124. A Scene of Social Death: Mistress... Mistress?-Please, Go Home and Practice Your Instrument(Mozart Bay)

This was supposed to be a recital featuring the students and teachers of the Yudong Piano Group, but just like that, amidst the applause and the bows on stage, it had transformed into a solo recital for Li An.

With the exception of the adorable little Bei, everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived.

Musical motifs do not stop at any single moment, just as life does not linger for any particular emotion.

Once the applause finally died down, Li An faced the sea of gazes from the audience and opened his mouth.

"Um."

The moment he spoke, the untouchable, ethereal aura he had possessed while playing Mozart at the piano vanished completely. In an instant, he was back in the role of Teacher Li.

"Feel free to take photos and videos; we’re all family here, it’s fine."

He had noticed a parent holding a phone up toward him just then.

"But please, don't post them to your Moments. This has nothing to do with tonight’s concert."

He turned back and pointed to the LED display above the stage curtains, which showed the title of tonight’s piano recital. It was indeed a piano concert, but none of the pieces he had just performed had anything to do with the program.

"We don't do false advertising."

The audience erupted in laughter.

Lin Pengfei envied this quality in Li An, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Perhaps it was the ability to command the stage with his hands and stir the atmosphere with his words. Regardless, his only thought was how much he wished he were the one standing on that stage.

Sigh.

Li An had shown off again.

Brother Fei felt a bit frustrated. The brief joy he had felt earlier—knowing he had a program prepared while Li An did not—was instantly blown to the winds by the surrounding laughter. What made it even worse was that he had really been looking forward to chatting with Li An about Mozart later.

Damn it.

"Sorry to everyone who already posted to Moments, please delete them, thank you."

Ji Yang watched her teacher on the phone screen, her mouth unable to stop smiling. She clicked stop, opened WeChat, and deleted her three posts.

Li An was right; quite a few people had posted. It wasn't just Ji Yang. Xu Li, sitting in front of her, also deleted a post.

Just then, Ji Yang felt a shadow fall into her peripheral vision and instinctively looked up. A figure with long, flowing hair had stopped beside her seat.

*So beautiful.*

She immediately remembered—wasn't this the beautiful lady who played the flute last time? She looked like a completely different person on stage versus off.

Seeing that Chen Xuan seemed to be looking for a seat, Ji Yang quickly stood up, not quite knowing how to address her in the confusion. "You can sit here, Miss."

Her movement and voice caused Che Lin, sitting next to her, to stand up as well. Wang Xiaohu and Liu Fengrui, who had been busy playing *PUBG* nearby, both turned their heads.

"Miss?"

Wang Xiaohu was stunned that Ji Yang didn't even recognize Teacher Chen. *Heh, typical.* He knew, thanks to Liu Fengrui, that this was the teacher’s wife! With Che Lin right there, he felt he had to stand up and show some respect.

"Hello, Teacher's Wife!"

His crisp, loud greeting completely drowned out Ji Yang’s "Hello, Miss."

In the distance, Li An had already left the stage and was discussing the rehearsal flow with Huang Juan and Lin Pengfei when he noticed something happening in the back of the left section of the audience. Why were the students and parents all standing up?

"Let’s just run through the order on the program sheet," Huang Juan decided, and the group began to move.

Li An kept an eye on the audience and nodded. The first three acts didn't involve him, so he planned to head over to greet Chen Xuan and settle Ji Yang in.

"Brother An!"

Not far away, Li Minghao stood up and waved at him. Li An was busy, but since he had been called, he had to go over. As he walked toward Xu Hongxin, Li Minghao, and Ma Tao, he saw Chen Xuan and the others sit back down, and then he saw Liu Fengrui leave that area while clutching his phone.

Time turned back thirty seconds.

When Wang Xiaohu shouted "Teacher's Wife," everyone—except him—was left in varying states of bewilderment.

The first to be confused was Xu Li. She had never heard her son mention that Teacher Li was married. Aside from the teacher assessment stage, she had crossed paths with Chen Xuan in the hallways of the west teaching building a few times. She had a very high opinion of Chen Xuan; not only was she exceptionally talented, but her appearance was one in a million. Xu Li was usually confident that few women could outshine her, but in front of Chen Xuan, she felt her own looks held no advantage.

*Is she Li An’s wife?* She was skeptical of her son's words. If it were true, fine, but if not, it would be terribly rude. Regardless, she felt she had to stand up.

"Hello, Teacher's Wife!"

Ji Yang followed Wang Xiaohu immediately, a subconscious reaction born of shock. She was the second person to be bewildered. Even though she didn't care much for Wang Xiaohu, she felt she had to believe him. Could someone really lie about something like that? She knew nothing of her teacher’s private life.

*So this 'Miss' is the teacher’s lover!*

*OMG!* She had to use the word "lover" because, well, "Teacher's Wife!"

*Goodness, the teacher is already married!*

The third person to be bewildered was Che Lin. She didn't know what was going on, so she stood there blankly and shifted two seats over to the empty spot. Meanwhile, she observed the teacher whom Wang Xiaohu had called the "Teacher's Wife."

Soon, the other parents and students stood up, most sharing Xu Li’s assumption. *So Teacher Chen is Teacher Li’s wife. What a talented and beautiful couple.* They all cast friendly, approving glances toward Chen Xuan.

Only two people were excluded from this atmosphere.

One was Liu Fengrui. He was in despair, grateful that his father had just left. After hearing Wang Xiaohu’s exclamation, he felt completely numb. *What a pig-headed teammate... What a pig-headed teammate!! Didn't I tell you not to go around saying things you shouldn't!!* Liu Fengrui felt he was doomed. Last time, Li An had kept him behind to lecture him and "warned" him not to gossip. When he had finally worked up the courage to ask if there was anything going on between the teacher and Teacher Chen, Li An had remained silent. Even so, he felt he should make a run for it soon. He glared at Wang Xiaohu, who still looked smug. *Sigh. Pig-headed teammate...*

The other person was Chen Xuan. She had never experienced such a "social death" in her entire life. Two consecutive, crisp shouts of "Teacher's Wife" had pierced her brain and heart. She had only come over because she heard Ji Yang call out to the teacher; she assumed Ji Yang was the art student Li An tutored three nights a week, and she had decided to take a look at the girl. From the back, Ji Yang looked like a little beauty—an eighteen-year-old art student in the prime of her youth. Chen Xuan had her own little worries, but she never expected this.

Back to the present, thirty seconds later, everyone’s focus was locked on Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan’s face was flushed deep red, and she couldn't even get her words out properly.

"I... I'm not... We aren't even..."