A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 55 Pianist

During his middle school years, he attended a famous private school.

The school has an international department, foreign teachers, and famous teachers who graduated from Peking University and Tsinghua University. The school built two football fields in the city center where every inch of land is valuable. When school is over, the school gate looks like a luxury car show, which shows what it means to be rich or noble.

Such a school is certainly not something Quinn, who comes from a rural background, can afford. His parents died early, and he lives on his grandmother's meager pension.

Fortunately, he was very lucky. The private school wanted to maintain both reputation and substance, so every year they would select some geniuses from the Mathematical Olympiad to form a breakthrough class, so that they could hang up the banner "Congratulations to our school's xxx for winning the top spot" during the college entrance examination season, and Quinn became one of them.

Although he is not from the same class as his classmates, Quinn does not have to worry about tuition and fees. As long as he can do well in the exams and add more trophies and honors to the school's exhibition hall, not only will all fees be waived, but he will also receive a substantial scholarship every semester.

Quinn's grandmother, a former miner, suffered from severe silicosis, rendering her unable to perform any heavy labor. Medication was essential for her survival, and after his grandfather's death, the scholarship became a lifeline for Quinn. Despite his intense academic performance, he struggled to make friends. He spent about a year mastering all his junior high school work, including the challenging competition material, before skipping classes in his second year to work.

Next to the school there is a Western restaurant called "Nordic Fantasy". It is located in the city center but is as low-key as a small shop. Quinn later learned that it is a "club" for big bosses to do business - it must be elegant, hidden in the city, and have style.

Quinn is a country boy. He was invited to Nordic Fantasy for the first time by his class teacher. His gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad made the teacher be named a special teacher, so the teacher used the prize money to bring him out to see the world.

Quinn would pass by here every time after school. The floor-to-ceiling windows were as dark as curtains, and he could not see anything when he looked inside. After entering, he found that even the air was fragrant, and the crystal chandelier taller than the tree illuminated the boy's embarrassment.

The teacher ordered a pizza, the cheapest combo, but the price still made Quinn shudder. He had no idea how big a nine-inch pizza was, but he did know that "Naples" was a city in Italy, pronounced "Naples" in English and "ナポリ" in Japanese.

When the pizza was served by the bearded Italian chef, Quinn felt that the "nine-inch" pizza was a terrible bargain. The teacher didn't eat any of it, giving it all to him and sitting aside, sipping the cappuccino from the set meal like an elegant adult.

Of course, Quinn wouldn't say anything to spoil the fun, nor did he dare suggest taking some home for his grandmother to try. He was afraid of embarrassing the teacher, so he had to clumsily pick up the knife and fork and fiddle with the pizza, not daring to leave even a basil leaf.

At this moment, the sound of the piano came into his ears like a clear spring.

"Concerto in D minor K466" is the first piano piece Quinn wrote down in his life.

At that time, he did not understand how advanced the technique was required to play this smooth rhythm, but Quinn, who was only 13 years old, understood one thing - pianos are very expensive.

It's very expensive. Just by pressing a few keys, a plate-sized white bread can be sold for 149, and people are willing to pay a 15% service charge.

Many years later, he walked to the corner, with a black piano quietly placed in front of him. Thoughts flooded his mind, and he couldn't help but think of the Steinway that he first imagined seeing in Northern Europe when he was young. The paint on it was sparkling like crystal.

Perhaps all pianos that have been painstakingly crafted are like this, with curves so soft and beautiful that they appear to be no different from ordinary pianos, yet they appear to possess a sense of extraordinary imagination.

As if sensing that someone wanted to play, the surrounding instruments all stopped.

Celia stood at the back expectantly, while some teachers and students noticed Quinn's actions and looked at the new teaching assistant curiously.

In Tamilan, being able to play the piano is a rare thing.

He looked at it quietly. The action and soundboard were carved from beech wood, without a speck of dust on them. It was impossible to tell that this was an old instrument that had not been used for nearly thirty years.

After opening the lid, Quinn saw the familiar golden iris icon. It turned out to be another piano produced by Cavendish.

The piano is obviously a product brought by the hero. Considering that the contemporary Lord Cavendish is the descendant of the fourth hero, perhaps the time traveler from six hundred years ago was a pianist.

I just don't understand why Celia said the piano was invented less than forty years ago.

Could it be that this musical instrument has been hidden by the descendants of the fellow villagers?

Quinn's fingers swept across the keys, and the hammers moved in response, striking the strings.

