Chapter 111: Chapter 111

In the following days, Shen Jianian arrived on time at Yan Qiusheng’s Half Mountain Villa for piano lessons.

Although the travel time was quite long, she found each day fulfilling and joyful.

Her relationship with Mrs. Yan grew closer day by day. To help her relieve the stiffness in her limbs, Shen Jianian found some exercise and stretching videos suitable for the elderly online and taught her how to follow along.

Mrs. Yan was quite willing to cooperate with her; however, due to her poor health, her reaction was much slower than the average person, always unable to keep up with the video’s pace. So, Shen Jianian slowed down the playback speed, learned it herself first, and then helped Mrs. Yan with it.

The three of them had lunch together, with the table set up with light and nutritious dishes specially made for patients.

Mrs. Yan, fearing Shen Jianian would feel wronged, suggested to Yan Qiusheng, "Next time, let’s have the chef make a few more flavorful dishes."

Before Yan Qiusheng could respond, Shen Jianian spoke up, "No need to bother, I rather like these dishes, I usually prefer lighter tastes."

"Don’t be polite, it’s no trouble at all," Mrs. Yan insisted, thinking she was just being courteous. "As long as you enjoy your meal, it makes me happy too."

Shen Jianian didn’t refuse Mrs. Yan’s kindness any longer and smiled at her.

Yan Qiusheng’s gentle gaze moved between the two ladies, observing that they got along just like mother and daughter, which made him, the biological son, seem a bit distant.

He picked up the serving chopsticks to add food to his mother’s plate and casually urged Jianian to eat more, feeling a long-lost warmth and cheerfulness inside.

Half an hour after lunch, Yan Qiusheng poured a cup of warm water and took out a pill organizer, just about to remind his mother to take her medicine when she came over by herself.

Without saying a word, Mrs. Yan took the pill organizer from his hand, poured all the pills into her mouth, and took a big sip of water to swallow them.

The taste of the mixed medications was indeed unpleasant, leaving a bitter taste at the back of her tongue even after swallowing. She frowned slightly, took a cookie from her pocket, took a bite, and slowly chewed to barely cover up the bitterness.

"What kind of cookie are you eating?" Yan Qiusheng observed carefully. The cookie’s packaging was transparent, with no product information printed on it, which made him somewhat uneasy.

Mrs. Yan took another piece from her pocket and handed it to him, saying while eating, "It was homemade by the aunt from Jianian’s house, specially prepared for me without sugar."

Yan Qiusheng tore open the packaging and tasted it; it wasn’t very sweet indeed, with only a rich creamy flavor.

"She’s very thoughtful towards you."

"Yes," Mrs. Yan beamed with satisfaction, "I wasn’t wrong in urging you to take this apprentice, was I?"

Yan Qiusheng shook his head with a smile and left the kitchen. As he passed by the music room, he saw Shen Jianian inside.

Today, she was wearing a light yellow striped knit sweater with white jeans, her long hair partially tied back with an amber-colored clip, the rest cascading down. She was leaning on a recliner by the window, holding a book up to her eyes, flipping through pages quickly.

Shen Jianian didn’t notice the person at the door, engrossed in the plot of her book.

"What are you reading?" Yan Qiusheng strolled into the music room, casually asking.

Shen Jianian snapped the book shut with a ’pop’ and stood up from the recliner, like a student caught reading in class, her eyes flustered, cheeks slightly flushed.

This was a book she brought from home, something she flipped through during idle moments.

"Just..." she lowered her eyelashes and replied softly, "a novel."

Yan Qiusheng found her guilty-looking stance amusing. At her age, reading novels was quite normal. He had no intention of reprimanding her and instead teased, "What’s the story about?"

"Ah?" Shen Jianian seemed surprised by his question, pausing momentarily, "It’s a romance mystery novel. At her best friend’s wedding, the protagonist’s girlfriend is murdered. To find the killer, the protagonist investigates each of her friends. I haven’t finished reading it, so I don’t know who the killer is yet."

"It’s quite interesting; each suspect has their own story."

"When you’re done, could you lend it to me?" Yan Qiusheng casually glanced at the book in her hand—a black cover with dark red roses around the edges, the white letters spelling out something about "murder," seemingly intriguing.

