Chapter 13

Just a few days into his senior year, the students already felt that the atmosphere was very different from before. The classroom was no longer as noisy during breaks, and after school, no one rushed to the cafeteria in a swarm. No one secretly used their phones to send messages during class, and the evening study hall was almost always full.

On Friday afternoon, Hu Yiqing didn't come to give Yang Jingxing his lesson because she had to go back to the city to see her parents. Around eight o'clock, after finishing their evening study hall, Ren Chuyu and Li Ya came to the music room to check on how Yang Jingxing's practice was going. Ren Chuyu brought snacks to share with Yang Jingxing, but in return, she asked him to play two short pieces. Ren Chuyu herself also played two pieces, but she was even worse than Yang Jingxing.

On Saturday morning, Yang Jingxing received a call from Hu Yiqing, asking if he wanted to sign up for a music theory tutoring class. She mentioned that some of these classes were run by teachers from the music conservatory, which would be very helpful for the exams.

Yang Jingxing still said he already had a good teacher and didn't want to do anything unnecessary. Hu Yiqing then said she knew a friend who helped her professor run a class, and she could get some study materials for the exams. Yang Jingxing thanked her again.

Yang Jingxing prepared some snacks and entered the music room at seven in the morning, not leaving except to use the restroom. If he couldn't practice well with all ten fingers, he felt he would be letting CERN down.

During class, Yang Jingxing's unintentional pen-spinning caught Tao Meng off guard. But the piano is the piano, even if it's the 599, practicing it well is much harder than making a pen spin in your hand.

Around three o'clock, a group of about ten people suddenly came to the music room. Yang Jingxing recognized two of them: one was the head of the music department, and the other was the vice-principal. A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl seemed to be the main character, and there were two white foreigners, a man and a woman.

The group all looked at Yang Jingxing, clearly he shouldn't be there. Even though the air conditioning was on, Yang Jingxing was sweating. His white shirt and black pants were soaked with sweat, and the salt stains were clearly visible. On the chair next to him were some unfinished bread and water.

The head of the music department scolded Yang Jingxing, "Didn't you say you would use it in the evening? Zhou Hanhui needs to use it for her interview at the Juliet Music Academy, so hurry up and leave!"

Zhou Hanhui, the young girl, was obviously from Shangpu Junior High. She looked at Yang Jingxing with an unfriendly gaze, as if her things had been taken. Her parents, who were behind her, seemed to be well-off; her father held a small camera, and her mother's handbag could probably buy a good piano. There was no need to come here.

Yang Jingxing quickly packed his things and wiped the piano keys and stool clean, preparing to leave. Suddenly, he changed his mind, "I'm sorry, can I stay and watch?"

Everyone was surprised. The girl's father, who was quite friendly, asked her, "Hanhui, this brother wants to stay and cheer for you, do you agree?"

The girl looked at Yang Jingxing again and nodded. Yang Jingxing quickly thanked her and ran to the back row to sit down.

The interviewer from Juliet tried the piano first, then asked Zhou Hanhui to prepare. She prepared for about half an hour, adjusting the stool, drinking water, and sitting quietly... Everyone else sat quietly, speaking in low voices.

Finally, it started. Yang Jingxing recognized that Zhou Hanhui was playing Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14, which he had tried that morning.

He felt ashamed, looking at the young girl, who played so well. Her small hands handled many difficult passages with great skill, and she didn't miss a single note. Her face showed a determination and focus that seemed beyond her years.

Zhou Hanhui played the entire piece, which lasted about twenty minutes. After she finished, Yang Jingxing was the only one who clapped, which made everyone look at him. He quickly stopped.

Zhou Hanhui wasn't affected, resting for two minutes, and then played a piece by Mendelssohn. The last piece Yang Jingxing didn't know, but he could tell that the girl's skills were several levels above his own.