He listened attentively. The pitch was perfect, the tone was bright and crisp, and there was a subtle ethereal echo.

There is no need to tune it, the tone is extremely similar to Steinway.

He played the Steinway that Nordic Fantasy had for almost ten years.

After confirming that Quinn would definitely rank in the top three in the city on the high school entrance exam, the school stopped caring about his attendance, as long as he showed up on time for the competition. He had just turned thirteen in his second year of junior high, and couldn't find a decent job. The only options were small jobs like washing dishes, which weren't easily detected.

Quinn didn't care what he did as long as he could make money. After looking around, he found that Nordic Fantasy offered the highest salary.

Nordic Fantasy would not use child labor at its level, but coincidentally, the manager there was Quinn's senior, so he got the opportunity to go in for an interview.

The manager is the boss's son and he is only working for fun. He doesn't care about being fined and accepts Quinn with a wave of his hand.

He assigned Quinn a job not as a dish washer but as a piano boy—standing by the side while the pianist played, occasionally helping to turn the pages of the music. He worked four hours a night, then cleaned the piano and was off duty. For such a simple job, he could earn $3,500 a month.

The manager also gave him an extra 500 yuan on the pretext that "since this little brat can't get the five insurances and one fund, I'll just give him a little more compensation."

The only condition of the job was that Quinn had to go back to school during the day.

Of course, Quinn knew that it was the manager who was supporting him. He kept the kindness in mind and worked extra hard. After work, he would also clean up the store. He would do as much as he could to get a little peace of mind.

The Nordic Fantasy pianist is a young and beautiful woman who once studied in Vienna. Seeing that Quinn was interested in piano, she was willing to teach Quinn some basic knowledge in her spare time. After all, no one doesn't like hardworking and motivated young people.

But she didn't expect that this young man had such terrifying talent.

In just one year, Quinn was able to take over his teacher's performance on stage.

For Quinn, as long as he watches the performance carefully, he can remember the order and timing of finger placement accurately - he doesn't even need to memorize the score, he only needs to focus on practicing fingering and coordination of both hands to play moving music.

Fingering requires years of intensive muscle reflexes; a pianist needs to be as familiar with the piano as an esports player is with the keyboard. Quinn couldn't afford a piano, so his only daily practice time was the brief period he spent polishing it after get off work. But that was enough for him.

During daytime classes, he would practice all day long at his empty desk, his keys and corresponding sounds etched in his mind. In the evenings, he would review his progress on the piano, repeating this cycle until he made astonishing progress. His teacher described Quinn's piano playing as "above excellent, impressive enough to impress, but a bit mediocre to a professional." Anyone who practiced long enough could play a piece as well as Quinn, but he lacked something crucial: his music lacked emotional flow, like studio-made electronic arrangements, lacking in spirit.

No matter how good his memory is, his body is still mortal, and it's impossible for him to accurately grasp the subtle rhythmic changes of each syllable. These subtle rhythmic pauses are what distinguish a master from an ordinary pianist. They are called emotional expression and are a key assessment criterion in piano competitions. Empty performances are ultimately unacceptable to the elite.

Quinn didn't care; he didn't have much of a love for the piano; he used it purely as a tool. After mastering his skills, his teacher found Quinn a job as a tutor for a wealthy man's daughter, teaching her piano and academic subjects. The money he earned from this job freed him from the hassle of buying medicine, allowing him to buy his grandmother special medicine imported from abroad. Quinn thought that was enough.

Just like at this time, he did not refuse Celia and sat on the piano bench naturally.

It wasn't because Quinn had a desire to play, but because he saw a love for piano in the girl's eyes.

He needs to establish a good relationship with Celia and judge whether Celia is a hero, and the piano is just a tool to achieve his goal.

Quinn didn't think that a person's emotional intelligence or IQ would change after traveling through time, unless this guy was a meticulous senior official or businessman before traveling through time, and was always vigilant in life not to reveal his identity as a time traveler, otherwise there would always be a time when he would be exposed.

For example, hearing familiar music.

He planned to play some well-known songs on Earth - in order not to arouse suspicion, Quinn would mix some tunes that were similar to but different from the original songs on Earth into a whole new song, and make some patchwork piano.

People always react subconsciously when they hear a familiar rhythm, but if they listen carefully, they will feel that it is completely a different song. He doesn't have to worry about being exposed, he just needs to observe Celia's reaction when the relevant melody appears.

