Lin Shuyue went out in the afternoon. Luo Ming guessed she was probably going to find her friend, the orchestra conductor.
Meanwhile, Luo Ming spent the whole afternoon and evening finishing the sheet music for “As You Wish.”
Early the next morning, Lin Shuyue dragged Luo Ming out of bed.
Chen Junmiao helped the drowsy “Lin Shuwen” put on her makeup, and then everyone got into the nanny van and arrived at a theater.
“Sister, is the orchestra you mentioned in this theater?” Luo Ming asked.
“Don’t ask. Just come in with me and you’ll see,” Lin Shuyue said mysteriously.
Luo Ming grew even more curious. He’d never seen an orchestra in real life before!
Luo Ming and Lin Shuyue walked into the theater together, with the Chen sisters following close behind.
Lin Shuyue had obviously been here before and knew the place well. She expertly led the three of them to the theater’s performance hall.
Actually, halfway there, Luo Ming could already hear the sound of instruments playing.
When they reached the performance hall and saw the “big guns” on stage, Luo Ming and the Chen sisters were all a bit stunned.
Just then, the music suddenly stopped. The conductor on stage turned around with incomparable elegance, his eyes landing on Lin Shuyue. He smiled and bowed toward her.
“Did he just smile at me? He’s so handsome!” Chen Sichu said, blushing.
“Stop swooning. He was smiling at Sister Yue,” Chen Junmiao said helplessly.
Chen Sichu looked a little disappointed. She was about to say something when she suddenly saw the conductor raise his hand.
The next second, the baton in his hand came down with a crash, and the orchestra, the tuning, everything rang out together.
Dang dang dang dang!
The thunder of instruments erupted as the conductor’s arm fell.
Even people who didn’t understand music knew that this opening was unmistakably Beethoven’s Fate.
Luo Ming immediately felt his scalp tingle.
This was absolutely breathtaking.
These four notes sounded like a question posed to fate.
No, not “like” — this was Beethoven questioning fate.
Before the shock of the first strike could fade, the conductor’s hand rose again, delivering a second decisive swing.
Dang dang dang dang!
The second thunder of instruments rang out once more.
Amid such magnificent music, Luo Ming couldn’t help but feel an indescribable sense of smallness.
Beethoven used music to question fate, bringing forth the cry of destiny!
The fate hidden within the music was, with the conductor’s hand, unveiling its mysterious face to the four audience members.
Luo Ming had been learning vocal music from Lin Shuwen for a while, so he could barely follow the orchestra conductor’s rhythm.
Just now, the conductor had given the orchestra a two-beat preparatory beat and began controlling the orchestra’s progression.
He used his body to drive the dancing of his arms, and the baton “danced” along with them. He just stood there, yet displayed a shocking sense of power.
He brought that power down upon the orchestra.
One layer, two layers, three layers.
Under his direction, the sound of the string section overlapped layer upon layer, building progressively.
Each layer of music had its own content within it — you within me, me within you.
As the score progressed, the emotions contained in the music erupted as well, layer after layer of feeling surging forth.
Within the suffocating, oppressive music that came before, a spark of hope had somehow risen.
And as the man on stage swung his baton up and down, the spark of hope was fighting against the predetermined fate, seizing fate by the throat.
And with that, the piece ended.
Luo Ming was too stunned to speak.
Many people can’t see the future — but really, they have seen it.
Many people resign themselves to fate — but really, they’ve been seized by the throat by fate.
And the spark of hope is the weapon that breaks the chains, seizing fate by the throat in return.
“Clap clap clap~ Guo Ningyuan, I haven’t heard your orchestra play in a while. Your conducting has really improved!” Lin Shuyue praised while clapping.
“It’s not easy to get praise from you. This must be your sister, right?”
“Yeah. Wenwen, let me introduce you — this is Guo Ningyuan, the leader and conductor of this symphony orchestra. Ningyuan, this is my sister Lin Shuwen. You’ve probably heard of her.”
“Of course I have. The famous little pop queen! Miss Lin, I really like your song ‘Snail.’ Looking forward to the official version.” Guo Ningyuan extended his hand toward “Lin Shuwen.”
Luo Ming reached out and shook Guo Ningyuan’s hand, then said with a smile, “My album goes on sale February 10th. I’ll send Mr. Guo a copy then.”
“That would be great! Remember to sign it! Your autograph sells for nearly 500 yuan online!”
“Really? I didn’t even know my autograph was worth that much.”
“Alright, alright! Enough chitchat. Ningyuan, take a look at this song for me!” Lin Shuyue said as she handed him the paper with the sheet music.
Guo Ningyuan took the score and tried humming it, then his eyes lit up.
“This song is interesting. When you told me yesterday, I didn’t quite believe it. Now it seems I underestimated your sister.”
“Can you do it?”
“Can do! Have a seat for a bit. I’ll go arrange it.”
