Chapter 81

The computer was placed behind the electric piano, and Qi Qingnuo sat next to Yu Xinting, both looking at the sheet music. Yu Xinting didn't start immediately but first asked Yang Jingxing, "How do you play this part?"

Yang Jingxing said, "You two discuss it."

Qi Qingnuo was doubtful, "There should be a half rest here, and this part should be connected..."

After a bit of discussion and creation, Yu Xinting started playing, with a gentle prelude. After about ten seconds, Qi Qingnuo began to hum, "Ah... hmm..."

Qi Qingnuo's voice was slightly neutral, with a bit of impurity, but she was already quite familiar with the melody and hummed with feeling. The human voice was used as an instrument, harmonizing with the piano.

When the effect came out, Yu Xinting and Qi Qingnuo knew that Yang Jingxing's simplicity in the music structure was not a shortcut. As a novice composer, Yang Jingxing used various techniques in his earlier works, and the framework of "Sun in the Rain" was already quite large. "Through Wind and Rain" was even more complex, but this chanting song felt simple and smooth when reading the sheet music.

Qi Qingnuo's voice started strong but quickly became softer, with her mouth opening much less. Yu Xinting's ten fingers were even more gentle, as if caressing the keys.

Generally, beauty seems inseparable from sadness, but this piece felt purely beautiful, very thorough and innocent. The piano accompaniment was written in C minor, 2/4 time, and Yu Xinting played it even slower and lighter. Qi Qingnuo also became more gentle.

After a little over three minutes, the coda was handled by the human voice. After listening, Yang Jingxing clapped, "Better than I imagined."

Qi Qingnuo licked her lips, "Is it us who are better than you imagined, or is it you?"

Yang Jingxing shamelessly said, "Both."

Yu Xinting looked at Yang Jingxing, "Although there's not much change, it sounds very good... I can't quite describe it."

Qi Qingnuo analyzed, "It's quite clean... suitable for children to sing."

Yu Xinting agreed, "Yes, yes."

Yang Jingxing hurriedly said, "You're saying I'm childish!"

Qi Qingnuo agreed, "Exactly."

Yu Xinting shook her head, "No, it just feels very clean... not particularly childish, but like a teenager, around eleven or twelve."

Qi Qingnuo was delighted, "So precise... Fu Feirong should be suitable, her voice has that feel, some parts are especially good... let's call it 'Maiden,' pure and innocent... I miss it so much."

Yang Jingxing said, "Cherish it now."

Yu Xinting giggled.

Next, Yang Jingxing played the piano and had Yu Xinting sing once. She wasn't as good at singing as Qi Qingnuo, but it still sounded nice, with a bit more childishness.

It was ten o'clock, and Qi Qingnuo hurried home, while Yu Xinting also went back to her dorm. After recording a segment of the piano track, Yang Jingxing practiced the guitar for over an hour before leaving 402.

Although classical guitarists in the music college didn't look highly on fingerstyle guitar, the expressiveness of any instrument is actually endless, always to be explored. Even the harmonica has its masters. When Yang Jingxing played "Cinderella" before, he didn't feel much, but now he realized that his fingerstyle guitar skills were just at the beginner level, and there was a long way to go. Of course, if he mastered classical guitar, fingerstyle guitar would be easy, but classical guitar, like the piano, requires strict precision, and self-study seemed unreliable. Yang Jingxing didn't have the time to delve into it now.

Yang Jingxing arrived at Fu's barbecue at 12:15, ordered some late-night snacks, and ate for about ten minutes. Fu Feirong returned on her brother's motorcycle, still in makeup.

Yang Jingxing showed the manuscript to Fu Feirong. "Maiden," a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face, but the musical notes made her even more embarrassed. After a while, Fu Feirong still couldn't accurately hum the first sentence.

A new waitress, who was two years older than Fu Feirong, stood by and observed, asking, "Maiden, have you heard it? Who sings it?"

Fu Feirong shook her head, "Of course not."

Fu Feirong's sister-in-law, who had sharp eyes, called the waitress to do something.

It seemed Fu Feirong had put effort into self-study, at least recognizing all the notes, but she couldn't sing the sheet music smoothly, lacking absolute pitch. It took her about ten seconds to hum a measure.

Yang Jingxing wasn't in a hurry, slowly eating and drinking, watching without reminding. After half an hour, Fu Feirong finally finished humming the pages, her forehead sweating.

