Chapter 43: A New Arrival, An Unusual Saturday

Nothing particularly remarkable happened on the calm Friday. There were six days left until the professional skills assessment, and the entire teaching area of Yudong was filled with the sounds of various instruments being practiced.

Li An also spent a peaceful day practicing piano in the practice room.

Whenever he felt tired, he would pause to listen to the flute from the neighboring room.

He had never noticed before that Chen Xuan’s flute playing didn’t possess the typical sweetness and delicacy of most female performers. Her Bach was filled with a kind of patient silence in its resoluteness, and listening for a long time easily drew one into that world.

At lunch in the office, the two of them discussed the stylistic interpretations of Bach’s works.

They each stood firm in their opinions.

Chen Xuan believed that using a rich, expressive tone to render dynamic contrasts in Bach’s music was an affectation.

Li An, on the other hand, felt that the allure of Bach’s music lay precisely in the fact that his written notes were both a flowing stream and a sudden spark.

If it hadn’t been for Xu Hongxin and Ma Tao suddenly returning and interrupting them, their discussion might have escalated into a full-blown debate.

Li An realized that Chen Xuan had an extremely clear and unwavering personal philosophy regarding performance, which explained the strong individuality in her playing.

“I’ve never known where you graduated from.”

On their way back to the classroom, Li An couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

“China Conservatory of Music.”

Chen Xuan seemed quite pleased with Li An’s slightly surprised expression.

“Why didn’t you ever mention it to us?” Li An was genuinely taken aback.

The China Conservatory and Rongcheng Conservatory were both among the top nine academies, but there was really no comparison in terms of prestige.

“You never asked me,” Chen Xuan replied with a shrug.

Back when Sun Yuman arranged this job for Chen Xuan, there was a shortage of flute teachers at Blue Sky. The HR at the main campus placed her here at Yudong on a friend’s recommendation without going through the usual procedures. Since Chen Xuan herself never brought it up, to this day, no one knew where she had graduated from.

This was the only minor episode on Friday.

That evening, after getting off work at Blue Whale, Li An picked up Bawan and brought him back to Wanhe Residence, reuniting master and dog.

Perhaps to celebrate his new home, Bawan left a puddle by his owner’s pillow in the middle of the night.

Bawan: From now on, this territory is mine.

This seemed to foreshadow an unusual Saturday ahead.

...

Early Saturday morning, Wang Xiaohu bounded into the classroom in high spirits.

Li An asked what had him so happy, and without a word, Wang Xiaohu sat at the piano and played a Duvernoy etude.

After a fluent, two-handed performance, Li An applauded him.

“Looks like you’ve really put in the work at home these past couple of days.”

After Wednesday’s lesson, Li An had promised that if Wang Xiaohu could play the piece hands together by next class, he would play video games with him for half an hour.

“Teacher, do you keep your word?”

Wang Xiaohu looked at Li An with skepticism, apparently doubtful about adults’ promises in such matters.

“I do,” Li An replied. “Pianists don’t lie to pianists. But I get to choose when.”

Wang Xiaohu: “Deal!”

[Wang Xiaohu’s teacher-student index has increased to 36]

With their agreement set, teacher and student began the day’s lesson.

Continuing from the previous class, Li An gave Wang Xiaohu a final comprehensive run-through of the Duvernoy etude.

With ten minutes left before the end of class, Li An turned Wang Xiaohu’s book to page eleven.

“Minuet?”

Wang Xiaohu seemed to recognize the name and, without even looking at the score, began to hum.

“Stop, what you’re humming is ‘Ode to Joy’ by Beethoven,” Li An said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If you do that, don’t ever tell anyone you’re my student—I couldn’t bear the embarrassment.”

Wang Xiaohu retorted, “You never taught me that, how would I know?”

Huh?

Li An frowned at Wang Xiaohu. So now it’s my fault?

“Listen, this is ‘Ode to Joy.’”

Before he finished speaking, Li An raised his right hand and played: ‘mi—mi—fa—sol—’

The single-handed melody of ‘Ode to Joy’ rang out, and then he added the left hand.

Instead of the traditional I-IV-V progression, he chose a more advanced harmonic arrangement, incorporating the ii and vi chords as functional substitutes and adding sevenths to the chords.

The added sevenths gave the harmony a richer color.

