Please, come home and practice the piano

Chapter 1318, Section 538: Restrained Romance, Leisurely Art Style
The number of diners in the restaurant was dwindling, and it was almost two o'clock in the blink of an eye.

Ang Lee ate, laughed, talked, and sighed, and ordered a few more bottles of beer along the way.

Xu Li put down her chopsticks long ago, occasionally picking up a spoon to stir the edge of the pot of boiled fish, the oily red soup sloshing around the edge of the pot.

Come again when you have time!

As the last two departed, the hall finally fell silent.

Only the wind chimes hanging on the door frame tinkled.

The proprietress wasn't in a hurry to clear the tables; the kitchen staff were already fast asleep by the window.
-
At 6:15 p.m., Ang Lee was cutting meat in the kitchen when he heard a noise outside the door.

Then came Tang Xiaoxing's panting voice, "Teacher, I'm back! Ah Lin wants to practice a little longer! She said she'll be home by 6:50 sharp!"

Half an hour ago, Ang Lee texted his two children to say that dinner would be served at seven o'clock.

Li An was wondering why Tang Xiaoxing had come back first, so he turned his head and glanced at the living room.

What about people?

"small star?"

No one responded.

A minute later, just as he was about to go out and take a look, he heard noises coming from inside the house again.

"Teacher, what did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly in the bathroom."

So he was in a hurry to come back to use the restroom. Li An asked Tang Xiaoxing to turn on the air conditioner in the living room first.

Why aren't you up there?

"There's no water, teacher. We went there this afternoon and found that the water in the restrooms was cut off."

Upon hearing this, Ang Lee secretly reminded himself of his carelessness. That morning, after washing the sheets, he habitually turned off the main water valve.

"The sluice gate is right below the sink in the main bathroom."

"Oh, oh," Tang Xiaoxing looked around the kitchen, "Teacher, let me peel the scallions for you."

"And could you please peel the garlic too?" Li An said, arranging the shredded meat for marinating. "How did your practice go this afternoon? Did you work hard?"

Tang Xiaoxing: "We worked incredibly hard! We didn't get a break at all."

Ang Lee: "That should be about right, at most one day."

Tang Xiaoxing: "I should be able to practice for another day tomorrow. There are only a few vibratos left. It's my problem. I still tend to lift my fingers a bit in a habit."

As she spoke, Tang Xiaoxing twitched her fingers a few times on the scallion root, "It means no index finger."

“That’s not a problem. We can adjust it little by little,” Li An picked up the soy sauce, paused, and turned to look at Tang Xiaoxing. “The key is still the sentence.”

Tang Xiaoxing nodded: "Yes! Ornaments are part of a sentence. Alinxi said the same thing to me this afternoon."

Ang Lee: "If you treat ornaments as part of a phrase, they are no longer standalone notes that exist solely for decoration in terms of performance structure. Then we can look at them from a holistic perspective, especially in Chopin's works where some themes are repeated. Those ornaments can even be seen as motifs that begin variations."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Nocturne in B-flat minor".

Ang Lee: Yes, that's exactly what I mean.

Tang Xiaoxing: "Teacher, wait for me."

Li An continued to grab the shredded meat in the bowl, and less than two minutes later Tang Xiaoxing returned excitedly.

"I have written down what you just said."

“Do I even need to remember that?” Ang Lee chuckled.

Tang Xiaoxing chuckled to herself, thinking to herself that she had already filled two whole pages of her notes.

"What was she still practicing when you left?" Li An asked casually.

Tang Xiaoxing: "The opening bass chords."

Ang Lee nodded.

Tang Xiaoxing: "Ah Lin is unusually focused today."

Ang Lee: "Extraordinary focus?"

Tang Xiaoxing: "Yeah! There were a few times when I wanted to stop and discuss things with her, but she didn't hear me."

Li An sighed inwardly. It seemed that the car's condition was more or less affected by yesterday's events.

However, the fact that Xiao Che was able to overcome the psychological impact through self-compulsion objectively confirms what he said last night.

She knew what she had to do.

"I'm back!"

Not long after, there was another commotion outside the kitchen.

