Capítulo 22: KEYBOARDIST

Keyboardist: a musician who plays any instrument with a keyboard.

◇

At the Backstage, Shenshi became increasingly uneasy. The sole reason for that feeling was because Yuan Boqin had not shown his inattentive face until this moment. The figure was nowhere to be seen, and he couldn't even be contacted.

Ren Weisheng's face was already flushed with anger. In his heart, he thought of the best way to chop off Yuan Boqin's small head and make it a basketball.

The panic of the four Shenshi members intensified after THE PRODIGY finished singing Imagine Dragons' Shots. It was their second song, and finally, they completed their responsibility today. Shenshi had to replace them on stage after this.

THE PRODIGY members returned backstage one by one after they managed to burn the mini-concert area with their awesome performance. The success of THE PRODIGY inevitably became an additional burden on the shoulders of Shenshi members. That was a bad effect when you have to perform right after your rival. THE PRODIGY did well, and that gave them more pressure.

The pressure for Shenshi was getting bigger when the host asked them to get on stage immediately. They had no other choice but to hurry up to the stage.

With a sense of uncertainty, the four Shenshi members began to take up their respective positions, leaving an empty keyboard on the side. After Zhong Hai greeted the audience for a moment, they finally started performing their first song.

Meanwhile, at a different place, Yang Liu and Fang Xing could already breathe a sigh of relief after they did the amazing performance. Fang Xing asked Yang Liu to go somewhere to eat, but Yang Liu refused. The tall student insisted on going to the front of the stage to watch the performances of the other performers. Relenting, Fang Xing ended up accompanying his friend.

"Their performance is terrible, right? Is it because they lack a member that they cannot focus?" Fang Xing commented on Shenshi, that was currently performing a song called "The Same" by the Taiwanese band Accusefive.

What the tan-skinned guy said was true. Shenshi's performance sounded out of sync. Ren Weisheng's drumming did not match the tempo several times, Chen Guangli's guitar playing was out of tune, and Zhong Hai's singing also sounded out of tune more than three times. In such conditions, surprisingly Huang Bo played his bass well.

The audience in front of the stage was also frowning as they watched the performance. Some even closed their ears to block their hearing senses from the bad sound. Some also left the stage while shaking their heads. Their performance was indeed terrible.

"After this, they will perform Jay Chou's song. They can't perform well if there is no keyboard player, especially if the song they will be performing is Won't Cry, which is originally accompanied by a piano right from the start." Fang Xing continued to sneer as if forgetting that his lover was part of the band that he had been talking badly.

But, Fang Xing's random guess was indeed accurate. Shenshi's members looked very panicked after they finished their first song. They looked at each other, wondering what they would do without a keyboard player for their next song.

When Shenshi was so desperate on the stage, a figure of a tall guy suddenly climbed up to the stage, and then took a position behind the keyboard that had been empty before. The handsome guy who wore a white long-sleeved shirt combined with black jeans managed to surprise the audience. It wasn't just the audience that was surprised, but the Shenshi's members themselves looked very shocked as well.

"The guy is not Yuan Boqin, right?" Fang Xing asked as his eyes continued to squint toward the mysterious guy on stage. "He is the new kid, isn't he?" He suddenly screamed as soon as he recognized the mysterious figure that successfully attracted people's attention.

Yang Liu was still silent beside Fang Xing, but his eyes were fixed on the mysterious figure who was now pressing the keyboard keys for the intro of Jay Chou's "Won't Cry." Fang Xing's guess was right about the song.

And, the tan-skinned guy was also right about his other guess. Yes, he was right that the mysterious guy on the stage was the new student, Zhou Yongliang.

"Amazing! That kid can play the keyboard too? And, he played it so well, even better than the Yuan Boqin kid! I think your title as the number 1 keyboardist in school will be in danger, Yang Liu."

Yang Liu remained unfazed. His eyes were still focused on Zhou Yongliang, who was shrewdly moving ten fingers on the keyboard keys. That expression looked perfect as if it merged with the musical instrument in front of him. His ears seemed to mute the screams and cheers of the audience and only concentrated on the black keyboard he was playing. He looked like a professional, his play bewitched all the people in that place.

