Chasing You (Arc 8+)

Everlasting Melody (XX)

A/N: I don't know much about writing about music and found it hard to try and express what I want with words... But I didn't want to bs things so I tried. Thank you guys and enjoy~

Last one... Until I finish EoS... Thank you for reading, voting, and reading.

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The first contestant to go was a young man from the opposing school. He played is piece fluidly, his fingers running across the strings as if he had been born with the gift. A melancholic sounds swept through the room and made many of the audiences sigh in regret. It brought out feelings of sadness and a deep craze. A piece that had been composed at the musician's death bed, they wrote their regrets and how they had love their lost one due to their ego and pride; a lifetime loss due to one mistake.

When they finished loud applauses broke through the crowd. The judges did not show any reaction on their face. They just nodded at each other, occasionally communicating very softly so that no one else but the person they were talking to cold hear them, and marking down on the piece of paper before them.

The next performance after belonged to Ruan Canghai. He stood on stage with a elegant stature, lifting the violin and placing his chin on the chin rest. He slowly started stroking the strings with the bow. A gentle whisper kissed the audience's ears, many of the audiences had goosebumps on their arms, while others had sat up straight. Their attention was drawn to the delicate sounds, it reminded many of the old timers of the war. How peaceful life had been before blood had been forcefully shed.

The tune continued to convey pictures to the crowd. From a picture of home, to the barracks of the army. The difficult training that the soldiers had to go through, the march of their feet pounded along with their heartbeats as they made their way to the battlefield. From the sounds of chaos and helplessness, they watch their comrades die one by one.

A sudden turn as the sounds emitted from the violin became more heroic, showing that through the desperation, they never gave up and fought for their homeland. Their perseverance proved to be able to shelter the hardest rains and snow as they returned victorious from the war. Uplifting and bright sounds coarsed through the air, jubilation of their victory. Pictures of happy faces filled with joy and pride filled everyone's' mind.

Lowering his hands, the song came to an end and Ruan Canghai took a bow. Those who were touched by the song stood up and clapped, their eyes reddened. This time the judges showed a prideful smile on their faces as they conversed with one another.

At the backstage, Ruan Canghai saw his best friend and his enemy waiting. He walked over and clapped his hand on their shoulder, "Break a leg."

Song WuYou raised an eyebrow, "I think you should for me, Canghai."

This made the other stop in their steps and suddenly laugh, "Haha. Too bad, WuYou. I need them for when I go accept the award for first place."

They shook their head as they walked back to their seat and sat down. The only person worthy of being his opponent was Song WuYou and no one else. A familiar figure walked up to him with a bouquet of roses, "Here you go, Ah Hai."

Surprised, Ruan CangHai scrunched up his brows, "Ah Hua?"

Jian ChaHua giggled, "Who else but me, would even have the courage to go up to you, Ah Hai?"

Ruan CangHai smiled and took the flowers, taking a breath of their faint fragrance, "Thank you, Ah Hua."

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At the front stage, Song WuYou glanced at the crowd. His noble and cool idiosyncrasy alone had already set him aside from the two previous recitals just with a look. With deft movements, he placed the violin on his shoulder. The first strike of his bow hitting the strings, brought out the vast green hills and the towering waterfalls.

A tranquil ambiance filtered the air and the audience couldn't help but become immersed in the scene. It was as if they could smell the fresh uncontaminated air and feel the slightly cool breeze brush past them. The scenery suddenly changed, a town could be seen bustling with life. Men and women dressed in traditional robes walked the streets.

Paddys of rice, fields of livestock, and the call of the rooster; the live of a peasant farmer. Candles surrounded by gold, fragrances of flowers, and an empowering son of the heavens, the imperial palace. Pounds of the horses' hooves, the smell of metallic, and the sparks of sword and spears clashing; the warriors of Huaxia¹. Eaves sheltering the rain, sunshine, and snow, a change in times. Each scenery was painted vividly in their minds as if they had experienced it themselves.

With each stroke, Song WuYou lead the audience on a journey. From the primadoral times of the country, to the ancient mountains of Kulun, to the industrial streets, and finally to where they currently stand in the modern time. He did not forget to showcase the difficulties in each period of time, war, famine, and illness. Building slowly to demonstrate just how far they had come, 5,000 years worth of rich history in their lands.

When the song ended, the hall fell into silence. Song WuYou bowed with grace, before walking off stage. Even after the melody had long gone silent, they were still entrapped in the visions they saw.

The first to stand and clap was Han Xinya², and then one by one, everyone in the hall stood up and started clapping clangorous. All of them brimming with pride.

Han Xinya is a veteran in the music industry and is highly revered as one of the greatest musicians. This year he took part as a judge for the competition. Never did he think that he would see an even greater performance than the one before. Ruan Canghai's performance, stirred his emotions and fighting spirit as he had lived through the harsh war times. But upon hearing Song WuYou's it brought out his soul, his pride for as a citizen of Huaxia.

Han Xinya held only praises for the two geniuses, as they were rare gems, but in his heart, there was a clear winner of this competition already. Unless someone possessed hands of Han XianZi³, anyone who played after would seem bleak. He was not the only one who thought of this, many of the judges and other violists had as well. But this did not discourage the musicians that had yet to play, they were nervous of course but they came here to show off their talent. Even if they did not win, they could possibly get noticed by someone else.

Entering the backstage area, Song WuYou was soon surrounded by his peers. He swept his eyes around the area but did not see the one person he wanted. A frown appeared on his face. He had felt their soul here at the venue... But where were they?

A foreboding feeling filled his heart and he quickly got away from the swarm of admirers. Opening the door to the outside, Song WuYou took out his cell phone and dialed He LiGe's number. Placing it next to his ears, his heart loudly thumped in his chest.

*Bbrr... brrr...*

*Click*

"I'm sorry. The number that you have dialed is currently not available. Please try again later."

Song WuYou's hand shook but he re-dialed once again only to get the same answer. He undid the first two buttons of his shirt in irritation and pressed on Tan Bingyi's number. Only the sound of the phone ringing could be heard. Just as the prompt was about to repeated, Song WuYou cut off the call. He ran his hands through his hair and slicked it back.

Turning around, he heads back inside and searched for the location where he felt his lover's soul emanate from. Reaching the furthest seat in the back, he spotted something on the floor that made his eyes become covered in frost; there on the floor was a slender bloody finger with a black ring.

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¹Huaxia: '华夏' Ancient name for China.

²Han Xinya: ' 翰新雅' Han '翰' - Writing, Xinya '新雅' - fresh and elegant.

³Han XianZi: Chinese God of music. He plays the flute... But there wasn't one who played string instruments so... heh.