Chapter 19 Autumn Whispers
Not long after, the car arrived at a restaurant.
"Uncle Dan, why did you bring me here?" Gu Zhaodi looked at the restaurant in front of her, wanting to say that she had already eaten.
The man looked toward the girl, his eyes as dark as the night, and said in a gentle voice, "You'll find out soon enough."
The girl, who had not received an answer, felt a surge of curiosity, which tugged at her heartstrings, causing it to beat in sync with the man's every move.
He lowered his eyes and followed Dan Anwen into the restaurant, directly into a private room.
The furnishings in the private room were unlike those expected in a restaurant; the low coffee table and exquisite murals made it resemble a small living room for entertaining guests.
The man asked the girl to sit on the sofa first, and then the waiter brought dessert and tea.
"Please sit here for a while, I'll be back in a bit." The man moved the tea and snacks in front of the girl.
Seeing the girl nod obediently, he then went behind the screen.
Gu Zhaodi's gaze followed the man closely as he walked behind the screen, a hint of doubt rising in her heart.
After taking a sip of tea, I realized that the tea was sweet, with a subtle sweetness in its fragrance, and the sweetness of the pastries perfectly balanced the slight bitterness in the tea.
Just then, a melody of a zither came from behind the screen. The gentle tune penetrated the girl's eardrums, and an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.
After listening for a while, the girl put down her tea and snacks and strolled to the corner of the screen.
The first thing you see is a noble and elegant man sitting at the piano, playing. His fair and slender fingers press the black and white keys, rising and falling, and the beautiful melody swirls in the air.
The simple melody expresses understated elegance, and the notes leaping on the piano keys linger with the music.
The man had a chiseled face, and his already outstanding temperament became even more extraordinary, making him resemble a gentle, noble, and elegant prince, captivating all who looked at him.
Noticing the girl, the man tilted his head slightly, his eyes filled with deep affection and tenderness, as if they were filled with a sky full of stars under the lamplight.
For some reason, even though the girl couldn't understand the piano melody, the beauty in the music was undeniable, bringing a sense of peace and warmth to her heart.
The man pressed the last key with his slender fingertips, and the music gradually faded away, bringing the imagery in his mind back to reality.
"Little girl, are you feeling better?" The man walked up to the girl, looked down at her, and his eyes seemed to be shimmering with tears.
A faint light appeared in the girl's eyes, and her brown pupils regained their usual color, no longer dull and lifeless.
The girl gazed at the black piano against the wall, her eyes filled with tenderness. "Uncle Dan, what's the name of this piano piece?"
The man led the girl back to the sofa and began to explain, "This is Richard Clayderman's modern piano piece 'Autumn Whispers,' a collision of classical and modern elements that sparks a subtle brilliance."
"Those who have heard it can feel the joy within it."
The girl looked up at the refined and elegant man in front of her. He was different from the man she had seen before. Today, he showed a different side of himself.
She was aloof and noble, elegant and self-possessed. Her dark eyes seemed to be filled with tiny sparkles of light, making people unable to help but fall in love and want to confide in her.
She seemed to have found the courage to speak up.
"Uncle Dan, I scored 690 on this month's exam." Gu Zhaodi stared at the man with her dark eyes and slowly revealed her exam score.
The man raised a slight brow, not understanding why she would say that, but he still responded very gently, "Little one, you are really great."
In a high school like Nan'an Middle School, where there are many outstanding students, this result is quite significant.
The man picked up a cup of tea from the coffee table, took a sip, and then asked, "Little friend, what reward would you like?"
The man felt that he had known her for so long, but he hadn't given her a gift yet, so he thought it would be a good opportunity to encourage her.
To his surprise, the girl shook her head vigorously, but her eyes remained fixed on him, as if she were making a decision and was hesitant.
Thinking she didn't want a reward, Dan Anwen put down her tea, crossed her legs, and asked in a low voice, "Then what do you want, little one?"
"I..." the girl began, but then seemed unsure where to begin.
The girl gripped the hem of her dress tightly, staring intently at the man, her voice clear and bright, "Uncle Dan, I don't want your reward; instead, I want to thank you for your sponsorship."
