10. Fantasy Polonaise

◎Birthday Gift◎

The New Year passed by in the same way for more than ten days.

On New Year's Eve, Ms. Ma went back to her room and called the sun and moon. After finishing his New Year's Eve dinner, Mr. Liang went out because he had something to do.

As the fireworks exploded outside the window, Liang Chuling was on a voice call with Li Xun.

Li Chi took Li Xun abroad to celebrate the New Year.

After Liang Chuling sent a Happy New Year message to Teacher Li Chi, Li Xun called her via WeChat.

"What are you doing?" Liang Chuling asked listlessly.

"Read a book." Li Xun's voice traveled across the ocean.

What book?

"Popular science book".

"Oh." Liang Chuling wasn't very interested in science popularization. "Aunt Zhang went home for the Chinese New Year, and my mom and I have been eating takeout so much these past few days that we're almost sick of it."

"Hmm," Li Xun asked, "What was your favorite food during Chinese New Year in the past?"

"My grandma used to make fried lotus root cakes! It's a pity she passed away and no one makes them for me anymore. Aunt Zhang's always just doesn't quite have the same feel to them. It seems like many things are better from the past."

The last sentence was supposed to be somber, but Liang Chuling only realized how philosophical her statement was after she finished speaking, and was momentarily amazed by her own literary talent!

She immediately grabbed a pen to jot it down; she's been cultivating her creative thinking lately and doesn't let any inspiration slip by.

While taking notes, she kept saying, "My goodness, I'm so cultured now!"

Li Xun nodded, then remembered she couldn't see, so he praised her verbally, "You truly are a little genius, so amazing." After praising her, he coaxed her to say more, "What else is better than before?"

He found that asking Liang Chuling about her past yielded richer answers than asking about her present.

Her current schedule is too full of piano lessons, competitions, and classes.

Childhood and the past, however, are scattered in the corners of time, their colors more vivid and easier to retrieve. He almost greedily wanted to understand, to know what moments shaped her into who she is today.

Li Xun looked at her and brought up the old topic again, but in a different way: "What did it feel like when you first touched the piano keys?"

Liang Chuling stopped using the "my mom's ex-boyfriend" joke as an excuse.

"I pressed it, and the sound came out. It felt so magical; I was commanding the sound."

“Order?” Li Xun repeated the word.

"Yes! Don't you think so? Each of the eighty-eight keys has its own function. And the person playing the piano is the general."

Li Xun regretted that it was a phone call instead of a video call. He had seen her smugness when she showed off her skills, and he had also seen her anxiety when she hit a bottleneck, but at this moment, he could not see her expression.

But he thought, this is the source—

What sustains her through the monotonous practice day after day is not only talent and competitiveness, but also this desire for control.

He felt like a voyeur, not content with knowing her present, but wanting to delve into her past that he had never been a part of.

I want to know the reason for her childhood crying, to experience all the feelings she once had, to understand the metaphors behind every action of hers, and to understand the sadness in every sigh of hers.

Then, a sense of loss will spread—

Why wasn't I by your side during these times?

After Liang Chuling's throat became dry from talking, Li Xun urged her to drink some water. Neither of them spoke again, but neither hung up. The background noise consisted of the television and their breathing.

As if by some tacit understanding, they together turned this holiday, which should have been a time for family reunion, into a period of parallel companionship.

The more you observe, the stronger your curiosity becomes, and the harder it is to suppress the desire to get closer. You want to get closer, you want to fill all the gaps in time.

The chill of spring lingered in Beijing after the New Year, but the wind carried the dampness of spring.

It was Wednesday, and the two of them were having class with Li Chi as usual.

Li Chi disliked the poor air quality in Beijing, so he placed a small fan on the living room table to help with ventilation.

Liang Chuling practiced the piano with great enjoyment. Afterwards, she casually ripped off the rubber band, letting her long hair fall loose, some of it damp with sweat sticking to her cheeks. She frantically tried to fix it with her hands, but only made it worse.

Li Xun was walking towards her, reaching out his hand to help her straighten her hair.

Before they met, neither of them realized it; Li Xun didn't pause, and Liang Chuling didn't refuse.

Upon encountering each other, both of them froze. Li Xun didn't stop, and Liang Chuling didn't turn her head.

Li Xun raised his hand and gently brushed aside a strand of hair on her shoulder that wasn't connected to her skin: "Your hair is messy."

"Oh." Liang Chuling tied her hair up again.

At that moment, Li Xun clearly realized that he wanted to touch more than just hair.

He wanted to understand why she looked so vibrant even when she was sweating, why her expressions when she was irritable seemed cute, and why he couldn't take his eyes off her.

He wanted to see her completely, the whole, vivid Liang Chuling.

