The song "The Actor" at the beginning stunned me with its portrayal of the aloof school be

Jiang Che's fingers landed on the piano keys.

The song "The Wind Rises" slowly unfolds.

The prelude is a clean piano tone, one note after another, unhurried and gentle, like a breeze blowing from afar, first gently brushing by, then slowly spreading out.

Then Jiang Che spoke.

"We traveled and stopped frequently along the way."

Following the trail of the boy's drifting journey

"The moment before stepping out of the station"

"I was somewhat hesitant."

"I can't help but laugh at this feeling of trepidation upon approaching home."

"Still unavoidable"

"And the sky over Nagano"

"Still so warm"

"The wind has stirred up memories of the past."

Jiang Che's opening notes were extremely steady, almost to the point of being bland.

There are no flashy techniques or high notes; the first half is quiet and peaceful, like telling someone an old story about a long journey and the return.

The song contains the wind, youth, the long road traveled, and the indescribable melancholy when looking back at one's hometown.

But that's where the problem lies.

The audience at this event had long been accustomed to the bombardment of loud, high-pitched sounds from the previous performances.

In their minds, the stage should be explosive, the chorus should be sung with powerful notes, and emotions should be unleashed to the fullest.

Jiang Che's restrained opening was directly misinterpreted by them as "no good".

The comments section started to turn pessimistic.

"this one?"

"Nothing special, they've been building up for so long but haven't hit any high notes."

"I thought it was something more advanced, a lullaby?"

"As expected, it's at the bottom level. The judges from Tingxian Entertainment were right."

Some people at the scene were whispering among themselves, their expressions showing disappointment.

See it.

Those in the corner will always remain in the corner.

Several audience members who were just clapping for the center position have now lowered their heads and started scrolling through their phones.

"This area is definitely just there to make up the numbers."

"The intro sounds alright, but it loses its charm as soon as it starts playing."

"Stop laying the sheets, stop laying them, get to work!"

"If this team can advance, I'll eat the screen."

"Those people in the center are the real deal, while those in the corner are just here to experience life."

The comments on the screen grew increasingly impatient.

A pessimistic outlook was almost the consensus of everyone present.

……

C position area.

As Lin Wei listened, a hint of pleasure flashed in her eyes.

She knew it.

She leaned closer to the female contestant sitting in the center area next to her, lowered her voice, and slowly began to speak.

"I know him, he's my ex-boyfriend, from Jiangcheng University."

"With this level of skill, he was always thinking about breaking into the music industry back then."

"He spends all his time basking in the glow of his broken guitar, but none of the songs he writes are any good."

She belittled Jiang Che to the point of worthlessness, her words serving as a foil to highlight her own professionalism.

"You have no idea, during the two years he pursued me, he wrote a bunch of so-called original works and sent them to me, but I couldn't stand listening to them."

"You can only fool people in school. But when you get to a real situation, listen to this, doesn't it immediately give you away?"

The female contestant next to him smiled in agreement.

"The title of 'original rising star' is just a joke when it comes to my ex-boyfriend."

Lin Wei spoke more and more fluently, and her voice became a little louder than before.

Lin Wei felt extremely relieved.

That's more like it.

This was the Jiang Che she knew, the Jiang Che who was nothing without her.

She was even starting to look forward to Jiang Che's ugly face when he stepped down.

……

The most pointed questions came from the judges.

Next to the mentors' seats sat a row of professional reviewers.

One of the producers is known in the industry for his sharp tongue. He has been making music for twenty years and has listened to enough demos to fill an entire room. He is an expert at finding fault and never holds back.

As he listened to the first half of Jiang Che's speech, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

My finger was already on the elimination button in front of me.

"The starting line is solid," he muttered to himself, "but is the national competition something to be taken for granted?"

"No memorable moments, no explosive moments, after all this build-up, they haven't given me anything."

"They dare to come to the national competition with this level of skill?"

His finger hovered above the elimination button, ready to press it at any moment.

In his twenty years of experience, if a song doesn't grab the listener's attention in the first half, it's basically beyond saving in the second half.

He has seen too many newcomers who are all talk and no action, who start off impressive but then completely fail.

He saw the students who came from this corner as the same.

The fingertip resting on the elimination button had already pressed down with force.

……

Jiang Che on stage was fully aware of all of this.

He could guess the thoughts of those ordinary, unremarkable people in the audience without even looking at the comments.

Ears accustomed to high-pitched sounds can no longer appreciate the value of restraint.

