Marriage Concerto (Small Thing Called Love) Chapter 75

Marriage Concerto (Small Thing Called Love)

Chapter 75 – Move My Heart

When the awards ceremony concluded, news about it flooded the media.

Right before going to bed, Ding Meng used her phone and flipped over articles from various news sites in a curious manner.

"Ding Meng's alb.u.m, 《Thank You》, single-handedly swooped both the Best Alb.u.m of the Year award and the Golden Melody Awards. A revolution has occurred in modern pop music!"

"《Thank You》, the creation of a legend! Ding Meng has won the Best Alb.u.m of the Year award and the Golden Melody Awards, the night's biggest winner!"

"Gu Xin has met his Waterloo! Losing both the Best Alb.u.m of the Year award and the Golden Melody Awards!"

"《Thank You》 comes out as the biggest winner of the Music Awards Ceremony! The couple Qiao Yichen and Ding Meng join hands and sneers down at the world of music!"

Ding Meng: "…"

Do all these reporters hold enmity towards her? Just the t.i.tles alone smears on Sima Xiaoxiao and Gu Xin! Also the last article, couple join hands and sneers down at the world of music, what the h.e.l.l!

She angrily closed the webpage.

All the events from yesterday night's Music Awards Ceremony are still being discussed lively on Weibo, the topic still lingering on the trending tab. Incidentally, Ding Meng and Qiao Yichen were also on trending.

A user had said that ever since their marriage has been exposed, whenever one of their names would appear on trending, so will the other. They truly deserved to be called the Evil Dog Torturing Pair.

Of course, a user had also said that ever since their marriage has been exposed, the couple would get upset over the attention they gather around them.[1]

In the face of such horror, Ding Meng had trained herself to remain calm. Just disconnect from the web, and the whole world falls into tranquility.

Although the awards ceremony had just gone by, but Ding Meng had no time to take a breather. The concert is already closing in, resulting in her doing dress rehearsals almost every day. Other than that, the animation Ding Meng had dubbed before got released; the Chinese theme song 《Forest of Light》 which quickly became popular.[2]

Towards Ding Meng's recent activities which had been quite satisfactory, Xiang Guang, during a meeting with Qiao Yichen, even gave a word of praise: "You were certainly right, I can now truly see Ding Meng's value. Looks like paying that one million to annul that contract in the beginning was worth its money."

Qiao Yichen gave him a disdainful look: "You talk as if you were the one who paid a million."

Xiang Guang cheekily responded: "Your wages are given by me after all."

Qiao Yichen did not bother with him any longer, immediately standing up and prepared to leave. From behind, Xiang Guang called: "Do you still have any concert tickets? Give me two; VIP seats."

"You can just stand outside and have fun in the cold air." Qiao Yichen proceeded to depart without a single look back.

Xiang Guang: "…"

In fact, he no longer had any more tickets for Ding Meng's concert, other than a single VIP ticket that he had left for himself since the beginning.

Despite that he did not even need a ticket to attend the concert in the first place.

The day before the concert, Ding Meng received an afternoon's worth of break time. It's to preserve stamina, or so Qiao Yichen says.

This concert will be 2-day concert, in A City. Although a day's segment is not particularly long, but it really puts a singer's stamina to the test.

In regards to this matter, Qiao Yichen proudly stated that it is all thanks to his physical training that it's possible for Ding Meng to perform a 2-day concert. Afterwards, even more training will be added on.

Ding Meng could only utter a "hehe" in response to this.

By the time Ding Meng had finished her afternoon nap, Qiao Yichen already finished preparing tonight's dinner. Because of the concert tomorrow[3], the dinner Qiao Yichen prepared was rather light.

Ding Meng looked at the soup's bland broth. She was unable to complain; only able to comfort herself with Qiao Yichen's promise in taking her to Chuan Chuan.

Qiao Yichen used the soup spoon his his hand and knocked the edges of the bowl with it, transmitting a melodious sound in the air. Ding Meng lifted her head. Qiao Yichen looked at her and let out a laugh: "Surprise interview. Tomorrow you will be holding your career's first concert, how are you feeling right now?"

Ding Meng pondered a bit, then responding in earnest: "You made too little fried potato slices for tonight's dinner."

Qiao Yichen: "…"

Who mentioned anything about potato slices!

"Also these scrambled eggs with tomatoes.  The tomatoes aren't that juicy and appear dull and dry."

Qiao Yichen: "…"

He took a deep breath, maintaining a smile on his face: "How about you stop talking about the food?" Forget about the food being bad, what do you mean the tomatoes aren't juicy enough!