Sure enough, Zhou Hanhui received praise from everyone. However, she seemed to be numb to the praise, not showing much joy. She just looked at Yang Jingxing, as if showing off. Before she came in, she had already seen Yang Jingxing's piano skills outside the door.

After Zhou Hanhui and her group left, Yang Jingxing sat back at the piano. He sat for a while before starting, playing the Moonlight Sonata. This was a relatively simple piece, and Yang Jingxing tried to use his precise brain and fingers to achieve a satisfactory performance, but it wasn't easy.

Actually, Zhou Hanhui's group hadn't left. They were having a discussion in the adjacent teacher's lounge and could still hear Yang Jingxing's piano playing. Among them were two interviewers from Juliet, Zhou Hanhui's teacher, the famous piano professor Li Yingzhen, and her parents, who were also experts. Listening to Yang Jingxing's playing put them under a lot of pressure.

The head of the music department decided to go and ask Yang Jingxing to stop making noise, but Li Yingzhen suddenly stopped him, saying, "Listen, let him play." Because Yang Jingxing had started playing "Reminiscences of Don Juan," which was truly impressive.

Yang Jingxing didn't know he was being listened to. He had memorized the score of "Don Juan" while browsing in a bookstore. He thought such a piece would help him practice his skills and set a goal, making progress faster. If he could master the difficult parts, the simple ones wouldn't need to be learned, right? Although he now knew this idea was wrong, it could be used to vent. Just like a soccer player who can't score a penalty can still dunk a basketball to feel good. These days, Yang Jingxing always played a few pieces before leaving the music room, and he was now quite proficient at it.

"Reminiscences of Don Juan" was treated by Yang Jingxing as a practice piece, not a performance. His ten fingers flew across the keys, with little regard for dynamics or phrasing, just fast.

There were some wrong notes, and the rhythm was almost completely off. After two minutes, the lounge fell silent. The two foreigners occasionally raised their eyebrows, while Li Yingzhen's frown deepened, and she sat motionless. Zhou Hanhui, the young girl, had a blank expression, occasionally turning her head and pursing her thin lips.

When the long series of minor third semiquavers and syncopated accompaniment came, the male foreigner's head tilted back, and he laughed silently. Li Yingzhen sighed softly, stood up, and walked out of the lounge, standing at the door of the music room. The others followed, standing there to listen to Yang Jingxing's noise.

The wide-span arpeggios, octave scales, contrary motion scales, and alternating octaves... to Yang Jingxing, they all sounded the same, with a similar approach, and many mistakes. But the notes were still clear and even.

Zhou Hanhui's father put his arm around her shoulder and whispered, "Look, everyone has their strengths to learn from. This brother must have practiced very hard to play so fast."

The head of the music department looked embarrassed, "This student..." not knowing what to say to please everyone.

After listening for two more minutes, Li Yingzhen pushed open the door of the music room, and Yang Jingxing's playing stopped abruptly. Li Yingzhen and the others walked in, standing in front of the piano, which was quite intimidating. Li Yingzhen pointed at Yang Jingxing and said bluntly, "Continue, keep playing." Seeing that he was playing from memory, she added, "Start from measure 145." She was in her fifties, looking plain and simple, with a kind face, but now she was a bit angry.

Yang Jingxing continued, possibly feeling challenged, and played even faster. Most of the audience watched his hands, and Li Yingzhen's frown deepened. Zhou Hanhui, the young girl, looked at Yang Jingxing for a while and then turned away, looking impatient. The female foreigner was the most tolerant, smiling and listening intently.

Li Yingzhen noticed that Yang Jingxing was not stage-frightened and played as fast and poorly as before. As the piece entered the last few measures, Li Yingzhen took two steps closer to Yang Jingxing, and the others adjusted their positions.

A series of octaves with thirds made Yang Jingxing's fingers heat up from the friction with the air. The middle-aged white man finally laughed out loud, "Oh ha," and tapped his heels, exchanging an incredulous look with his female colleague.

