"Take a guess—do you think there is or not?"

"Thank you, judges."

Time slipped by, and the eighth child bowed and left. Li An nodded, offering an encouraging smile. He picked up his pen.

"Syntax is quite clear, voice is clean, phrasing is smooth, but there was an error in the left-hand leaps."
"Pass."
"Good."

He glanced at his phone—8:45. Nine children had gone through in forty minutes, keeping a steady pace. At this rate, the morning session would likely finish before 11:30.

While the next child hadn't yet entered, Li An stood up to stretch. He wondered how Chen Xuan was faring downstairs.

...

First floor, Exam Room One.

"Hello, judges. My name is Yuan Hua, Flute Grade Nine." Yuan Hua bowed respectfully.

Chen Xuan nodded, signaling him to begin.

As Yuan Hua played, she immediately made her assessment—this child wasn't even at Grade Seven level.

After ten measures, she calmly took up her pen, thinking to herself, "Another one."

Yuan Hua was not unique. It seemed the children at Guangyuan were all skipping levels. To her ear, every child played with problems, so she always listened a little longer, hoping to give them a chance, to see if something surprising might emerge.

But she was hoping for too much.

This approach meant that after fifty minutes, she had only reached the seventh child. Especially with the second and fourth children, whose issues were so pronounced that she ended up giving them some advice.

A female teacher had come in earlier to gently remind her to pick up the pace. Though the tone was friendly, Chen Xuan, competitive as she was, found it quite a provocation.

"Alright." The pleasant yet emotionless voice interrupted Yuan Hua’s etude.

There was no need to listen further. The rest was just a repeat of the theme; she already knew the outcome.

Yuan Hua’s next piece reached four and a half minutes before Chen Xuan stopped him again.

"Thank you, judges." Yuan Hua turned, wiped sweat from his forehead, and hurried out.

This examiner was beautiful, but far too strict.

Moments later, the eighth child entered the flute exam room.

"Hello, examiner. My name is Li An Ge, Flute Grade Three."

Chen Xuan nodded. "B-flat major scale."

...

After a bit of self-adjustment, Chen Xuan's pace gradually picked up. Near eleven o’clock, after scoring the twenty-third candidate, she rubbed her back.

Nine children remained. She would finish before noon, ensuring the afternoon schedule wouldn’t be delayed.

She exhaled softly and glanced out the window; the waiting area was still bustling. She wondered how Li An was doing upstairs.

He must be much faster than her.

...

Yudong Campus. Piano Exam Room Two, East Wing.

"Hello, examiner. My name is Wang Xiaohu. My teacher is Li An, Piano Grade Two."

Wang Xiaohu finished his introduction with a proud bow.

At the door, Wang Panpan held her head in embarrassment. As Wang Xiaohu’s assistant teacher, she felt mortified. She’d already stressed several times—there was no need to add "my teacher." Did he think his teacher was Li Gang?

Luckily, the female examiner from the Linyin District just smiled, or Wang Panpan felt her toes would have punched right through her shoe soles.

She glanced back; the corridor was packed, just as it had been since eight in the morning.

She wondered if other campuses were the same.

...

Indeed, apart from Songjiang Campus, the other three campuses were much the same.

The scene shifted back to Guangyuan Campus, Third Floor, Exam Room Two.

"Thank you, judges."

At 11:34, Li An finished his morning’s work. All thirty-seven children's assessments were complete.

Carrying his score sheet, Li An walked out of the room, stretching lazily. He glanced around—he was likely the first to finish.

"Mr. Li."

Just then, Wu Qingyun, head of the Guangyuan piano teaching group, approached from the stairs. "Thank you for your hard work."

Li An quickly passed over the score sheet, "It wasn’t hard—just a little hot."

Wu Qingyun’s face fell at that. "That's unacceptable. I'll call the academic office right away."

"Thank you, Group Leader Wu."

Li An feared no offense; after all, he was sent by Yudong as the chief examiner, and couldn’t even get air-conditioning—was that reasonable?

They stepped aside to briefly discuss the morning’s session in Exam Room Two.

Li An naturally spoke in pleasant terms.

Yet his mind was always on Chen Xuan downstairs; after finishing, he excused himself for the restroom and slipped away.

After Li An left, Wu Qingyun opened the score sheet.

He turned to the second page.

After reading Li An’s comments on Wu Jiaqi’s performance, he was elated.

First, Wu Qingyun had watched Li An’s stage assessment video.

Second, he fully trusted Li An’s expertise.

And lastly, who doesn’t like hearing their own child praised?

...

Because Chen Xuan was still not done, and noon was approaching, Li An had to cancel his lunch appointment with Li Minghao.

...

At 1:30 in the afternoon, work would resume, so he couldn’t delay others’ lunch.

He went out, bought two dishes, and on the way back passed a milk tea shop. He stopped, turned, and walked in.

"Sir, what would you like?"

Li An studied the menu for a while, finally ordering a fancifully named strawberry fruit tea.

On the way back, he seriously considered opening a milk tea shop himself. It was certainly profitable.

Still, this twenty-six-yuan cup of sweet water was money well spent.

...

First floor, Exam Room One.

With a final "Thank you, judges," Chen Xuan ended her morning’s work.

She was hungry, thirsty, and her hand ached, but she couldn’t rest. She quickly pulled out her phone, only to find Li An hadn’t messaged her.

Just then, the door clicked.

Li An walked in, carrying bags. She exhaled, her back relaxing.

"Go submit your score sheet, lunch is ready."

After handing in the scores and returning to the room, Chen Xuan’s appetite ignited at the sight of the food.

Mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, two bowls of gleaming white rice.

And a cup of what looked to be delicious milk tea.

The two sat face to face. Chen Xuan pointed at the milk tea, smiling, "Is that mine?"

Li An nodded, then lifted his rice, "Let’s eat first."

"No."

Chen Xuan grabbed the straw, pierced the cup with a click, and gently drew a sip.

The cool, flavorful strawberry juice with bits of fruit melted away all her morning fatigue the moment it touched her lips.

"It’s so good."

Chen Xuan let out a cute sigh, her icy elegance from the exam room utterly vanished.

"Thank you, Group Leader."

—

After a deeply satisfying lunch, both patted their stomachs contentedly.

"Want a sip?" he asked.

"Should I?"

"You could choose to lift the lid and drink."

"What do you mean, choose?"

"You could also use the other end of the straw."

"Are there any other options?"

"Take a guess."