stjorthotic Chapter 77 Campus Folk Song Festival Opens
Chapter 77 Campus Folk Song Festival Opens
The next day at 2 PM, at the Fengchi Digital office.
Lin Feng sat in his seat, looking at the proposal for the "Campus Original Musician Support Program" on his computer screen.
Zhou Yang didn't come. After discussing it with his father, Zhou Kun, he concluded that Lin Feng was just bluffing to scare him and decided to ignore him.
It was 2:30 when Xu Qiang couldn't help but curse, "Brother Feng, it's been half an hour already, and that Zhou Yang still doesn't dare to come!"
"He's not coming," Lin Feng said with certainty.
"So... what do we do next?"
Lin Feng picked up a file folder from the table and handed it to Xu Qiang. "This contains preliminary evidence of Zhou Yang organizing the sale of 'Shengyue' MP3s at school. It's not very complete, but it's enough."
Xu Qiang took the file bag, somewhat taken aback: "This is...?"
"Go to the Computer Science Department. Go directly to their student affairs office, find the teacher in charge of student affairs, and tell them you have an important matter to report. Submit this document and verbally explain the situation."
Xu Qiang's eyes widened slightly: "Really?"
"Of course, you also thought I was just trying to scare him?" Lin Feng laughed.
"Remember three points: First, we are reporting a situation, so be polite; second, emphasize that Zhou Yang is a student, and this matter could be serious or minor; third, ask the Computer Science Department about their attitude towards this type of behavior."
"clear."
"If the teacher is perfunctory or tries to smooth things over, you don't need to say anything, just leave the materials."
Xu Qiang nodded, took the file bag, and went out the door.
The Computer Science Department's student affairs office is on the third floor. When Xu Qiang knocked and went in, there were two teachers sitting inside. One was in his forties, wearing glasses, and was looking at documents; the other was younger and typing on a computer.
"Hello teacher, I am Xu Qiang, a third-year marketing major. I have something I would like to report to the School of Computer Science." Xu Qiang's tone was sincere.
The older teacher looked up: "What is it?"
Xu Qiang handed over the file bag and briefly explained the situation: Zhou Yang, a student from the School of Computer Science, organized the sale of MP3s suspected of infringement on campus. The copyright holder has sent a lawyer's letter and is preparing to sue. This matter may involve student misconduct, so he came to report to the school.
The older teacher opened the file folder, pulled out some materials, and flipped through them, his brow furrowing. After reading them, he handed the materials to the younger teacher next to him and looked at Xu Qiang: "This Zhou Yang, is he from our college?"
"It should be," the young teacher said in a low voice after reading the materials.
The older teacher rubbed his temples and said to Xu Qiang, "Okay, we understand. It's good for students to have some business acumen, but they need to be careful about their methods. Here, leave the materials here for now, and we'll talk to Zhou Yang to find out more. As for you... try to resolve this through negotiation as much as possible, and don't escalate the situation; it's not good for the school."
Xu Qiang sensed the perfunctory tone in his words and nodded, saying, "We understand the academy's difficulties. Thank you, teacher. Please contact us anytime there is progress."
After leaving the office, Xu Qiang sent Lin Feng a text message: "I submitted the materials, but the teacher's attitude was a bit vague. He said he would talk to Zhou Yang to find out the situation and asked us to try to negotiate."
Lin Feng replied, "Received. Come back first."
As Lin Feng had predicted, things proceeded uneventfully, like a stone sinking into the sea.
The college had a talk with Zhou Yang, who "sincerely" stated that he was just helping his family and was unaware of any copyright issues, and that he would be more careful in the future.
Seeing that he had a good attitude in admitting his mistake, the college teacher only gave him a few verbal criticisms and asked him to write a self-criticism, and that was the end of it.
As for the inspection report, it was said to be only two pages long, avoiding the main issues throughout, and even implying at the end that it was a "misunderstanding caused by business competition".
Upon learning this, Xu Qiang slammed his fist on the table in anger: "That's it? A written self-criticism and it's over? His agents are still secretly selling goods!"
Lin Feng remained calm. "The teachers at the academy prefer to avoid trouble. As long as nothing major happens, they're happy to pretend they don't see anything."
"So, we're just going to call it quits like this?"
"Of course not," Lin Feng said. "If the academy doesn't take it seriously, then we'll escalate it to the higher-ups and report it to the school leaders. There will be an opportunity after the weekend performance."
On Saturday evening, a long queue formed outside the auditorium of Xichuan University of Technology.
It was only 5:30, an hour and a half before the performance was scheduled to begin, but hundreds of students had already gathered at the entrance.
Some people held flyers with lilac patterns, some wore headphones and listened to music, and many more chatted in small groups, their faces beaming with excitement.
"I heard Tang Lei will sing a new song!"
"Really? I'm so tired of 'Lilac Flower,' let's have something new!"
