Chapter 50, Song 50...
Music festivals are big parties that invite a bunch of singers to participate, so the time allotted to each singer is limited. Less famous singers get one or two songs, while a star with a loyal audience and who has just achieved great success on a national program gets five songs.
Xiao Xing has high standards for herself. So far, all the solo performances she has held in livehouses and the music festival events she has participated in have been planned in the format of concerts.
The first thing is to get the atmosphere going. Xiaoxing is the final guest today. The audience has been here since the afternoon, and their energy will be a little low by this evening. She wants to get everyone hyped up again.
Xiao Xing incorporated electronic music elements into the first song, starting with the rhythm of a drum machine, followed by Qu Jiaying's violin playing, then the lights came on, all the instruments played, and the singing began.
The audience cheered continuously.
Le Yi was still immersed in his frustration. He couldn't adapt to the outside environment as quickly as Xiang Min could, but the loud singing of Xiao Xing's fans next to him made it impossible for him to stay in his own little world.
He looked up at the stage. Qu Jiaying hadn't fully gotten into the zone yet, and her movements weren't natural or relaxed enough, but her piano playing was excellent, without a trace of tension. She wasn't affected at all by what had happened these past few days or by the piano in her hands. Her ability to adapt to changing circumstances was getting stronger and stronger, which was the result of Yan Zheng frequently taking her to performances.
He accomplished nothing.
Before the second song started, the keyboardist moved his instrument to the center of the stage, and Xiaoxing said with a smile, "I stole his instrument again."
Listeners familiar with Xiaoxing laughed heartily. Xiaoxing often changes instruments during live performances, all for the sake of the performance effect. After all, she wants each song to have variety, and she wants the audience to experience the fun and beauty of music.
Xiaoxing isn't a singer who excels in both singing and dancing; this is the only way she can create her own stage.
The second piece was adapted into a jazz style, with Xiaoxing playing the piano, the keyboardist playing the trumpet, the bassist handling the bass, and Qu Jiaying's violin resonating in the bass while using difficult left-hand pizzicato and rhythmic elements.
This section was suggested by Qu Jiaying, incorporating the violin into jazz music. David confirmed that she could perform the difficult left-hand pizzicato, which is why he made this arrangement, and Qu Jiaying completed it perfectly.
After Xiaoxing's two most popular songs, the keyboardist retrieved his instrument. This was Xiaoxing's band's time to showcase their skills according to the concert plan. She held the microphone, pointed to the band members, and introduced them. Each of them performed a solo, and finally, they came to Qu Jiaying's place.
"This is my most amazing senior—violinist Qu Jiaying. I can't take her violin; I wouldn't know how to use it even if I did."
Because she wanted to show off her skills, Qu Jiaying chose the most well-known piece, "Flight of the Bumblebee." The audience cheered, and she, feeling the effects of the alcohol, played with increasing enthusiasm and relaxation.
"That's incredibly fast!"
"It really sounds like the sound of bees."
"But she wasn't scary at all, like seeing bees collecting nectar among flowers on a spring outing."
Le Yi looked around. The audience was very happy. He liked this feeling. He looked up at Qu Jiaying in the center of the stage.
The orange-red sunset reflected on her white dress, making her breathtakingly beautiful. Everyone present was watching her; she was radiant.
After her solo performance, Xiaoxing introduced her new songs, including Qu Jiaying and the inspiration behind them.
“I took Mahler’s ‘Das Lied von der Erde’ as my inspiration, but I felt that my understanding of Mahler was still not enough. Just then, I met Sister Jiaying. She interprets Mahler very well. I took the initiative to contact her and invited her to join the creation of this album and today’s performance. We had a very pleasant collaboration, and I hope that everyone will like these two new songs, ‘Long Autumn Night’ and ‘Drunk in Spring’.”
Yan Zheng nodded in satisfaction, thinking that this would reduce the number of Xiaoxing fans who questioned Qu Jiaying.
Because it was a new song, the audience didn't sing along, but they listened very attentively, and each song ended with thunderous applause.
The fifth song had already been decided, but they had to pretend the performance was over first. Only after the audience applauded and cheered enthusiastically would they return to the stage. Xiaoxing picked up her instrument again, this time holding her guitar, and took the initiative to sing her most popular song with the audience.
This is what moved Qu Jiaying the most. The only interactive part of classical music is clapping during the "Radetzky March," and the concert hall can only hold one or two thousand people. But here, tens of thousands of people sing together, and the stage and the audience are very close. She can see every expression on their faces as they are touched by the music.
As Xiaoxing drank her water and walked backstage, she asked, "How are you feeling?"
“Dissatisfaction, resentment, and reluctance,” Qu Jiaying laughed, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
Xiao Xing took Qu Jiaying's hand and said happily, "Me too."
Both girls understood what the other was saying: they were dissatisfied with their own performance and felt they hadn't done well enough; they were resentful of the other's strong abilities; and they were reluctant to leave the stage and the audience.
Therefore, they both understood that the other would go further.
After returning to school, Qu Jiaying finished promoting the charity foundation and then went to Liu Ru and Ms. Pei's place. The couple's companies sponsored tuition fees and clothing, respectively, which generated another round of publicity.
Just as she was about to go back to practice the piano behind closed doors, Qiu Xue came over and suggested, "Strike while the iron is hot. Create an account on social media now, and you'll sell a lot of tickets for your future solo recitals."
