A group photo of the debate competition was posted on the information board of the Student Union Center.
There were more than 20 members from both classes, standing together like a large club. Xie Lan and Dou Sheng stood in the middle of the back row, Rong Xinxin and Lin Bei were in the front holding the award certificates for outstanding clubs, and Dou Sheng lazily raised his hand to hook it on Xie Lan's shoulder, making a scissors sign next to his face.
When the shutter fell, Dou Sheng gently poked Xie Lan's cheek with his fingertips.
That night, he posted a new update:
The most handsome man in the world, Dou_dm: A big step for the returnee children.
The post was accompanied by three pictures: one was the pre-match photo that went viral during the school year, one was a club photo, and the other was a close-up shot taken by Che Ziming when Xie Lan was questioning him.
As soon as the photos were released, they attracted a lot of licking. Dou Sheng's videos went viral for several episodes in a row, and the one about poverty broke his career record. His number of fans has exceeded 4 million, surpassing Xie Lan. One of his updates on Bilibili was screenshotted and spread to various forums. Ms. Doudou produced a handwritten letter overnight, and it was on the hot list of the small broken station the next day.
On the high-speed train to City B, Dou Sheng flipped through the comments and sighed, "With more fans, the presence of old fans has been diluted. Comments are not very meaningful."
He said this, put away his phone in boredom, and said with a faint sigh: "Dugu Qiubai."
Dugu lost the game, which was another word that Xie Lan didn't understand.
He sat by the window holding his violin case and repeated the pronunciation several times into the microphone before he matched it with the correct idiom.
Outside the high-speed rail are rapidly receding barren mountains and villages, and the signal is not very good.
The small group was chatting enthusiastically, but he was receiving messages with a lag. As the train passed through a long tunnel, WeChat suddenly spit out dozens of messages.
-Cherry: So funny, netizens’ first reaction after seeing the debate photos was to ship the couple. Shouldn’t they praise the two for their wisdom and bravery
-Herring: Netizens are all like that, superficial
-Cherry: Douzi and Xie Lan are really popular now, they are discussed everywhere
-Cherry: Damn, I'm dying of laughter, thousands of people in one building are seriously discussing whether they are gay
-Herring: This is too outrageous.
-Cherry: Why are Herring and I the only ones talking in this group
-Dai You: Well, outrageous
-Wang Gou: This is outrageous... Forget it, let’s not talk about this. Xie Lan and Douzi are in the car, right? Going for an interview
-Dai You: Right
-Cherry: Lan, come on! Get the main arrangement!
-Dai You: Charge!
-Wang Gou: Charge!
- Herring: Rush
Xie Lan sent an excited emoticon, with the small circle spinning endlessly on the screen, but he didn't know if he could send it out.
He put down his phone, watched the platform in the distance slowly approaching, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't be nervous." Dou Sheng pinched his fingers and said, "It's just a business cooperation, not a music school entrance examination. I guess it's just a chat. I won't make it difficult for you."
Xie Lan hummed.
His strengths are obvious, but his weaknesses are also obvious. He has always regarded arranging music as a hobby and his professionalism is far inferior to that of Jiada. Therefore, he prepared for almost a day and a night before leaving. He memorized the terminology so that he would not be unable to express himself clearly. He also carefully reviewed all his works in his career, original and adapted, released and unreleased, and sorted out his personal style and commonly used techniques.
There will be no training the day after tomorrow. The interview will be in the afternoon, and I have to rush back to H City after the interview.
Xie Lan sighed softly, "Go all out."
It was the hottest time of the afternoon when we got out of the train station. The taxi twisted and turned through the wide streets and narrow alleys and it took more than an hour to get to the interview location.
Lingxi's headquarters is in City G, and there is only a small studio in City B, hidden in a compact commercial apartment. Staff have to come down to pick it up before it can be passed.
Xie Lan and Dou Sheng followed the receptionist. She looked back frequently along the way. After entering the elevator, she finally couldn't help but ask, "You two really have a good relationship. Do you even want to accompany me to the interview?"
Xie Lan was stunned for a moment, "Huh?"
"Yeah." Dou Sheng smiled faintly and put his hand on his shoulder, "Just call me Xie Lan's personal assistant."
Before Xie Lan could react, she saw the girl's lips curl up quickly, and then quickly pressed down.
She nodded seriously, "Okay."
Xie Lan: “…”
Someone seemed to be in a good mood and started playing the piano on his collarbone again.
After entering a glass door, there was a very compact cubicle with about a dozen seats, and further inside were two offices and a conference room.
"Jia Da came in the morning, chatted with Director Pei for a while and then went to have tea. Director Pei came back alone." The girl whispered to Xie Lan, "There is a man and a woman in the room. Sister Kai is the person in charge of this project, and Director Pei is the chief director. He also worked as a music producer before he switched to directing."
