Chapter 4, Song 4...
Qu Jiaying picked up her cocktail glass and took a sip of the pale green liquid. The mint, cream, and cocoa liqueur were mixed together, with a strong sweet and creamy flavor, leaving only a slight tingling of mint.
"Do you think I'm a good match for this drink?" Qu Jiaying asked.
The young man laughed and said, "I feel like it should be even stronger now."
Qu Jiaying smiled gently.
"You still haven't told me why you've been staring at me?" The young man perhaps wanted to continue flirting.
But Qu Jiaying had a real question: "You improvised in many places and didn't play correctly, but why did you play the piano so joyfully?"
"You've studied a musical instrument, haven't you?" The young man glanced at her fingers. There were thick calluses on the tips of her left fingers, probably from playing the violin. The owner of this bar often played the piano and had hosted many events with different music themes. Many of the patrons were music lovers or even professionals in the field.
He was used to the fact that most of his patrons played musical instruments, and some would even tease him about his piano skills, but when he played the cello, few people would criticize him.
Qu Jiaying nodded without saying anything more.
“How can I explain it to you? Because I understand scales, chords, musical form, and there are basic rules for improvisation. You can’t just play however you want,” the young man said. After thinking for a moment, he pulled Qu Jiaying up. “Let me demonstrate for you.”
The young man led her to sit down at the piano, and the two sat side by side.
"For example, determine the main melody, adapt the chords according to its musical structure, and change the prelude, interlude, or ending." He played a melody.
Qu Jiaying studied music theory but did poorly; she forgot everything she learned as soon as she finished.
As the music started, she exclaimed in surprise, "I've heard this before; it appeared in La La Land."
“This is the piano piece from the first time the male and female protagonists met.” The young man turned his face slightly and looked at Qu Jiaying. “I can add some chords, but it will still sound like the same piece.”
"You can also try playing it."
Qu Jiaying hesitated and said, "I'm not very good at it..."
The young man encouraged him, "Give it a try, it's okay, don't be so tense, relax a little."
Qu Jiaying only remembered a few notes of the main melody, but they were all on her right hand. She was sitting on the left, and when she reached out her right hand to touch those keys, she still couldn't quite reach them. Her whole body leaned to one side. She almost fell over after playing a single measure, but she didn't notice. All she felt was the excitement of success.
The young man supported her smooth shoulders.
Qu Jiaying looked up at him.
An ambiguous atmosphere lingered between their breaths; some things were already conveyed in their eyes and expressions, understood without being spoken aloud.
"I haven't asked your name yet."
Qu Jiaying had no intention of exchanging names with the man she had a casual fling with: "Your name is Xiaoming, so I'll be Xiaohong."
“Okay, Xiao Hong, aren’t you going to leave your contact information? I feel like we get along quite well,” Xiao Ming asked, leaning against the bed.
Qu Jiaying put on her green halter dress, bent down to tie her shoelaces, turned her head and smiled: "The music doesn't feel quite right."
"Xiao Ming"—Xiang Min smiled lightly as he watched her close the door and leave.
Despite not finding a suitable piano accompaniment, Qu Jiaying still had some gains that night, at least she released some stress.
The next morning, Qu Jiaying calmly knocked on the door of Leyi's music room.
Yan Zheng opened the door, dressed in a light gray casual suit, looking exceptionally elegant.
Le Yi was overjoyed and was about to greet them happily when he remembered yesterday's argument and awkwardly apologized, "I'm sorry..."
Qu Jiaying casually brushed it off, while Le Yi nervously pulled out a small gift bag from beside her: "I don't know if you'll like this."
Qu Jiaying was a little at a loss. She took it and found it was a music box shaped like a violin. She turned the delicate little handle and Mozart's Serenade came out of the machine.
Yan Zheng glanced at Le Yi with a subtle expression.
"Thank you, I like it very much." Qu Jiaying finally picked up the conversation easily, "I noticed yesterday that you had several toys on your piano."
Seeing that she was no longer angry, Le Yi smiled brightly, which complemented his blond hair. He explained, "These toys are for the children who come to my classes."
Yan Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that Le Yi had just been coaxing Qu Jiaying into thinking she was his student.
"You're already teaching students?" Qu Jiaying asked in surprise.
Le Yi nodded: "Although my current price isn't very high, I'll still try to earn as much money as I can to help my family. My parents are ordinary people who love music. They saw my talent and worked hard to support my piano lessons. But as you all know, the expenses from learning the piano to getting into a music academy are enormous."
Financial resources are a necessity, which is why Qu Jiaying does not plan to study in Germany again. Going abroad is more expensive, and she feels that she has wasted the money her parents worked so hard to provide for her since she did not become a soloist.
Yan Zheng remarked, "You haven't participated in many competitions, yet you still managed to get in; your talent is truly exceptional." He then added, "But why can't you always play the accompaniment well?"
Le Yi's expression fell: "I have tried. I have listened to your theories about Brahms' style and I have also read about his past experiences, but I still can't grasp the feeling."
Yan Zheng sighed and turned to explain to Qu Jiaying, "I came over yesterday. His interpretation is all based on his own understanding, not on the composer's intention. His theoretical knowledge is also not solid. I explained it to him for a long time, but he still couldn't understand. It seems that I confused him even more. The more he played, the more wrong it became."
Qu Jiaying pondered for a while. Although she and Le Yi had different personalities, they felt they were similar in some ways. She was not the type to learn by theory alone.
