In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Touma Yoko wanted to see how well her hands and feet coordinated at this stage.

Yuan Qianye turned around and glanced at the store.

Of the two tables of customers, one table had already gotten up and gone to the bar to pay their bill.

There was another table with a young couple sitting in the innermost corner, chatting and laughing affectionately, completely absorbed in their own world. It seemed that even the sound of the piano wouldn't affect them at all.

"Welcome to visit us again."

Yuan Qianye politely greeted the customers who had paid and left, then thought for a moment, picked up a stool from the store, and leaned his phone against it.

During this time, Sanada noticed his son's actions, walked over, and happened to meet Touma Yoko in the video. The two even greeted each other amicably.

With everything prepared, Touma Yoko specifically instructed Minamoto Chiya to play the Canon he had previously played in front of her, so that she could make a comparison.

This is of course no problem.

As the song ended, Yuan Qianye retrieved her phone and looked at Touma Youko's puzzled expression, feeling uneasy.

"Overall, it's much better than last time, the progress is obvious, but why... I still feel something's off."

Unable to reach a conclusion on her own, Touma Yoko simply asked the question.

"...Why do you sometimes suddenly add a few abrupt accents while playing?"

Yuan Qianye was astonished. Did you even realize that?

He believed he had made extremely meticulous adjustments.

Is it obvious?

"Hmm? Judging from your expression, you know you have this problem, so why do you still do it? Are you doing it on purpose?"

Yuan Qianye remained silent.

In fact, during his second performance, in order to make his playing process more perfect, he subconsciously used his "ghost brain".

The skill description of "Ghost Brain" is that it greatly enhances reaction speed, allowing for a certain degree of 'combat calculation' and 'action prediction' in actual combat.

In actual use, as long as Yuan Qianye is willing, he can enter this wonderful state anytime, anywhere.

Because of the increased reaction speed, everything outside of him, except himself, was slowed down.

During a kendo sparring match with Saeko Busujima's father, Daitaka Busujima, he used this skill to defeat his opponent in a daze, leaving him stunned and unable to recover for a long time.

Similarly, on the piano, when a series of notes appear in quick succession with short intervals and complexity, Chiyo can use this skill as if skipping class to press down the corresponding notes one by one with great ease.

But kendo and piano are ultimately not the same thing.

In swordsmanship, when he uses this skill, it will only make everyone, including his opponents, and like the Saiyan prince when he sees Goku standing on Nappa's bald head in an instant, exclaim "Hayai!" in disbelief!

But the piano is different. It's not like kendo; it's not a competitive sport where speed is the best.

Just as Touma Yoko pointed out, Minamoto Chiya's reaction speed increased, and although his fingers reacted quickly enough and pressed the corresponding keys, the force he applied was far too inaccurate.

The faster you press the piano keys, the higher the pitch of the sound.

In this art of fingertips, quick reflexes are certainly an advantage, but even more important is the handling of details.

It's like the beginner's piece "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". An average person can learn to play it correctly from beginning to end after a while, but it just doesn't feel the same as what a professional performer would produce.

The difference between the two sides lies in the details they handle over time.

Because of her lack of basic skills, Yuan Qianye is now thinking of using her existing abilities to make up for it.

But the result wasn't very good.

This aspect may gradually improve as his basic piano skills improve.

But at that time he probably wouldn't need to use any other shortcuts; normal playing would be enough.

Seeing that Chiya remained silent, Touma Youko did not press further: "Based on what you just said, you want to improve your piano skills as much as possible. There are quite a few things you need to correct now."

First, regarding the point I just raised: removing the inexplicably high notes. I understand that you young people want to express your individuality within unchanging pieces, but it's too early. Wait until you've truly become a fully-fledged performer before considering adapting classic pieces into your own style.

Yuan Qianye nodded in response, completely accepting the instruction with humility.

"Furthermore, even though you seem to be consciously using the correct hand gestures to play the piano, your posture will still be distorted when you pull your fingers apart, which will affect your power. You need to pay attention to this aspect."

The pedal coordination was also inconsistent, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. Throughout the entire piece, your hands and feet didn't coordinate at all; they were completely working on their own. Ah, but this is much better than before. At least you were seriously trying to master them, unlike last time when you just kept the sustain pedal on for most of the time..."

Yoko Touma faces the camera, raising each of her long, slender fingers one by one.

"...My advice to you at this stage is that you need to practice rhythm, beat, and master the basics of scales and arpeggios. Your left and right hands are very flexible, no wonder you are a national kendo champion, but your coordination is a bit lacking, and you need to practice that professionally."

In addition to improving their playing skills, an excellent pianist should not only focus on improving their performance abilities, but also cultivate their appreciation skills, which significantly develop their musicality and ear.

Yuan Qianye listened attentively, feeling ashamed.

He originally thought he had already mastered the basics, but after being pointed out by a professional performer, he realized that he was still far from being good at everything.

"Eh—" As Touma Yoko finished speaking, her eyes, which had been fixed on the front-facing camera of her phone, suddenly turned to look out the window. A fleeting glint of light flashed in her eyes, and she sighed wistfully.

