Chapter 18 (1/2)

Zhu Ziping calmly sat down on the piano bench and lifted her slender hands. She hit on several keys to try it out and then she stopped with a solemn expression on her face.

She kept her eyes closed for a moment and then opened them while smiling slightly. Under the dim candlelight, she started with a minor triad chord which sounded calm and peaceful. The timber of the piano was rich. Lin Wenxi enjoyed the music while looking at the bright moon outside. Gradually, the music reached its climax which was filled with complicated minor triad chords. Zhu Ziping’s fingers moved extremely fast, which deeply impressed Lin Wenxi. While listening to the music, he felt as if he had seen a bright moon being chased by a group of colorful clouds above a vast stretch of wasted land, and then he felt as if he had just experienced an autumn rain and seen the moon surrounded by thin clouds above some high mountains.

It was the often-heard “Colorful Clouds Chasing The Moon”, but Zhu Ziping played it in an emotional and impressive way.

Lin Wenxi had passed Piano Level 10 back in his high school and kept practicing playing the piano for years. He had been quite confident about his skills before, but now he thought that he was not even qualified to become Zhu Ziping’s student.

He exclaimed with wonder. “‘The bright moon has once shed its light on the chasing colorful clouds.’ How come a soulful person like you ends up living a secluded life here? Why not continue to chase your bright moon?” Lin Wenxi was usually a person of few words, but inside this room, he somehow could not help but voicing his thoughts.

“The bright moon and the colorful clouds are nothing but illusions in the earthly world. Why bother troubling yourself with such illusionary things? Brother Wenxi, this is all I can do for you. I wish you all the best in the future.” With these words, she put her piano away. Lin Wenxi retreated to the door of her room somewhat nervously and then bowed deeply toward the young woman, who was about 25 or 26 years old. Zhu Ziping’s brother had been standing in the yard and listening to the music all this while. Upon seeing Lin Wenxi come out of her room, he hurriedly entered his room.

Zhu Ziping closed her door, refusing to tell anyone of her past. Suddenly, someone knocked at the gate of the yard.

Lin Wenxi opened the gate and saw a drunken villager staggering outside. “It’s the first time in this year that this girl has played her piano. This sounds, sounds great,” said the drunken villager. Lin Wenxi had thought that there would have been a crowd of people gathering outside and enjoying the music before, but now when he looked out, he saw no one except for this drunken villager. “Looks like no one really likes music here. No wonder she wants to play the piano for me,” thought Lin Wenxi.

“Here you are. A guy asked me to give you a quilt in case you feel cold at night.” While saying this, the drunken villager thrust a quilt into Lin Wenxi’s arms and walked away. Lin Wenxi even did not have time to ask him who sent him here.

The drunken villager staggered for some time and mumbled, “That military instructor is still young, but he’s amazingly good at drinking. He can drink a lot more than me.”

When Lin Wenxi went to sleep, Zhu Ziping’s younger brother suddenly spoke to him, “My name is Zhu Zilin.” He told Lin Wenxi Zhu Ziping’s story.

Zhu Ziping and her brother were born into a poor family. As their parents could not afford to raise two children, they let Zhu Ziping’s uncle adopt her.