She searched on her phone and forwarded a version of a pianist playing the instrument to Le Yi: "Listen to this, it might help you. I learned it this way too, and I feel it's easier to understand."
Le Yi opened the music player on his phone and listened carefully, attentively, to the pianist's interpretation, to where the music was gentle and where it was passionate.
Qu Jiaying and Yan Zheng squeezed into the remaining space in the music room, remaining silent to each other.
A short while later, Qu Jiaying received a message from Yan Zheng: "You learned it this way too?"
She looked up at Yan Zheng diagonally opposite her. The music room was too small, and their knees were almost touching.
Yan Zheng shifted his legs uncomfortably.
"Yes, I used to often imitate the techniques of famous violinists, but I still lacked their infectiousness. I've hit a bottleneck," Qu Jiaying replied.
"Can you feel their emotions?" Yan Zheng replied.
Qu Jiaying looked up at him in confusion.
Yan Zheng glanced at Le Yi, who was focused on listening to music, stood up, squeezed past Qu Jiaying to the door, the fabric of his suit pants gently brushing against her, signaling her to come out.
Qu Jiaying followed him out, puzzled, and gently closed the door behind her.
"What's wrong?"
Yan Zheng asked again, not with a question, but with a hint of sarcasm.
Qu Jiaying retorted in surprise: "Of course, I've heard master-level performances live, and I was moved to tears."
Yan Zheng wasn't entirely convinced, but he still dutifully explained, "Then just think about the emotions you felt at that moment when you played." He then asked, "What do you usually think about when you play?"
"I'm so focused on playing each note well, making sure the tone and pitch are good. I don't have time to think about anything else," Qu Jiaying said.
"That's why your music is so stiff and lacks any liveliness," Yan Zheng said.
Qu Jiaying asked doubtfully, "Can you just act out happiness by thinking about it? I think you still need the corresponding skills to express it, right?"
"I don't know," Yan Zheng said.
"Huh?"
“I need to understand the composer to perform well, and your style is different from mine, as are our practice methods.” Yan Zheng looked weary. “I can’t perform cheerful pieces well.”
“You are indeed more suited to the serious and profound type, which is very similar to your personality,” Qu Jiaying said with a light laugh.
Yan Zheng suddenly turned his head and stared at her. Qu Jiaying asked in surprise, "What's wrong with me?"
He turned his head again, paused, and asked, "Would you like to join our quartet?"
“My energy is mainly focused on solo performances,” Qu Jiaying added. “Besides, you wouldn’t agree, would you?”
Yan Zheng stared at her intently for a few seconds, his lips moved slightly, but he didn't say anything in the end. He then pushed open the door behind him.
After listening to it once, Le Yi tried to play it himself, but he went astray halfway through. Frustrated, he started over again, repeating the process over and over.
Qu Jiaying sighed. It seemed they couldn't practice together today. The exam was tomorrow morning. Was there still enough time?
Thinking too much was useless; at least her performance wasn't the best yet. She found an empty practice room and started practicing.
From morning till night, Qu Jiaying could only learn how to use various techniques to express passion or lyricism, but she still couldn't understand and apply them by putting in emotion and bringing them to life.
On the other side, Le Yi had not fully grasped the famous pianist's interpretation methods either, and his own interpretation would occasionally pop up.
That evening, the two tried to rehearse together. Qu Jiaying was very dissatisfied, and Le Yi was also angry with himself. He advised Qu Jiaying to go home and rest first, and that he would continue to practice and would definitely not become a burden to her.
The next day, Qu Jiaying messaged Le Yi, wanting to find a place to reunite the two sets, but he didn't reply for a long time.
She made several more calls, but no one answered.
Qu Jiaying sent another message to Yan Zheng, asking him if he knew where Le Yi was.
Yan Zheng was unsure. He went to Le Yi's dormitory, but Le Yi wasn't there. His roommates said he hadn't come back last night.
"Could he still be in the music room?" Yan Zheng guessed.
Qu Jiaying couldn't believe it. Time was running out. Gao Ying was keeping watch outside the classroom where the exam was being held. She had just sent a message saying it would be her turn soon.
Qu Jiaying ran wildly through the campus flowerbeds, creating a whirlwind that caused pink peach blossoms to fall from the treetops, red azaleas to unfurl their petals in the bushes, and yellow forsythia to sway and dance on the branches, her clothes becoming stained with the fragrance of various flowers.
She rushed into the stairwell, climbing floor by floor to the floor where Le Yi practiced her music. Holding onto the doorknob, she gasped for breath. Sure enough, the person was inside, still practicing, completely oblivious to the time.
Qu Jiaying pulled Le Yi up from the piano chair: "We're going to be late."
Before Le Yi could react, he was dragged down and turned into the adjacent teaching building.
The exam room was on the first floor, so there was no need to run any further; Gao Ying and Yan Zheng were already waiting for them.
"You're next, Jiaying."
Qu Jiaying wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and a plain handkerchief was handed to her.
She couldn't help but laugh, easing her tension, and looked at Yan Zheng: "Only you would bring something like this, thank you."
Le Yi finally came to his senses and got into the zone, looking at Qu Jiaying: "I'm done practicing."
Qu Jiaying took out her violin, tightened the bow, applied some rosin, wiped off the dust, and adjusted the shoulder pads.
"Next up is Qu Jiaying."
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