Of course, play it with caution.

Melody is just like the e-liquid in e-cigarettes. You can only add a little to a song. If you add too much, it will become too mellow.

Quinn didn't dare to create a mashup of popular TikTok songs; even a fool could tell something was wrong. Mixing up the melodies required a very high level of arrangement. Only half a day had passed since he heard Celia's real name, and he had been unconscious for most of that time, so it was impossible for him to compose a whole new piano piece in time. Fortunately, he had a ready-made one to use.

When on Earth, the student that Quinn taught as a tutor was a 2D character. He learned piano in order to compose anime songs, but unfortunately he didn't have much talent. In addition, he didn't start learning from elementary school. After practicing on and off for a few years, he still played like a novice.

When she first started learning piano, the anime "Attack on Titan" was all the rage on the Internet, so she practiced the Titan theme song "My War" for a week, and then performed a big hand for Quinn.

I can only say that apart from the climax, they are not similar in any way.

Because this was the first song the students practiced and it was quite memorable, Quinn adapted it and created a new song using the method he was best at - the rhythm of pop music combined with classical techniques.

This song has never been leaked, so even if Celia is a time traveler, there is no need to worry about it being exposed.

The students thought this song was as perfect as a piece of traditional Chinese jade, so they named it "The War of the National Jade".

He pressed down with both hands at the same time and began playing with a sharp high octave.

The creator of "My War" is the Japanese rock band "Holy Exile". If you use one word to summarize the style of this band, it is "out of control".

The unrestrained and violent piano music resounded throughout the auditorium, and compared with the more classical and grand symphonic Tamilan high-class music, it sounded extremely unorthodox.

But if it wasn't pleasant to listen to, judging from the gradually quieting auditorium, the song seemed to quickly catch everyone's ears.

Quinn played wildly, feeling the emotions he aroused in the audience, as if he was creating waves and hitting the ocean.

A teacher who has worked at Nordic Fantasy for many years has a very impolite opinion, that is, most people do not have the ability to appreciate classical music, even the rich.

They cannot understand Beethoven's drama, taste Chopin's delicate emotions, or appreciate Liszt's virtuosity. As long as something sounds good, people will nod their heads and blindly follow the crowd, thinking it is good music.

There is no difference in the ability to appreciate music, only the difference in preferences derived from experience. No one would have nothing better to do to take piano appreciation classes. People are more likely to accept simple and catchy melodies - if it sounds good, it sounds good, and if it doesn't sound good, it doesn't sound good. This is also the fundamental logic of popular music.

Therefore, when pop music is played with classical techniques, reactions such as "I can enjoy this sophistication", "I feel it's impressive", "I have good taste and should listen to this kind of songs" will appear in the minds of the audience. This is also an important reason why Nordic Fantasy is so popular among wealthy businessmen by covering pop singers such as Jay Chou and Eason Chan.

This is Quinn's best skill.

This playing method does not require the injection of emotion. You only need to play the catchy melody correctly and add appropriate showy fingering to win applause.

He doesn't need to be recognized by musicians. As long as the music is something the public likes to listen to, it is good music.

As one of the most popular anime of the 21st century, "Attack on Titan" is not only well-known within the anime community, but also holds considerable popularity among the general public. "My War at Titan," the theme song for the final season of "Attack on Titan," is a familiar theme song to anyone who follows the anime. Even if you haven't seen it, you've likely heard the climax in various mod clips or short videos.

The first half of this song has a fast tempo and a unique melody, but it was unfortunately played completely distorted by Quinn's students. After his adaptation, even if the original author came back, he might not be able to tell that it was "My War."

But Quinn didn't change the most famous melody too much, he just simply raised and lowered the pitch. Although it was only for a few seconds, anyone who has heard it will definitely be able to hear it!
Soon, the performance will reach its climax——

His fingers moved in a frantic rhythm, and Quinn stared at the piano lid, his hands playing like a machine, his eyes looking at each other.

Thanks to the smooth, shiny paint and good lighting, Quinn could easily capture Celia's expression through the mirror reflection of the piano lid.

coming!

After observing for a while, Quinn looked away, somewhat disappointed.

No, sister, why don’t you react at all?

Even if you haven't heard it before, please give me a round of applause. Is your playing really that bad?
Why don't you just listen to some music? Why are you just staring at me?
From the moment the piano began to play, the girl never moved again.

Except for those slightly trembling eyes, which seemed to be expressing joy.

(End of this chapter)