Ding Meng's lips puckered on the chopsticks and gazed at Qiao Yichen: "But if I don't talk about food, then I won't be able to calm down."

Qiao Yichen was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and broke out in laughter.

Ding Meng continued and spoke out her sufferings: "Although I rehea.r.s.ed a lot of times, how can I show that effort onstage? Back then, I've seen many singers who make mistakes in their concerts; I even laughed at them. But now, I'll become another person's object of laughter.

Qiao Yichen looked up, speaking up to comfort her: "It's ok, there's not a single singer who has not made a mistake in their concerts. The key is how you react to your own mistakes."

Hearing this line, Ding Meng's eyes appeared completely crestfallen: "That's even worse, I don't have any experience on this at all. It'll be awful if I end up continuing with the performance in a silly manner."

Qiao Yichen: "…"

Qiao Yichen responded: "That's impossible, my wife's the best there is."

Ding Meng blinked twice, staring at Qiao Yichen: "In the case I make a mistake, you should make the staff turn off all the lights!"

Qiao Yichen: "…"

That won't appear as a mistake anymore in the eyes of the audience, but rather as a tragic accident.

As Ding Meng constantly s.h.i.+fted between antic.i.p.ation and anxiety for the upcoming concert, the moment steadily arrived.

All over, little lemons arrived early with their large cheering signs raised up[4], waiting at the stadium entrance. Those from the media also came early, occupying the best spots.

Backstage was also just as bustling, everyone with their hands full. Ding Meng already finished with her make-up, and was performing some last minute warm-ups. Today's opening song will be 《I’m here》. Since the song after will directly transition to 《Colorful Kiss》, Ding Meng will have to swiftly switch outfits.

This undoubtedly gave Ding Meng a problem; she's a novice at concerts. Once it starts she would be challenged with this difficult challenge. She really can't make a mistake.[5]

Luckily, the clothing designer also considered this problem, giving Ding Meng a magical outfit.

For the first song, Ding Meng will be wearing an outfit similar to the clothing in 《I’m here》's music video's white dress. This outfit is designed really cleverly; the skirt is constrained. At the right moment, all Ding Meng will need to do is pull the skirt down and the skirt will become a lemon-yellow knee-length long skirt. Then she just needs to put on a small waistcoat and a hat and the quick-change will be done.

The important thing is, she did not have to run the risk of failing on stage in front of the audience thanks to Big Producer Qiao's kind heart.

However, despite that the technique required to perform this is not much, but a lot of practice is still required to achieve proficiency. Thus, Ding Meng had practiced numerous times.

Not being aware of the time, the stage already began playing music; the concert's prelude.

When the director found Ding Meng, she was told to go to the waiting room. The concert was to begin soon.

Ding Meng's heart thumped unceasingly, though her facial expression maintained its composure as she headed to the waiting room.

In the waiting room, she was able to clearly hear the audience's shrieks.

She sneakily poked her head out and took a glance outside. The black clouds formed by the audience with their heads caused her to quickly pull back.

"Nervous?"

Qiao Yichen's voice suddenly sounded from the side. Ding Meng turned her head and looked at him, pouting her lips: "A bit."

In truth, she was nervous to the point of becoming breathless.

"Commencing countdown. 10, 9, 8…"

The staff member's countdown voice transmitted all around. Ding Meng felt as if her heart had contracted a bit, experiencing the illusion of suffocation.

Just stand on stage and all is fine.

Ding Meng continuously repeated this line in her heart, trying her best to adjust her own breathing.

"Wife." Qiao Yichen called out from the side. Ding Meng subconsciously turned her head towards him. Qiao Yichen gave a slight, downards tug of her chin; placing his lips on hers.

This single kiss was very light, very soft. As if performing some kind of magic spell, Ding Meng's restless heart was instantly healed.

The sounds coming from the backstage turned silent. The staff member responsible for the countdown almost lost count.

This Evil Dog Torturing Pair certainly deserved their name.

Perhaps knowing that time was limited, QIao Yichen quickly separated from her. A pair of black eyes gazed at her[6]: "I will always be here watching you."

Ding Meng bit on her lips, nodding her head at Qiao Yichen: "En!"

When the countdown reached zero, Ding Meng turned and walked up onto the stage. The audience's shrieks and shouts flooded the stadium.

During the concert, Ding Meng will sing a variety of her own songs in addition to a guitar version of 《Today you said you wanted to break up》, and the song she collaborated with Gu Xin on, 《with you》.

Gu Xin was a secret guest that was not publicly announced. So when he suddenly appeared on stage, the audience's screams almost submerged the stadium.