Wow, it feels so cool!
-
Shredded pork with green peppers + spicy chicken + sliced ​​beef and tripe in chili sauce.

Besides the shredded pork with green peppers, the other two dishes were brought back by Li An in the afternoon.

Neither he nor Xu Li touched their chopsticks.

The car then used these two dishes to confirm the teacher's plans for lunch.

Because these two dishes taste just like the Sichuan restaurant near Shuren, which is also where the teacher and Aunt Xu Li often eat together.

"Xiaoxing, have some more."

"Okay! I'll go get the rice. Linlin, you can add some more rice."

"I'd like another half bowl, thank you!"

"You're welcome!"

After dinner, the two girls went back to their room to do their holiday homework, while Ang Lee finished washing the dishes and sat down in the study.

He didn't drink much at noon today, and he even took a nap when he got back in the afternoon, but he's still feeling a bit dizzy.

So, taking advantage of a slight, light buzz, he raised his hand and, without even warming up, began to play the second movement of Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony with bold, sweeping strokes.

Both great sorrow and great joy are dismantled by a bland narrative.

"when--"

The sound of the piano drifted to the neighboring hut.

The pen cap that Tang Xiaoxing had just unscrewed was gently closed again at this moment. She could almost hear the string music, like the autumn wind sweeping through the reeds, surrounding the sound of the piano.

It was so beautiful that she couldn't help but want to lie on the table and listen to it forever.

Meanwhile, Arlene, sitting behind her, was writing furiously.

The pen tip would occasionally pause for a moment due to the changes in the piano music.

This was the first time, in their memory, that their teacher had played the second movement on a rice grain.

Tang Xiaoxing seemed to be no longer satisfied with just listening through the wall, but when she turned around to suggest "Let's go to the study," she saw Xiao Che flipping through books with a rustling sound.

So Tang Xiaoxing gave up, feeling a little ashamed at the same time.

Perhaps what she needs to learn from Linlin more than her brilliant interpretations of certain musical passages is this focus.

"when."

When the theme of melting ice and snow came again, Tang Xiaoxing unscrewed the pen cap again.

On the living room sofa, Xiaobai yawned. Bawan on the coffee table wriggled and glanced at the sofa before turning around and wrapping itself in its fluffy tail.

As darkness fell outside the window, another night quietly descended.

During this time, the car went to the restroom and paused briefly in front of the study before returning to the small house.

She knew she shouldn't ask the teacher anything else unless the teacher approached her first.

There are still two days left. Perhaps the teacher has already spoken with Aunt Xu Li at noon today.

Back in the cabin, she continued doing her homework.

Before going to sleep, I saw that Wang Xiaohu had received a message from him.

The teacher probably won't be having lunch with you tomorrow.

There was a hint of smugness in his words, but it was clear that Wang Xiaohu was unaware that the teacher hadn't eaten lunch with them that day.

Judging from the message Wang Xiaohu sent, Xiao Che probably guessed that the other party would be with the teacher tomorrow noon.

And it's not even near Meizhuang.

Otherwise, Wang Xiaohu would definitely ask her if she and Tang Xiaoxing would have lunch together tomorrow.

A moment later, Xiao Che edited a message and replied.

Are you having lunch with the teacher tomorrow at noon?

Immediately afterwards, a reply message popped up: I thought you were asleep. Tomorrow it's not just about meals!

The car owner didn't know whether to laugh or sigh: Well, good luck to you, are you feeling better today?
Wang Xiaohu: I feel better after sleeping. I practiced the piano this morning and came to my grandma's house this afternoon. I'm sleeping at my grandma's house tonight. That's all for now. I have to get up early tomorrow. Goodnight, Alin. Keep it up! Looking forward to your opening ceremony performance!

Car: Keep going! Goodnight.
After putting down his phone, Xiao Che said goodnight to Tang Xiaoxing and closed his eyes.

She guessed that Wang Xiaohu was probably unable to use his phone anymore, and soon fell asleep.

She's a little tired today too.
-
The next day, before eight o'clock, Wang Xiaohu was woken up by his aunt's older brother.

