93. Li An's Understanding, Qin Yong's Misgivings

Chen Xuan replied, “That is usually the case. Some instruments—”

Li An cut in, “Some of them can go down to B-flat, but only with careful breath control and special keys.”

Chen Xuan blinked. “Oh?”

Li An went on, “The flute family is divided into the flute, piccolo, alto flute, and bass flute.”

Chen Xuan smiled. “Anything else?”

It seemed he had been right. This time, Li An truly grew bolder. He cleared his throat and said:

“The flute’s full range can be divided into several different registers, and each register has its own timbre, dynamic character, and breath demands.”

“The low register speaks a little sluggishly, lacks overtones, and has a cold, slightly husky tone, yet it is distinctive.”

“The middle register is transparent, soft, and beautiful; in minor keys it carries a hint of melancholy, while in major keys it sounds graceful and poised.”

“The high register is bright, clear, and penetrating, and it is the flute’s most commonly used range.”

“The highest register is extraordinarily brilliant, bright, and piercing, and is suited only to strong playing.”

“In an orchestra, the flute handles the high voice of the woodwind section, and is known for the flexibility of its technique and the transparent, tender quality of its tone. It can also perform soft, lyrical passages of great beauty, or convey moods such as melancholy and light sorrow.”

“The piccolo is the highest-pitched instrument in the orchestra. It is used not only to extend the upper range of the woodwinds...”

“...”

Listening to Li An recite the characteristics of each flute register as if from memory, Chen Xuan gradually let her smile fade and grew serious.

When Li An finally stopped, she asked, “You memorized all of that?”

Li An nodded bashfully.

“Since I have to rehearse with you this afternoon, I figured I’d do a tiny bit of homework in advance.”

Chen Xuan was suddenly moved and, before she could stop herself, gently pinched his arm and cheek. “Are you stupid?”

Li An was not stupid at all. On the contrary, he took the opportunity to feel, through his arm, the delicate softness of Chen Xuan’s hand.

Slender. Smooth.

He had no idea what it felt like to touch.

To be honest, before he got out of bed that morning, at least seventy percent of all this would have been beyond him. He would never have been able to explain it so fluently.

That whole matter had to begin in the middle of the meeting...

Li An was still thinking about Tian Yu falling ill when the light before his eyes suddenly flickered.

He opened the panel.

At last, he had leveled up again. He had thought this moment would arrive last night.

Unfortunately, after eight o’clock last night, none of the three little brats had touched the piano.

Level 3 was flashing at 100 out of 100.

Of course Li An chose to level up.

“Congratulations, Teacher Li An. Level increased by 1.”

“Li An’s piano classroom capacity increased by 1.”

Then the scene shifted to that familiar cornfield, where, with Wang Xiaohu’s addition, the others were digging with even greater enthusiasm.

After about three minutes of digging, a deep blue light flashed beneath Wang Xiaohu’s feet.

“Basic Orchestration of Western Music discovered.”

Hearing the prompt, Li An chose to claim it without another word.

As long as it had to do with music, there was no knowledge he was not interested in.

When he opened it, it did not disappoint. It was divided into three sections: string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion and keyboard instruments.

Each section was further broken down into smaller categories. For example, the wind section included brass and woodwinds.

The flute was listed under woodwinds.

According to the system prompt, paying only fifty teaching points would unlock the instruments in a single category.

Since he was in the middle of arranging Chen Xuan’s performance, Li An did not hesitate to spend fifty teaching points and unlock the flute.

Then appeared the very material he had just recited.

After reading everything, he found there was not much to it, only the most basic concepts and introductions.

But once he closed the page, he discovered that what he had just read seemed to have taken root in his mind.

And that was how he had just been able to recite it all so smoothly in front of Chen Xuan.

As a pianist, the importance of mastering basic orchestration needed no explanation.

One day, when he stood before a symphony orchestra, knowing these things would help him understand the full score and work more effectively with the ensemble.

But in Li An’s eyes, the greatest value of this item was not the knowledge it contained. It was the enormous amount of time it saved him.

Any bookstore copy of an orchestration textbook would cover this material.

With enough interest and effort, given time, he could have mastered it on his own.

But that would have taken a great deal of time.

Life as a piano teacher was, in truth, terribly busy. One had to design lessons, carry them out, and at the same time keep filling oneself with new knowledge in order not to be left behind.

Yet work alone, along with the countless trivial burdens of daily life, already left one exhausted. Where was there so much extra time and energy for the rest?

Now that he had this orchestration book, he only needed to work hard at teaching and earn teaching points to unlock the knowledge inside with ease.

Through this reward, Li An gained a new understanding.

Teach with dedication, and win time.

Teaching is not life, but time is one of life’s most important parts.

There are almost no others that matter more.

At noon, Qin Yong called Wang Panpan to join him for lunch, and the two of them went to the dumpling shop where they had eaten before.

Over the meal, Qin Yong asked Wang Panpan whether there had been any discussion in the west office after the meeting ended that morning.

Aside from everyone’s “personal attacks” on Tian Yu, Wang Panpan recounted almost everything she could remember.

“Did Li An say anything?”

Wang Panpan frowned and thought again.

“He said that whatever the principal says, we’ll just listen to it, or something like that.”

“Nothing else?”

Qin Yong nodded.

After lunch, Qin Yong found Huang Juan.

“Let Li An supervise Teacher Tian’s program this afternoon.”

Originally, the two of them had already agreed that Huang Juan would be responsible for Tian Yu’s program.

Hearing Qin Yong say this, she understood at once. “I’ll let him know.”

Back in the office, Qin Yong called Old Dong over as well.

“Director Dong, this afternoon help Li An out over on Tian Yu’s side.”

After a pause, he added, “Make sure you communicate properly with the parents. Understood?”

Old Dong nodded and left.

Qin Yong walked to the window and rubbed his brow, still somewhat hesitant about his decision.

He knew very well that Li An’s place in this evaluation was already secure.

So whether Tian Yu’s students should be handed over to him, and how many should be handed over, he still could not quite make up his mind.

He kept having the feeling that Li An would not stay in Yudong forever.

But he had no choice.

Tian Yu’s students needed a teacher with real ability to take them over quickly.

And aside from Li An, he could not find anyone more suitable at the moment.