With that, Guo Ningyuan took the score and went to communicate with the orchestra members on stage.
“Sister, what kind of orchestra is your friend’s?”
“His is a standard symphony orchestra. You can tell from the layout of the performers on stage.
First, the string instruments, including violin, viola, cello, and double bass.
These instruments are the foundation of a symphony orchestra, providing rich melody and harmony for the music.
Then there are the woodwinds over there. I don’t know all of them either — I only know his orchestra has flute, piccolo, clarinet, and bassoon. I don’t know if there are others.
They can create all kinds of unique timbres, from fresh, bright high notes to deep, low tones.
As for the remaining two sections, brass and percussion are my blind spots. I know absolutely nothing about those. Wenwen, you should know better than me, right?”
Luo Ming glanced at those two sections. Among the brass, he only recognized the trumpet and trombone — everything else he had no idea about.
But Luo Ming did know that brass instruments produce bright high notes and rich low tones.
He’d picked up that little bit of knowledge from the Detective Conan movie “The Score of Fear” that he’d watched in his past life.
As for the final percussion section, Luo Ming was equally clueless — mainly because there were no drums in “The Score of Fear.”
But drums, generally speaking, are used to emphasize rhythm and add energy and dynamism to the music.
He guessed their role in the orchestra was probably the same.
And the piano at the end was probably for harmony.
After Guo Ningyuan assigned work to the orchestra members on stage, he began attempting a rehearsal.
After about three hours of fiddling around, Guo Ningyuan had it sorted out.
“Miss Lin, are you ready on your end? If so, let’s try putting it together!” Guo Ningyuan suggested.
Luo Ming nodded and went on stage with the microphone.
The first few attempts at harmonizing failed, as expected — mainly because Luo Ming wasn’t used to collaborating with an orchestra and kept getting thrown off by their playing.
After a few rounds of adjustment, Luo Ming gradually found his groove.
Down in the audience, Chen Sichu saw that “Lin Shuwen” had adjusted well and timely turned on the camera, pointing the lens at the stage.
Guo Ningyuan’s baton fell.
The string section sounded first, the melodious violin joined by the piano’s notes echoing through the whole theater.
Luo Ming began to sing along with the music:
“You are the distant road
The lamp in the misty wilderness
I am a child, walking in your eyes.”
The first half of the song had been heard yesterday by Lin Shuyue and the Chen sisters, but yesterday “Lin Shuwen” had sung a cappella. Today, with the orchestra’s accompaniment, the effect was completely different.
With the accompaniment, the emotional progression of the song was much clearer. The first layer was simple and clear, like someone whispering in your ear.
From the second layer onward, most of the strings came in, and the emotions were instantly stirred up.
In the climax section, the accompaniment grew more and more magnificent, and “Lin Shuwen’s” singing was noticeably more emotionally invested. Finally, after the drums ended, everything returned to calm.
When this section ended, the three who had heard it yesterday all felt it was endlessly memorable.
Then the next section came.
The lyrics of the first half of “As You Wish” weren’t particularly propagandistic. The emotional buildup was mainly about the younger generation’s deep affection for their elders and the departed forebears’ messages from beyond.
Then the second half completely shifted perspective.
“You are the long river of years
The sky lit by sparks
I am the one looking up, and I’ll sing you into song
You are where I come from
And where my heart returns
Every road in the world will lead to meeting you.”
Luo Ming deliberately imitated Faye Wong’s singing style, making this section’s voice more solid — this was sung for the forebears.
After repeating the chorus, “Luo Ming” immediately continued with a section: “The mountains and rivers are unscathed, everyday life goes on as usual —
Is this the view you wished to see?
Children, sleeping peacefully in their dreams —
Just as you loved them so?”
The superposition of these two rhetorical questions completely unleashed the song’s emotions.
At the same time, it was telling the predecessors that as the younger generation, they had not failed their trust, not failed their expectations, and had protected and preserved this beautiful land.
In the final section, Luo Ming’s singing was very soft, especially the last line: “Like your young face” — returning to the gentle, storytelling style of the first section.
When Luo Ming sang this line, the other sections of the orchestra stopped, leaving only the violin and piano accompanying.
As Luo Ming’s final note faded, the violin stopped too, leaving only the piano. Too much noise would only disturb their sleep — having the piano accompany them into slumber was enough.
When the song ended, Chen Junmiao felt her nose tingling.
She understood why the song was called “As You Wish.” Was this prosperous era as they had wished?
“Did you get it all recorded?” Lin Shuyue’s voice sounded a little off too — she had clearly been moved by the song as well.
“Don’t worry! Sister Yue, I’m a professional at this,” Chen Sichu answered. She seemed fine.
Lin Shuyue nodded. Honestly, she hadn’t expected this song to sound so beautiful with the orchestra’s support.
So what if it was a mainstream/propaganda song?
This song proved that mainstream songs could grab people’s ears too.
