Chapter 16

After returning to school, Hu Yiqing forbade Yang Jingxing from entering the music room, confiscated the key, and told him to listen more. After having dinner, Yang Jingxing went back to the dormitory to take a shower, then went to the classroom to study.

It was eight o'clock, and the classroom was still quite crowded. It seemed that Yang Jingxing was a news figure; many classmates looked at him as soon as he appeared. When Yang Jingxing returned to his seat, Tao Meng looked at him and said, "A second-year girl came looking for you earlier."

"Ah... Oh." Yang Jingxing didn't know any second-year girls.

Ren Chuyu quickly came over, grinning and asked Yang Jingxing, "What's her name?"

Yang Jingxing shook his head, "I don't know."

Ren Chuyu didn't believe him, "I see her often! When did you two meet?"

Yang Jingxing felt wronged, "I don't even know who you're talking about!"

Ren Chuyu described, "She's quite tall, about the same height as Tao Meng, short hair, and big eyes!"

Tao Meng looked at Ren Chuyu, calmly questioning, "Not as tall as me, I guess she's about 1.68 meters."

It wasn't that Yang Jingxing was lecherous; it was just that his memory was too good. There was indeed such a girl, whom he had seen often before and also when he practiced the piano recently.

Ren Chuyu said, "She's from Class 2, Grade 2, and often plays volleyball."

Yang Jingxing was pleasantly surprised, "She's beautiful!" This girl was indeed quite pretty, with a great figure, especially her big eyes, which were very memorable.

Ren Chuyu interrogated, "What did she want from you?"

Yang Jingxing quickly defended himself, "I never followed her!"

Ren Chuyu became less and less willing to talk to Yang Jingxing, and Tao Meng didn't even bother to look at him.

Yang Jingxing put on his headphones to do his homework. The CD and player Hu Yiqing provided were of good quality, and the headphones were even better, with excellent sound quality, allowing Yang Jingxing to feel quite inferior in front of the masters.

Tao Meng couldn't stand it anymore and tapped Yang Jingxing's desk with her pen. After he took off his headphones, she scolded, "Can you stop tapping the desk?" Yang Jingxing was tapping the desk with his fingers while listening, not loudly but very frequently, which was very annoying, especially since Tao Meng was struggling with probability problems.

Yang Jingxing apologized but didn't put his headphones back on. Tao Meng came again, "Focus! If you can't concentrate, just study properly."

Yang Jingxing couldn't argue with the class monitor and stopped listening, quickly finishing a set of problems and preparing to leave. But Tao Meng called him back, "Yang Jingxing, the reason I sit with you is because I think we can help each other. Your Chinese is weak, and my math isn't great..."

Yang Jingxing was pleasantly surprised, "Are you boosting my confidence? I can help you?"

Tao Meng was very annoyed, "We help each other! I'm not trying to discourage you, but you definitely won't get into a music college. I suggest you focus on your academic subjects and aim for a good university."

Yang Jingxing agreed without hesitation, "I don't mind you discouraging me. Come, let me help you first."

Tao Meng looked at Yang Jingxing, almost giving up on the idea of mutual help, but in the end, she decided to think long-term and pointed at the test paper, very impatiently, "Explain the approach to this problem."

Yang Jingxing had never tutored anyone before, so his explanation was overly detailed, making Tao Meng impatient, "I know this, I'm not that stupid!"

Yang Jingxing really felt like he had done something wrong, "I'm the stupid one, I'm the stupid one. Just ignore the stupid part and listen to the smart part."

Tao Meng couldn't help but laugh, then continued listening to Yang Jingxing. After listening, she felt a bit depressed, "Really! Why didn't I think of that!"

Yang Jingxing said, "Sometimes you need to be a bit stupid."

Tao Meng agreed, "I did overthink it."

After solving the problem with a "stupid" approach, Tao Meng moved on to the next one. After a while, she looked at Yang Jingxing, "Aren't you leaving?"

Yang Jingxing said, "Because I know the next problem is also a bit stupid."

Tao Meng felt this was clearly a sarcastic remark but held back, seriously telling Yang Jingxing, "When I said you had no hope, it was out of anger... and it was also true. Of course, if you have confidence, you don't have to care what I think... I just can't get used to your way of joking, maybe others like it, but I don't."

