Chapter 84: The Piano Keys Have Yellowed

(1)

“You mean a cream cake is just spreading cream over this kind of… thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Is this a cream cake?”

“Chinese style, what’s wrong with that?”

“Damn.”

“Cut the crap and get to work.”

Tall Zhang Qiqi firmly pressed down on Sun Wei’s hat-covered head.

“Spread all this cream, then hand it out to the kids as a snack. We still have to make dinner.”

“What’s for dinner?”

“Maybe seven or eight dishes. So hurry up with the cream, then we still have to wash and chop the vegetables.”

“Damn, this is just manual labor!”

“Working as my assistant, you should be happy!”

“Damn, dirty Qiqi…”

Zhang Qiqi raised her chin proudly.

“Do you want me to make you eat last at dinner next time?”

“Taking revenge, huh?”

“Or maybe you want to add some of your own dandruff to the food?”

“What a vicious woman.”

“Hmph hmph hmph — now that you’re scared, get back to work. I’m way faster than you.”

“I’ve never spread cream before…”

Usually with a sly look on his face and never serious, Sun Wei suddenly straightened up and said, “Zhang Qiqi, do you like taking care of kids?”

“Like hell I do. I hate babysitting little brats.”

“Me too. I hate little brats. My little sister makes so much noise every day, and my mom spoils her rotten. It’s unbearable.”

“How’s your sister? Does she look like you? That sounds pretty scary.”

“Damn, my sister’s cute, okay? What do you mean ‘looks like me’? Listen…”

***

(2)

The children playing in the yard were all called back to the classroom.

An Jing, sweating heavily, followed Zhang Qiqi’s instructions to make each child sit properly, even supervising those who hadn’t washed their hands to go wash them.

Kids are strange.

They know it’s more comfortable to eat with clean hands, but none of them like washing.

If they were afraid of wetting their hands, that wouldn’t make sense—they loved mixing water and sand to build forts.

After finally getting all the kids seated, Zhu Ying and Zhou Chao began handing out the small cakes one by one.

The cakes were small.

Reserved kids took a few bites, while the more carefree ones shoved the whole thing into their mouths, chewing vigorously like hamsters with full cheeks.

Winter evenings came early.

Though it was only a bit past four, the sunset’s light had already slanted sharply.

It was almost dark, so Zhang Qiqi instructed the kids to stay inside the classroom and not go outside.

There were building blocks and snowflake toys in the classroom, which An Jing brought out to distribute to the children.

Watching them play quietly in their seats, she finally felt a bit relieved.

The kids had endless energy, like it would never run out, and keeping up with them was truly exhausting.

“Tired?”

Zhu Ying smiled brightly at her, holding something slightly cold up to her mouth.

“Uh…”

An Jing instinctively opened her mouth slightly and popped it in—it was orange-flavored candy, but soft candy instead of hard.

She wasn’t interested in orange-flavored things usually, but after Zhu Ying had given her quite a few recently, she was starting to like the sweet and sour taste.

Zhou Chao strolled leisurely around the classroom, seemingly lost in thought, looking somewhat absent-minded.

“Hey!”

An Jing quietly approached from behind and gave his shoulder a firm pat.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing. Just remembering when I was in kindergarten…”

“You went to a regular kindergarten, right?”

“Yeah, but aren’t classroom layouts usually like this?”

“Hmm… seems like it.”

“Really miss those days.”

“Why do you miss kindergarten?”

“The kindergarten I went to was a bit far. I didn’t know anyone in the class except for ‘her,’ and I was the only person ‘she’ knew.”

An Jing had no doubt and immediately understood who Zhou Chao was talking about.

Yes, it was the girl who grew up with him.

Their families lived close by since they were little, went to the same kindergarten, and continued together through elementary and middle school.

They were true childhood sweethearts.

Many say that childhood sweethearts grow apart as they grow up, but Zhou Chao never showed that attitude.

An Jing met Zhou Chao in elementary school.

At first, they weren’t close, but she remembered a boy in class who was always kind to a certain girl—always thinking about her, caring for her…

To be honest, An Jing had many memories of them together, let alone Zhou Chao.

She thought of many things but said nothing, only smiling helplessly and patting his shoulder.

“By the way, I saw that kid A Qiang back in kindergarten.”

“Then you must’ve seen me too.”

“You guys were in different classes.”

“Yeah.”

“But I didn’t have much impression of you then.”

“Well, I was basically a tag-along at the time.”

An Jing shrugged.

“Still thinking about her?”

“Hell no, just reflexively thought for a second.”

“Haha.”

An Jing smiled reassuringly, though it wasn’t a genuine laugh.

Zhou Chao laughed naturally.

“I’ve had so many girlfriends since, I’ve pretty much forgotten those memories.”

