Chapter 168: Boomerang

(1)

The Pei Family's main residence in Jing Shi turned completely into an empty building after Ms. Song left, desolate and secluded, no longer the former prosperity.

The invitation letter from the Berlin Symphony Orchestra was still discovered by chance by the gatekeeper.

A mail carrier came to deliver mail, reminding the gatekeeper that the mailbox was full of envelopes and needed to be collected.

The gatekeeper was new; he knew the owner didn't live here, so he found Zhou Zhi, the special assistant who had originally arranged his posting, and handed over all the letters to Zhou Zhi.

…

That day was Sunday, and coincidentally it was an even-numbered day, so Pei Muyin returned to room 1702 to stay.

Pei Du arrived in An Shi a night early after his business trip ended.

It had become an unspoken understanding that whenever Pei Du was present, everyone would tacitly agree to go upstairs to eat.

After the meal.

Pei Du handed the envelopes brought by Zhou Zhi to his daughter and explained their contents.

"An invitation letter from the Berlin Symphony Orchestra?" Pei Muyin stared in surprise, first guessing: "Could it be… they sent it to the wrong person?"

She had been late, causing her to miss the audition time and not even participate, so how could she have been invited to join?

"Who would mis-send and send over ten letters?" Shu Lingchen also came over, he glanced at the mailing dates on the envelopes and said: "For several months straight, on average one letter every half month, and even without a reply they kept sending invitations."

"So sis, we should think it's because of your extraordinary talent that they are so eager for talent, hence they persistently invite."

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow in praise: "Wow, fire, chicken, baby's speech is getting more cultured these days."

Shu Lingchen raised his chin arrogantly: "That's right, my Chinese score of 130 on the final exam last semester wasn't just for show."

Yes.

He today is no longer the him of yesterday.

Shu Lingchen not only improved in Chinese, but the pace of his progress in other subjects was rocket-like; his chemistry score last semester was directly full marks.

At the start of the new semester, the school evaluated three-good students who had made progress, and Shu Lingchen ranked first on the school's honor wall.

In the blue-background ID photo, the youth looked spirited, and beneath it was written his personal motto.

It is a chemical formula:

Ca（OH）2+CO2＝CaCO3↓＋H2O。

When the motto was submitted for review, the teachers were initially baffled, then speculated that Shu Lingchen perhaps had gotten full marks in chemistry and had special feelings, so he deliberately put a chemical formula there.

Only the chemistry teacher, after reading it, laughed helplessly; this is precisely a chemical equation.

It can be understood as——you calcium precipitated.

This kid is just wagging his tail, showing off.

Shu Lingchen is now in an extremely floating state, can't stand praise; once praised he forgets his roots. All we hear is him clearing his throat twice, then he says to Shu Shu:

"Right, I need to correct you: fire, chicken, baby is not correct for turkey chick; the proper term is turkeychick, so be careful during exams lest the teacher deduct points."

"..."

Little brat.

Shu Shu took the jab without pressure, teasing: "Hmm, so does turkeychick now have A Brief History of Time?"

A 'black history' finishing move from his mom.

Instantly defeated.

Shu Lingchen: "!!!"

The boy instantly turned his head toward his sister: "Hey sis, were we just talking about your extraordinary talent? Come on, let's continue."

Pei Muyin nodded blankly, then sincerely asked Shu Lingchen: "Brother, do you usually read books like A Brief History of Time? That's amazing."

Pff—

Shu Lingchen clutched his chest in despair, feeling as if he had been harshly hit by a boomerang again.

At that moment, Pei Du finished his call and walked out of the study; he had confirmed that the Berlin Symphony Orchestra's letter was not mis-sent, indeed it was meant for Pei Muyin herself.

Actually, the necessity of this inquiry call was optional.

But Pei Du saw that deep inside his daughter lingered some lack of confidence; this was his failing as a father, and he wanted to make up for her missing confidence.

For example, after making this trivial call, clearly tell her that she is excellent enough, and that's why the Berlin Symphony Orchestra hopes she can formally join the orchestra.

Pei Du told his daughter in a gentle voice.

He said the orchestra expressed great anticipation for her arrival, understanding that she was nearing graduation and her studies would surely be busy, so they were willing to give her ample time to consider.

The internationally renowned Berlin Symphony Orchestra offering such conditions shows how highly they regard this musician they wish to invite.

(2)

That night.

Shu Shu slightly bent her waist, warmed the cream in her hands a bit, rubbed it in, then gently applied it to both sides of her daughter's cheeks.

