One-sentence teaching—do you understand?

After adjusting his teaching approach over several lessons, Li An found Yu Xiaobei’s classes becoming increasingly relaxed. Using vivid examples, Li An broke down piano techniques into phenomena common in everyday life, creating an atmosphere where Xiaobei realized learning piano didn’t have to involve grappling with obscure technical jargon.

From Li An’s perspective, this interactive teaching deepened his appreciation for the importance of tailoring instruction to each student. In today’s lesson, during a section requiring both hands, Xiaobei struggled to control the finger pressure for a soft passage. Had it been a more advanced student, or according to his previous teaching habits, Li An would have analyzed with Xiaobei why this note must be soft, how to achieve it, and what exercises would help.

This had always been his teaching philosophy: understand the “what” before the “how.”

But today, he asked Xiaobei a single question. He knew Xiaobei had a younger brother, less than a year old, named Xiaonan.

“Xiaobei, imagine Xiaonan is napping and you notice a grain of cooked rice stuck to his cheek. How would you remove it?”

Perhaps it was a question with little logic, but Xiaobei immediately found that gentle yet controlled touch on the piano keys. This was Xiaobei’s breakthrough.

When Li An then explained the “what,” Xiaobei grasped it quickly. He followed up with the “how,” building on Xiaobei’s understanding, and finally Xiaobei completed the movement perfectly, channeling the mindset of caring for his “baby brother.”

The entire process took less than five minutes.

This was Li An’s own gain.

And so, another successful lesson came to an end. Xiaobei had completed the first twenty-three measures hands together with ease and was ready to begin the next stage of the sonatina.

“Xiaobei, mastering each measure is important, but you must also finish all of the homework I assign, right?”

“Right!”

Li An could see Xiaobei’s recent progress, though new problems had emerged. Practice efficiency—Xiaobei’s was low. He tended to get caught up in details, fixating on them.

A conversation with Xiaobei’s mother confirmed Li An’s suspicions: recently, Xiaobei would repeatedly practice a single measure for half an hour at home.

This was a good sign, but not appropriate for Xiaobei’s current stage. Mastering the basics and being able to play through the piece at a certain speed was enough for now. Spending too much time correcting and practicing could waste time and even lead to overcorrection, which was counterproductive.

But saying this directly might dampen the child’s enthusiasm.

So instead, Li An said, “Xiaobei, this week’s assignment is to practice measures twenty-four through forty-nine hands separately. Next lesson, I want you to play each hand for measures twenty-four to forty-nine at a speed of fifty beats per minute. Can you do it?”

“Teacher, I can!”

Three days wasn’t much time for this workload, but it left Xiaobei no room to get bogged down fussing over a single spot. It also let his mother clearly see his progress.

Just earlier, at the door, Xiaobei’s mother had shown a hint of dissatisfaction.

Ah.

After seeing Xiaobei and her mother off, Li An returned to the teaching area.

“What’s wrong? Why the sighs?” Chen Xuan emerged from Classroom Four, holding her water cup, her half-smiling lips above a fair, slender neck that caught the eye.

Li An didn’t answer immediately. Looking at Chen Xuan’s beaming expression, he asked, “Seems you enjoyed your last class. How did it go?”

Just then, the door to Zhang Youwei’s classroom opened, and a parent walked over. It was the transition time between periods; the hall was crowded with students, parents, and teachers. Seeing it wasn’t the right place for a private conversation, Li An asked, “Do you have another class soon?”

“Ten thirty,” Chen Xuan replied.

Li An nodded, and Chen Xuan understood, locking her classroom door and following him.

She trailed him into Classroom Three, taking in her surroundings with curiosity. She’d never been inside before, but it matched her expectations: clean, with sheet music and textbooks neatly arranged on the piano. She guessed Li An’s bedroom must look the same.

“No more classes?”

“My student hasn’t arrived yet. Take a seat.”

Li An offered her his piano bench and leaned against the window.

“How many points did Mr. Deng give you?” he asked.

Seeing Li An’s vaguely anxious look, Chen Xuan couldn’t help but blink playfully. “Guess.”

Li An thought for a moment. At most, 4 points, no more. “Three point seven?”

Chen Xuan’s face lit up. “Mr. Deng gave me four point six.”

Li An was stunned.

He raised both thumbs in praise, “Mr. Deng has a discerning eye.”

It was the highest score he’d heard of so far.

Even though she knew Li An was exaggerating, Chen Xuan was delighted. She herself had been surprised; she’d barely exchanged a few words with Mr. Deng since coming to Yudong.

“Teacher, I’m here!”

Suddenly, the door burst open. Hearing the voice, Chen Xuan instinctively stood up.

“Can you learn to knock?” Li An glared in annoyance at Liu Fengrui by the door. “How many times do I have to tell you?”

Seeing the scene inside, Liu Fengrui’s imagination ran wild. He quickly backed out. “Go ahead, teacher, I won’t eavesdrop!”

He closed the door behind him.

Li An was both exasperated and amused. What a mess. Kids these days…

“Go on, then,” Chen Xuan said with a smile, hands behind her back as she left.

Outside, she found Liu Fengrui still standing at the door.

“Hello, Ms. Chen!” he greeted brightly.

“Get inside for your lesson,” she replied.

Liu Fengrui went in and locked the door, then asked conspiratorially, “Teacher, is Ms. Chen your girlfriend?”

Li An frowned, “Focus on what you should be focusing on. How much holiday homework have you finished? How many days did you practice?”

Liu Fengrui snorted, “Come on, that’s nothing. Zhao Yu and Chen Hong from my class kissed in the last row!”

Li An leveled his gaze. “Do you want me to call your father right now?”

Liu Fengrui protested, “I’m not making things up.”

Li An waved a hand. “Enough, time for class. But I’m warning you—knock before you enter from now on, understand?”

Liu Fengrui nodded solemnly. “I understand, teacher.”

Oh, you do?

Li An pulled out the “Bluebird” score and tossed it onto the piano.

Liu Fengrui’s eyes lit up the instant he saw it. “Hey, teacher, how did you know I was practicing this lately?”

Li An smirked, “Still think you understand?”

Liu Fengrui shook his head so hard his cheeks nearly flew off. “I don’t, I don’t! It’s too hard!”

Heh.

“Let’s start. Today we’ll play hands together on page one. When I’m satisfied, I’ll teach you to play ‘Bluebird.’”

[Liu Fengrui’s Student-Teacher Index increased to 26]

In the blink of an eye, Liu Fengrui was at the piano, his hands already fiddling on the keys.

“Listen, I want you to play hands together, not rush. Take it slow. If you finish class assignments on time from now on, I’ll use the rest of the lesson to teach you pieces you like.”

[Liu Fengrui’s Student-Teacher Index increased to 32]

No rabbit, no trap—kids these days.

Li An smiled wryly.

Outside, Lin Pengfei saw Chen Xuan in the corridor and greeted her.

“No class now, Ms. Chen?”

“Um, no,” she replied hastily, escaping to her classroom as if avoiding the plague.

Lin Pengfei wasn’t a fool. He thought to himself, Chen Xuan isn’t right for me.

Ms. Xu Nana is still the best.

Enthusiastic. He praised her in the voice of Shen Teng.

...

In the principal’s office, Qin Yong looked at the statistics report and let out a long sigh.

He’d been investigating the severe student attrition over the past six months. According to the report, he’d pinpointed the problem area: the Meizhuang district.

Seventy percent of the students lost came from several elementary and middle schools in that district.

The academic affairs director for Meizhuang was Wang Jingya, and the piano enrollment teacher was Tian Yu.

It seemed the issue with this pair was unavoidable.