Bian Liming, once he made up his mind to do something, no one could stop or persuade him.
Moreover, once he set his mind to something, he was unlikely to fail.
Bian Liming spent the night at Zhao Yuan’s house, and nothing extra happened. Perhaps he just had some strange dreams. Anyway, the next morning, he went back home, leaving Zhao Yuan with only a sentence, saying that he knew what to do.
On the same day, Bian Liqin left again, accompanying the Military Affairs Department to conduct official visits to the independent country of Benzhou – the so-called reciprocity of civilized societies.
In the morning, Zhao Yuan sat on the terrace of his bedroom, sipping cappuccino, and coincidentally saw the car of the Bian family driving away.
The car moved slowly, and despite its not being small, only a faint sound of the engine could be heard. Perhaps it was because both Bian’s father and Bian Liqin had too much luggage, which couldn’t fit in the trunk, so two suitcases were tied to the roof of the SUV. It looked like a frail old man carrying heavy burdens, walking with difficulty and panting for breath, yet unable to stop.
After a while, the car carrying Bian’s father and Bian Liqin left Zhao Yuan’s line of sight.
Zhao Yuan withdrew his gaze, swaying back and forth on the swing chair, and took a sip of perfectly chilled cappuccino.
With the arrival of spring, fresh greenery filled his eyes, and even the wind carried the moist scent of grass and soil. The seemingly creamy cappuccino now had an added refreshing taste.
At this moment, he felt like his life had suddenly come close to what he had dreamed of, although he rarely thought about what his dreams actually were.
Zhao Yuan enjoyed a quiet morning. In the afternoon, Bian Liming called him, asking him to come to his house and help him choose a piece of music.
Bian Liming decided to participate in a competition.
The competition information was provided by the Art Academy, but since the preparations for the competition often took a long time, few students were willing to attempt it before the anxiety of graduation in the lower grades. Moreover, the lower grades had a short study time, and even if they participated, they might not win any awards. Many times, it was just a waste of effort.
But participating in a competition during this period was not entirely meaningless. Few people could feel completely at ease on a large stage for the first time and win a big award. Stage presence and performance skills accumulated through repeated stage experiences.
And how do piano masters emerge?
It’s by piling up one trophy after another.
It’s by desperately winning awards at various competitions. Once he appeared, there was no suspense in the competition for the championship. He could smoothly transition from a participant to a judge, from a pianist to a pianist.
Zhao Yuan reasonably suspected that Bian Liming, who suddenly decided to participate, hadn’t slept well that night.
When Bian Liming came to open the door for Zhao Yuan, the dark circles under his eyes were almost as big as his eyes, and his cheeks were covered in a bluish stubble. But he himself was in a state of enthusiastic excitement, almost pushing Zhao Yuan into the house.
Before Zhao Yuan could even change his shoes, he was led by Bian Liming to the grand piano in the living room and sat down on a prepared chair, with his shoulder pressed by Bian Liming.
Bian Liming was participating in both the preliminary and final rounds of the competition. The preliminary round involved submitting a video recording of the performance on a double piano, and only those selected would proceed to the live final in the concert hall.
He chose pieces that were relatively short but had significant playing difficulty. However, for the preliminary round, he could only choose one piece to record and submit. So, deciding which piece to choose and which part to showcase were crucial decisions.
He decided to leave this crucial decision to Zhao Yuan:
“Just rely on your intuition. Help me judge which piece has better expressiveness!”
Because the selected pieces were all difficult – Liszt’s, Tchaikovsky’s, Bach’s – and Bian Liming hadn’t practiced them for a long time, he couldn’t play the whole piece familiarly in a short time. Therefore, he only selected a few key and challenging sections from each piece.
After playing a few, Zhao Yuan felt like the piano strings were about to ignite. Even after Bian Liming finished playing, he remained dumbfounded.
“How was it? Which one is better?” Bian Liming looked expectantly at him.
Zhao Yuan blinked in a slightly bewildered manner. “Are your fingers okay? It seems like they’re about to dislocate.”
Bian Liming furrowed his brows and scolded, “Zhao Yuan! Did you even listen just now? Which one should I choose? Don’t make me play them again!”
Zhao Yuan silently pursed his lips, looking a bit troubled. “Why don’t you ask your teacher? Or your classmates in the same major? I couldn’t tell the difference between the pieces you just played…”
Bian Liming’s eyebrows furrowed even tighter, finding it perplexing, “How can you not hear the difference? These pieces are completely different! Are you sure you were listening just now?”
Zhao Yuan waved his hand. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just… it feels meaningless. These pieces lack the unique characteristics of you as Bian Liming. It’s like letting anyone else play them, and it would sound the same whether you play them or not. Why bother? Anyway, that’s how I feel.”
