206 Why Is It Getting Shorter?
It was another evening. After Pei Ningle finished singing in the bar, she went to the rest area next to the back kitchen and saw Wang Heng sitting on the sofa, looking down at his phone.
Wang Heng looked up. “Finished?”
Pei Ningle walked to his side, leaned against the armrest of the sofa, and asked, “Why are you free to come over tonight?”
Wang Heng: “Han Yixuan has class tonight, and I need to talk to you about the next plan. After you uploaded the song to NetEase Cloud Music, I also arranged this article for you.”
Pei Ningle: “Article?”
“Yansheng’s new song recommendation,” Wang Heng raised his phone a little higher. “Of course, this time it’s put together with new songs from other independent musicians, so it doesn’t look so much like an advertisement.”
Pei Ningle took his phone and pondered, “Does that mean it costs less?”
Wang Heng: “Yes, last time it was three thousand, this time it’s only one thousand five.”
The girl couldn’t help but sigh, “When did we start saying things like ‘only one thousand five’?”
Wang Heng: “Don’t get the wrong idea, this is my money. For you, one thousand five is still not that easy to take out.”
Pei Ningle: “By the way, I can reimburse you for the money you spent with Chang Wen’s sponsorship fee, right?”
Wang Heng waved his hand. “No need, keep that money to buy instruments and recording time. Promoting you in the future will definitely cost more money. Alright, read that article first. If it’s okay, I’ll paste these words on your encyclopedia entry.”
Pei Ningle’s mouth opened slightly, surprised. “Encyclopedia entry?”
Wang Heng: “Yeah, the sooner you get this thing done, the better.”
Pei Ningle nodded thoughtfully and carefully read the article on Wang Heng’s phone, the recommendation article from the ‘Yansheng’ official account.
At the same time, Wang Heng silently stood up, giving up the empty seat on the sofa, and pressed her shoulders to make her sit down. The girl didn’t seem to feel anything strange, looking down at the phone.
【From this song, we can see how a musician with pursuit and taste grows. Compared to the previous “Lost Path,” the musical structure of “Dawn” is more complex and innovative. Here, the musician bravely broke the conventional pattern and rearranged the structure of the verse and chorus…】
【Of course, the most unique and distinctive part of a song often cannot be analyzed by music theory, that is the so-called emotion. The subtle emotions that are difficult to describe in language are sublimated in music, thus showing a unique beauty. From this perspective, the value of “Dawn” is even more eye-catching. We see that although this musician is young, she firmly rejects the most popular routines on the market, rejects ballad love songs, and writes unique personal feelings, yet resonates with many listeners…】
As expected of a critic who makes a living with his pen, Yan Xingzhou’s praise was not too cheesy, and his tone was much more neutral and objective than those positive reviews on the NetEase platform—at least on the surface, it was a neutral and objective style. And at the end of the article, he carefully pointed out the shortcomings:
【However, on the other hand, being niche, independent, and breaking conventions means that it may exceed the appreciation range of many listeners. And the relatively long chorus may seem monotonous and boring to those who don’t listen so carefully. Moreover, as Mr. Shuren said, ‘Human joys and sorrows are not interlinked’, a more personalized expression theme also means that the number of potential audience groups may be relatively limited…】
Pei Ningle hadn’t finished reading the article, but felt her phone vibrating in her jeans pocket. She took out her phone, looked at it, and subconsciously shouted, “It’s Sister Wen calling!”
Wang Heng standing aside: “Sister Wen?”
Pei Ningle: “It’s Chang Wen!”
Wang Heng teased, “Didn’t you call her the Queen of Divine Tunes before? Now that she gave you money, you call her sister… Alright, answer it quickly.”
Pei Ningle nodded and answered the call.
Soon, the slightly husky voice of a mature woman came from the phone: “Little Le, did you receive the transfer?”
Pei Ningle was stunned. “Transfer?”
Chang Wen: “Didn’t you check your phone? Or does your phone not notify you of incoming transfers?”
“There should be a text message, but I was busy singing just now and didn’t see it…” Pei Ningle explained, then asked, “Sister Wen, did you hear my new song?”
Chang Wen: “Yes.”
Pei Ningle asked with some expectation, “Then what do you think?”
Chang Wen: “My strongest feeling is only one, it’s too short!”
Pei Ningle: “?”
Chang Wen: “The previous one was over three minutes, which was normal. This one is not even two and a half minutes. It shrank too much!”
Pei Ningle’s heart tightened, and she stammered, “Sorry… but when I wrote this song… uh, I felt…”
“Why are you apologizing to me?” A smile appeared in Chang Wen’s voice. “Being short is not a shortcoming, as long as it sounds good.”
Pei Ningle: “Then do you think this song…”
Chang Wen laughed. “Very good, haha, it suddenly ended when I was enjoying it. Short and pithy!”
Pei Ningle finally breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help complaining, “Sister Wen, don’t scare me, okay?”
Chang Wen: “Can’t handle this? Then I won’t tell you the heavier news.”
Pei Ningle: “What heavier news?”
Chang Wen said leisurely, “Not telling, really not telling. Some things haven’t been completely settled yet, so no rush to tell you now. When it’s completely confirmed, I don’t need to say it, they will naturally notify you.”
Pei Ningle: “?”
Just as the girl was confused and wanted to ask more, the big sister on the other end of the phone didn’t want to reveal more.
“That’s it then, goodbye, keep up the good work!”
With that, Chang Wen hung up the phone.
At this time, Wang Heng reminded, “Check the text message history, did the transfer arrive?”
Pei Ningle obediently clicked on the unread text messages, and sure enough, she saw the arrival notification.
“Exactly fifty thousand, this is fine, but…” The girl wondered, “She said there was heavier news, what is it?”
Wang Heng: “Shouldn’t be bad news, right?”
Pei Ningle: “Listening to her tone, it should… not be.”
Wang Heng shrugged. “Then it doesn’t matter. Just wait for good things to come.”
“But this makes me super curious!” Pei Ningle held her own phone in one hand and Wang Heng’s phone in the other, waving her hands uncontrollably.
Wang Heng: “…Give me back my phone first. I don’t want to change phones yet.”
Pei Ningle stuffed his phone into his left hand and put her own phone in her pocket. Then, her hands grabbed Wang Heng’s right hand and shook it vigorously.
The girl who demonstrated ‘curious to the point of madness’ with practical actions was still asking, “What do you think? What do you think the news will be!”
Wang Heng: “I don’t know, you… let go! If you don’t let go, I’ll scream molestation!”