When it ended, Zhou Hanhui's father and the two foreigners clapped and laughed. But Li Yingzhen stared at Yang Jingxing, her frown still deep, and asked sternly, "You, are you playing the piano or just fooling around? How did your teacher teach you?"

Yang Jingxing quickly replied, "My teacher hasn't taught me this part yet, I'm just playing for fun."

"Playing for fun!?" Li Yingzhen's voice rose, "Your finger techniques are all wrong, you don't even know the basics, what are you playing for fun? Four against six is not played like that. Look at your hand position for octaves, how ugly is that? How do you place your thumb?" She was right; Yang Jingxing relied on his physical abilities and large hands to play unusually fast and poorly, but his hand position and finger techniques were a mess, and the sound was terrible.

Yang Jingxing was surprised, "Thank you, I will correct it."

Li Yingzhen looked at Yang Jingxing for a while and then said more gently, "Correct it! If you keep practicing like this, you'll ruin your hands!" She then said regretfully to the foreigners in English, "We have many talented children, but because they don't have the opportunity for systematic and proper education, they are wasted..."

This sounded like a criticism of Shangpu, so the half-bald head of the music department quickly explained, "This student has only recently started practicing, and he is taught by our music teacher, who is not a professional piano teacher."

Yang Jingxing added, "The teacher taught me well, but I didn't learn well."

The female foreigner greeted Yang Jingxing, "Hi, you played well."

The male foreigner also shook hands with Yang Jingxing, "Very fast, very rare." They looked at Yang Jingxing as if they were seeing an MVP from a basketball game performing in a circus, juggling several basketballs and continuously throwing them into the hoop without dropping them.

Yang Jingxing smiled, looking at Zhou Hanhui, "I was inspired by how well she played." He then said to the girl, "I will work hard to catch up to you, and you should work hard too, so I don't catch up too quickly."

The girl, being a girl, couldn't help but smile and nod at Yang Jingxing.

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere improved, but Li Yingzhen continued to criticize Yang Jingxing, "If you keep practicing like this, you won't be able to surpass her! You need to learn properly, no matter what you do, the foundation is the most important!"

Yang Jingxing nodded, "Thank you, teacher, I will learn properly."

Li Yingzhen impatiently flipped through Yang Jingxing's books, wondering how he had been practicing all these years, still studying music theory, playing "Don Juan," and using the Beethoven method.

But today's main focus wasn't Yang Jingxing, so Li Yingzhen asked, "What grade are you in?"

"Senior year."

Li Yingzhen asked the head of the music department, "Not taught by Mr. Chen, right?" Mr. Chen was the school's piano teacher, a man in his forties with some fame.

"No, no! He only said he wanted to study composition at the beginning of the year, and his family insisted he not neglect his academic studies... His class teacher, Hu Yiqing, who you've met, is responsible for him. She graduated from Quhang Music College with a degree in music education a couple of years ago." The head of the music department was relieved to clear the matter up.

Li Yingzhen sighed, put down Yang Jingxing's books, and said, "Then practice well, we won't disturb you anymore."

Yang Jingxing nodded, "Thank you, teacher."

Li Yingzhen walked a few steps and turned back, handing Yang Jingxing a business card, "Take it. What's your name?"

Yang Jingxing glanced at the card, which read "Puhai Music College Li Yingzhen Piano Art Studio — Professor Li Yingzhen," and bowed, "Professor Li, my name is Yang Jingxing."

Seeing that Yang Jingxing didn't know her fame, Li Yingzhen led the group away, saying before leaving, "It's not about playing the piano, it's about performing the music!"

This was Yang Jingxing's biggest problem, but it was too early to address it before solving the basic issues.

After dinner, Yang Jingxing returned to the music room to continue practicing. Around eight o'clock, Hu Yiqing came with a new hairstyle and some exam preparation materials. Yang Jingxing flattered her on her new look, but Hu Yiqing wasn't too concerned and started discussing the exam.

