Chapter 23, Song 23...

Qu Jiaying never showed up for the agreed-upon quartet rehearsal.

The three of them took turns sending her messages, but none of them replied.

Yan Zheng took out his phone: "She probably didn't see it. I'll give her a call."

She couldn't get through either. Suddenly, Le Yi raised her hand: "She replied to me, saying she got the time wrong and that she's been busy practicing for her final exams, so she won't be coming to rehearsal for now."

Yan Zheng was annoyed: "Why did she reply to your message?" He then looked at the silent Xiang Min, "Did she reply to your message?"

Xiang Min shook his head.

Le Yi asked, "Did one of you make her angry?"

Yan Zheng protested his innocence: "It wasn't me." He looked at Xiang Min suspiciously again, "What did you do?"

Le Yi also looked over, and Xiang Min confessed in a low mood, "We had a fight."

"And then what?" Yan Zheng frowned. "Are you just going to let her stay angry?"

“Yes, what if she quits the quartet for good?” Le Yi asked anxiously.

Xiang Min didn't want to talk any more. He put his cello, which had just had a new string replaced, back into its case: "If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

"What's going on?" Yan Zheng said, still puzzled. Qu Jiaying was angry, so why was she taking it out on him?

Qu Jiaying wasn't completely lying. She did have lessons at Teacher Xia Xiaolei's house, but instead of the concerto for the final exam, she practiced very dry etudes that didn't require emotional investment.

She hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so her teacher, Xia Xiaolei, specifically had her practice etudes, choosing the extremely difficult Paganini pieces.

Qu Jiaying focused all her attention on technique, but unfortunately, the results weren't very good. She made another mistake, alternating between her left and right hands, rereading the score, and preparing to start again from where she had broken down.

Teacher Xia Xiaolei told her to rest for a while and asked with concern, "Has something happened recently?"

Qu Jiaying drank the beverage given to her by teacher Xia Xiaolei and shook her head: "It's nothing serious." She paused, then said frankly, "But my mind is a mess, I can't quite put my finger on it."

Teacher Xia Xiaolei didn't ask any more questions. Seeing that she had rested enough, she smiled and said, "Let's stop practicing Paganini for now and start practicing the basic scales again. Focus on bowing technique and pitch accuracy."

Qu Jiaying honestly started practicing the piano from scales. She was surprised that this practice was very effective because it was a basic skill. Even if she was a little distracted, she wouldn't make any mistakes. But she gradually calmed down and carefully polished the details.

After finally calming down, Qu Jiaying was blocked by Yan Zheng as soon as she stepped out of the classroom the next morning after the theory class ended.

Qu Jiaying glanced at him and silently tried to walk past him, but her wrist was grabbed.

"Where are you going?" Yan Zheng didn't expect to be ignored even after he arrived here. He was not sure at first, but Qu Jiaying's avoidance was too obvious, so he had to ask clearly.

"Let's have lunch."

"The cafeteria? I'll go with you." Yan Zheng took the textbook from her hand.

Qu Jiaying had no choice but to walk alongside him toward the cafeteria.

Yan Zheng cut to the chase: "What exactly happened?"

"nothing."

Yan Zheng asked again, "You can tell there's something on your mind. Can't you tell me? Be honest."

Qu Jiaying retorted irritably, "Did you even manage that?"

"What did I do?" Yan Zheng asked calmly.

Qu Jiaying took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She didn't want to talk about the reasons for their breakup; just thinking about it would make her angry, and she didn't want to argue again at this crucial moment.

Qu Jiaying turned her head and looked directly at him: "What did you say to Xiang Min?"

"We didn't talk about much," Yan Zheng replied reflexively.

Qu Jiaying's expression was indifferent, and Yan Zheng pursed his lips, his expression not pleasant either. He changed his tune and confessed, "You didn't give me a response, and he's very close to you, so I asked him. He just said he was pursuing you. Isn't that obvious? I can see that too."

Qu Jiaying continued to stare at him coldly.

Yan Zheng, still confused, continued, "He only likes your appearance. He didn't even agree to you joining the quartet at first. Don't be fooled by him."

Qu Jiaying rolled her eyes at him.

Qu Jiaying then realized that Xiang Min wasn't talking nonsense, but he was deliberately trying to annoy her.

She didn't understand, what was the benefit of doing this?

Although Yan Zheng couldn't understand how she calmed down, he figured that if she glared at him, she should be fine.

Although Qu Jiaying figured it out, Xiang Min didn't make any move. Plus, everyone was busy with finals, and the "three missing one" quartet band still couldn't get all members together for rehearsals until the holidays.

Xiang Min returned home with his luggage and the half-finished sheet music. He greeted his uncle and gave his cousin a gift. His aunt pretended to complain about why he didn't come back for summer vacation.

His uncle then asked him why he hadn't brought his cello back.

Xiang Min just smiled. During the years he lived at his uncle's house, he only practiced piano at school. Although he switched to studying composition partly because he found it more interesting and could better utilize his talents, another part was due to his family situation.

It's not that he lacks money to learn the piano, nor that he doesn't have a good teacher, or that he lacks talent.

Xiang Min returned to his bedroom, which had been cleaned. He could smell that the bedding had just been washed. His aunt and uncle were not actually bad to him, but since they were not his biological children, they wouldn't care about him as much.

For a family to produce a professional musician, the whole family must endure years of continuous practice.

