Chapter 385: Pop Meets Classical, Ensemble!
Just before the music reaches its grand climax.
In this interlude,
Bai Junze showcases his astonishing cello talent once again!
The melody climbs higher and higher,
As this musical genius shifts from his previous flamboyant style and instead channels his “savagery” into emotional expression.
Heavy emotions are unleashed.
Everyone witnesses the full embodiment of Bai Junze.
Not a lonely drifter.
Not a prodigy squandering talent.
But a true homecoming artist.
Here, Bai Junze delivers his ultimate solo performance!
The cello flows with grace.
Emotions climb step by step.
The man plays with complete abandon.
The stage lights shine upon him. He’s performing a one-man show!
“.”
All the audience members are left dumbfounded.
“So impressive!”
“That cello has such a commanding presence.”
“Truly worthy of being the runner-up in the semifinals.”
“Feels like Ze Ge has really leveled up after this performance!”
“.”
Zhang Dong, sitting at his computer, watches the performance, feeling not only shocked but also a creeping sense of worry.
This Bai Junze.
Can he really be defeated?
If he encounters such a Bai Junze in the finals,
Are the other players really going to have a shot?
Zhang Dong nearly bursts out laughing, sighing helplessly yet with heartfelt admiration,
“What kind of monster have you two created, Moonlight Brother and Teacher Cat?”
Just then, as the audience is totally captivated by Bai Junze’s personal performance,
Suddenly, when the emotions peak,
In the next moment,
Gan Yan Yu and Mao Wei Ang simultaneously pick up their bows.
Yao Han, sitting in front of the TV, abruptly stands up, staring at the screen.
The three of them pull their cellos at the same time.
The ensemble begins!
Three cellos resonate together.
Different tones intertwine.
The three distinct cello styles ultimately converge into one line.
Lin Tian, playing the piano, feels his heart tighten, as the now-familiar segment, which has seen countless mistakes before, flashes before him again.
In an instant,
The storm descends!
A chaotic battle unfolds, an unprecedented sense of pressure bears down on everyone.
And as this power reaches its peak, everything releases at a single moment—
The music,
Flows like the Yangtze River.
It streams out with incredible smoothness and satisfaction.
They did it!
“Beautiful!!”
Zhang Dong shouts loudly in front of the livestream, frantically scratching his suddenly itchy scalp,
“d*mn, this is amazing!! Better than my last bathroom break!!”
Such a thrilling musical experience.
Such an emotional explosion that leaves people speechless.
If earlier, during the solo, they expressed emotions through classical music storytelling,
Now, their ensemble perfectly captures the essence of pop music.
At some moment, it delivers explosive joy like fireworks!
All the emotional buildup before was for this moment!
On stage,
The three cellists close their eyes simultaneously, expressionless.
The bows fly over the strings.
A flawless and cohesive ensemble.
An impeccably matched musical performance that’s free of faults!
The music roars, howling, bringing forth unparalleled emotional release from the three!
Down below,
The audience is already in a state of complete shock.
Like watching a movie,
When the true climax arrives, the stunned audience can’t utter a word.
Because all their attention is completely locked onto the performance, afraid to miss a single detail.
They watch, slightly wide-eyed, not looking away from the stage.
Until the rhythm starts to ease,
Only then do they come back to their senses, exclaiming in awe:
“So awesome!”
“I didn’t expect their ensemble to sound this good together.”
“I’ve truly been moved; I’ve never seen such a passionate Mao Wei Ang as a fan before.”
“And Bai Junze too; his music has never been this intricate.”
“Their ensemble isn’t just talk; they’ve really put in the effort!”
It’s hard to deny.
Most people now vaguely sense the source of Mao Wei Ang and Bai Junze’s drastic change in performance.
None other than
Gan Yan Yu, who is also on stage, currently playing the cello, and Lin Tian, who hasn’t paused on the piano since the beginning.
In fact,
Hasn’t Gan Yan Yu changed as well?
Many audience members who had never truly listened to Gan Yan Yu’s classical music before
Are now seriously hearing this song in a style akin to pop for the first time.
This cello really is beautiful.
They realize for the first time,
This cellist isn’t the deliberately self-promoting type they once thought from fan culture.
