AITFYMIBP Chapter 47

TL: Hua

The music and guest list were clearly listed on the information.

The piece was called “Shui Long Yin” and the two main guests on the invitation list were confirmed: the Erhu player was Weng Yancai, and the Dizi player was Shi Lingxiao.

Both of them were at a national-level skill, and anyone knowledgeable about traditional Chinese instruments would have basically heard of their names, with many even learning from their videos.

In addition, the composer who rearranged the music for “Shui Long Yin” was also famous. His name was Jing Yunbing, a well-known industry veteran.

With this lineup, it would not be an exaggeration to say they could immediately go on a global tour.

Therefore, the pressure on Yanran, an unknown newcomer, to perform on the same stage with this group of masters was unimaginable.

Hong Huixue saw Lin Yanran staring at the names of the masters and, assuming he was feeling anxious, comforted him, “Of course, collaborating with them might be more difficult, but…”

However, before Hong Huixue could finish, Lin Yanran nodded and agreed.

“Let’s go with this one. I want to try it.”

When he spoke, his tone held a hint of excitement.

While this might be an extremely difficult challenge for the average person, it was also accompanied by a great learning opportunity.

Hong Huixue originally thought Lin Yanran would hesitate, but she didn’t expect things to go so smoothly.

Her decision to sign Lin Yanran was indeed initially due to Gu Siye’s recommendation.

But through further understanding, she gradually discovered that this person did not have the common flaws of newly famous artists—being overly ambitious or overestimating his own abilities while underestimating the difficulties.

He was very grounded.

Moreover, his perspective and ideas were very much in line with her own.

With Lin Yanran agreeing directly, Hong Huixue immediately contacted the TV station’s representative.

Upon receiving the news, the representative immediately sent over the signing documents.

They finally breathed a sigh of relief once it was confirmed that Yanran would indeed participate.

Although the concept of Historical National Treasures was excellent, its artistic value was high but not widely appreciated, so its ratings were low and it wasn’t ranked highly within the station.

The online response has also not been very good so far, especially among the younger demographic, where it hasn’t gained much popularity.

As a program broadcast on a major satellite channel, it naturally faced ratings pressure.

Not only did the first episode fail to make any waves in terms of ratings or online discussion, but the second episode, which aired last night, was equally unremarkable.

The production team had invested a lot of effort into this program, and now that the reputation hadn’t been built up, the whole team was anxious to find a way to save it.

The directors, taking into account viewers’ suggestions, planned to invite suitable celebrities to join the program each time.

Just at this time, Lin Yanran’s guzheng video had gone viral, and his guzheng playing perfectly matched the theme for the third episode. Thus, they tentatively reached out to him, hoping to drive some traffic.

In fact, before discovering Lin Yanran, they had contacted another artist, Song Zhu, who had maintained a traditional Chinese-style persona since his debut.

Song Zhu had initially agreed but then refused right before signing the contract.

The production team initially thought that an artist might not want to strain themselves for fear of damaging their image, as performing with a group of “god-tier” masters could result in them being utterly overshadowed if their skills were not up to par. So they could understand the refusal.

However, they later heard that Song Zhu had been poached with a high-priced offer by a competing program on another satellite channel.

Song Zhu had kept them hanging until the deadline, almost causing them to be unable to find a replacement and forcing the creative idea to be scrapped…

Fortunately, Yanran was straightforward and agreed immediately.

Since the program recording time was tight, almost as soon as both parties finalized the details, the program team sent Jing Yunbing’s music score to Lin Yanran.

Hong Huixue’s side had already prepared a guzheng for him.

Upon receiving the score, Lin Yanran settled down at home and practiced for two days.

His memory was excellent, and he had the score almost memorized after reading it once.

However, simply memorizing the score was not enough to play well.

Musical instruments, much like dance, become difficult if one misses even a day of practice. An outsider might not notice, but an insider could tell instantly.

The three pieces he played last time were enough to impress foreigners abroad, but to perform on the same stage with masters, he absolutely had to practice hard without delay, or he would certainly ruin the entire atmosphere of the piece.

