"Amazing…"
"Is that lady a professional?"
"Oh, I recognize her! Isn't she that pianist who played in the classical concert at the An Auditorium the other day? I've heard her play before! This is the same style! The same passion! Damn, I can't remember her name…"
"I haven't seen any classical concerts before, but this is really beautiful."
The audience drew closer, some of them taking their smartphones to record the performance and upload it onto social media. Oblivious to her audience, Ru Yin Yue continued to play passionately, her fingers striking each key skillfully, sending a pitch perfect note into the air.
Beside her, mom Si listened quietly, tears streaming down her face. This wasn't lost on several of the audience, who began to weep alongside her as well.
"I don't know why, but I feel so…touched."
"Yeah, I can feel the sadness in the melody."
"Man, I can't believe I'm crying just from listening to a song."
Several of the audience wiped their eyes, which were brimming with tears. Spellbound, they listened intently with glistening expressions.
And when Ru Yin Yue finished playing, she held her hands stationary over the keys, eyes closed. Silence filled the air, pregnant with anticipation. Then, as if a burden had been lifted, the audience moved. First, one person clapped. Then a second. Then a third. Within ten seconds, the area was filled with thunderous applause.
"Amazing!"
"Nice!"
"…what?" Ru Yin Yue was astonished. Still seated, she turned around and caught sight of the unexpected audience. She quickly rose to her feet and stumbled away, feeling shy and embarrassed. "My goodness, what have I done?"
"That was beautiful, Yin Yue." Moved to tears, mom Si made to approach her, a smile on her face. "You really should play more often."
"I would like to," Ru Yin Yue admitted. Her mother-in-law nodded, suddenly remembering why. She scowled.
"That stubborn son of mine. I'll make sure to knock some sense into him later. How can he suppress you like this? Prevent you from performing in public and blocking your jobs? I'll talk to his father and the both of us will figure something out."
"Thank you." Ru Yin Yue nodded, and then she gasped when she remembered something. Turning to the sales assistant in the crisp suit, she lowered her head. "I'm so sorry! I got too carried away! I know you allow us to try out the instruments, but even so, I went too far!"
"Not at all." The sales assistant waved his hands smoothly. "In fact, it's my honor to listen to ma'am playing such a beautiful song. I'm so glad I let you play it. Listening to that wonderful piece was a very touching experience. I found myself moved."
He then scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled.
"If possible, I would love to give the piano to you for free. Someone like you would definitely make great use of it. It would be a waste to leave the piano collecting dust here when you could be playing music on it."
"No, I can't accept that!" Ru Yin Yue was horrified.
"Don't worry, the both of you." Mom Si giggled and took out her credit card. "I'll purchase it for my daughter-in-law."
"Mom!"
"It's fine, isn't it?" Mom Si turned back to Ru Yin Yue, smiling. "I heard from auntie Yi. That rascal Zha Nan refuses to allow you into the music room. That one night when you went inside the music room and played the piano, he scolded you for it. But if we have this compact piano moved into your room, then even he can't say anything when you play it there. If he still dares to complain, tell me and I'll whack him for you."
An amusing image came to Ru Yin Yue's mind, but she shook her head.
"Thank you, mom, but…"
"No buts. I want you to continue playing the piano. I want to listen to you perform again."
Ru Yin Yue hung her head sadly, wondering if that dream would ever come true. Then she kicked herself inwardly. Why so defeatist? Did she think dreams were so easily achieved? If she wanted to realize her dreams, she had to fight for it.
That was right. She would need to approach Xia Ning Xue and discuss a new strategy going forward. She had to confront Si Zha Nan instead of running away from him. She couldn't avoid her husband forever. These conflicts, she had best settle them as soon as possible.
"I'll ship the pianoforte to your house by next week," the sales assistant said when he returned mom Si her credit card. "I hope Saturday would be all right? The movers will bring it over, you can tell them where to place it."
"Saturday is all right," Ru Yin Yue agreed when her mother-in-law glanced at her. "Thank you. And thank you too, mom. This is…too precious a gift."
"Nonsense. If you really want to repay me, then you must do your best to practice so that I can listen to your music again." Mom Si then sighed angrily. "That naught boy…if Zha Nan didn't bar you from his music room in the first place, we wouldn't have to buy a new piano in the first place."
Then she broke into a smile.
"That said, this might actually work out better. Having your own personal piano…and this particular one seems very compatible with you. Much more than the big, fancy one we have at home. This one seems more delicate…more suitable for your fingers and physique. I don't know if I'm being superstitious, but I can sense a connection between you and this piano."