Yang Jingxing asked, "Are you reminding me to improve?"

Tao Meng slapped the desk, "There you go again!" Her voice was quite loud, drawing the attention of the surrounding classmates.

Yang Jingxing quickly apologized, "Okay, okay, no more talking, let's focus on the problems..."

This was a quite challenging comprehensive application problem. This time, Yang Jingxing didn't explain the specific approach but guided Tao Meng step by step.

Tao Meng felt she had gained a lot. She realized she could solve it herself and wished she hadn't asked Yang Jingxing.

Yang Jingxing returned to the dormitory earlier than usual, which surprised the homeroom teacher. Teacher Jiang inquired about Yang Jingxing's situation and gave some praise, then said Tan Dong should learn from him. Tan Dong studied a lot, often playing with his guitar.

On Monday morning's Chinese class, Tao Meng, feeling guilty for being a descendant of the Chinese nation, told Yang Jingxing a bunch of easily confused misspellings and had him write them several times to help with memorization.

After lunch, Yang Jingxing was intercepted at the stairwell by the tall, big-eyed second-year girl, who called out loudly, "Yang Jingxing."

Tan Dong was very loyal and quietly left, giving Yang Jingxing a big, awkward encouraging look.

Yang Jingxing walked up to the girl, smiling brightly, "You're calling me? What's up?"

The girl stood at attention, looked back at her friend waiting at the corner of the stairs, then looked at Yang Jingxing, her eyes wandering, "Why haven't you been practicing the piano these past two days?"

"Oh, I went to the city for classes," Yang Jingxing continued to observe the girl, carefully asking, "Is there anything else?"

"Uh... No." The girl shook her head, her voice softer.

Yang Jingxing breathed a sigh of relief, patting his chest, "I thought you were here to warn me not to peek at you anymore."

Yang Jingxing's tragic sense of humor was once again inappropriate, leaving the girl stunned, not knowing what to say, with an awkward expression of wanting to laugh but not being able to.

Yang Jingxing said, "I'm going to eat now, bye."

"You can peek..." The girl blurted out as Yang Jingxing turned to leave, shocking him.

Yang Jingxing turned back to look at the girl's bright, big eyes, covering his face with his hand and peeking through his fingers, "You look good." His expression was disgustingly exaggerated.

The girl laughed this time, uncontrollably, hahaha, her body swaying, her face turning red with laughter.

Ren Chuyu came over at this moment, coldly scolding Yang Jingxing, "Teasing little girls again!?"

The big-eyed girl stopped laughing and looked at Ren Chuyu. Yang Jingxing said, "Come, let me introduce you. This is Ren Chuyu, and this is..."

The girl said to Yang Jingxing, pointing at herself, "I'm Zhou Fanli," her voice sweet.

Yang Jingxing boasted to Ren Chuyu, "Zhou Fanli, see, I found out."

Zhou Fanli laughed again. Ren Chuyu wasn't impressed, "Boring, let's go eat."

Yang Jingxing nodded, "Right, I have something to do at noon, I'll leave first, you two chat." He ran down the stairs in two steps.

The two girls didn't seem to have much to talk about, exchanging a glance before parting ways.

After lunch, Yang Jingxing went to the music room and, following Li Yingzhen's arrangement, started practicing "Für Elise," which he had listened to many times over the past two days. This was a popular piece with no significant difficulty, except for a small section that required some technique. However, lack of difficulty doesn't mean anyone can play it well; the impression it leaves on the listener depends on the player's skill.

Fortunately, Yang Jingxing had an absolute pitch and an extraordinary memory, allowing him to memorize most pieces after listening to them a few times. If he were to write them down, the key signatures would be correct.

On the first attempt, Yang Jingxing felt like slapping himself. Who made him compare himself to the masters? Who made his ears so sensitive and critical?

So, the second attempt, the third attempt. Unlike most people whose bottlenecks are in technique and difficulty, Yang Jingxing's bottleneck could be anywhere—a poorly handled chord, a dry-sounding triplet, or even the strength of a quarter note. For him, the difficulty of single notes and double notes was the same.

By the fifth attempt, Hu Yiqing pushed the door open, watching Yang Jingxing finish before saying, "I couldn't believe it was you playing from outside."

Yang Jingxing laughed, "Do I look so hopeless?"

