Chapter 24: Midnight Piano and Airport Farewell
If the dean of discipline had not been standing there, Gu Tang would have wanted to pry Gu Qinian open and take a look.
Had someone changed the person under the skin?
Why did this one in front of him seem like a completely different species from the one he knew?
The dean of discipline looked at young master Gu in a whole new light and praised him enthusiastically. “Excellent! Truly excellent! The student council will be very busy preparing for the school opening ceremony, so you’ll have to work a little harder. Do a good job! Once the student council president from senior year graduates, there will be plenty of opportunities!”
Good heavens!
This was not just empty promises anymore—he was already picking a successor!
Teacher, do you really not need to observe him a little longer first?!
Gu Tang grumbled inwardly, while over there, young master Gu was practically overflowing with righteous energy.
Gu Qinian spoke in a firm, ringing voice: “Those opportunities should be left to the senior students. I’m only in first year of junior high, and I still need more time to gain experience.”
Gu Tang: “…”
That’s enough.
If he keeps acting, it’s going to get a little too much.
Gu Tang wanted to find someone to roll his eyes with, so he turned to look at Zhu Xu.
Only to see that Zhu Xu also had a what on earth am I seeing expression on his face. But the moment Gu Qinian’s gaze swept over, Zhu Xu immediately gave young master Gu two thumbs up. “Outstanding!”
Gu Tang: Traitor!
Could this world still be saved?
Zhu Xu: Like I’d dare say anything!
The dean of discipline was utterly delighted by young master Gu’s performance and smiled with all the satisfaction of someone looking at the future hope of the nation.
Since the opening ceremony had been mentioned, that naturally meant it was time for the arts class to shine.
The dean had already looked into the specialties of the arts-class students, so he took this opportunity to say to Gu Tang and Xie Qian:
“The two of you are both highly skilled pianists. In order to showcase the spirit of our new students, to demonstrate unity, cooperation, friendship, and mutual assistance among classmates, to reflect the grace of future artists in the new era, and to—”
He probably could not think of any more phrases for the moment.
The dean coughed lightly and brought the topic back. “We are planning to arrange for the two of you to perform a four-hands duet. The piece will be our school anthem.”
The school anthem of Jiang City No. 1 Middle School was not difficult to play.
Gu Tang did not think there would be any problem.
But before he had a chance to speak, he heard two voices sound at the same time.
Gu Qinian: “That’s not very suitable.”
Xie Qian: “That’s not very suitable.”
Gu Tang: “?”
No, wait, what was going on here?
It was one thing for Xie Qian, a piano student, to say that. But what was young master Gu, a person who sang hopelessly out of tune, doing joining the noise here?
The dean also turned to the two students who had objected. “I’d like to hear your reasons.”
Gu Qinian: “Gu Tang can play it alone.”
Xie Qian: “I can play it alone.”
After speaking, the two looked at each other and both saw dislike in the other’s eyes.
But the dean did not see it that way. “A four-hands duet really tests tacit agreement and coordination. The theme of our opening ceremony is ‘Unity and Mutual Assistance, Creating the Future Together.’ If it’s changed to a solo performance, then it won’t fit the theme.”
This was really just an assignment. He was not asking for their opinions.
The dean had already made up his mind. Unless there was some decisive problem, nothing was going to change.
Gu Tang was very laid-back. Whether one person played or two people played, he was fine with it.
Xie Qian could only accept it too. Smiling at Gu Tang, he said, “Since we happen to be in the same dorm, want to go practice together later?”
“Sure.”
Gu Tang agreed readily.
But the moment they stepped out of the teachers’ office, the smile on Xie Qian’s face vanished completely.
Gu Tang turned to ask him when he planned to practice.
Xie Qian’s reply was icy. “There’s no need.”
Gu Tang: “?”
Xie Qian tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to hang that gentlemanly smile back on his face, but failed. He simply stopped hiding the contempt in his eyes. “Just practice your own part. I don’t have time to waste with you.”
After saying that, he walked away arrogantly.
“What’s he acting so cocky for?”
Zhu Xu was firmly on Gu Tang’s side and immediately cursed Xie Qian. “He only won a few lousy awards. When it comes to actually playing, who knows who’s really better!”
Gu Tang did not care that much about Xie Qian’s attitude. He withdrew his gaze from the retreating figure, then lightly bumped Gu Qinian with his shoulder. “His acting isn’t as good as yours.”
That was his way of saying Xie Qian was not nearly as good at pretending as young master Gu.
His depth was far worse.
Gu Qinian did not refute it. Instead, he turned the tables. “You taught me well.”
Gu Tang’s eyes widened round. “What nonsense! When did I ever teach you all these bad things?”
“Heh.”
Young master Gu calmly gave three keywords: kindergarten, chubby kid, mud.