Lin Yanran did not want to be the one holding them back.

Therefore, during these two days, Lin Yanran dedicated almost all his time to practicing the score, within the limits his body could endure, only stopping for meals, sleep, bathroom breaks, and physical exercise.

This intensity of his dedication even made Hong Huixue feel a bit uncomfortable.

She hadn’t expected Yanran to be so serious and hardworking.

“Actually, it’s okay if you don’t play that well; the audience will understand.”

After all, those masters have decades of skill; it’s perfectly normal for an ordinary person not to measure up.

Lin Yanran rubbed his fingers and arms, smiled, shook his head, and joked, “I have a heavy idol burden; I can’t look too embarrassing in front of the masters.”

After speaking, he played the piece again and asked Hong Huixue to record it for him.

He recorded it repeatedly several more times afterward until he heard a version he was satisfied with before he stopped to rest.

The recording for Historical National Treasures was scheduled for Friday.

To ensure that the performance on stage would be flawless, the production team invited the masters to the studio two days in advance to rehearse “Shui Long Yin” with Lin Yanran.

Of course, they weren’t worried that the masters wouldn’t play well; their concern was Lin Yanran.

They had sent the score to him long ago, but based on past experiences with collaborating celebrities, many only practiced for the first time during the rehearsal the day before the performance, trying to cram at the last minute.

So, to avoid this, they planned to have a joint practice today so that if any issues arose, they would discover them early and still have time to remedy them.

The time set by the production team was 3:00 PM.

Lin Yanran arrived at the rehearsal room early at 2:30 PM.

The staff was a little surprised to see Lin Yanran arrive so early.

“Teacher Weng and Teacher Shi haven’t arrived yet, Teacher Yanran; please take a rest here first.”

Lin Yanran politely thanked the staff member and then found a chair to sit on in the rehearsal room.

He put on his headphones and listened to the version he had played the day before.

The feeling of listening to his own playing was completely different from listening to someone else’s.

Lin Yanran thought it sounded pretty good yesterday, but today he felt a small segment had a flaw, so he glanced at the guzheng the production team had placed in the rehearsal room and asked the staff member, “Can I practice for a bit?”

It was rare for a young artist to arrive so early and be so professional, so the staff member quickly nodded, “Please feel free.”

After getting permission, Lin Yanran immediately played the section he felt unsatisfied with again.

While playing, he naturally started playing the piece from the beginning again.

Thus, when Weng Yancai and Shi Lingxiao arrived promptly at 3:00 PM, they heard a fluid and skillful guzheng performance from outside the door.

Shi Lingxiao paused her steps and looked at Weng Yancai beside her, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

“Did they invite someone else today?”

Weng Yancai shook his head and chuckled, “How would I know?”

Then he pointed at the door. “Let’s go in and see.”

With that, he pushed open the slightly ajar door.

The two followed the sound of the music and saw that the person playing the guzheng was a young man in his twenties with a very handsome appearance.

Lin Yanran was focused on playing with his head bowed and didn’t notice anyone had arrived at first.

It wasn’t until he reached the end of the piece and came back to his senses that he finally realized the two masters had been standing three meters in front of him for who knows how long.

Lin Yanran stopped playing and immediately stood up to greet the two teachers.

“Hello, Teacher Shi, Teacher Weng. I am Yanran.”

The staff member immediately interjected and informed the two teachers that this was the celebrity they would be collaborating with today.

Shi Lingxiao looked at the young man in front of her. After learning his identity, the surprise in her eyes instantly turned into astonishment.

Her astonishment wasn’t because Lin Yanran’s playing was incredibly amazing.

After all, masters of her caliber have heard all sorts of exquisite music.

She was surprised because she hadn’t expected this extremely polished and technically proficient melody to be played by the young celebrity they were partnering with.

Frankly, when the production team first told them they would be performing with a “traffic star,” she felt a bit uneasy.

It wasn’t that she looked down on celebrities.

It was just that they had previous similar collaborative performances, but the results were really poor.

Many celebrities’ fans hype them up a lot, claiming they’ve studied since childhood and have great fundamentals and skill.

She used to believe it when she didn’t know better.