Li Xun ordered fruit slices for her, but all they had was cantaloupe.

Liang Chuling ate while taking notes, when Li Xun suddenly asked, "Why cantaloupe?"

Liang Chuling was taken aback by the question, her hand holding the melon fork froze in mid-air: "What do you mean, why? Because it's sweet."

"Apples are sweet too."

"Apple is boring."

"Is Mango boring?"

"Mangoes are like old ladies who need help crossing the street," Liang Chuling said matter-of-factly.

Li Xun didn't ask any more questions, and nodded: "You like things with a distinct texture?"

Just like when she plays the piano, she enjoys pieces where the sense of accomplishment is strong after the technical goals are clearly achieved.

Liang Chuling didn't understand, so she asked him in return, "And you? What kind of fruit do you like to eat?"

Li Xun thought for a moment and said, "Orange."

"Why?"

"The process of peeling it is very interesting. The structure is clear, segment by segment. It takes a little patience, but the reward is plump flesh and aroma."

"I thought it would be strawberry. You always like to buy strawberry-flavored things."

“Yes,” Li Xun nodded, “I like the flavor of strawberries, but I’m allergic to strawberries.”

Liang Chuling was dumbfounded, feeling that this was quite philosophical and a bit beyond her knowledge level. She would have to study it further before discussing the topic.

After class, Liang Chuling didn't pack her things as usual. She dawdled and rummaged through her bag for a long time before finally pulling out something carefully wrapped up.

She shoved the gift into Li Xun's hands, her eyes fixed on the bare tree branches outside the window: "A birthday present. It's been a bit long, sorry... mainly because it was a little difficult to prepare."

Li Xun looked down at the thing in his hand.

It was wrapped very carefully, and even tied with a ribbon.

Untie the ribbon, and inside is a bound musical score.

At the very top is the handwritten title – "Searching".

Li Xun stared at that word in disbelief.

"I think this character is great. It represents your name, and it also represents how long I've been searching for inspiration! I think music is sometimes like searching for someone, searching for that kind of... well... I'm not very good at expressing myself, so figure it out yourself!"

Her voice trailed off as she spoke, realizing she had made a complete mess of her explanation. Liang Chuling was very nervous; she was utterly bad at creating! But despite her lack of talent, she still racked her brains and tried her best, and thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel proud.

Li Xun looked up at her. Her gaze was unfocused. She was proud, but she still dared not look at him.

This is a short piano piece with a simple structure.

The opening melody is a hesitant exploration, like cautious footsteps in the forest at dawn. The warm harmonies, laid beneath the melody, are like soft soil.

In this warmth and tranquility, one or two gentle discordant notes may be inserted.

They don't disrupt the overall harmony, but they are quite distinctive, and it's hard to say whether they will bring surprises or shocks.

It reminded him of something she had inexplicably said before: "Li Xun, you're like this puddle."

Li Xun heard a familiar motive in the middle section.

It was a short melody from his manuscript that accidentally fell under the piano.

Liang Chuling captured it and varied and developed it in her own way, integrating it into the musical landscape of her warm exploration. She reinterpreted it in her bright way, scooping up a ladleful from his water, reflecting her own colors.

She also used music to complete a response and dialogue that no one knew about.

This is indeed a piece of music about searching. She is using her language to describe the one she has "found"—calm, warm, with hidden waves within, and those waves, in her view, are also part of tenderness.

Li Xun read it for a long time, so long that Liang Chuling began to doubt whether her writing was really that bad, and he was too embarrassed to criticize it.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the window curtains and onto the table, appearing soft and gentle, flowing down the surface. The sunlight defied the rules, streaming upwards from the floor, splashing all over Li Xun, and even accumulating a drop on his collarbone, like the orange juice Liang Chuling had drunk that morning.

Li Xun kept his head down, and Liang Chuling inexplicably made a cup shape with her right hand and toasted with Li Xun alone.

The fan wasn't pointing directly at anyone, and it was running at its lowest speed. The sound was uneven, like a boat on the water, weakly and rhythmically slapping against the surface, never able to ride the waves.

Finally, Li Xun looked at Liang Chuling, who was still on high alert.

Liang Chuling looked into Li Xun's eyes, which, too, shimmered in the sunlight, appearing somewhat blind.

Upon closer inspection, she realized that Li Xun was indeed five months older than her.

Li Xun asked a completely unrelated question: "Do you know that today is February 14th?"

Liang Chuling was stunned.

Her face flushed red quickly, and she grabbed her phone in alarm. It really was February 14th.

"I don't know!" She practically jumped up. "I just felt the piece was finally almost finished, and I thought I'd give it to you during class today. I swear! Li Xun, believe me! It's purely coincidental! It has absolutely nothing to do with Valentine's Day! I just wanted to give you a birthday present!"