Gu Tang instantly remembered that time back in kindergarten when young master Gu fought with the little chubby boy and won. In order to keep Gu Qinian from being scolded, Gu Tang had smeared mud all over his face and torn his clothes, making him look pitiful and miserable.
Putting it that way… it really was taught by him.
Gu Qinian concluded, “Sometimes, packaging and beautification are the fastest path to your goal.”
Gu Tang laughed and teased him, “Who says you couldn’t get into the arts class? You clearly could’ve studied acting.”
Young master Gu was absolutely an acting genius.
Gu Qinian curled his lips. “You flatter me.”
Gu Tang: “…”
You really don’t know how to be modest at all.
The little awkwardness between them dissolved in their back-and-forth bickering.
Honestly speaking, young master Gu’s smile played a key role. It really was genuinely pleasing to the eye.
A shallow little looks-lover like Gu Tang was dazzled by that smile until all his anger disappeared. He lightly nudged Gu Qinian with his shoulder again. “You really want to stay in the dorm with me?”
Young master Gu sighed and made one last desperate struggle. “We go home on weekends.”
Gu Tang grinned, showing eight little white teeth. “Okay! Then we’ll go home together on weekends!”
Zhu Xu had been standing there listening the whole time, and the more he listened, the more wrong things sounded.
Zhu Xu: “You two live together?”
Gu Tang blinked at him. “Why are you still asking that? I already told you, he’s my younger brother.”
He… really was his younger brother?
Zhu Xu trembled as he turned to Gu Qinian, wanting confirmation.
But all he got was a cold, icy look.
When Gu Qinian looked at Gu Tang, he still seemed almost human. But the moment his gaze shifted away from Gu Tang, his pupils turned into the kind of dark, bottomless black that felt like a cold abyss.
Zhu Xu could not handle it. Swallowing hard, he stammered, “I-I have something to do, I’ll go first!”
He fled as fast as if ghosts were chasing after him.
There was no one else around now.
Gu Tang rubbed his shoulder against young master Gu’s and tilted his head to look at him. “Do we count as reconciled now?”
Gu Qinian pressed his lips together. “…Mm.”
In the end, he still could not keep holding back.
After that soft “mm,” the corners of young master Gu’s lips could not help lifting. His naturally sharp, beautiful brows and eyes looked as if they had been coated in a gentle halo of light.
Gu Tang loved it whenever he smiled like that, so he said generously, “Niannian looks so handsome when he smiles!”
“There’s no need for your praise.”
Young master Gu’s face stayed calm, and his mouth kept saying awkward things, but both of his ears had turned bright red.
The opening ceremony would take place after military training, which meant there was still one week left.
For practicing the piano piece, that was a little tight.
Gu Tang planned to go practice in the music room for two hours every evening after dinner, then return to the dorm to sleep.
“No! You can’t go at night!”
Zhu Xu grabbed him as he was about to head out. His face looked grave, as if he were afraid of disturbing something, and he deliberately lowered his voice. “Listen, I’m telling you…”
“The school music room is haunted at night!”
At those words, Gu Tang’s pupils shrank, and he widened his eyes as if he were frightened.
Seeing that he looked scared, Zhu Xu relaxed a little. “That’s right, so don’t go—”
Before he could finish, Gu Tang suddenly rolled his eyes upward so only the whites showed and stuck out his tongue.
His face was round and cute, so this ghost face looked more adorable than scary. But because he did it so suddenly, and there was no one else in the dorm, Zhu Xu jumped in fright.
Zhu Xu: “Aaaahhhhhh—”
[Aaaahhhhhh—]
Gu Tang: “? System, why are you screaming like a ghost?”
[I’m scared too! Host, can’t we just go back? This place by the music room is terrifying…]
The music room was at the foot of the school’s back hill. You had to walk down a path lined on both sides with dense deciduous trees before you could see a white four-story building—that was the music room.
The summer night breeze rustled through the woods, and under the moonlight, the white piano building looked quiet and mysterious.
Before coming, Zhu Xu had already filled him in.
This building had a history of nearly a hundred years. It was said that it had once been the residence of a wealthy young lady. Since her given name contained the character Yue (“moon”), the building was called Moon-Chasing Pavilion.
That young lady loved collecting pianos, so aside from the ordinary practice pianos, the top floor also housed several antique pianos.
Up to that point, it still sounded like a calm and beautiful old story.
But as always, every ghost tale had another side hidden from view.
The young lady had not lived in Moon-Chasing Pavilion by choice. She had fallen in love with a poor young man, and in order to separate them, her father locked her inside the building, where day and night she could only keep company with the pianos.
The white building was not just a place for storing pianos—it was also the cage that trapped her.
One night, longing for freedom, the young lady jumped from the fourth floor, and thus her fragrant life came to an end.
Many years later, a school was built on this site. The little building was preserved as a historical relic, repaired, and turned into a music room for students to use.
