Chapter 95

After finishing their meal, Ran and her friends were about to return to the bar. Yang Jingxing didn’t see them off; he had to go back to school to continue arranging the music. Yu Xinting didn’t disturb him either.

On Tuesday morning, Yang Jingxing went to hand over the full score of "Sun in the Rain" to He Hongchui. Surprisingly, He Hongchui already had the score for "Together in the Storm," which he said he had downloaded from the school forum.

He Hongchui carefully analyzed "Together in the Storm" for Yang Jingxing, comparing it with "Sun in the Rain" in terms of melody and arrangement. He praised Yang Jingxing’s pursuit of melody but felt that his compositional techniques were too "diverse and eclectic," leading to a commercialized work that lacked uniqueness, being merely pleasant to the ear.

He Hongchui said that commercialization wasn’t bad, but it was the biggest limitation for artistic works, making Yang Jingxing’s works superficially pleasant and potentially short-lived.

The facts were clear: Yang Jingxing’s current works were widely popular in the school, and everyone thought they sounded great, but few people were interested in in-depth research because it wasn’t necessary. Although his works had somewhat complex structures, the techniques were still basic. The melodies were outstanding, but the goal seemed to be only to sound good.

Using cooking as a metaphor, Yang Jingxing’s works were like a stir-fry with many good ingredients, very tasty but not particularly refined. However, a skilled chef wouldn’t make a hodgepodge; even with a single ingredient, they would use top-notch skills to create the most delicious and memorable dishes.

He Hongchui suggested that Yang Jingxing focus more on specialized works, delving deeper into the other charms and effects of music beyond just sounding good.

He Hongchui used another metaphor: "Like students in the art school, those who can paint portraits as realistic as photos aren’t necessarily good students because that’s not the ultimate goal of art. Music isn’t just about sounding good... We teachers have all seen your works, and frankly, we didn’t find much depth... Except for this ensemble, which has some interest."

Yang Jingxing said, "I’m not ready to think about depth yet."

He Hongchui criticized, "If you’re not ready, who is? Don’t think you’re too young; every stage of life has its own emotions and thoughts to express... You put so much effort into getting into this school; your vision shouldn’t be limited to commercial music. If you’re writing this just to make money, you might as well ask your family for it."

Yang Jingxing said he would remember He Hongchui’s words and strive for artistic direction.

On Thursday afternoon in the harmony class, Professor Gong Xiaoling, who was about the same age as Li Yingzhen, suddenly showed concern for Yang Jingxing. Gong Xiaoling had in-depth research in modern harmony, but unfortunately, it wasn’t highly valued in the current domestic music education system, so she mostly taught classical harmony according to the school’s requirements.

Gong Xiaoling said she had seen Yang Jingxing’s "Together in the Storm" and particularly appreciated the piano part. Yang Jingxing admitted that he had read Gong Xiaoling’s two detailed books on harmonic intervals.

Gong Xiaoling was surprised because she hadn’t recommended her books to students, and those books were first published in Russia, not even issued domestically. The few copies in the library were her personal donations, and she didn’t expect many people to read them.

So, in the second class, Gong Xiaoling suddenly changed the course. She projected Yang Jingxing’s score and said, "This class, we’ll analyze a work closer to us, looking at the piano harmonies and textures in Yang Jingxing’s piano and trumpet ensemble."

Among the dozen or so students, a few already had the score, and the others copied it on the spot. Luo Jiaqian’s USB drive was passed around from Yang Jingxing’s computer.

After everyone had a look, Gong Xiaoling encouraged, "Can anyone share their discoveries and understanding of the harmonic usage in this work?"

A male student first talked about the contrapuntal harmonies in Yang Jingxing’s work, which was obvious and not particularly insightful.

Xu Xuesi, who had a good relationship with Yang Jingxing, noticed two melodic embellishments and said, "This is my favorite part."

Luo Jiaqian analyzed Yang Jingxing’s rich textures, saying, "I think the alternation between block chords and arpeggios, though not perfectly neat, greatly helps the melody."

Gong Xiaoling nodded, "All good points. Now, let me share my thoughts..."

