Chapter 46, Song 46...
Qu Jiaying had no objection. Although David spoke bluntly, he was not wrong and had indeed given her a lot of inspiration. She learned some new things, and it wouldn't be a bad thing for the three of them to get to know each other better.
"Where are the three of you going together?" Qu Jiaying asked. This combination was quite unusual; they usually paired up in pairs.
Yan Zheng had originally planned to mediate between the two, but now he could only invite Qu Jiaying along: "Let's go eat barbecue."
The barbecue restaurant was filled with smoke and laughter, and laughter could be heard from every table.
A subtle silence fell over Qu Jiaying's table.
Although Le Yi and Xiang Min tacitly knew that now was not the time to argue, they were too embarrassed to ask first, so they looked at Yan Zheng.
Yan Zheng wiped the table with a wet wipe, but still felt it wasn't clean enough, so he got up to wash his hands.
Their hopes were dashed, and while they were still hesitating, Qu Jiaying suddenly brought up her plan to go to the United States after graduation.
Although they roughly knew that she would be going abroad in the future, it hadn't been finalized yet, and both Le Yi and Xiang Min had been keeping this issue unresolved. Now that it was being brought up in front of them, they were both surprised and unsure how to react.
Damn it, why hasn't Yan Zheng come back yet?
Le Yi was secretly annoyed. A winter vacation had passed, and he was still confused. He had talked to the old principal when he wished him a Happy New Year. The old principal said that teaching children was not the job he was best suited for.
Should he teach adults? That would certainly fit his requirements. Most of them, like Yang Jingyi, had some prior knowledge of the subject. The students wouldn't be focused on competitions; it would be more about interest. However, the market wasn't large, and Le Yi also wanted to repay his parents for their support.
Le Yi sighed. He didn't know he cared so much about things. Would he disappoint Qu Jiaying?
But his pride wouldn't allow him to be a prodigal son who never knew where his next meal would come from.
Although Xiang Min mentioned that he stopped learning the cello because of financial problems, Le Yi believed that he was not suffering because of money.
However, none of this affected Yueyi's performance of Mozart; in fact, she performed it even better than before.
His teachers at school encouraged him to participate in competitions more frequently, hoping he could become a soloist.
How could Le Yi not know what he is best suited to do?
He smiled bitterly, feeling pathetic at the thought of avoiding competition, especially with Qu Jiaying improving with each competition and performance. He knew in his heart that Qu Jiaying didn't care about this, but his damned pride was constantly at play, making him even more unwilling to accept it.
But he still wakes up from time to time when he dreams of that first match from his childhood.
...
We agreed to go together, and we met not long after.
Qu Jiaying had already recorded the audio, and Xiaoxing had prepared a demo for her to listen to, so she brought the three of them along.
Qu Jiaying said, "I'm sorry, they also want to come."
"We'd love to welcome you," Xiaoxing said enthusiastically, while subtly giving her cousin a gloating look.
This time, after arriving at Xiaoxing's studio and putting their things away, Xiaoxing and Dawei showed Qu Jiaying and the other three around. The studio was filled with musical instruments, from pianos, guitars, and drum kits to niche instruments from various countries and ethnic groups.
"This can imitate the sound of the wind." Xiao Xing picked up a wooden wind instrument and demonstrated it to Qu Jiaying.
David, Le Yi, Yan Zheng, and Xiang Min chatted idly.
"So your English name is David?" Le Yi asked.
“Unfortunately, it’s Wei,” David said.
Xiang Min subtly sized up David. He was actually quite good-looking, spoke fluent Mandarin, and even understood cultural references. How infuriating! There wasn't a single mistake he made!
Even if Le Yi gains Qu Jiaying's favor, that's fine, but not Dawei.
He didn't want to see another Chinese person win the crown after just a few words about music.
Xiang Min remained silent, listening to Yan Zheng and Dawei discuss national symphonic music. Another well-known music academy in China had teachers of this genre, but their school did not. They were basically in sync with the Western mainstream, mainly innovating in terms of format. The more innovative they were, the worse it sounded. They claimed that music had no borders, but in reality, they were just being lazy and only wanted to follow the direction of the West, completely forgetting that many classical music composers from different periods had absorbed music from various ethnic groups.
Xiang Min didn't get along well with the school teachers, and when he encountered creative blocks, it was difficult to seek advice from them. He counted, and surprisingly, only Cai Rui was currently paying attention to ethnic elements. Cai Rui's last collaboration with the provincial symphony orchestra was moving in that direction.
But he would never go to Cai Rui, even if you killed him!
Xiao Xing played the demos she had recorded earlier for Qu Jiaying: "The demos for almost every song are finished."
Qu Jiaying listened to each song one by one. The lyrics and music were both very good. Each song was actually quite different in style, including folk and pop, folk and rock, folk and rap. Folk music itself is a broad concept. Traditional folk music such as the erhu and the lusheng from the southwest belong to folk music. In addition, a lot of natural sounds were added. Xiaoxing and Dawei blended these seemingly disparate elements very well.
Qu Jiaying praised them highly, and even Xiang Min had to admit the talent of the brother and sister.