Her music doesn’t lie. She’s a serious classical musician who performs with genuine “heart” for everyone.
And her cello really does sound incredible.
No wonder.
At this moment, many audience members already have a subtle answer in their hearts.
Only someone like her
Could truly change people like Mao Wei Ang or Bai Junze, right?
So the question arises,
“This song ‘Zhao Zilong’—is it classical music or pop music, after all?”
One audience member couldn’t help but ask.
The same question echoed from the viewers in Zhang Dong’s livestream.
That’s a good question.
Not just the beginners who lack foundation.
Even a professional musician like Zhang Dong would be momentarily taken aback by this inquiry.
From the perspective of the music itself,
“Zhao Zilong” is undoubtedly pop.
Even though it has a rather epic style, it’s hard to deny that it serves the listeners’ enjoyment as a catchy tune.
If the arrangement were different, it might be folk music, but that’s pushing it a bit.
However, from a performance angle.
Whether it’s Gan Yan Yu, Mao Wei Ang, or Bai Junze.
They’re all playing it as classical music.
They imbue this song with gravitas, and that kind of profound emotion is only found in classical music.
In other words,
They’ve transcended the song’s framework and infused it with their own stories.
“So what?”
Hearing Zhang Dong’s ambiguous answer, the audience is clearly not satisfied.
They desperately want to know the genre of this song; it matters a lot to them.
Because it’s evident that
This song “Zhao Zilong” is of lesser quality than Moonlight’s and Cat’s previous classical music works.
It sacrificed too much depth for a better listening experience.
—Who cares about sounds?
What everyone cares about is whether Moonlight and Cat’s music can satisfy their higher emotional values.
Everything else does not matter.
If this is what Moonlight Brother compromised to create a pop music product for the ensemble.
They’d feel like they got stomped on in the Weibo wars.
“If you think that way, you completely don’t understand Moonlight Brother’s true intentions.”
Zhang Dong sighed and said,
“What’s important is not the music itself.”
“It’s the ‘performance,’ it’s their ‘performance’ as a group!”
As the music neared its final climactic section.
The people on stage were already sweating profusely.
Mao Wei Ang turned to glance at Lin Tian and smiled.
Bai Junze glanced at Gan Yan Yu, silent but gripping the bow tighter.
A fleeting moment of eye contact.
All of them showed expressions of relief.
Recalling all the various happenings due to their ensemble practices during the time,
Some couldn’t help but want to laugh.
Now, the final ensemble!
And potentially the last time for the four of them to play together in their lives.
It begins!
The majestic cello, the constantly advancing piano.
They execute an incredibly dazzling performance!
As if there had never been any barriers between them,
This is an unprecedented, intense exchange of diverse musical styles!
Did it get through?
Lin Tian thought.
If it did, that would be great.
At this moment,
All the audience members are entranced.
Gradually, a viewer suddenly seemed to have an epiphany, talking to themselves:
“Ah.”
“Turns out the people performing on stage right now are Moonlight, Cat, Teacher Mao, and Bai Junze!”
Once this statement was made,
Gradually, more and more people felt it all at once.
“Wow, the music from these four has no hint of discord at all.”
“They actually produced a sound that I initially thought would be disgusting.”
“Not only is it not disgusting, but it actually sounds amazing!”
“Can’t they form a band for life?!”
Pop and classical music.
Are essentially entirely different styles.
It felt like this collaboration would definitely be jarring.
But when all these elements converge in these people,
It didn’t feel jarring at all.
On the contrary, everything fits just right.
The emotional warmth of Gan Yan Yu playing pop music.
The deeper warmth of Mao Wei Ang.
The deep emotion of Bai Junze.
Seeing these elements in their long-time idols felt not gross but, ironically, quite nice!
“Although I’m fond of Teacher Mao’s music that just focuses on making me feel great, I genuinely hope he can play like this more often!”
“I used to think Teacher Mao’s cello was only good for its sound, but now it really feels different—like it has been infused with soul.”
“Thanks to Moonlight and Cat, I truly feel like they’ve helped Teacher Mao grow.”
“And our Ze Ge too. I don’t know what Lin Tian did, but it feels like he became a real man overnight.”
