Chapter 17 Bitter Tea is Thinking of You.
The National Day holiday is approaching.
In the golden autumn season, on fine days, the sun is still scorching hot during the day, but at night a cool breeze always sweeps in, making people get goosebumps.
Following her previous online dating blunder, Ho Man announced that she would be going into seclusion for a few days, refusing all social gatherings with mixed backgrounds except for work-related matters.
Jiang Huai mocked her, while he himself went on a trip to the Great Northwest with a few brothers.
Liang Yizhi and Gu Yinyan didn't have any special plans. They agreed on a time to drive home a day early to avoid the traffic rush.
She'll only be home for three or four days this time, as Liang Yizhi has performances to do afterwards and won't be able to stay home for long. But she still really wants to go back; she hasn't seen her parents in a long time.
On the way back, Liang Yizhi sat in Gu Yinyan's car, watching the scenery rushing past the window, humming a song softly, feeling very happy.
When Liang Yizhi arrived at her doorstep, the car had just come to a stop when she saw her mother and aunt already standing at the door.
"You're finally back." Mother Liang greeted her daughter, scrutinizing her from head to toe as she got out of the car. "You've lost a lot of weight!"
Liang Yizhi echoed, complaining, "That's right, I'm getting thinner and thinner from playing the violin. So what delicious food did you make today? It smells so good."
"All you ever think about is eating." Mother Liang tapped her dog nose, then smiled at Gu Yinyan behind her and said, "Yinyan, you must be exhausted from driving all this way."
Gu Yinyan replied gently, "No, Auntie, it hasn't been open for long."
"That's good." Mother Liang then asked, "Have your parents returned?"
"Not yet, they'll be back in a couple of days."
Mrs. Liang smiled and said, "That's perfect. Auntie has prepared a lot of dishes. Why don't you stay here for dinner tonight?"
"good."
The luggage was handed over to the servants to carry inside. Gu Yinyan parked the car at his own home first, and returned to the Liang family home quite a while later.
The nanny opened the door for him, and as he walked through the entryway, the aroma of food became even more enticing.
There was no one in the living room. Gu Yinyan looked around and saw that everyone was crowded in the kitchen.
He asked Liang Yizhi, who was sitting by the island platform, "Is Teacher Liang not here today?"
Liang Yizhi replied, "My dad went to be a judge for the city's piano competition today, so he won't be home until later."
Hearing the noise, Liang's mother turned around and called to him again: "Yinyan, there's plenty of good food today. I made fish maw chicken and steamed sea bass, which you love."
Gu Yinyan replied politely, "Thank you, Auntie. I'm sorry to bother you tonight."
"Don't be so polite," Liang's mother said reproachfully. "We're family, why are you talking about bothering us?"
As soon as Liang Yizhi got home, without even changing her clothes, she washed her hands and went to the kitchen to help her mother. Hearing her mother being so attentive to Gu Yinyan, she was quite dissatisfied. She shook the water droplets off her hands and said, "Mom, if you like Gu Yinyan so much, why don't you just keep a room for him at home?"
“I would be willing,” Liang’s mother replied, deliberately going along with her words. “Yinyan can come to me, and you can go to the Gu family. It’s just that the Gu family might not be willing.”
"What do you mean, Mom?" Liang Yizhi asked, her voice filled with resentment.
Even if the Gu family doesn't want her, she's still not willing to go.
That suffocating atmosphere... she couldn't stand it.
From the moment they met, their mother showed a lot of favoritism towards Gu Yinyan.
Perhaps this is the privilege of being "someone else's child." Gu Yinyan's temperament and appearance are exactly the kind of person that parents like. He has excellent grades since childhood and is also good at interpersonal relationships, so his parents always see him through a lens of admiration.
Gu Yinyan took off his coat and walked to Liang Yizhi's side. He raised his hand, took off his silver watch, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Liang Yizhi moved the bowl of vegetables she had just picked in front of her, her eyes wary, as if to say: Don't steal my credit.
Gu Yinyan understood.
Then I simply went to Liang's mother's place to help prepare the food.
The kitchen was bustling with activity. Liang Yizhi, not a skilled cook, only helped with tasks like washing and preparing vegetables. Liang's mother and the nanny, Zhang Ma, were in charge of cooking, while Gu Yinyan handled raw meat at the counter.
She sat by the central island counter at the back, looking at the orderly scene before her, and a strange feeling arose in her heart.
She really enjoys the atmosphere of family and friends getting together.
Having probably not used a knife for a while, Gu Yinyan accidentally cut his thumb while cutting the ribs.
He didn't say anything, but frowned slightly and quietly wiped the blood from his thumb.
It was Liang Yizhi who saw it.
She put down the vegetables she was holding, came over to him, and said, "Let me see."
She took Gu Yinyan's hand. His hands had distinct knuckles, well-shaped nail beds, and were neatly trimmed.
There was a cut on the side of my fingertip, the skin was slightly turned up, and a few drops of blood seeped out.
Liang Yizhi mocked him: "You still want to show off? You should just leave it to Zhang Ma."