The girl sat obediently, her brows showing a barely containable little joy.

She was happy.

From last night until now she had been happy all day, because of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra matter.

How could she not be happy?

Playing the violin is her only interest she has persisted with to this day.

She had persisted from the first audition round all the way to the last, definitely holding hope about whether she could join the orchestra.

So Pei Muyin's decision was to accept the invitation.

But beforehand she also clearly said that her free time outside of studies was very little, fearing that after joining she wouldn't be able to report on time.

The Berlin Symphony Orchestra's representative, having received the reply, responded in a relaxed tone that this was not a big problem.

The orchestra also occasionally has student musicians, and their training sessions mostly fall in winter and summer vacations, allowing Pei Muyin to focus on her studies peacefully.

However, handling the membership procedures still requires the person to be present in person.

Then.

Pei Muyin specially picked a weekend day to go to Jing Shi.

Of course, she wasn't the only one; there were four of them.

After arriving in Jing Shi and briefly resting at their lodging, Pei Du drove, taking the three to the Grand Theater where the Berlin Symphony Orchestra is located.

Pei Muyin got out of the car holding her personal documents, had walked just a few steps when she inexplicably stopped, then turned her head to see the window of the black sedan behind her roll down.

Shu Lingchen popped out from the passenger seat, struck a pose he thought was very suave, and asked: 'Sis, you really don't want me to come with you? I can be your left and right guardian, slaying demons and monsters.'

Shu Shu from the back seat complained: 'Sis isn't going to fetch scriptures, so what dharma is she protecting? Second senior brother can step down first.'

Pei Muyin couldn't help but smile, then glanced a little further inside and made eye contact with her father in the driver's seat; his gaze softened, and he returned an encouraging look.

"No need, bro."

She said: 'You've already accompanied me this far; after this I can manage on my own.'

Shu Lingchen: 'OK, then we'll wait for you here.'

"Good."

After responding, Pei Muyin continued walking, her steps light—lighter than ever before.

Although she was still entering this door alone, she knew she was no longer alone.

…

Processing the membership paperwork doesn't take very long.

The three people waiting just sat in the car, waiting.

——The three of the Frank Group.

Shu Shu was scrolling on her phone, looking for nearby highly-rated restaurants, thinking that later, after her daughter comes out, they could go eat together.

Pei Du glanced back through the rearview mirror for the seventh time.

Actually, his move was pretty subtle, but he couldn't help it because Shu Lingchen was sitting right beside him, and he just couldn't ignore her.

The teenager's face was expressionless, his gaze deep as he looked at his father, who had died at sea, on land, and in the air and been reborn, and he said considerately: 'No way, I'll get out of the car.'

He always felt like a fifth wheel, that he shouldn't keep staying here.

Shu Shu lifted her head, puzzled, and asked: 'Why are you getting out of the car?'

"He tou——"

Before Shu Lingchen could utter the second word, Pei Du interrupted: 'Do you usually read extracurricular books, Lingchen?'

Shu Lingchen: '???'

Pei Du's voice was calm as he explained: 'That day, I vaguely heard it.'

That day—that is, when he was making a phone call in the study, he happened to overhear their conversation.

Shu Lingchen paused, then suddenly an idea struck him, and he asked Pei Du: 'Then did you hear what extracurricular book it was?'

Pei Du indicated he hadn't.

Shu Lingchen immediately gave a hehe smile; one could see the boy's eyes darting around, almost writing on his face the words 'I'm about to set a trap for you.'

He then asked Pei Du: 'Um, do you have time for that thing? You know, do you have A Brief History of Time?'

Splitting it into two sentences like that makes it easy for the listener to lean toward interpreting it as a smoke bomb.

Shu Lingchen thought.

Hmph! He didn't want to keep carrying the dark history of A Brief History of Time all by himself!

Pei Du glanced at Shu Shu's silhouette in the back seat out of the corner of his eye, then looked at his son; seeing the boy's bright, eager gaze, he opened his mouth:

"I've heard of this popular science book, but I haven't read it."

Tap, tap, tap.

Listen closely, and it's the sound of Shu Lingchen's abacus beads hitting the floor.

This won't work at all!

Could it be that he's the only one in the world who doesn't know A Brief History of Time!!!

From the moment Shu Lingchen spoke, Shu Shu knew what her son was up to; he clearly hadn't yet realized who he was dealing with.