This is normal.

The most ruthless aspect of this song, "The Wind Rises," lies precisely in this.

It first uses quiet to gradually lower your guard, then uses the chorus to pierce through it completely.

The flatter the front is, the harder it will be bombed in the back.

Jiang Che's fingertips moved steadily across the piano keys, but his emotions had quietly reached a breaking point.

He is waiting.

The moment the wind picked up, it forced all those who had doubted him back into their seats.

……

But it happened in the same venue.

In the guest seats, Lin Xier's expression was different from everyone else's.

She was initially leaning against the back of the chair.

As I listened, I slowly sat up straight.

Her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

While others listen to the high notes, she listens to the structure.

The melody of this song is extremely sophisticated. The verses are gentle and restrained, seemingly casual, but in reality, the placement of each note is terrifyingly precise.

The accompaniment in the left hand did not use the most common root note as a base, but instead took a subtle inner voice that blended perfectly with the vocals.

The imagery in the lyrics is clean and simple: wind, distant places, youth, and the way home. A few simple words strung together create a scene that is heavy and oppressive.

The most dangerous thing is emotions.

The emotions in this song don't come from shouting, but from a restrained progression, building up layer by layer until the moment before the chorus, when it has accumulated enough force to smash through you.

This is textbook-level original writing.

Very difficult.

Because the more restrained you are in the first half, the less room there is for you to hide your flaws; every pitch and every breath is fully exposed to your ears.

If not handled carefully, the whole song will fall apart into a lukewarm mess.

But Jiang Che was meticulous and didn't let anything slip by.

Every breath was controlled precisely, and every word was enunciated precisely where it should be.

He seemed to have sung this song a thousand times; he could sing it with his eyes closed and not miss a single note.

Moreover, this was a completely new piece of work that she had never heard before.

She mentally searched through the entire Chinese music scene's repertoire, but couldn't find a single song that matched.

Not only do they not match, but there are no similar styles to reference either.

This means that either the song came from a channel she couldn't even access, or it was a completely original work.

Given Jiang Che's current posture as he sits at the piano, playing with effortless ease, the only remaining answer is almost certainly the latter.

A third-year university student.

Write out this structure, this emotion, this blank space.

Lin Xi'er felt her scalp tingle just thinking about it.

This can no longer be described as simply being talented.

That's terrifying.

Moreover, this is not Jiang Che's first original song.

Lin Xi'er's heart began to race.

She subconsciously turned her head to look at the experienced judges next to the mentors' panel.

Then she discovered.

The veteran judges also stopped what they were doing.

Some people put down their pens, while others leaned forward slightly, their eyes filled with the same shock as hers.

They could tell.

This song is not simple.

That student at the bottom of the class in the corner is no ordinary person.

An elderly judge with gray hair turned to the person next to him and whispered something to them, who nodded solemnly.

The two of them never looked away from the stage.

……

In the dormitory live-streaming room.

The screen was filled with nothing special, but Wang Haoran was the most composed player in the entire game.

He gritted his teeth and frantically spammed the comments section.

"Just wait!"

"The chorus isn't here yet! You all just wait!"

"My brother always strikes after the enemy has made their move; the initial attack was just a prelude for you guys!"

"Just wait until the chorus starts, then let's see how you guys handle this!"

His words, meant to promote the trailer, were drowned out by a barrage of pessimistic comments, and few people paid any attention.

But he remained completely calm.

Because he knows Jiang Che too well.

The scene from that night of the school anniversary celebration is still vividly etched in his mind.

That night, it started the same way, with a group of people waiting to see the joke.

The results of it.

The entire audience stood up.

He picked up his soda, took a sip, and looked completely calm, like a gambler who had just won big.

……

on the stage.

Jiang Che's singing gradually decreased by half a octave.

"When I first encountered this world."

"Lingering in vain"

"The horizon seems so close at hand."

"I'm willing to go through fire and water to experience it."

"Now that I've walked through this world..."

"Lingering in vain"

"Turning the page on different facets of time"

"Your smile appeared out of nowhere."

At this moment, the piano music also subsided, like the last calm before the tide recedes.

The air in the entire venue suddenly became tense.

Everyone vaguely sensed that something big was about to happen.

The sharp-tongued producer's finger, which was resting on the elimination button, stopped.

The chorus is coming.

Should I press the exit button or not?

The entire audience held their breath.

Only Lin Wei, who was in the center position, had already burst out laughing.