Chapter Seventy-One: Perfect Pitch

Meng Han’s desperate flight was a stark contrast to Liao Yuan’s calm composure.

Zhang Chao, filled with excitement, rushed forward and embraced Liao Yuan, laughing heartily, “Truly, only one with great skill dares such boldness! It seems I was judging you by my own standards. Mr. Liao, you truly never fight a battle you’re not certain of winning!”

Gao Feiliu snorted and added, “That Meng Han always thought highly of himself, but this time he’s struck an iron wall. He’ll surely vanish without a trace for at least three or five months.”

Around them, countless others chimed in with admiration. The talent of “Journey to the Western Regions,” paired with the high difficulty of the third movement of “Pathétique” and “La Campanella,” made Liao Yuan at this moment seem to radiate an invisible brilliance that drew everyone’s attention.

At that moment, Ji Shilian, President of the Donghai Music Association’s Piano Professional Committee, also came forward, happily extending an invitation for Liao Yuan to join the association.

Liao Yuan was somewhat surprised.

But he dared not be arrogant; facing the invitation from the President of the Piano Professional Committee, he accepted gladly.

For those within the music circle, joining the association brought many benefits.

For instance, one could meet many peers in the music world, including both online musicians and professionals and enthusiasts from the traditional and mainstream music scenes.

It was also an opportunity to build both online and mainstream networks, improve one’s musical talents, and lay the foundation for future growth.

Beyond this, the association worked hard to integrate member resources, leveraging each member’s talents and strengths to provide services ranging from lyric writing, composition, arrangement, orchestration, recording, MTV production, to work trading, promotion, performance, and copyright—all to meet members’ wider needs.

Yet, all resources had to be earned through one’s own efforts.

If one was merely an unknown nobody, the association naturally wouldn’t waste resources on them. But if it was Liao Yuan, then everything was possible.

It was easy to foresee that after tonight, Liao Yuan’s name would sweep through the circles of musicians in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai.

Even across the entire country, Liao Yuan was now becoming a notable figure.

Of course, what Ji Shilian saw most in Liao Yuan was his boundless potential.

He possessed both the skill of a virtuoso and extraordinary compositional talent...

After all, both Chopin and Liszt were not only performers but also famous composers!

Such a talent, let alone for the Donghai Music Association—even the Capital Music Association would vie for him.

At this time, the host Wei Zijun took the stage to announce the evening’s theme—“Summer.”

Thanks to the warm-up by Liao Yuan and the others, all the pianists were now fired up with passion.

Eager to play, many queued up to perform, each trying to show their own brilliance!

The entire gathering was filled with laughter and joy.

Because of his earlier brilliant performance, Liao Yuan was soon surrounded by all kinds of musicians.

Glasses clinked, and champagne flowed cup after cup.

Socialites also gathered around him, each one complimenting his elegant bearing during his performance, their faces filled with admiration.

Little Feiliu, caught in the middle, was thoroughly enjoying himself.

As no one saw him as an adult, the inadvertent brushes and lingering fragrances made him secretly delighted.

Soon, amidst the crowd’s coaxing, Liao Yuan took the stage once more.

The theme was summer, and in his mind, cheerful notes immediately began to dance.

Thus, “Summer,” known in his previous life as “Summer of Kikujiro,” a piece beloved worldwide, poured forth from Liao Yuan’s hands.

Unlike the grand, lofty pieces before, this piano solo was not particularly difficult, but like “Exodus,” it had exceptional popular appeal.

Moreover, its lively melody meant it could easily go viral.

In his previous life, composer Joe Hisaishi had become world-famous with this very piece.

The tune was light and bright; as the notes danced, it was as if one could see dappled sunlight scattered across a summer afternoon.

It conjured only beautiful memories, and all bad moods seemed to melt away within its melody.

Had Liao Yuan not performed “La Campanella” or “Pathétique” earlier, people might have dismissed this piece as the casual work of an ordinary composer.

But because of his own masterful technique, everyone listened all the more attentively to the profound simplicity of “Summer,” making it even more memorable.

When the piece ended, the audience was once again swept into thunderous applause, with everyone singing the highest praises for Liao Yuan’s work.

Finally, the closing performance fell to Lin Weiyin, winner of first prize in the Chopin Piano Competition.

It was Lin Weiyin’s first appearance that evening. She wore a pale blue gown with a sheer white shawl, standing out among the sea of black evening dresses and perfectly highlighting her graceful figure.

Her waist-length hair was lifted by the river breeze, a few mischievous strands dancing across her face, making her appear all the more naturally elegant.

A simple blue bracelet dangled at her wrist, accentuating her snow-white, radiant skin.

Lin Weiyin’s gaze was pure as water; she looked no more than twenty, and every gesture exuded the aura of a goddess—poised and unattainable, with an air of refined grace.

She was hailed as a once-in-a-century piano prodigy in China, with countless awards to her name. After two years without a first prize, she took the crown in her very first appearance at the Chopin Competition.

Her arrival captured the full attention of all the aspiring young musicians present.

Even thirteen-year-old Gao Feiliu stared at her in a daze, muttering “fairy sister” under his breath.

Liao Yuan found it amusing.

But his laughter quickly faded.

Lin Weiyin sat before the piano, her hands rising gently, fingers dancing with the keys in perfect harmony. The joyful notes that poured forth left everyone dumbfounded.

“Isn’t this the piece Mr. Liao just played?”

The crowd was astonished.

Even Liao Yuan felt a weight settle on his heart.

Lin Weiyin, after hearing “Summer” only once, was able to reproduce it flawlessly note for note...

What was going on?

“Lin Weiyin has perfect pitch and an eidetic memory,” Zhang Chao explained to Liao Yuan. “Any piece she’s heard, as long as she wishes, she can reproduce perfectly—almost as if she’s cheating. Many neuroscientists consider her to have the most powerful brain of our era!”

“I see.” Liao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Every sound in nature has its own pitch—the creak of a door, the sound of speech, the patter of rain...

Perfect pitch is not just the ability to identify musical notes, but to discern the precise pitch of any sound in nature.

Such people are one in a million. They do not need a reference tone to identify the exact pitch.

Most who possess this ability are born with it.

For those seeking to acquire it, rigorous and systematic training must begin around age three.

After about ten years of such training, the chances of developing perfect pitch are quite high, but if training begins after age ten, the likelihood drops to near zero.

Those with perfect pitch, as the saying goes in the music world, are truly blessed by the heavens.