"Little Tiger, wake up! Grandma is already waiting for us."

"Uh-huh."

Still half asleep, Wang Xiaohu rolled over and got out of bed, yawning.

He slept with Brother Yue last night and didn't sleep well.

When he was a child, he and his brother Yue would squeeze into this bed when they came to his grandma's house for Chinese New Year. It was just the right size for them then. Now they've both grown up, but the bed is still the same one.

After washing up and having breakfast, he and Yue accompanied their grandmother to the market.

The market was bustling with activity, offering dishes like pork intestine noodles, tofu noodles, and freshly made glutinous rice cakes at incredibly cheap prices.

Wang Xiaohu treated his grandma and Yue Ge to bubble tea, and before drinking it, he took a picture of the car.

Actually, he didn't want to disturb Xiaoche's piano practice, as he knew Xiaoche must have already started practicing.

But he wouldn't feel at ease if he didn't post something; yesterday he became a bit neurotic from time to time.

I keep thinking about the game "Who's the Spy" that I played the day before yesterday.

After sending it, he felt even more uneasy, just like last night.

at this time.

Lin: Apple flavor is terrible, where is this?
Just like last night, after seeing Arlene's message, he immediately felt relieved.

Karajan: Things are super cheap here in Huaizhuang. Haven't you guys started practicing yet?

What he needed to confirm was not whether Arlene would reply to his message, but the content of her reply.

This message confirmed to him that the undercover incident from the day before yesterday should be over.

If Arlene really sensed something, how could she possibly reply to his messages in the same tone as usual?

He just deliberately bought himself an apple-flavored drink, and just as he predicted, Arlene would definitely complain.

As expected, it was exactly as he had predicted.

call--

If he was still a little conflicted when he went to bed last night, now he can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Lin: It's about to start, I'm not saying anything more.
Karajan: Go for it!

Putting away his phone, Wang Xiaohu caught up with Brother Yue and his grandmother.

After a satisfying meal, Wang Xiaohu had barely settled into his seat when a message from his teacher arrived.

My crush: I'll be downstairs in ten minutes.
Karajan: Okay, teacher.
"Grandma, I have to go now, I have to go to class. I'll come see you another day!"

"Goodbye, Brother Yue!"

At 10 o'clock sharp, Wang Xiaohu went downstairs with the preserved meats that his grandmother had packed for his teacher.
-
"Wow, thank you so much, that's too much."

"It's alright, teacher. This stuff will keep. Your wife will be back soon. You can eat it slowly."

"You can't eat that much. Alright, alright, let's get in the car first."

Upon arriving at the Yudong office building, Wang Xiaohu got out of the car first, while Li An parked the car and immediately called to send a package.

Send some to Chen Xuan's family, and then send some more to his family.
Finally, they sent another same-city express delivery to Old Wei, and what's left is probably enough for them to eat four or five meals.

After the courier packed up and left, Ang Lee sent a voice message to Mr. Wei, and then walked into the office building lobby.

On the eighth floor of the art exam department, Wang Xiaohu had already started his conducting class, while Wang Panpan was taking a sight-singing class in the music theory classroom next door.

Ang Lee thought he would go to Fang Zheng's office to chat for a while, but little did he know that Fang Zheng was planning to see him these past two days.

After the choral competition organized by the Education Bureau ended, Fang Zheng began to think about how to establish a choir in Shipo next semester.

"Even if you hadn't come to me about this, I would have come to you anyway."

Ang Lee had known for a long time that Fang Zheng wanted to create a professional youth choir, and Principal Min had also talked to him about it in depth after the competition.

It can be said that the demands of both sides were perfectly aligned.

In Ang Lee's view, it would be difficult for this choir not to be formed, but he has even more plans.

"The choral skills course at Shipo Middle School should be held at the Fourth Steel Plant."

"clear."

"In addition, I would also like you to come over regularly to provide guidance to the book people."

"no problem."

Ang Lee smiled and said, "Why don't you just switch to a part-time job here?"

Fang Zheng exclaimed, "I've been discussing this with Guoguo these past two days!"

Ang Lee: "Really?"

