareness is higher than many adults."

While clapping, Principal Jiang Changfeng leaned over and whispered to Minister Zheng:

"She was trained in Jinling after all; her ideological awareness is just that high.

'Rules are dead, faith is alive'—this phrase is full of dialectical thinking,

it sounds like it has a foundation in Western philosophy."

Minister Zheng also nodded in deep agreement:

"Although I haven't heard the source, it's deafening, truly deafening!"

Behind them, Lin Que bit his lip hard to keep himself from laughing out loud.

Ye Xi slowly stood straight, maintaining her elegant posture, and was just about to...

was about to walk off the rostrum amidst the thunderous applause.

"Wait a minute!"

At that moment.

In the corner of the first row,

a middle-aged female teacher wearing thick-lensed glasses stood up,

her finger trembling as she pointed at Ye Xi on the stage.

"This isn't some philosophical quote at all!

Student Ye Xi, as a special guest for the provincial art exchange,

in such a serious occasion, you cite the ghostly nonsense from a horror novel as faith!

Is this... appropriate?!"

...