Xiang Min's uncle probably endured his sister's almost incessant cello playing since he was a child, but he himself didn't learn an instrument, nor did he let his daughter learn, so he simply couldn't do it.

Xiang Min tried it at first. In the period after his mother passed away, he practiced the piano desperately at his uncle's house, but not long after, his uncle told him to be quieter, so he only practiced at school after that.

He packed his luggage, putting his thick clothes into the closet one by one, and finally placed the half-finished sheet music on his desk.

Xiang Min stroked the title "Green Night," regretting what he had said to Qu Jiaying. He had only said those words in anger, but he didn't know how to apologize.

Xiang Min smiled wryly, but ironically, this led to a surge of inspiration, and he wrote several pages of sheet music in one go, resolving the piece he had previously been stuck on.

As soon as Yan Zheng returned home, his father pressed him for details about the school symphony orchestra's previous assessment.

Yan Zheng said a few words, and Yan's father was immediately displeased, not only with Yan Zheng but also with Cai Rui.

"What's wrong with this guy? Your senior is using so many tricks, and he actually thinks it's better than your interpretation?" Yan's father started nagging him again about the formal rehearsals at the end of next semester, telling him to study hard and not embarrass him.

Yan Zheng listened in silence. His father was the principal viola player in the provincial symphony orchestra, and he had his reasons for being proud. Over the years, their provincial symphony orchestra had collaborated with many internationally renowned conductors, and even the principal player had been criticized, but he had not.

The cello principal, who joined the orchestra around the same time as Yan's father, was not as skilled as others and was replaced last year by a young man who had just graduated from the music academy a few years ago.

Yan's father, however, was able to keep the viola player, who had returned from studying abroad, in check.

Although their provincial symphony orchestra cannot compare to the national symphony orchestra, it is still among the top in the country.

Yan's father had a more conservative view of music than Yan Zheng and was even less accepting of Cai Rui, but since Cai Rui was a teacher found by the music academy, he couldn't say much.

Yan Zheng and Xiang Min had a so-so winter vacation, but the other two had a great one. Qu Jiaying visited both sets of grandparents with her parents on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and then set off on a trip to Le Yi's hometown, which Le Yi had enthusiastically recommended.

As soon as the plane landed, Le Yi came to pick them up and took the three of them out to eat.

There was already someone waiting in the private room of the local restaurant.

Le Yi introduced, "This is my teacher, and also the former principal of our school."

Mr. Qu quickly greeted him.

The old headmaster was a handsome grandfather who had been a womanizer all his life, marrying three times. His children and ex-wives didn't pay much attention to him, but the students treated him very well. As he got older, his health deteriorated, and one of the students invited him to stay here.

The old principal had just found another protégé. He laughed and scolded, "That kid Le Yi, don't let his cheerful demeanor fool you, he's incredibly stubborn. It's not that I don't want him to participate in competitions and performances, it's that he's unwilling. I've always felt it's such a pity. He's in college and still has to play in a quartet, not focusing on playing the piano. It's driving this old man crazy."

He then praised Qu Jiaying: "I haven't heard such a good 'Destiny' in a long time."

"You listened to the recording?" Qu Jiaying asked.

The old principal nodded and pointed at Le Yi: "I still have to thank you for giving this kid to me. It was the first time I heard him do accompaniment, and he did a pretty good job."

The meal was very enjoyable. Afterwards, Le Yi volunteered to take them out for a walk: "I'll share a room with my uncle, and you can share a room with your aunt. It's fine."

“That’s not a problem. I’ve always shared a room with my mom. She’s not a good sleeper, and my dad snores a lot,” Qu Jiaying said.

“That’s perfect, I sleep really well,” Le Yi said with a smile.

"The question is, don't you need to visit relatives and friends for the New Year?"

"I've already paid my New Year's visits these past two days, so I don't have that many relatives at home," Le Yi said.

Qu's parents declined for a long time, but Le Yi insisted, saying that with him, a local, leading the way, they would definitely have a better time and enjoy better food.

They had no choice but to contact Le Yi's parents, who were not only understanding but also extremely generous and not worried at all.

Finally, Le Yi's parents said that he practiced the piano all day at home during his vacation, so it would be good for him to go out and relax. Qu Jiaying's parents felt the same way and finally agreed.

As soon as they hung up the phone, Qu Jiaying received a transfer from Le Yi.

"Here's my travel expenses for you," Le Yi said with a hearty laugh.

Qu Jiaying sighed: "There's no need, you've already brought us gifts."

“One thing at a time, you are guests from afar,” Le Yi said.

“Okay, we’ll make up the difference later,” Qu Jiaying said seriously.

The next day, Mr. Qu kept praising Le Yi, saying that he would take turns driving with him, would take the initiative to carry the luggage, and that the attractions and restaurants he recommended were all excellent.

Qu's father privately told Qu Jiaying that she was better than Yan Zheng.

Qu Jiaying smiled helplessly. Last night, Qu's mother said that Le Yi was cunning and had given her rose dew with beauty and skincare benefits.

"He wants to follow his parents' path? No way!" However, Qu's mother didn't approve of Xiang Min either.

This made Qu Jiaying somewhat embarrassed.

"Do you think I don't know that you often go to the next neighborhood at night to meet that cellist?" In her heart, Qu's mother still thought Yan Zheng was a good person, someone she knew well.

Qu Jiaying couldn't explain her complicated and troublesome emotional relationship, so she could only reluctantly explain to her parents: "Le Yi and I are just ordinary friends."