Yang Jingxing said, "Hum it once."

Fu Feirong hummed it, but it was full of mistakes, truly unbearable to listen to. Yang Jingxing opened his computer and played the piano melody for her to listen to.

Fu Feirong at least heard a bit, "I sang too fast."

Yang Jingxing said, "Give me the MP3, go home and listen more, ponder it, don't rush... this is the melody, this is the accompaniment, once you're familiar, play the accompaniment and sing."

Fu Feirong's sister-in-law came over and asked, "Does Panpan need a computer?"

Yang Jingxing said, "It's best to have one."

"Buy, buy!" The sister-in-law was quite generous.

After Yang Jingxing copied it, Fu Feirong listened to the MP3 with one earphone, then poured beer for Yang Jingxing, resolutely saying, "If I can't do it, I'll give up."

Yang Jingxing said, "I respect your decision, but I think you can do it."

Fu Feirong bit her lip, "I'll try my best."

Yang Jingxing smiled, "Don't stress, it's just singing, have you ever been afraid before?"

Fu Feirong chuckled, "This is different... do you need anything else?"

Yang Jingxing said no, then insisted on paying and leaving. Fu Feirong asked, "Can I have Ran Jie teach me?"

Yang Jingxing said, "Sure, but what she teaches may not be the best."

Fu Feirong nodded, "I understand."

On Thursday, Yang Jingxing and Qi Qingnuo continued to attend the "Hundred Flowers Cup." After the vocal works in the morning, the instrumental works started in the afternoon. It was quite lively, with all kinds of instruments on stage, including a large drum that shook the hall. The competition did not accept electronic music, so Yang Jingxing and Qi Qingnuo made changes to their arrangements and orchestrations. Despite this, some works still had a non-mainstream flavor, which could be described as experimental. In a better sense, it was true art, not commercial music.

Luo Jiaqian commented on a ten-minute erhu piece, "Tedious and uninteresting." Her own song was guitar-accompanied, with a very feminine theme, gentle and sad, not bad but not excellent. However, authors always love their own works, like parents love their children.

After four or five hours, everyone was quite bored except for hearing their own works, but the applause for each piece was enthusiastic. A few piano and string quartets by professionals received consistent recognition but lacked novelty and were unlikely to be widely performed.

Finally, Yang Jingxing and Qi Qingnuo found a flute solo to be good, with a fresh and rich flavor, not non-mainstream. The introduction mentioned that the author was an old man from a rural area, with no theoretical knowledge, and the work was organized and submitted by a local cultural unit.

It seemed that life experience made a difference.

Qi Qingnuo also asked Yang Jingxing if he had taught Fu Feirong singing the night before and what she thought of the song, then said, "She's too pure... can you reveal your plans?"

Yang Jingxing said, "No long-term plans for now."

Finally, it was Friday. At noon, Yang Jingxing and Qi Qingnuo ate dumplings to celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival. Yang Jingxing ordered thirty pork and cabbage dumplings, and Qi Qingnuo fifteen scallion and pork dumplings, and they shared.

In the afternoon, there were about ten more works, with Qi Qingnuo and Yang Jingxing's pieces one after the other, but not the last. "Clouds Dispersed" had a larger ensemble, with traditional Chinese instruments, but without the electric guitar and electronic keyboard, replaced by trumpets, trombones, and timpani.

Overall, it was a good piece, with a clear structure, appropriate melody, and unconventional orchestration, but the overall melody wasn't particularly catchy. The judges scored many aspects, and Qi Qingnuo should have a high score for personal characteristics.

Next was Yang Jingxing's "Sun in the Rain." According to the score Yang Jingxing provided, the competition organizers still gave him a brass section, a string section, harp, snare drum, clarinet, and piano. The piano was not the main instrument.

He Hongchui had already told Yang Jingxing that his and Qi Qingnuo's unconventional ensemble and non-standardized composition made it difficult to win. Participating was the main goal.

This was just a high school auditorium with no acoustic design, and the orchestra was relatively thin. The notes played by three trumpets, two French horns, two violins, and one viola barely reached the back rows.

The conductor, who was under thirty and acted pretentiously, clearly didn't bother to deeply understand these so-called works, just following the score to finish the performance.