Xie Lan nodded, "How long did Jiada talk to him this morning?"
"I've been inside for about ten minutes. I went out to drink tea for the whole morning." The girl lowered her head and sent two messages, "Just go in. I've already said hello to them."
Dou Sheng leaned against the wall next to him and raised his eyebrows at Xie Lan. After the receptionist left, he whispered, "Come on, Ermao, you."
The conference room was simply decorated, with air conditioning blowing. A man and a woman sat at one end of the long table. The woman had short, neat hair and was wrapped in a large shawl. The man wore a khaki denim vest with a splashed white T-shirt underneath. He was estimated to be in his early thirties, with high cheekbones, deep eye sockets, and a head of dry, hard hair tied into a short ponytail at the back of his head. He had a light stubble.
The woman smiled warmly and said, "Xie Lan?"
"Yeah." Xie Lan made eye contact with them one by one, nodded and said hello: "Hello Sister Kai, Hello Director Pei."
Sister Kai asked him to sit down and started with a long chat about Xie Lan's exam and the updates on B Station. It was obvious that she was following Xie Lan's updates, and after a few words of small talk, she clicked on the first few music videos.
Xie Lan answered them one by one. When she had finished the pleasantries, he said, "I have compiled a file of all my adaptations and original compositions."
"Got it." Pei, who had been silent on the side, finally spoke. His voice was low and a little hoarse. As he spoke, he picked up the tablet computer next to him and slid it down.
Sister Kai smiled gently, "We have seen all that. You and Jiada are not outsiders. Although in the end there will only be one chance for you to collaborate on the main arrangement, I still hope you can relax. Today we are just meeting with netizens in the circle and chatting about the opportunity for collaboration."
Xie Lan nodded.
"Actually, when I first approached you, I just happened to come across a few adapted songs that I thought were quite special." Sister Kai opened Xie Lan's homepage on her phone and scrolled down casually. "Take the song "Red Lotus Death" for example. I want to hear your general idea for the adaptation?"
"I have adapted H.Blood many times, but the one that most people know is the one uploaded on YouTube."
Talking about the song, Xie Lan relaxed. "The original anime is a story of starting over after despair. The OP style is passionate and mixed with sadness, but in order to match the plot, the intensity is far greater than the sadness. When adapting it, I wanted to enhance the desperate atmosphere in the narrative of the music, so I added an extra melody and used multiple variations in the antiphonal style before triggering it. There are a total of twenty small summaries, pushing and pulling the melody of the listener and the performer to the highest point. This is roughly the idea."
Sister Kai listened to him, clicked on the relevant video and played that short clip again.
"That's what attracted me." She smiled and said, "In fact, many people in the folk will use repeated variations to adapt the song, mostly for showing off their skills, but I think yours is special and different. You have a strong control over the emotions and rhythm. Did you sort out the general rhythm lines when you adapted it?"
Xie Lan shook his head, "No, I just go by my feeling."
"It's just a gift from God." Sister Kai turned to Pei and said.
Pei just nodded and continued to carefully browse the information sent by Xie Lan on the iPad.
In fact, as soon as he entered the door, Xie Lan felt that this person was a little strange.
Some... I can't say they are unfriendly, but they are a little cold.
Xie Lan glanced at him, then looked away when Sister Kai spoke.
Sister Kai had obviously done her homework. She asked questions starting from "h.blood" and all the ones she asked about were Xie Lan's milestone arrangements. She also focused on the lawn concert. After confirming that the arrangements for each band were all done by Xie Lan, she nodded with satisfaction.
"In fact, we also have a high opinion of your demo." She gently shook the ballpoint pen. "Although it was just a demo to canvass votes, I think it is in line with the framework of my vision for the OST of "The Boy on the Strings". In addition, I would like to ask, if you only get the position of co-arranger, will you accept this opportunity?"
Xie Lan shook his head and said truthfully: "Being the chief arranger is a rare opportunity. In terms of profit, it is still a collaboration with a master of folk music. I will be a senior at the beginning of the school year. If it is just a collaboration in arranging music, I may not consider it at the moment."
Sister Kai nodded gently, "Yes, I understand, but we still need to discuss the final result internally for a few rounds, so it won't be so quick..."
Pei suddenly interrupted, "But if I really let you be the main arranger, do you have the confidence to complete it?"
He locked the tablet screen, rubbed his nose, and said with half-closed eyes: "I'm quite straightforward. You are still too student-like. There are many whimsical little designs in your arrangement, but the overall logic is poor. There are many professionals on the Internet and Bilibili who have disassembled the structure of your arrangement, but I actually want to ask, have you formed a basic logic for your own structure?"
