208 Complex Situation (1/2)
At dawn, the dew on the branches of the garden froze. The petals fluttered to the ground, soundlessly sinking into the dirt. The fragrance of flowers and red tea floated in the air.
Lola’s eyes were slightly misty, as if she had just woken up, but they were indescribably enchanting. She studied the youth before her and smiled. ”Did you come so early in the morning to give me good or bad news?”
”To be honest, I don’t know if it’s good or bad.” Ye Qingxuan sighed and scratched his head. ”But you should probably know already, right?”
”Then it must be good,” Lola realized. She smiled gleefully.
”Why didn’t you tell me?” Ye Qingxuan asked helplessly.
Lola raised her eyes and asked in reply, ”Didn’t tell you what?”
Ye Qingxuan could not answer. Lola had already warned him of the various difficulties and hardships. The only thing she did not reveal was the key element of the music score—that its fulcrum was pain. The pain brought about by life. It was also what Ye Qingxuan was worst at facing.
Moreover, even if she told Ye Qingxuan, it would probably only create the opposite effect, right? The key element was not something that could be used just by knowing it. One must experience the resonation with it. Ye Qingxuan was successful on this aspect, but it was also what multiplied his pain.
After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. ”Thank you.”
Lola chuckled. ”If you’re saying thanks now, what are you planning on saying when I give you this? That you’ll pledge your life to me?”
With that, she pushed a thin music score across the table. It was the score that Ye Qingxuan needed to learn. ”After grasping its fulcrum, the music score will be as easy as drinking water. You’ve already learned the hardest part, so there’s nothing to worry about,” Lola said lightly. ”But are you sure you can learn it in two days? Its music theory is easy, but it’s still a part of Winterreise. It’s not as easy as you think.”
Ye Qingxuan smiled. His interpretation method was made just for these sorts of problems. As the product of Abraham’s blood and sweat, the interpretation method was seen as a crooked method because it did not care about feelings or anything abstract.
It was just a music theory that was precise to the extreme and had no room for mistakes. It was like a fixed mathematical theory. It either was or was not. There was no room for anything ambiguous or emotional. It was difficult to learn, but once learned, its speed was incredible.
Just like solving a math problem, one only needed to find the correct formula and go through each step. There would be no errors. With it and the fulcrum, deciphering the score according to the music theory in the fulcrum was easy as could be.
”Your confidence is unexpected.” Lola’s lips curled as if she was disappointed and that a plan had been ruined.
A chill ran down Ye Qingxuan’s spine. He felt that he had just brushed shoulders with something dangerous. He really did not know what other traps Lola had laid out for him. It would not be worth it if he died.
He shook his head and changed the topic, asking, ”What did you implant into my mind? How come it can create a nightmare with my memories?”
”It’s just a guide,” Lola stated. ”In the east, it’s known as the ‘mind demon guide’ and is what Mind musicians are best at. They can put demonic thoughts into one’s mind. As time passes, it buries itself deep and can control the person like a puppet. Are you scared?”
Ye Qingxuan shuddered, but quickly calmed down and glared at her. Seeing his fright, Lola smiled even happier.
”Don’t worry. That’s a technique that Teacher modified by tying it into a secret technique of the Moon Spirits. You can refer to it as ‘intent inheritance.’ Instead of demonic thoughts, it’s the musician’s comprehension of the score that’s implanted. It guides your memories and dreamscape, allowing you to transform into the composer and directly experience the meaning within…Basically, there are a lot of benefits.” Done explaining, Lola glanced at him expectantly. ”Winterreise is a suite. There are still twenty-three pieces you haven’t learned. Do you want to keep going?”
”I’ll pass.” Ye Qingxuan thought of his painful experiences over the past few days. If he was going to have twenty-three more difference experiences, he would probably go insane. He would rather get past this obstacle and then learn steadily…
”Tsk.” Seeing that she did not lure Ye Qingxuan in, Lola’s eyes were a bit regretful. ”That’s a pity.”
”…”
-
It was noon at the Royal Academy of Music. The youth’s white hair shone with a metallic light under the blazing sun. He sat on the steps before the main building in the empty campus and flipped through the thin booklet. Hearing footsteps, he raised his head.
”Bench Guy, you’ve refreshed?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
Bench Guy, with a concrete brick on his head, was stunned. He had not expected Ye Qingxuan to be waiting for him here and panicked slightly. ”Uh…”
”I have something I want to talk about.”
”Very important?”
”Of course.” Ye Qingxuan nodded seriously. ”We’ve drawn empty for three days in a row. Tomorrow are the semifinals. I feel like the school won’t let us keep drawing empty anymore, so I need to discuss tactics with you.”
Hearing this, Bench Guy let out a breath of relief. For some reason, he felt both touched and wronged. For the past two days, Ye Qingxuan had always been sleeping. He went to find Charles, but Charles was unreliable. He went to find Bai Xi, but Bai Xi did not care. He went to find Old Phil but…what use would finding Old Phil have? It was as if the nation was in a crisis, but the emperor and officials were still playing and did not care, and only the servant was worried.
He was especially skilled at bragging, but faced with a group as weird as the history department, he had no clue what to do. But he never expected that Ye Qingxuan would wake up just as he was giving up and come find him to talk about the game plan! This made him want to cry. Finally, someone was reliable!
Deeply touched, Bench Guy nodded. ”I’m happy you’re thinking about this. Do you have any ideas?”
”Yeah, I need your help for something.” For some reason, the youth smiled brightly, which gave Bench Guy a bad feeling. ”You’ll help me, right?”
-
The game on the field was still intense and the audience still roared.
Amidst the cheers, Ye Qingxuan held a teacup and sipped slowly. He let out a breath. ”It’s so lively.”
”Yup.” Beside him, Charles ate baked seeds and snacks. He also held a big glass of cold beer. ”You don’t say. Drinking and watching the game, every day is like paradise!”
”Yeah, as long as we don’t have to play.”
”…Ah, Junior, it’s so nice out today. Don’t say these sad things.”
”Okay.” Ye Qingxuan nodded lightly. ”I’ll go draw tonight. You don’t have to worry about these things. Just go onto the field when it’s time.”
”Wait! Are you sure you’re going to draw? You’re so unlucky…”
”You want to draw empty again and go directly to the finals?” Ye Qingxuan eyed him. ”It’s already past my expectation that we’ve lasted until now. Senior, let’s just quit while we’re ahead. We just need to make sure we don’t lose. If we want to win, we need to win the third round. Are you ready?”
”Everything is under control!” Charles whistled. ”This time, I’ll produce something so amazing and incredible and beat every graduation product! At that time, graduation will be a small matter. I might accidentally get famous, become known in Anglo, and enter the peak of my life!”
This let Ye Qingxuan know that it was entirely unreliable. If this were not his own business, he would really want to find some café, slam a fist down on the table and say, ”The history department is done for!”
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