107. All Are Children

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After exchanging a few words, it became clear that the other party wasn’t really here to chat but to inquire about Tian Yu’s condition. Li An had no idea what illness Tian Yu was suffering from; he was curious too about what serious disease Tian Yu might have caught.

“Ah, such a good teacher, how did he suddenly fall ill?” Zhang Tianlai’s mother sighed and looked at Li An, lamenting, “You don’t know how well Teacher Tian treated Tianlai. He always took such good care of him, sometimes giving him classes that lasted over an hour.”

Her tone and expression were filled with regret, as if a fortune had been lost.

“The teacher and student just clicked perfectly, so close like family,” she added.

What could Li An say? If they were that close, why come asking him about Teacher Tian’s illness?

“Heh, alright then.”

Li An didn’t mind parents like this one; he’d had a student’s parent like this before. Still, was it really appropriate to talk like that in front of other children? Later, the kids would go home and tell their parents, “Teacher Tian gave Zhang Tianlai over an hour of class.” Wouldn’t that cause trouble for Teacher Tian?

Speechless.

However, Li An did pick up some other information: even VIP clients like them didn’t know the details of Tian Yu’s illness. Secondly, the “eight to five” advancement had been changed to “seven to five.” It seemed Zhang Tianlai wouldn’t be asking Li An for extra lessons during this performance stage.

Moreover, when the full truth of Tian Yu’s illness came to light, if Tian Yu really left Yudong, Zhang Tianlai would likely leave with him.

Sigh.

Shortly after, Chi Yu’s mother returned with her child, carrying drinks. Li An noticed Zhang Tianlai and Chen Yutong whispering to each other while Che Lin sat alone at the piano. Approaching, he caught a faint smell of cooking oil.

Glancing at Zhang Tianlai’s cartoon water cup on the piano, he asked Che Lin, “Che Lin, where’s your water cup?”

Che Lin, lost in thought, was startled by the voice and turned, calling out, “Teacher Li.”

“Why don’t you get up and move around a bit?”

Che Lin stayed silent. Li An thought the child looked quite sharp but always had a dazed expression. He asked again, “Are you thirsty?”

Che Lin shook her head obediently. “Teacher Li, I’m not thirsty.”

Li An couldn’t stand it. There were only four children in the room: two drinking beverages, one with a water cup, and Che Lin’s lower lip was so dry it was peeling.

Regardless of whether the child was truly thirsty, he went back to the office and returned with a bottle of mineral water.

Little Che Lin didn’t know why Teacher Li suddenly left and just turned back to daydream.

Li An placed the mineral water beside Che Lin. “Take a quick sip; it’s time for class.”

Then he turned and went over to Chi Yu’s side, glancing sideways at Che Lin, who had already opened the bottle and was gulping down the water.

After she put the bottle down, he clapped his hands. “Class begins.”

—

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After class, Li An accompanied Che Lin to the elevator.

“Do you usually come to class by yourself?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Is your home far from here?”

“Not far.”

“How do you get back?”

“By bus.”

Che Lin stepped into the elevator and waved the mineral water in her hand. “Thank you, Teacher Li.”

The little girl's usually blank face suddenly lit up with a smile.

Li An was taken aback and waved his hand. “See you tomorrow.”

“Goodbye, Teacher Li.”

As the elevator doors closed, Li An prepared to check Che Lin’s beginner student profile. For some reason, he liked this child.

Opening it, he was startled.

Che Lin’s teacher-student index had already risen to 47; he clearly remembered it was 39 before.

Was it because of the water just now?

During the first rehearsal lesson, while explaining the material, Li An kept adding teaching points, and the system gave too many prompts, so he turned them off immediately.

“Unlock Che Lin’s beginner student profile?”

“Yes.”

Ten seconds later, a small line of text appeared under Che Lin’s name.

[Wants to learn Czerny’s Etude No. 6, Op. 849]

That was the etude Che Lin had asked him about that day.

From Wang Xiaohu to Ji Yang, this was the first time Li An encountered a profile prompt directly related to piano practice.

Studious and with a good vibe, Li An truly wanted to take this child under his wing.

He would wait.

Some things he wasn’t sure about just yet.

Closing Che Lin’s profile, Li An glanced around the classroom.

Only Ji Yang was practicing piano; the other three were snoring.

Since the last upgrade, Liu Fengrui had squeezed in.

Li An clicked on Xiao Bei’s profile. After three days, the teacher-student index hadn’t changed, still at 86, and Xiao Bei had spent less than two hours total at the piano.

Calculating the time, Xiao Bei would soon be attending summer camp.

He hoped Xiao Bei would have a good time there.

Then he opened Ji Yang’s profile.

When did Ji Yang’s teacher-student index climb to 91 points?

Li An thought back and recalled it must have happened the night Ji Yang was scolded.

No, he couldn’t turn off the teacher-student index notifications.

Otherwise, he would miss many important moments.

He enabled the reminders again and took one last look at his experience points.

Teacher Level: 3 (34/150)

Keep it up, kids.

Closing the page, Li An took out his phone.

There was a message from fifty minutes ago.

Ye Zi: Chen Zitong is asking why you haven’t come in.

Li An smiled.

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Ba Wan Yi: I’m here.

—

Li An spent the rest of the time rehearsing with Chen Xuan until the end of the day.

After running through the final take, Chen Xuan quietly asked Li An, “Was that much better?”

Li An gave her a thumbs-up and said sideways, “Let’s call it today. Didn’t you notice one kid’s mouth was almost twisted from blowing so hard?”

Actually, Chen Xuan wanted to keep rehearsing. Yesterday’s problems were solved, but new ones had emerged today.

However, considering it was almost quitting time, the issues would have to wait until tomorrow.

Thinking about tomorrow, she couldn’t help but smile.

“What are you smiling at?”

“None of your business.”

“Dummy.”

“You’re the dummy.”

The two whispered playfully in front of the children, while Chen Zitong watched intently.

She liked this duo—it was just like watching those short love story clips on Douyin.

And she would bet that Teacher Chen definitely liked Teacher Li.

The way they looked at each other couldn’t be anything but love.

—

After Ji Yang’s lesson ended in the evening, Li An immediately sent Chen Xuan a message.

Ba Wan Yi: I’m done with class, now getting ready to take the bus.

When Chen Xuan received the message, she felt a strong sense of ceremony.

‘Why are you so well-behaved tonight?’

After typing the message, Chen Xuan’s face flushed. Impulsively, she hit send.

Then she flipped her phone screen face down on the bed and started gesturing in front of the mirror.

In the mirror, she wore a black skirt so short she could hardly bear it.

But it looked really good.

Chen Xuan thought her legs were better than ninety-nine percent of the women on the street.

Her thighs were full and shapely, her calves slender and curved.

There was nothing to be modest about.

But the problem was...

As she tugged down her skirt, she nearly pulled it off.

Then she collapsed onto a pile of clothes.

She realized she wasn’t much better off than Sun Yuman.

She remembered how Sun Yuman had laid out an entire bed’s worth of clothes before her first college date.

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00:00

Ba Wan Yi: Happy Qixi Festival!