Chapter 37, Song 37...
The thunderstorm hadn't stopped yet, and the guests stood at the entrance of the auditorium watching Qu Jiaying's performance. Her piano playing was light and dreamlike, and with just her playing, one could enter the atmosphere of the fantasy romantic comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
The thunderstorm came and went quickly, and Le Yi put away his umbrella.
The staff still set up the tent, and the guests returned one after another to eat. Le Yi, Yan Zheng, and Xiang Min continued to play after Qu Jiaying.
The performance lasted for nearly two more hours. As the guests gradually left, Qu Jiaying finally stopped playing.
Yan Zheng asked with concern, "You didn't rest in between, aren't you tired?"
Qu Jiaying smiled and shook her head: "I'm not tired, I'm just a little hungry right now."
Xiang Min took her violin case and asked, "Was the violin wet just now?"
"It got a little wet, but it didn't affect it too much." Qu Jiaying took the soft cloth and wiped the violin.
Le Yi smiled and said, "Congratulations! You've finally broken through the bottleneck."
Qu Jiaying said with relief and a smile, "Yes."
She finally understood that she couldn't be confined by theory.
"I remember when we first met, what you said was indeed true." Qu Jiaying looked at Xiang Min.
"I've almost forgotten..." Xiang Min didn't dare to look at her. He hadn't expected Qu Jiaying to remember these trivial details. When they first met, he had simply struck up a conversation and didn't remember what he had said at all.
"It's nothing, I just remember it," Qu Jiaying said with a smile.
"What did he say back then?" Yan Zheng asked with a smile.
“He was talking about improvisation. If I convert it to performance, it’s pretty much the same. Once you fully understand the technical aspects, you’ll naturally know which methods sound better,” Qu Jiaying said.
Le Yi shouted, "Isn't that the same thing I told you a couple of days ago? How come you only remembered Xiang Min's words!"
"How are they the same? You didn't even mention the first half of the sentence, I don't understand." Qu Jiaying glared at him.
The four of them chatted and joking as they packed their things to leave, when Liu Ru came looking for them.
"Thank you all for your hard work today." Liu Ru gestured to his assistant to distribute red envelopes, "to spread some joy among everyone."
Having already received their payment, they hadn't originally planned to accept the red envelope, but after hearing this, they couldn't refuse and had no choice but to accept it.
"It rained a little earlier, is Qin alright?" Liu Ru asked with concern.
"It's nothing, don't worry. Rain at the wedding is a sign that your life will be smooth sailing and your future will be filled with wealth," Qu Jiaying said auspiciously.
Liu Ru laughed: "Perfect timing, I also hope you can help me out."
"Me?" Qu Jiaying asked, puzzled. In fact, she had gained a preliminary understanding of Liu Ru from yesterday to today. She had never thought that she would have the opportunity to come into contact with Stradivarius violins. This sudden turn of events left her completely bewildered.
“My wife just started a clothing brand, targeting a different customer base than the affordable cosmetics brand I work for. Her target audience is independent designers,” Liu Ru explained.
"The clothes are very nice." Qu Jiaying praised him again, still not quite understanding what he meant.
“I helped her look at various domestic and international brands. The ones that are doing well all have their own concepts. And these concepts can’t just rely on advertising slogans. Of course, the product is also very important, but the key is storytelling.”
At this point in Liu Ru's explanation, Qu Jiaying roughly understood.
"Actually, it's not an endorsement, but rather we're sponsoring your studies, such as your competition registration fees, travel expenses, and tuition fees for your future education. My daughter is also learning classical instruments, so I know quite a bit about it," Liu Ru said.
As expected, when Qu Jiaying was studying in Germany last week, there was a French girl she met in a competition who was sponsored by a local French company. The French girl's piano skills were quite good, basically enough to enter the finals, but that was all she could do to become a soloist. However, her appearance was more outstanding than her piano skills, so with the sponsorship, she continued to participate in competitions, hoping to one day stand out and collaborate with a famous symphony orchestra.
However, the girl was under tremendous pressure. She couldn't even rank in the top three, let alone win the gold medal. Not only were violinists in the industry pointing fingers at her, but when she occasionally achieved good results, there were also malicious speculations about her appearance. Furthermore, the company's external publicity also made her the subject of much discussion among people outside the industry.
However, without perseverance, even pursuing one's dreams will be impossible.
Most violinists participating in international competitions are highly skilled, but their family backgrounds vary greatly. Qu Jiaying is considered middle-class; her family can afford to support her, but they still struggle financially and have to find ways to save money.
Those with better conditions than her were much wealthier and could afford to hire better piano accompanists or more renowned teachers. However, there were also those with worse conditions who, because of this talent, had their entire families invest in it, hoping to change their fate, and also found renowned teachers through their talent.
Qu Jiaying is in a similar situation to many others. She chooses to cut back on spending, while others choose to increase their income. Most of them look for performance opportunities, trying to attend high-level concerts or salons hosted by wealthy businessmen, but the pay is not much each time.
Therefore, the French girl who was sponsored by someone received a lot of attention.
