The Music Prep Room

Time slipped through their fingers like flowing water. Spring gave way to summer, cicadas and frogs taking up the chorus one after another. Many girls had changed into skirts that weren’t too short, and Nan’an City was gradually taking on the flavor of summer.

That old pervert Ren Yin had never returned after being called away by his superiors. Because of this, Teacher Lin Chunlan’s temper grew even worse. In the end, Qin An simply started skipping even her Chinese class, choosing instead to nap on the grass.

Half a month later, Teacher Lin Chunlan also vanished mysteriously. She was replaced by a young intern teacher. When this new teacher taught, her whole body trembled, her voice quivered, and she often snapped chalk in half from squeezing too hard. Yet she was exceptionally popular with the boys of Class Two, Grade Six—because she was very beautiful, very young, like an older sister to them, and most importantly, she had breasts like papayas.

This teacher was someone Qin An kind of knew, but also kind of didn’t. Her name was Ma Linxue.

“Qin An, come to the office later to pick up the exercises.”

“Oh.”

Qin An rose reluctantly.

As he stepped out from his chair, he felt something tugging at him. Turning his head, it was indeed An Qi holding onto his shirt corner.

“An Qi, what is it?”

“Qin An, when you come back, you better explain why Teacher Ma is so nice to you!” An Qi had her hands on her hips, her big eyes full of doubt, and the air seemed to carry the scent of a tipped-over vinegar jar.

Ma Linxue was very smart. She had skipped grades throughout elementary school, so while her peers were still in high高中 preparing for college entrance exams, she had already completed all her credits and graduated smoothly. She had originally planned to pursue graduate studies, but her family’s financial situation didn’t allow it—her younger brother was still in school, and the family needed her to work. Through her school’s recommendation, she came to teach at Red Star Elementary.

During college, she had buried herself in books and rarely participated in clubs or activities. During her first class, she nearly bit her own tongue. Then she saw the little boy who had helped her at the amusement park that time. Strangely, seeing his dismissive expression helped her speak fluently—even though her body still trembled nonstop.

“Xiao Ma, calling Qin An for help again!”

Qin An’s homeroom teacher looked approvingly at the frequent office visitor. It was a sign of a good student.

He liked the child Qin An more and more. He was nearing retirement—maybe two more years and he wouldn’t have the strength to teach anymore. He imagined the student he had taught would enter Red Star Middle School with excellent grades, then advance to a higher high school, and eventually get into some prestigious university like Jinghua, bringing glory to the alma mater.

By then, he might still be alive to see it, or he might already be buried in黄土. But perhaps they would come back on Teachers’ Day to place a flower on his grave—that would be the greatest happiness for him. Because it had been a very, very long time since he had last seen any of his former successful students.

Of course, there was another important reason—he was also surnamed Qin.

“Teacher Ma, shouldn’t you leave tasks like this to the class representative?”

“But you’re the only one I know!”

“My Chinese is terrible. I got a zero on the last essay.”

“I read that essay. I heard some teachers even made copies to submit to a newspaper! Although the content was a bit… well, your handwriting was incredibly neat—it didn’t look human. You could make a living just writing for other people.”

“…”

Seeing that Ma Linxue couldn’t stop talking when they were alone, Qin An could only be a good listener. Finally, under her relentless pestering, he managed to leave the office only after the bell rang for the next class. He hurried to the playground—this period was PE, and that woman had definitely done it on purpose.

But when Qin An reached the playground, he found a harmonious scene: some playing basketball, some jumping rope, some kicking shuttlecocks. He could almost hear someone’s laughter in the office. That woman was definitely intentional.

It seemed all that was missing was sleeping. Qin An returned to his most familiar spot—the big banyan tree that stayed green all year round. But there was already a jade-like beauty waiting for him.

“Qin An, you’re finally here. I thought you were going to spend the whole period with Teacher Ma!”

“By the way, where’s the PE teacher? Isn’t he the one who loves taking attendance?”

“Seems like he’s preparing for the Children’s Day event the day after tomorrow.”

“It’s almost June?”

Qin An looked at his own hands. They seemed bigger. Time really flew.

“Qin An, don’t try to change the subject. You haven’t explained how you know the new teacher. You used to be disliked by teachers.”

An Qi lightly tugged on Qin An’s ear, looking angry.

“Alright, pretty An, I surrender, I surrender.” Qin An raised both hands in surrender. After all, it wasn’t a big deal.

An Qi pretended to be surprised. “What incredible luck to meet you in the same place!”

“I always feel she has some inexplicable hostility toward me.”

“No way, it’s definitely your imagination. I think she’s very kind to you, very caring, very trusting!”

“I don’t want that kind of care and trust.”

“Qin An, let me show you something good. It’s my secret!” An Qi naturally took Qin An’s little hand. Unconsciously, she was no longer the girl who blushed at holding hands—but that was only limited to Qin An.

An Qi led Qin An along a cobblestone path, through a grove of trees, past the初三 teaching building where the sound of reading floated out, and finally arrived at an aged door.

“This is?”

“The music prep room!”

The door looked heavy, but An Qi pushed it open gently. The moment it opened, dust from the lintel covered both their faces.

“Cough, cough…” An Qi’s small face flushed red from the dust. She looked adorable.