Hu Yiqing chuckled, "Let me praise you a bit to give you some motivation... No bread today?"

Hu Yiqing listened for over half an hour before leaving, humming the piece Yang Jingxing played as she entered the office. A colleague asked, "How is your student? I heard he's quite good." Teaching music in a non-arts high school was not easy.

Hu Yiqing thought for a moment before answering, "He has some potential."

In the afternoon, there was a PE class, and everyone was happy because they could finally go swimming. The school had an outdoor pool, fifty meters long, well-maintained, surrounded by lawns and flower beds, with clean water. Unfortunately, the diving board and deep end were off-limits, which would have added more fun.

The school had a uniform requirement for swimwear, so the boys could only look at the girls' arms and legs from a distance, as they had to separate for activities.

The PE teacher was very impressed by Yang Jingxing's developing muscles, asking if he had been training during the break, noting a significant improvement from the previous semester.

Shao Lei stood next to Yang Jingxing, feeling quite disappointed. He was only a centimeter or two shorter than Yang Jingxing and had often competed with him in PE class, with similar results. Yang Jingxing was better at basketball, while Shao Lei had an advantage in swimming. Although Yang Jingxing had grown up swimming in the Qing Shui River, Shao Lei had participated in the city's middle school swimming competition.

The 100-meter freestyle race between the two was a regular event at the pool, and today was no exception. In the past, Shao Lei wasn't necessarily faster than Yang Jingxing; his advantage was in his graceful dive and turn, while Yang Jingxing had a more rustic style, jumping into the water.

When Yang Jingxing and Shao Lei were in position, the PE teacher called "Ready" and blew the whistle. Shao Lei executed a good dive, but then saw Yang Jingxing crouch, jump high, and perform a "child bowing to Buddha" pose in mid-air before splashing into the water, creating a large splash.

The other students were spectators, the girls on one side, the boys on the other. Some girls giggled at Yang Jingxing's awkwardness. Ren Chuyu glanced at Tao Meng, "What are you laughing at!?"

After diving, Yang Jingxing was several meters behind Shao Lei, but when his first stroke hit the water, his body immediately accelerated through the splashing water.

Because he had already scared his friends in the Qing Shui River during the break, Yang Jingxing didn't use his full strength today. However, his speed was still fast, causing the PE teacher to run along the poolside to see if he was cheating.

"Go, go!" The girls, who seemed to have a natural talent for cheering, were enjoying themselves.

When Yang Jingxing touched the wall, Shao Lei was already ten meters behind. But he tried to do a wall push, which was a disaster, as he struggled to push off.

Seeing Shao Lei catching up, Tao Meng, as his desk mate, felt embarrassed and whispered, "Just swim, don't push!" But Yang Jingxing definitely couldn't hear her.

Back at the starting line, Yang Jingxing had to accelerate again, his arms moving quickly in and out of the water, leaving Shao Lei behind once more.

Actually, the girls cheered no matter who won, but Shao Lei was very unhappy and shouted at the girls, "What are you cheering for!"

The PE teacher was also angry and, after Yang Jingxing got out of the pool, said, "Your arms are moving so fast, but what's the point if your legs aren't moving? One minute and five seconds. Rest a bit, then do it again."

Yang Jingxing panted, "Again? I can't, I'm out of energy!" Shao Lei was still in the water.

For the rest of the class, Yang Jingxing didn't get back in the water, just stood by the pool, basking in the sun, lost in thought.

After the PE class, the whole class went to a small supermarket, and it was Shao Lei's turn to treat everyone. No wonder the girls were so happy; they would get something to eat no matter who won. Of course, some didn't care for free food.

The supermarket auntie counted the number of drinks or ice creams while looking at the students, chuckling at Yang Jingxing, "You won this time?" Usually, he was the one paying.

Ren Chuyu added, "By a large margin."

Shao Lei glared, "Eat your own!"

Tao Meng was very slow, choosing a bottle of mineral water, only to find that the others had already paid and received their receipts. She felt a bit embarrassed and explained, "I'll pay for it myself."

Yang Jingxing, being thick-skinned, said, "No, no, share my victory."

Shao Lei was clearly happy to treat Tao Meng and quickly paid.

In the evening, Hu Yiqing continued to teach Yang Jingxing music theory, covering various scales and modes according to the exam syllabus. Then she listened to Yang Jingxing play for a while and praised him, "You can play with emotion now."

