Please, come home and practice the piano

Chapter 1306, Section 526: Sisters' Tea Party: The Meaning of Effort

Have you been trying to prove yourself all along?
Tang Xiaoxing felt as if she saw her own reflection in those words.

"Linlin, can you tell me the story of the captain?"

"The captain's story."

That's a long story.
-
Aside from personal privacy, Xiao Che wouldn't mind sharing Wang Xiaohu's personal experiences with Tang Xiaoxing.

However, where to begin is indeed a real question.

The car searched through the corridors of memory for a while before finally pinpointing the location to the rehearsal site of the Leapt x Blue Sky High Art Promotion Center concert.

That was also a summer filled with the chirping of cicadas day and night.

"He's a bit noisy."

"A bit noisy?"

"Yes, we were all waiting quietly for our turn to rehearse, but he kept making noise."

Xiao Che recalled, "I remember I was sitting in the aisle of the audience seats, and he was sitting in the inner seats. In just a short while, he went in and out five or six times. The key thing is that I was memorizing the score at the time."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Is there something wrong with him?"

Xiao Che: "I don't know. I just remember I was almost angry at the time. When he passed by me again, I moved to the front row. Guess what happened?"

Tang Xiaoxing: "Did he move forward a row too?"

Xiao Che: "He sat right behind me, then called over another boy, and the two of them kept talking loudly in the back, talking about cards and things like that."

Tang Xiaoxing: "That's really annoying. They don't care about other people's feelings at all in public. Is it with A Liu?"

Xiao Che: "No, back then, A Liu was much quieter than him. The boy who was talking to him had stopped studying a long time ago."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Oh, what happened after that? Weren't there any adults around to supervise them?"

Xiao Che: "Yes, Aunt Xu told him off several times, but he would start again after a while. We only had a moment of peace when the teacher asked him to go on stage."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Tsk tsk, that's surprising. The captain sounds like a naughty boy in the class."

Xiao Che Le: "You underestimate him. You can ask Zhi Zhi next time. Back in Jinhua Elementary School, Hu Zi was someone even the principal feared."

Tang Xiaoxing: Σ(⊙▽⊙“a
As the two girls entered the house, the two kittens stood guard at the door, and Bawan immediately came over and meowed.

"Are we going to run out of food again?"

The chat was temporarily interrupted. Xiao Che changed into slippers and immediately went to check the cat food bowl. Sure enough, the bowl was empty.

Tang Xiaoxing went back to her room to change into her pajamas and then went to the restaurant to get a big bag of snacks.

"Linlin, what would you like to drink?" Tang Xiaoxing asked, as she planned to have a drink at a set time.

“I’m fine with anything,” Xiao Che said, washing her hands after feeding the kitten and returning to the living room. “As long as it’s warm.”

Tang Xiaoxing smiled: "I know~"

The car corrected: "Yes, that's right!"

While Tang Xiaoxing was placing the order, Xiao Che went back to her room to change into her pajamas.

Back in the living room, the two leaned against the sofa and turned on the TV, playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (Fate) recorded by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic in 1982.

As soon as the timpani came out, it scared Xiaobai so much that he ran around the living room in a panic.

The car turned the volume down, took the Want Want QQ candy handed to it by Tang Xiaoxing, looked up at the sound and exclaimed, "What wonderful string music!"

Tang Xiaoxing: "Yes, but I prefer the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra recordings by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic in the 60s. All the movements in this 80s version are a bit too fast."

Car: "I see."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Huh?"

This afternoon, the two had a small "disagreement" while discussing the speed of the unfolding section of the Destiny Four-Hand Piano duet. In the end, Tang Xiaoxing successfully persuaded Xiao Che to choose a slightly slower speed.

Tang Xiaoxing laughed upon hearing this, "Linlin, do you still want to go faster?"

Xiao Che shook his head: "No, no, you are more familiar with the components of this work than I am, and I believe your judgment is correct."

The teacher said that only when a performer is familiar with all the components of a piece, including tempo, dynamics, character, rhythmic divisions, and technical feasibility, can they finally determine the basic tempo of a piece.

Clearly, Tang Xiaoxing was more familiar with this piece than Xiao Che was, and Wang Xiaohu was even more familiar with it than Xiao Che was.

Tang Xiaoxing: "We'll discuss the speed of the development section again after we've finished practicing it thoroughly."

Just then, the Berlin Philharmonic on TV was in its opening section. Listening to Tang Xiaoxing's slightly hurried words, Xiao Che nodded: "I feel like the two of you could talk about this all day long."

Tang Xiaoxing was taken aback, then realized: "You mean the captain? Does he also like the 60s version?"

