The big screen flickered with fire.
The puppet seemed frozen.
A spotlight illuminated the three-foot red cotton stage of the puppet show.
Music began.
The guqin played a lively tune, accompanied by faint drumbeats.
The xiao joined in, adding a touch of sorrow to the brisk rhythm.
On stage, the spotlight suddenly blazed down.
Lin Yanyu appeared, clad in a costume.
Her once lively eyes were now tinged with a faint sorrow.
A bitter smile graced her beautiful face.
"Mocking who relies on beauty to assert power, how can a heartless one be a match?
The sound of bells is crisp, the lights dim between the curtains.
You and I, the most natural pair.
Without you, it's a sin; without a heart, it's a good match.
You are ragged, I'll paint you in splendor, walking side by side through mountains and waters.
You are weary, I'll make you bright..."
On the big screen, the burning scene.
Paired with Lin Yanyu's ethereal voice, the immersion was complete.
The puppet, without a heart, could only rely on the puppeteer.
Only with the puppeteer could the puppet perform.
The puppeteer needed the puppet to perform for him to make a living.
Therefore, calling them a natural pair was not an exaggeration.
The two complemented each other, creating countless classic puppet shows.
These lyrics perfectly captured the essence of the relationship between the puppeteer and the puppet.
After receiving the song, Lin Yanyu studied the emotions within it earnestly.
Thus, this live performance was rendered perfectly, every word delivered flawlessly.
...
"You kissed the ink and painted tears on my eyes.
Performing love, separation, joy, and sorrow, for whom?
They misunderstand and twist, but I am only yours to command.
In this world, what could be more perfect..."
It seemed to snow on the stage.
At this moment, Lin Yanyu felt as if she were transported into the world of the puppet show.
She watched from afar, like an observer, singing the words, her voice drawing the audience into that scene.
A snowy night, biting cold, the loneliness of the ragged elder.
These pierced the audience's hearts like needles.
They felt the elder's complex emotions.
The object of his lifelong love had caused him a lifetime of hardship.
These emotions erupted on this windy, snowy night.
A lifetime of poverty, with only the puppet for company.
It began as a hobby, driven by unwillingness or attachment, it's unknown.
Some audience members were already moved to tears without realizing it.
Only when their cheeks felt a slight itch did they know tears had fallen onto their clothes.
...
"Fingers as delicate as orchid blossoms trace the flowing water of the mortal world,
A three-foot red stage, all affairs become song and wind.
Singing of long farewells, sorrow unable to form, at the peak of red, it turns to ash.
Who will remember whom, in our best years."
The puppeteer's fingers didn't trace strings, but the flowing years of the mortal world.
The humble three-foot red stage had witnessed countless years.
As the audience was still immersed in sadness, Chen Rong suddenly appeared on stage.
Her flawless, beautiful opera singing instantly rang out!
At this moment, whether it was the audience in the hall or those watching the livestream.
They felt as if they had been struck by an electric shock!
A tingling sensation rose from their feet and spread rapidly throughout their bodies!
Bliss!
Countless people cheered.
This was opera singing!
This was the skill of a Peking Opera performer!
Perhaps it didn't seem like much when heard casually, but when one truly connected with it, every note of opera singing sent shivers down the spine, a feeling that couldn't be controlled.
And Chen Rong, a national-level opera performer, had reached the pinnacle of opera singing.
Her effortless performance was enough to be captivating.
...
"You lead, I dance like a bird; you guide, I know when to advance and retreat.
Following in joy and sorrow, every gesture natural and compliant.
Turning humility into absolute gentleness.
If you are wrong, I won't be right; if you are ignorant, I'll be foolish.
How can a heart's fire be content with just a simmer?
You wither, I don't; you tire, I dare not rest.
With what can I warm you for a thousand years..."
Boom!
The sound of fire erupted again.
The frozen scene came back to life.
The flickering flames swept over the puppet the old man had dropped.
The sleeves of her beautiful costume brushed against the linden wood carving, creating crackling sounds.
In that instant, she moved.
Slowly, she turned and rose, like a living person, bowing gracefully.
With dignity and allure, she performed a kowtow to the old man.
She raised her tear-filled face and smiled sweetly.
With a crack, she shattered into the flames.
The fire burned brighter and brighter.
Illuminating the dilapidated temple.
The bone-chilling cold disappeared, replaced by the warmth of the fire.
The puppet had feelings.
She was saying goodbye to the old man, providing warmth on the snowy night with her own body in their final moments.
At this moment, she was no longer the useless thing the old man had called her!
The old man stared blankly at the flickering firelight.
As if his soul had been lost.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly burst into a fit of mad weeping.
Then, he began to laugh heartily.
His cries held a sense of liberation, but his laughter was incredibly heart-wrenching.
"Warm indeed! Alone indeed!"
Now it was warm.
And I am left all alone.
"In the fading wind and snow, my hair like autumn white.
The lights flicker, creasing your brow.
If you shed a tear, if I can accompany you into old age.
Turning to ash in the mist, a perfect departure..."
Chen Rong's opera singing echoed again.
These lyrics, paired with the scene on the stage, made the audience unable to hold back any longer!
Damn it, let's cry!
The puppet stayed with the old man until he was old, and after it turned to ash, the old man shed tears, which was considered a perfect end...
Heart-wrenching, so heart-wrenching!
Chen Rong's eyes welled up with tears.
Although Su Yu had told her the story when he gave her the song, she still had tears in her eyes.
She poured that bitter feeling into her singing.
Causing everyone present to burst into tears!
They were moved by the emotions in the song!
Regretting the old man's act of burning the puppet!
And feeling heartache for the puppet's gratitude to the old man!
As a child, he found wood to make puppets.
He defied his parents' wishes for his puppet-making skills.
He wandered his whole life, with only the puppets for company.
In old age, he didn't even have a garment to keep out the cold.
The old man threw the puppet, carved by his own hands and which had accompanied him his entire life, into the fire.
Watching it turn to ash, his cry of "Warm indeed, alone indeed" spoke of all the hardships in the human world.
"Daddy, why did he burn the puppet?"
In the audience, a little boy's innocent eyes were full of confusion.
"He... he burned not the puppet, but his childhood dream," his father said, wiping away a tear and sighing softly.
The puppet and the old man were like a portrayal of dreams and people.
Some perservered in their dreams their whole lives, only to gain nothing in the end.
At that point, was it regret for abandoning the dream, or holding onto the dream until death?
She believed no one knew the answer...