Chapter 180 Playing the Piano
Cui Yuyue led Xu Songning away from the battlefield, stretched, and said, "It's finally over. What a boring experience. Talking to two pots of Biluochun tea was exhausting and infuriating."
Xu Songning smiled and took her arm, saying, "Your fighting power is in no way inferior to your brother's."
Cui Yuyue laughed happily twice, "That's right, sister-in-law, how did you and my brother get along so well? He's such a quiet guy, how did you even fall for him? Tell me about it!"
The two entered Cui Yuyue's room. Xu Songning avoided the things that couldn't be said and simply recounted their relationship. Cui Yuyue was truly impressed by them, saying, "You two are really amazing to be able to find time to date with such a busy work schedule."
Xu Songning smiled but remained silent.
She glanced at Cui Yuyue's room, which was simply furnished with many law books and neatly stacked documents. She wondered what Xiang Yun's room was like at home.
Where's your brother's room?
"Come on, sister-in-law, let me show you around." Cui Yuyue waved, and the two went to another room on the second floor. It was about the same size as Cui Yuyue's room, but with an extra floor-to-ceiling window and dark green curtains that blocked out the sunlight.
Cui Yuyue walked over and opened the curtains, letting the sunlight stream in and finally revealing the entire room.
A two-meter-long bed was covered with a dark-colored four-piece bedding set. On the large desk was the same computer assembly that Xiang Yun used when he rented the room. A row of floating cabinets was nailed to the wall to serve as a bookshelf. Xiang Yun's books from his student days were all kept here, along with some notebooks and draft paper.
Xu Songning pulled a notebook down from the bookshelf, randomly flipped to a page, and saw Xiang Yun's notes from class, as well as his doodles on an airplane model.
"I never thought your brother would daydream in class. I thought he was a model student." Xu Songning smiled and touched his doodle. It was very lifelike and showed that he had a talent for drawing.
“He really is a model student. Look at these certificates.” Cui Yuyue pulled her to the other side, where the wall was covered with Xiang Yun’s certificates of honor. He was not only a provincial model student, but also won awards in sports and competitions. He was almost an all-rounder.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Xu Songning took out his phone and snapped a picture.
"He's alright. He's a really good learner, but he's too quiet. He doesn't tell you what's on his mind directly. Sister Xu, if anything happens in the future and you two have a falling out, just teach him a lesson. Don't be polite to him." Cui Yuyue made a slapping motion at him.
Xu Songning laughed, "We've really never had any conflicts. Your brother has a very good personality."
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Cui Yuyue couldn't help but admire the wisdom of the ancients. She had been with Xiang Yun for over twenty years, and she would never have said such a terrible thing.
"Hahaha, are you that afraid of him?" Xu Songning asked her.
Cui Yuyue nodded, "If you really make him angry, the consequences will be very serious."
“That’s true.” Xu Songning agreed. He had a good temper, but he wasn’t without one. Thinking back to how he almost lost the person, Xu Songning still felt lingering fear.
“Oh right, I sent you a video of my brother playing the piano last time. Perfect, you can have him play a piece for you in person!” Cui Yuyue pulled her downstairs.
Cui Yuyue glanced towards the study first. The door wasn't closed properly, and the three of them were still talking inside.
“My mother is mindful of her more than 20-year relationship with Mrs. Lin, so she hasn’t broken ties with them. Sister-in-law, don’t worry, Mom will definitely be on your side.”
Xu Songning understood this principle, of course. She hadn't suffered any loss today; she had only heard some trivial words. Besides, Captain Xiang had said that she could do whatever she wanted with him when they got back. She thought the exchange was pretty good.
When Xiang Yun came out of the kitchen after finishing his cooking lesson, he ran into the two of them. He handed Xu Songning a glass of orange juice and asked, "Aren't you bored? Want to go home?"
Xu Songning smiled and shook his head, "It's not boring, I want to hear you play the piano."
“Okay.” Xiang Yun ignored his sister who was following him around excitedly and led Xu Songning to the small living room. The small living room only had a piano, covered with a dust cover.
Facing the piano, there's a sofa—the very spot where Cui Yuyue secretly took those photos last time.
Xu Songning and Cui Yuyue sat on the side of the piano. Xu Songning was holding a phone and took a picture of him sitting sideways in front of the piano, with sunlight falling on him.
"What do you want to hear?" Xiang Yun casually pressed a few piano keys.
"It's the same song as last time, 'Für Elise,' but I only listened to half of it through the phone." Xu Songning adjusted the angle.
This time, Xu Songning took over the filming, and Xiang Yun had no objections. He glanced at her with extreme tenderness.
Cui Yuyue stopped being a third wheel and tiptoed to the kitchen to ask her dad for some delicious snacks.
Xiang Yun's hands rested on the piano keys; his long, strong hands pressed down each note with elegance, his movements as fluid as flowing water.
The melodious piano music, paired with his tall and straight figure, made his profile even more three-dimensional in the golden sunlight. Xu Songning was captivated, and only when the piano music ended did she press the end button in a daze.
"I'm going to keep this video. I'll show it to you when you're seventy or eighty." Xu Songning looked down at the video, completely unaware of his own words, which made it sound as if they were already going to spend their whole lives together.
Xiang Yun walked up to her, took her hand, and said, "Come on, play with me."
"Four-hand piano? I've heard of it, but I can't play it." Xu Songning said but did not refuse, letting Xiang Yun lead her to sit down at the piano.
Xiang Yun sat next to her, teaching her basic fingering techniques while humming a rhythm, encouraging her to play the keys.
“This is a very simple four-hand duet. You just need to cooperate with me.” Xiang Yun patiently held her hand and played the keys in sequence.
“But I’m really stupid,” Xu Songning said deliberately.
Xiang Yun gently kissed her cheek. "It's okay, I'm very patient."
The warm sunlight shone on the two of them, and Xu Songning's unpleasantness had long since vanished.
She was quick to learn, and by following Xiang Yun's rhythm, she soon mastered the knack, able to accurately enter his rhythm and play harmoniously with him.
After seeing the Lin family mother and daughter off, Ms. Cui heard melodious piano music and followed the sound.
Under the sunlight, Xu Songning and Xiang Yun sat side by side, playing the piano together. It was obvious that Xu Songning couldn't play, but she still tried her best to keep up with Xiang Yun's rhythm. When she made a mistake, Xiang Yun would stop and teach her. The two played the same rhythm over and over again.
Ms. Cui never knew her son was so patient, able to teach another person to play the same passage over and over again. He used to find his cooking unpalatable, but now that he has someone he cares about, he's starting to learn to cook.
"Mom—" Cui Yuyue appeared furtively with snacks in her hand, but before she could put them away, her mother covered her mouth.
Cui Yuyue blinked, indicating that she understood and would not speak anymore, and only then did Ms. Cui release her.
"Mom, are you satisfied with your sister-in-law... Ah, Sister Xu?" Cui Yuyue asked her softly.
Ms. Cui was certainly satisfied, but she still wouldn't let it go, saying, "Let's see. You're too sweet-talking; you made me forget to ask what I wanted to ask."
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