Bian Liming slightly lowered his head, propping his hand on the leather piano stool, casually picking at his fingers, remaining silent for a long time before saying softly:
“I know too… but for now, I can only make the best of what I have.”
Zhao Yuan stood up and walked over, squatting in front of the piano stool, meeting Bian Liming’s lowered gaze:
“You can’t say that. It’s like Bach’s ‘Prelude in C Major.’ The score is simple, even someone like me with average skills can play it in three to five days of practice. But very few people in the world can truly play this piece well. Because it’s simple, the gradual dynamics, emotional progression, and those more detailed and skillful aspects become more important. Do you understand what I mean?”
Bian Liming nodded with concern, “I understand, but no one in the competition would choose such a simple piece. It would make the competition seem too easy, and the judges wouldn’t be so lenient. I checked last night.”
Zhao Yuan persisted, “But if you really compete based on finger dexterity and flexibility, as a freshman, you might not necessarily surpass other professional pianists, right? Now, it’s only possible to take a different path. Moreover, as your audience, I truly feel that when you play the right pieces, you can showcase your unique musical charm. It’s true!”
Looking at Zhao Yuan with a sincere expression, Bian Liming’s eyes gradually lit up. However, after Zhao Yuan finished speaking, he couldn’t help but hesitate:
“Are you serious? So, which specific piece?”
“Mendelssohn’s ‘Song of Spring,'” Zhao Yuan said convincingly.
Bian Liming couldn’t control a wry smile, and there was a conflict in his heart. Still, he reluctantly trusted Zhao Yuan’s judgment:
“…Fine.”
He was too familiar with “Song of Spring.” After setting up the equipment and positions, they began recording.
As per the competition’s requirements, the video began with a self-introduction and then the performance. It was simple, but Bian Liming was not satisfied after recording many times – not because of the playing but solely due to the self-introduction.
He would fix his hair for a while, change his clothes for a while, asking Zhao Yuan’s opinion each time.
Even though Zhao Yuan said “very good” every time, Bian Liming would still scrutinize himself in the mirror and nitpick.
Zhao Yuan didn’t find it annoying; he just accompanied him in changing clothes, recording videos, repeating the process – unexpectedly finding it interesting.
The final product was the two of them rummaging through the storage room in the house, finding a reflective board from an unknown era, placing it in various tricky positions in front of the camera, barely meeting Bian Liming’s standards.
The youth sitting in front of the piano in the footage was bathed in sunlight, with clear and gentle contours, just like the music – warm and dynamic.
As for the performance part, Bian Liming’s piano was a B-type grand piano, tuned regularly by a piano technician every six months. Both the tone quality and dynamic effects were perfect to an astonishing degree. Not to mention the large space in Bian’s house, the excellent acoustics, and the professionally unearthed microphone.
After submitting the preliminary competition materials in the late afternoon, Bian Liming, to thank Zhao Yuan for helping him with the video, suggested going out for barbecue in the afternoon.
After all, going in a formal and expensive performance suit would be inappropriate, so he went upstairs to change clothes. Zhao Yuan waited for him in the backyard.
Bian Liming’s backyard was very different from Zhao Yuan’s.
Zhao Yuan’s backyard mostly had small-scale landscapes made of stone or wood – unnecessary but visually appealing wooden arch bridges, small pavilions and stone tables where people could cool off on summer nights, and a limited variety of plants that were easy to care for.
Bian Liming’s backyard presented a different scene. Apart from a covered double swing chair, everything else was well-maintained plants – a flat lawn, well-arranged trees and shrubs, with different flowers blooming almost all year round.
Walking on the oval-shaped stone slabs laid on the lawn, Zhao Yuan reached a magnolia tree on the west side of the yard.
The weather was getting hotter day by day, and many magnolia flowers had fallen, but most of them had already been cleaned up. Zhao Yuan stretched his neck and sniffed the remaining few flowers on the tree.
“Do you like this scent?”
Bian Liming didn’t know when he had already changed his clothes and walked to Zhao Yuan’s side along the stone slabs.
He stretched his arm and gently picked a white petal from the branch, the petals that hadn’t fallen yet, handing it to Zhao Yuan’s nose:
“Here, a gift for you.”
Zhao Yuan lifted his hand to catch the petal and took a deep breath.
The sun was gradually setting, shining on the branches of the magnolia tree, revealing the fine and dense fuzz on them.
Bian Liming explained to Zhao Yuan:
“Magnolias bloom first and then grow leaves. When these flowers all fall, that’s when this tree’s spring truly arrives.”
“Look!”
Following Bian Liming’s raised finger, Zhao Yuan looked up: The top of the magnolia tree was no longer visible with the blooming flowers; instead, there was a subtle, easily overlooked fresh green.
“Spring has really come.” Bian Liming said with a faint smile, turning to Zhao Yuan.
