Li Xianyu was born into an ordinary family. When his adoptive father was young, he was a delinquent. He had no literary accomplishment, so he did not feel that his children needed any as well. Li Xianyu, as well as his sister, did not enroll in any art classes ever since they were born.
In elementary school, his teacher tried to induce parents to get their children to take up classes. The parents would usually say, "Wow! Teacher, this class is too expensive, we cannot afford it."
Li Xianyu's parents thought to themselves, Drawing, my ass. He has to learn how to do simple maths first. He doesn't even know this, yet you want him to learn to draw.... Is the school crazy? You're not doing anything beneficial to him. What kind of classes do you want?
That's how his adoptive father felt. He was stubborn as hell.
Hence, Li Xianyu had never touched the piano since he was young. He was especially jealous of his peers who could play the piano.