With so many people, the performance was worse than what Yang Jingxing, Qi Qingnuo, and Yu Xinting did in 402. The grand and lively atmosphere required by the piece became dry and petty here.

Of course, first-time listeners wouldn't compare this version to the 402 version. Qi Qingnuo's classmates just said it was nice, nice.

Qi Qingnuo said, "The trumpet isn't as good as yours."

Finally, there were a few more pieces, with more significant backgrounds, and the people in the front row clapped hard.

After so many works, the performance finally ended. The leaders and artists began to speak, summarizing and congratulating the success of the competition. Meanwhile, the organizing committee started tallying the scores of all the works, and the rankings would be announced soon.

However, many people in the auditorium didn't care about the results. It was already five o'clock, and they needed to go home for dinner. At least a third of the audience left. The remaining people started to socialize, like at a cocktail party, introducing themselves and moving around.

He Hongchui walked to a position about ten meters away and called, "Yang Jingxing, Qi Qingnuo, come over." Yang Jingxing and Qi Qingnuo hurried over, and the remaining few could only watch, knowing they were not as skilled.

He Hongchui led Yang Jingxing and Qi Qingnuo to the side of the stage, where the senior composer Ding Sangpeng was waiting. After shaking hands with the two young people, Ding Sangpeng first praised Qi Qingnuo, saying her attempts at innovation in traditional Chinese instrument performance were good, and she should continue to strive.

The old man was kind but not energetic, speaking clearly but with a weak voice. After listening to the praise, Qi Qingnuo thanked him and wished him good health.

Next was Yang Jingxing. Ding Sangpeng asked, "Is 'Sun in the Rain' a grand work?"

Yang Jingxing was embarrassed, "I intended it to be, but I didn't complete it."

Ding Sangpeng said, "The competition conditions are limited, and preparation time is short... young people have many opportunities, don't take one failure too seriously, and keep working hard."

Yang Jingxing nodded, "Thank you for your encouragement, I will work hard."

The old man looked at Yang Jingxing, then at Qi Qingnuo, and instructed, "Pu Yin hasn't produced new works in a long time, you two need to work together."

Qi Qingnuo nodded, "Don't worry, we will."

Yang Jingxing also said, "We will."

Ding Sangpeng then said to He Hongchui, "These two young people are quite good."

He Hongchui thanked him and then helped the old man to another place.

It was surprising that someone who had lived through two dynasties would appreciate such trendy and commercial music. Qi Qingnuo was moved, "I thought of my grandfather."

Yang Jingxing asked, "Is he still alive?"

Qi Qingnuo shook her head, "My mother is from Pingjing, and I went there a few times when I was young. My grandfather was already old then, but he was very kind to me... you can see my mother is very short, like my grandfather."

Yang Jingxing said, "You take after your father."

Qi Qingnuo said, "But my personality is like my mother's."

Yang Jingxing said, "I think you're more like your father."

Qi Qingnuo said, "In my heart... how much do you know about me!"

Yang Jingxing apologized, "It's not that you're shallow, it's me."

Qi Qingnuo mocked, "Do you want to know more?"

Yang Jingxing said, "There's an attraction."

Qi Qingnuo lightly pulled the corner of her mouth and changed the topic, "What about your grandfather?"

The award ceremony started at six, divided by age groups but not by vocal or instrumental works. First, for those under 36, five excellence awards were announced, and the winners went on stage. Then, "Third Prize Winning Work, Traditional Chinese Ensemble 'Clouds Dispersed,' Composer, Qi Qingnuo, a third-year student at Pu Hai Music College, please come on stage."

Qi Qingnuo raised her eyebrows when she heard her work's name and glanced at Yang Jingxing. Yang Jingxing grinned, "Treat."

Qi Qingnuo accepted her classmates' congratulations but refused to hug, then walked quickly to the stage as she usually did at school.

Next, the second and first prizes were announced, a song and a piano trio, respectively. When the first prize was announced, Luo Jiaqian and Xu Xuesi all looked at Yang Jingxing.

Yang Jingxing looked around and said, "You heard wrong, it's not me."

Luo Jiaqian comforted, "It's just that, it doesn't matter."

After about ten minutes, Qi Qingnuo returned, holding a certificate, a trophy, and 8,000 yuan in prize money. Yang Jingxing, who didn't win, just enjoyed the sight.

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