Chapter 18, Song 18...

Qu Jiaying pursed her lips: "That's not what I meant..."

Yan Zheng's pride got the better of him, and he blurted out, "You must look down on me for not being selected."

Qu Jiaying retorted: "I didn't!"

Yan Zheng's lips trembled slightly. He didn't want to be pitied by Qu Jiaying; he wanted to advance alongside her.

It's all because of his lack of ability. Even if Cai Rui values ​​the original meaning more, Lü Yueming's interpretation is not random. His own understanding of "The Butterfly Lovers" is still insufficient. Lü Yueming is a few years older than him, but that's not an excuse. They no longer have the opportunity to compare themselves.

Qu Jiaying wanted to clear up the misunderstanding about her, but Yan Zheng hurriedly left with the sheet music.

"He's completely unreasonable and won't communicate with me at all. How could I be such a snob? Don't you think he's going too far?" Qu Jiaying complained.

Xiang Min asked, "Will he withdraw?"

"What are you talking about? How could that be?" Le Yi firmly denied. "Even if he wanted to quit, I would pull him back. We promised our band would continue forever."

Qu Jiaying was still feeling down: "How did I cause him to have such a misunderstanding?"

Gao Ying, who participated in this "meeting," had some insights: "Back in middle school, you only had eyes for classmates who were good at playing the piano."

“What’s wrong with that?” Qu Jiaying said matter-of-factly. “I just want to play with people who practice hard. I don’t care about their rankings, but as long as they practice hard, there will always be results.”

Xiang Min smiled and said, "Jiaying, you are a well-behaved and honest girl. Yan Zheng may not have understood your thoughts."

Le Yi sighed, "Perhaps he judges others by his own standards; the world he sees is probably determined by rankings."

“If that’s all he cares about, I wouldn’t be dating him.” Qu Jiaying rested her chin on her hand. She roughly understood why Yan Zheng had kept his decision to give up the viola and switch to conducting from her.

“But he’s such a hassle. He never says anything, which is why you broke up. The situation is similar this time, so why are you still so concerned about him?” Gao Ying said.

Xiang Min nodded silently. Le Yi was conflicted. He still hoped that Qu Jiaying and Yan Zheng would reconcile so that the "three missing one" quartet could continue to operate as usual and would not become a true three missing one.

"Let's not talk about him anymore. I have a favor to ask you." Gao Ying took out a brochure that introduced a special education school.

Gao Ying explained, “The art academy and dance academy next door have established majors specifically for people with disabilities. Our school can’t let them play musical instruments, but we hope that deaf and mute people can also feel the beauty of music. The volunteer team I joined is currently organizing to turn it into a weekly activity for this partner school.”

"Is this realistic?" Qu Jiaying had no idea.

Le Yi had heard similar news before: "They are not completely deaf; some can hear some sounds."

Xiang Min said, "Sound is produced by vibration, and this vibration is transmitted to the human body. Have you ever been to a rock concert?"

"Now that you mention it, I think I understand," Qu Jiaying said, suddenly realizing.

“Then I’ll submit your ‘three missing one’ quartet band.” Gao Ying confirmed again, “Yan Zheng won’t withdraw, will he? Otherwise I’ll fill in the trio.”

“We are a quartet,” Le Yi emphasized. “We will not disband.”

Their rehearsals will continue next week, and before that, Qu Jiaying will have to go to the symphony orchestra's rehearsal hall again.

The school symphony orchestra rehearses twice a week. Cai Rui plans to be meticulous. Each department has a program for the school's New Year's Concert every year, and that's his task this semester. Next semester, he will also be busy with the graduation performance, and he will also be teaching courses in the conducting and composition departments. He is really too busy to handle everything.

The school symphony orchestra's rehearsal day is approaching, and he is still selecting the principal players for each section.

The conductor finally ran into Cai Rui in the office of the rehearsal hall and asked curiously, "Lu Yueming is indeed quite good, but Yan Zheng, the sophomore, is also very good. He has a very sharp ear and has practiced violin for six years and viola for six years. His interpretation of the piece is very much in line with the composer's intention."

"Yan Zheng, I remember him. His interpretation was spot on, but how should I put it? It felt too much like a competition, I didn't like it. It lacked personality," Cai Rui commented in his distinctive Chinese accent.

"Isn't this good?" the instructor asked, puzzled.

“That’s great. As a conductor of a symphony orchestra, he should be able to go further in the classical music world than Lü Yueming,” Cai Rui said. “However, Lü Yueming can conduct both popular and classical arrangements, and he would be very popular there as well.”

The conducting teacher breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that both students would have bright futures. He then asked the principal conductor and orchestra conductor, "Have you made your choices?"

"We made some minor adjustments."

Most of the original principal players stayed, but half of them were replaced. What surprised the conductor the most was the clarinet player: "You chose a girl?"

Most wind band members are male because they have a larger lung capacity.

"Her performance was very interesting. Her lung capacity was no worse than that of the boys. She practiced for several hours that day, and her breathing was basically very stable."

The conductor vaguely remembered her; she was a chubby third-year female college student whose performance had some novel aspects, which was probably what Cai Rui was paying attention to.

It was originally said that it would be announced in advance, but in the end, everyone was notified at the rehearsal site.

The principals for each section were announced one after another, and there were no objections. Many of the students who came because of Cai Rui's reputation were of a higher level than the original members. However, when it came to the clarinet, there were objections.

"Clarinet principal, Qiu Xue."