Below the stage, constant screams from the audience. Backstage, constant sneering from Qiao Yichen.

Gu Xin was invited by Ding Meng herself as that his appearance would definitely be good for the concert. But Qiao Yichen was very much dissatisfied with how Gu Xin unhesitatingly agreed to the offer.

Furthermore, the cost for Gu Xin was free.

Treating another's wife so well, how could there possibly not be an ulterior motive?

Thus, when Gu Xin departed from the stage, he didn't give him a kind expression.

Gu Xin removed his headset, looking at Qiao Yichen and chuckled: "Never would've thought that Big Producer Qiao would be so childish. How amusing."

Qiao Yichen: "…"

Having finished singing, why don't you get out already?

However Gu Xin didn't follow Qiao Yichen's wish to leave the concert area. After changing outfits, Gu Xin sat down at the guest seats. When Ding Meng invited Gu Xin, she had also given him a ticket.

The concert was unwittingly nearing its end. When Ding Meng finished her recently released song, 《Forest of Light》, the stage's lights dimmed black. Not long after, Ding Meng, dressed in a white knee-length dress, appeared at the center of the stage. The audience once again burst into screams and shrieks.

Ding Meng gripped onto the microphone in her hand, marveling at the sight of the cheering signs held up everywhere below the stage. She began to speak: "I'm very thankful for everyone who took the time to come here to the concert to listen to my singing. Just like what I said during the awards ceremony, it is thanks to many, many people that I am able to stand here today. Walking down the road to where I am now, I had to go through fierce rainfalls and winds. I'm thankful that you all remained by my side, and I hope that you all would continue to listen to my singing. I would also like to thank my agency who gave me this opportunity, preparing an excellent stage for me to stand on. Finally, I want to thank my husband, Mister Qiao Yichen. Without him, the me today would not have been here. By my side, he had spent great quant.i.ties of time and painstaking effort for me. I thank him for everything he has done for me, I thank him for every note, every word, he has wrote for me. I love you all."

The audience screamed fervently in response. Laughing, Ding Meng took two steps forwards: "Tonight's final song, is for all the people who have helped me, 《Thank You》."

The soothing sounds of a piano played from a corner of the stage. When the spotlights scattered and converged, what appeared in everyone's sight was Qiao Yichen.

Wearing a white suit, he quietly sat in front of the piano, elegant like a prince from a fairytale.

On the big screen played 《Thank You》's music video. It was originally created and edited by a fan who sent the video to her. It displayed her walking down a road, bit by bit.

Ding Meng's clear singing sounded into the microphone, her voice sounded out from the stage.

"Even on the journey all alone, but never sad nor lost.

It is you who lets me know, I am not on my own.

Even in the dark marshes, but never giving up the light.

It is you who lets me know, the night will scatter like ashes.[7]

You taught me well, no hards.h.i.+ps I can't conquer.

Your warm smile, stirs me to become stronger.

Thank you for your accompaniment.

Thank you for your care.

Thank you for your gentleness.

Thank you for your patience.

Thank you, for everything."[7]

[1]:当然也有网友表示，自从结婚被爆以来，这对夫妻就一直拿这个炒作，看得心烦。(I'm somewhat confident I got this right, but it feels… strange in context? Perhaps it's referring to Ding Meng herself.)

[2]:中文主题曲《光之森》更是早已走红 (Ahhhhh qwq, I can't tell if it means that it was already popular, it quickly became popular. Just chose the one that made most sense.)

[3]:因为第二天有演唱会 (I've always known "第二天" as "Day number 2" or the "Second day", but in the context of this chapter, could/should it mean "tomorrow"?)

[4]:应援牌 (You know those cheering signs/posters people bring to concerts or even sport events? I don't know what they are called in English qwq!)

[5]:这无疑是给丁檬出了个难题，她一个演唱会新手，一开场就要挑战这种高难度项目，简直是不给活路。(I'm totally stumped QWQ)

[6]:一双黑眸瞬也不瞬地注视著她 (Before the verb "gazed", I left out the words that supposedly means "Instantaneously yet not instantaneously" which didn't make sense to me… I'm stumped again qwq)

[7]:For this entire line of dialogue, as you may have noticed, is Ding Meng singing her song! Some parts had rhymes, so I did my best to put rhymes while keeping the meaning of the line to be more or less the same. One in particular, "Even in the dark marshes," is meant to rhyme with the line "the night will scatter like ashes" (and I don't even know if this made sense QWQ). Basically, what the raws meant that "It is you who lets me know, the night will dissipate". Finding the appropriate word that ends similar to "marshes" is hard qwq.