What is a major triad?

With absolute transparency, they faced each other after the break of dawn. Chen Xuan's neck, just below her upturned chin, remained incomparably fair in the morning light, exuding a touch of holiness.

She sat hugging her knees, smiling as she watched Li An rummage through the bed.

"Where did it go?"

Muttering to himself, Li An got out of bed and walked around the bedroom, only to discover that Baowan had somehow returned to the room and was now lying in a corner beneath the bed.

Underneath it lay that crumpled pile of white long-sleeved T-shirts.

"Meow~"

Baowan opened its mouth wide in a simulated yawn, as if to convey that it hadn't slept well last night.

-

It was just turning seven o'clock, though the two of them had actually woken up one after another an hour earlier.

Much like catching an early morning flight before the sky even brightened, both of them had slept poorly the previous night.

The primary reason was likely that they had simply slept for too long.

When Chen Xuan finished changing and walked out of the bedroom, she was stifling a yawn, yet her spirits remained quite high, as if she were still lingering in a state of lingering excitement.

While Li An busied himself making breakfast, she returned to unit 2502 to wash up and tidy herself.

Half an hour later, the two of them sat down for breakfast together.

At a quarter to eight, they stepped out of the residential complex. Unlike the usual morning rush-hour commuters scrambling for buses and subways, they simply crossed the street in a few strides and arrived at Yudong Office Building.

"Good morning, Teacher Chen."

Among the crowd waiting for the elevator was one of Chen Xuan's students, who was scheduled for a lesson at eight o'clock.

"Good morning. Are you here by yourself today?" Glancing around, Chen Xuan did not spot the student's parents.

The student replied, "My mom dropped me off at the entrance and left. She said she'd come pick me up later."

Chen Xuan nodded.

When the elevator arrived, the crowd clustered around the entrance surged forward.

Realizing he might not be able to squeeze in, Li An said, "You go on first."

Reluctant, Chen Xuan hesitated, but he gave her a gentle nudge from behind and whispered, "Don't keep the child waiting. See you at noon."

-

Li An waited for the next elevator up to the ninth floor, exchanged greetings with Wang Meili, and walked straight toward the west-side teaching area.

Today was the first day of classes for the new semester, and the lobby was bustling with students and parents.

Along the way, he felt a gaze of attention unlike any other day.

It was understandable; his featured instructor profile was now prominently displayed on the wall right outside the ninth-floor elevator.

He greatly admired the administrative teacher who had written his personal promotional copy, managing to blow him up to sound like the leading figure of Rongcheng's new generation of piano education.

Even he blushed just reading it through.

Upon closer inspection, the text lacked personal achievements, records of competition awards, and student award records alike.

Strip away all the flashy fluff, and the practical substance boiled down to a single sentence:

Graduated from the Piano Performance Department of the Rongcheng Conservatory of Music, studying under Wei Hongjin.

By contrast, the promotional profile of Xu Nana next door gave people a much more reassuring peace of mind. If nothing else, rows and rows of award records made everything clear at a glance.

Even the most trivial minor award was still an award.

Upon seeing it, people could intuitively draw a subconscious conclusion: this Teacher Xu must be formidable!

And this truly wasn't false advertising.

Who told Li An to be a clean slate sitting squarely at zero?

Even if you possessed a legitimate one, there would be room to operate by adding a few zeros for you.

Old Dong had put it this way: "Xiao Li, just make do with this for now. Participate in a few more activities in the second half of the year, and we'll revamp it for you next year."

Indeed, Blue Sky always seemed to find a way to manage these things.

-

When Li An reached the west-side teaching area, Wang Xiaohu was leaning against the door, toying with the small Genius watch on his wrist.

Hearing familiar footsteps, Wang Xiaohu looked up and immediately flashed a wide grin, shouting, "Hello, teacher!"

"Where's your mom?"

"My mom dropped me off and took my grandma to the hospital."

"What's wrong with your grandma?"

"Getting dentures fitted. My grandpa accidentally dropped my grandma's dentures down the toilet yesterday."

