The rain in early summer always comes suddenly. The heavier the rain, the greener the trees on the street become.
Yu Street boasts the most lush trees in Ronghai City, complemented by its unique bluestone pavements and architecture. The buildings on Yu Street are mostly small lofts no more than three stories high, decorated in a simple and elegant style. Many of the shops here are related to art and traditional Chinese culture. Walking along Yu Street creates a sense of time travel.
The food on Elm Street is simple, but mostly delicious. There's a place called Xiaolongbao (small steamed buns) here that's Tu Nian's favorite. When her mother was still alive, she would bring her here once a week.
Just down the street from the entrance is the Xu's Musical Instrument Shop, which has been open for over thirty years. The owner of the shop is an old acquaintance of Tu's mother, and since her mother's passing, Tu Nian has been working part-time at the shop.
The rain outside the window wasn't too heavy, but as it hit the leaves, it made a crisp, dripping sound. Tu Nian listened to the rain, lost in thought for a moment. It had been a few days since that incident.
During these two days, Tu Nian was busy at the piano store and had no time to worry about what happened at Xingxian that day.
Chu Qiurong gave her ten days off every month, and except for the seven days at the beginning of the month, she could arrange her time as she pleased. Normally, if nothing unexpected happened, she would spend eight of those ten days at the piano store.
“…Sister Anian!”
The childish voice gently pulled Tu Nian back to her senses. She looked away. The little girl in front of her was wearing a light blue dress, and her round little face was so tender that it seemed like you could squeeze water out of it.
"Tiantian, have you learned how to play the piano?" Tu Nian smiled and patted the little girl's head.
"I got it!" the little girl replied. She puffed out her chest, deftly adjusted the guitar, which was more than half her size, and began to strum the chords Tu Nian had just taught her.
The girl's hand shape was standard, but her movements were somewhat forced, and she would occasionally play a few wrong notes.
After playing a few chords, she realized that her playing was not very good, so she hugged the guitar and hid her face behind it.
Seeing this, Tu Nian smiled. She stood up and walked behind Tiantian, then slowly squatted down and gently put her arms around her. "Look," Tu Nian took Tiantian's right hand and plucked the strings twice. "When you sweep it down, relax your wrist..."
Her fingers shifted position on the strings several times, not quickly but with great precision. She played all seven chords again from the beginning.
"Have you remembered everything?" Tu Nian pinched her sweet face after playing the song.
Tiantian puffed out her cheeks and touched the strings, then plucked them tentatively with her little hands: "Let me try again!"
Tu Nian nodded. Standing up, she looked at Tiantian practicing seriously, and her thoughts drifted away again.
I have been taking care of this child for almost half a year. Although her foundation is not very good, her attitude and understanding are good. Every time I teach her something new, she learns very quickly and never complains of being tired.
Then she thought about herself as a child. She would always try to slack off when practicing piano. She didn't know how much trouble her mother had to work on her. If she could work half as hard as this child, her mother wouldn't be so angry all the time.
As he was thinking, a gentle female voice came from outside the piano room: "Tu Nian, someone is looking for you!"
"Here I come!" Tu Nian shouted, then turned around and told Tiantian, "Don't run around, the teacher will be back soon."
After settling the students, Tu Nian trotted downstairs. It was now class time, and looking around the hall, there was no one else except the owner of the music store.
"Aunt Xu, who is it?" Tu Nian asked after adjusting his hair.
The owner of the music shop, Aunt Xu, was concentrating on polishing her beloved piano. Her hands were gentle and delicate. "A man, about thirty years old, looks unfamiliar."
"Where are the others?" Tu Nian was a little surprised. He didn't know many men in their thirties.
"That's the one outside the door."
Tu Nian looked towards the door and saw a short, fat man standing there, wearing a black leather jacket and with his trouser legs rolled up. The figure looked familiar, but since his back was facing the door, Tu Nian couldn't quite make out his identity.
"I'll go take a look." Tu Nian said as she gathered her long hair. Just as she was about to go over, Aunt Xu behind her gently pulled her.
Aunt Xu carefully placed Aiqin on the table, then picked up a handkerchief to wipe her hands: "Do you recognize him?" Her voice was very soft.
Tu Nian knew that Aunt Xu was worried about him, so he smiled and said, "I don't know, maybe. I'll go and take a look first, don't worry." After that, he walked towards the man.
When she reached the door, the man had just finished a cigarette, and the strong smell of tobacco on him made Tu Nian want to cough. She frowned, suppressed the discomfort in her throat and asked, "Are you looking for me?"
When the man heard this, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground. The moment he turned around, Tu Nian's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. It was him.
As soon as he saw Tu Nian, the man smacked his lips: "Miss Tu is becoming more and more beautiful."
After saying that, the man laughed obscenely. His eyeballs were covered by thick eyelids to the point of being almost invisible, and his yellow teeth were exposed to the air without any obstruction.
The man's reek of cigarette smoke mixed with an indescribable bad breath forced Tu Nian to take a step back. The undisguised lewd expression on his face made her clench her fists.
"Liu Laowu, if you have to fart, do it quickly," she said.
"Why are you so angry?" Liu Laowu waved his hand and rummaged through his trouser pockets. After searching for a long time, he finally pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and threw it to her: "Mr. Lai is short of money recently, and I need you to give me some money to spend."
He threw it so suddenly that Tu Nian failed to catch it, and the note rolled directly into the puddle next to him.
She quickly fished the note out of the puddle and unfolded it. It was indeed a copy of the familiar IOU. Looking at the crooked 1.37 million yuan and the person's name on it, she clutched the note tightly in her hand.
"Tu Nian, what's the matter?" Tu Nian had not returned for a long time, and Aunt Xu couldn't help but start to worry.
"It's okay!" Tu Nian closed the door of the piano store with her backhand. Her eyes were fixed on the man in front of her. She lowered her voice and said word by word, "I've already paid for this month."
Liu Laowu shrugged, his round belly trembling. "I gave it to you, but Mr. Lai asked you to give more. What should I do?"
Tu Nian was so angry that his whole body was shaking. He gritted his teeth and said, "Don't go too far..."
"So you won't give it to me?" Liu Laowu didn't get angry, but instead lit a cigarette. He took a deep puff, walked over and blew a smoke ring on Tu Nian's face, then looked at the piano store and nodded admiringly. "Xu's Piano Store, a great place. I heard that the owner, Xu, is still a beautiful lady with a lot of charm..."
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