“You better pray it wasn’t Gan Yan Yu who did that.”
“.”
Everyone began discussing their favorite cellists’ transformations.
At that moment, someone posed a question:
“Why were they willing to undergo such transformations?”
The crowd fell silent.
Yes, the effect of the transformation is certainly surprising.
But how did they choose to undergo this change?
Changing ingrained musical beliefs is no easy task.
Maybe it’s partly because of Moonlight and Cat’s charm.
Additionally, there’s definitely a lack of:
Their unwavering determination to want to perform together.
So why did they want to perform?
Moreover, it’s for charity.
As the music gradually approached its conclusion.
Suddenly, someone remarked.
“If they can perform together.”
“Then why can’t we accept each other?”
As this statement was made,
Someone in the crowd cursed, “What the heck!”
How could there be such a perfectly accurate and essence-filled summary?
This brother is pretty much acting like a sage in a movie, responsible for enlightening the audience!
But it’s useful!
In truth, he didn’t even need to say it.
By this stage of the ensemble, everyone already had their thoughts!
“As I said earlier, I hope Teacher Mao can maintain this style in the future.”
“If this is classical music, then why not!”
“Hah! I never thought pop music was bad; who doesn’t listen to a couple of pop songs? It’s obviously the fans being too extreme.”
“Bullshit, I never said classical music was bad. It’s just you guys think too highly of yourselves.”
The inexplicable arguments erupted once more.
And this time,
You could clearly feel the animosity between them had lessened considerably.
However,
Until recently, the two sides were still bickering.
Now, just because of a performance, attitudes were changing? That’s tough to swallow!
As the music reached its conclusion.
Lin Tian’s playing also eased a bit.
He was able to feel everything on the stage right now.
Upon hearing the odd clamor rising from the audience, who were clearly still arguing even after the performance ended.
This time, Lin Tian didn’t react.
He glanced at Mao Wei Ang.
Mao Wei Ang also looked at Lin Tian.
Both couldn’t help but smile at each other.
This smile was a joyful acknowledgment of their success and relief.
Just as they envisioned.
They did it!
Their performance truly reached everyone!
Maybe,
In the future, fans will still clash over the divide between classical and pop.
But at this moment, Lin Tian believes,
Their performance
Will surely become a safe haven in the hearts of all music lovers.
This is the ultimate significance of their endeavor.
As the ensemble came to a close,
Thunderous applause resonated in the skies above the walking street.
“So cool! Moonlight Brother, Cat!!”
“Teacher Mao is incredible! A true ‘teacher’ in our hearts!”
“This is Ze Ge’s most charming episode yet!!”
“Encore! Encore!! Can anyone acknowledge my existence?!”
The audience cheers wildly.
Lin Tian feels beads of sweat on his neck and glances at Gan Yan Yu beside him.
In this summer night scene, it feels both surreal and dreamy.
Lin Tian looks up, gazing at the sky.
So, this is where it ends, huh?
“What kind of charm does Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu possess?”
After turning off the TV,
He Shu Mo sticks their photos on the whiteboard, stroking his chin, pondering humorously and curiously,
“How did they manage to get all the musicians to love them?”
“And somehow, even change people like Teacher Mao and Bai Junze.”
He Shu Mo mutters to himself, shifting his gaze to the corner sofa,
“Oh! There’s another senior who got caught in the charm frenzy.”
“Senior Yao Han, are you doing okay?”
“Too bad this show ended on a tragic note; what a shame.”
A smile lingered on He Shu Mo’s face.
At that moment, Yao Han jolts upright from the sofa,
“Crazy, these two are insane!”
“What’s crazy about them?”
He Shu Mo leans against the whiteboard,
“This isn’t bad at all; Teacher Mao and Bai Junze have already been conquered by them.”
“With the finals approaching, helping their own rivals to grow—have you ever seen such madness?!”
“This—”
Upon hearing Yao Han’s words, He Shu Mo was left speechless.
“I can’t stand it; the great Moonlight and Cat are doing all this for those irrelevant fans—it’s such a saintly act!”
Yao Han gritted his teeth and said,
“Having been influenced by Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu, they’ll definitely become even scarier opponents in the finals!”
“That’s not saintly; what is it then?!”
(End of Chapter)
