Chapter 646: Things about the piano

For several days in a row, Li Heng didn't go anywhere, just holed up in the study reading manuscripts.

He read through all 58 pages of the manuscript of "Dust Settles" from beginning to end.

In order not to distract himself and to save time, he became a bit obsessed; he ate steamed buns for breakfast, then bought a bag of steamed buns to have as lunch.

During this period, he met Wei Xiaozhu outside the school, and when she learned of his situation, she specially delivered dinner to him twice.

After reading through the first time, he straightened out his train of thought again.

After reading through the manuscript the second time, he brewed some emotions and began to spread out his notebook again, unscrewed the pen and ink, and prepared to start writing Chapter 59.

It was just that ten minutes had passed, but the fountain pen nib was still suspended above the white paper, failing to fall for a long time.

After another stalemate, Li Heng frowned tightly, finally sighed, and placed the fountain pen on the desk. His whole body leaned powerlessly against the chair, soft as a lump of cotton.

Still couldn't find the feeling of writing from before?

And didn't know where things went wrong?

Could it be caused by being too urgent?

Thinking this way, after a long time, Li Heng stood up, walked out of the study, and left the small building at No. 26.

He planned to go for a walk outside, stretch his muscles and bones, and clear his head.

Hmm?

The doors and windows of the small building at No. 27 were open. Had Comrade Zhou Shihe returned?

Li Heng stood at the courtyard gate and peered inside for a long time, but didn't see even a shadow. Just as he was thinking about whether to go in, a group of people arrived in the alley.

There were men and women, old and young; it should be a family of six, all carrying large bunches of things in their hands.

Li Heng looked over and found that the other party stopped in front of the small building at No. 23.

The professor of the small building at No. 23 had just gone abroad some time ago. Were they new neighbors?

Just as he was thinking this, the female professor walking at the front of the crowd smiled at him.

Li Heng returned the courtesy and smiled along.

After this interruption, he gave up the idea of entering the small building at No. 27 and turned to walk toward the alley entrance.

As he walked, he pondered: The small building at No. 24 had been vacant for a long time; why hadn't the school arranged for anyone to move in?

Leaving Lushan Village, Li Heng pondered for a while, and finally, after buying some fruit and things for pregnant women and infants, he went straight to the hospital.

"Old Yong, how are your wife and daughter?" Finding his way to the private ward, Li Heng happened to run into Zhang Zhiyong walking out from inside.

"Shh!"

Zhang Zhiyong put his index finger to his lips, bent over, and said with a sneaky look, "Big Brother Heng, keep your voice down; Sister Chunhua just fell asleep."

Li Heng nodded to show he understood, then gave him the things in his hand.

Zhang Zhiyong took the gift, walked out after quietly closing the ward door, and took him outside, "The doctor said Sister Chunhua's condition is considered stable, but the child still needs to be observed for a period of time. Currently, there is no major problem."

Hearing this, Li Heng breathed a sigh of relief for Zhang Zui and said happily, "As long as the person is fine, this hurdle has finally been overcome."

Zhang Zhiyong said with a grin, "Have you had dinner yet? Shall we brothers have a drink?"

Li Heng asked, "Drinking will cause trouble, won't it? Aren't you going back to take care of your wife and child later?"

Zhang Zhiyong said, "Old Heng, don't worry. I'm not a fool; my old mother is guarding inside, so nothing will happen."

Li Heng laughed upon hearing this, thinking to himself that your nickname is "Fool," yet you say you aren't a fool.

Finding a street restaurant, they ordered a few of the shop's signature dishes and started drinking beer.

After half a bottle of beer, Zhang Zui said, "Big Brother Heng, this time it's all thanks to Professor Yu; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to survive this hurdle."

Li Heng agreed with this statement.

Zhang Zui looked around, leaned on the table, and asked, "Are you really planning to marry Professor Yu?"

Li Heng rolled his eyes, "You are a real ingrate. Professor Yu helped you, and you immediately changed your tune."

Zhang Zui touched the back of his head and kept giggling foolishly, "Professor Yu is beautiful and has temperament; she's quite good. Wouldn't you make a big profit if you married her?"

Li Heng said, "If you have the ability, say this in front of Xiao Han and Song Yu."

Upon hearing Xiao Han and Song Yu, especially Song Yu, Zhang Zui shivered and shut his mouth.

During the time he was eating with Old Yong, it started to rain heavily. Li Heng then realized that it was already May, the plum rain season in the south of the Yangtze River.

After the meal, he bought an umbrella and took the bus back to school.

It was a coincidence that he met Wu Siyao from Tongji University next door on the bus again.

Wu Siyao also saw him, but didn't come over to sit as usual, just occasionally peeking at him secretly.

Li Heng pretended not to notice the girl's secret actions, turned his head to look out the bus window, and later didn't even notice when she got off.

When he returned to Lushan Village, the rain had lessened a bit, and he could hear piano music in the alley from far away.

It was Liszt's piano piece "La Campanella."

Li Heng was fascinated, stopping at the entrance of the small building at No. 27 without realizing it. Only after the piece was finished did he knock on the courtyard gate on a whim.

"Dong dong dong!"

"Dong dong dong!"

The knocking wasn't loud, but it was particularly conspicuous at the end of the quiet alley.

After a while, Zhou Shihe appeared on the balcony and poked her head down.

The two looked at each other for two seconds. Before he could speak, the girl had already turned around, and in less than half a minute, she appeared in the courtyard.