"Pfft, alright."

Upon entering the classroom, Wang Xiaohu was pleasantly surprised to find that his previous piano had been replaced with a brand-new one. He immediately sat down at the bench and began to play.

Wang Xiaohu's most proficient piece at the moment was *Summer*.

His little fingers moved with such fluency that Li An felt a wave of emotional stirring, recalling when he had first started tutoring Wang Xiaohu.

It was a memory filled entirely with pain.

"Alright, that's enough. Are you trying to press the sustain pedal through the floor? Lift your foot. Who taught you that?"

"Liu Fengrui."

"Can the two of you ever study something proper for once?"

Complaining while opening the window, Li An let a cool breeze sweep into the room.

As Wang Xiaohu lifted his foot, the piano's volume in the classroom instantly halved.

The music suddenly lost its infectious charm, and Wang Xiaohu's fingers instinctively increased their pressure, trying to bring his *Summer* back.

Yet it was to no avail.

Ultimately, he released his hands in dismay.

Standing off to the side, Li An sneered, "What's this? Not playing anymore? Huh? Lift the pedal and Kikujiro won't survive the summer?"

Wang Xiaohu shrugged and remained silent.

-

"Starting today, you are not allowed to touch the sustain pedal without my permission."

Wang Xiaohu nodded and mumbled, "Got it, got it."

"You've even learned how to be impatient now?"

This little rascal was getting far too familiar with him; Li An could never foster such an unhealthy trend.

"Say that again."

Facing Li An's stern expression, Wang Xiaohu was not only unfearful but even somewhat amused, grinning as he said, "Teacher, I understand."

That was more like it. Li An glanced down at his watch; it was time. Class was starting.

"Did you bring the books I asked you to prepare?"

Wang Xiaohu stood up and retrieved *Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist* and *Czerny Op. 599* from his book bag.

Li An had him open the first exercise in Hanon. "Starting this semester, we're temporarily setting aside the grade-examination textbooks and beginning with Hanon."

Wang Xiaohu sat up straight and cheered, "Awesome!"

Li An sat down beside Wang Xiaohu, took the textbook, placed it on the music stand, and demonstrated the first exercise.

As he played, he explained, "Look at the note patterns in this piece—very simple, right? Therefore, we must focus more of our attention on the keystroke action and our bodily posture."

Taking the right hand as an example, Li An continued to emphasize, "After the first note's thumb lands securely, don't rush. Lift the second finger, making sure to raise it independently while keeping the hand frame stable. Remember what I told you before about throwing your fingers out?"

Wang Xiaohu directly reached out and performed a finger-throw demonstration on the keys for Li An.

"Bang!"

The volume was not small, and the completion of the entire motion was fairly substantial.

"Exactly, just like that. But note that the other fingers cannot curl up; your middle finger raised just now."

"Then bring it back down—meaning when you strike the key, you must hear a solid tone."

"If the tone becomes hollow..."

Li An demonstrated a hollow tone. "That makes an unqualified finger-lifting and key-striking motion."

"Finally, we connect every note you see. The fingering above is clearly marked. Now I'll give you thirty seconds to look over the first exercise, and ask if you have any questions."

Ten seconds later, Wang Xiaohu asked, "Teacher, there are sixteenth notes all over this. How fast should I play when practicing?"

Li An replied, "In the beginning, treat every note as a quarter note and set the metronome to 60. Once you can put both hands together and skillfully complete the finger-striking keystroke action, speed up a little bit at a time."

Wang Xiaohu grunted an acknowledgment, and his gaze returned to the first exercise.

A moment later, mimicking Li An, he began to practice.

Li An stood close by, ready to interrupt and correct him at any moment.

-

The entire lesson passed amidst this atmosphere of focused study. Five minutes before the end of class, Wang Xiaohu was basically able to complete the first Hanon exercise according to Li An's requirements.

In truth, given Wang Xiaohu's current proficiency, he could play through the entire piece in less than ten minutes.

However, that was not the purpose of having him practice this curriculum.

Wang Xiaohu's foundation was the weakest among the three young students.

