Chapter 3

Since that day when the Chu siblings saw the peculiar instrument (which they later learned was called a harp) at the scrap yard, they had a new toy. They secretly built a small house for the harp in a corner of the scrap yard. After getting the approval of the old manager, they happily replaced the small space originally made of asbestos tiles with aluminum sheets, because they had heard from their teacher that asbestos tiles were toxic.

Qinyue seemed to have a natural talent for music. Even when she played the harp haphazardly, it could produce music as smooth as flowing water. However, Feiyue always thought his sister was getting back at him for the hand-cutting incident, because every time she played spontaneously, she would show a sly smile like a little fox who had stolen a chicken, and she would proudly say that she was "immersed" in the music.

No matter what, the harp became an indispensable companion for the two siblings. Feiyue even sneaked into the faraway Xinhua Bookstore to look at books about harps, but he was chased out because his dirty fingers left black marks on the books.

But Feiyue had already realized that the instrument that looked like a harp was not actually a harp, but at most a toy. A proper harp has 48 strings and 7 pedals. This one had neither. When Feiyue told his sister this, the little girl pouted and stubbornly insisted that her treasure was a harp. Feiyue gave in and called it a harp as well.

After all, who cares what a broken instrument is called?

Feiyue had also tried to fix the broken string, but the nylon string, which was already taut when it came out of the factory, had no extra length. Using tape or anything else was clearly impractical. In the end, it was the old manager who took out a piece of cotton thread, twisted it into a thin rope, and used it as a replacement.

Unfortunately, the cotton thread was only a facade. The sound produced by plucking the cotton thread was completely different from the other strings, and in the end, it could only serve as a decoration.

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Recently, a new person came to the orphanage, not a new orphan, but an outsider.

She was very beautiful, with delicate features perfectly proportioned on her face. Her long hair reached past her waist, and when she tilted her head, the black hair would slide over her cheeks, giving her a fresh and bright appearance. The 7-year-old Feiyue couldn't think of how to describe her beauty, but perhaps this was the real-life version of the "natural beauty" that the teacher had mentioned a few days ago.

The beautiful sister was named Liu Xing. She said she was a junior high school student in the third year. Because of her parents' business, she moved from Hunan to Shihuang Island with her parents. She used to like going to the orphanage and playing with the children there, and when she heard that there was an orphanage here, she came to visit.

The beautiful sister quickly replaced Qiao Jindi as the leader of all the children, even Qiao Jindi looked forward to her arrival every day. Every time she came, she would bring some strange but interesting little objects, and in the eyes of the children, she might have already been equated with toys.

However, the Chu siblings were the exception. Every time Liu Xing came, Feiyue would be pulled away by Qiao Jindi. After all, one less person to share the toys was one less, and two was even better.

So the Chu siblings learned to be smart. Every time they saw Liu Xing come, they would hide in their little nest. Since they never had anything to begin with, they didn't feel particularly envious when they saw other children get new toys. Feiyue even secretly rejoiced that he had never gone, otherwise, having a first time would lead to expectations for a second, and the disappointment of unmet expectations was not a pleasant feeling.

Every day, they still went to the scrap yard to play. Qinyue had already figured out some ways to use the toy harp and gradually learned to play some songs she had heard, like "The March of the Volunteers" and "Let's Row Our Boats." The little girl was proud of this because in this area, she had outperformed her brother.

For some reason, maybe because he was tone-deaf, Feiyue's music skills had never been good. He was so bad that even the harp seemed to bully him. After seeing his sister play well, he tried it himself, but the harp produced a sound like a pig being slaughtered. Qinyue quickly pushed her brother away and bent down to comfort her beloved harp, which had been emotionally hurt.

Annoying brother, I don't care if you're drawing circles on the ground.

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July 23, 2011, the one-year anniversary of finding the harp, a sunny day.

This day was a memorable one because their harp "Xiao Nuo" was one year old. To celebrate Xiao Nuo's birthday, Qinyue specially made a set of clothes for it. Actually, it was just two pieces of rainproof cloth sewn together. To get this rainproof cloth, Feiyue even ran two streets away from the store, but he eventually managed to escape.

In front of the table where Xiao Nuo was placed, the two siblings inserted a birthday candle. They had picked it up from the entrance of a cake shop across the street. In the small, dark house made dark by the lowered curtain, the small flame of the candle seemed especially warm.

In this warm atmosphere, Qinyue hugged Xiao Nuo and played a birthday song for it, while the music-less brother was ordered to clap along.

There was no singing, because Feiyue's voice was just as bad, but even the simple "ding dong" sound of the harp was pleasing to the ear.

When the song ended, the applause was intense. Qinyue hugged Xiao Nuo and thanked her brother. The brother rewarded the little girl by patting her head.

Uh? Why is there still applause? The two siblings looked at each other, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

At this moment, the curtain was suddenly lifted, and the strong sunlight blinded the two siblings. While covering their eyes, they heard a gentle voice asking, "You played so beautifully, can you play another song?"

After rubbing their eyes until they no longer hurt, Feiyue squinted and saw the overly beautiful girl in front of him. "Sister Liu Xing?" Yes, it was Liu Xing.

"Do you know me?" Liu Xing was surprised for a moment, then clapped her hands in realization. "Ah, I remember, you are from the orphanage. I saw you the first time I came."

"Hehe," Qinyue lifted her head and gave Liu Xing a bright smile. "Sister, do you think I played well?"

"Of course, I heard your heart. It was full of blessings, expectations, and happiness." Liu Xing rolled up the rainproof cloth in her hand and placed it on top of the small house, then bent down to look inside. "I want to see what you are playing with. It's a harp, right? Only a harp can produce such vivid music."

The girl crouched and entered the small house. For a 6 or 7-year-old child, the house was big enough, but for a 15 or 16-year-old girl, it was too small. She had to move carefully to avoid bumping into the walls.

Even moving slowly, the house was not that big. With the Chu siblings stepping aside, Liu Xing quickly reached the harp she wanted to see.

She touched the harp with a slightly puzzled look, counting the strings one by one. "Strange, 25 strings? Is it a konghou rather than a harp? But a konghou doesn't look like this," she muttered to herself.

"Sister Liu Xing, even though my brother says it might be a toy harp, Xiao Nuo is not a toy. Even though she only has 24 strings, she is still the best," Qinyue proudly praised her beloved harp.

"24 strings? Wow, the lowest string is not nylon but cotton?" Liu Xing bent her finger and plucked it, producing a dull "thud."

"Sister Liu Xing is right," Qinyue pushed her brother aside and approached the girl. "Sister, do you know how to play the harp? Teach me."

"I don't play as well as you, and I haven't learned either. Wait, you haven't learned to play the harp?"

"Yes, I just play randomly now." Qinyue moved her hands randomly, looking very cute.

"Ha, little sister, I'm very interested in you now. How about this, wait for me here tomorrow at this time, and I'll bring you some books. Oh, by the way, how is your singing? If you play the harp, you can't be bad at singing."

Soon, a light, ethereal humming sound floated from the corner of the scrap yard. Although it had no real meaning, it seemed to have a calming effect on the soul, like a requiem.

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