Xiao Che: "I don't know. He may not have heard all the versions you mentioned, but he really likes Karajan and calls it his faith."

Tang Xiaoxing: "It's obvious that the captain changed his online name to Karajan."

Xiao Che: "He used to change his online name eight times a month, things like 'Lonely Survivor,' 'Lonely,' 'Invincible,' and even 'Dancing with Joy'—they were all his."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Hahahaha!"

Xiao Che couldn't help but smile as he recalled, "There are many more things I can't remember. I wasn't familiar with him back then, otherwise I would have taken screenshots of them and kept them."

Tang Xiaoxing was stunned: "Didn't you two learn piano together since you were little?"

The car was also stunned. Where did this rumor come from? Then he chuckled to himself.

Tang Xiaoxing: "The captain said you two have known each other for a long time."

really.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Che decided to give Hu Zi some face: "We've known each other for quite a while, since we're both at the same training institution. But I was learning piano from a teacher named Tian before, and I only started learning from him after that concert."

Tang Xiaoxing suddenly realized, "I know, that's why you weren't familiar with him when you were rehearsing, and that's why you were annoyed by him walking around and talking loudly."

Xiao Che: "Otherwise, if I had known him well back then, I wouldn't have been polite at all! He was so annoying. I wasn't playing well at the time, and I was extremely nervous. He just kept making things worse for me."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Hahahaha, the captain escaped by luck. But speaking of which, what piece of music were you playing that made you nervous?"

Xiao Che waved his hand hastily: "I played terribly back then. The teacher arranged for us to play the 'My Motherland Octet' and asked me to play the first part. When I got the score, I thought I was doomed."

Tang Xiaoxing looked incredulous: "That's impossible."

Xiao Che picked up her phone and realized the video was on her old phone. "I'll play it for you next time, and you'll know right away. I was so envious of him back then. I thought he played it exceptionally well."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Linlin, the guy you're talking about isn't also the captain, is he?"

Xiao Che: "Yes, he was playing the theme song from Kikujiro's Summer at the time."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Summer."

Xiao Che: "I thought he was really amazing back then."

Tang Xiaoxing didn't know what to say. She really couldn't accept this plot. Linlin used to think that the captain was very good at playing the piano. This is not scientific!
Tang Xiaoxing: "I'm not saying the captain played badly, but there's no comparison between the two of you!"

Xiao Che: "That's how it was back then. The first formal lesson I had with the teacher was the sixth lesson of 849. Actually, looking back now, I was indeed ahead of him in terms of progress."

Tang Xiaoxing: "That's right!"

Xiao Che: "But I just thought he played it very well, very musically. At that time, I didn't even know what musicality meant."

What could Tang Xiaoxing say? "Linlin, you're much worse than the captain."

Xiao Che laughed: "I just ran into a teacher."

Tang Xiaoxing thought to herself, "No, that's not it. Although the teacher is important, why is the captain still playing so poorly? Has the captain not been working hard enough all this time?" "Eh? That's right."

"Has the captain always worked very hard at practicing the piano?" Tang Xiaoxing asked.

Xiao Che: "He works hard. Although he can be annoying at times, he puts in just as much effort as anyone else when it comes to learning music."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Is it to prove yourself?"

Xiao Che: "Yes, he has always been trying to prove himself, but before he started studying music, his way of proving himself was a bit unconventional."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Alternative?"

Xiao Che: "He wanted to prove himself, so he acted strangely during the flag-raising ceremony while the national anthem was playing."

Tang Xiaoxing: "."

Xiao Che: "He suddenly made a strange noise in class to get everyone's attention."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Did the captain also do something like catching small insects and putting them in a female classmate's pencil case?"

Xiao Che: "I don't know that, but I do know something else. Once, their class was having self-study, and there was no teacher in the classroom. A big hornet flew into the classroom from outside the window. The students were so scared that they ran around everywhere. In the end, he chased the hornet out of the classroom."

moment.

Tang Xiaoxing: "Captain is so brave."

Xiao Che chuckled: "He's the coward."

"Huh?" The scene in Tang Xiaoxing's mind suddenly changed.

The team leader was clearly scared, but he was willing to step forward to protect his classmates.

Xiao Che: "What's so great about chasing away a wasp? He has the courage to face wasps, but he doesn't dare to try to get along with his classmates."

Tang Xiaoxing belatedly realized something and cautiously asked, "Did the captain not have any friends at school back then?"

The car: "There's only one."

Tang Xiaoxing thought to herself, "As expected," and then quickly asked, "Zhizhi?"

Xiao Che shook his head: "He and Zhizhi became acquainted later in the bookstore. At that time, he only had one good friend in Jinhua named Monkey."

a long time.

