Chapter 207: 206 Why Is It Getting Shorter And Shorter?
It was another evening. After Pei Ningle finished singing in the bar, she came to the lounge next to the back kitchen and saw Wang Heng sitting on the sofa, looking down at his mobile phone.
Wang Heng looked up: “Finished singing?”
Pei Ningle walked to his side, leaning against the sofa armrest, and asked: “How come you have time to come over tonight?”
Wang Heng: “Han Yixuan has class tonight, and I need to talk to you about the next step of the plan. After you uploaded the song to Wangyu Music, I also arranged this article for you.”
Pei Ningle: “Article?”
“Yan Sheng’s new song recommendation,” Wang Heng raised his mobile phone a bit higher, “Of course, this time it’s grouped with new songs from other independent musicians, so it doesn’t look so much like an advertisement.”
Pei Ningle took his mobile phone and said thoughtfully: “Then does it cost less money?”
Wang Heng: “Yes, last time it was three thousand, this time only one thousand five.”
The young girl couldn’t help but sigh: “When did we start being able to say ‘only one thousand five’ like that?”
Wang Heng: “Don’t get the wrong idea, this is my money. For you, one thousand five is still not that easy to come by.”
Pei Ningle: “By the way, the money you spent, shall I reimburse you with Sister Wen’s sponsorship fee?”
Wang Heng waved: “No need, keep that money to buy a guitar or for recording. There will definitely be more expenses for promoting you later. Alright, take a look at that article first. If it’s okay, I’ll post these words on your encyclopedia entry.”
Pei Ningle’s small mouth opened slightly, and she couldn’t help but be a bit surprised: “Encyclopedia entry?”
Wang Heng: “Yeah, the sooner you get this done, the better.”
Pei Ningle nodded thoughtfully and carefully read the article on Wang Heng’s mobile phone, the recommendation post from the ‘Yan Sheng’ official account.
At the same time, Wang Heng quietly stood up, making space on the sofa, pressed her shoulders, and made her sit down. The young girl seemed to feel nothing unusual and lowered her head to look at the mobile phone.
【From this song, we can see how a musician with pursuit and taste grows. Compared to the previous 《Lost》, 《Dawn》 has a more complex and innovative music theory structure. Here, the musician boldly breaks conventional patterns and rearranges the structure of the verse and chorus…】
【Of course, the most unique and individualistic part of a song often cannot be analyzed with music theory, which is the so-called feelings. Those subtle emotions that language struggles to describe are sublimated in music, thus showing a unique aesthetic. From this angle, the value of 《Dawn》 is even more eye-catching. We see that this young musician firmly refuses the most popular strategies on the market, refuses pop love songs, writes unique personal feelings, yet resonates with many audiences…】
As expected from a critic who earns a living with his pen, Yan Xingzhou’s praise here isn’t overly sappy, and the tone is much more neutral and objective than those good reviews on the Wangyu platform—at least on the surface, it’s a neutral and objective style. And at the end of the article, he carefully points out the shortcomings:
【But on the other hand, being niche, independent, and breaking conventions means it might exceed the appreciation range of many audiences. Moreover, the relatively long chorus might seem monotonous and dull to those not listening carefully. And as Mister Tree Man said, ‘human joys and sorrows do not communicate,’ a more personalized expression theme also means the potential audience group might be relatively limited…】
Pei Ningle hadn’t finished reading the article yet when she felt her mobile phone vibrating in her jeans pocket. She took it out, glanced at it, and subconsciously shouted: “It’s Sister Wen calling!”
Wang Heng, standing nearby: “Sister Wen?”
Pei Ningle: “That’s Chang Wen!”
Wang Heng teased: “Didn’t you used to call her the Hit Song Diva? Now that she’s given money, you call her sister… Alright, answer it quickly.”
Pei Ningle nodded and answered the call.
Soon, that slightly husky voice of the mature woman came from the mobile phone: “Xiao Le, did you receive the transfer?”
Pei Ningle was stunned: “Transfer?”
Chang Wen: “You didn’t check your phone? Or does your phone not notify you of incoming messages?”
“There should be a text message, but I was busy singing earlier and didn’t see it…” Pei Ningle explained, then asked, “Sister Wen, did you listen to my new song?”
Chang Wen: “Yes.”
Pei Ningle asked with some expectation: “So what do you think?”
Chang Wen: “My strongest feeling is just one thing: it’s too short!”
Pei Ningle: “?”
Chang Wen: “The previous one was a bit over three minutes, which is normal. This one isn’t even two and a half minutes—it’s way too short!”
Pei Ningle’s heart tightened, and she stammered: “Sorry… but when I wrote this song… uh, I felt…”
“Why are you apologizing to me?” There was a hint of amusement in Chang Wen’s voice, “Being short isn’t a flaw; as long as it’s good.”
Pei Ningle: “So you think this song…”
Chang Wen laughed: “It’s very good, haha. I was enjoying it when it suddenly ended—short and exquisite!”
Pei Ningle finally breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help complaining: “Sister Wen, don’t scare me like that.”
Chang Wen: “You can’t handle this? Then I won’t tell you the even heavier news.”
Pei Ningle: “What’s the heavier news?”
Chang Wen said leisurely: “I’m not saying, really not saying. Some matters aren’t fully settled yet, no rush to tell you now. When it’s completely confirmed, no need for me to say—they’ll notify you naturally.”
Pei Ningle: “?”
Just as the young girl was baffled and wanted to ask more, the big sister on the other end of the phone didn’t want to reveal more.
“Alright then, goodbye, keep it up!”
With that, Chang Wen hung up.
At this time, Wang Heng reminded: “Check the text message records, has the transfer arrived?”
Pei Ningle obediently opened the unread texts and sure enough saw the incoming notification.
“Exactly fifty thousand, that’s fine, but…” The young girl said puzzled, “She said there’s heavier news—what is it?”
Wang Heng: “It shouldn’t be bad news, right?”
Pei Ningle: “From her tone, it should… not be.”
Wang Heng shrugged: “Then it doesn’t matter, wait for the good news to come.”
“But this really makes one super curious!” Pei Ningle held her own mobile phone in one hand and Wang Heng’s in the other, and couldn’t help waving both hands.
Wang Heng: “…Give me back my phone first; I haven’t planned to change phones.”
Pei Ningle shoved his mobile phone into his left hand, pocketed her own, then grabbed Wang Heng’s right hand with both of hers and shook it vigorously.
The young girl, demonstrating ‘curious to the point of frenzy’ with her actions, kept asking: “What do you think? What do you think the news is!”
Wang Heng: “I don’t know, you… let go! If you don’t let go, I’ll shout indecent assault!”
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PS: Seeking recommendation tickets!
