sbdcsierra Chapter 100 Farewell to the Digital Music Club
Chapter 100 Farewell to the Digital Music Club
Since Lin Feng has graduated and left school, he needs to resign from his position as president of the Digital Music Club.
That afternoon, Lin Feng found Shen Jingyi in the club activity room.
She was reading a newly arrived music magazine.
"Jingyi, I have something to tell you." Lin Feng walked over.
Shen Jingyi looked up, her eyes wide: "President, you've come at the perfect time. This issue of 'Popular Songs' has an article analyzing the ringtone market, and I think..."
There were other people in the activity room, so it wasn't convenient to talk.
"Let's go outside and sit for a while."
Shen Jingyi got up and followed him, and the two sat down on a bench by the roadside on campus.
"President, what can I do for you?"
"I'm graduating," Lin Feng said bluntly. "The Digital Music Club will have to be handed over to someone else."
Shen Jingyi had long anticipated this day, but it still felt like it came too soon. She found it hard to accept Lin Feng's departure.
A brief silence fell between the two. Not far away, on the basketball court, several boys were playing, the sound of their shoes rubbing against the ground clearly audible.
Shen Jingyi raised her head after a long while, her eyes a little red.
"Do you really have to leave?" Her voice became hoarse. "You can continue being the club president, even after graduation, you can..."
Lin Feng shook his head: "The club's bylaws stipulate that the president must be a current student. Besides, my company is about to be officially established, and I have too many things to do to handle everything."
Shen Jingyi lowered her head again. A tear fell onto her jeans, blurring into a dark polka dot.
"I can't bear to see you leave." Her voice was even softer, with a nasal tone.
"The Digital Music Club... you founded it all. Last October, there were only five or six of us... Now, there are more than sixty members, and the activities are getting better and better... How can you just leave like that..."
She couldn't continue, so she raised her hand to wipe her eyes.
Lin Feng looked at her. Shen Jingyi, who was usually decisive and efficient in the club, was now huddled on the bench, her shoulders thin, like a child who had lost something important.
"All good things must come to an end! I'll have to leave sooner or later, but don't worry, I'll start a business near the school and won't leave Chengdu."
"Really?" Shen Jingyi's sorrow turned to joy.
"Of course it's true," Lin Feng added. "I've been thinking about who should succeed me as the music club president for quite a while. This person needs to understand music, be capable, and earn everyone's respect. Jingyi, I'd like you to be the president."
Shen Jingyi was startled, her eyes still red.
"I?"
"Yes, you." Lin Feng nodded. "In the eight months since the club was founded, you've been involved in everything, big and small. The digital music festival, the campus folk song season, the cover song competition, and the campus original musician support program—you've handled all the events single-handedly. No one in the club is more suitable than you."
"But...I'm afraid..." She sniffed. "I'm afraid I won't do a good job. When you were here, I felt confident. I could ask you for help with anything I was unsure about. If you leave, I..."
"You can do it," Lin Feng encouraged her, his tone very confident. "Jingyi, you're much stronger than you think."
Shen Jingyi looked at him and felt a little embarrassed.
"You really... think so?"
"Really." Lin Feng took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her. "Wipe your tears. It would be embarrassing if the club members saw their future president crying."
Shen Jingyi took the tissue and wiped her face clean. Then she sat up straight, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
"Okay. I'll take it."
……
Afterwards, Lin Feng returned to the Electrical Engineering Department and found Mr. Zhang, the music club's advisor. Mr. Zhang's office was on the third floor of the laboratory building.
When Lin Feng knocked on the door and went in, Teacher Zhang saw him and pointed to the chair opposite him.
"Lin Feng, is there something you need?"
"Teacher Zhang, about the Digital Music Club." Lin Feng sat down, briefly explained his graduation and the handover process, and then mentioned Shen Jingyi.
After listening, Teacher Zhang said, "I know Shen Jingyi. She has some musical talent and is very reliable in handling matters."
He paused, "But the position of club president requires not only competence but also the ability to command respect. She'll only be a sophomore next semester, so she's a bit inexperienced. Will the juniors and seniors in the club listen to her?"
"She can do it," Lin Feng said confidently. "In these past eight months, she's been the most involved in the club's affairs. She understands music and is very serious about her work. The Digital Music Club has only been established for less than a year, and she's already the most senior member. And even though I've left school, I'll still help her in the future."
Teacher Zhang looked at him and suddenly laughed. "You little rascal..."
Lin Feng smiled as well, "The club has come a long way to get to where it is today, and I can't just hand it over to anyone."
"Okay," Teacher Zhang agreed. "I have no objection. But you still need to go to the school's Youth League Committee to find Teacher Zheng; the teacher in charge of the clubs also needs his approval."
"Understood, thank you, Teacher Zhang."
After leaving the lab building, Lin Feng went to the administration building. In the school's Youth League Committee office, Teacher Zheng was having a meeting with several student leaders. Lin Feng waited outside for twenty minutes before the meeting ended.
"Lin Feng?" Teacher Zheng was somewhat surprised to see him. "You're about to graduate, and you still have time to come here?"
"About the Digital Music Club." Lin Feng entered the office and explained the situation again.