Through private conversations with Xu Li after the recital, Li An had received a definitive attitude:

"Teacher Li, just proceed according to your methods. I don't need him to take exams, and if there's anything you need me to cooperate with, just say the word."

With such an open-minded parent, he had no need for reservations.

He would start from Wang Xiaohu's weakest link: the proficiency of his fingers regarding the keyboard.

To put it more bluntly, Wang Xiaohu had been learning piano for two and a half years and still fundamentally lacked a clear concept of the keyboard.

Li An hoped to use the next two to three months to help him build this preliminary concept.

This was exceptionally important for every child learning the piano.

In contrast to Xiaohu's shortcomings, Xiaobei's issues were still more heavily manifested in matters of reaction and comprehension.

Therefore, Li An's next choice for Xiaobei was *Bach: Album for the Young* (Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach / First Lessons in Bach).

At nine o'clock sharp, as Xiaobei walked into the classroom clutching her eagerly anticipated Bach beginner piano textbook, Li An was on the phone with Xu Li.

The environment on the other end of the line was somewhat noisy. "I'm so sorry, Teacher Li, for causing you trouble."

"It's no problem. I'll just have him stay in the classroom."

After hanging up, Li An motioned for Xiaobei to take a seat first.

Then he turned his gaze to Wang Xiaohu. "Your mom will pick you up later and wants you to wait for her here."

Wang Xiaohu beamed—brilliant!

Li An warned, "Be well-behaved and no making trouble."

"Hehe."

[Wang Xiaohu's teacher-student index increased to 68.]

Li An: What's wrong with this kid?

-

The teacher and student, who hadn't seen Xiaobei for a long time, chatted for a bit before the lesson began. Xiaobei talked about her summer camp, how many books her school distributed when the semester started last week, what kind of book covers she made for each book, and the interesting anecdotes that happened during the first week of school.

Suddenly remembering something, Xiaobei asked, "Teacher, have you heard of *Fearless* (Gu Yongzhe)?"

*Fearless*?

"I've heard it! I can even sing the Xiong Da version!"

Sitting at the side playing with his Genius watch, Wang Xiaohu grew excited.

The two children gazed at each other, as if finding a kindred spirit in each other's eyes.

Li An had some impression of this song.

Last time in the group chat, Xu Hongxin had posted a video titled something like "Elementary school student version of *Fearless*, cringeworthy to the max."

Upon clicking it, he found a classroom full of children singing loudly in unison.

After chuckling, he noticed that all the videos recommended afterward were various versions of *Fearless*.

Although mostly consisting of parodies featuring elementary students, it was clear that the campus popularity of this piece rivaled another elementary school anthem of yesteryear, *Contra*.

"I know it, but I'm not very familiar with it."

Squinting as he recalled a few melodic phrases from memory, Li An raised his hands and began to play.

Xiaobei: "Wow!"

Xiaohu bounded straight over to the piano, staring intently at the hands on the keys before his brow furrowed a moment later. "Teacher, you played it wrong."

With a darkening expression, Li An stopped playing. If Wang Xiaohu said he was wrong, he really didn't dare assume otherwise.

Because for the latter part, he had indeed been improvising purely based on impression, and more importantly, Wang Xiaohu was a standard elementary school student.

"Teacher, can you teach me how to play it?"

Looking into Xiaobei's eager little eyes, how could Li An refuse? He replied gently, "No problem. I'll listen to it when I get home, arrange a score, and bring it to you next lesson."

Hearing this, Wang Xiaohu blurted out excitedly, "Teacher, me me me me, me too!" as he frantically pointed at himself with his finger.

Li An immediately switched back to a look of disdain. "You stay put for now. Talk to me when you've practiced Hanon up to the fifth exercise."

"Understood!"

Wang Xiaohu obediently rolled back beneath the window and quietly resumed playing with his watch.

"Come, Xiaobei, let's start class."

-

In view of the consensus reached with Xiaobei's mother, as the teacher guiding Xiaobei through this stage of her piano journey, Li An had a very clear blueprint for her subsequent study.