She was incoherent and swore to the heavens.

Seeing her flustered appearance, Li Xun finally couldn't help but laugh, a relaxed smile.

“It’s alright,” he said with a smile. “I know.”

I know you didn't do it on purpose. I know it's a coincidence. Although I hope it isn't.

Liang Chuling smiled at him, her embarrassment subsiding somewhat: "It's good that you knew, you scared me to death."

Li Xun carefully rewrapped the sheet music and tied the ribbon back on as before.

"Thank you, I really like the gift. I love it very much."

Liang Chuling felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and nodded haphazardly: "If you like it, that's fine! When I was learning the piano as a child, my teacher once showed me a piece she had written, which I really liked! But I didn't say anything, and she was so scared that she didn't dare to breathe! You know, you should say what you like first! Otherwise, it puts too much pressure on others!"

After listening, Li Xun nodded to indicate that he understood, and then casually asked, "How old were you back then? Which teacher were you with? What kind of classes were you taking?"

When Liang Chuling started talking about this, she wasn't nervous at all, and she talked endlessly about everything under the sun.

Li Xun guided her little by little as she recounted fragments of her past—those happy, sad, and embarrassing childhood memories.

He wanted to know more about Liang Chuling's past before she turned sixteen, before he met her, and before he experienced it.

It was not difficult to coax Liang Chuling into recounting her past.

She has a strong desire to share, but lacks an audience.

Little by little, he pieced together a picture of her childhood, her joy, her grievances, and her stubbornness.

His phone's photo album began to pile up with screenshots and photos, each one related to Liang Chuling. They were proof that he was trying to make up for his absence.

The February wind was still biting, but Li Xun had already glimpsed the warmth of spring.

Springtime always tests the waters when it paints the branches green, and Li Xun is testing the waters now as well.

He reached around his neck and untied a silver chain from which something was hanging.

He took the chain in his hand and handed it to Liang Chuling.

It is a jade pendant. Soft and light, it appears clear-headed and lucid—clear-headed and lucid, yet not innocent.

It was carved into the shape of a gourd, glistening like water.

"Here, take this." Li Xun said.

Liang Chuling stared at the jade gourd. Even a fool would know that it was definitely not cheap and must have some significance!

She waved her hands frantically: "No, no! I can't accept it! It's too valuable!"

Li Xun almost laughed, but patiently explained, "It's about reciprocity?"

"What do you mean by reciprocity! I gave you a birthday present! No way! Absolutely not!"

Seeing her excited expression, Li Xun said even more gently, "I'm not replying with this birthday present."

After saying that, she took out a book from her bag. There was a leaf tucked into the title page. "This is a bellflower leaf. Do you remember? You gave it to me when we first met."

Liang Chuling racked her brains for five minutes before she finally remembered: "Didn't you take that off my head yourself?"

Li Xun replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, wasn't that the one you gave me?"

Liang Chuling's actions are utterly incomprehensible...

Li Xun put the book back and walked up to Liang Chuling. "This jade pendant was a gift from my grandmother when I was six years old. It's a gourd, symbolizing good fortune and peace. Didn't you say I'm your metaphysics? Well, I'll give you a metaphysics gift. Please accept it, little genius." He then smiled.

Liang Chuling was momentarily dazed.

She told Li Xun that she was in poor health when she was born. Her mother was worried and specially asked for a jade pendant for her. It was a very ordinary teardrop shape and was tied with a red string to be worn around her neck.

She wore it until she was six years old. One day, she went shopping with her mother. There were many people, and she doesn't know when, but the jade pendant was stolen.

That same year, she contracted severe pneumonia.

Ms. Ma later wanted to ask for another one for her, but an elder said that the fate had run its course and she shouldn't force it.

Li Xun's slip could not possibly be the one she lost back then.

But she knew what Li Xun meant.

He wanted to fill the void of protection in her life; he wanted to share his blessings and peace with her.

Because I know it, I'm nervous.

Liang Chuling looked at the quiet jade gourd, then at the quiet Li Xun, and still didn't dare to reach out.

"I'm careless, what if I lose it?" she made an excuse, her voice lowering.

Li Xun looked at her lowered head; her fluffy hair looked a little pitiful in the sunlight.

She sighed inwardly, "It's okay if you lose it. I'll put it on for you."

As Liang Chuling watched Li Xun approach, his arm wrapped around her neck, a gesture that was almost an embrace.

"Alright." Li Xun stepped back.

Liang Chuling reached out and touched the gourd. Even though she was slow to notice, she sensed at that moment that something had changed.

She found herself at a loss for words.