"It's a pity I'm not in the country right now. Otherwise, instead of relying on this inconvenient video call, if I were here with you in person to teach you, many things could be explained much more clearly. Even if there are things that are not clear, I can demonstrate them for you and teach you step by step. You're so smart, you would definitely understand everything after just one look. What a pity."

Yuan Qianye considered for a moment: "Would it be better if I found a piano teacher to help me solidify my basic skills at this stage?"

Touma Yoko smiled and said, "Many so-called piano teachers on the market now are just businessmen who lack professional skills and deceive laymen. Even if there are really good teachers, if they have too many students, or more directly, they don't care about their students and just do a perfunctory job, then it's better to teach you with videos like I am now."

Gen Chiya: "..."

Seeing that Touma Yoko's eyes suddenly darted around on the screen, and her tone suddenly changed from light and cheerful to extremely serious.

And considering what she said now...

Gen Chiya seemed to have sensed something.

He sat up straight, his expression revealing a concern about his progress in piano playing: "Aunt Yaozi, what should I do?"

"Oh dear, the main problem is that the timing of your sudden desire to learn piano is a bit off, Qianye. If it weren't for the Chinese New Year, I, your aunt, have established a piano education institution in China and could recommend some reliable teachers to you."

But as you know, I'm not some heartless, devilish capitalist. I gave my employees a long time off, and I feel a little embarrassed to ask them for help now that they're already on vacation.

However, if you don't mind the hassle, I do have another way.

Gen Chiya eagerly asked, "So, what's the method?"

"You know her too, my daughter Kazusa. Her skill level in piano is probably far greater than you think."

Having already stated the important matter, Touma Yoko no longer tried to hide anything.

"Kasa is someone I personally taught and who is a work of art. She is more than capable of teaching you piano at this stage."

Not to mention, the traditional piano in my house is far better than the electric piano you're playing now, and it won't be disturbed by people coming and going in a public environment.

Of course, the most important thing is having such an experienced teacher by your side. You don't have to worry about making mistakes during the learning process because she will point out your errors at any time and remind you to correct them.

Touma Yoko paused for a moment, then, seeing the knowing look on Minamoto Chiya's face, she didn't try to hide it and laughed heartily.

What do you think of my suggestion?

"..."

How about it……

At first, I just saw that Touma Yoko had taken the initiative to contact me, wanting her to give me advice on my current situation.

Ideally, it would be even better if she could offer a few more pointers.

But this way... seems to be a better option.

"Won't it be troubling for East Malaysian students to suddenly be asked to teach others to play the piano?"

Touma Yoko smiled even more broadly: "Don't worry, what daughter in the world doesn't listen to her mother?"

A few minutes later, Touma Yoko hung up the phone.

Open the chat interface with Aunt Shibata.

Aunt Shibata is the person who takes care of Kazusa's daily life when she is not at home.

She sent this message a few tens of minutes ago.

[Mrs. Yoko, could you please talk to Kazusa? I asked her to come home with me tonight to celebrate New Year's Eve, but she refused, saying she'd be fine staying home alone. But it's New Year's Eve, how can you let her stay home alone?]

Thank you for your concern, Aunt Shibata. But it's alright, I've already found someone to keep her company, so you don't need to worry.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

081: Are you inviting me?

After ending the video call with Touma Yoko, Gen Chiya closed the dust cover of the electric piano and returned to the bar.

Touma Yoko's needs were obvious: as before, she was worried about leaving her daughter alone at home.

I want someone to accompany her; I don't want her to be all alone at home, looking as pitiful as a stray dog ​​abandoned by its owner on the street.

To this end, Touma Yoko can provide a professional practice environment, a piano prodigy teacher who is almost perfect in the making, and a top-notch Steinway piano in the industry.

The piano in the Touma family's house is worth about the same as a small apartment in cash. Even if you rent a professional practice room, it's charged by the hour, starting at 10,000 yen per hour.

As for what Yuan Qianye paid... no, he didn't have to pay anything at all.

He himself wanted to improve his piano skills, and his formula for becoming stronger [his own efforts + the learning princess's favor + distance] coincided perfectly with Touma Youko's expectations.

Touma Yoko might think it's a win-win situation for both of them, but Minamoto Chiya actually feels that he's the one who's taking advantage.

"Qianye, you can go ahead if you have something to do. It's fine if I'm alone here. At worst, we can just sell drinks and coffee today and not food."

The old father wiped the wine glasses. He had overheard his son's conversation with the great pianist. After all, the bar was very close to the piano, and he didn't want the business at the bar to become a burden on his son's progress.

But Chiyo shook her head before hanging up the phone with Yoko Touma. Her words were clearly impromptu, and she needed to give her daughter time to let her know; there was no need to rush.

Today is New Year's Eve, and the shop will close in the evening, so you'll have plenty of time to leave then.

Around 2 PM, when the shop was officially getting busy, Shihua also arrived.

She seemed to be in a good mood today, with a faint smile on her face.

Yuan Qianye guessed that the two thousand yen she had given to Liuhua before leaving had worked, making her obediently follow her sister's arrangements today and not cause her any more trouble.

After she went into the small warehouse, took off her turtleneck sweater, changed into her work clothes, and came out, you could immediately see the necklace that Yuan Qianye had given her that day.