The man raised his handsome eyebrows, his gaze fixed on the girl, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"How so?" the man asked in a flat tone.
Now that we've made a start, it's much easier to continue. "I'm a recipient of the Growth Foundation's grants, so I want to thank you for creating it and giving me this opportunity to study. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to study at Nan'an Middle School."
Dan Anwen withdrew his gaze from the girl, recalling that he seemed to have created such a foundation a few years ago.
It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. Usually, the company handles the details of who will receive the funding and the amount of funding. I just need to sign off on it every year.
I really didn't expect that this child was the one he was sponsoring.
The man's voice was deep. "No need to thank me. This wasn't my responsibility; I just paid for it."
Gu Zhaodi pursed her lips and said softly, "I still want to thank Uncle Dan. In the end, you are the one who sponsored me."
If he hadn't created this foundation, he wouldn't have been able to receive funding to attend Nan'an Middle School.
The man recalled the girl's anxious expression when she mentioned her grades and realized the problem.
Because I am grateful for the hard-won opportunity to study, I am afraid of letting down my sponsors.
She always puts her own emotions and feelings after others, fearing that her benefactors will be disappointed in her.
"The person you should thank is yourself. It was your good grades that earned you the opportunity to receive funding, so you earned this opportunity to study."
The man decided to correct her thinking, otherwise the burden on his mind would be too heavy.
The girl looked at the man blankly, not quite understanding what he meant. Was he thanking her?
Seeing the girl's bewildered expression, the man sighed inwardly, "Little girl, you don't need to overthink it. You gave yourself all of this. Just remember that."
The girl nodded, her head spinning. Even though she didn't understand what the man meant, she still kept his words in mind.
At night, the stars twinkled outside the dormitory, the campus was asleep, and the girl on the upper bunk was snoring softly, her chest rising and falling, her breathing steady through her nostrils.
In her dream, the girl saw the refined and elegant man playing the piano again. Then the scene shifted to the man gently telling her that she had given herself all of this.
......
"Xiangxiang, you got this question wrong too." Gu Zhaodi tilted her head and pointed at the exercise book questions on the table with her pen.
Guan Xiang, who was leisurely twirling her pen, hurriedly leaned over and said, "It really is." She then straightened her pen and began to scribble and revise.
The girl carefully checked the questions she had assigned to Guan Xiang yesterday, and the accuracy rate was much higher than before.
However, Guan Xiang has a serious problem with carelessness. She often makes mistakes in reading or writing simple and easy questions in her homework.
Seeing Guan Xiang diligently correcting the questions, she thought she could find a way to correct this bad habit of hers.
One teacher was teaching, and the other was working on their homework when the homeroom teacher, Mr. Lin, came in carrying the English homework from the previous few days.
The classroom was noisy, with people chatting and playing. But two quiet girls hunched over their desks in the corner by the window caught her eye.
One of them was scratching his head and writing his homework, looking like he wanted to bang his head on the table.
The other student sat upright with a straight back and downcast eyes, quietly looking at the workbook in front of him.
Old Lin quietly strolled over to the two of them and noticed that the notebooks spread out on the table were not school workbooks; the questions on them seemed to be tailor-made for them.
"Guan Xiang, did your tutor design this workbook for you?" Old Lin carefully examined the questions in the workbook. They were very relevant to Guan Xiang's learning weaknesses and were all targeted at her.
The sudden sound startled the two girls who were completely absorbed in their conversation.
Guan Xiang raised her head and patted her chest, while Gu Zhaodi breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. The change in her expression from fright to relaxation was only a matter of a moment.
Once she calmed down, Guan Xiang replied, "No, this was a question that Zhao Zhao set for me."
"A move?"
"It's Gu Zhaodi."
A look of surprise flashed across Lao Lin's face, and her gaze turned to the girl next to Guan Xiang. If it were Gu Zhaodi who had set the question, she wouldn't be surprised.
Gu Zhaodi felt her homeroom teacher's gaze on her. There was no malice in it, but her probing look made her a little uneasy.
No matter how old the child is, a well-behaved girl will always have some respect for the teacher and will be most afraid of the teacher's attention being focused on her.
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