Chapter 26: Someone

Chen Ciyi played his own piano, sometimes pausing to rest and listen to the erhu playing from across the hall. But every time he listened, he couldn’t help but think the person across the hall must be a deranged idiot. While there are many forms of musical expression, largely determined by the composer’s and performer’s emotions, traditional folk music still has its own rhythm and characteristics. Yet that guy played the piece like it was a drum set—and a DJ battle version at that.

You might say this person had a wild personality, but sometimes he would play melancholic and sorrowful tunes. Or, even if the piece wasn’t sad—perhaps even upbeat—you could still hear a lifeless despair woven into it.

Sometimes, if Chen Ciyi happened to finish his own work and was in a mood opposite to the piece being played across the hall, he would respond by playing a passage on the piano with his fingers. After a brief pause, the person across the hall would understand and engage in a “musical duel” with him, matching his energy with a passage of their own.

Though the two had never met—and certainly had no intention of doing so—not just Chen Ciyi, but the person across the hall had never once knocked on his door. In fact, they hadn’t even coincidentally bumped into each other at the doorway.

Xu Yannuo put away the erhu, then sat on the chair in a daze for a while before getting up to tidy the music room.

Her grandparents both loved playing the erhu, so ever since she could hear, she had grown fond of and accustomed to its sound. Later, before starting elementary school, Cheng Yun enrolled her in an erhu class. Though her arms were still a bit too short, it didn’t stop her from directly testing into level 4. Now, she’s already at the performance level. Every weekend, she coaches a few students here as their accompanist. After finishing the coaching sessions, she’d play for a while herself—either as a pastime or sometimes to engage in a musical duel with that idiot pianist across the hall.

Actually, it’s been almost a year since she started hearing the person across the hall play the piano. Although she’s never seen that person, Xu Yannuo is pretty sure they must be a complete idiot with a screw loose.

Renting a piano room just to practice by themselves without even taking students—where can’t you practice piano? You can practice at home or in the school music room. And that room often has guitar sounds too—renting a piano room to play guitar is even more idiotic. That thing can be played anywhere—at home, at school, even by the riverside on the street. Renting a piano room specifically for it? Clearly just showing off with nothing better to do. Probably some dumbass from a nearby school putting on airs to seem cultured, pretending to understand art and music to impress girls—otherwise, they wouldn’t have anything else to brag about. Besides, that person even uses music to provoke her! Definitely a total moron.

In Xu Yannuo’s eyes, an image of the person across the hall involuntarily appeared—wearing a floral shirt, tacky ripped jeans, swaggering with a loose gait, left leg swinging and right leg swaying, looking unattractive yet sporting a smug, frivolous expression that screamed: “I’m so stylish, you plebs!”

Hmm~~ Xu Yannuo couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of that person’s upturned nostrils and smug expression—it gave him goosebumps all over. He really didn’t want to run into the neighbor across the hall at all.

As for her own part-time job, well, it was to help Cheng Yun ease the burden a bit, earn some pocket money, and save the rest for university tuition.

Xu Cheng was utterly unreliable—if he was in a bad mood or got into trouble outside, it was already a blessing if he didn’t come home to take money.

Not only would he come home to take money, but if something upset him outside, he might also beat them up before leaving again.

Although Cheng Yun had never mentioned these things to her and always tried to conceal them, perhaps this whitewashing was meant to protect her—physically impossible, but at least making an effort spiritually… though, in reality, it was better than nothing. She saw everything happening at home; she wasn’t a fool.

Yet adults always had a habit of treating them like fools.

Xu Yannuo smiled and stopped dwelling on these trivial thoughts. After tidying up the piano room and organizing the items on the shelves, she locked the door and left the office building.

She had a badminton coaching session later in the evening and was carrying quite a bit, so today she didn’t bring her erhu back but instead locked it in her cabinet in the piano room.

After leaving the office building, Xu Yannuo, carrying her badminton bag, first went to the noodle shop she frequented nearby for a bowl of noodles. The shop wasn’t crowded today, perhaps because it was already past the usual mealtime. Finishing her meal, she noticed it was still early, and since the badminton club was nearby, she could stroll there leisurely in under ten minutes.

The badminton bag wasn’t heavy, and she felt a bit full from the meal, so she decided to take a detour to walk off the food. Noodles were like that—delicious but leaving you uncomfortably full, only to make you hungry again soon after. Halfway through her walk, she remembered today’s training session was one coach to three players instead of one to six, and since the students hadn’t warmed up, her coaching intensity would be much higher. She’d surely get hungry quickly.

She decided to stop by the coffee shop across the street to buy a bread roll for later, something to eat during the mid-session break.

Xu Yannuo walked through the aisle carrying her badminton bag. She had been to this café once before—the bread was quite tasty and reasonably priced, with the only downside being the limited variety. She pushed open the café door and stepped inside. Today, for some unknown reason, the shop was running a promotion—a large standing sign with fluorescent letters announced that any purchase would come with a free coffee.

Xu Yannuo ordered a loaf of bread and waited for the staff to wrap it up. She took the bread and coffee, scanned the code, and paid. As she turned to leave, her gaze inadvertently swept across the shop—and then she froze. At a booth by the window, she spotted a familiar figure.

It was Chen Ciyi.

He’s actually here too? What a coincidence!

At this moment, the setting sun shone on his head and body, as if outlining him with a golden rim, making his entire figure appear even more radiant.

Two girls sitting at the next table kept turning their heads to steal glances at him.

Tsk, still quite the charmer—though he’s always been one.

Xu Yannuo watched his retreating figure. Although it was normal for him to appear here since it was close to the school, but… Xu Yannuo suddenly recalled all the trouble Chen Ciyi had caused at school!

But now they were outside the school grounds.

Did he act so outrageously before because he never expected to run into her outside of school? She had assumed he never left home on weekends, which was why he had been so brazen in school, pretending to be weak and not daring to reveal himself. Xu Yannuo couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. After that, she completely ignored the two girls who were staring at him, walked over holding her coffee, and sat directly across from Chen Ciyi.

At that moment, Chen Ciyi was sitting with his long legs stretched out, staring blankly at the pedestrians outside the floor-to-ceiling window, lost in thought. Perhaps sensing someone approaching to sit across from him, he slowly turned his head and said, “This seat’s taken.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he clearly froze when he saw who had come to sit opposite him.