Xie Lan paused for a moment, "I usually require the main melody to appear in the first fifteen seconds, and use different chord combinations to adjust the interlude. I don't want the same parts to appear in the whole song. I am used to letting the climax part echo the main melody, and I will adjust the note type to increase the level of the beat, or simply make variations. Do these count?"
Pei shook his head, "Not really."
The atmosphere in the conference room was subtle for a moment. Sister Kai poked Pei on the arm and said, "He is used to speaking directly. You have no professional background. We knew this from the beginning, but our OST has to be measured from many aspects, not only professionalism, but also..."
"An anime OST requires more than just the violin." Pei interrupted her again, his eyes falling on the table in front of him, his index finger tapping on the table, "For example, a melody written for the violin needs a clear main melody, strong rhythm, and a strong sense of rhythm. But if it is written for the trumpet or saxophone, more harmonies should be used to set off the high-pitched part. How to add special effects when the brass group, woodwind group, string group, and even percussion group play a synergistic role should be coordinated and considered by the main commercial arranger. It is even more important than the narrative and atmosphere of the music design. Do you understand?"
"… "
do not understand.
Pei's voice was very low. He kept talking for a while, and his fingers moved as if he was chanting. Xie Lan only listened to most of it, and roughly grasped what he wanted to say.
No matter how well the candidates know the professional terms by heart, they cannot withstand the malfunction of the equipment that plays the listening test.
He thought for a while before answering, "I really can't explain the arrangement process with professional theory, but being unable to explain and being unable to do it are two different things. When I was in the UK, I played in the school symphony orchestra for a long time and also helped students from other music clubs to revise scores."
He opened the violin case and placed the violin against his neck. "For example, the following is a violin version of the previous demo."
With the bow slightly tilted, he quickly played the first twenty bars of the demo.
"If I were to transcribe it for piano music now, I would make the interlude heavier and gentler, lower the key, cancel the variation, and change the melody to a classical triple beat."
Pei raised his eyelids and looked at him when he heard this.
Xie Lan adapted the performance on the spot, half relying on his brain and half relying on his hands. He paused in the middle but still completed the demonstration calmly.
"Then, if it's a trumpet or a saxophone, I'll just drop the main melody. Because in this demo, the brass instruments are only suitable for adding a sense of brilliance to the melody. I'll raise the pitch and then flatten the rhythm."
Using the violin to play the parts modified for other instruments doesn't sound very good, and it also sounds a bit strange, but Xie Lan is used to it. When he was in the orchestra that year, everyone often played like this together.
He finished the brass section and tried to describe his ideas for the bass and drums, occasionally adding a bar or two on the violin.
After a demonstration, he put down the piano and said, "I wonder if this can be considered as multi-part structural ability?"
Pei had unknowingly turned his chair to the side and was looking at another tall building outside the window, his eyes still half closed.
Xie Lan's expression gradually became cold.
It seems that the person has rarely opened his eyes. To use classical Chinese to describe it, it is as if he has eye disease.
Pei suddenly asked, "Can you show us the dialogue variation of "h.blood" that has become popular on the Internet?"
Xie Lan was silent for a moment, but still nodded professionally: "Yes."
When Xie Lan started playing the violin, the conference room was very quiet. He did not play the climax part that Pei had mentioned directly, but started from the slow and melancholic part at the beginning, gradually reaching the climax. He only played a short section and then put down the bow. Sister Kai was about to laugh and applaud, but Pei suddenly said, "It seems that there was a song called "On the Top of the Red Flame" a while ago. The style is a bit different from before. Can you show it too?"
Xie Lan: “…”
He faced Pei's profile and played "On the Top of the Red Flame" expressionlessly.
"Have you ever adapted a purely slow piece of music? An original piece is fine too. Let's play it."
"… "
“You can also listen to the Grassland Symphony version of My Neighbor Totoro.”
"… "
After playing one segment after another for several minutes, the meeting room had become very awkward, and Sister Kai began to lower her head and pretend to be dead.
Xie Lan put down the violin, "Are you ordering food?"
Pei looked back at him for a moment and chuckled with an ambiguous meaning, "I'm just trying to find the confidence to agree to let you be the main arranger."
"Did you find it?" Xie Lan's voice was calm.
Pei was silent for a while and then heaved a long sigh.
“Not very ideal.”
In Xie Lan's eyes, the man in front of him was like a fool whose brain capacity had been squeezed out by the carbon dioxide in the air, and his every word and action showed a sign of dying.
