Recognize a woman by her fragrance, and know a creator by their music!

With the conclusion of the National Day holiday, the first workweek of October somehow felt exceptionally busy.

During the Monday morning meeting, Qin Yong delivered a lengthy summary regarding the execution of club classes in September and laid out the next steps for October's club curriculum.

Selling instruments in September through class launches, implementing comprehensive and systematic teaching in October, following up with key students in November, and driving concentrated conversions in December.

This was the primary enrollment channel for Blue Sky in the second half of the year.

Therefore, October was designated as a month of rigorous focus on club teaching, and every club instructor was required to strictly follow the curriculum plan in their teaching activities.

"Starting this week and running through the second week of November, instructors in charge of club classes at each campus must submit a detailed classroom record for every single lesson."

Speaking of these classroom records, people had written them in the past during certain special periods without much hassle.

Ranging from three hundred words on the long side to two hundred on the short side, and sometimes even a hundred, one simply had to write a brief summary of the lesson content and submit it.

Everyone knew Old Dong wouldn't inspect these submissions too closely.

This time, however, things were different.

During the meeting, Qin Yong used a PowerPoint presentation to display a classroom record template.

The template was extremely detailed, covering everything from the conceptualization of the lesson content to the teaching process, and from the expected student mastery level to the actual verification of learning outcomes.

It was comprehensive in every aspect.

The moment the PowerPoint was projected, Li An was dumbfounded.

Wasn't this the exact classroom record he had handed to Qin Yong half a month ago? Considering the unique nature of the Jinhua Literacy Class, Qin Yong had asked him to make the record, and he had intentionally made it very detailed.

He needed to showcase his ability during the course of his teaching—there was nothing wrong with that. Just as Qin Yong had said, where else could one find a teaching fee of 500 per session across the entire country?

Who could have foreseen that this very classroom record would, half a month later, become a dagger used to "slaughter" his colleagues?

Those with sharp eyes recognized the content of the classroom record immediately and guessed that Li An had written it.

Then the PowerPoint slid to the final page.

Sure enough:

"Jinhua Experimental Music Literacy Club Class Classroom Record"
"Li An"

On the surface, everyone smiled warmly, but in private, quite a few people were grumbling.

Some felt that Li An had betrayed their camp.

A few even thought Li An was a shameless flatterer, complaining that it was just a damn classroom record, and asking whether making it so meticulous would earn him any extra money.

Yet Li An had essentially been used as a pawn; Qin Yong hadn't given him a single heads-up beforehand.

Of course, the majority of people still had common sense.

Without this attitude of dedication to his work, how could Li An have risen to fame so quickly in Yudong, surpassing both veterans and newcomers to become Qin Yong's trusted right-hand man?

Qin Yong's capability was evident to all.

Putting aside the summer class consumption, just take the September student recruitment and instrument sales: the performance of the Yudong campus tied with both Linden campuses and the main Guangyuan campus, a first since the establishment of the Yudong campus.

Therefore, regarding Qin Yong's work arrangements for October, nobody raised any objections, aside from privately making half-joking complaints about Li An.

Moreover, this time they didn't dare to slack off.

Late submissions, delayed submissions, and unqualified content would all be treated as invalid records.

Taozi: "An invalid record is equivalent to an invalid class hour, and the remuneration for that lesson will not be issued."

The newly appointed head of academic affairs had laid down the law.

Everyone respected her, especially within the administrative office where Taozi was widely admired by her colleagues.

After all, she had real capability.

The mess left behind by Wang Jingya hadn't been sorted out by Old Dong even after a month, yet Taozi had revitalized Yudong's academic affairs system within just one week of taking office.

And so, the first workweek of October began in this fashion.

Aside from teaching their main classes, the primary instructors also had to write club classroom records.

This invisibly doubled their workload.

Such was the fate of the working class, though thankfully it would only last for a month.

