Contrary to her expectations, Li Erqin was totally confounded. Not only did she pass her Physics exam, her score was seven points above the passing mark. She happily took her Physics paper and turned back to seek out Rong Si.
Rong Si lifted his head and looked at her bright eyes. They were full of happiness and carried a little bit of a hint that she was solemnly seeking his approval.
It was possible that she didn’t even notice.
“Not bad,” he said.
Li Erqin’s happiness totally permeated from the depths of her eyes, and her usual calm expression broke out in brilliance.
Rong Si felt as if he couldn’t turn his eyes away.
He lightly coughed. “Before the evening self-study class, come with me to the No. 3 music room for rehearsal.”
“Ok.”
Peng Zige leaned over and asked, “Can I come too?”
“NO.”
(Minodayz : hahahaha – ok, I so get it but RS ~ NO! Too cute and funny)
It was after dinner.
The large music class was empty. Â Desks were stacked neatly in rows at the back of the classroom. On the other side there stood a black piano, its shiny finishing was dyed a warm red from the sunset.
Li Erqin opened the door and saw Rong Si seated upright at the piano. He wasslowly tapping the keys to test the sound. His silhouette was elegant (handsome) and svelte, yet contained a sense of youthful frailty.
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The scenery outside the window was thick/oppressive and cold, but the setting sun was warm and red. It held the darkness at bay and sent its last rays of warmth from outside the window in, landing right by Rong Si’s feet.
Rong Si gently lowered his head, and a stray lock of hair fell in front of his eyes.  He lightly raised his hand, spread slim yet nice looking fingers and slowly broughtthem down on the piano keys and pressed down. In the quiet space there arose a string of soft, melodious and beautiful music.
Li Erqin stood at the door and listened quietly. Her eyes rested for a long time on Rong Si’s silhouette.
In her heart, this was how she saw Rong Si, elegant as well as sophisticated.  All of the world’s hardships and darkness had to give him a wide berth.
Suddenly the sound from the piano halted.
Rong Si looked over. “You’re here?”
Li Erqin nodded.
He gave her a music binder with a printed copy of the score.
She held out her hand to accept it and finally asked the question that had been sitting in her heart for awhile. “How did you know that I knew this song?”
He laughed. “I just felt like it suited you.”
Li Erqin saw his smile and felt like her heart was once again starting to beat strangely.
Rong Si asked, “Do you think you’ll have any difficulties?”
Li Erqin shook her head.
“Let’s rehearse a few times so that we can build our rapport and blend our music more harmoniously.”
At Rong Si’s words, Li Erqin’s heart started beating irrepressibly faster and harder.
Rong Si saw the faint blush on her cheeks and said, “No need to be nervous. It’s not like it’s a competition. We’ll just go onstage and finish this song; that’s all.”
“I know.”
“Do you want to familiarize yourself with the song?”
Actually, she did not need to familiarize herself with the song, but what she did need was to cool herself down.
(Minodayz : me too! lol)
She pointed to the door and said, “I’m going to go get a breath of fresh/cold air.”
Rong Si was confused. “What?”
“Having the heat on is suffocating. I can’t breathe properly.”
————–
Li Erqin returned quickly.
“Should we try it together one time?” Rong Si asked.
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Rong Si looked at her, played a harmonious strand of music, and then officially started the opening bars of the song.
Li Erqin kept the beat in her head.
When the opening prelude finished, and after a short beat, Li Erqin opened her mouth and sang the first verse:
“What is a youth? Impetuous fire.
What is a maid? Ice and desire.
The world wags on.
A rose will bloom.
It then will fade.
So does a youth.
So does the fairest maid.”
Ruan Mingxian had his hands in his pockets and just happened to be passing through the No. 1 music room to the No. 5 music room.
A crisp and refreshing singing voice very naturally/spontaneously drifted into his ears.
Curious, he peeked through the window and saw Li Erqin standing elegantly next to the piano. The song lyrics were in her right hand, and her  arm hung down and was angled to one side. Her left palm was slightly open and facing upwards. Her entire being was completely immersed in singing this song.
The singing and the piano notes were in perfect harmony.
Moreover, the two figures by the piano looked conspicuously and incredibly well-matched together.
He coughed.
Suddenly, both the singing and the piano music stopped.
It looked like Li Erqin had to take some time before she could remember his name. “Ruan Mingxian.”
Ruan Mingxian was all smiles as he made his way from outside the window towards the classroom door. He leaned indolently on the doorframe. “Rehearsing?”