"It's alright."
Gu Yinyan tried to pull his hand away, but Liang Yizhi wouldn't let go, saying, "Stop messing around, I'll go get you a band-aid."
After she finished speaking, she came out of the kitchen, quickened her pace, and prepared to go upstairs to her room to get something.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
The front door was very close to the kitchen, so Liang Yizhi simply opened the door and called out, "Dad, you're back?" before rushing upstairs without even showing her full face.
When Mr. Liang saw his daughter, he ran off before he could even exchange a few words of concern. He thought to himself, "She's grown up so much, but her impulsive nature hasn't changed at all."
Mr. Liang entered the house, and Gu Yinyan also came to the living room, calling out, "Teacher Liang."
Liang Yizhi comes from a typical musical family. Her father, Liang Youde, is a well-known pianist in the music circle, and her mother, Xiao Yu, is a retired music teacher at a music academy.
Gu Yinyan was Liang Youde's student when he was in high school, and he studied piano under him.
When Mr. Liang saw the two of them, he smiled kindly: "Yinyan, did you come back with Yizhi?"
"right."
Liang Yizhi grabbed a band-aid and ran downstairs, saying, "I just got home and I hurt Young Master Gu."
Mr. Liang asked, "What happened?"
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious."
Gu Yinyan raised his hand, and Liang Yizhi tore open the band-aid, aligned the middle part with the wound, and carefully applied it.
Gu Yinyan then noticed that the band-aid wasn't the ordinary flesh-colored kind; it had many fancy patterns on it.
Gu Yinyan: "...I feel like we don't need to put it on."
"Done." Liang Yizhi ignored him, put on the band-aid, rubbed it lightly with her thumb, and threw the remaining trash into the wastebasket.
Mr. Liang sat on the sofa to the side, looking at the two people sitting side by side in front of him, getting along so harmoniously, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face:
“You two have grown up now, and you are much more sensible and harmonious than before.”
Liang Yizhi didn't like listening to her father ramble on about the past, which he would go on and on about.
Liang Yizhi: "Dad, we're all adults now, let's not bring up things from when we were little kids."
"You did it yourself, and you won't let me say anything." Mr. Liang clicked his tongue twice. "Have you forgotten how you used to mess with Gu Yinyan? You made sure he couldn't concentrate in any class, and you wasted all his practice time."
Liang Yizhi pouted shamelessly.
In his first year of high school, Gu Yinyan's father used his connections to get to know Liang Youde, a pianist who lived in the same area, and wanted his son to study piano with him.
After all, as the heir to a distinguished family, being proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, is an essential quality.
This was not a problem for Liang Youde, and he immediately agreed. After that, Gu Yinyan often came to Liang Yizhi's house to practice the piano. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening, he would come to study for two hours, and on the weekend, he would come to Liang's house to practice on his own.
Mr. Liang sat down and filled a cup of tea on the table, recalling, "I always said this child is quick to learn and intelligent. How come he started to fall behind after just one holiday? It turns out you were the one who hindered him."
Liang Yizhi vehemently denied it: "Dad, how can you call it an obstacle? It's called mutual help. Besides, although Gu Yinyan regressed at that time, I made progress."
Mr. Liang retorted, "Does this mean you're not unilaterally influencing Yin Yan?"
Unable to argue with Gu Yinyan, Liang Yizhi wanted his help.
Seeing his lips pursed and his indifferent attitude, she called out to him, "Gu Yinyan, why don't you say something?"
Gu Yinyan said calmly, "Although I was indeed affected a lot at the time, I still learned a lot from Teacher Liang."
Liang Yizhi: "?"
High school was arguably the most difficult period in Liang Yizhi's life.
The route was crooked and twisted, and although it successfully extended to the end, the process was an extremely tortuous wavy line.
Liang Yizhi has a strong playful spirit. In high school, in order to fully strive for the best music academy, she needed to juggle both her studies and piano practice. While keeping up with her academic subjects, she also had to ensure she practiced piano for a certain amount of time every day.
This was incredibly difficult for her. The practice was tedious and stressful, so during that time, Liang Yizhi constantly tried to find ways to have fun.
She spends most of her time at home, and the only people she sees besides her parents are Gu Yinyan.
Gu Yinyan was a year older than her and a year ahead of her. Although he was a stranger, Liang Yizhi was not afraid at all, firmly believing that Gu Yinyan was a very approachable peer.
Therefore, whenever Liang Youde took Gu Yinyan to practice the piano, she would always deliberately find an excuse to go into the music room to get something or listen in for a while.
Later, as he became more familiar with Gu Yinyan, he gradually grew bolder.
At first, no matter how much she harassed him, Gu Yinyan remained completely unmoved.
Later, whenever he practiced the piano, Liang Yizhi would deliberately make some noise or send him messages, inviting him to her place to play games.
Gu Yinyan was probably fed up with the annoyance, or he was genuinely tired from playing the piano. Sometimes, when Liang's father wasn't around, he would relent and come play games with her or watch a movie.