Shen Jianian didn’t hesitate this time and nodded, "Sure."

Yan Qiusheng didn’t disturb her reading interest further and turned to leave, suddenly recalling something and returned to ask, "I’m about to brew some coffee; would you like some?"

Shen Jianian smiled, "Thank you, teacher."

"I’ll call you once it’s ready."

Yan Qiusheng slipped one hand into the pocket of his casual pants and headed to the kitchen to fiddle with a newly acquired coffee machine.

Mrs. Yan had been wandering in the living room, overhearing the conversation in the music room. Her curiosity piqued, she glanced over, seeing the young girl standing by the window with a book in hand, the picture of grace and quietness, while her son had a subtle smile on his lips, cultured and refined.

The scene was truly beautiful.

Seeing her son heading to the kitchen, Mrs. Yan craned her neck to sneak a peek into the music room. With the door open, she saw Shen Jianian seated on the recliner, continuing her book, so she relaxed and headed to the kitchen.

Yan Qiusheng stood tall beside the marble island, studying the coffee machine’s functions according to the manual. Hearing the soft sound of slippers on the floor, he turned his head, "Mom, do you need anything?"

Mrs. Yan sat on a high stool beside him without saying anything else, abruptly asking, "What do you think of Jianian?"

"She’s quite good," Yan Qiusheng replied.

That girl had talent in the cello; otherwise, he wouldn’t have decided to take her under his wing after seeing her play. After a few days of interaction, he found that besides her almost devout love for the cello, her character and conduct were impeccable.

Kind, humble, courteous, cultured... She had many virtues.

"Right," Mrs. Yan nodded affirmatively, her face beaming, "She’s beautiful, gentle in nature, and you can see from her every move that she was well-raised by her parents, admirable even after they’re gone. She holds you in high regard and is attentive to me, even though she’s a bit young, but she is an adult already. I asked; she turned 22 at the end of last year."

"What is it you’re trying to say?" Yan Qiusheng set down the manual, leaning on the island’s edge, puzzled by his mother’s dabbling.

Mrs. Yan didn’t hide her intentions, "You’ve spent half your life on me, and time is slipping away without a close companion by your side. If you happen to like Jianian..."

"Mom, what are you saying?" Yan Qiusheng cut her off before she could continue, amused and exasperated, "I’m 37, over a decade older than her. What are you thinking? Besides, I’m her teacher; I formally accepted her with master-disciple tea. You go rest, stop thinking about this."

Mrs. Yan was persistent, "You look young, handsome, and spirited. Without knowing your age, one might think you haven’t even reached 30. Nowadays, young girls prefer someone with life experience, who knows how to be considerate, over immature young boys. Love transcends age when both parties are interested. As for the teacher-student relationship, this isn’t the olden days—who cares about that now?"

"You’re being more outrageous by the minute," Yan Qiusheng never imagined his mother was so eloquent, rendering him almost speechless.

"I think she really likes you," Mrs. Yan still pressed on.

"That’s the idol-fan kind of like," Yan Qiusheng painstakingly explained, gesturing animatedly, "it’s different from romantic liking, you can’t mix them up."

"Idol fandom, I get it," Mrs. Yan thought her son was too rigid, lacking flexibility. "Ask any young girl if she’d be willing to be with her idol, and watch her response."

Yan Qiusheng was nearly amused to laughter.

Mrs. Yan put a hand on his arm, lightly patting twice, whispering, "Give it a shot, I do like Jianian a lot."

Yan Qiusheng looked exasperated, formally invoking his observations: "She has a boyfriend. That Mr. Fu who accompanied her on the first visit—they’re together."

He never asked Shen Jianian about her relationship with Fu Jichen. It’s her private matter; he, as her teacher, was only responsible for teaching her cello, not meddling in other aspects.

However, from what he observed that day, the two seemed to be a couple.

Mrs. Yan looked at him skeptically, "You’re trying to fool me, right? Isn’t Mr. Fu her relative?"

"One is Shen and the other Fu; how could they be relatives?" Yan Qiusheng clarified firmly, "So, don’t bring this matter up anymore, especially not in front of Jianian."

Mrs. Yan’s face visibly showed disappointment, as if she had completely given up her matchmaking attempt.