Chapter 254
As the only junior of the Ji family's fifth generation participating in the competition, the whole family wanted to go.
However, after being beaten up in Harbor City, Ji Yanting still had injuries on his face. He couldn't go out for fear of ruining his image.
Ji Jingchuan and Ji Zhouye were high school seniors and were ordered to stay home to do their homework.
Finally, it was Ji Zhiyuan who took the two elders, held Duoduo's hand, and of course, along with Sheng Qingyan, who was temporarily staying at the Ji family's house, to the concert hall. Sheng Ciyuan, the top student, stayed at home to tutor the boys with their homework.
The children participating in the piano competition were at most eight or nine years old, and the youngest were only four or five. They were all escorted by their entire families, making the backstage preparation area extremely bustling.
Rong Yu went in to help Duoduo change into her performance dress.
It was a sparkling dress. When worn, the gemstones scattered like stars, reflecting the lights from the ceiling in a dazzling display. Many children backstage looked at it with deep envy.
Duoduo leaned close to Rong Yu, feeling a little shy.
Suddenly, she felt a strong gaze—a very familiar, repulsive, and uncomfortable stare.
She turned her head and saw an old acquaintance, Lan Yue.
Lan Yue was also participating in the piano competition.
Standing beside Lan Rouxue, her eyes were glued to the dress on Duoduo. Such a beautiful dress, why couldn't it belong to her?
Lan Rouxue squeezed out a smile, "Miss Rong, what a coincidence."
Rong Yu reached out to adjust Duoduo's collar and said indifferently, "Not really a coincidence. After all, back then, Lan Yue only clamored to learn the piano because she saw Duoduo learning it, and the Ji family even paid the tuition."
"That's ancient history, what's there to talk about?" Lan Rouxue looked disdainful. "Miss Rong must have reaped quite a few benefits during your time with the Ji family, right? Look at your outfit, how many people in Sea City could compare?"
Rong Yu shook her head. "When the heart is dirty, everything one sees is dirty."
Lan Rouxue's face stiffened.
Recently, she had scrolled past news about Rong Yu countless times.
Rong Yu had become the spokesperson for China's aerospace industry.
Rong Yu represented the country and won a global gold medal in physics.
Rong Yu risked her life to expose the dark secrets of Li Medical...
Each and every one of these achievements was not something an ordinary person could do.
She seemed to faintly understand why Old Master Ji valued Rong Yu so much.
But even so, she couldn't stand Rong Yu appearing before her with such a lofty posture; it made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.
"Children, the competition is about to start," a staff member walked in. "Parents can go to the audience seats now. Please come back here to pick up your children after the performance."
Rong Yu squatted down and instructed, "Duoduo, stick closely to the teacher, and don't talk to Lan Yue alone. If anything happens, use your smartwatch to call Auntie."
Duoduo nodded obediently. "I'm not afraid of Lan Yue anymore, Auntie, don't worry."
In the past, her father favored Lan Yue, and she was afraid of making him unhappy, so she feared being alone with Lan Yue.
But now, her father was no longer the same father he used to be.
With her family unconditionally spoiling and protecting her, she had nothing to fear.
Rong Yu waited until Lan Rouxue left the backstage before stepping out herself, making sure to ask the teacher to pay extra attention to Duoduo.
Lan Rouxue's gaze swept quickly across the audience.
But she only saw Old Master Ji, not Ji Zhiyuan.
The corners of her lips curled into a mocking smile.
Even without Little Yue, Ji Zhiyuan still didn't value his daughter, Duoduo.
And here she thought their father-daughter bond was so deep...
Just as she was thinking this.
A figure walked in through the entrance of the auditorium. Even against the light, she could recognize that it was Ji Zhiyuan.
Only this man possessed such a tall stature and such handsome contours.
After breaking up with him, her days had grown worse by the day. She wanted to get back together so badly, but she couldn't even get into the Ji Corporation building.
It just so happened there was a piano competition, and knowing Duoduo met the requirements, she signed Little Yue up too, all for the sake of a chance encounter.
However, Lan Rouxue had barely taken a step forward when she saw there was actually a woman beside Ji Zhiyuan.
The woman was dressed sharply, with a gentle face and a spark in her eyes, looking very much like the woman who had walked down the aisle with Ji Zhiyuan all those years ago.
But didn't Ji Zhiyuan dislike Ke Man?
Why would he be with a woman who looked so much like Ke Man?
While Lan Rouxue's thoughts were running wild.
Ji Zhiyuan had already taken his seat with Wen Yan, right next to Rong Yu, Old Master Ji, and Sheng Qingyan.
Sheng Qingyan had probably never been in an enclosed space with so many people before and seemed a bit uneasy. He instinctively tightened his grip on Rong Yu's hand.
Rong Yu squeezed his hand back. "Don't be afraid."
Old Master Ji's eyebrow twitched.
He then pinched the bridge of his nose. Forget it, let it be, he accepted it.
Piano music soon rang out in the concert hall as the participating children took the stage one by one.
"Duoduo is on stage," Old Master Ji beamed. "Our little girl is dressed so beautifully today, she will definitely win first place!"
Ji Zhiyuan spoke up, "It's the participation that counts. What place she gets doesn't matter."
Wen Yan stared intently at the sparkling little figure on the stage, her eyes full of tenderness. She took out her phone, found the right angles, and snapped photos.
Under the soft stage lights, Duoduo, wearing her little white dress, walked gracefully to the piano. She took a deep breath, gently placed her small hands on the keys, and began to play her piece.
As her tiny fingers pressed the first key, it was like a star quietly lighting up the night sky. The single notes in the high register danced crisply, while the occasional chords in the lower register sounded just like a mother's gentle voice.
Wen Yan's hand suddenly paused.
She could hear Duoduo's longing for a mother in this melody.
A child who grew up without a mother, who didn't know what having a mother felt like, could still play this piece with such profound emotion.
Wen Yan's eyes instantly turned red.
A tissue was handed to her from the side. She took it and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, President Ji."
Rong Yu was also handing a tissue to her old son. "Look at you, what are you crying for?"
Such a cheerful tune, yet this old boy was crying along. He was really becoming more and more of a crybaby.
Old Master Ji said in a muffled voice, "My heart aches for Duoduo. This child has been without a mother since she was little, and her father always took an outsider's side. It's too pitiful."
Rong Yu didn't know what to say, so she gently patted his back to comfort him.
Before long, Duoduo's performance ended, and next up was Lan Yue.
Old Master Ji frowned. "I'm not watching anymore. Let's go to the backstage to pick up Duoduo."
Rong Yu helped him up. "Move quietly, don't disturb the others."
At the same time, she pulled up Sheng Qingyan on the other side. "Let's go."
Ji Zhiyuan also felt there was no point in staying and asked for Wen Yan's opinion.
The one thing Wen Yan wanted to do most right now was to give little Duoduo a tight hug, so naturally, she left the audience seats with them.
The group walked to the backstage area.
A group of children who had finished their performances were playing games there.
Ji Zhiyuan stepped forward. "Teacher, please ask Ji Zhiyi to come out."
The person in charge was taken aback for a moment and said, "Ji Zhiyi was just picked up by her family, barely three minutes ago."
A bad premonition arose in Ji Zhiyuan's heart, and his face darkened. "Who picked her up?"