Tang Xiaoxing: "Why? If he wanted to, he would have many friends."

That should indeed be the case, as evidenced by Wang Xiaohu's popularity after joining Shuren.

But why was Wang Xiaohu unwilling to use normal methods to gain attention and make friends when he was in Jinhua?

Xiao Che thinks it's probably because of his inferiority complex.

Having a similar family background to Hu Zi, and having never even had a friend before, she understands what that feels like.

He simply couldn't share this with Tang Xiaoxing at that moment.

"It's in my nature," Xiao Che said, and then another thought popped into his mind: "Immature."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Uh."

After tidying up for a moment, Xiao Che continued in a serious manner, "Wanting to get attention from others is human nature."

Tang Xiaoxing immediately thought of herself; hadn't she been the same way before? "That makes sense."

Xiao Che: "Everyone chooses a different path. Some people will work hard to improve themselves and become more outstanding in order to gain the attention of others."

Tang Xiaoxing thought to herself that she was right. She hoped that through her own efforts, her family could see her true feelings, which was also a way of expressing her desire to be noticed.

Xiao Che: "But some people can only do it in a childish way, like Hu Zi. He could have gotten attention by helping his classmates, but he chose to act strangely. That's his immature side. He only cares about the attention he wants and doesn't consider whether his methods are inappropriate. Over time, he leaves a bad impression on others. Actually, he's not like that. He's very responsible."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Yes! He was working too hard during the icebreaker game! Even though his leg was already injured."

Xiao Che: "That's just how he is. He always does things that make people look at him in a new light, and then turns around and makes people doubt whether he really is like that."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Since I met the captain, he has always given me the impression of being very reliable and steady. If you hadn't told me all this, I probably wouldn't have been able to imagine that he was like this before."

Xiao Che: "He was already much more mature when you met him."

Tang Xiaoxing: "I've matured."

Xiao Che hesitated for a moment, then said, "I guess I've matured a bit. I have to thank my teacher for that; his presence accelerated my change in mindset."

One pause, “He was always afraid of letting his teacher down, so he tried his best to prove that he could become better.”

"It should start from his graduation performance in the chorus program, where he was selected as the male lead singer, which he himself could hardly believe at the time."

"It was after that I realized he really started to change. He became more positive in life and studies, and he stopped doing things to attract attention."

"It was during that time that he became obsessed with conducting, and then he couldn't stop, becoming more and more obsessed every day than the day before."

Tang Xiaoxing discovered another advantage of the team leader: "Focus".

Xiao Che: "He can look at the score for five hours straight without even eating."

Tang Xiaoxing: Heaven

Xiao Che: "You know he has a poor foundation. At first, when he encountered various parts that required transposition, it would take him more than ten minutes to read just two short sections."

Tang Xiaoxing: "You can't just force yourself to read this???"

Xiao Che: "Unbelievable, right? He can read ten measures in two hours. At that speed, he can finish reading the full scores of A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Bat Overture in a semester. Then he can record himself conducting in front of the mirror and recording it over and over again."

Tang Xiaoxing: "This is already extreme passion, isn't it?"

Xiao Che: "I always say he's crazy."

Tang Xiaoxing suddenly thought of a saying: "To succeed, you must first go crazy!"

Xiao Che: "Gradually, he stopped playing video games, basketball, and swimming, and devoted all his free time to music."

Tang Xiaoxing: "The captain is working too hard."

Xiao Che laughed: "In my eyes, he has always worked very hard. Even with his past quirky behavior, now that he has his own goals, he no longer needs to prove to anyone that he is working hard. I believe that as long as he firmly follows his own ideas, he may very well become a conductor in the future."

After a long while.

Tang Xiaoxing sighed, "I need to work even harder!"

Xiao Che paused for a moment: "Xiao Xing, you too, don't think about proving yourself to anyone through hard work anymore. All your efforts should be for the result you want to achieve, if you are truly determined to get what you want."

Tang Xiaoxing was taken aback upon hearing this, as if enlightened, and in an instant, he felt completely refreshed.

Yes! Why do we have to go to such lengths to gain the approval of others?

Should we deny ourselves if we don't get recognition from others?
Tang Xiaoxing finally understood that what she needed to do was to follow the same path as her captain.

She vaguely understood how to play the Grand Polonaise. The heroic spirit contained in the work could be summarized in four words: fearless and undaunted!

"Thank you, Linlin! I'm so lucky!"

"You're welcome, you've already treated me to milk tea."

Hahahaha, accompanied by ding-ding-ding!
On television, Karajan conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in 82, playing Fate once again.

The chat about the captain's anecdotes continues.

As midnight approached, familiar footsteps finally came from outside the living room door.