Gong Xiaoling’s analysis was much deeper than the freshmen’s, covering not only harmony but also melody, and even seeing through the small tricks Yang Jingxing had used in his writing.

After a long discussion, Yang Jingxing felt embarrassed. Gong Xiaoling finally asked, "When I taught second-year students, many initially said this piece was about beautiful love and was very touching... What do you think now?"

A few people looked at Yang Jingxing, who smiled, "I don’t know."

Gong Xiaoling also laughed, "From the beginning, the prelude is very beautiful, quickly capturing the audience’s attention. Look at the two melodies... What do they remind you of?"

No one knew.

Gong Xiaoling sighed, "If only life could be like the first meeting..."

The few people looked at Yang Jingxing again, who was smiling awkwardly.

Gong Xiaoling continued her analysis and played the piano, then asked, "What does this section tell? Why are there dissonant intervals, and this collision only happens twice in the entire piece?"

A female student whispered, "It feels a bit helpless?"

Gong Xiaoling praised, "Exactly, it’s a sense of helplessness, fleeting... And this voice crossing, which is generally discouraged, why does it appear repeatedly here..."

Initially, everyone thought it was a beautiful love song, but under Gong Xiaoling’s guidance, it was analyzed into a deeply sad and helpless work, not necessarily about love, but possibly about various other emotions, full of meaning.

Gong Xiaoling didn’t ask for Yang Jingxing’s thoughts or opinions, leaving him to smile awkwardly throughout.

After class, several people came to Yang Jingxing for all his scores. One eager student asked, "Yang Jingxing, what was the motivation behind this ensemble?"

Yang Jingxing smiled bitterly, "I really don’t know, I just wrote it randomly."

At 6:30 PM on Friday, the Composition Department’s semester exhibition was held in the old concert hall. Yang Jingxing brought Yu Xinting and An Xin, meeting Qi Qingnuo, whom he hadn’t seen for a few days.

Yang Jingxing asked, "Where have you been? No one in Room 306."

Qi Qingnuo said, "Busy." She asked Yu Xinting and An Xin, "Are you coming tomorrow night?"

Yu Xinting nodded, "Yes, hehe, and we’re buying flowers."

Inside, Qi Qingnuo found a seat with her classmates, while Yang Jingxing took Yu Xinting and An Xin to the back row.

There were only about fifty to sixty students in the undergraduate Composition Department, but most weren’t as prolific as Yang Jingxing. So, as long as a work was decent, it had a chance to be on stage.

Starting with the lower grades, the first piece was Yang Jingxing’s "Sun in the Rain," serving as the opening, performed by the school orchestra, arranged according to his score, with over forty musicians, conducted by a young teacher from the Conducting Department. They had only practiced for a day or two, and Yang Jingxing hadn’t even watched.

Although it was the old concert hall, the acoustics were still good. The brass ensemble prelude immediately quieted the noisy audience.

"Sun in the Rain" wasn’t a grand work, being quite commercial, so the performance was simple, not requiring a deep understanding of the piece. Despite the short practice time, the orchestra performed well, with a grand brass ensemble and neat string plucking.

The power of dozens of instruments and musicians was incomparable to a double-manual keyboard. All the instruments in the orchestra were performance-grade, worth millions in total. If Yang Jingxing’s double-manual keyboard performance with Qi Qingnuo and Yu Xinting could achieve a grand effect, the orchestra’s performance in the concert hall was even more impressive.

Yu Xinting was excited, looking at Yang Jingxing to see his reaction to hearing his work performed by the orchestra for the first time. Yang Jingxing was very focused.

At the end of the piece, there was a热烈的掌声, and even the professors in the front row clapped. Although He Hongchui had criticized the work for being commercial and lacking depth, he still encouraged the students.

Yu Xinting asked Yang Jingxing, "Did they do well?"

Yang Jingxing said, "Very well."

Yu Xinting said, "I think so too... If it was like this last time, you would have won, and probably first place."

Yang Jingxing smiled, "I’ll take your words as a reward."

The orchestra didn’t leave the stage; there were more works to come. Next, Luo Jiaqian performed a song she had entered in the composition competition, playing and singing herself, with impressive guitar skills, earning much applause. Poor Xu Xuesi didn’t even get a chance to perform.