“So, who’s your next target?”

“How about an elementary schooler?”

“Damn, don’t commit a crime!”

“Hahaha, just joking. How can you take me seriously?”

Zhou Chao laughed heartily, casually slapping the nearby desk, then suddenly went “Huh?”

“That’s not a desk…”

“Looks like it’s not.”

An Jing gently lifted the thick velvet cloth.

“Oh, it’s an electronic keyboard.”

“Do they still have music classes here?”

“Kindergarten, so maybe?”

“No, looks like it hasn’t been used for a long time. Look, the keys have yellowed.”

“Then it’s probably just been left here. Maybe someone used it before.”

“Let me try if it still works.”

“You took two years of keyboard lessons in elementary school, haven’t forgotten?”

“Do you take me for a joke?”

Zhou Chao glanced at her.

An Jing rolled her eyes and suddenly remembered: those two years, Zhou Chao went to piano lessons with ‘her,’ riding their bikes there every weekend.

***

(3)

“Who’s playing ‘Two Tigers’?”

Zhang Qiqi walked out of the kitchen briskly, carrying a wooden bucket full of food with one hand.

Sun Wei staggered, holding another bucket full of dishes in both hands.

“The one who can play piano is probably Zhu Ying.”

“Does Yingying play piano?”

Zhang Qiqi looked puzzled.

“Who else could it be?”

Sun Wei peeked into the slightly open classroom door, spotting a tall, thin boy in a school uniform—no doubt Zhou Chao.

“Damn, Zhou Chao can play piano?”

“I can even play ‘Two Tigers’,” Zhang Qiqi rolled her eyes.

“That keyboard hasn’t been used for ages.”

“Then why keep it around?”

“Idiot, my dad used it to teach the kids music.”

“Then why stop teaching? Lazy?”

“Are you blind? My dad lost a hand.”

“Then he can’t play?”

“Obviously not.”

“Why don’t you learn then, so you can teach the kids?”

“Learned for a year or two, then gave up. Too much trouble. I wasn’t interested, and my dad didn’t force me.”

“That Zhou Chao guy is probably just a beginner…”

“He’s barely getting through ‘Two Tigers,’ definitely a beginner. Okay, bring the others too, stop standing there dumbly.”

“Dumb one is you, not me.”

Sun Wei rudely flipped him off with two fingers and turned back to the kitchen.

Then the tune changed, the melody flowing smoothly like milk into his ears, as if a different person was playing.

But looking inside, Zhou Chao was still sitting at the keyboard.

The song was melodious and gentle—not a masterful performance, but certainly not beginner level.

Even a layman could appreciate the beauty—it was impressive.

“Edelweiss.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve never heard it?”

Zhang Qiqi looked at him with disdain.

“What kind of song is that?”

“It’s from The Sound of Music, a movie soundtrack.”

“Foreign one?”

“Yeah.”

“Obviously, I don’t watch foreign movies.”

“Zero taste.”

“Too quiet, I prefer livelier songs.” Sun Wei defended himself.

Zhang Qiqi glanced at him sideways, said nothing, but softly mouthed along:

“Edelweiss, edelweiss, Every morning you greet me…”

***

(4)

“Zhou Chao!”

“Call me Brother Chao!”

“Oh, Brother Chao!”

“What’s up?”

“Are you biking with your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, girlfriend.”

The girl behind blushed, pressing shyly against the back of the still elementary school boy, smiling bashfully.

“Wow—”

“Childhood sweethearts, known each other since they were little. First time hearing this?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me tell you, An Jing, this is my girlfriend—the first, last, and only one, the future wife.”

“Wow—!!”

“You only know how to say ‘wow’?”

“Hey, Brother Chao, where you headed?”

“Piano lessons.”

“Oh… Brother Chao, can you lend me a yuan? I’ll pay you back Monday. I miscalculated the bus fare home, still one yuan short.”

“Here.”

“Thanks! I’ll definitely pay you back Monday!”

“No problem, just remember to call me Brother Chao from now on.”

“Got it, Brother Chao!”

Small and white, Clean and bright, You look happy to meet me…

“The music they play here is so nice.”

The girl leaning on him suddenly smiled and whispered.

“Yeah… it’s good.”

“In English, too.”

“I’ve memorized the melody, I’ll ask the teacher what song it is later.”

“Okay, if you learn it, will you play it for me?”

“Sure, no problem. Whatever song you want, I’ll learn.”

“Mm!”

The girl hugged the boy tightly, and together they slowly walked away under the bright morning sun.

Only a short boy remained standing there, lightly tossing a coin in his hand, as if speaking to the pair riding away on their bikes, or maybe just talking to himself: “I want to eat the chocolates from the wedding candy…”