Chapter 34
As Mei Shu spoke, she gently placed Li Hua’s hand on Mei Mu’s shoulder. Everyone’s attention was focused on their conversation and actions. When Mei Shu passed by Li Hua, she quickly kicked her on the leg, catching her off guard.
Li Hua pounced forward unprepared. In times of danger, people would instinctively reach out for anything they could grab onto.
Suddenly, Mei Mu felt a cool breeze above her head and watched helplessly as Li Hua fell to the ground with a wig in her hand.
“Oh, my God!”
“What did I just see? Is our school belle bald?”
“Hey! Didn’t she get her eyebrows tattooed recently? And wear false eyelashes! Could it be…”
“Oh my god, no wonder she caused so much trouble two weeks ago, and deliberately created an image of being well-loved by her family. It turned out to be a cover-up!”
“So is her face now bald?!”
“This news is shocking the whole school. I need to hurry up and write a post on the campus network, discussing whether a hairless school belle can still outshine others? And who will be the new school belle?”
As Mei Mu watched the looks of the people around her, she suddenly screamed, “Ahhh!”
Then, she grabbed the wig from Li Hua, who was still staring at her on the ground, put it on her head, and ran out of the classroom.
At this point, Mei Shu had calmly returned to her seat, watching the scene with great satisfaction, feeling glad that she earned herself a few more days of peace and quiet.
The discussion in the class didn’t stop until the morning reading bell rang.
After lunch, Mei Shu took her book and test papers and went to the Art Building. She found an empty classroom and closed the door.
As Mei Shu sat in front of the piano again, she felt a mixture of emotions. Plus her previous life, she hadn’t touched a piano for almost 20 years.
Mei Shu gently lifted the piano lid. When her hand touched the keys again, Mei Shu felt her heart tremble, thinking of the last piece she played with her mother, “Kikujiro’s Summer.”
Mei Shu took a deep breath and, with the blurry memories of that afternoon, her fingers seemed to have their own consciousness when they touched the keys. At first, it was a bit unfamiliar, but Mei Shu used to play often, so after the prelude was finished, she was completely immersed in the music.
With the warm sun and gentle breeze, the lively notes brought people into that summer with cicadas. It felt like stepping on a sun-drenched pebble road, and there was a young man with a smiling face under the green shade on the roadside.
Zhao Min was delayed today, and when she hurried to the door of the classroom, she could hear the lively and cheerful melody coming from inside. Instead of pushing the door open, she stood quietly in the hallway and smiled as she listened to the entire song.
As the piece ended, Zhao Min pushed open the door and walked into the classroom with a smile.
“I’m sorry for being late today. You just played the emotions that ‘Summer’ is meant to convey perfectly. As I’ve said before, your biggest problem is not being able to infuse emotions into your piano playing. However, after your performance just now, I believe you will definitely be able to rank in the piano competition for middle school students. For ‘Fate’…”
Zhao Min’s words came to a sudden halt when she saw the unfamiliar face of the girl.
Mei Shu quickly stood up and stepped aside, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know someone was using this classroom.”
Zhao Min regained her composure and gestured with her hand, excited to give feedback to a talented student. “You played the arpeggios exceptionally well. Your sound has a strong granular quality, and your finger strength is excellent. This piece requires a lot of arpeggios and a relatively fast tempo of 100 quarter notes per minute. It is difficult to achieve a relaxed and high-quality performance, but you did it flawlessly. How many years have you been playing the piano?”
Mei Shu replied, “I studied for five years before.”
Although Zhao Min only heard Mei Shu play one piece, she could tell that her foundation was solid. She couldn’t find any flaws in Mei Shu’s performance of the previous piece, but most importantly, Mei Shu had the ability to tell a story through the piano. Technique could be practiced, but not everyone had the ability to bring the audience into the world depicted in the music. She was the kind of student Zhao Min had been searching for but hadn’t found.
So when Zhao Min heard that Mei Shu wasn’t considering continuing her piano studies, she felt a little disappointed. But then she asked with a hint of anticipation, “Do you have any plans to continue studying the piano?”
Mei Shu smiled and shook her head, “Not for now. I need to focus on preparing for the exam.”