Qu Jiaying shook her head and said, "I understand what you mean. I'm not as resistant as before, but my energy is limited. I need to practice the piano and read books. It's not too late to talk about it when I'm able to hold a solo recital in the future. But I can join your channel."
Qiu Xue laughed happily, "Then I'll ride on your coattails."
"I'm the one who's riding on your coattails, you have so many followers," Qu Jiaying laughed. "But I'll have to wait a while, final exams are coming up soon, and a lot of teachers are keeping an eye on me."
Qiu Xue is about to graduate. Unlike most of her classmates who continue their studies or become teachers in institutions, she plans to focus on self-media.
She added with dissatisfaction, "Me too! Those old fogies are really something. All I did was post some videos. All you did was hang out with pop singers. What's the big deal?"
Qu Jiaying wasn't worried about making any mistakes; her skills were impeccable. However, she had many new ideas for her performance. On Xiaoxing's stage, she adapted "Flight of the Bumblebee," making it less tense than the original and more relaxed, which was well received by the audience.
She no longer doubted herself.
I also learned a lot. Playing is not only my own experience, but also the experience of the audience. So it is not enough to just express your own emotions. You have to consciously make the audience resonate with you.
It also deepens the understanding of performance and technique, such as why lightness is used here and heaviness is used there.
Qu Jiaying was also unwilling to accept that there were some things she hadn't done well. The sound of her violin was still affected by the environment. She didn't want to switch to an electric violin, so she needed to use a better sound system and microphone. She started to learn about sound quality, which would be more helpful to her violin skills.
So no matter how picky the old-fashioned folks were, they could only let her pass the test smoothly.
Teacher Xia Xiaolei was relieved. Even in a competition, Qu Jiaying's current level meant she wouldn't be affected by conservative ideas or other factors.
The final exams for the conducting and composition departments also came to a successful conclusion, thanks to the exceptional performances of Yan Zheng and Xiang Min, who both had a lot of interaction with Qu Jiaying.
The members of the school symphony orchestra teased her, saying they couldn't figure out which one was her boyfriend.
Just as Qu Jiaying was about to helplessly clarify that she was still single, Le Yi rushed over with her suitcase and hurriedly said, "I have something to do at home, so I have to go back first."
"Didn't we agree to perform at Chen Li's bar before coming back?" Qu Jiaying asked hurriedly.
The members of the school symphony orchestra whispered among themselves, asking each other who it was. Yan Zheng, as the assistant conductor, cleared his throat, and everyone immediately shut up and exchanged glances.
Le Yi wasn't unaware of what was happening, but his mind was in complete turmoil, and he couldn't sort it out; it was all stuck in his chest.
Qu Jiaying pulled him to a corner and asked softly, "Are your uncle and aunt alright?"
"They're all fine. They didn't tell me much, they just urged me to go back quickly," Le Yi said, looking bewildered and anxious.
Qu Jiaying squeezed his hand reassuringly.
Le Yi forced a smile.
He bought the earliest flight back.
It was Le Yi's mentor, the old principal, who was hospitalized due to illness.
To be precise, he had been ill for a long time. After being diagnosed with cancer, the old principal did not seek treatment or tell his relatives and students. He only took painkillers. In recent months, his body could no longer hold up, so he was admitted to the hospital.
The old principal's students took turns coming to help take care of him, and Le Yi's parents also did their best to lend a hand.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Le Yi whispered outside the ward.
"What can you do?" Le Yi's parents said helplessly.
“I’m an adult now,” Le Yi said.
Le Yi's parents still shook their heads. Their elders were relatively healthy, but their friends' parents had serious illnesses, and they had heard about the hardships of caring for sick elderly people.
This is not something a young man in his early twenties can handle, much less something he should bear.
Le Yi didn't care about any of that. He followed his senior brother, who was decades older than him, to help. His senior brother didn't try to persuade him to leave, but the old headmaster, who occasionally came to his senses, advised him to go home.
"For me, it's better for you to go back and practice the piano than to stay in the hospital room and watch me sleep." The old headmaster's voice was much weaker, but he still wanted to resolve the issue of this closed-door disciple.
“Since your family isn’t here, don’t worry about what I want to do.” Le Yi was equally stubborn.
But Le Yi gradually realized that he couldn't help with anything. He couldn't call the old principal's family back, nor could he bear the old principal's weak cries when he was in pain. He was also clueless about the various hospital procedures and couldn't even provide emotional support. The old principal urged him to go back to practice the piano, dissatisfied with him staying in the hospital.
Le Yi didn't want to ask Xiang Min, who had similar experiences, nor did he want to tell Qu Jiaying. He simply insisted on staying at the hospital. His senior colleague, who was not young, couldn't stay with him at night, so he worked the night shift with the caregiver.
"Why are you so stubborn, kid?" the old principal asked.
Le Yi glanced at the snoring caregiver before whispering, "You always say it's a psychological problem, that I can overcome it. I don't think I'm that fragile, but I just can't solve it. I feel very conflicted right now, a bit lost about the future, and a bit unwilling to accept it..."
"What happened at school?" the old principal asked kindly, just as he had when he was a child.
Le Yi's eyes stung, and she choked out, "Will you get better?"
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