“Yup.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You sing very well.”
“Thank you.”
It was still so hard to communicate and get closer with her. Just one phrase effectively blocked anything else he could have said afterwards to continue a conversation.
Ruan Mingxian knitted his brows in frustration and gave a distressed smile.
“You guys continue. I’ll be off now.” He waved at her.
“Good-bye.”
Before he left, his eyes swept over to Rong Si, who had remained silent and taciturn. Rong Si was looking back at him with eyes that were as cool as water; there was no emotion whatsoever in them.
Ruan Mingxian pondered a bit, and it suddenly hit him. Normally, when Li Erqin was with other people, she had an air of independence, as if she were not quite like everyone else. Why was it that when she stood next to Rong Si, they suddenly seemed to be in harmony and as if they were part of the same group? It was because both of them shared a common trait; they were both cool and impersonal. It was just that in Li Erqin, this manifested in a certain sincerity and neatness. With Rong Si, he mostly projected an air of aloofness.
(Minodayz : good observation RMX – thus they are perfect for each other ya know!!! lol)
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Before the evening remedial class had started, Rong Si and Li Erqin had returned to their classroom to grab their textbooks and worksheets. They then headed to the broadcasting studio.
The broadcasting studio’s door was closed, and Li Erqin did not make much noise when she pushed the door open. Su Zi and Peng Zige were next to each other again. A half-finished Math paper was spread out in front of them.
Su Zi was sprawled on the desk, emphatically scrawling her points on the paper and talking up a storm.
By contrast, Peng Zige’s head was slightly raised, and he had his chin propped up on his hands. His eyes were cast down and fixed on the top of Su Zi’s head. An indescribable smile hung over his face, and it was clear that he was not listening to a word that Su Zi was saying.
Li Erqin stopped pushing on the door and cast a questioning glance back at Rong Si.
Rong Si raised his eyebrows.
Li Erqin didn’t understand and took a step back. She accidently bumped into Rong Si and felt her back pressed against a flat, firm surface.
Her brain immediately leapt into disarray.
Rong Si good-naturedly supported the flustered Li Erqin, and the two retreated.
(Minodayz : oooo … back support … swooning!!!)
“What is it?” Rong Si asked.
“I thought you were letting me retreat.”
Rong Si did not understand Li Erqin’s line of thinking.
Li Erqin pointed to the door and said in a low voice, “Normally, when it comes to mathematics, it’s Peng Zige who teaches Su Zi. Today, it was inexplicably Su Zi who was doing the teaching.”
Rong Si laughed.
“If Peng Zige had caught us seeing him losing out to Su Zi in math, there would have been a big to-do on his part, and he would probably have raised a fuss for half the day.” Li Erqin curled her lips. “He’s like a child.”
Rong Si couldn’t help but smile. You’re the child.
(Minodayz: so sweet – RS smiling and laughing more and more, plus we hear more and more of his inner thoughts!)
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“Let’s go,” he said.
“Where to?”
Rong Si noted the hairs on the top of her head that had been blown up by the cold wind. In the end, he couldn’t help but give her a pat on the head. “To give you a reward.”
(Minodayz: awwww … RS)
“What is it?” Li Erqin immediately turned eager with anticipation.
“What do you want?” Rong Si paused and then added, “Anything that can be reasonably had.”
“Milk tea!” Her answer came without any hesitation.
After they had bought the milk tea, they walked back via the sports field.
It was very cold, and the night wind hurtled past their ears with a sharp intensity.
The freezing Li Erqin quickly took two sips of her hot milk tea to warm herself up and once again burned herself on the tongue.
Rong Si saw her and couldn’t resist smiling.
They walked peacefully together for some time.
Rong Si asked, “Do you not care that those people were talking about you like that?”
“Huh?” Li Erqin raised her head, puzzled.
“Those girls who were talking about you behind your back.”
Minodayz: so many sweet swoony, heart-warming moments – not sure where to start. Milk tea treats are just too sweet – reminiscing their first milk tea moment!   RMX voices what we are seem to know ~ the Ruan siblings sure are great at picking them up, I suspect because they are standing on the peripheral to the foursome, they are able to pick up on those vibes. RS & PZG are getting cuter with each chapter…I’m not sure how RNN will fit into the mix.  RS sure is slowly upping his ante with LEQ – those smiles, laugh and eye contacts! Can’t wait to hear LEQ reply to that question…. Til Friday peeps!