Chapter 47: Kong Hanyue

At half past five in the afternoon, Xia Yu, who had just finished eating at An Siyao’s place, returned to his own body.

At this time, his work at the cafe was already completed.

After changing back into his usual clothes, Xia Yu went to the subway station and boarded the subway.

The place where Kong Hanyue lived was quite far from the cafe. After fifteen minutes on the subway, Xia Yu arrived at his destination.

It was a villa district—not an ordinary one, but one with swimming pools.

Of course, compared to An Siyao’s villa, this place was as ordinary as could be.

After stating Kong Hanyue’s name to the security guard at the entrance, Xia Yu was allowed through. He walked for another ten minutes before reaching his destination.

He pressed the doorbell, and Kong Hanyue opened the door for him.

“Mom,” Xia Yu called.

“Quickly come in,” Kong Hanyue said, pulling Xia Yu inside while examining him.

Xia Yu also studied Kong Hanyue carefully—he hadn’t seen her in years.

After being caught by You Xue, Kong Hanyue’s husband hadn’t divorced her, but had imposed restrictions, forbidding her from any contact with the Xia family.

Three years ago, after Kong Hanyue’s husband passed away, she sought out Xia Yu, wanting to support his education and urging him to move to another city. But Xia Yu, unwilling to leave You Xue behind, refused. Since then, they hadn’t met again.

“You’ve gotten thinner,” Kong Hanyue said, holding Xia Yu’s hand with concern.

“…”

This was probably a common trait among many parents—in reality, Xia Yu hadn’t lost weight at all; he’d actually gained a few pounds.

“How could you possibly be comfortable staying in that house? Listen to your mom and go study in Yaoguang City instead. I can find someone to get you registered there. That way, even if you take the college entrance exam with your eyes closed, you’ll get into a good school!” Kong Hanyue’s brows furrowed tightly, her expression sincere.

It seemed like Kong Hanyue was very caring, but in reality, she was merely sentimental by nature—and this sentimentality was paired with a tendency to forget.

For instance, previously when she had gone out with Xia Dongyang for fun, she’d felt sorrowful watching Xia Dongyang catch a rabbit. But once the roasted rabbit was served, she happily ate it.

She only truly felt things when they were right in front of her; once they were out of sight, she’d forget.

“There’s no need. Xia Dongyang has already fled,” Xia Yu said.

“How could he run away?” Kong Hanyue asked in surprise.

So Xia Yu told her everything.

“There’s still my money in that house!” After a moment of anger, Kong Hanyue resumed persuading Xia Yu to study in Yaoguang City.

She didn’t give a thought to what You Xue should do.

“Once you graduate, I’ll get you into the company. And if Zeze doesn’t mind, you can live with me!” Kong Hanyue spoke of her plans.

Zeze was the son of Kong Hanyue’s deceased husband from his previous marriage. His real name was Zhong Yunze, and Zhong Yunze had a twin sister named Zhong Yunxin.

Neither of the two children were Kong Hanyue’s biological children, so her position was somewhat awkward.

“Xin Xin is also studying in Yaoguang. If you could…” Kong Hanyue hinted at Xia Yu suggestively.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Xia Yu pushed away Kong Hanyue’s head, which she had leaned close to his, refusing the suggestion of going to Yaoguang City.

“Why not?” Kong Hanyue said, looking disappointed.

She was nearly forty years old, yet her behavior was still like that of an immature girl. Her second husband had probably been attracted precisely by this trait.

“My principal can get me a recommendation to Hua University,” Xia Yu began to talk about serious matters.

“Really?” Hua University wasn’t an easy school to get into. Kong Hanyue was surprised.

Even with Zhong family’s modest assets in Zi Lang City, they couldn’t get Zhong Tianze into Hua University.

“The condition is that I must achieve good results in this Middle School Musical Instrument Competition,” Xia Yu continued.

“You don’t stand a chance,” Kong Hanyue declared decisively.

Xia Yu knew words would be useless at this point. He asked Kong Hanyue, “Is there a piano or a violin at home?”

“There’s a piano,” Kong Hanyue led Xia Yu to the piano room.

He opened the piano lid and played a piece called “Jiaozong’s Dancer.”

Watching Xia Yu’s nimble fingers, Kong Hanyue was astonished.

Before Xia Yu could even lower his hands after finishing the piece, Kong Hanyue grabbed his hands.

While gently squeezing Xia Yu’s fingers, Kong Hanyue asked, “When did you learn piano? Your current level is already not much worse than Zeze’s.”

“Does Zhong Yunze play the piano too?” Xia Yu was just wondering why there was a piano at home—it turned out it belonged to Zhong Yunze.

“Mm, Zeze will also participate in this musical instrument competition. But even Zeze can’t guarantee making it to the finals. You still don’t stand a chance,” Kong Hanyue still didn’t believe in Xia Yu.

She continued, “Who did you learn piano from? Did that bastard Xia Dongyang actually pay for your piano lessons?”

“I learned from an old man at the coffee shop next door,” Xia Yu first explained about the piano, then added, “But I’m not going to use the piano for the competition.”

“You also play violin?” Kong Hanyue thought of Xia Yu’s earlier mention of the violin.

“Not the violin either,” Xia Yu said.

“Then what instrument? Don’t keep your mom in suspense!” Kong Hanyue reached out to pinch Xia Yu’s cheeks.

He swatted her hand away and said, “Guzheng.”

“You’ve even learned Guzheng? I wanted to teach you before, but you said you weren’t interested at all!” Kong Hanyue was angry.

“I don’t know how to play it,” Xia Yu interrupted her.

“Then what do you plan to do…?”

“You teach me now.”

“Eh?” Kong Hanyue was taken aback.

“The competition starts as early as November,” she said.

“I know. Just teach me, and you’ll understand why I’m saying this.”

The skill Xia Yu obtained from An Siyao was a kind of musical transgression, already at level 3. At this point, his proficiency with all musical instruments had reached level 3, he just didn’t know any pieces.

He couldn’t learn pieces from An Siyao, or else he would be discovered, so he turned to Kong Hanyue.

Before marrying Xia Dongyang, Kong Hanyue had been a famous Guzheng beauty, participating in world-level Guzheng competitions. Although now he wasn’t sure how much skill she retained, she was definitely better than an ordinary teacher.

“Guzheng and piano have nothing in common, except maybe a better sense of music. Don’t think you’ll get any advantage just from that,” feeling that Xia Yu was taking Guzheng too lightly, Kong Hanyue was somewhat displeased.

She led Xia Yu to her Guzheng room.

The room was decorated in an ancient style, with exquisite teaware and an incense burner.

This must have been the style favored by Kong Hanyue’s late husband.

“I originally required wearing Hanfu to enter this room, but since he’s long dead, I’ll let it go,” Kong Hanyue showed no attachment toward her deceased husband.

She sat in front of the Guzheng: “Guzheng only has five notes—Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, and Yu. The rest must be produced by pressing the strings…”

“I already know all that. You just need to teach me the pieces,” Xia Yu interrupted her.

Huffing slightly, Kong Hanyue began playing an exercise piece while muttering complaints about him being arrogant, disrespectful, and even disrespectful to teachers.