CH 13

Is It Only a Matter of Time?

Ying Ruoyun thought, although it was humiliating to be rejected for the first time, it was no big deal, he had been too abrupt.

At least now, Shu Jingzhi knows how he feels and doesn't dislike him, which is a good sign, isn't it?

As long as they could continue to be in contact and collaborate in music and repertoire, he could be closer and closer to him...

He is not attracted to Shu Jingzhi in the heat of the moment, nor is he superficially attracted by face value or external conditions.

Both Shu Jingzhi and he were born for music, and they were destined to reach the same destination through different routes.

At the end of the month, it was the day of Shu Jingzhi's solo recital.

On that night, the doors of the A City Conservatory of Music were almost broken.

Due to the continued influx of crazy fans, the university had to deploy extra security to cordon off the perimeter to ensure that the performance in the concert hall went on properly.

Ying Ruoyun was looking forward to this night more than anyone else, as it was the first time he had the opportunity to play with Shu Jingzhi on stage, and it was for the final selection of the finale.

Shu Jingzhi's previous collaborators had all been well-known musicians from both China and overseas, or young performers of modest fame, whereas he, himself...

As the first notes leapt, Ying Ruoyun instantly cleared his mind of the chaos and immersed himself in the melody of the music.

Shu Jingzhi has such a charm; his music seems to be unearthly and has the power to cleanse the soul.

As the finale began, Ying Ruoyun stepped onto the stage.

The spotlight split into two beams, one shining on him and one on Shu Jingzhi.

A warm yellow hue tinted his face with a pale gold. Shu Jingzhi, elegantly dressed in a black tuxedo and white gloves, was seated at a grand piano.

Ying Ruoyun, dressed in a white suit with a blue lining and a brown violin on his shoulder, stood quietly beside him.

Without the need for any words, almost as if by a tacit agreement, a rhythmic sound started to emerge, as if the seaside waves were fluttering against the backdrop of the thrashing waves.

The audience held their breath and marvelled at the naturalness of the rhythms.

So much so that when the song was finished, the aftershock was long lasting, and the applause was thunderous and heartfelt!

When he bowed and left the stage, Ying Ruoyun's palms were covered in a cold sweat, but he could clearly feel the change in the crowd's attitude towards him.

When he was on stage, when the audience saw his face, it was mostly mockery, ridicule and disdain.

When he left the stage, the audience looked at him with a surprising amount of respect and admiration.

He followed behind Shu Jingzhi, and as soon as he came down from the stage, he was surrounded by a crowd of people.

The lights of the cameras were flashing, and the mechanical sounds of the microphones and headsets were humming.

Ying Ruoyun had never seen such a scene before, so he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

There were waves of questions being asked at once:

"Mr. Shu, may I ask if your new release will be released in the form of an album?"

"Mr. Shu, we noticed that tonight is your first time playing with an ensemble this year, may we ask who you are collaborating with..."

"Mr. Shu, rumour has it that this collaborator of yours once made a high-profile confession to you and was rejected..."

Hearing that it was a question related to him, and one that was so disgraceful, Ying Ruoyun's brain directly short-circuited. What was even more unexpected was that a reporter even asked:

"Mr. Shu, you are performing on the same stage with your rumoured partner, is this not evidence that your relationship is remarkable?"

Shu Jingzhi glanced at this reporter, who instantly felt a slight chill.

"For work-related content, please pay attention to the news released by the studio." Shu Jingzhi replied succinctly, "Personal questions, no comment."

Seeing that Shu Jingzhi had made his attitude clear, the crowd of reporters turned their spears around and pointed them directly at Ying Ruoyun.

"Mr. Ying, as far as I know, you are Mr. Shu's classmate and have feelings of affection for him, so through what means did you reach a collaboration with Mr. Shu?"

"Mr. Ying, do you have more than an ordinary friendship with Mr. Shu..."

"Mr Ying, can we assume that, for your performance this time, your personal relationship with Mr Shu..."

Ying Ruoyun was dumbfounded by the question, and the flashing lights kept flashing, making him dizzy.

"Ruoyun," Shu Jingzhi stepped in front of him, took his hand, and whispered in his ear, "let's go."

"Oh, okay."

Like a child, he was led away from the crowd by Shu Jingzhi's hand, his heart beating like a drum, his ears filled with shouts of surprise and the sound of more intense shuttering.

On the way back, Ying Ruoyun thought about what had just happened and suddenly understood why Shu Jingzhi had rejected him when he first confessed his love.