After listening, Teacher Zheng did not immediately express his opinion. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
"Shen Jingyi..." he hesitated, "I met her once when she transferred to a formal club last time. She's a rather quiet girl, can she handle it?"
Teacher Zheng looked at Lin Feng, "With you gone, the Digital Music Club will definitely be in quite a bit of turmoil..."
Lin Feng said, "The club can't rely on me alone forever. Shen Jingyi is from the music department, she understands music, she has her own way of doing things, and the club now has more than 60 members, has organized large-scale school-level events, and has a good reputation on campus. These are our assets. As long as the events continue to be well-organized, we can continue to develop."
Teacher Zheng looked at him for a while, then smiled. "You've thought things through quite well. Okay, I agree. When is the handover ceremony?"
"This Friday night."
……
At 7 p.m. on Friday, there were forty or fifty people sitting in a lecture hall in the Third Teaching Building.
Lin Feng summoned all the club members who were still at school.
The fan was whirring overhead, blowing out hot air.
Lin Feng stood on the podium, looking at the people below.
There were veteran members who joined in the first batch last October, as well as new faces recruited this spring. Some spoke in hushed tones, while others peered out curiously.
"Quiet down." Lin Feng tapped on the podium, and the classroom gradually quieted down.
Looking back on the past, Lin Feng said emotionally, "The Digital Music Club was founded last October by me and several other old members, including Wang Peng, Li Hao, and Shen Jingyi, on the lawn outside the gymnasium."
Back then, few people at school knew what digital music was; they thought it was just playing music on a computer. It wasn't an official club at the time, so it didn't have a venue, funding, and the posters on the bulletin board were often torn down.
Despite being underestimated, we successfully held a Christmas digital music festival, and Tang Lei's live performance of "Lilac Flower" was a resounding success. Thousands of students participated in our festival.
From then on, the club transformed from an unorganized operation into a formal club, with funding, activity venues, and over sixty members. All of this was earned through our hard work, one activity after another, little by little.
What I remember most clearly was the week before Christmas. A few of us stayed up for three nights in a row. Shen Jingyi was overseeing the program rehearsals, Wang Peng was adjusting the equipment, and Tan Zhao was arguing with the school security office about electrical safety.
In the early hours of the last day, after the equipment was set up, we collapsed on the stage, watching the sky slowly brighten. No one spoke; we just lay there, exhausted like dogs…
But the digital music festival was a resounding success. At that moment, I thought, it was worth it. No matter what happens in the future, at least we accomplished something. At least we proved that student clubs can achieve great things, can bring in celebrities, and can get thousands of people shouting and singing along to our music.
The room quieted down a bit. Some people sat up straight, and both new and old members showed great respect for the president.
"I'm leaving now. According to the club's constitution, the president must be a current student. I've graduated. Therefore, from today onwards, I will no longer serve as the president of the Digital Music Club."
Lin Feng's voice rose again, "But the club must continue. I've considered the selection of the next president for quite some time, and I've also consulted with the advisor and the school's Youth League Committee. Finally, I've decided on the candidate. Starting tomorrow, Shen Jingyi will be the new president of the Digital Music Club."
All eyes turned to the first row.
Shen Jingyi stood up, turned around, and bowed to the classroom. Today she was wearing an elegant white shirt, jeans, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. With a smile on her face, she walked to the podium.
"I'd like to say a few words," she said, standing beside Lin Feng.
"Thank you, President Lin Feng, and thank you everyone." Shen Jingyi's voice was steady. "When I first joined the club, I didn't know anything. I saw the recruitment poster at the cafeteria entrance, thought it was interesting, and signed up. For our first activity, we had nothing and started from scratch."
I stayed up all night, ran around to find venues, contacted bands, and begged them to participate in events. I was laughed at by other clubs and looked down upon by countless people.
Shen Jingyi's smile had an indescribable energy. "But we managed to hold it one by one. On the day of the Christmas party, I was by the open-air stage, watching thousands of people crowd into Mingde Square and hearing the whole audience sing along... I knew this was the right place for me."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the classroom.
"Now that President Lin Feng is graduating, he's handing the club over to me. To be honest, I'm under a lot of pressure. But I also tell myself, Shen Jingyi, you have to take over. This is such a great start, with so many passionate members and so much valuable experience; you can't mess it up."
"Next semester, let's continue organizing events. Music festivals, original composition competitions, technical lectures—we'll do everything we can. If we don't have enough equipment, I'll apply for it. If we don't have enough venues, I'll coordinate. If you have any ideas or creativity, we'll discuss them together and work on them together. I only have one request..."
She stopped, and the classroom was so quiet you could hear someone breathing.
"Don't fall apart. Don't think that the club is doomed just because the old president is gone. With so many of us, as long as we are of one mind and work together, the Digital Music Club will only get better and better."
Applause broke out. First, it was sporadic, then it grew into a continuous burst.
Some people whistled, others shouted, "Go Jingyi! Go Digital Music Club!"
Shen Jingyi stood up straight with a smile on her face. Her smile was radiant, a stark contrast to her usual quiet and obedient demeanor when she was with Lin Feng.
Lin Feng looked at her and suddenly remembered that night by the river when she whispered, "Meeting you is probably the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me."
Back then, her eyes sparkled with stars. Now, her eyes burn with fire.