"Yes." Ru Yin Yue couldn't help but smile as well when she ran her fingers over the silvery surface of the piano. Indeed she could feel a bond with this instrument. "I will definitely treasure this piano for as long as I live."
"No need to be so exaggerated." Mom Si giggled and took Ru Yin Yue's arm. "Come, let's have dinner. I'm feeling hungry. What do you think of Mala hotpot?"
After dinner, mom Si had the driver drop Ru Yin Yue off at the Crescent Villa before the Si family limousine continued onward to her residence with dad Si. When Ru Yin Yue alighted at the main gate and made her way toward the main house, she caught sight of the silver Lamborghini parked at the porch. Evidently Si Zha Nan had returned home today – the first time in about a week.
Clutching her shopping bags, which were filled with the branded dresses that her mother-in-law purchased for her, Ru Yin Yue nervously entered through the front door. When she stepped in, she found herself riveted to the spot by Si Zha Nan's cold gaze. He had been sitting on a luxurious leather couch in the living room, still dressed in a branded suit. Come to think of it, Ru Yin Yue had never seen Si Zha Nan in any other clothing except branded suits. It was as if CEOs didn't wear anything else, even at home.
That humorous thought was washed away by the malice in Si Zha Nan's tone when he spoke up, his voice dripping with scorn.
"It seems that when I'm not at home, you're happily having fun outside."
"I went shopping with mom. I didn't know you would be coming back today."
"Yeah, if you knew that I was coming back, you wouldn't have gone out, right?"
Ru Yin Yue averted her gaze uncomfortably. She clenched her fists over her shopping bags, her fingers paling from the exertion. Lowering her head, she mumbled softly, "Zha Nan, I know you hate me."
"So?" Tightening his grip on the armrests as he slowly rose to his feet, Si Zha Nan sneered. "You know that I hate you, yet you insist on clinging to me."
He slowly approached her. Ru Yin Yue backed away fearfully, only to find herself running up against a wall. Cornering her, Si Zha Nan slammed a palm against the wall, blocking her path of retreat with his arm. He leaned closer to grab her chin forcefully and whisper venomously into her ear.
"Your wedding dress, your wedding ceremony, and this villa…all of these, I prepared for Ni Yao. Yet right now you are the one enjoying it instead of her, Ru Yin Yue. Don't you feel any sense of guilt?"
Ru Yin Yue narrowed her eyes and met his gaze evenly, getting tired of his verbal abuse. Why did she have to take this nonsense from him? Even though she had earlier told herself to endure all of this for the sake of her sick mother…for the sake of getting enough money to pay off the hospital bills, she could feel her temper fraying.
She was only human, after all.
"My conscience is clear. I've told you, I didn't deceive you or trick you. Yes, your mother pressured us into marrying. But you are the one who forced me into this as well. You refused to believe me when I refused, accusing me of playing hard to get. You blocked all my music jobs and cut off my source of income. For what? Just to prove a point? Tell me, do you feel any sense of guilt?"
Si Zha Nan's lip curled.
"Good. Very good. Throwing my words back at me, Ru Yin Yue?" He took his smartphone out. "I saw what you did today."
Ru Yin Yue was surprised to see a video of her playing the piano. It was the same piece she played earlier that day, the silver compact pianoforte in the music store. Many people had uploaded into social media and were praising her. And she didn't even realize it.
"Even without getting concerts and recitals, you still seem to be doing well for yourself, aren't you?" Si Zha Nan mocked her. "Looks like you don't need to sign for concerts and recitals at all. Why don't you set up a stand in the streets and become a busker? You might make more money that way."
"Would you perform a duet with me if I do so?" Ru Yin Yue asked sarcastically. "The both of us busking, me with the piano and you with the violin. It'll be like old times."
"Stop that!" Si Zha Nan roared and flung his smartphone at the wall so hard it broke. He ignored the ruins of his smartphone and stalked off. After two steps, he stopped and glared at her over his shoulder. "I don't know what tricks you used to pull the wool over my mother's eyes, but rest assured, she'll see your true colors soon enough."
"Mom has already seen my true colors. Perhaps you are the one who is looking at me through tinted lenses."
"You've gotten very smart, haven't you?" Si Zha Nan snarled. Ru Yin Yue closed her eyes and sighed wearily. She was sick of arguing with him.
"Zha Nan…"
"Don't talk to me."
His eyes filled with disgust, Si Zha Nan stomped past her and slammed the door, leaving a teary Ru Yin Yue alone in the living room.
Taking a deep breath, Ru Yin Yue collected her shopping bags and returned to her room, determination taking over.
She wasn't going to let her husband keep her down forever. Tomorrow, she was going to talk to Xia Ning Xue and get a job…by any means necessary (so long as it didn't haunt her conscience).