The first half of the festival performance ended. Two dancers came on stage and surrounded her. More dancers followed. Evelyn was in the middle, bowing low.
When the interlude passed, she sang the next two lines. The dancers surrounded her, their hands slowly spreading out like blooming flowers. Evelyn was the stamen at the center. It symbolized rebirth and care.
Charlotte clutched Noah's arm excitedly. "It's even more stunning than the afternoon rehearsal!" "Yes," Noah agreed.
Every time he saw Evelyn, she surprised him. Looking at her on stage now, no one would guess she was married. She looked like a fairy who had just descended to earth.
The performance ended. Evelyn bowed with the dancers as the curtain fell. The audience erupted in applause.
Backstage, Emily grabbed Evelyn's hand. "Evelyn, you were amazing! So beautiful!" "Really? You didn't notice I forgot the lyrics?" Evelyn asked, surprised. "Did you? I didn't see it!" Emily shook her head. "I think you sang perfectly!" "When did you pick up that accent?" Evelyn laughed. "Well, anyway, it was great and flawless!" "No major issues. I just forgot the words after that part, so I had to repeat the previous line to remember," Evelyn explained.
When she looked down at the stage, she couldn't see anything clearly. But somehow, she felt she saw Alexander. He was looking at her. That made her nervous, and she forgot the lyrics.
Luckily, she remembered and kept singing. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known what to do. Now that it was over, she could finally breathe. Good or bad, it was done.
She grabbed a cotton pad and makeup remover, ready to take off her makeup. Emily handed her the remover. "Evelyn, you don't need to remove it. You look so beautiful!" "What? It would be strange to go out like this. And I'm not used to it," Evelyn said, pouring the remover onto the pad. "Let me help you," Emily offered, taking the cotton and starting to help.
After removing the makeup and applying some lotion, Evelyn took her dress to the dressing room and changed. "Evelyn, your performance was wonderful!" someone passing by praised. "Thank you," Evelyn replied politely.
Back in the dressing room, she folded the dress, placed it in a box, and packed it in a bag. Then, with Emily, she left through the back door and returned to the dormitory.
The party would end in about half an hour. Evelyn used the time to take a shower and wash her hair. While blow-drying her hair, she chatted with Emily. "I wonder if I can get the video recording. I want to see how I sang." "Perfect. Didn't you hear how enthusiastic the applause was? I think your performance got the loudest applause of the night." "You're just biased. I didn't notice," Evelyn said with a smile. "That's because you were too nervous to pay attention! Anyway, you sang beautifully, with so much emotion. And your dancing was gorgeous. Who choreographed it? It was really beautiful," Emily replied. "A junior from the art department. I think she did a great job," Evelyn nodded.
She had talked with the art department girl. She felt the girl was born for art. "Very talented! You're good at singing, and she's good at choreography. You complement each other perfectly! By the way, do you want to go back tonight or stay in the dorm? If you stay, we can go out and have fun when Stella gets back," Emily suggested. "I have to go back. Let's go out on the weekend. We have work tomorrow," Evelyn said apologetically. "You're right. I almost forgot about work tomorrow. Work is important. We'll make plans another day. How are you getting back?" Emily asked. "My family is picking me up." "You're so lucky." "I really am," Evelyn paused, then answered with a smile. "Praise you, and you're getting cocky," Emily laughed, but then said enviously, "But you really are lucky. Your family supports you in everything you do. It's truly enviable." "What does your family oppose?" Evelyn turned to ask Emily. "They don't oppose it, but they don't support it either. They still want me to go back after graduation. They think it's too hard for a girl to work here alone," Emily sighed. "That's because they care about you. I think you can discuss it with your parents. Ask for two years to work hard. If there's no improvement in two years, you'll go back to them," Evelyn suggested. "Yes, I didn't think of that!" Emily said happily. "I just need to talk to my parents. If I achieve something by then, they won't object to me staying here. Of course, if I fail, it's better to go back." "Yes, I think parents are usually reasonable, even if we don't always like what they say. You should discuss it with them. It can be solved." "It's a bit late now. I'll call them tomorrow to talk about it," Emily nodded.
Evelyn blow-dried her hair until it was about eighty percent dry, then put away the hairdryer. She packed her things to take back later. The dress needed dry cleaning, so she put it directly in the bag. Other items went into another bag.
When the party ended, Stella called Emily. "Where are you?" Emily said they were back in the dormitory. Stella asked why they didn't wait for her. Emily explained they came back after Evelyn's performance and told Stella to come straight to the dorm.
Evelyn sent a text to Alexander. "I'm in the dorm. Call me when you're ready to leave."
When Stella returned to the dorm, she kept praising Evelyn. "You sang so well!" Evelyn was praised so much she didn't know how to respond. "You're all lifting me up to heaven," Evelyn finally said. "Really, you sang beautifully today. Even the English majors around me said you were great!" "I'm glad you liked it," Evelyn replied. "Don't go back tonight. I'm not going back to the company dorm either. Let's go out and celebrate later," Stella suggested excitedly. "I already told Evelyn, but she's going home. And we all have work tomorrow. Let's change it to the weekend," Emily said. "Really? It's rare to be in such a good mood today. Maybe I won't feel like it another day," Stella muttered, disappointed.
Evelyn felt a bit awkward. She didn't know what to say. Before, she could have stayed in the dorm. But now she was married. Even if she wanted to stay, Alexander wouldn't agree.