Seeing An Qi’s grimy face, Qin An couldn’t help laughing.

“Don’t laugh.”

An Qi smeared her dirty hands on Qin An’s face, giggling. “Now you’re dirtier than me. You look like a little stray cat.”

Qin An rubbed some dust off the door onto himself, then turned An Qi into a pretty little stray cat too. In the end, they both pointed at each other and laughed heartily.

The music prep room was also dirty. Instruments were scattered on the floor, but the most eye-catching was the electronic keyboard in the center.

An Qi took a newspaper to sit on and sat before the slightly tilted black-and-white keys. Her long eyelashes slightly lowered, her gaze focused on her hands. Her delicate, clear piano notes were like raindrops at the end of winter, bouncing one by one from the piano.

Solemn yet white, warm yet colorful, as if not existing in reality—her beauty made it impossible to look away.

A serious boy is handsome; a focused girl is equally beautiful.

Her slender fingers danced across the black-and-white keys, each note seeming to come alive. The piece she played was the “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variations.”

This piece began with the universally known melody of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” later adapted by Mozart into twelve variations. Although the first few variations sounded simple, the difficulty increased sharply after the eighth variation shifted to C minor. The piece was filled with Mozart’s elegant decorative variations.

Sure enough, An Qi began to struggle. The tone and pitch all missed the mark. She gave up without finishing.

She turned around and stuck out her tongue playfully. “This piece is so hard! But I really want to play it for my dad once, because he loves when Mom plays it!”

Qin An was quite familiar with this piece too. Or rather, when he took the Shinkansen in Japan, he often ended up riding one stop too far because of it.

Unconsciously, Qin An walked to the piano. His fingers brushed over the keys and then moved on their own. They were incredibly nimble, like an old monster who had mastered the art for years, striking out notes that formed the most magnificent movement.

When the piece ended, An Qi still hadn’t come back to her senses. After a long while, she clapped her hands and applauded. “Qin An, you’re amazing! Can you teach me to play?”

“I was just messing around.”

“I don’t care if you were messing around or playing with your eyes. You’re still teaching me.”

An Qi pulled Qin An over and made him sit beside her.

She stretched out her slender hands, turning them over and over. “What should I do?”

“Just keep the initial position you had.”

“But it gets so hard later! The keys just go up and down. My hands can’t keep up.”

“That’s because your hand position isn’t right.”

Qin An demonstrated, his posture as standard as a textbook.

An Qi mimicked a very stiff pose. Qin An reached out to correct her, and when his fingers touched the back of her hand, she felt as if an electric current passed through her. Her cheeks flushed.

But the position was strange—his arm and hers were crossed, making it impossible to move.

An Qi had a brainstorm and slid into Qin An’s space, sitting right in the empty area between his legs. Turning her head, she said, “This way it works.”

But the moment she finished speaking, she realized Qin An’s face was only a few millimeters from hers. One slight move and their cheeks would touch. Her already reddened cheeks turned crimson, like a powder keg about to explode.

“Hurry up and teach me piano! Or PE will be over soon.”

Qin An took An Qi’s hands in his, helping her correct her posture. But An Qi felt her body burn. Although Mom had said girls shouldn’t be touched casually by boys, if it was Qin An, it should be fine, right?

Qin An and An Qi—one taught happily, one learned happily—gradually forgot the time and forgot about the self-study period next. Huang Jiajun, as class monitor, was annoyed by anyone skipping class, especially when Qin An’s whole table cut class. Determined, she decided to catch this pair of rule-breakers.

An Qi had a natural talent for music. She grasped Qin An’s guidance instantly, to the point where the student would surpass the master naturally.

Before they knew it, the bell for the end of class rang. The setting sun streamed through the blinds into the music prep room. The evening light had lost the aggressiveness of midday. It became very gentle, very red, like some kind of orange lamp, making everything it touched extraordinarily beautiful.

“Qin An, thank you so much for today.”

“Don’t thank me. Aren’t we friends?”

“Hey, Qin An…” An Qi suddenly became a little shy.

“Hm? What is it?”

“Actually, tomorrow evening is my birthday. My dad is throwing a birthday party for me. Can you come and celebrate?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m a stranger…” Qin An rubbed his nose.

“You’re not a stranger. You’re clearly my friend. My only friend.”

An Qi shouted this with all her strength, but tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them.

“It’s only you…”

Qin An gently wiped away her tears, sighing helplessly. “Fine, fine. I’ll go, okay?”

“No, no, that doesn’t sound sincere at all. I’m going to use one of the promises you owe me. I command you, Qin An, to come to my birthday party tomorrow evening.”

As if that wasn’t enough, An Qi held out her pinky. “We have to pinky swear.”

“Is that necessary? Have I ever lied to you?”

“It is necessary. Mom said boys always use verbal promises to trick girls!”

Seeing An Qi’s serious expression, terrifyingly earnest, Qin An complied. He extended his pinky.

They linked pinkies and pressed thumbs together.

“Pinky swear, a hundred years, no take-backs. Whoever breaks it is a puppy.”

“Crack—”

The sound of a dry branch snapping. Both of them turned to look at the door.

But there was only a yellow handkerchief there…