The annual meeting began.
Besides singing and dancing, the Qingda annual meeting also featured other performances.
After all, as an art institution, it had not only vocal music departments but also performance and fine arts departments, which were art majors.
The first program was a tribute to classic comedies by students from the performance department.
They created a medley by combining the humorous moments and gags from classic films and television shows.
This elicited a burst of laughter from the entire audience.
The second program was a sand painting performance by a popular student from the fine arts department.
The performance was fluid and graceful, using sand painting to tell a poignant love story to the audience. Accompanied by gentle background music, it was very immersive.
...
Due to the complementary relationship between the composition and vocal music departments,
the composition department wrote songs, and the vocal music department performed them.
The quality of the songs performed earlier could be considered barely passable.
And the singers were all unknown, ordinary students.
"Principal Zhao, so far, there hasn't been any work that truly stands out,"
Yu Yongcai shrugged his shoulders.
He had learned his lesson this time, knowing to speak only when necessary. If he had offered compliments, and Zhao Jianguo had agreed with him, it would have been even more frustrating.
"I think they're doing alright. They're still just kids, and we should be more forgiving. Growth takes time."
Zhao Jianguo smiled and shook his head.
"I have a different view on this compared to Principal Zhao. While forgiveness is important, achievements are the fundamental reflection of a school's educational level. When students achieve well, it attracts more enrollment. For instance, Zhu Quan next to me, in his freshman year, successfully signed with an intermediate producer. This is a true testament to the school's strength."
Yu Yongcai stopped pretending and openly showed off.
Teaching strength was the foundation for enrollment.
For arts institutions, having celebrity students was more effective than any advertisement.
Just like Qingda, which had produced Lin Yanyu.
Many people came to Qingda to study because of her.
And the school was happy to promote its celebrity students.
"Signing with an intermediate producer in his freshman year is indeed quite good."
Zhao Jianguo glanced at Zhu Quan and nodded calmly.
Yu Yongcai was stunned for a moment, then opened his mouth, suddenly unsure of what to say.
"Quite good"?
Does your school have anyone like that?
Where does your confidence come from?
Of course, these were thoughts he could only keep to himself, as his status prevented him from voicing them.
Meanwhile, the Qingda school leaders on the side were anxious.
Couldn't Principal Zhao just concede a little? If he angered Yu Yongcai, and Yu Yongcai went around saying Qingda was inferior to Yu Da, it would surely affect enrollment.
After all, Yu Da did have a prodigy, and their side had no way to refute it.
If this got out, they would indeed appear inferior.
However, no one spoke, only exchanging glances.
The atmosphere in the venue became somewhat delicate.
...
On stage, it was finally time for Tian Yu's program from the freshman composition department.
Since the freshman final exam was a chorus song,
Tian Yu collaborated with a popular influencer couple from the vocal music department, who had hundreds of thousands of followers on Douyin.
Such influencers were considered quite good at Qingda.
The school also had many fans of this couple.
When the couple appeared on stage, the audience responded with cheers.
"Traveling With You"
Vocals: Li Guo / Zhou Quan
Lyrics: Tian Yu
Composition: Tian Yu
There were many styles for chorus songs, and Tian Yu chose a sweet route this time.
She had been dedicated to composing, and her lyric writing skills were a bit weaker.
But there was no one else to team up with, so she had to grit her teeth and write the lyrics.
On stage,
the influencer couple's performance began.
The song had a cheerful rhythm and was of much higher quality than the previous songs.
Several melodies were quite catchy.
After the performance, the audience erupted in cheers.
"Tian Yu's composition is decent, but the lyrics are a bit lacking. This song can barely be considered intermediate level."
"Considering she's only a freshman, writing a song like this is already very good."
"Indeed, by her junior year, she might even be better than senior Cheng Yan."
Everyone acknowledged Tian Yu's talent.
After all, she was only a freshman, and being able to write a song was already impressive. Being able to write a song of this quality could be considered genius.
"Zhu Quan, this student is quite good. If her lyrics were a bit stronger, she would almost be on par with you."
Yu Yongcai seemed to be discussing with Zhu Quan, but his voice was intentionally loud.
In the noisy environment, the Qingda school leaders several seats away could hear him clearly.
"It's alright."
Zhu Quan nodded proudly.
For him, writing songs like this was extremely simple.
Therefore, he didn't take Tian Yu seriously at all.
At this moment,
Zhao Jianguo suddenly said, "Tian Yu indeed still needs some polish. Zhu Quan can sign with a big company like Xinghui, so Tian Yu can't compare."
As soon as he said this,
everyone was stunned.
After a few seconds, Yu Yongcai finally revealed a pleased smile.
Finally!
Finally!
I finally got to show off!
It felt so good, incredibly good!
The Qingda school leaders could only wear bitter expressions; this was the truth, and they had no way to refute it.
"However..." Zhao Jianguo suddenly spoke again.
Yu Yongcai's smile froze, and he asked curiously, "However, what?"
"However, among our freshmen, this Tian Yu is not the most outstanding." Zhao Jianguo looked at Yu Yongcai's comical expression and chuckled lightly.
"Old Zhao, that's unfair. I know you have another good student at Qingda named Cheng Yan, who also signed with an intermediate producer. But he's a junior, not a freshman."
Yu Yongcai became anxious.
He stopped calling him Principal Zhao and used his informal address, "Old Zhao"!
"I'm not talking about him." Zhao Jianguo spread his hands innocently.
Yu Yongcai was taken aback. "Then who is it?"
Zhu Quan also turned his gaze over.
Zhao Jianguo looked straight ahead, his lips moving.
The two of them unconsciously leaned closer, wanting to know who it was.
The Qingda school leaders also leaned in.
"You'll know soon enough," Zhao Jianguo said slowly.
Yu Yongcai: ???
Damn it!
Why is he being so coy?
"Hmph, then I'll see just how amazing this person is."
Yu Yongcai snorted coldly.
He's being so mysterious. I don't believe that among your Qingda freshmen, there could be a senior producer!
...
Not long after, it was finally Cheng Yan's turn, a junior.
Juniors had no thematic restrictions, and his song was a relatively mainstream sad love ballad.
The singer was a female student from the junior vocal music department, who had signed with a small company and released a few songs. She was considered a debuted singer but had no representative hit song.
This song was average, with some bright spots.
It was a maturely crafted sad love song.
The singer's performance was also very good, much more stable than the students who performed earlier.
After finishing, she received warm applause.
As she thanked the audience with a smile and stepped off the stage,
the cheers in the venue gradually subsided.
The stage lights turned a soft, sweet pink, and as the lights swayed, a sweet ambiance gradually rose.
"Here it comes."
Zhao Jianguo's lowered brows suddenly lifted, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.