106. One Teacher, Two Parents

One hour later, Chen Xuan felt a sudden sense of clarity.

How to put it—she had come up with a preliminary solution to her problem.

Though she wasn’t certain if the new rehearsal plan would definitely work, she decided to give Li An’s method a try rather than stubbornly forcing her own approach.

By the end of their work discussion, both of them were too hungry to continue.

“Let’s eat.”

“Let’s eat.”

The words came in unison, reminiscent of the last time they sneaked food in the classroom.

Li An went back to the office to get some water, and when he returned, Chen Xuan had already taken out the takeout and arranged it neatly on the table.

She locked the door behind them.

They began to eat.

The spicy, tender grilled fish paired with crisp celery and soft potato slices was delicious. Before long, Li An had finished a bowl of steamed rice.

Fortunately, Chen Xuan had the foresight to order two portions for him.

—

The afternoon rehearsal proceeded as scheduled.

Following yesterday’s session with the quartet of Xu Mengjie, Marco, Huang Ruyi, and Zheng Bowen, today’s rehearsal was planned by Li An for the vocal group consisting of Chen Yutong, Zhang Tianlai, Chi Yu, and Che Lin.

Unlike the previous four, none of these four had attended Li An’s extra lessons.

Moreover, among them, only Chi Yu had sent in a practice video to the group chat the day before; the other three were silent.

This revealed something about the parents’ level of cooperation and how seriously they took the matter.

Only the parents of Zhang Tianlai and Chi Yu came today. Chen Yutong’s grandmother dropped her off at the door and left immediately, while Che Lin arrived completely alone.

Li An considered for a moment. “Zhang Tianlai, you go first.”

He needed to hear how the children who hadn’t submitted videos had practiced at home.

Everyone in the rehearsal room turned their attention to the first piano. Che Lin, ever considerate, shifted slightly to the right, giving her friend more space to play.

Zhang Tianlai loosened his shoulders.

After Li An set the tempo, he silently counted out four measures of a metronome beat before pressing the hand shapes he had already prepared on the keyboard.

A set of bright triads sounded.

He then played his vocal part from start to finish without any major issues.

“Not bad.”

—

“Pay attention to dynamics.”

“Chi Yu.”

When his name was called, Chi Yu looked a bit nervous. Previously, he had been able to blend into the group during ensemble rehearsals, hiding in the middle and coasting through unfamiliar parts. Now, that was no longer possible.

Fortunately, he had practiced for an hour yesterday under his mother’s nagging, or else today would have been a disaster.

Chi Yu rubbed his small hands together a few times, counted the beat, and began playing his vocal part.

Comparing the two boys’ performances, it was clear Zhang Tianlai was more accomplished than Chi Yu.

After listening to Chen Yutong and Che Lin’s parts, Li An drew horizontal lines beneath Chi Yu’s and Chen Yutong’s names.

At this point, he had a good grasp of how well the eight children had mastered their respective parts. The weakest was not Chi Yu, but Huang Ruyi.

However, Huang Ruyi could still attend two extra lessons before the performance, allowing Li An to provide more focused guidance.

“Free practice now. Work on the problems we just discussed. Raise your hand if you have any questions.”

After assigning the task, Li An sat beside Chi Yu to begin one-on-one coaching.

About ten minutes later, Li An stood up and walked around, pausing behind each of the other three children before returning to sit beside Chi Yu again.

Five or six more minutes passed.

This cycle repeated for nearly an hour, and the first half of the rehearsal was approaching its end.

The children felt no particular issues, but the two parents observing the class had their own thoughts.

All four children had problems, so why was Li An spending most of his time focused on just one?

Chi Yu’s mother worried that her child’s difficulties were greater. Originally, this program had not been intended for Chi Yu; it was only due to a last-minute change that he got the opportunity.

Seeing Li An’s intense focus, she grew anxious.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tianlai’s mother wondered why the teacher seemed to be concentrating only on the child whose parent had shown up, and questioned whether Li An was being fair.

During the break, as Li An stepped outside, Chi Yu’s mother followed him out.

She took the initiative to ask a few questions.

Li An explained, “At this stage, our child’s progress is a bit slower than the others’.”

Hearing this, Chi Yu’s mother’s expression grew anxious. She recalled that Li An had emphasized in the first lesson how essential every vocal part was in the ensemble.

She didn’t understand music, but she understood the principle.

No one wanted their child to be the one holding the group back.

Noticing her expression change, Li An continued, “Since the child is still young, it’s normal that group ensemble is a bit challenging for him.”

“But there’s nothing too serious.”

After a pause, Li An cautiously added, “Since Teacher Tian chose Chi Yu for this program, it means the child’s overall ability is sufficient. I’ll keep observing.”

—

Though meant as reassurance, Chi Yu’s mother harbored some resentment. “Chi Yu was only chosen later.”

Li An’s interest was piqued. “How so?”

Chi Yu’s mother replied, “Originally, our child wasn’t in this program. But when another child had to drop out because of family issues, Chi Yu took their place.”

Hearing the dissatisfaction directed at Tian Yu, Li An smiled and said, “Rest assured, as I mentioned earlier, the child’s issues aren’t severe. I’ve already helped him carefully review the part. You just need to encourage him to practice more at home. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime. If it’s inconvenient in the group chat, you can add me on WeChat.”

“I always respond promptly to student concerns.”

“Thank you, Teacher Li.”

Listening to Li An, Chi Yu’s mother couldn’t help but compare him favorably to Tian Yu. She thought highly of Li An.

She even considered having her child continue learning piano under Li An in the future.

But that was for another time. Right now, her primary concern was Chi Yu’s upcoming stage performance.

“Teacher Li, could you find time to give Chi Yu some extra lessons before the show? Like you said before, it’s such a great opportunity; he needs to make the most of it.”

Li An nodded in understanding. “How about 9 a.m. tomorrow?”

Chi Yu’s mother replied eagerly, “Yes, yes, no problem.”

They had made the quarterfinals.

Chi Yu’s mother hadn’t brought up this matter to Li An today, but Li An knew he would need to address it with her for the sake of the program.

Since the parents could supervise their children’s practice submissions in the group chat, once Li An raised the issue, it would be hard for them to refuse.

Now that the parents had taken the initiative, it made things easier for him.

After setting the lesson time, Chi Yu’s mother took her child downstairs to buy drinks.

Only then did Li An find a moment to glance at Chen Xuan’s rehearsal room door.

Through the glass, he saw Chen Xuan speaking privately with two little girls.

Chen Zitong noticed him, smiled, and whispered something in Chen Xuan’s ear.

Soon, everyone in the room gathered by the window.

Li An quietly slipped away and went to Deng Yingnan’s door, where the sound of the zither and violin mingled in a chaotic symphony.

At Xu Nana’s door, He Yiming was inside.

After checking around, it seemed that the programs rehearsing this afternoon were all taking shape.

Just as he returned to his own rehearsal room, Zhang Tianlai’s mother approached him.

Li An expected news about advancing to the semifinals.

But who could have guessed?