Pei Yan never considered himself a good person. Otherwise, he would not have been able to quickly gain control over the group company in such a short time at Donghai Investment by gathering connections and eliminating dissenters.
It was easy for him to deal with an arrogant fashion designer. For figures in the fashion and entertainment industry who valued appearances, reputation, and money, it was even easier to find their fatal flaws.
He made a few calls in the car, casting his net.
After doing this, he reluctantly looked back at Qi Feng’s window upstairs before starting the car and breaking through the cold darkness of the late night.
—
After the last meeting with Yifan’s senior management regarding Qi Feng’s future artist career, Tang Jun quickly arranged for Qi Feng to appear on a music variety show.
It was “Music and Art Grand Stage” which aired during primetime on S City TV every weekend. It was going to be aired live today at 8pm.
The artists invited to perform on this show were either singers at the height of their popularity and influence, authoritative veteran musicians, or local bands in the industry.
Compared to the pure entertainment programs Qi Feng had been on before, this one had a certain level of sophistication with mature artists and serious musical art.
Qi Feng’s guqin performance, which he was going to showcase on this show, was also his first chance to display his talents on a public stage.
Since it was going to be aired live, the performing artists had to arrive a few hours early for rehearsals.
Music and art, flowers blooming in profusion.
Today’s lineup ranged from rock and pop, dance girl groups, to musicals, classical musical instruments, and so on — everything that one could ask for was there.
The invited artists included top-tier singers, specially invited foreign girl groups, classical music masters, and more. They were all artists of considerable standing and reputation in the music world. So, artists like Qi Feng who had become popular relying on their looks and variety show antics appeared very insignificant in comparison.
During the rehearsal period, there were even people whispering among themselves:
“Who’s that boy? What’s he here for?”
“Oh, him? He’s the little artist who was scolded on hot search recently.”
“Why did the program team even invite some 18-tier fresh meat? Can he even do music?”
“He probably got invited because he’s had a lot of traffic lately, and he’s been on several hot searches. That stuff about being sabotaged by artists from his own company and scraping up sympathy, you know.”
“Pfft. S City TV station has also started to get this kind of bad traffic. How disappointing.”
……
The entertainment industry was all about reputation and status above all else to begin with. Artists with empty fame and no achievements would invariably be looked down on by others.
Qi Feng had also expected such treatment from the others. He remained unruffled, unhurried, and unaffected. After getting his makeup and outfit done, he sat in a quiet corner by himself and fiddled with the guqin while waiting for the director to call him on stage to rehearse.
As Fang Cheng paced back and forth, he overheard what some people were saying about Qi Feng. He had been very worried it would affect Qi Feng’s state of mind, but upon seeing how unbothered Qi Feng looked plucking at the qin strings, he let out a relieved sigh.
He really admired Qi Feng’s calm composure far surpassing his age; it made Fang Cheng feel inferior in comparison.
He placed a cup of hot cocoa next to Qi Feng’s qin and said, “Xiao Feng, here, warm up your hands first before playing.”
Suddenly, the artists who had been waiting around to go on stage for rehearsal got up and walked over to the entrance:
“Ah, Master Wu is here!”
“How have you been recently, Master?”
“I can’t believe I get to see Master Wu with my own eyes. I’m so excited.”
“This way please, Master Wu.”
…..
Amidst the crowd fawning over him, an old man with snowy white hair and a proud bearing walked in.
He was Wu Wenjun, a master guqin artist. He had composed music for many national-level stage productions and was known as a national treasure in the field of ancient music research and performance – a level of prestige even top artists shining on glamorous stages could not hope to reach.
Upon seeing him, Fang Cheng could not help but get worried.
Since Qi Feng was also performing the guqin tonight, having to play in front of such a national treasure in the world of ancient musical instruments…the pressure that must come with it was unimaginable.
He quietly reminded Qi Feng, “Xiao Feng, Master Wu is a special guest invited by the program team. This old master has quite an eccentric temper, so you must be careful when speaking to him. Don’t offend him.”
Qi Feng glanced over in that direction.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Master Wu walked in, he heard the low, deep resonance of the guqin and headed straight for Qi Feng instead of bothering with the fawning crowd.
Squinting, the old master sized up the boy and asked, “You’re Qi Feng who became famous on the internet for your guqin playing, yes?”
Qi Feng stood up. With the proper respect owed to one of the master’s standing, he replied plainly, neither humbly nor arrogantly, “Yes, Master Wu. I am Qi Feng. I do occasionally stream my guqin playing online.”
“Streaming again.” Master Wu snorted. “You youngsters only know how to pull all this flashy nonsense to gain traffic and stir up hype for yourselves. Relying on popularity and empty name to make money, when guqin artistry isn’t something just anyone can play around with casually and call themselves a master.”
Qi Feng: “Please give me some advice, Master Wu.”
The boy’s attitude remained cultured and unhurried. Even when faced with such nitpicking, he did not display any hint of displeasure. For a moment, Master Wu found himself having a good impression of this young man despite his age.
