47. The Trembling Heartstrings

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Today was the final day for the assessment committee to observe classes, so Li An knew Deng Yingnan would certainly come today.

Liu Fengrui returned to the piano, while Li An composed his expression and went to open the door.

Outside, Deng Yingnan stood with hands clasped behind his back, smiling kindly; at first glance, he looked like a student's parent.

“Teacher Li.”

“Good morning, Group Leader Deng.”

Li An invited Deng Yingnan into the classroom, then began the lesson.

The objective for this session was to play the piece with both hands together.

According to Li An’s usual teaching style, most of the time in such lessons was devoted to student practice while he corrected mistakes from the side.

The classroom atmosphere could be somewhat dry.

Considering that today’s observer was Deng Yingnan, Li An decided to liven up the atmosphere.

Thus, encouraging more interaction between teacher and student became particularly important.

The interaction was centered around questions and answers.

In an effective classroom, excellent interaction is never simply the teacher asking and the student answering.

Rather, it is a dialogue of mutual inquiry.

Students, too, should raise relevant questions in the right context, the teacher then demonstrating and explaining, the student attempting the technique, and finally, the teacher supplementing with further insights.

In this way, the teacher-led class transforms into a seminar where teacher and student engage in collaborative learning.

However, this teaching method suits only a select group of students with divergent thinking and strong focus.

Fortunately, Liu Fengrui was just such a student—intelligent, quick-witted.

Determined to devote the entire next lesson to “Bluebird,” Liu Fengrui put forth extraordinary effort this class, giving one hundred and twenty percent.

In the final section dealing with musical expression, Liu Fengrui even drew a connection between the wide melodic leaps and the composer’s inner struggle.

“If you look at it that way, it’s not unfounded. When the main theme descends, there is indeed a sorrowful emotion,” Li An responded, following Liu Fengrui’s line of thought. “The subsequent leaps could be interpreted as the composer’s attempt to break free from pain, to express a deep yearning for something beautiful.”

As Li An spoke, he demonstrated on the piano.

At the staccato leap, he intentionally paused his fingers on the keys, slightly lengthening the note. Instantly, the music took on a hesitant quality.

Next, he shifted his wrist to execute a bold leap to the following note, striking the keys powerfully to create a marked contrast, as if the music itself entered a state of struggle.

The phrase then transitioned into the next, gentle and tinged with melancholy.

“That’s exactly the feeling, teacher.”

Liu Fengrui, now filled with emotion, imitated Li An’s playing and practiced the passage alone.

Due to limited control, he could not quite achieve the elasticity and viscosity the staccato required.

“Teacher, how should I play this slurred staccato?” he asked.

A new question emerged. Li An explained that it required coordination from fingertips, wrist, and arm.

“Just think of it simply as three-quarters of a quarter note. Slow down your release from the key, use your wrist to guide it, and practice more to get the feel.”

After Li An finished, Liu Fengrui nodded, circled the spot in his score, and noted the practice method.

He reviewed the score from beginning to end. “Teacher, I have no more questions.”

Li An smiled knowingly. “Time’s about up. That’s all for today. Practice well at home, and contact me anytime if you have questions.”

At that moment, Deng Yingnan stood from his corner, walked over to Li An, whispered a few words, patted him on the shoulder, and left.

After Deng Yingnan had gone, Liu Fengrui asked, “Teacher, how did I do today?”

“Perfect score.”

“So, next lesson?”

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“I’ll keep my word, but only if you practice today’s material well. Next lesson, I’ll listen to you first.”

“It’s a deal!”

“When you get home, have your dad send me a message.”

After seeing Liu Fengrui off, Li An happily returned to the office. Aside from Chen Xuan, the others were busy with their own tasks.

“Old Deng observed your class?” Xu Hongxin put down his phone and turned to ask.

“News travels fast. Who told you?” Li An returned to his desk to find three student files waiting for him. He glanced at Wang Panpan, who was engrossed in paperwork.

Wang Panpan seemed to sense his gaze and closed Lin Pengfei’s student file.

She was just about to discuss work matters with Li An, having organized her thoughts, when Ma Tao took the opportunity to answer first.

“Lin Pengfei dropped by earlier and mentioned seeing Old Deng in your classroom this morning. So, how did it go, An?”

Li An smiled faintly. “Four point seven.”

“Impressive.” Xu Hongxin checked the grading sheet in the group chat. “That means you probably have the highest observation score?”

Li An shook his head. “There are still two teachers’ scores pending. We’ll know at tomorrow’s meeting.”