"The final product still needs adjustments, and the album will be released after the music festival. I plan to perform 'Long Autumn Night' and 'Drunk in Spring' at the music festival. Jiaying, I'm counting on you," Xiaoxing said.
These two pieces were inspired by "Song of the Earth." Qu Jiaying played the melancholic and sorrowful "Long Autumn Night" and the cheerful and carefree "Spring Day Intoxication" with strings. Even the demos were exceptionally well-received.
"The other songs are our previous compositions, and I've sent you the sheet music." Xiaoxing plans to collaborate with Qu Jiaying throughout the music festival.
Qu Jiaying also discussed this with Xia Xiaolei. Xia Xiaolei also considered the conservatism of the domestic classical music scene, and that her performance might not be successful in the industry. In that case, she would have to rely on external forces because her piano playing could move the audience. Even if the industry did not recognize it, the audience would, and conversely, the industry would eventually recognize it.
Qu Jiaying didn't care; she was content as long as she played her music well.
“Times have changed between us back then and you now,” said Xia Xiaolei at the time. “When I talked to Cai Rui before, I thought he must have thought he was very special because he was born abroad and was an Asian prodigy compared to white children. But now he is being treated coldly. I went abroad as an adult and did not have the protection of the prodigy title. I felt the exclusion and pressure from the beginning.”
"Does Professor Cai Rui admit it?" Qu Jiaying asked curiously.
“He admitted to me that he grew up in a white community, but music made him stand out. When he was a child, he participated in competitions, and other white kids knew they couldn’t win first place when they saw him. He was proud of his ethnicity, but he also recognized his nationality. As a result, he couldn’t get along with people who grew up in mainland China, and could only talk to second-generation Asians like him who immigrated with their parents or were born abroad when they were young,” said Xia Xiaolei.
“It feels like nothing has changed. Ruan Qi also told me about the Chinese classmates she met there, but she didn’t get along with them,” Qu Jiaying said.
Teacher Xia Xiaolei laughed and said, "Maybe she will change her mind in a few years, or maybe not. As Teacher Cai Rui has learned and performed more and more music, his views have also changed. He has gradually come to value the identity of musicians more than ethnicity when making friends with others. He has also become closer to Xiang Xiaojuan, who was born and raised in mainland China. Therefore, now that he has come to the mainland to teach, he is also looking at ethnic music elements again."
Qu Jiaying nodded in realization.
Teacher Xia Xiaolei continued, "Some of Teacher Cai Rui's Asian musician friends are similar to him, or even go beyond that, creating works with ethnic music elements. However, some people are completely the opposite, never believing that ethnicity has any influence, but rather identifying more with the music itself. It's hard to say which is better or more correct."
Now, there are more and more Asian students, unlike when Xia Xiaolei was a minority. They don't feel excluded as much. But that doesn't mean they will succeed. There are indeed quite a few Asians in the lower and middle classes, but the upper class, which holds the power and sets the rules, is still white.
However, in the eyes of Qu Jiaying's generation, the situation is completely different. There are more people like them, the competition is more intense, but at the same time they are more confident.
Therefore, Xia Xiaolei agreed. She believed that it was a good thing for Qu Jiaying to collaborate with a pop singer, as it would allow her to go to a bigger world, have a broader horizon, and broaden her understanding and perspectives.
"Then we'll go see the fashion designer together," Xiaoxing said, drawing Qu Jiaying's attention back.
“Okay,” Qu Jiaying replied.
Xiao Xing isn't a singer-dancer, so she doesn't have to worry about stage setup and dance design, but she still has to worry about costumes and makeup, as well as music arrangement. Even when singing her previous works, she has to make some changes.
"It's getting late, let's go eat. There's a really good Cantonese restaurant nearby," David said.
Before Xiang Min and the others could politely decline, Qu Jiaying readily agreed: "Okay."
Qu Jiaying was curious about what Xiaoxing and Dawei had talked about with Teacher Cai Rui last time, since they had just been busy discussing albums and music festivals.
David and Professor Tsai Rui actually share very similar views. He himself admits: "The biggest difference is not the generational gap, but that I am a creator and he is a conductor. No matter how he interprets, he cannot make major changes, while I can create my own musical world."
"So in your eyes, the music of us performers is narrow?" Qu Jiaying asked, half-jokingly and half-questioningly.
David raised his hands in surrender: "You still remember what I said last time. Ideas are ideas, but your performance was unparalleled."
Qu Jiaying was amused by the compliment.
Xiang Min frowned and stared at Dawei. He then looked at Le Yi and Yan Zheng, who should have been on the same side. Both of them were very curious about Xiaoxing and Dawei's creation.
Isn't this a complete defection?!
Especially Le Yi, who was so eagerly curious about what it was all about!
Le Yi was genuinely happy. He had found another possibility and seen another world, a world that didn't only offer the paths of a soloist and a music teacher. On the way back, he made a point of saying to Qu Jiaying, "Thank you."
Qu Jiaying smiled gently and said, "I didn't do anything."
Le Yi relaxed his brows and smiled gently at her.
Xiang Min clenched his fists, and Yan Zheng patted his shoulder reassuringly, saying in a low voice, "I can go with you to see Teacher Cai Rui."
Xiang Min brushed Yan Zheng's hand away and said firmly, "No need, I'll go by myself."
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