Even Li An himself found it pleasing; as a harmony enthusiast, he had devoted a long time to studying modern keyboard harmonization.

Yet Wang Xiaohu looked at him in confusion. “Teacher, is that really ‘Ode to Joy’? It doesn’t sound quite like what I know.”

Not recognizing good music wasn’t Wang Xiaohu’s fault, so Li An didn’t explain further. “Let’s look at the minuet. As a matter of fact—”

[Lin Pengfei’s teacher-student index has increased to 5]

“—it wasn’t composed by Bach, but by a contemporary named Petzold. Nearly everyone who learns piano has played this piece.”

“It’s very beautiful.”

Li An demonstrated once again.

“This piece has two sections: Section A is made up of four-bar phrases; Section B has three phrases, covering bars 9-10, 11-12, and 13-16, respectively.”

“When you play, each phrase should be clearly separated, and the melody line should be smooth and connected.”

As he explained, Li An finished his demonstration, and Wang Xiaohu was already eager to try.

“Teacher, I like this minuet.”

Li An smiled, thinking there was hardly anyone who didn’t like this piece when learning piano. “If you like it, you should practice it even more.”

He watched Wang Xiaohu practice hands separately for barely two minutes before class was over.

“Xiaohu, that’s enough for now, time’s up.”

But Wang Xiaohu was in no hurry to leave; he wanted to keep learning. “Teacher, do you have another class later?”

Li An didn’t have another class. “Why? Want another lesson?”

Wang Xiaohu: “Can I, teacher?”

Li An glanced toward the door without answering, and Wang Xiaohu dashed out, returning in seconds.

“My grandma says I can have lessons for as long as I want!”

“...Well then, let’s continue.”

The effect of extra lessons, especially when paired with a piece he liked, was obvious—Wang Xiaohu seemed powered up, and by the end of the second class, he had already mastered hands-separate practice.

“Teacher, am I amazing?”

Wang Xiaohu, sweating profusely, waited expectantly for Li An’s response. Li An smiled, “You’re even better than I was at your age.”

[Wang Xiaohu’s teacher-student index has increased to 40]

“But don’t get cocky. Practice well at home, and next class we’ll play hands together.”

After class, Li An had a brief chat with Wang Xiaohu’s grandmother, who asked if future holiday lessons could be scheduled back-to-back.

There was no reason for Li An to turn down business delivered to his door.

Then the two adults revisited their previous plan, mapping out the details: “I’ll find some time these days to relax with him. On your end, keep limiting his gaming time, and I’ll try to guide his attention to other things during our games together.”

Wang Xiaohu’s grandmother thanked him warmly. “Sorry for all the trouble, Teacher Li.”

Li An waved it off, tapping the door, and said as he turned, “I just want what’s best for him.”

As a piano teacher at a private training school, Li An’s efforts certainly went beyond his basic responsibilities.

Maybe it was because Wang Xiaohu was the first student he’d taken on here, or maybe because Wang Xiaohu’s arrival had led, by chance, to him acquiring what could loosely be called a cheat.

Li An always found himself a bit partial to Wang Xiaohu.

Of course, from a practical standpoint, he’d noticed Wang Xiaohu’s family seemed quite well-off. So long as the boy kept learning with him, a piano upgrade was inevitable in the future.

That would mean a considerable sum.

So from any angle, the time and energy he invested in Wang Xiaohu now would likely yield returns down the road.

I dedicate myself to teaching, and you provide material rewards. It’s a fair exchange.

After seeing off the grandfather and grandson, Li An pondered when to arrange a gaming session with Wang Xiaohu. He returned to the office and, just as he opened the door—

A somewhat familiar profile stood by Qin Yong, chatting and laughing with the others.

Everyone turned as the door opened.

The instant that familiar face turned to him, a faint sense of unease crept into Li An’s heart.

Before Li An could collect his thoughts, Qin Yong spoke up, “Come in, Li An. Let me introduce you. This is Wang Panpan, our new academic coordinator at Yudong. She’ll be working in the west office, assisting you and the others.”

Qin Yong paused and looked at Wang Panpan. “As it happens, you and Li An are alumni. You’ve met before, haven’t you?”

Wang Panpan, as if she’d long known the Li An she was about to meet was the very scoundrel from her memory, smiled with a hint of disdain.

“Senior Li is a well-known figure at our school—who hasn’t heard of him?”