Four point seven—a strikingly high score. Wang Panpan, having already reviewed the assessment sheet, couldn’t recall anyone ever receiving such a mark.

A moment later, with no one else speaking, she said to Li An, “Brother Li, I contacted your students’ parents yesterday.”

Li An glanced at her. “And?”

Wang Panpan opened her call log. “No issues with Wang Xiaohu or Yu Xiaobei’s families. But Liu Fengrui’s parents don’t seem to be very informed about his studies?”

Li An explained, “I’ve only met that child’s parents once. He usually comes to lessons alone, and maybe he doesn’t talk much about class at home.”

“Understood,” Wang Panpan replied.

Li An added, “I’ll rely on you for the follow-up with these three students. Let me know if you have any issues.”

With that, Li An updated Liu Fengrui’s file with today’s lesson notes and handed it to Wang Panpan. “Check it over and sign it if everything’s in order. Principal Qin specifically requested this at the meeting. Previously, we had no academic affairs officer, but now that you’re here, these records must have your signature.”

Wang Panpan skimmed the file. Qin Yong had already briefed her on this before she arrived.

She signed her name, “Wang Pan,” after Li An’s on the teacher’s line.

...

At noon, Li An declined Ma Tao and Xu Hongxin’s invitation and went back to eating instant noodles.

Not long after, Chen Xuan returned from class. Wang Panpan stood up excitedly, “Sister Xuan, you’re finally back. I’m starving.”

The two had agreed in the morning to go to Harmony Plaza for rice noodles at lunch.

Chen Xuan set down her flute and, before leaving, turned to ask, “Want us to bring you anything?”

“You two go ahead, don’t worry about me.”

Li An waved them off, suddenly losing his appetite.

After a while, he picked up his fork and ate in large mouthfuls.

Some things are better left to fate.

After eating, he left the office for the classroom to practice piano.

Recently, he had encountered a minor problem with fingering in a fast alternating passage between black and white keys.

It wasn’t a matter of uneven notes or failing to reach the speed.

He simply lacked the confidence to play forcefully, as if grasping a bar of soap that could slip away at any moment.

...

Time slipped by unnoticed.

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With only five minutes left before the end of the workday, a message from the group chat shattered the tranquility of Yudong’s ninth floor.

Director Dong: Congratulations to Teacher Jia Lu for recruiting a new student; trial lesson registration successful. Well done, let’s give Teacher Jia a round of applause.

Li Minghong (Academic Affairs): Applause for Teacher Jia.

Wang Meili (Administration): Applause for Teacher Jia.

Xu Nana (Clarinet): Applause for Teacher Jia.

Wang Pan (Academic Affairs): Applause for Teacher Jia.

Lin Pengfei (Piano): Impressive / thumbs up

Ma Tao (Trombone, Tuba): Applause for Teacher Jia.

West office.

Putting down his phone, Ma Tao remarked with admiration, “Jia Lu pulled it off—two points secured.”

Xu Hongxin added, “She’s really going all out, not holding back at all.”

Wang Panpan didn’t immediately understand their meaning, but upon reflection, she realized it was true. Leaving aside Qin Yong’s perspective, if she herself had recruited a student outside, she might not have brought them into the institution.

If she failed to become a top teacher, wouldn’t she lose out?

Chen Xuan, however, was unconcerned. She participated in the selection with the mindset that it was the experience that mattered.

But it was nearly time to leave, the halls were silent—no piano music. Where was Li An?

...

On the bus to Blue Whale, Li An muted the Yudong work group.

For now, Jia Lu’s new recruit had no real impact on him, but it was a reminder—those vying for the two slots weren’t idle.

Just then, a message arrived.

Yezi: Have you left?

A moment passed.

Eight-One: Yes.

...

At the next morning’s meeting, Qin Yong summarized the previous week’s work and commended Xu Nana, Ni Hongjie, Liu Bin, and Chen Xuan for their students’ attendance rates.

“Wow——————”

He then gave a brief introduction for Wang Panpan’s onboarding.

On the surface, Wang Panpan’s arrival aimed to ease the workload of the Yudong academic affairs group, but in reality, it was Qin Yong’s second decisive action regarding the group.

After Director Dong took over some of Wang Jingya’s former students, the remainder were now assigned to Wang Panpan.

Thus, Wang Jingya was left with only the title of group leader, unable to directly intervene in student follow-ups.

Tian Yu’s inscrutable gaze met Qin Yong’s across the room.

Qin Yong smiled and opened his notebook.

“As of today, the assessment observations have been successfully completed.”

“Next, I will announce the scores for all teachers participating in this round of evaluations.”

The meeting room fell silent.

“First place…”