Yang Jingxing was embarrassed, "I'm just pretending."

Hu Yiqing said, "It's like acting; if you can pretend well, it means you understand." She told Yang Jingxing a story about a friend in college whose boyfriend was a piano major, very skilled, and everyone thought he had a bright future. However, his teacher publicly criticized him, "If you can't be a good person, how can you play Beethoven?" Later events proved the teacher was right; the piano prodigy failed both in his career and personal life.

Yang Jingxing listened attentively and, at the end, said, "Thank you... You're really an excellent teacher."

Hu Yiqing was embarrassed, "I'm not teaching you, just talking as a friend."

Yang Jingxing chuckled, "That makes you an even better teacher."

Hu Yiqing countered, "You're a talented student."

On Wednesday morning, Yang Jingxing received a call from Li Yingzhen, saying she would come to Shangpu in the afternoon. She also mentioned that Zhou Hanhui had passed the interview for the Juliet Music College and would be going to the U.S. for a preparatory program in the second half of the year. It was truly a case of comparison making one feel inferior.

Li Yingzhen arrived at 2 PM, and Yang Jingxing had to take a leave to prepare to welcome her with Hu Yiqing. His efforts were unnecessary, as Shangpu was hosting a grand welcome for the music college. It seemed Shangpu wanted to use Zhou Hanhui's admission to Juliet as an opportunity to collaborate with the music college to enhance its prestige and value.

The teachers and leaders held a discussion, and Zhou Hanhui and Yang Jingxing were allowed to listen in. Yang Jingxing congratulated Zhou Hanhui and felt proud to be a witness.

Zhou Hanhui giggled, looking at the fruit on the table, "Do you want a banana?"

Yang Jingxing took two and ate with Zhou Hanhui, not considering his age.

The principal of Shangpu welcomed the vice president of the music college, Professor Li, and others, then congratulated Zhou Hanhui and wished Yang Jingxing well.

Although Zhou Hanhui was the hero, Yang Jingxing became the representative. The principal said that students like Yang Jingxing, with lofty ideals, could, under the guidance of responsible teachers like Hu Yiqing, start receiving instruction from music college professors from junior high or high school, experiencing the atmosphere of the music college, which was a very good thing and a successful educational model.

Moreover, Shangpu, compared to ordinary schools, had better conditions and environment, and the students had a better foundation, especially in terms of economic resources. Studying music required a solid economic foundation.

The vice president of the music college also spoke, praising Shangpu's good environment and the high quality of students in the music program, which was on par with the college's affiliated high school. However, he could only give two examples: Zhou Hanhui and a student from a few years ago who was now in the brass department of the music college. As for Yang Jingxing, it was too early to say.

While the leaders were speaking, someone was taking photos.

Li Yingzhen also spoke, praising Shangpu's efforts in cultivating students' interests and providing good conditions for their development. For example, Yang Jingxing could practice the piano every day and late into the night, which was difficult even for the music college.

Li Yingzhen also praised Hu Yiqing, "Teacher Hu is good at discovering students' strengths and is very dedicated and responsible. Teachers in affiliated high schools and primary schools rarely match her level of commitment. For students to develop comprehensively and achieve their true ideals, they need such teachers."

Hu Yiqing's ears turned red, and she dared not look up. However, the principal of Shangpu was very pleased and called out, "Little Hu, say a few words."

"Ah..." Hu Yiqing looked up, hesitated, then stood up, hands gripping the edge of the table, looking at the leaders and Yang Jingxing, and finally managed to say, "I thank the school leadership for their trust and Professor Li... I will do my best." She slowly sat down, indicating she was done, and continued looking at the table.

Yang Jingxing, showing respect for his teacher, lightly clapped, which made others chuckle, but Hu Yiqing glared at him angrily. Among the group, only Hu Yiqing could control Yang Jingxing.

Finally, the meeting ended, and the group followed Li Yingzhen and Yang Jingxing to the music room, like an open class. Whether it was due to Yang Jingxing's significant improvement or Li Yingzhen's consideration for his feelings, he didn't receive criticism but some praise.

Li Yingzhen evaluated Yang Jingxing to the group, "His greatest strength is that he doesn't make the same mistake twice, and he has a strong learning ability