Just as Xiaobei's mother had said, he also hoped that when Xiaobei grew up in the future, she would retain fond memories of her time as a child piano student.

Beyond that, he held a private expectation: he hoped that when a twenty-year-old Xiaobei opened the piano, she could still play something that interested her at that time.

Only then would those studies truly have been worthwhile.

Therefore, all he could do right now was help Xiaobei establish a firmer foundation while selecting materials she actually wanted to play.

"Starting today, we will be studying Bach's introductory piano curriculum."

[Yu Xiaobei's teacher-student index increased to 91.]

Xiaobei chuckled; she had finally waited for this!

Li An said, "Let's look at the first piece."

Xiaobei stated, "Teacher, I've already previewed it. I've played the first piece before—the *Minuet in G major*."

Li An smiled. "That's right. Come, let's look at this piece with fresh eyes."

Hearing the mention of the minuet, Wang Xiaohu perked up his ears as well; he had just practiced this piece prior to his exam.

As Li An had stated previously, the purpose of choosing this set of materials for Xiaobei was that her biggest current problem was reaction time.

Li An hoped to train Xiaobei's auditory analysis skills through these miniature works by Bach.

Some compared Bach's music to high-proof liquor—the pieces were short, but they contained immense substance, and without trained thinking, it was difficult to keep up.

Li An did the opposite. Utilizing Xiaobei's earnest study attitude, he believed that by gradually instilling and sorting things out for her through this textbook, Xiaobei would reap rewards given enough time.

As for how great those rewards would be, he couldn't say for sure, but they would definitely surpass her current state, and far surpass blindly swallowing exam pieces whole.

Supplemented by Czerny 599 practice, Xiaobei should be able to deliver a considerable surprise to herself three months down the line.

Knowing that Wang Xiaohu was listening as well, Li An told the two children the story of Bach for the very first time in earnest.

After finishing, he spoke about this introductory piano collection.

Xiaobei asked, "Teacher, are all the pieces in this book dance music?"

Li An answered, "That's right. Most of the pieces in this book are dances—some are princess dances that exude bravery, determination, and distinct rhythms, while others are deep, sentimental prince dances rich in emotion."

Xiaobei nodded.

Wang Xiaohu asked again, "Teacher, why aren't the prince's dances brave and determined? He's a prince, after all. Girls are the ones who should be crying."

Instead of answering immediately, Li An glanced sideways to secretly observe Xiaobei. Xiaobei wore a thoughtful expression.

In truth, he had intentionally swapped the identities of the prince and princess.

Yet Xiaobei hadn't noticed right away; it was Wang Xiaohu who caught it.

-

In reality, the question Wang Xiaohu raised already touched upon the tonal color of music—a deeply insightful inquiry.

This brought up another matter entirely. Li An recalled a student he had taken over midway through his career.

When discussing a certain chord with that student, he asked what a major triad was.

The student blurted out, "Bright and warm." This answer wasn't wrong, but it wasn't what Li An wanted. The answer he wanted to hear was, "A major third interval stacked with a minor third interval."

He then asked the child who had taught her that, and the child replied that her music theory teacher had taught it.

Most contemporary teachers were more accustomed to giving answers directly while omitting the intervening process, especially in subjects unrelated to entrance examinations.

In art education, telling a child directly that a major triad is bright cannot be labeled as unqualified teaching, nor can it be called irresponsible.

Yet, were there better ways to guide children, to let their thinking diverge, so they could feel and discover things for themselves?

Even if a child perceived through their own sensations that the color of a major triad was gloomy, so what? Was the child wrong?

Or who decreed that a major triad must necessarily be bright?

Virtually every epoch-making artistic master had climbed out of academic mountains bearing disdain and controversy.

This incident had given Li An much food for thought at the time.

Later on, aside from necessary playing postures and fundamental music theory, he no longer confined children within so-called predetermined answers in his teaching.

"Xiaohu, do boys never cry?"

"They do..."

"And girls never have moments when they are stronger than boys?"

"They do..."