There were only three works from the first-year students, followed by the second-year students. A jazz-style piano and violin trio was quite good, fitting He Hongchui’s description of a specialized approach.

The second-year students weren’t very active, but the third-year students immediately livened up the atmosphere. Qi Qingnuo was in the front row, leading a group of noisy students, even whistling.

After a piano piece, the announcer said, "Next is a song by third-year Composition Department student Peng Yiwai, a campus folk song titled 'The Passionate Ice Beauty,' performed and sung by Peng Yiwai."

Yang Jingxing knew Peng Yiwai, who had also participated in the composition competition. He was unremarkable in appearance but interesting, outgoing, and talkative, and had a good relationship with Qi Qingnuo.

Peng Yiwai went on stage with a folk guitar, and his friends cheered him on. After sitting down, he said, "To whom is this song dedicated? You’ll know when I sing it."

The audience laughed.

Sure enough, as soon as Peng Yiwai started singing, the concert hall became lively. The song was a typical campus folk song, with a nice melody, simple theme, and clear content: "... She rejected you, and she rejected me, but she remains passionate, her name is Qi Qingnuo..." It was catchy.

Peng Yiwai couldn’t help but laugh while singing, and the third-year composition students, along with a group of non-composition students, laughed as if they had pulled off a great prank.

Qi Qingnuo, sitting among the group, slid down in her chair, trying to hide. Her arms were on the armrests, her right wrist raised, half-clenched into a fist with her index finger on her philtrum, covering her mouth, but it was clear she was smiling, her expressive eyes even more watery.

Encouraged by the audience’s enthusiasm, Peng Yiwai got even more into it, "Everyone, let’s sing together..."

The group obediently joined in, singing the chorus: "She rejected you, and she rejected me, but she remains passionate, her name is Qi Qingnuo."

This was more exciting than Yang Jingxing’s opening piece, and even the teachers laughed.

Yu Xinting smiled at Yang Jingxing, "So much fun."

Yang Jingxing also sang softly, "... but she remains passionate..."

This was the highlight of the evening. After the song ended, there was thunderous applause. Dramatically, the next piece was Qi Qingnuo’s, also a song.

The announcer was still speaking when Qi Qingnuo stood up, and the group led another round of applause. She quickly went on stage, sat at the piano, and calmly said, "This song is dedicated to my friends."

Yang Jingxing cheered, and Yu Xinting and An Xin clapped hard.

When Qi Qingnuo’s piano started, the audience quieted down. Peng Yiwai’s song had been playful and passionate, but Qi Qingnuo’s was calm and had a country music feel.

The piano accompaniment was simple, and Qi Qingnuo played it leisurely, different from her guitar playing. The simple lyrics were sung very gently: "... Dear friends, I hope you are happy; dear friends, I wish you happiness; dear friends, we open our hearts; dear friends, we won’t stop until we’re drunk..."

Qi Qingnuo didn’t seem passionate at all, more like a gentle lamb. The song was very pleasant, especially smooth and gentle, and the contrast in atmosphere made it even more beautiful.

After the song ended, Qi Qingnuo quickly left the stage. Yu Xinting, clapping, asked Yang Jingxing, "Have you heard it before?"

Yang Jingxing shook his head, "No."

Yu Xinting said, "It’s also very nice, quite touching."

Yang Jingxing smiled, "Of course, we are her friends too."

The exhibition ended around 10 PM. There was a ranking, but the results came out quickly. A simple award ceremony followed, with a fourth-year orchestra piece in third place, a fourth-year trio in second place, and Yang Jingxing in first place.

When the announcer read Yang Jingxing’s name, Yu Xinting and An Xin were as excited as if they had seen a feast, holding hands and congratulating each other.

Yang Jingxing went on stage, received a certificate from He Hongchui, and came down. Passing by Qi Qingnuo’s row, he said to Peng Yiwai, "This should actually be yours."

Peng Yiwai laughed, "We’re here for the fun."

Qi Qingnuo looked up, "Where are you going to celebrate next?"

Yang Jingxing said, "Tomorrow night."

Qi Qingnuo nodded.

The page turned, and the AD started.

The page turned, and the AD ended.