Chapter 351: Relying On One’s Own Ability
She hadn’t expected Liu Ning to speak up and confirm the matter. Ye Peiwen had not even brought her manager and a.s.sistant with her today. She even said that they could talk about it later.
“Thank you, Producer Liu,” Ye Peiwen said immediately, feeling surprised.
“I’m pleased to work with you.” Liu Ning reached out her hand. “I’ll take you to meet the director later. s.h.i.+ Jin, you can talk to Teacher Ye about the main content of the script.”
“Okay,” s.h.i.+ Jin agreed, leading Ye Peiwen out.
After Ye Peiwen left, she asked s.h.i.+ Jin softly, “Has Producer Liu always been so easy to talk to?”
“I think so.” s.h.i.+ Jin nodded lightly.
Ye Peiwen nodded. Rumor had it that Liu Ning was not that easy to get along with. He had probably been affected by s.h.i.+ Jin.
“This time, I will make a guest appearance as a small singer, a very small character. The general story goes like this…” s.h.i.+ Jin explained simply.
She and Ye Peiwen chatted as they walked out.
Many staff members greeted s.h.i.+ Jin.
Huang Kaiqin was in the midst of taking photos when she caught sight of them and quickly retracted her gaze.
She was still a little confused. Why did the crew seem to know s.h.i.+ Jin?
“Teacher Ye, this is an interlude that I wrote for ‘Twilight Years’. Take a look. If possible, please sing this interlude too.”
Ye Peiwen knew about s.h.i.+ Jin’s ability to compose. She took the ma.n.u.script and scanned through it. She could not help being amazed. “This tune… is so good. s.h.i.+ Jin, you’re really not bad.”
“We still have to work together.”
“Very good. When I finish writing the theme song, I’ll discuss it with you.”
s.h.i.+ Jin nodded and smiled. “Sure.”
Huang Kaiqin finished the photoshoot and planned to invite Liu Ning for a meal.
Currently, in Liu Ning’s production team, he had more authority than the director. Other than being the boss of Changhe Film and Television, he was also outstanding in all aspects. Even the director had to give in to him.
“Maybe next time, Ms. Huang,” Liu Ning declined. “I have something on today.”
Huang Kaiqin felt a little disappointed. Although Liu Ning had personally dealt with her the past few times, she had never eaten with him. That said, she felt that their relations.h.i.+p was still lacking.
She could only leave with her a.s.sistant.
Liu Ning turned around and walked over to s.h.i.+ Jin. “s.h.i.+ Jin, you promised to eat with me previously. You won’t go back on your word today, right?”
s.h.i.+ Jin was supposed to be having dinner with Ye Peiwen tonight, but there was no harm in inviting Liu Ning.
She nodded. “If you don’t mind, you can eat with me and Teacher Ye?”
“That’s perfect.” Liu Ning pa.s.sed something to her. “This is a gift for your brother. Give it to him for me, please.”
“Sure.” s.h.i.+ Jin took it. It just so happened that she was going to meet Gu Jingyuan soon anyway.
Liu Ning, s.h.i.+ Jin, and Ye Peiwen walked out together. Huang Kaiqin was about to get into the car when she saw this scene. She could not help but frown.
She watched the three of them get into the car before looking away.
***
After s.h.i.+ Jin promised Song Huaixian that she would learn piano, she arranged a time to meet him.
“I’ll come and pick you up.” Song Huaixian seemed to be afraid that she wouldn’t come, so he was taking precautions.
s.h.i.+ Jin did not reject his kind intentions. After leaving the event venue, she waited at the carpark.
Song Huai was the first to arrive. He was driving an ordinary black car that was inconspicuous in the traffic.
After he came over, he got out of the car and went over to s.h.i.+ Jin’s side, opening the car door for her. “s.h.i.+ Jin, get in.”
They then drove towards the Piano a.s.sociation.
According to Fu Xiuyuan, the Piano a.s.sociation was very powerful and could not even be compared to the Four Great Clans. Their existence in Beijing was very important. It was no wonder Fu Heyan was from there.
After all, the Fu Family was a big family that transcended even the four major families.
The Piano a.s.sociation was located on an inconspicuous street. There was no door number on it and it looked ordinary. However, in a place like Beijing, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, and on this street, s.h.i.+ Jin could tell with one glance that the location was extraordinary.
There were many buildings in the capital that could not be bought with money alone.
She followed Song Huaixian in. After he swiped his card, the door lock opened.
s.h.i.+ Jin took a glance at the door lock. It was much more secure than the one in the dance a.s.sociation and was much harder to break.
They continued in and saw people ahead. When those people saw Song Huaixian and s.h.i.+ Jin, they all stopped in their tracks.
When Song Huaisian approached, they said, “President Song.”
Song Huaixian nodded. Only when he walked past did those people continue walking.
s.h.i.+ Jin initially thought that he was a teacher. She hadn’t expected him to be the president…
“When you come here in the future, you can learn from me.” Song Huaixian smiled. “Also, I recommended you for partic.i.p.ation in the Chopin piano compet.i.tion. See if you’re interested.”
“The Chopin piano compet.i.tion? That international compet.i.tion?”
“That’s right. This is one of the top piano compet.i.tions in the world. The people who win this award are all well-known figures in the piano world. I think you have a good chance.”
s.h.i.+ Jin entered his office. A piano was quietly placed in a corner. It looked old, but it was well maintained.
From the looks of it, it was tailored to the pianist’s strengths and weaknesses.
Every pianist who had reached the top had their own strengths, and the difficulty of playing a certain piece varied from person to person. Ordinary pianists could not fully utilize their own abilities and advantages. The more custom-made a piano was, the more distinguished it was.
“But I heard that this year’s Chopin compet.i.tion has already progressed past the preliminary round. Every country has already decided on the partic.i.p.ants,” s.h.i.+ Jin said.
“That’s true, but a few days ago, I sent your performance video to the committee. They agreed to let you partic.i.p.ate in the semi-finals—don’t worry, this isn’t the end for you.
The State Chopin Award is held once every five years. The entire committee doesn’t conform to the rules of the compet.i.tion. No matter what form one takes to partic.i.p.ate in the preliminary round, as long as one obtains the approval of the committee members, one can enter the semi-finals. ”
“But if I go in like this, will I squeeze out other partic.i.p.ants?”
“Of course not. Currently, the top three of the domestic preliminaries have the qualifications to enter the semi-finals. The spot you got was obtained with your own abilities.”
When s.h.i.+ Jin heard this, she did not object.
Since she was determined to learn from Song Huaixian, partic.i.p.ating in the compet.i.tion was definitely necessary. It was not a bad idea for her to broaden her horizons by accepting the challenges of the world’s top compet.i.tions.
Seeing that she had agreed, Song Huaixian immediately replied to the organizing committee and told them that s.h.i.+ Jin would be partic.i.p.ating in the semi-finals.
After chatting with him for a while, s.h.i.+ Jin realized that he was indeed very professional. His short comments were very accurate.
“Try my piano.”