The round-faced girl looked delighted and was about to sit down in the first chair for the clarinet when the original leader questioned, "Why did you choose her? What does she have that I don't?"

Cai Rui was very frank: "In terms of voice, you are indeed a little better than her, but she handles the details better, and her performance is more interesting. This is my symphony orchestra, so I chose her. Do you have any other opinions?"

“…That’s all.” The former principal clarinetist said reluctantly.

Cai Rui continued reading until the last violinist, who was also the orchestra's concertmaster, when someone questioned him again.

Because Qu Jiaying was chosen.

Qu Jiaying was still in a state of confusion and joy, completely bewildered. She had never expected that she would be chosen. Cai Rui's preferences were so clear, and she thought that she would definitely choose Senior Ruan Qi.

The person who questioned her wasn't Ruan Qi, but another musician in the violin section: "I think Ruan Qi played better. When you first came to the orchestra, she didn't perform well, but on that day, during 'The Butterfly Lovers,' no one could say her solo was bad."

"Stop talking," Ruan Qi interrupted. "Did you hear her song 'Destiny' during the final exams last semester? I'm not as good as her."

Qu Jiaying looked at Ruan Qi in surprise, not expecting her to stand up for her; she herself would not have done so.

She knew in her heart that she couldn't compare to Ruan Qi in her interpretation of "The Butterfly Lovers," but she wouldn't say it at this time.

“I naturally have my considerations, but there’s no harm in telling you. Both girls are great.” Cai Rui was still very direct. “From a solo perspective, I think Ruan Qi is better. She has personality and is the makings of a soloist. However, I haven’t considered her playing with an orchestra. I clearly mentioned this before. Qu Jiaying, on the other hand, clearly doesn’t have much orchestral experience. That day, she was constantly cooperating with the conductor, hoping to make the sound and pitch of the entire violin section more uniform. She also paid attention to the other sections. She was constantly making efforts and attempts for those few hours, but the effect was minimal because the others didn’t know how to cooperate.”

Qu Jiaying and Ruan Qi were not happy with these words.

Tsai Jui's statement makes it seem as if Qu Jiaying lacks individuality and is unlikely to become a soloist, implying that no matter how much praise she receives for her ability to cooperate with the orchestra, it's useless.

“However, at the moment, I can’t feel comfortable entrusting the solos to the two of them. One is too inconsistent, and the other’s performance is boring,” Cai Rui said.

"What pieces should we rehearse?" The violinists were dumbfounded. Most of the pieces were violin concertos, and the cadenzas were all for violin solos.

The other sections were filled with anticipation. Cai Rui looked at Qiu Xue, who had a round face: "For the New Year's Concert, the school symphony orchestra will be performing Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major."

Qiu Xue was overjoyed. She was already happy to be in the principal position, and she was going to be the lead in the first performance of the newly formed symphony orchestra.

"Overall, I still hope to have something new. Everyone, go back and practice first." Cai Rui stepped down from the stage.

Lü Yueming quickly distributed the sheet music to the orchestra members.

Qu Jiaying put away the sheet music, and Ruan Qi approached her with the violin case, looking apologetic: "I really like your 'Destiny,' that's the truth. I have a lot of thoughts on this theme, but I don't have the same emotional impact as your performance."

Qu Jiaying slightly shifted her gaze: "I didn't dare to compete with you just now, I can't perform 'The Butterfly Lovers' well."

“I recently broke up with my boyfriend. Although it wasn’t because my parents forced me, we were in a similar mood.” Ruan Qi smiled bitterly. “If I change the piece of music, I probably won’t be able to play it well again.”

"Senior, you're always so modest. Didn't the conductor just say you could become a soloist? Their evaluation of me is completely different," Qu Jiaying said.

Ruan Qi touched her arm and sighed softly: "I had given up hope, so I wanted to work hard in the symphony orchestra, but I still don't know how to cooperate. The first three years were a waste. If I still can't learn in this last year under conductor Cai Rui, I don't know if I should continue."

Qu Jiaying looked empty. What does that mean? Is Ruan Qi, such a talented performer, actually considering giving up the violin?

You are not allowed to escape.

You are the rival I've identified.

“Doesn’t that just prove you’re a natural soloist?” Qu Jiaying said.

Ruan Qi smiled faintly at her, then walked over to Lü Yueming and asked him curiously if his inspiration that day was Tchaikovsky's "Francesca da Rimini". He nodded happily.

"Yan Zheng, I understand you now." Qu Jiaying found Yan Zheng.

Yan Zheng was sitting on a bench by the lake, listening to Yue Opera. He took off his headphones, and ginkgo leaves fell and covered the ground. He looked up at Qu Jiaying.

“I don’t know why you switched to viola in the first place, but I persisted because you were my competitor. You’re still learning the viola, and I didn’t want to lose to you.” Qu Jiaying stared at him and said, “Then you switched to conducting. I was angry that you hid it from me, but now I’m glad that you haven’t given up on music.”

Yan Zheng stood up, walked over and put his arm around her, jokingly saying, "If I wanted to give up, my parents wouldn't be as open-minded as Grandma Chen Fang."

Qu Jiaying smiled and looked up from his arms: "Shall we go practice the piano?"

"The quartet's rehearsal room?"

Qu Jiaying nodded: "They are both very worried that you will quit."

Yan Zheng chuckled: "Where is the Chief?"

Qu Jiaying laughed loudly: "I've never thought of it that way before."