For the preliminary exam, they would test music theory, melody writing, and song writing. Hu Yiqing said, "I asked, and the writing exam doesn't require you to write a great piece, just to show that you know the basics of writing, which involves some harmony and chord knowledge. I've seen the music theory exam outline, and it's much higher than when we were students. You need to hurry. Next time, I'll bring some practice exams, and we can go over them."

Yang Jingxing asked, "Ms. Hu, are you free tomorrow?"

Hu Yiqing replied, "Yes, we can start practicing in the morning."

Yang Jingxing said, "No, I want to treat you to a meal."

Hu Yiqing smiled, "No need... Let's wait until you pass the exam. The复试 mainly tests harmony, focusing on the natural sound system, which you might not have studied yet. There's also sight-singing and ear training, which shouldn't be too difficult for you... For the piano, the requirements are much higher, at least 299..." Her tone showed she was also worried and anxious.

Yang Jingxing said, "I'll work hard to treat you to a meal."

Hu Yiqing's focus was entirely on work, "Let's make a new plan. No more breaks on weekends, okay?"

Yang Jingxing said, "I feel really bad about it."

Hu Yiqing shook her head, "Your main subject teacher works much harder than I do."

After making the study plan, Yang Jingxing continued practicing, focusing on basic finger techniques and not blindly challenging difficult pieces. Hu Yiqing guided Yang Jingxing while reading and preparing for her own classes, and she even went to the teacher's lounge to get water for Yang Jingxing twice.

At ten o'clock, Hu Yiqing asked Yang Jingxing to stop practicing and asked about his self-study progress in music theory. She then tested him to see if he had grasped the basics.

It turned out that Yang Jingxing had no problem with reading sheet music and intervals, but he was still learning about chords. So Hu Yiqing started teaching him chord theory, starting with root position chords. Surprisingly, Yang Jingxing could apply the concepts, and in just ten minutes, he could play various triads and seventh chords.

Hu Yiqing looked at Yang Jingxing enviously, "Sometimes I think you're really smart."

Yang Jingxing panicked, "Most of the time, I'm pretty dumb?"

Hu Yiqing laughed, "That's not what I meant."

After a while, Hu Yiqing started teaching Yang Jingxing about inverted chords. Her knowledge of music theory was much stronger than her piano skills, and she explained clearly and concisely.

Hu Yiqing thought Yang Jingxing would be overwhelmed, but he followed along well, nodding to show he understood. In just over half an hour, Yang Jingxing had learned the basics of chord theory!

But Hu Yiqing didn't believe in geniuses, so she had Yang Jingxing practice and reinforce what he had learned. Yang Jingxing was very cooperative and even tried adding some melodies on his own.

It was past eleven, and Yang Jingxing asked Hu Yiqing to rest. Hu Yiqing looked at her watch, "It is late, let's go... Take your things, someone will come to clean in the morning."

Yang Jingxing said, "I'll see you out, and I'll come back later."

Hu Yiqing was speechless, "Who asked you to see me out? You need to rest well, so you have energy during the day. You can't stay up so late every night."

Yang Jingxing said he was very energetic and added, "You stayed with me until this late, and if I let you go alone, I would feel really bad... Not just because I think you're beautiful, but also because it's dangerous."

Hu Yiqing looked at Yang Jingxing in surprise and, after a few seconds, raised her voice to regain her authority, "What danger is there in the school... Let's take a walk, it will be good to stretch a bit."

Since it was past the dormitory lights-out time, many of the school's streetlights were off, leaving only some main roads lit, making it quite dark.

Since Hu Yiqing had studied at Quhang University, they naturally talked about it. Quhang Music College was much less prestigious than Puhai Music College, but the city was quite nice.

Hearing that Yang Jingxing was from Jiuchun, Hu Yiqing was surprised and said she had visited Yingshan during her university