Fang Zheng: "Really, the poor enrollment situation this year is one aspect, but the key is that I want to do something I want to do."

Ang Lee: "That's true, but don't rush into a decision. Think about it some more. Take care of the students here first. If you've made up your mind by then, I can actually give you some advice."

Fang Zheng immediately became interested: "How so?"

Ang Lee smiled and said, "Don't rush, let's talk about it when you've thought it through."

After a pause, he asked, "How have you two been lately?"

Fang Zheng: "It's just like that. When we're free, we eat together; when we're busy, we each take care of our own business."

Ang Lee: "The main focus is on stability."

Fang Zheng: "Precise".

Ang Lee: "Why don't you two consider it? You've been together for quite a while now. Old Tang and Mu Xin might get married this year."

Fang Zheng: "So fast? Old Tang hasn't even bought a house yet?"

Ang Lee: "The two of them are very fast. They've looked at almost all the houses. After the summer camp ends, Old Tang's family will come over to help with the selection. I estimate that we'll make a decision soon."

Fang Zheng: "The district next to yours?"

Ang Lee: "Oh, so aren't you two going to mention the progress?"

Fang Zheng: "She didn't mention it to me either."

Ang Lee: "That's fine too. You can just wait for her to propose to you."

Fang Zheng: "Understood."

Ang Lee: "What do you mean you understand? You have to meet the parents first, but you'd better think it through."

Fang Zheng: "I've already thought it through. How about I take her home for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

Ang Lee: "There are still almost two months left. Wouldn't it be better to go to your house before the Mid-Autumn Festival and then to her house on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

Fang Zheng's eyes lit up: "It has to be the boss."

Li Anle: "Hey, your aunt and uncle haven't been pressuring you at all?"

Fang Zheng: "Why aren't we urging them? That apartment in Yuhaiyuan has been renovated for a year already."

Ang Lee: "Yu Haiyuan, it still has to be Zheng Ge. Wouldn't it be better if you just stayed at home and lived off your parents?"

Fang Zheng: "Before coming here, didn't I always stay at home and live off my parents?"

Ang Lee: Goodbye!

Fang Zheng: "Shall we have lunch together?"

Seeing Li An stand up, Fang Zheng also stood up. "It's almost 11:30. Let's eat before we go."

“I do have something to do at noon.” Li An waved his hand. “Let’s wait for Chen Xuan to come back. We’ll arrange it in the group chat beforehand, and I’ll have Wang Xiaohu come to the parking lot to find me later.”

"Bye-bye, boss." Fang Zheng waved.

Ten minutes later, Wang Xiaohu walked happily out of Qin Yong's office.

I saw Mr. Fang Zheng standing in the lobby.

"Teacher Fang!"

"Hello handsome, someone said he's waiting for you in the car."

Little Tiger understood, grinned, and got on the elevator.

Qin Yong followed him out of the office. "Where is he? He's already gone down?"

Fang Zheng nodded: "The elevator is on the eighth floor. How about we grab some lunch together, Yong-ge?"

Qin Yong hadn't eaten breakfast and was starving. "Let's go, we can't wait for Panpan."

When the elevator came up again, the two got on.

“Brother Yong, I have a junior brother who just returned to China in June. He’s extremely skilled.”

Qin Yong smiled and asked, "Where do you plan to develop your business next?"

Fang Zheng: "I've been idle at home for two months."

At that moment, Qin Yong heard a sound from his pocket, and he took out his phone to take a look.

Ang Lee: Got it, let's get out of here first.
-
At the same time, Xiao Che and Xiao Xing decided to order takeout for lunch.

Not long after the two people delivered the takeout, Wang Xiaohu posted a photo in the group chat of four people.

Tang Xiaoxing: "Huh!?"

Judging from the angle from which the photo was taken, Wang Xiaohu was sitting directly opposite the teacher.

The table was covered with all kinds of grilled meat.

Karajan: Let's get started!

Little Star: Captain, you're really awful!

Zebra Pianist: @MaleGod
My crush: Wang Xiaohu said he'd treat me to lunch, but I don't know why he didn't invite you two.

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