By early November, it would be the academic affairs staff's turn to endure hardship.

Overall, Li An's days had been peaceful lately.

His routine consisted of just a few things:
Practicing the piano, teaching classes, making teaching materials, cooking, feeding the cat, and appeasing his girlfriend.

During this time, he and Chen Xuan finalized their first collaborative piece to be published on Bilibili.

It was the intermezzo from the famous American film *Scent of a Woman*, "Por Una Cabeza".

Chinese translation: *A Step Away*.

***

Three days passed in a flash.

On Thursday morning, after finishing his practice of the transposed version of Czerny Op. 299, Etude No. 19, Li An stepped through the gates of Jinhua Experimental School right on schedule.

Ever since the "Fearless" incident, he had become a "heroic" figure in the minds of the children in the music club classes.

Before he even reached the multimedia classroom, he was surrounded by an eager mob of children waiting at the door.

Class A Student (Clarinet): "Teacher, teacher, are you going to play 'Fearless' for us again today?"
Teacher Li: "Today I'm going to tell you a little story about DO, RE, MI."
Class B Student (Flute): "Teacher, I've got something good for you."
Teacher Li took a look—it was an unwrapped piece of candy, smeared with some black fuzz and paper scraps. "Thanks, you keep it and wash it off before eating it."
Class C Student (Saxophone): "Teacher Li, can you ask Teacher Ma to give us a sheet music for any song you play?"
Teacher Li paused in his tracks. "What song—any song I play?"
"The insert song from *Detective Conan*!"
A group of saxophone-class children shouted all at once.

The doorway instantly descended into a noisy ruckus.

Li An took out his phone, turned on the video recording function, panned a circle around the group, and gestured for everyone to quiet down.

"Are there any other students who want sheet music?"

The scene, quiet for less than a second, erupted into chaos once more.

They shouted out titles like *98K*, *Treading the Mountains and Rivers*, and various other song names he had never even heard of.

After a moment, once the children had settled down somewhat, he asked, "Who practices their instrument every week?"
"Me!!"
A group of children raised their hands.
"Who practices their instrument every day?"
"Me!"
The number of raised hands dropped by half.

Yet Li An remained skeptical of this claim.

"Who can guarantee that they practice their instrument for at least twenty minutes every day? No lying to the teacher. Whoever lies gets no sheet music."

This time, the crowd fell silent.
"Teacher, me, I practice for half an hour every day."
Li An gave this child a close-up shot in the video.
"Teacher, me too, I practice for half an hour every day except yesterday, because our class had too much homework yesterday."
Another close-up.

After capturing four or five close-ups one after another, Li An said, "As long as you all can guarantee to practice your instruments for twenty minutes every day on the premise that your regular schoolwork is completed, whatever sheet music you want, your teachers will give you."
"Are you confident you can do it?!"
"Yes!"

Li An's lips curved upward. He stopped the recording and sent the video directly to the Jinhua Experimental teachers' group chat.

Li An (Literacy): Do I get a chicken leg for this?

Then he put down his phone and scanned the circle of children.
"As long as you can do it, if your teachers won't give it to you, I will."
"Yeah!!"
"All right, let's start class."
"Teacher, what are we learning today?"
"Today we are going to talk about the traitors of the note family—the dotted note brothers."
"Ooh~"

Aids by a flock of children, Li An chatted and laughed as he walked into the classroom. Glancing back, he spotted Wang Xiaohu standing afar with his schoolbag, facing a female teacher.

He looked as though he was being reprimarded.

***

One hour later.

"Why are the dotted note brothers called traitors? Please answer me loudly."
The classroom chanted in unison:
"Because they change the original value of the notes!"

Li An sighed with gratification.
"Not bad at all."
"Class dismissed."
Wang Xiaohu: "Stand up!"
"TEA-CHER, GOOD-BYE!"

Just as Li An was packing up his things, the head counselor, Teacher Liu, walked over and praised, "Teacher Li's concept for this music class is very novel."

