Chen Lili was startled. How was this possible?
“They actually dared to go that far?”
Li Yang would never swallow her grievances in silence—especially since this was a serious matter.
“Alright, calm yourself and prepare for the upcoming performances. After the show, I’ll question them one by one.”
Chen Lili left with a stern expression.
With Jiang Xue’s help, Li Yang changed into the red dress she had previously used for the water-sleeve dance. She tore the long flowing sleeves into strips and had Jiang Xue help wrap and tighten them into a neat, close-fitting martial arts style.
Jiang Xue couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
“Yang, how does your brain even work? After this change, the dress looks completely different!”
“You’re so good at altering clothes. From now on, I’ll give you all my old outfits to turn into ‘new’ ones.”
Li Yang shot her a cool glance, making Jiang Xue laugh awkwardly.
At this time, performance formats were still quite limited. To make the showcase more grand, they had to add more acts to fill the schedule.
The solo performances Li Yang submitted had all been approved by Jiang Nianxin and were among the most novel and outstanding in the entire show.
This was an era of revival and flourishing creativity. Jiang Nianxin was forward-thinking, not bound by tradition, willing to use newcomers, and good at recognizing new forms of art.
What she didn’t know was that this very Northwest showcase would later be made into CDs and gradually spread far and wide.
In the end, it would make the Nancheng Art Troupe extremely popular. The girls would learn Li Yang’s classical songs and sword dance, receiving endless performance invitations.
But that was a story for later.
For now, the girls were performing nonstop. Even Jiang Xue teamed up with a few singers to perform a humorous duet, drawing waves of laughter from the audience.
Then it was Li Yang’s turn.
Dressed in a sharp red outfit, her dark hair tied back with a wooden hairpin, she wore light makeup styled like a young swordsman.
She strode onto the stage and performed a bold martial salute.
The audience responded with enthusiastic applause.
To prepare for this act, Li Yang had coordinated multiple times with Chen Lili, arranging for several musicians to rehearse intensively for accompaniment.
Thus, when the powerful and intense prelude of Ambush from Ten Sides began, the audience fell silent, as if transported to an ancient martial arts arena.
Li Yang drew the long sword hidden behind her back and began her performance.
The audience was stunned.
They had never seen such a beautiful sword dance before.
Even the troupe members—had they not already seen her rehearse countless times—might have been just as amazed.
Hearing the waves of applause from the front, Li Yao and Cheng Miaoxin couldn’t help but sneak into the waiting area, staring intensely at Li Yang shining on stage.
“How is this possible?”
They had tampered with many aspects of her performance.
The black fitted outfit she had prepared had been damaged the most—almost reduced to rags.
Li Yao clenched her fists tightly.
How could Li Yang be so lucky, avoiding every trap they had carefully set?
Then again, who could have expected her to modify her costume?
Li Yao understood that it would be impossible to bring Li Yang down tonight.
Her final act was supposed to be an accordion performance—and Li Yang had never practiced it in front of others.
The troupe had previously ordered an accordion from the capital. Usually, only piano teachers used it.
Since Li Yang could play the piano, she could naturally play the accordion as well.
Because the piano was difficult to transport, Chen Lili had specially approved bringing the accordion.
It was expensive and usually kept carefully by Li Meng from Group Two, so they had no chance to tamper with it.
They also didn’t dare risk damaging troupe property outright.
Cheng Miaoxin glared coldly at Li Yao before leaving with Li Mei.
“This was all your stupid idea!”
Otherwise, she would have been the star of the night.
Li Yao remained silent.
Arguing now would only expose weaknesses. Cheng Miaoxin was short-sighted—only caring about immediate satisfaction.
Li Yao decided she would be more cautious in the future and never rely on someone like her again.
Li Yang, unaware of their schemes, had no more performances for the moment. She rested, waiting for the final act.
Half an hour later, she changed back into a green military uniform and walked onto the stage with an accordion on her back.
There was only a chair on stage—nothing else.
She glanced at the standing microphone.
As expected, the power cable had been unplugged.
This time, the saboteur had gone further—throwing the cable far away so no one would notice from the audience or backstage.
From their angle, it looked perfectly normal.
This time, Cheng Miaoxin had instructed another girl to do it.
Seeing such petty tricks, Li Yang smiled disdainfully.
Fortunately, she had her own advantage.
She activated her small portable microphone device.
Standing straight, she saluted the audience, her voice clear and firm through the speakers.
“Comrades, it is an honor to come to the Northwest Military Region and stand with you in defending our homeland. Next is the final performance of today.”
She paused, her tone turning playful and light.
“This last performance is a bit different. I want to teach everyone a song. It was created by many predecessors, and it’s called The Motherland Will Not Forget.”
The soldiers below grew excited at the idea of participating.
“You’ll understand its meaning once you learn it—I’ll keep it a surprise for now.”
Li Yang also took the chance to promote her troupe.
“The Nancheng Art Troupe wishes all soldiers good health and happiness for your families.”
“Next, I’ll sing one line, and you repeat after me.”
Chen Lili hadn’t expected this interactive performance. Her instincts told her this moment would be powerful and worth recording.
She quickly directed the cameramen—keeping the main camera on Li Yang while the others moved to capture the massive crowd and the interaction.
Li Yang sat down with the accordion, her voice carrying to every corner.
After playing the intro, her clear and steady singing rang out:
“Among the vast sea of people…”
After each line, she played the accordion again to guide the soldiers.
At first, everyone followed along enthusiastically.
But as the lyrics continued, something shifted.
One line after another—
Gradually, eyes reddened.
And before they knew it, many were choking up, unable to hold back their emotions.