Unless he's willing to walk into the trap himself, there's no way this person can be fooled.

Shu Lingchen silently deducted 0.5 points from Pei Du in his mind for no reason.

Then he curled up in his seat and started emo-ing alone, completely unaware that his topic had just been switched.

He emo-ed for a while.

Shu Lingchen then thought, Mom and his sister are both academic aces, while he's a college loser.

Thus.

He couldn't help but ask again: 'Lao Pei, were your grades bad when you were young?'

"......" Pei Du froze for half a moment, observed his son's expression, and replied: 'Hmm.'

He admitted it.

Shu Lingchen's expression instantly shifted from gloomy to sunny.

"Ha, I told you, it couldn't possibly be my fault."

It turned out that because Lao Pei did poorly in studies, the fault lay in the genes; yet his own grades have soared thanks entirely to himself, with no connection to Lao Pei.

Thinking that.

Shu Lingchen then deducted another 0.5 points from Pei Du in his mind, but seeing how honest Pei Du was—a rare and commendable trait worth encouraging—he instead gave him a flat +10.

Shu Shu the whole time: '......'

Look, this person walked right into the trap.

Others who walk into a trap are at a loss, but when Pei Du walks into a trap, he ends up hooking his son.

…

Since Pei Muyin has joined the orchestra, on days without group training she must also use her free time to practice diligently, returning to her previous level and condition; each week's Sunday is an ideal free time.

There are many empty rooms, 1600 of them.

Shu Shu set aside a room and had a professional soundproof it, making it a dedicated music room for her daughter.

After lunch that day.

Shu Shu accompanied her daughter in practicing violin in the music room.

Pei Muyin felt something was off as soon as she drew the bow; the pitch was wrong.

"Maybe I haven't played in a long time, the strings have loosened; it looks like I need to retune."

Pei Muyin thought about finding a tuner.

"Let me have a look." Shu Shu stood up, took the violin from her daughter's hand, examined it, and said: "All we need is a tuner."

Pei Muyin exclaimed in surprise: "Older sister, you can tune?"

Shu Shu: "A little."

Coincidentally, Pei Muyin learned that her father was on his way back, so she simply sent him a message, asking him to bring a tuner for her.

…

In the living room.

Shu Shu placed her daughter's violin properly on her lap, then clipped the tuner onto it.

She started by tuning the middle second and third strings, plucking them with her fingertips; the vibrations were picked up by the tuner, and then she adjusted the pegs according to the tuner's feedback.

Shu Shu handled it seriously.

After waiting a moment and testing the tuning, she habitually picked up the bow beside her, stood up, placed the violin on her left shoulder, laid the bow on it, and gently drew a short test stroke.

"The tuning should be fine; Muyin, try it yourself and see if anything still needs adjusting."

Shu Shu set the violin down, was about to hand it to her daughter, when she realized she was already surrounded by three gazes.

In order: her son, her daughter, and Pei Du, who was sitting on the other side of the sofa, having delivered the tuner and not left.

They were all looking at her.

"..." Shu Shu asked, puzzled: "What's going on?"

Pei Muyin spoke first, the girl's eyes shining, she asked Shu Shu in great surprise: "Older sister, you also play the violin?"

"Well..." Not knowing what she thought of, Shu Shu paused, instinctively glanced toward Pei Du, then said in a relaxed tone: "But I haven't touched it in a long time."

Pei Muyin was very surprised.

Anyone who can tune must have had contact with the violin; seeing Shu Shu's familiar movements, one knows she has had considerable contact, yet before this she had never seen Shu Shu play.

Not only was Pei Muyin surprised, but Shu Lingchen didn't even know Shu Shu could play the violin.

He only felt that he had gained another layer of understanding about his mother.

Pei Du, meanwhile, was pondering the meaning of that glance he had just caught from Shu Shu.

At the same time in Jing Shi, the sky gradually darkened.

Inside the grand theater.

Shi Yao rubbed her sore shoulders, then carefully put her sheet music and violin back into her instrument case.

Beside her, two female cellists in their early twenties were chatting.

"Have you heard? Ms. Daisy finally got in touch with the violinist she'd been looking for, who missed the final round; that girl came in a couple of days ago to complete the paperwork and is now an official member of our orchestra."

"I was saying, when I saw Ms. Daisy today, why she was so cheerful—that girl must be surnamed Pei; I remember during the finals Ms. Daisy kept asking around in the group."

"Right?"

Shi Yao's hand packing the instrument case paused.