But when they actually performed together, she found their skill was very average; some could even be described as poor.

So, although the production team had repeatedly assured her that their partner was absolutely reliable for this collaboration, she still felt vaguely worried.

However, after listening to his segment just now, her impression of the celebrity immediately changed.

Once everyone was present, the director came out to briefly communicate with them, and then the three took their respective places as instructed by the director.

Weng Yancai and Shi Lingxiao both brought their own customary instruments and didn’t use the ones provided by the production team.

Of course, the production team didn’t dare to object and could only smile and tell them to do whatever made them comfortable.

Before starting the music collaboration, Lin Yanran smiled apologetically at the two teachers, “I’m about to show my humble performance. Please be generous with your guidance and tolerance.”

Shi Lingxiao smiled and encouraged him, “It’s alright, relax. Your playing was very good just now; just follow that.”

Her attitude was very approachable.

After a pleasant conversation that set a good atmosphere, the music began.

The three began their first practice and collaborative performance.

Since they had all been practicing separately and hadn’t practiced together at all, the production team expected many issues during the first run.

But miraculously, the three were as experienced as could be, and the first run-through went smoothly, with the result far better than expected.

Even Lin Yanran, the director’s biggest worry, coordinated so well with the teachers; there was no instance of him being completely overshadowed by the two masters.

The delighted director pointed out a few individual issues, and then the three continued to practice together a few more times.

All three were well-prepared, and after addressing some coordination issues with the accompaniment, the effect naturally got better with each subsequent run.

The production team staff had prepared to work overtime today, but unexpectedly, they were able to leave work early.

After the rehearsal, Shi Lingxiao and Lin Yanran took the elevator together.

She looked at the young man in front of her with a gentle gaze and praised him, “Your guzheng foundation is quite good.”

Lin Yanran smiled lightly. “I studied it for a period of time before.”

Shi Lingxiao’s lips also curved into a smile. “You must have studied Qin Hanmo’s music scores a lot when you practiced, didn’t you?”

The first time Shi Lingxiao saw Lin Yanran play the guzheng, she noticed his technique was very similar to Qin Hanmo’s.

It must be said that a master’s discerning eye is sharp.

When his grandmother first asked him to learn the guzheng, she indeed told him to study Qin Hanmo.

At that time, Qin Hanmo was not as famous as he is now.

But now, he is one of the top masters.

It must be said that in terms of music appreciation, his grandmother’s vision was very sharp.

Whether it was Cao Zhengpeng from more than ten years ago or Qin Hanmo, who was just starting out back then, his grandmother discovered the brilliance in them when they were still unpolished gems, predicting that they would both achieve great things in the future.

After the three went downstairs, Lin Yanran asked for the two teachers’ WeChat contacts, and after adding each other, they parted ways.

Weng Yancai belongs to the more individualistic school of artists, being a man of few words who focuses deeply on his creations.

However, Shi Lingxiao has an outgoing personality and loves to share her life.

Her collaboration with Lin Yanran today was very pleasant, so after returning home, she immediately posted a few photos of the three of them on her Moments.

Shi Lingxiao: Teacher Weng is still sharp! The younger generation is to be feared! After collaborating with a very talented young man today, I feel like I’ve become younger too.

Shi Lingxiao has a wide circle of friends, and her post received dozens of likes shortly after it was published.

Kang Huixian, who had just finished class, sat in her office, took out her phone, opened Moments, and the first post that appeared was the photo shared by Shi Lingxiao.

The year before last, her department invited Shi Lingxiao to give a lecture at the school, and they had added each other on WeChat then.

Although they were all very busy and didn’t contact much, the bond from occasional gatherings, liking posts on Moments, and helping each grab a bargain on Pinduoduo¹At its heart, Pinduoduo is a Chinese e-commerce platform that revolutionized online shopping by integrating social interactions and gamification directly into the purchasing process. Unlike traditional platforms like Taobao or JD.com where you shop individually, Pinduoduo is built on the idea of “shopping with friends for better deals.” still remained.

She smiled, scanned the text, and gave the post a like.

