Chapter 318: Chapter 318
Especially the most difficult piece in the Night Phantom Trilogy, "Phantom," a display of technical brilliance.
Gu Bichen had also learned piano since childhood and deeply understood the difficulty of this piece; Qin Xiangge must have practiced for years to dare perform it at the evening gala.
Thinking about it, Gu Bichen felt that, as her deskmate, he should express his concern.
"Shen, do you need guidance? I have a Level 9 Piano Certificate."
Shen You’an glanced at him, smiled sweetly, and said, "Thanks, but I don’t need it."
Gu Bichen’s eyes betrayed his worry.
Shen You’an raised an eyebrow, pulled out a set of practice sheets, and bent her head to start working on them.
After a while, she paused her pen, rested her chin on her hand, and silently gazed out at the winter scene beyond the window.
[007, is what you said just now true?]
[You’ve triggered a new reward mechanism. If you participate in the school’s art gala, you’ll have a chance to earn a mystery prize box, with a maximum of 10,000 points available. Please do your best—your performance at the gala is directly proportional to the reward.]
Hearing "10,000 points," Shen You’an’s eyes instantly brightened.
[An’an, can you play piano?]
asked a piercing question.
Shen You’an’s gaze drifted into the distance.
When she was very young, probably around three years old, her father had sent her for piano lessons.
Shen You’an’s memories were already faint, pieced together from stories her uncle and aunt had shared later on.
Back then, the family’s financial situation wasn’t great. But when it came to her education, her father never hesitated to spend, always providing her with the best.
He didn’t blink while paying thousands for each beginner’s piano lesson.
She remembered her aunt recounting how her father had once said, "I don’t ask for my child to be multitalented; I only hope her life can be richer, even if it’s just to cultivate her character. If she grows up and decides she doesn’t like it, she doesn’t have to continue—I won’t force her. It should always come from a place of interest."
Her aunt said she’d only thought at the time that her brother-in-law carried a remarkable air about him, possessing an uncommon vision unlike anyone who came from a small town.
When she was young, her piano talent truly stood out, earning countless praises from her teacher. Back then, she was the happy little princess.
After her mother’s death, even during her father’s darkest and most disheartened days, he never failed to send her to piano lessons. Latest content published on novelFɪre.net
But everything vanished in the flames of the fire that happened when she was five.
She became an orphan and lost her chance to keep learning piano.
The father’s subsidy and compensation fell into Zhou Qin’s hands, who couldn’t have cared less about sending her to piano lessons. Zhou Qin mocked her, saying that was something only aristocrats studied, and that children from poor families shouldn’t dream too big.
So, she never touched a piano again. Those memories were buried deep within the vast sea of time.
Later, when she fled to the city, she found work as a waitress at a restaurant. This high-end restaurant hired live piano performers as background music to elevate its ambiance, often music academy students or struggling musicians working part-time.
From afar, Shen You’an watched those absorbed figures sitting in front of the piano, playing with passion. Old memories trickled back into her mind. Sometimes, her fingers would unconsciously move along with the rhythm, as though she instinctively knew the next note. She herself was surprised.
Once, during a night shift, after cleaning up, she was the last person left. As she was about to leave, she glanced at the white piano bathed in soft, hazy light. It felt like destiny pulling the strings. By the time she came to, her hands had already landed on the keys.
From the initial clumsiness to an eventual fluency, the piece she had heard earlier that day was flawlessly resurrected under her fingertips.
"Our An’an is so smart—she learned ’Für Elise’ in no time! Her teacher said our An’an is a rare genius!"
"An’an, promise Daddy, will you play it for Mom on her birthday? She’ll be so proud of you."
Before she realized it, tears were streaming down her face.
Mom would never hear her play the piano again.
A few days later, the scheduled university student couldn’t make it due to an emergency, leaving the performance slot empty.
The manager’s face turned grim. Today’s guests included distinguished figures, and one guest had even booked the piano piece "Mariage D’amour" specifically to propose to his beloved.
This mishap would undoubtedly tarnish the restaurant’s reputation.
As the manager scrambled to call for help, a gentle and soothing piano melody began to flow like warm spring water, enveloping everyone present.
Among the guests, a pair of eyes lit up.
Such exquisite hands.
The manager snapped his head up and saw that the quiet young woman who rarely spoke was sitting at the piano, her slender fingers dancing with vitality. No one noticed the thick calluses that had formed on her palms.