Surpassing one's rank brings haste.

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“Sister Xuan, do you have classes at noon as well?”
Wang Panpan looked up and asked as she saw Chen Xuan preparing to leave with her flute.
“No, I’m going to practice the flute.”
Chen Xuan replied, picking up two cups of milk tea as she departed.
Practicing at noon?
When she had just stepped out of the elevator, she’d heard someone playing the piano, and curiosity led her to discover it was Li An practicing.
She had assumed Li An was avoiding her out of embarrassment, opting for the classroom rather than returning to the office.
After Chen Xuan left and Ma Tao explained, she understood that both of them were participating in the elite teacher assessment.
“So that's why Senior Li is so enthusiastic.”
Wang Panpan felt a little disdain.
Ma Tao seemed indifferent, but Xu Hongxin had noticed something. Ever since lunch, he sensed that Wang Panpan harbored some opinion about Li An; her manner toward him was not as warm as with the other three.
So he explained, “Brother An is the most diligent professional teacher at our Yudong campus. Since joining, he’s practically lived in the classroom every day.”
Panpan found Xu Hongxin agreeable, and since he’d said so, she listened without taking it to heart. Whether Li An practiced or not had nothing to do with her.
She certainly hadn’t seen him so dedicated back in university.
Her gaze swept over the three student growth portfolios closest to her. She deliberately pushed them aside and picked up Chen Xuan’s first.
...
West teaching wing.
Li An had already moved on to arpeggios in A-flat major. Hearing a knock, he knew it was Chen Xuan coming for the metronome.
He didn’t stop playing or speak. Moments later, Chen Xuan entered, wordlessly took the white metronome from the piano, and quietly set her milk tea on Li An’s desk behind him.
She then returned to her own classroom and began her practice.
...
Three hours later, Wang Panpan’s head felt twice its size in the office. This job was no easy task.
Including Chen Xuan’s, she finished reviewing the student portfolios of the other three and felt utterly confused.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand them, but she couldn’t judge each student’s current progress based on the teachers’ follow-up notes, making it hard to continue tracking or communicate with parents.
In the end, she had to discuss with Ma Tao and Xu Hongxin to grasp the general situation of their students.
Since Chen Xuan wasn’t in the office, she started with Li An’s three portfolios.
Work is work, personal opinions are personal—Wang Panpan was clear on this.
In less than half an hour, after reviewing the portfolios for Yu Xiaobei and the other two, she felt as if she could already see the children’s piano learning status.
Among the four, Li An’s notes were the clearest, his teaching approach most explicit.
Not that she herself had any distinct teaching strategy; if she were to track student progress, she’d probably be less clear than Ma Tao and the others.
It was simply that Li An’s entries were straightforward and logically organized, instantly comprehensible.

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It certainly made things easier—no need to ask Li An anything further, and she truly didn’t wish to speak another word to him.
Before leaving work, she sought out Chen Xuan to discuss the situation of several flute students, thus completing her first task after joining.
Having gained a concrete understanding of the four teachers’ students, the next step was to communicate with each student’s parents.
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
The five parted ways at the bottom of the office building. Xu Hongxin and Ma Tao teamed up, riding their little scooter to the internet café.
Li An, holding a black umbrella, hurried off to Ji Yang’s home.
Chen Xuan glanced at the milk tea in Li An’s hand with a knowing smile. Beside her, Wang Panpan asked, “Sister Xuan, how are you getting home? Want me to drive you?”
“Thank you, I live at Wanhe Residence,” Chen Xuan politely declined.
Wang Panpan said, “It’s right on my way, come on, save you crossing the street and getting your shoes wet.”
Unable to resist Panpan’s enthusiasm, Chen Xuan got in the car, and before getting out, the two exchanged WeChat contacts.
Chen Xuan invited Panpan into the office group chat.
“King’s Squad?”
Panpan exclaimed in delight, “Sister Xuan, you play King’s Glory too?”
Chen Xuan shook her head and smiled, “I don’t play games, Ma Tao and Xu Hongxin do.”
Panpan was a little disappointed, but to have gained a gentle, beautiful colleague in just one day made her very happy.
“Sister Xuan, bye, see you tomorrow.”
“Goodbye, Panpan.”
...
Today was Li An’s third accompaniment lesson for Ji Yang. Through communication with Ji Yang’s former accompanist,
He had summarized two issues with Ji Yang’s practice:
1. Scattered focus, insufficient targeted practice for specific problems.
2. Prefers practicing parts she’s already mastered.
Combining Ji Yang’s recent practice status,
Li An roughly outlined the approach for upcoming sessions:
While continuing to work on finger independence, he needed to reinforce the steadiness of her wrists.
He must ensure each lesson addressed one minor issue.
“Ji Yang, your wrist needs to be level during this passage.”
Midway through the lesson, Li An interrupted Ji Yang again and demonstrated at his own piano.
“Do you see?”

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Ji Yang saw clearly, but just couldn’t control it. She spoke anxiously, “What should I do, teacher?”
“Don’t worry.”
At the root, Ji Yang’s problem was shaky fundamentals. Li An first gave her an effective technique to improve right now.
This method could also help increase her concentration.
“When practicing hands separately, watch your wrist and count beats slowly. Focus intently on the count, avoid accents, play calmly, and relax all other parts of your body.”
“Stick with it for a while, then see how it feels.”
Ji Yang nodded. “Alright, teacher, I’ve noted it.”
Li An continued, “Aside from practicing black keys, you mentioned the 740 exercises—does Professor Yu still cover those in lessons?”
Ji Yang replied, “He lets me practice on my own, sometimes listens in class, but doesn’t say much.”
Li An sighed inwardly, paused to think, then asked, “Do you have the Kramer Etudes at home?”
Ji Yang shook her head, “I can buy them now.”
This stage marks a long period in piano study.
Among the milestones, Czerny’s ‘Rapid Etudes’ Op. 299 and ‘Fifty Piano Exercises’ are two important steps.
If played at original speed, Chopin’s ‘Black Key Etude’ is even more difficult than parts of the 740 exercises.
So, in theory, mastering some pieces from 740 is the foundation for entering Chopin’s Etudes.
Stepping back, mastering 740 first requires completing 299, and between 299 and 740, various pieces must be interspersed as preparation.
Ji Yang was in this awkward phase: she’d played quite a bit of 299, but not enough to move on to 740, yet for exam purposes, she had to leap two levels to tackle Chopin’s Black Key Etude.
That’s why Li An saw the scene during Ji Yang’s first lesson with him.
Problems everywhere.
Beyond targeted finger and wrist training, Ji Yang now needed to practice transition pieces between 299 and 740.
The Kramer Etudes were a fitting choice.
Clearly, from the previous accompanist, Li An hadn’t learned that Professor Yu had arranged such a teaching stage for Ji Yang.
So, how to get the parents to accept these issues? Li An had to find another way.
He couldn’t overshadow the official teacher, risk seeming intrusive, yet needed the parents on board—it concerned the child’s next phase.
Li An no longer wished to comment on Professor Yu.
His intention was simple: help Ji Yang correct lingering issues, smooth her path before she moved to her next teacher.
That way, Ji Yang might still find some future in piano.
As her teacher, Li An could say he’d done right by her—and by himself.