“What are you playing today? Play me something first, let me hear,” he said.
He signaled for the people around them to bring over an armchair sofa for him to sit on as he waited before Qi Feng, squinting his eyes.
The other artists originally looked down on Qi Feng from the very start for relying on variety shows to gain minor fame as an eighteenth-tier celebrity. Seeing this scene now, they watched on with keen interest, waiting for the show.
Some even secretly sympathized with him—to play guqin before a nationally renowned master like Master Wu, how could that be anything but asking for trouble?
Master Wu was famously strict, especially when it came to the art of guqin. He would never tolerate vague playing just to gloss over. For someone like Qi Feng who scraped by relying on his tender age, there was no way he played that well.
If Master Wu started publicly criticizing him before he even went on stage, it’d be equal to public execution.
The staff on the side were afraid of affecting Qi Feng’s mentality to perform on stage later, so they stayed aside to ease the relationship and said: “Master Wu, no one can compare to your standing in the guqin world. This junior still has much to learn from you. Please show some consideration for his youth.”
Master Wu waved his hand dismissively and clicked his tongue. “If his playing is good, I’ll naturally praise him. If it’s no good, am I not even allowed to criticize now?”
Having said so, he signaled Qi Feng, “Time is short. Play me something quickly.”
Qi Feng sat before the guqin and said lightly, still smiling, “Very well. I ask that Master offer me plentiful criticism.”
He gently plucked a brief excerpt of Yangguan Sandie1The guqin piece 阳关三叠 (Yángguān Sāndié) is a famous classical Chinese music that was composed based on a poem by Wang Wei, a renowned poet and musician of the Tang Dynasty. The poem is titled 《送元二使安西》(Sòng Yuán Èr Shǐ Ānxī), which means “Farewell to Yuan Er on His Mission to Anxi”. The poem expresses the poet’s sorrow and reluctance to part with his friend, who was sent as an envoy to the western regions. The poem mentions the places of Weicheng and Yangguan, which were the last stops of the Silk Road in China. Therefore, the guqin piece is also known as 《渭城曲》(Wèichéng Qū) or 《阳关曲》(Yángguān Qū). The guqin piece 阳关三叠 uses a similar melody to repeat the poem three times, hence the name “three strains”. The first strain is the original poem by Wang Wei, the second and third strains are additional lyrics that express the feelings of the departing friend. The piece is a combination of instrumental and vocal music, and it is considered one of the most representative works of the guqin repertoire. The earliest score of the piece is found in the Ming Dynasty book 《浙音释字琴谱》(Zhèyīn Shìzì Qínpǔ), and the most popular version is from the Qing Dynasty book 《琴学入门》(Qínxué Rùmén). If you are interested, you can listen to some recordings of the guqin piece 阳关三叠 on YouTube, such as this one by Qingjing Daoist Guqin Master, or this one by Gong Yi.. As his slender fingertips lightly brushed over the strings, the guqin’s deep, rich resonance slowly rippled out into the surroundings.
Though the others only listened, Master Wu’s initially severe, scrutinizing expression quickly gave way to shock and then contemplation as he gazed upon the boy with downcast eyes playing the qin.
Though the qin’s melody seemed simple, only those well-versed in playing it knew just how difficult it was to play well. Moreover, skill alone was not enough for the guqin. It required conveying the charm embedded in the music, captivating listeners, and attuning to their state of mind.
Therefore, the force and timing behind plucking the same strings and positioning could greatly impact the timbre produced. Only through years of relentless practice and a sensitive perception for conveying feeling could one truly play a piece that resonated with and moved the listener.
Within those brief ten-odd seconds of Qi Feng’s playing, Master Wu’s expression shifted from skeptical contempt to astonishment to contemplative and thoughtful.
The music faded away.
Master Wu spoke up, “How long have you been learning the qin? What else can you play?”
Sensing the master’s influence in the classical music circle, Qi Feng seized the chance to explain calmly, “I started around nine years old, so about ten years now. I can play qin compositions. I also know the zheng, pipa, and some other classical instruments….”
The old gentleman suddenly became angry and scolded him with his eyes wide open: “You have been playing for ten years! You can play like this! Why do you still do improper live broadcasts?”
Everyone waiting to see the show: ???
For a moment, no one knew whether Master Wu was actually praising Qi Feng or scolding him.
Fang Cheng was anxious as well, fearing this eccentric old master would choose to slap Qi Feng down publicly here and prevent him from going on stage smoothly later.
But upon hearing this, Qi Feng understood that the old master had acknowledged him. He stood respectfully and said, “Please guide me, Master.”
Master Wu: ???
This boy had actually managed to interpret the regret in his heart.
With a cold huff, Master Wu rose to leave. “Who said I would teach you? Just perform well later on stage.”
The author has something to say:
I can’t write today. The next chapter is about Dog Yan’s high-profile star chasing in the live broadcast program.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you want to show your support, you can buy me a coffee. It would make my day! For every five coffees I get, I will release a bonus chapter. You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.
