Come, come, you two, let's do this together.

Due to the assessment arrangements, Song Muzi’s Tuesday class had to be rescheduled. Li An originally wanted to move it to Wednesday so all four children’s lessons could be held on the same day, making it easier for him to teach them. After the performance, Li An communicated with Song Sheng, but he learned that the child had been clamoring to play the piano at home for the past two days. Last night, the commotion became so intense that Song Sheng was forced to download a piano app on his phone for his child. As a result, the whole family stayed up late.

“How about tomorrow morning?”
“That’s perfect. Still at nine?”
“Yes. By the way, Brother Song, please trim the child’s nails. Last lesson, I noticed they were a bit long, which can easily cause injury when playing.”
“Got it, got it.”

As they talked, Li An had already packed up and accompanied by Song Sheng, walked to the restaurant entrance.
“Take care, Teacher Li.”
“See you tomorrow.”

The next morning, before nine o’clock, Song Sheng arrived outside Classroom Four with his child. Seeing that it was still a little early, and Li An was inside playing the piano, Song Sheng was unsure whether to knock. He felt it would be rude to interrupt the teacher.

Just then, Wang Meili was delivering sheet music to Lin Pengfei next door. She saw the father and son waiting at the door and, noticing it was nearly nine, stopped to knock, then poked her head in: “Teacher Li, your student has arrived.”

Li An turned to see three people—two adults and a child—watching him. At once, he understood what was happening, thinking to himself that Song Sheng was becoming increasingly polite. He got up and welcomed the father and son inside. Song Sheng gave his son a couple of instructions, preparing to leave, but Li An stopped him.

“Brother Song, why not listen in on today’s lesson?”
Song Sheng was glad to, though he wondered if he, who hadn’t even finished high school, could understand. The two sat together in the classroom.

...

Two musicians who speak different languages can communicate through music, and the staff notation plays a vital role in this. As the universal language of the musical world, staff notation is an essential skill that every music learner must master.

In the previous lesson, Li An had used games to teach Song Muzi the concepts of duration, dynamics, and pitch. Today, he would start with the staff, officially leading the child into the world of music learning.

Placing the small blackboard he had prepared on the windowsill, Li An pointed to the five lines and asked, “How many lines are on here?”

“Five,” Muzi answered sweetly, while Song Sheng, sitting beside her, also silently counted in his mind.

“Five,”

Li An affirmed, then continued, “The staff is composed of these five parallel lines.”

“We count from the bottom up; the lowest is the first line, then the second line—”

“The third line—”

As Li An pointed to the fourth line, he suddenly paused, and under his encouraging gaze, Muzi opened her little mouth: “Fourth line.”

“Very good.”

Receiving praise, Muzi followed Li An’s finger and finally said loudly, “Fifth line.”

Li An: “Have you remembered?”

Muzi: “Yes, I have!”

Song Sheng had also remembered. He found that it wasn’t as difficult as he’d thought; it was much simpler than what he had learned in school.

Li An then explained the concept of spaces between the lines: “Any two adjacent lines form a space.”

He pointed to the blank area between the first and second lines. “This is the first space—”

He continued this process. After explaining all five lines and four spaces, he left a little time for Muzi to absorb the information.

Song Sheng, sitting nearby, had already taken out paper and pen to write and draw. Li An silently gave him a mental nod of approval. This was precisely why he had asked Song Sheng to stay.

For most young children, learning staff notation is not easy. While some children may grasp it in a single lesson, this is rare. Adults have stronger comprehension and memory, so if they devote even a little effort to learning alongside their children at the beginning, it greatly helps the child consolidate and review at home.

Originally, Li An’s lesson was supposed to be an hour, but he taught for more than an hour and a half. Though he covered much material, from staff notation to recognizing note names and solfège on the piano, he was extremely thorough.

Now Song Sheng felt he could teach Muzi the lesson himself with his notes.

After class, Li An reminded Song Sheng once more.

There are many parents like Song Sheng who are willing to learn alongside their children, but many make mistakes after learning. Some fail to recognize the importance of the child’s own ability and simply tell their child the answers. For example, “The second line of the treble staff is G, sing sol.”

Though this allows the child to respond quickly, they may not truly understand the logic behind the knowledge, and over time will become dependent on their parents, gradually losing the ability to learn independently.

The correct approach for parents is to guide their children to explore, helping them master the knowledge and correct mistakes as needed.

Song Sheng listened and nodded repeatedly, grateful for the timely advice.

“Thank you, thank you, you’re absolutely right.”

Li An waved his hand and pressed the elevator for the father and son. “No need for thanks, Brother Song.”

Song Sheng could sense Li An’s genuine care and felt his fondness for the teacher grow, though being a straightforward man, he didn’t know how to express his feelings.

“Muzi, say goodbye to your master.”

Little Muzi didn’t know the difference between teacher and master, but followed her father’s instructions and said, “Goodbye, master.”

Li An smiled, “Bye-bye, Muzi.”

He nodded to Song Sheng, and as the elevator doors closed, turned to greet Wang Meili, who called him back just as he was about to return to the classroom.

Li An walked over, “Yes?”

Wang Meili glanced at the entrance to the office and whispered, “Just now, Teacher Xu brought a child into the office; the parent looked unfamiliar.”

Another new student?

Li An frowned slightly.

Just two days ago, Xu Nana recruited a new student, and now another one so soon.

He calculated.

Song Muzi’s two credits were already in the books.

Wang Xiaohu’s lessons were about to run out, so a renewal was certain, that point was basically secure.

Adding up, including the skill assessment, his own total was only 45.9.

If Xu Nana secured today’s new student, plus the one from two days ago, her total would reach 45.5.

The gap between them was shrinking.

He had already surpassed Tian Yu to become first, but Tian Yu hadn’t moved since the skills assessment, so who knew what would happen next.

He pondered, but there was nothing he could do.

Compared to locals like Xu Nana, Jia Lu, and Xu Hongxin, his foundation in Rongcheng was thin.

His social circle was just this small group. There was no way to quickly expand his student base.

He couldn’t possibly recruit students by canvassing the streets—it wasn’t realistic, nor did he have the energy.

Looking back,

From scrimping to buy a fan to now sleeping under the cool air of an AC.

With Ji Yang’s arrival and his debts shrinking, Li An’s life and mindset were gradually changing.

Is the “Elite Teacher” title still important to him?

Important, very much so.

But some things cannot be forced.

So, he decided to keep calm and do his best. Improving himself is the best investment for the future.

He returned to the office, took a moment to adjust his mindset, grabbed a cup of water, and went back to the classroom.

Practicing piano could not be delayed.

Recently, he had gained some new insights into finger independence.

——

That afternoon, Old Dong’s message appeared in the group chat again:

‘Congratulations to Teacher Xu Nana for recruiting a new student today. The trial lesson registration was successful. Well done, let’s give Teacher Xu a thumbs up!’

Li An (Piano): Thumbs up for Teacher Xu!

End of work.