Chapter 234
Chapter 234
She hadn’t originally understood that sentence.
But when she played the piano for Zhong Ning, because of the jealousy and the subconscious desire to show off, the originally light and lively tune was played with a much more intense rhythm. Every finger pressing on the keys exerted force in secret.
Emotion.
Listening to the voice within.
She sat back down on the bench, lifted the piano cover, and rested her hands on the keys.
Xie Shiqing had thought that she would feel complicated emotions—after all, when it came to the piano, she couldn’t even tell whether she truly loved playing it or not.
When a hobby becomes work and turns into something utilitarian, it loses its original purity. What’s more, back then, she had squeezed out her already limited rest time to practice piano, harboring a bellyful of resentment as she learned.
After everything she had been through, sitting here again, she was surprised to find that her mind was completely empty—there were no tangled thoughts, just clarity.
She thought of Zhong Ning and played that same jealous tune again.
The leaping notes were like little droplets splashing from a mountain spring, or butterflies fluttering lightly among flowers—so brisk, and full of sunshine. It was as if she had entered a world made of cotton candy, where everything was beautiful, soft, and dreamlike.
This was emotion.
So this was emotion.
Xie Shiqing suddenly understood.
It was joy and happiness.
She sat in the chair, quietly thinking for a while, and played a piece titled Winter’s Longing. The piece was known for its sadness and low, slow melody, like a lament of longing that lasted an entire season—a remembrance of a distant lover no longer by one’s side.
But when Xie Shiqing played it, the sorrowful yearning turned into a tender fantasy, as if her lover had already arrived at the door, and she was filled with joy and anticipation.
It was as if she could hear the voice deep within her heart, could hear every bone in her body singing with happiness and delight.
This was happiness. So this was happiness.
Xie Shiqing stayed in the piano room for the entire afternoon without leaving. One piece after another poured from her fingertips; no matter the genre, every piece turned into exuberant joy.
Accept yourself. Feel what’s in your heart.
It wasn’t until the piano room door opened that she stopped. She looked toward Zhong Ning, who had just returned home, and a sincere smile bloomed on her face.
“Ning Ning, I love you so much.”
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Zhong Ning: Assistant Fang, why do you work so hard? (Meanwhile, imagining a tragic backstory involving a gravely ill bedridden mother and such.)
Assistant Fang (pushing up her glasses): Because I want to buy a helicopter.
Chapter 80
“You’re in such a good mood today? I heard you playing the piano from downstairs,” Zhong Ning said with a smile as she walked over and exchanged a hug and a light kiss with her.
Dr. Feng was a very professional psychologist. During her conversations with Xie Shiqing, she mainly listened, often encouraging and gently prompting the other to express her own thoughts.
But when facing Zhong Ning, the number of questions she asked would noticeably increase.
Because Zhong Ning liked this kind of back-and-forth style of communication. She didn’t need encouragement—she would openly spill everything on her own.
What she needed most was a change in behavioral patterns.
"What was that piece you just played? I haven’t heard it before, but it sounded really nice."
"It’s called Spring—as in the season," Xie Shiqing replied.
"I didn’t see any sheet music. Did you memorize it? Shiqing, you’re amazing." Zhong Ning pulled her back down onto the bench. "Will I disturb you if I sit here? It was so beautiful. I wonder if I have the honor of hearing the whole thing?"
"I wasn’t paying attention to the time," Xie Shiqing said apologetically. "I didn’t realize it was already this late."
"It’s fine, it’s fine," Zhong Ning said. "I like watching you play piano."
Xie Shiqing pressed her lips into a small smile. She placed her hands back on the keys and played the piece again from the beginning.
"That was beautiful!!"
Zhong Ning clapped enthusiastically, as if this person had just won an international piano competition.
"Did you play the whole afternoon?" she asked.
Xie Shiqing nodded.
"Aren’t your hands sore?" Zhong Ning took her fingers and gently massaged them. "You didn’t even look at the sheet music all afternoon—Shiqing, is your brain a hard drive or something? You can remember all of that? Wow… that’s seriously impressive."
"It’s nothing," Xie Shiqing said. "Just the basics."
"It’s not nothing! Not at all!" Zhong Ning exclaimed, voice rising in disbelief. "Go search it up—how many people play piano without sheet music?"
"That’s an amazing skill. If memorizing all the sheet music were the basic standard for a pianist, then ninety percent of pianists wouldn’t even qualify."
"It’s not that exaggerated," Xie Shiqing said, curling her fingers slightly.
"It is, it is!"
"Alright then, this is my basic standard," Xie Shiqing said, swayed by her a little, helplessly adding, "What I consider the basics, just for myself."
"That's such a high standard." Zhong Ning clicked her tongue.
"If one has the ability, then naturally they should do their best," Xie Shiqing explained, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Zhong Ning went quiet for a moment—this was something she, someone who liked to take things easy and slack off, couldn’t quite understand.
She also had the ability, but just didn’t want to push herself. If the standard was 80 points, even if she could get 100, she would only aim for 80—unless it was something she genuinely loved, in which case, she’d go for 120.
But Xie Shiqing wasn’t like that. Whether she liked something or not, as long as she chose to do it, she had to do it perfectly.
Zhong Ning couldn’t understand this kind of mindset, and that was okay. What she needed to do was accept it. To learn to accept that people were different. To respect that, instead of criticizing it and saying, "That kind of thinking is wrong."
In the past, Zhong Ning also agreed with that idea—that people were diverse, with different personalities. But that only applied to outsiders, not to "one’s own people."
Dr. Feng had pointed out the crux of the issue in just a few simple words, making everything suddenly clear to her.
Xie Shiqing was her own person, her “inner circle,” so Zhong Ning projected her own standards onto her, hoping the people around her and her environment would match what she liked and what made her comfortable.