On a rainy night, the school beauty knocked on my door and asked for shelter

Watching Shen Xinghe demonstrate, Zhao Ya stared blankly at Shen Xinghe's face, which was so beautiful that even girls would be ashamed. However, she quickly realized where she should look now.

She imitated Shen Xinghe, carefully placing the edge of the leaf against her lips, trying to adjust the angle, and then gently blowing on it.

The first time, she only made a "poof" sound as air leaked out.

It sounded like a child imitating someone farting, which made her blush instantly and feel somewhat annoyed.

Shen Xinghe turned to look at her, a smile on his face, and said, "It's okay, it's normal for the first time to learn."

"Til the angle up a little bit more." Shen Xinghe stood up and came to Zhao Ya's side. His voice was very soft and showed no impatience.

Zhao Ya made minor adjustments as instructed and tried again.

This time, a faint, trembling but melodious sound squeezed out from between the leaves.

"Ah! It rang!" She turned to look at Shen Xinghe with surprise, her eyes sparkling like a child who had found some treasure.

Seeing her undisguised joy, Shen Xinghe's cool lips seemed to curve upwards almost imperceptibly, though the curve was very small, it was real.

"Hmm, very good. Remember this feeling."

He patiently guided her several more times on how to subtly change the airflow with the tip of her tongue to produce different pitches.

His explanations, though concise, always hit the nail on the head.

Zhao Ya studied very diligently, and would smile happily whenever she succeeded.

When she fails, she frowns slightly, but then continues to try without getting discouraged.

Sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, dancing on her focused profile and slightly trembling eyelashes.

As Shen Xinghe watched, he became lost in thought for a moment.

The two taught each other for more than ten minutes. Just then, when Zhao Ya tried to control her breath more precisely, she overdid it and suddenly lost strength in her hand, almost causing the leaf to slip from her grasp.

Shen Xinghe almost instinctively reached out and gently supported her fingers, helping her stabilize the leaf.

His fingers were warm, and when they touched her slightly cool fingertips, they both paused for a moment.

Zhao Ya felt as if she had been electrocuted by the small patch of skin he touched. Her heart raced, her cheeks flushed instantly, and even her ears burned.

Shen Xinghe quickly and subtly withdrew his hand, after all, it was just necessary assistance to prevent the leaves from falling.

He shifted his gaze to the treetops swaying in the wind not far away. His Adam's apple seemed to bob slightly, but his slightly faster-than-usual breathing betrayed that he was not entirely calm.

A subtle, enchanting silence filled the air, broken only by the rustling of the wind through the leaves and the barely audible, rapid breathing of the two people.

"I...I'll try again." Zhao Ya lowered her head, breaking the silence in a low voice, and refocused her attention on the leaves to hide her inner panic.

"Mmm," Shen Xinghe responded, his voice even lower and hoarser than before.

The subsequent lessons proceeded in a tacit, shy atmosphere. Their interactions became briefer, their eyes occasionally meeting but quickly looking away, yet their unspoken understanding seemed to deepen even further.

When Zhao Ya was finally able to play a short, simple melody of "Old Dreams" intermittently, the setting sun had already dyed the horizon a warm orange-red.

The two of them had unknowingly spent the entire afternoon having a secret rendezvous here.

"That's enough for today. You've basically learned it." Shen Xinghe stood up, his tall figure stretching long in the setting sun.

Zhao Ya also stood up, tightly clutching the leaf that held so many heart-pounding memories, her heart filled with an unprecedented and overwhelming sense of happiness.

"Thank you for teaching me so patiently, Xinghe," she said softly, her words filled with sincere gratitude.

But the moment she finished speaking, a thought struck her like a cold raindrop: Did learning... mean that the reason she could be alone with him so naturally and legitimately had disappeared?
This realization made her heart sink.

The focus and joy she felt during practice vanished as quickly as the tide receded, replaced by a profound sense of loss that dimmed her eyes and made her fingertips, which were tightly gripping the leaf, turn slightly white.

She didn't even dare to look up at him anymore, afraid that he would see clearly the unwarranted longing and melancholy in her eyes.

"You're quick to learn," he replied casually, his gaze seemingly able to see into her heart, lingering for a moment on her slightly lowered, still flushed profile.

He noticed her momentary dip in mood and quickly realized why. He coughed lightly, his tone remaining calm, but his words were like a stone thrown into a still lake, capable of stirring up huge waves in Zhao Ya's heart: "Next time... we can try practicing a more coherent piece."

This statement was a disguised promise of a date, instantly making Zhao Ya's heart leap with joy again.

Disappointment vanishes like dew evaporated by the sun, disappearing without a trace.

Instead, a more surging and brighter sense of elation rushed into her heart, almost making her heart leap out of her chest.

"Okay!" The word came out of her lips almost without thinking, filled with uncontrollable, pure joy.

She finally looked up at him, and her eyes, which had dimmed, brightened again.

The smile that bloomed on her face no longer held the shyness or joy of success she had shown while studying; now it was a pure, unadulterated smile, as clear and sweet as a mountain spring.

That smile contained the joy of something lost and found, the boundless anticipation for the future, and the most genuine and simple happiness that belongs to her age—a pure joy that touches the heart.

She even forgot to hide it, and looked straight at him, responding to his promise with her most radiant smile.

The smile was so bright and direct that Shen Xinghe, who had been calmly offering his suggestion, momentarily gasped for breath.

"Let's go back." He quickly looked away, glancing elsewhere to cover his tracks. Only his ears, which seemed redder than usual in the sunset, subtly betrayed that he was not indifferent.

The two walked back to their dormitory, one in front of the other, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far apart.

The setting sun cast long shadows that occasionally overlapped.

Without many words, the sound of leaf flutes in the small garden behind the library this afternoon, the focused guidance, the brief touch of fingertips, the immense joy after initial disappointment, and the girl's pure, simple, and unreserved smile have all become the purest and most beautiful page in their youthful memories. (End of Chapter)