At that time, they had not known each other for a long time, and it was at a nationally broadcast event, so it would be strange to say yes to something that would have a major impact on one's reputation.

The fact that Shu Jingzhi hadn't scolded him severely was already giving him a lot of face!

Suddenly gaining confidence, Ying Ruoyun asked, "Senior, that time before, I really didn't think it through."

"What?"

"During the music competition, I confessed my love to you, do you remember?"

"Mhmm."

"Back then, when you rejected me, I was sad for a long time, but now I've figured out that it was actually not the right approach on my part." Ying Ruoyun looked at him expectantly, "If, in a different way, I confessed my love to you in private, would you still reject me?"

"Yes."

"Senior, do you really, not like me in the slightest?" Ying Ruoyun clenched his hand and tried to keep his composure, looking at Shu Jingzhi's profile, "I really like you a lot."

"Ruoyun," Shu Jingzhi looked out the window, "you don't like me."

"I do."

"That's not like."

"Then what is it?"

"A fascination with music, like your admiration for Bach."

"No, it's not the same." Ying Ruoyun said, "I do appreciate and admire Bach, but I see him as a saint and a predecessor, and I wouldn't want to get close to him."

Shu Jingzhi looked at him.

"But I am different with Senior, I respect and admire you. Similarly, I can't restrain myself from wanting to get close to you, from wanting to touch you." Ying Ruoyun's eyes seemed to ignite a small fire: "To me, you are more than some myth and legend, you are the real you, the one who is a bit high and mighty, a bit foul and makes people want to punch you in the face, but more often than not, the only person who resonates with me."

The bottom of Shu Jingzhi's eyes reflected his face, with a slight, undetectable ripple.

"Senior, I like you, I like you, I like you, I like you!"

"Ruoyun..." Shu Jingzhi helplessly stroked his hair, "you're still young."

"I'm already an adult!"

"Your mind is still immature.""

"Are you going to reject me again?"

"I'm sorry."

"Can you, at least give me a chance?"

After a moment's thought, Shu Jingzhi finally compromised, "If you can win the first prize in the National Competition for Young Violinists at the end of December..."

"It's a deal!" Fearing that he might back out, Ying Ruoyun immediately agreed, and then asked, "Senior... what did you think of my performance tonight?"

"Not bad."

"Then is there any reward?"

"Ying Ruoyun." Shu Jingzhi said, "Are you a child?"

"Why not? Senior Shu is much, much older than me, right?"

"I'll take you to eat something delicious later."

"No, I don't want that."

"When we get back, I'll play my latest piece for you."

"You'll have to play it for me sooner or later, and I don't want that right now either."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want to punch you in the face."

Shu Jingzhi: "......"

"That's been my wish for a long time," Ying Ruoyun said, "It's okay to pinch it instead."

"Ying Ruoyun, your wishes and your hobbies are both chic."

"Thank you for the compliment, may I?"

———

Ever since he made a promise with Shu Jingzhi to win the first prize in the National Competition for Young Violinists, Ying Ruoyun has devoted himself to practising and playing the violin with an extraordinary amount of enthusiasm and perseverance.

Sometimes, when inspiration came out of nowhere, he would fetch a pen and paper from the bedside table in his dormitory in the middle of the night and write it down through the faint light of his cell phone screen.

It was like a half-blind composer writing invisible rhymes in the night, the moving notes echoing in his heart for a long time.

For three consecutive months, during the selection process from the faculty to the university, Ying Ruoyun stood out from the rest and won the regional final held in A City.

On December 24, the night of Christmas Eve, he left for the national finals in B City.

Looking at the country, A City is the economic centre and B City is the cultural centre. The two cities are not far apart, only 2 hours away by car.

Whenever he remembered this final, Ying Ruoyun would still feel nervous.

Even though in later years, he had stood on stages even larger than this one.

But only this night, it was the most special.

This was the stage where he would fulfil his end of the promise, or more accurately, where he would fight to live up to his end of the promise, to get closer to the one he loved.

Music itself has no colour, the performer gives it colour.

Music itself has no emotion, the performer gives it emotion.

Music itself has no power, the performer gives it the power to transcend all other art forms.

The piece chosen by Ying Ruoyun is 'Love's Joy', one of Fritz Kreisler's most famous masterpieces.

The reason he chose this piece was purely because of Shu Jingzhi.

Not long ago, Ying Ruoyun gave his first solo recital at the Conservatory of Music, and this was the piece chosen for the finale.

Shu Jingzhi attended the recital, and Ying Ruoyun vividly remembers him saying to him that night:

The joy of love is more than just this moment and this night,

but in the dance of each note,

in every rise and fall of the melody

in every tiny emotion that arises from you.

