125. Boys and girls, gather your energy!

"Brother An, you go ahead with your work. Just give us a shout when you need us for something later."

After chatting with Li Minghao and his group for a while, Li An learned that the main force of the friendly group had not yet arrived; they had come early primarily to hang out with Xu Hongxin.

"OK, OK, you guys go ahead and talk."

On stage, the first performance had already begun—a solo by Huang Juan's student, playing Bach's Gigue (from French Suite No. 5). The atmosphere in the concert hall became lively once again.

Li An walked toward Chen Xuan and her group, his pace light and brisk to match the music. He was in a great mood.

"Hello, Teacher."
"Hello."
"Hello, Teacher Li."
"Don't be nervous when you go on stage later."
"Teacher Li, your performance just now was brilliant."
"Thank you."

After greeting parents and children, both familiar and unfamiliar, along the way, Li An reached the back left of the auditorium. Scanning the area, he felt a sense of satisfaction; this corner was, in many ways, the foundation of his current presence in Rongcheng. Because of the dim lighting, he only saw Chen Xuan and Ji Yang sitting together and did not notice the lingering flush on Chen Xuan's face.

"What's the matter, Little Hu? Why the long face? Get up and move around a bit; we're only two performances away."

As he spoke, he nodded at Xu Li with a smile, but seeing her uneasy expression, he realized something was off. Xu Li felt incredibly embarrassed; she had already scolded Wang Xiaohu and apologized to Chen Xuan. Anyone with eyes could see from Chen Xuan's initial reaction that the two of them were still in the early stages of dating. What a mess. And it was all caused by her own son.

Xu Li composed herself and offered an apologetic explanation to Li An regarding what had just happened, then apologized to Chen Xuan again in front of him.

Li An's expression darkened immediately upon hearing the story, and the more tactful parents quickly found excuses to disperse with their children. His primary concern, naturally, was Chen Xuan's feelings. This could be seen as a small matter—children often speak without thinking—but it could also be a big deal; there were so many people present, and Chen Xuan was naturally introverted.

Seeing the crowd disperse and having Li An by her side, Chen Xuan felt less flustered. She shook her head and said, "It's fine."

Li An gave her an apologetic look, then turned his gaze to Wang Xiaohu. "Xiaohu."

Wang Xiaohu looked up, his face twisted in a pained grimace.

"Let's go, the two of us need to get ready backstage."

Wang Xiaohu stood up as instructed. Xu Li also rose, retrieved the suit Wang Xiaohu was to wear that evening, and asked softly, "Teacher Li, does he need to change now?"

"Not yet," Li An replied.

Xu Li nodded, taking the opportunity to follow them to the edge of the auditorium and take a seat in the front row. How embarrassing.

The previously bustling back-left section was now left with only Chen Xuan, Ji Yang, and Che Lin—a large, medium, and small trio. Chen Xuan had only come by that afternoon as a casual visit. Despite the small incident, the misunderstanding had passed. She was fine, but seeing Li An's earlier grim expression, she worried it might affect his state of mind for his upcoming performance.

She took out her phone, intending to say something, but a message from Li An arrived first.

*Old Man: I'm sorry, please don't be angry anymore.*

*Chen Xuan: It's okay. Go do your work, I'll wait for you for dinner.*

Feeling that words couldn't quite express her mood, she added a silly, cute emoji.

Backstage, seeing that emoji, Li An knew Chen Xuan was truly okay.

*801: I suspect I'll be having a boxed meal here for dinner. It's a good chance for you and Ji Yang to talk about the arts entrance exams.*

*Xiao Mi: Huh? Talk about what?*

*801: You're a teacher too. Just tell her how to adjust her mindset during the exam period, how to prepare mentally, and so on.*

After sending the message to Chen Xuan, Li An messaged Zheng Haitao to explain he was busy.

*Zheng Haitao: No worries, Brother. My senior sister and I haven't seen each other in a while, so we're just catching up. You go ahead and do your thing.*

*801: OK.*

Having settled everything, Li An walked over to Wang Xiaohu. Wang Xiaohu swallowed hard.

"Know you messed up?" Li An feigned a cold laugh. "Tell me, was it Liu Fengrui who taught you that?"

Li An couldn't think of any other reason; Wang Xiaohu was a simple child, and he couldn't imagine anyone else teaching him such things besides Liu Fengrui. Wang Xiaohu remained silent. That, in itself, was an answer. Li An had found the truth.

He called Liu Fengrui over, and before long, the boy appeared in the lounge, dragging his feet.

"Alright, everyone, stand in a line."

At Li An's command, the two boys quickly stood in a row. They expected their teacher to be furious, but instead, Li An said gently, "You mustn't speak so carelessly in the future, especially toward girls."

"Boys should respect girls, you know? Whether to their face or in private, you shouldn't say things that make a girl lose face."

"Teacher Chen is a girl, too. Think about how embarrassing that was for her."

He paused. "Understand?"

Wang Xiaohu realized his mistake. Liu Fengrui kept his head down, his cheeks puffed out. "Teacher, I'm sorry."

Li An nodded and gave each of them a light pat on the head. "Alright, that’s enough."

Then, in a firmer voice, he commanded, "Cheer up!"

The two boys looked up.

"Xiaobei isn't here today; it's just the three of us."

"We have to go on stage carrying Xiaobei's share, too. Let's show them the spirit of Classroom No. 4, alright?"

The two boys seemed instantly caught by the emotion in his words, their heads held high. The spirit of Classroom No. 4!

"Exactly. That's the feeling."

"Remember, once we're on stage, we are the masters. Don't worry about anything; just go out and enjoy the performance."

"The stage is just a fleeting moment; it'll be over in a flash."

"If you hit a wrong note, don't stop."

"If you get lost, don't panic. Take a deep breath and find your place again."

"Don't be afraid. You have me, your teacher, backing you up. No one will blame you if you don't play perfectly."

"At the very worst, we'll just prepare better and come back next year."

As he spoke, Li An extended his large fist. Wang Xiaohu and Liu Fengrui exchanged a look and extended their small fists. The three fists knocked together. Suddenly, Liu Fengrui stretched out his other hand, and a fourth fist joined the group.

Li An looked on, puzzled.

"This one is for Xiaobei."

A rare, earnest expression appeared on Liu Fengrui's round face. He was growing into a young man about to enter middle school. Li An nodded, feeling a sense of pride.

"Good."

Then, a unified shout of "Let's go!" echoed.

The three boys, carrying the stage dreams of their absent friend, felt as if they had made a solemn vow. From that moment on, Piano Classroom No. 4 seemed imbued with a special spirit.