Pei was empty-headed for a long time before whispering, "It's still the same problem. The professionalism is too weak and the communication cost is high during the production. Also, all your adaptations are too open and you don't know how to control them. The climaxes are really catchy, but it's tiring to listen to. I felt very strong the first time I listened to it, but I felt seriously exhausted the second time, and my heart was not feeling well the third time."
The last trace of expression on Xie Lan's face left him.
After listening to it for the third time, my heart started to feel uncomfortable. Maybe it wasn’t his problem.
In the words of Che Ziming, most people suffer from kidney deficiency.
He finally couldn't help but ask, "I heard that you are a music producer, why don't you just do it yourself?"
Sister Kai was so embarrassed that she couldn't even smile. She just lowered her head and wrote some non-words on the paper.
Pei was quite calm, and smiled as if responding to a memory, "I am just a genius, but I am too lazy to study professionally. Music production is a dead end. Oh, so I don't really want to find someone like me."
Xie Lan: “…”
"Let's add WeChat." Pei picked up the phone slowly.
Xie Lan took a deep breath and reached into his trouser pocket for his cell phone.
He was so angry that his eyes were blurry. He fumbled for his phone and poked around for a long time before he finally opened his QR code.
Pei extended the scanning interface to him, "Add it first. If there is any follow-up later, I will pass it..."
The QR code that had just been extended under his phone suddenly shrank back and was not scanned.
Pei looked up, "Huh?"
Xie Lan put his phone back into his trouser pocket, his expression grim. "I almost forgot I don't have WeChat. If there is anything else to follow up, please email me."
After coming out of the conference room, he walked out silently with his zither on his back. It was not until he left the small studio that Dou Sheng asked after careful consideration, "No way, you look so bad? You look like you're going to kill me."
Xie Lan frowned, "It's a waste of time to come here. Director Pei obviously doesn't consider me at all. I'm just asking for trouble by coming here."
"You're asking for trouble." Dou Sheng frowned. "I heard you even play the zither outside. How could anyone refuse?"
Xie Lan repeated what happened just now, and he became angrier and angrier. At the end, Dou Sheng waved his hand and interrupted him, "Okay, let's go downstairs and get a taxi. I'll ask X."
The trip was very rushed, as it was stuck in the most precious time before the provincial training. I had to take the high-speed train early in the morning and then take the evening train back, so I couldn't get home until midnight.
Xie Lan felt even more depressed when this was mentioned. He went downstairs silently and hailed a taxi.
Dou Sheng and x were texting each other, and he even put on headphones to listen to a few voice messages.
After a long time, he took off his headphones, frowned and looked out the window.
I feel visibly irritated.
"What do you mean?" Xie Lan asked.
Dou Sheng hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth: "X's friend said that it was Sister Kai who pushed you to participate in the election, and it was Director Pei who brought Jiada to us. From the beginning, Pei didn't agree with looking for music fans, thinking that most of them were just inflated in popularity and it was unreliable to really make commercial music. A while ago, there was a public opinion storm, and he even advocated canceling the selection and directly bringing Jiada to us, but because we turned the tables and our popularity was too high, the investors wanted to promote us, so he continued the voting."
The more Xie Lan listened, the more complicated it became. He frowned and asked, "So what's the conclusion?"
Dou Sheng sighed and pinched his little finger. "When a man and a woman have different opinions, the woman always compromises in the end. The situation in each company is different. The authority of the project leader of Lingxi Animation is mainly in proposals and progress. The director has the final say on art, plot, music, and overall control."
Xie Lan understood, "Then why did you ask me to come for the interview?"
"Maybe they want to give an explanation to those netizens who voted passionately." Dou Sheng whispered, "They made such a big fuss before, it turns out they just want to use the popularity of both parties for free publicity."
Xie Lan stopped talking.
The sunset in city B is beautiful, with brilliant colors spreading across the sky and dyeing the tall buildings.
He came and went in a hurry, caught up with the evening rush hour, and didn't even have time to take a detour to take a look at the university he had chosen. The entire day was wasted.
But it only lasts for a whole day.
Xie Lan was silent until he got off the train, entered the high-speed rail station, and ate the hamburger and Coke bought by Dou Sheng.
After checking his ticket and entering the station, he sighed in frustration as he watched the high-speed train approaching on the platform.
There were people coming and going on the platform, men, women, young and old, and he pulled Dou Sheng's hand.
"Boy friend."
"Huh?" Dou Sheng raised his eyebrows in surprise.
It was the first time Xie Lan directly called him her boyfriend. She felt a little awkward at first, but the awkward feeling soon disappeared.
After all, he had heard Dou Sheng call him that countless times.
He felt ashamed and ashamed, as if he were possessed by a herring.
"Hurry, find a way to comfort me." He whispered, "I'm going to collapse."