Qu Jiaying thought of Qiu Xue's experience again, and she was not sure if it was a good thing to gain attention before she had produced any results.
For Liu Ru, generating discussion is a good thing, but for her, it may not be.
Qu Jiaying declined, but Liu Ru insisted.
“Because of my daughter Liu Han, I understand the classical music world better than most people. Many musicians who win the most prestigious awards may not necessarily become soloists. To become a soloist, one must have certain qualities, and the music must have distinctive characteristics. It’s not just about superb technique, but also about having an infectious quality. You have that ability.” Liu Ru then quoted a line from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”: “'Madmen, lovers, and poets are all children of fantasy.' You can create a fantastical world for all your listeners.”
Liu Ru was very persuasive and almost swayed Qu Jiaying.
She managed to regain control: "This is a very important matter, I need to discuss it with my family."
"Don't worry. By the way, you were so focused on playing that the rain still got on your instrument. I know that your instruments are very precious. I know a luthier who can help you take care of them," Liu Ru said warmly.
“I also have a dedicated luthier…”
Before Qu Jiaying could finish speaking, Liu Ru made a phone call: "Teacher Zhong, I have a violinist here who is playing outdoors today. It rained a bit. Could you check on her violin and suggest a time? She's right next to me. I'll give her my phone, and you two can discuss it."
Liu Ru handed over the phone directly and introduced him simply: "This is Teacher Zhong, a well-known luthier in the industry."
Zhong? There aren't many luthiers. Qu Jiaying had met a luthier surnamed Zhong before. He was the luthier for Grandma Chen Fang, Chen Li's grandmother. After she gave him the bow, Qu Jiaying took the bow to that luthier's workshop.
"Hello, this is Qu Jiaying."
"Qu Jiaying? That sounds familiar. You've been here before, haven't you?" Teacher Zhong's voice sounded somewhat familiar.
The two pairs were indeed the violin makers of Grandma Chen Fang.
"Oh, it's you. Anyway, your bow was also maintained here. Let me take a look at your zither too."
"But you know my situation." Qu Jiaying's zither is usually maintained by the luthier under Teacher Xia Xiaolei's supervision.
"You'd better come over here, otherwise I won't be able to explain to President Liu."
Qu Jiaying had no choice but to agree and return the phone to Liu Ru.
“You two know each other? It’s true that highly skilled people gather together,” Liu Ru said with a smile. “The charitable foundation I’m in has a valuable violin in its collection, which is usually maintained by Teacher Zhong.”
Is this referring to a Stradivarius violin?
Qu Jiaying remained calm, and Xiang Min was also relatively composed. However, Le Yi and Yan Zheng kept glancing at Qu Jiaying and Yan Zheng's expressions revealed their true intentions.
Liu Ru revealed a sly smile: "I know, I know, but this instrument is very precious. This is not something I can decide on my own; it requires the approval of the foundation's executives."
Qu Jiaying smiled and said, "Thank you for introducing the luthier and for giving us so many gifts. It's getting late, we should head back now."
"Okay, you should all get some rest too. You've all had a busy day." Liu Ru then pointed to Liu Han, who had come over, and said, "When you have time, try to talk to your older sister Qu Jiaying more."
Qu Jiaying sincerely said to Liu Han, "Thank you very much for today."
Liu Han felt awkward and uncomfortable. She hadn't meant well by reminding Qu Jiaying, but it actually helped Qu Jiaying break through her bottleneck. This immediately reminded her of her gifted classmate who was learning the harp from the same teacher. The teacher only needed to give her a little guidance to understand, but she had to practice for a very long time before she could comprehend it.
However, she couldn't show her displeasure in front of her father, Liu Ru. So Liu Han smiled sweetly, said goodbye politely, and sincerely hoped that she would never see him again.
Qu Jiaying and her group of four finally boarded the car for their return journey.
So much has happened these past two days, everyone is at a loss for words and just feels utterly exhausted.
"People really have many facets," Le Yi remarked.
"Are you talking about Liu Ru, or Liu Han?" Yan Zheng asked.
Qu Jiaying said, "But we don't know if the bride we haven't spoken to is really as obedient as she appears."
"Maybe not, after all, she has her own designs and has founded a clothing brand, and the clothes she makes are quite good," Xiang Min said.
"Jiaying, what do you think of that invitation?" Yan Zheng asked.
"I don't know," Qu Jiaying sighed.
"What about that Stradivarius violin? What does he mean? Is he willing to lend it to you or not?" Le Yi asked, puzzled.
"It's probably about Jiaying accepting sponsorship from his or his wife's company, and then pushing the foundation to lend her the zither," Xiang Min said.
"That's a long way off. There are so many famous violinists, both domestically and internationally, they might not necessarily lend it to me," Qu Jiaying told them to calm down.
But those words were useless. In the eyes of Le Yi, Yan Zheng, and Xiang Min, Qu Jiaying was the best violinist and would be the best violinist in the future.
The three of them will probably never forget her performance that day, so completely absorbed in the rain.
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