The natural harmony of music and emotion, coupled with the virtuosity of the performer's talent, makes the whole piece a wonderful exclamation of "this song should only exist in Heaven".

Ying Ruoyun had imagined this scene of him winning the first prize countless times.

But when his dream came to life, he had never been so calm.

He suddenly understood what Shu Jingzhi had once said to him: "Music is expression, perfect self-expression, without pretence, natural."

Coming out of the B City Performance Centre building, the night breeze was refreshing, mixed with a hint of coolness.

The atmosphere was lively throughout the group, with members of the entourage loudly exclaiming that they must celebrate.

Ying Ruoyun said, "You guys go celebrate, I have to rush back to A City."

The teacher in charge of the tournament looked at the time, "Ruoyun, it's almost 10 PM, why are you going back?"

Ying Ruoyun apologised, "I'm really sorry, it's a very important matter."

———

It was nearly 12 o'clock at night when he arrived back at the A City University of Arts.

Ying Ruoyun sent a message to Shu Jingzhi, which was short but clear: [I won the first prize].

Shu Jingzhi's reply was: [Congratulations].

When Ying Ruoyun arrived at his residence, the door was open and Shu Jingzhi was standing in front of the window, playing a violin piece.

Apart from when teaching him, Ying Ruoyun rarely saw him play the violin.

But everyone at the School of Music knew that Shu Jingzhi was the first and only genius ever to win the first prize in the Premio Paganini while still at university.

Ying Ruoyun pushed the door open, and the rhythm streamed through, it was 'Love's Sorrow'.

Another Fritz Kreisler piece, which echoes 'Love's Joy'.

An unspeakable melancholy instantly engulfed him as Ying Ruoyun stood beside him, the night light revealing their figures on the blue floor-to-ceiling window.

"Senior," Ying Ruoyun said, "I have honoured our promise."

"What promise?" Shu Jingzhi put his violin away and placed it on a shelf of musical instruments to the side.

"You once said that as long as I won the first prize..." Ying Ruoyun's voice had the slightest tremor: "you would give me a chance."

"What chance?"

"The chance to be with you."

Shu Jingzhi looked at him, his eyes indifferent: "Did I say it was such a chance?"

Ying Ruoyun was a little confused and could only stare at him blankly for a moment.

"I did promise to give you a chance, a chance is a possibility, a probability, not a hundred percent." Shu Jingzhi said in a slightly derisive tone, "Is there no logic in your brain?"

"But..." Ying Ruoyun did not continue.

"But what?" Shu Jingzhi continued, "What reason do I have to accept you? If you like me, do I have to like you?"

"But before, why...? Why did you give me hope?"

"Because you seemed quite interesting, but now, I'm bored."

Ying Ruoyun suddenly felt a bit ironically ridiculous , three whole months, no, six whole months, since the day he met Shu Jingzhi, he had made him his entire pursuit of music and life.

All this was nothing but...

"There are many fans like you, but no one has ever been able to receive personal guidance from me, you should feel lucky." Shu Jingzhi's smile was still as indifferent and elegant as a noble god's grace to a mortal: "Don't you?"

Even though Ying Ruoyun was reluctant to admit it, this was an undeniable fact. The short six months he had known Shu Jingzhi was worth all the hard work he had done in his life...

But, but!

He really couldn't stand Shu Jingzhi's condescending attitude.

Does this man never realise that he is simply too bad?

"Senior Shu, even now, I still respect you." Ying Ruoyun tried his best to restrain himself, "Frankly speaking, even now, I still like you a lot. But."

After taking a deep breath, he continued, "It is only a matter of time, since you have told me so clearly. Then from tomorrow onwards I will not pester you again."

"What I want you to understand is that, no matter how much higher your position and abilities are compared to those of ordinary people, our personalities are ultimately equal, and you should not freely play with the sincerity of others. One day, you will definitely reap the consequences of your own actions."

Shu Jingzhi glanced at his wristwatch, "It's already one in the morning and you're still giving a speech in front of me, are you trying to beg for my last mercy, so that you can present yourself as a concubine?"

Unable to bear it any longer, Ying Ruoyun's anger level reached full strength, so he grabbed Shu Jingzhi's collar and fiercely punched his gorgeous face, which was so envious and handsome.

Then, in the early hours of the morning, he went to the lotus pond where they first met and threw the heavy trophy for the first place in the National Competition for Young Violinists into the pond with a resounding 'thunk'.