The perfect playing seemed to be able to lead Shenshi members to perform beautifully even though they were very messy in the previous song. How much impact would Zhou Yongliang have on many people?

The song continued as the beautiful melody kept soothing the ears. It was a popular song, so the audience could easily sing along with the singer. Many audiences, who left earlier, came back to the stage to enjoy their performance. They even raised their hands and swayed their bodies following the melody. The atmosphere completely changed because of their performance. Shenshi hit a big success in the end.

They performed the song for about four minutes, and they were welcomed by loud applause after they ended the song. All Shenshi's members bowed to the audience before they left the stage.

They went back to the backstage and gathered in one of the backstage corners, occupying several seats provided by the committee. Four pairs of eyes narrowed sharply in one direction. The owners of the eyes gave a look that seemed to want to skin someone who had only been wearing an innocent expression. The certain someone didn't seem to be perturbed at all.

"Zhou Yongliang, why didn't you tell us that you can play the keyboard? You didn't just randomly play it, but you were very good at it!" Zhong Hai was the first to break the silence. His tone sounded cheerful even though his eyes still had a little bit of annoyance. Yeah, he was annoyed because Zhou Yongliang seemed to want to prank them today.

"Sorry, gege. I wanted to say about that two weeks ago, but Weisheng gege interrupted me," Zhou Yongliang innocently answered as he glanced at the chubby-cheeked guy.

"But, you can say it at other times, Zhou Yongliang! You almost made us die from a heart attack today!" Ren Weisheng finally exploded. He was like a ticking time bomb that waited for the right moment before exploding violently. Thankfully, it was only a small explosion this time.

"Don't be too harsh on Liangliang, Ren Weisheng," Chen Guangli intervened as he eyed at Ren Weisheng. He then turned to Zhou Yongliang and asked, "Now, explain to us, Liangliang. How could you play the keyboard so well?"

"I didn't play that well, Guangli," Zhou Yongliang defended himself, and the four boys rolled their eyeballs at the denial. "Our village head owned a piano, and he allowed all the children in the village to play it. He even hired a professional teacher to teach the children. That was probably ten years ago when I was still a little boy. The teacher only taught for five years or so, but even without a teacher, I still played the piano there until I grew up. I was hesitant to tell you about that because I'm more familiar with piano than the keyboard."

The four boys were stunned after they heard Zhou Yongliang's explanation. So, Zhou Yongliang had been learning how to play piano since he was 7? He had been learning for ten years? No wonder his skill was incredible.

"Zhou Yongliang is so innocent! The piano and the keyboard are similar, right? If you can play the piano, then you should be able to play the keyboard!" Huang Bo acted like an adult who scolded a kid.

The piano and keyboard were alike, but not identical. There were some differences between the two instruments, but the easiest to see were the shape, size, and number of keys that the two had. The keyboard only had several 61 or 76 keys, but the piano range was wider at 88 keys. The piano keys were louder, which was very good for players to master the fingering technique well compared to using a keyboard whose keys were much lighter.

"Never mind, just forget about the issue earlier," Zhong Hai chimed in. "The important thing is we performed so well with our second song thanks to Yongliang."

Everyone nodded at Zhong Hai's statement.

Ren Weisheng, who had made a mini-explosion earlier, now hugged Zhou Yongliang tightly. "You have to join us! I won't accept any objection! You are a part of Shenshi now!"

Chen Guangli didn't want to be left behind, and he also hugged Zhou Yongliang from the other side. "Right!" He shrieked excitedly. "It doesn't matter if you want us to change Shenshi's name as long as you join us!"

Zhou Yongliang chuckled lightly before answering, "Why do you have to change the band's name, Guangli? I like the name Shenshi. Shenshi is a good name, after all."

The four guys facepalmed hearing Zhou Yongliang's response.

They didn't realize that there was a guy who looked at them with a gaze full of hatred.