Occasionally, when he felt particularly motivated to study, he would ask Gu Yinyan to explain a couple of problems to him and take notes in a serious manner.
Mr. Liang brought up her past mistakes: "Luckily, Yin Yan wasn't a music major, otherwise you would have ruined her life."
Liang Yizhi: "Dad, you're being too harsh. Everyone's like this in school. If you take it to a lifetime, then I'll really be a sinner."
"Besides, Gu Yinyan is already very capable, how could he be affected by such a small matter of mine?"
It seemed that the time limit of a lifetime was too far away, or perhaps the events of his youth had stirred up those memories. Gu Yinyan held the teacup in his hand, lost in thought, and remained silent.
The tea at the bottom of the cup was clear and shallow. After filtering, not a trace of tea leaves remained. Like a clear mirror, it reflected his handsome and profound features.
During their teenage years, when they were young and naive, they often bickered and argued over trivial matters and played some indecent pranks.
After growing up and leaving home to enter society, we learn to look after each other. No matter who encounters difficulties, everyone will do their best to help.
That's how friendships are; they don't have the strong bonds of family, nor the unforgettable depths of romantic love.
People who truly appreciate each other may lose contact without realizing it, while those who are only superficially close may become even closer. In the end, how many will remain by your side? Who can say for sure?
After finishing the pot of tea, it was almost time to eat.
The meal was a lively affair. Afterwards, Mr. Liang played chess with Gu Yinyan while everyone chatted.
The Liang family members are all talkative. They chatted about everything from today's piano competition to their children's education. Both Vice President Liang and his wife are experienced teachers. They talked back and forth, and the topic eventually returned to Liang Yizhi and Gu Yinyan.
Not wanting to listen to her parents' nagging, Liang Yizhi made up an excuse and ran back to her room to pack her luggage.
When she estimated that it was about time, she went downstairs again.
Only the parents remained in the living room, still chatting. Mr. Liang was talking non-stop:
"Kids these days have never experienced hardship. They have such good material conditions, and their minds are restless. Few can truly settle down and practice. Several of my students were very talented when they first came, but they were unwilling to spend more time and effort on it. They didn't think about the melody, the emotion, and the expression in their performance, yet they thought they were already beyond ordinary people. How can they possibly learn well like that?"
Liang Yizhi heard all this as soon as she came downstairs, and sighed inwardly.
They haven't finished yet.
She seized the opportunity and interjected, "Where is Gu Yinyan?"
"He just finished playing chess and said he wanted to go out for some fresh air." Before Liang's father could finish speaking, he saw Liang Yizhi leave the house and didn't pay much attention, continuing, "He's going out for some fresh air."
"I think that in education, the guidance of parents is still very important. Someone must be there to set boundaries and exert necessary pressure."
“I don’t think so,” Liang’s mother said, not agreeing with her husband. “Yinyan’s parents didn’t grow up around him, but he’s still outstanding and excels in every aspect.”
Mr. Liang retorted, "Yinyan is an exception. How many families are willing to invest as much as the Gu family? And no other parents would be as resolute as them."
He sighed and lowered his voice: "If you can raise your own flesh and blood outside from a young age, I wouldn't be willing to let Yizhi suffer like that. It's unnecessary."
Liang's mother said, "It's been tough on this child. But thankfully, the Gu family's investment has paid off, and they have such an outstanding son as Yinyan."
Night fell, and darkness enveloped the outdoors.
When Liang Yizhi arrived outside the villa, she turned around and saw Gu Yinyan standing casually under the streetlights not far away.
The street was deserted, and Gu Yinyan stood alone. His dark shadow stretched long from where he stood, across the empty ground.
"Gu Yinyan—"
Liang Yizhi's voice was loud, and her call made Gu Yinyan pause in his work and look over in the direction of the sound.
Liang Yizhi caught up with him and stopped in front of him.
Gu Yinyan asked casually, "Why did you come out?"
Liang Yizhi put her hand on his arm: "Because I knew you were going to do this."
Beneath the arm she was holding, there was an unlit cigarette between her fingers.
Liang Yizhi frowned in displeasure, grabbed his hand and raised it up: "Why is your addiction so strong?"
"I've been thinking a lot lately."
"Are you in a bad mood?" Liang Yizhi asked.
"So-so." Gu Yinyan put away the cold silver lighter in his hand.
He smokes very little.
I only want to find an outlet to release my emotions when I have nowhere else to express them.
Liang Yizhi wanted to probe his thoughts: "What are you thinking about? Tell me."
The city night is starless. All around is quiet, with only the streetlights and moonlight for company.
Gu Yinyan remained silent and began to walk.
Liang Yizhi put her hands behind her back and mimicked his steps: "Are you talking about work or life? Is your parents putting pressure on you again?"
Gu Yinyan put his hands in his pockets and said, "Neither."
"You just don't want to talk about it." Liang Yizhi was determined to get to the bottom of it. "Then tell me, is it related to other people?"
The person next to him pondered for a second or two, then nodded slightly with their chin: "Yes."
"About whom?"
Gu Yinyan suddenly stopped, his voice clear and crisp:
"you."
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