Li An waved a hand. "You flatter me."

Teacher Liu laughed heartily. "Being modest, aren't we?"

He wasn't just offering empty polite remarks.

When Li An first arrived, his actual task was merely to help Li An familiarize himself with the campus environment, but after listening to the other man's very first class, he made sure to sit in on every subsequent session, occasionally recording short clips.

His daughter had been playing the violin for two years, and as her full-time practice companion, he understood a thing or two about music theory.

From a teacher's perspective, he found music theory to be a dry subject, but he hadn't expected Li An to use storytelling combined with various interesting illustrations to make music theory lessons so vivid and engaging.

To be frank, he felt Li An was far superior to the music teachers at their own school.
Some of their music teachers couldn't even play a children's song properly.

In his private opinion, if such a talent could be recruited to Jinhua, the standard of aesthetic education and teaching research at Jinhua would undoubtedly rise to a new level.

After exchanging a few more polite remarks, Teacher Liu consulted Li An on a few issues regarding children practicing instruments and then took his leave first.
"See you next week, Teacher Li."
"Goodbye, Teacher Liu."

The violin—now that was truly not something an average child could study.

Li An packed his belongings and noticed Wang Xiaohu standing at the classroom door, seemingly waiting for him.

"What's the matter? Got scolded today?"
Wang Xiaohu looked blank. "Huh?"

After listening to Li An's description, Wang Xiaohu explained, "That's just my aunt."

Ah, so that was it.
Li An understood now. "No wonder you didn't sign up for any clubs and instead sneaked into the literacy class. Turns out you had connections higher up."

Wang Xiaohu grinned. "Teacher, where are you going later?"
Li An: "Going home."
Wang Xiaohu: "Where do you live?"
Li An: "Wanhe Mansion."
Wang Xiaohu: "Teacher, when can I come to your house to play?"
Li An thought for a moment. "When you finish playing Op. 599."
Wang Xiaohu: "Okay!"

The tall man and the boy were already close to the school gate as they talked. "How are you getting home?"
Wang Xiaohu: "My aunt is dropping me off."
Li An: "Are you still coming to class this Sunday?"

Since the four of them had already made up for this weekend's class in advance on the 7th, Li An just asked casually.
Logically speaking, the four kids didn't need to attend class this week, but if they came, naturally it was great—coming meant 100 yuan.

Wang Xiaohu's heart stirred. "Who's coming to class on Sunday?"
Li An wasn't sure either. "Anyway, it's just the few of you. If you want to come, tell your mom in advance and have her set the time with me."
"All right, stop walking me."

Turning around with a wave, Li An stepped out of the school gates.
"Practice more piano when you have time."
"You've barely practiced for three hours this week, haven't you?"

Watching Li An's departing, casual figure, Wang Xiaohu was blank once more.
*Awesome, Teacher...*
The next second:
*My mom is gonna rat me out!!*

***

On his way home, Li An took out his phone.

Beneath the video he posted in the group chat:
Xu Hongxin: That's why he's my Brother An.
Sun Zhihong: That's why he's my Brother An.
Wang Panpan: That's why he's my Brother An.
Chen Xuan: That's why he's my Brother An.
Xu Nana: That's why he's my Brother An.
Qin Yong: That's why he's my Brother An.
Ma Tao: That's why he's my Brother An.
Cai Ke: That's why he's my Brother An.

This was the backbone of Yudong's future.

Li An replied to everyone with a grinning emoji.
Then: *Stop stating the obvious.*

Stowing his phone and humming a little tune, Li An walked all the way home, stopping along the way to buy some groceries at the vegetable market.

When he got home, Baowan was still acting like a sick cat. Li An didn't get it—wasn't it just another injection?
It had already been 24 hours.

With a pang of pity for the little cat, Li An retrieved a can of cat food from the refrigerator.