While reading the post, her attention was on the text, so she didn’t open the pictures to look closely.

However, after liking the post, her hand accidentally tapped the phone screen.

Thus, the image in the bottom right corner opened and appeared in the center of the screen.

Since the picture was open, there was no reason not to look at it.

Kang Huixian held the phone a little further away and noticed that the young man standing next to Shi Lingxiao looked somewhat familiar.

Kang Huixian couldn’t remember who he was immediately, but she didn’t stress about it and directly commented on Shi Lingxiao’s post.

Kang Huixian: This young man looks a bit familiar.

The other party immediately replied to her.

Shi Lingxiao: Do you know Yanran too? He’s a young man with a great guzheng skill.

Seeing the name Yanran, Kang Huixian was quite certain she had seen it before; she vaguely remembered him being a celebrity.

Just then, a student came into her office, so she handed the phone to the student and asked, “Do you know Yanran?”

The student, hearing the name, immediately nodded excitedly, “I know! Yanran is super popular lately! He’s the one who plays the guzheng for foreigners abroad, isn’t he? Didn’t someone in our department imitate his guzheng video the day before yesterday?”

Hearing the student’s description, Kang Huixian felt something wasn’t quite right, but she had indeed heard other teachers mention a young person who played the guzheng.

She smiled lightly. “So it’s him!”

The student had also seen Shi Lingxiao when helping Kang Huixian identify the person, so she asked an additional question, “Teacher Kang, how come Yanran is with Teacher Shi? Are they collaborating on a new piece?”

“I’m not too sure; let me ask.”

Kang Huixian tapped into the comment section.

She and Shi Lingxiao had quite a few mutual friends.

She didn’t even need to ask; others had already asked those very questions for her.

Seeing Shi Lingxiao’s reply to the other person, she learned that they were going to be on a program.

Shi Lingxiao: It’s Historical National Treasures. The recording starts at 7 PM on Friday night, playing “Shui Long Yin” with Old Weng.

Shi Lingxiao: It will be in Studio 3 at Grape TV. Friends who want to come can tell me, and I’ll get you tickets. Everyone is welcome~

After reading, Kang Huixian turned off her phone.

When she returned home that evening, she first organized the next day’s lessons, and then she took out her foot bath bucket and started soaking her feet.

She was a little tired from teaching today, so she closed her eyes to rest while soaking her feet.

However, just as she closed her eyes to rest for a while, an advertisement suddenly popped into her mind.

The advertisement she had recommended to her daughter for a foot bath bucket had featured the exact “Yanran-style” product!

No wonder she found the name familiar.

So, the person collaborating with Shi Lingxiao was this young man!

She understood Shi Lingxiao’s personality.

On the surface, she seemed gentle and amiable, but she was actually quite picky about people.

Of course, “picky” wasn’t meant in a derogatory way; it referred to her standards in music.

If she felt you weren’t professional or skilled enough, she wouldn’t want to get to know you deeply.

Therefore, for her to break precedent and praise a young person on her Moments, she must have been very satisfied with their collaboration.

As Kang Huixian thought about this, she couldn’t help but become curious about this person.

A young man who liked to practice wellness and guzheng at such a young age—she was truly very curious.

So, she picked up her phone, reopened Moments, and found the post Shi Lingxiao had published in the evening.

She followed up with a reply under the comment where Shi Lingxiao mentioned reserving tickets.

Kang Huixian: Please save a ticket for me too.

Shi Lingxiao immediately replied: Alright, Teacher Kang!

—

The collaboration went very well, and Lin Yanran’s new team also announced this itinerary to his fans.

The fans were very excited when they learned that Lin Yanran was going to record this program.

After all, for them, they would soon have new videos to watch.

So everyone counted down the days, and finally, the long-awaited Friday arrived.

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi if you like what I’m doing. Thank you for reading! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

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  At its heart, Pinduoduo is a Chinese e-commerce platform that revolutionized online shopping by integrating social interactions and gamification directly into the purchasing process. Unlike traditional platforms like Taobao or JD.com where you shop individually, Pinduoduo is built on the idea of “shopping with friends for better deals.”