122. Testing the lute, testing the lute, until a perfect instrument is found.

Li An immersed himself in the performance, feeling the feedback from the piano keys beneath his ten fingers and listening intently to the tonal nuances of the upper register.

As Qin Yong had predicted, the purpose of playing the bells was to test the tonal quality of the piano’s high range.

It was rather ordinary.

Perhaps the resonance from the piano during the Revolution performance had left a good impression on him, raising expectations for this instrument—whose appearance closely resembled a C5L grand piano—that it didn’t deserve.

A fine piano’s high register is like a sensitive and passionate woman; with just the slightest touch, it instantly responds with an indescribable emotion.

But the upper register of this piano offered neither charm nor vibrancy; even its sound was dry and hollow.

Only the tactile sensation retained a slight hint of femininity.

Yet, such subtlety hardly satisfied the experienced hands of Master Li An.

Quite ordinary, indeed.

After a brief, vigorous staccato passage, he ceased playing the bells.

The sudden silence on stage left the audience craving more.

Li An was not one to tease unnecessarily. First, he had finished testing the high register.

Second, due to lack of practice, his articulation on the bells was a bit rusty.

Continuing further might risk errors.

Pretending to be more than one is not his style. What set Li An apart from Lin Pengfei was his clear understanding of his own limits.

Lin Pengfei often got so caught up in the act that he himself believed the facade.

Having completed the high register test, Li An’s hands returned to the bass range. After climbing through several moderately paced chord progressions, he rose from the piano bench.

Though no applause greeted him, he instinctively sensed a subtle shift in the atmosphere of the concert hall—a nuance only seasoned performers could appreciate.

No applause was no matter; he directed his gaze toward Chen Xuan. Seeing no one around her, he raised his hand and gave a playful wink.

Others assumed he was merely wiping sweat, but only Chen Xuan caught the small gesture.

How impish.

Chen Xuan muttered inwardly, There are still so many children here.

Qin Yong approached and asked, “How was it?”

Li An replied, “The mechanical action and resonance are quite good.”

Only the high register lacked responsiveness, and the low register sounded somewhat muddy.

That was his honest assessment.

As an entry-level grand piano, it was acceptable.

But as a concert-grade instrument, it would only suffice for a superficial performance like tonight.

Qin Yong nodded, thinking the other still didn’t treat him as one of their own. He himself had personally tested this Repite G-series piano at the manufacturer’s facility and had specialists conduct thorough evaluations.

He didn’t believe Li An was unaware of the tonal issues after playing it.

Then he smiled and said, “Give me an estimate of its value.”

Estimating the price of such a high-quality knockoff instrument was tricky. Despite some flaws in the high and low registers, the overall tactile feel and tonal quality were commendable.

It could be considered a high-end OEM product, especially since its size far exceeded that of typical small home grands.

Li An pondered briefly before offering a fair price: “Fifteen.”

Qin Yong smiled and held up his left hand, showing a nine.

Li An raised an eyebrow at that; if it was nine, the piano’s cost-performance ratio would be excellent.

After all, it was a seven-inch model.

Qin Yong ran his hand over the casing beside the piano.

“Repite used to be a small factory making parts for several joint-venture instrument brands. Now they’re launching their own brand. The piano craftsman came from RB. The one you just played is their first-generation high-end model.”

“No wonder,” Li An followed, “It really is like a Japanese piano. I played an upright from them yesterday; it was indeed a step above typical OEM pianos in quality.”

Qin Yong said, “Once this concert is over, Yudong will focus on promoting Repite instruments. All your teachers’ pianos will be replaced.”

So that meant the piano in his fourth classroom would be replaced too.

“What about the old pianos?” Li An asked thoughtfully. “Does the manufacturer take them back?”

Qin Yong nodded. “They’re just worthless second-hand instruments.”

Though these pianos were of no value to Qin Yong, for Li An at his current stage, they were precious.

Besides, wouldn’t a large living room be incomplete without a decent piano? Since adding the bed, cabinet, and desk set last time, the house hadn’t changed much.

“Principal Qin, arrange one for me,” Li An said.

“For your students?”

“For personal use.”

Seeing the seriousness on Li An’s face, Qin Yong hesitated briefly before asking, “You don’t have a piano at home yet?”

“No,” Li An replied casually. “Anyway, it’s all being given away. For whoever it is, it’s still being given away. Don’t you think?”

Qin Yong smiled at his straightforwardness. “You can pick one yourself later. Just inform Director Dong which one you want.”

He could really choose? Then he was taking the one in Tian Yu’s classroom.

Li An laughed heartily. “Thank you, Principal Qin.”

Seeing Li An’s sincere smile, Qin Yong was speechless. So happy over a broken second-hand piano—such modest aspirations.

After a moment, adopting the tone of a caring leader testing the waters, he asked, “You’re not scheduled to perform tonight. Does that bother you?”

Li An had never had much ambition; now he had even less.

“I’ll follow whatever the principal arranges.”

At the back row near the door, Taozi watched the two laughing and chatting on stage, her pale face nearly freezing over. She took out her phone and called Qin Yong.

Qin Yong was about to seize the chance to talk with Li An about his future work when he checked his phone and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“Never mind. You can get busy. I won’t come to the afternoon rehearsal. Coordinate with Team Leader Huang to help oversee the performances.”

Hearing this, Li An nodded and turned to leave the stage.

—

“Really?”

At a small noodle shop beside the east gate of Wanhe Mansion, Li An and Chen Xuan each slurped a bowl of noodles.

“Yeah.”

Li An paused, setting down his chopsticks to soothe his lips tingling from the spice. “Finally, a piano of my own.”

Chen Xuan said, “Does that mean you can start teaching students at home?”

Li An replied, “Slowly. You eat first; the noodles keep coming.”

“I’m full.”

Chen Xuan slid some beef from her bowl into Li An’s. “I’m heading straight back to Yudong. The students have all arrived. Are you going back?”

“I’ll take a walk around.”

After the meal, Li An accompanied Chen Xuan down to the Yudong building’s entrance.

“You’re not coming up?” Chen Xuan asked as Li An stopped at the door.

Li An waved his hand. “See you this afternoon.”

Only then did Chen Xuan realize he had come to see her off. “Thanks for the trouble. I’ll find you after I finish.”

—

Li An returned home to tidy up, bought two packs of cat food for Ba Wan, then donned his evening dress and black leather shoes before heading back to the Huayang Theater.