Baowan seemed to have been monitoring his every move; the moment it saw the can, it immediately snapped to attention, darting over with the speed of flying lightning.

*Feigning illness?*
Li An chuckled softly, placed the cat food atop the refrigerator, and went to cook dinner.

Leaving Baowan alone to circle the refrigerator, desperately performing high-jump exercises.

***

After dinner, Li An went to give a rehearsal lesson to the three art examination students.
Poor Teacher Chen had to sit alone at her computer, organizing today's classroom records.

It wasn't until bedtime that she finally found the leisure to pull out her phone and scroll for a bit.
"Someone is urging you again."
Chen Xuan rolled over and showed Li An a video comment.

This time, it was from a netizen named "Zero Forty-Seven".

The feeling of being urged to release new content brought a subtle sense of pride, but given how busy they had been lately, the two of them had only managed to settle on a piece.

"How about tomorrow night?" Li An asked.

Chen Xuan naturally had no objections. "What about Jiyang's class?"
"Jiyang won't be going to school before her art exams anymore; her classes can be scheduled anytime from now on. Here's what we'll do: I'll head straight over after work tomorrow, and I should be home by around eight o'clock."
"Let's record *A Step Away*."
"Okay~"

***

Two days later, Li An could never have imagined that this piano-and-flute duet video of *A Step Away*, less than two days after its release, would reach 76,000 views, 23,000 likes, 900 coins, 8,000 bookmarks, and 400 wild comments.

This could be said to be the best-performing video since he started uploading.

Why?
Was *A Step Away* harder than his original-speed Op. 299? Was it more flashy?
No.
Was the video of *A Step Away* heavily edited?
No. At the very beginning of the video, the two of them occupied half the screen each, left and right, with no fancy gimmicks.
Was it because of Chen Xuan's appearance?
Also no. The two of them had searched through all the flute videos of *A Step Away* on Bilibili and found that many girls playing this piece hadn't even broken 50 views, and those videos had been published a year ago.

Then what on earth was the reason?
The answer perhaps lay in the wild comments:
*‘Tingles down my spine, I love it! The sister plays wonderfully and has an amazing figure, looking forward to more.’*
*‘Really sounds great! You can tell the uploader and his girlfriend are both professionals. Suggest posting more piano and flute ensembles like this in the future. Waiting for Spring is Coming, triple-liked.’*
*‘Scent of a Woman, listen to the music and know the uploader! Begging for you two to be in the frame together.’*
*‘The best ensemble version I've heard on Bilibili, sheet music please.’*

On Sunday, after concluding a hard day's work, the two of them decided to reward themselves with a barbecue dinner to celebrate the success of *A Step Away*.

Through some discussion, it wasn't hard for them to figure out a few little secrets.
Format: Professional romantic ensemble.
Content: Familiar classic repertoire.

Li An knew that as a minor nobody, he basically had no inherent traffic, so anyone who clicked on this video must have come specifically for the music.

He felt somewhat fortunate for the hesitation the two of them had experienced before recording.
If they had simply recorded it casually following some version found online, it certainly would have been convenient.

However, in order to enrich the musical content further, the two of them had spent a lot of effort before recording, heavily arranging their respective parts.

They had colored the musical background and integrated a narrative soul into the melody.

That was why that particular comment had truly struck a chord with them:
*‘The best ensemble version heard on Bilibili.’*

Whether it truly was the best didn't matter; art has no absolute first place.
What mattered was that their care and effort had received feedback.

While they were talking, Chen Xuan looked at her phone and laughed again.
Another new comment:
*‘I felt like the piano at the beginning was like a teasing middle-aged uncle, but in the second half, he got straight-up pushed down by the flute sister. What a vivid musical texture, keep it up and don't stop wow.’*
*‘Uncle~ What should we record for our next piece?’*

Chen Xuan suddenly bit her lip and acted cute, catching Li An completely off guard.