Accompanied by the sound of a fine bolt being pulled, the courtyard gate finally opened a crack. She stood behind the gate holding a black umbrella, quietly watching him like that.

Li Heng asked, "Have you had dinner yet?"

Zhou Shihe nodded slightly.

Li Heng asked, "Practicing competition pieces?"

Zhou Shihe didn't make a sound.

Alright, judging by this posture, the girl didn't want to let him in at all.

Ever since the incident at the library, the two hadn't had a formal exchange for a long time.

Confronting each other across the threshold for a while, Li Heng suddenly blinked and said, "'Dust Settles' has already been written to Chapter 58."

Zhou Shihe almost understood in a second that he was tempting her, and she also knew his intention in saying this. Because she had only read up to Chapter 56, with two chapters left unread.

Zhou Shihe pondered for a moment and finally spoke, "My mother is resting in the bedroom."

Her voice was gentle and round, but the meaning in her words was self-evident.

Li Heng was stunned, "Your mother is resting, yet you are still playing the piano?"

Zhou Shihe said quietly, "Since I was a child, my mother has been accustomed to sleeping to my piano music."

Fine, he had nothing to say. He said "goodnight" and turned to walk toward his own small building.

Goodnight?

Zhou Shihe looked up at the sky slightly and checked her watch: 6:34.

There was at least an hour before dark.

Looking through the wooden fence at the figure bending over to open the door next door, she hesitated for a while, finally pushed open the courtyard gate, closed it, and walked over.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Li Heng turned back to look; it was Zhou Gu Niang.

He looked at her.

Facing each other, Zhou Shihe thought for a while and asked softly, "I remember you wrote to Chapter 58 several days ago. It's not finished yet; have you encountered difficulties?"

Li Heng nodded.

Zhou Shihe looked straight into his eyes for a while, then turned and walked toward her own house, walking lightly, without a word.

At this moment, Zhou Shihe understood his thoughts, and he also understood her eyes.

Li Heng exerted the unparalleled tacit understanding between them, locked the door again, and followed.

Sure enough, the courtyard gate of the small building at No. 27 wasn't closed, and the front door on the first floor wasn't closed either. After Zhou Shihe changed her shoes, she was opening her wet umbrella and placing it on the open space of the living room.

Li Heng closed the door for her as he walked, and in a moment, he was also in the house.

As the door closed, the two looked at each other silently, then stepped onto the stairs one after the other.

Somewhat unexpectedly, all the bedroom doors on the second floor were open. Li Heng turned his head to peek at this room and that room, but there was no one in any of them.

Where was the mother?

He muttered behind her, "When did you learn to lie? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Zhou Shihe in front smiled knowingly, then quickly restrained the smile on her face, didn't respond, and went straight into the piano room.

Entering the piano room, she sat gracefully in front of the piano.

Li Heng looked around at the door, walked to the window first, and drew the curtains.

Zhou Shihe frowned imperceptibly, a bad premonition suddenly rising in her heart. Did she know what she might face if this continued? Instinctively, she wanted to stop him.

But she knew that this person wouldn't listen to her at all.

Almost without much thought, she subconsciously got up to escape, wanting to flee the piano room at the fastest speed.

She was fast, but Li Heng was faster.

She had just touched the door handle when her right hand was covered by a large hand. The strength of the two sides wasn't in the same weight class, and the door handle didn't move at all.

She tried to open the door again, but still without success. She stood dejectedly by the door, then lowered her eyes, and didn't move at all.

Li Heng bolted the door, turned on the light, and said gently, "Don't think too much; I just want to listen to you play the piano to calm my mind and find writing inspiration."

Zhou Shihe didn't respond, but her eyes were fixed on the bolt that had just been locked.

Li Heng seemed to know what she was worried about and said, "There is a sense of security in bolting the door; no one will disturb us."

Seeing him spouting nonsense with a straight face, Zhou Shihe calmed down. Her right hand brushed the scattered green silk behind her ear, then she turned sideways, walked to the piano again with small steps, and sat down.

Li Heng sat on the chair on her left.

After a long silence, a pleasant voice came from her mouth, "Which piano piece do you want to hear?"

Li Heng said without hesitation, "'A River Flows in You'."

Hearing this, Zhou Shihe's chest heaved involuntarily, and the pair of slender jade hands on the black and white keys didn't move for a long time.

What kind of piece was "A River Flows in You"?

It was almost the couple's love song, and also the piece that could best stir her heart, endowed with special meaning.

In Singapore, in the Netherlands, and in the piano room in the past, every time this piece was played, the two hearts would get infinitely closer and create infinite ripples.

In this scene, Li Heng proposed wanting to hear this piece. She felt it was reasonable, but also doubted his motives.

After waiting for a long time without hearing the piano, Li Heng said, "If you're tired of playing 'A River Flows in You', let's change to 'Liang Zhu'."

After saying that, he moved his body, leaned back on the chair, and closed his eyes to wait.

Waited for a long time.

Unexpectedly, the result wasn't "Liang Zhu"; she played "A River Flows in You."

As soon as the melodious melody came out, Li Heng's heart felt as if it were gripped by a hand. A strange feeling quietly sprouted in the bottom of his heart, and many images couldn't help but emerge in his mind.

These images were all related to Zhou Gu Niang in front of him. There were those of living together in the capital, skiing in the Northeast, dancing in Singapore, the piano questioning in the Netherlands, and the image of him kissing her... ===== CHAPTER 647 =====