"Why would I lie to you? My roommate is in the digital music club and has inside information."
"Hey, look over there, is that a raffle?"
On one side of the auditorium entrance, Fengchi Digital Studio set up a simple booth.
The red banner read "Support genuine music, good songs will live on forever," and next to it stood several display boards introducing the story behind the creation of "Lilac Flower," the value of genuine music, and welcoming students to participate in the "Blind Listening Test of Genuine and Pirated Music."
Xu Qiang and a few others were busy at the booth, distributing flyers and answering questions. Tan Zhao and several classmates he had brought patrolled the area around the booth, keeping a watchful eye on the crowd.
Lin Feng stood inside the side door of the auditorium, looking at the crowd outside through the glass. Su Wan and Shen Jingyi were beside him, checking the final schedule.
"President, Tang Lei has arrived backstage," Shen Jingyi said.
"The sound quality testing equipment is ready, and Wang Peng is overseeing it," Su Wan added.
Lin Feng nodded, his gaze sweeping over the queue. He spotted several familiar faces.
I met some students last semester when I was selling MP3 players, and some of them were even customers of Zhou Yang's shop. I also saw some unfamiliar faces, including a group of boys gathered together, holding blue MP3 players, which were from "Shengyue".
"Tan Zhao," Lin Feng whispered into the walkie-talkie, "Watch the three o'clock position, those guys in the gray jackets. They're holding what looks like 'Sound Joy' devices. Keep an eye on them. If they hand out flyers or do anything suspicious, politely ask them to leave. Don't cause any trouble."
"Received," Tan Zhao replied briefly.
At 6:15, the audience began to enter. The auditorium, which can hold thousands of people, was quickly filled to 80%.
The first two rows were reserved seats, occupied by school leaders, teachers from the Youth League Committee, and representatives from Xunji Audio and China Mobile.
Manager Zhang and Manager Chen have arrived and are talking in hushed tones, with smiles on their faces.
At 7 o'clock sharp, warm-up music started, the lights dimmed, leaving only a spotlight on the stage.
At seven o'clock sharp, a girl wearing a light blue dress walked onto the stage. She was tall, with her long hair tied up, her eyebrows curved, and she had shallow dimples when she smiled.
"Respected school leaders, teachers, and students, good evening." Her voice was sweet.
"Welcome to the first performance of the Digital Music Club's 'Spring Breeze and Poetry' Campus Original Folk Song Season. I am your host tonight, Gan Xiaoyu from the Digital Music Club."
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.
"Before we wait for our headlining guest tonight, let's hand the stage over to our fellow students." The host stepped aside, gracefully guiding the stage to one side. "First, please welcome the 'Wutong Lane' band from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, who will be performing their original work, 'May Train'!"
Amid applause, four boys walked onto the stage.
The lead singer and guitarist was a tall, thin man wearing black-rimmed glasses. He adjusted the microphone height and glanced back at the drummer. The drumsticks tapped three times, and the guitar began to play.
The intro is a strummed instrumental piece, carrying the youthful naiveté unique to campus folk songs. The lead singer begins, his low male voice perfectly capturing the bewilderment of the eve of graduation expressed in the lyrics.
"The platform in May was crowded with faded luggage, the train was panting heavily as it headed for the distance, we laughed and made promises about what we would do ten years from now, but when we turned around, our eyes were red..."
The melody is simple, but the chorus is very rhythmic.
By the second verse, some audience members were already humming along softly. The song was short, just over four minutes long, ending with a long, lingering guitar overtone.
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.
"Thank you, 'Wutong Lane'!" The host returned to the stage. "Youth is like a train, always stopping in May before continuing on its way. The next singer's song is about those corners that remain in our memories. Please welcome Chen Ming from the School of Computer Science to perform 'Old Window of the Library'."
A boy carrying a wooden guitar walked onto the stage alone. He was wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, and he tested the microphone.
"This song is dedicated to the west-facing window in the library. Every afternoon at four o'clock, the sunlight shines in perfectly, landing on the table on the right side of the third row. I once met someone there."
A burst of gossipy laughter erupted from the audience.
The soothing sound of a guitar began. Chen Ming's voice was clear, carrying the sincerity unique to young people.
"The old window frame divides the twilight light, the silhouette of your profile sways on the pages of the book, the note I wrote and deleted was never handed over, only the strings of the zither remember those youthful anxieties..."
The song tells a story of unrequited love, with a smooth and moving melody. Several lines in the chorus have a catchy tune.
Shen Jingyi leaned close to Lin Feng's ear and whispered, "This song is good. The melody is catchy, and the lyrics are evocative."
Lin Feng nodded. Chen Ming's compositions lean towards traditional campus folk songs, with delicate emotions. Although the scope is not large, they can resonate with students.
We could consider making contact to see if there's potential for cooperation.