I am a Big Player
Chapter 621 - 612, People with dreams never die_1

Chapter 621: 612, People with dreams never die_1

Everyone likes to be sincerely praised by others; it’s human nature to crave vanity. Among these situations, hearing others praise you when you’re not around is the most satisfying, because if they praise you in your absence, there’s a 90% chance they are being sincere and objective—not just flattering you...

So, Ren He enjoyed overhearing others praise him when he wasn’t present. Jiang Haoyang and the others glanced at Ren He’s expression: "President, does it really feel that good?"

Ren He was startled for a moment, caught out, and somewhat embarrassed, he said, "It’s alright..."

Yang Xi’s performance had ended, but Ren He couldn’t leave just yet. The driver and bodyguards arranged by Su Ruqin for Yang Xi were waiting at the door, so he had nothing to worry about on her behalf. However, now that he knew Liu Jiamin was also competing, he decided to stay and watch.

Liu Jiamin was the second to last to perform, and to his surprise, she also chose a piece by Ren He—Turkish March, which was graded lower in difficulty than the Croatian Rhapsody!

Generally, at grading exams, the Croatian Rhapsody is a piece for level 7 or 8, while the Turkish March is for level 4 or 5. Since she had chosen a piece that was ostensibly easier, it indicated that Liu Jiamin planned to excel in other aspects.

"Liu Jiamin was planning to play the Etude in G Minor, wasn’t she? Why did she change to this piece all of a sudden?" Liu Bing was taken aback. It was only then that Ren He realized that Liu Jiamin had made a last-minute change of her performance piece. Could it be because of his presence?

The moment Liu Jiamin played the first note, it was as if a crystal vase had shattered, crisp to the extreme!

Why do people say the piano differs greatly from the electronic keyboard? Let’s set aside chord-related matters and just talk about key pressure: electronic keyboards control dynamics through a combination of foot pedals, volume settings, and finger pressure, while the piano relies solely on the player’s hands.

Perfectly conveying emotional tension with just two hands requires years of hard practice and personal insight.

Before Joseph’s arrival, a member of the organizing committee had mentioned to him that China’s younger generation boasted a genius girl. Joseph was curious—is talent in China that common? First a young professor astounded everyone, and now there’s another prodigious girl?

The instant Liu Jiamin played her first few notes, Joseph knew—this was the culmination of talent mixed with years of sweat.

Some people, watching the performance, might think, "I could do that too; it’s not like it’s a 3-0 in a match," right? But each pleasant and touching piece that penetrates the heart of the audience is the result of many years of arduous practice. It’s definitely not a matter of anyone being able to do it.

It’s easy to dream but much harder to achieve.

Upon hearing this, Joseph had to acknowledge what the committee had said: She was indeed a genius girl.

But why did she choose the Turkish March? He knew it was a piece by the young professor, so could it be that this girl was a fan of his?

When the piece moved into its second section, crisp notes leapt out from between Liu Jiamin’s fingers like joyful sprites of ice and snow, making everyone feel unexpectedly brighter in spirit.

Sitting in the audience, Ren He couldn’t help but reflect. He had been curious about why people had given her the title of ’the voice of an ice mountain snow lotus’, and now he understood that after conquering Mount Everest, Liu Jiamin’s performance had thoroughly developed her own style—a starkly individual style that was unforgettable once heard!

By the time she developed her own style and mastered high-end techniques, Liu Jiamin had already reached the standard of a first-rate performer, and to think she was only 17 years old.

Considering how Liu Jiamin used to skimp on pianos in the music store, those were indeed hard times. Perhaps it was precisely because of the hardships that Liu Jiamin treasured the hard-won achievements all the more.

The path to chasing dreams is like trekking through wilderness, brambles, and blizzards; only you know how lonely you are amidst the frozen tundra, propelled forward by the fire burning in your blood.

The journey is difficult; you’re covered in cuts and bruises, you endure hunger and cold, but as long as you have breath in you, you must keep going.

At the moment of dream fulfillment when the sun rises, standing alone on the cliff-top and overlooking the breathtaking expanse before you is incredibly exhilarating.

The significance of a dream lies not in what happens after it’s achieved, but in the process itself.

Ren He recalled a person from his former life, Xue Zhiqian.

Many fans said how hard he had worked, how he would take any commercial performances to fund his own album, how he opened a hotpot restaurant to support his music career, and so on, but honestly, they had never truly experienced it.

Ren He felt privileged that he had witnessed it all; the first time he saw Xue Zhiqian in person was in the autumn of either 2009 or 2010, at the Zhengzhou V8 Bar.

That night, Xue Zhiqian was invited to perform at the V8, and after singing three songs, he began to promote the bar’s liquors, holding a bottle of Chivas and saying to everyone, "This 1688 Chivas is worth owning. After everyone drinks this bottle..."

Back then, Ren He thought that Xue Zhiqian had humiliated himself to the dirt for money. Only later did he realize how difficult this artist’s perseverance had been; it was with such earned money that he financed his own ignored albums, and during his divorce, he even willingly walked away with nothing. Money wasn’t what he desired; it was merely a means to an end for his dream.

That’s why Xue Zhiqian is the only artist Ren He truly admires. Whenever he talked about this to friends, he would get a little emotional, having witnessed the struggles of a dream chaser before his success as a bystander.

The Liu Jiamin of now is another dream chaser. It could be said that on Ren He’s journey in this life, Liu Jiamin is the girl who has paid the most for her dream, enduring countless cold stares in the music store as she clenched her teeth to practice, and even shamelessly vying for the piano room at No.4 Middle School.

This was the price she paid for her dream, and now it was time to reap the fruits.

Those with dreams never do multiple-choice questions; they only do proofs. They don’t choose which path is easier or harder, they just prove that their own path is the right one.

As the Turkish March drew to a close, all the listeners felt something called hope and light blossoming within them, akin to the most fervent flame in Liu Jiamin’s heart.

This was a song of ice and fire entwined, approaching perfection!

As the piece ended, Joseph led a standing ovation, with all the audience rising to give Liu Jiamin a prolonged applause. Ren He watched the dream-chasing girl on stage with a smile, maybe it’s because such people exist that others continue to believe in the concept of dreams.