Among the generations of Jiang City students, there had always been people who claimed they could hear eerie piano music drifting from the top floor in the middle of the night. Some even said they had seen a woman in white standing at the building’s window, gazing into the distance.
Gu Tang was not scared. He only thought the story was sad and romantic, tragically beautiful.
[Host, the system of souls is far more complicated than you imagine. Don’t be careless. Let’s just go back…]
The system’s electronic voice was trembling, and even its mechanical tone carried a hint of pleading.
Gu Tang smiled and asked, “Are you scared?”
[No! How could I possibly be scared of ghosts?!]
Gu Tang did not expose it. He simply went along with it. “That’s right. Even if ghosts really do exist, they’re from a completely different dimension than systems. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
[Wuwu, can’t we really just not go…]
The system shook with fear.
“But nighttime is the only time I have to practice.”
Gu Tang had no choice. He could only comfort the system a little and continue walking toward the little white building.
To his surprise, the interior of the building was much better than he had imagined. The moment he entered, there were voice-activated lights.
The white light snapped on, and Gu Tang said happily, “See? There are lights. We don’t have to be scared.”
[Th-that makes it even scarier!]
Just imagine it.
The ghostly white light shining down on the boy, the innocent boy unknowingly dancing along with the piano music, only to walk toward the same… n-no, no return path as Miss Yue.
Gu Tang: “Why are you making things up in your head now?!”
[So scary so scary so scary…]
The system curled into a trembling little ball.
There was no way to deal with it anymore, so Gu Tang temporarily muted the system, found a piano room, pulled out the sheet music, and began practicing.
Whoosh—A gust of wind blew, making the bed curtain billow.
Across the window glass behind the boy, a shadow swept past.
[Aaaahhhhhh—]
The system screamed again.
Gu Tang had not been scared at first, but after the system’s constant shrieking, he felt physically and mentally exhausted. He pressed a hand to his chest. “If the ghost doesn’t scare me to death, you will…”
[What was that just now?!]
The system’s electronic voice had changed pitch completely, screeching like an old cassette tape going bad.
“Huh?”
Gu Tang turned back around, but saw nothing. “There’s nothing there.”
No way.
If he kept responding to the system tonight, he would not finish even a single piece.
Gu Tang took a deep breath, placed all ten fingers on the black and white keys, and from the moment he pressed the first key, a string of beautiful notes poured out like spring water skipping through mountain streams, like a gentle breeze brushing across blades of grass…
Very good. The plot reward really had not lied to him.
The music skill point he had obtained earlier from completing a mission had transferred over his piano ability from his previous life exactly as it was.
There had not been a single step backward.
Gu Tang was very satisfied. He gently rubbed his wrist and prepared to play another piece.
Rustle—Another gust of wind came and scattered the sheet music.
How strange.
He had clearly closed the piano-room door when he came in.
So where had the wind come from?
Gu Tang turned his head and looked—
“Pah!!!”
The lightbulb in the piano room suddenly went out.
The piano-room door, which had originally been shut, now stood wide open, and the wind was rushing in through it.
In the pitch-black doorway stood a shadow.
[Aaaahhhhhh————]
The system screamed for dear life.
At the exact same time, Gu Tang cried out in delight, “Niannian!”
[Huh?]
The system froze.
At that moment, the lights inside came back on, illuminating the worried look on the newcomer’s face.
Gu Tang jumped happily off the piano bench and ran over. “It really is Niannian!”
[How could you tell…]
The system was still in shock.
Gu Tang’s answer was completely matter-of-fact. “I could tell just from the outline.”
[It was just a black blob! How could you possibly tell?!]
For the first time ever, the system had objections to its host.
Being too brave was also a serious problem!
Gu Qinian had heard the campus ghost story through the student council and remembered that Gu Tang was coming to practice piano at night. He had not been at ease, so he came over to check. He had not expected a power outage. He had run up and down the building several times without finding Gu Tang.
The tall boy was breathing slightly hard. His thin, elegant nostrils flared faintly, and fine beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.
Even without him saying anything, Gu Tang knew he must have been running around looking for him.
“Niannian is so silly.”
Gu Tang stood on tiptoe and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “If you just followed the sound of the piano, wouldn’t you have found me?”
Now that he had seen the boy and his heart had settled, Gu Qinian said nothing more, only nodded. “You’re right.”
The moment those words fell, a hollow, ethereal piano melody drifted out from some unknown classroom.
“!!!”
Gu Tang and Gu Qinian looked at each other, and their expressions changed at the same time.
Gu Tang had not been playing the piano, so if someone was playing now…
Before they could think further, the lights in the classroom went out again with another sharp snap.
[Um… asking quietly… is this the part where we can scream now, or should we wait a little longer?]
Gu Tang had no time to deal with the system. He grabbed Gu Qinian’s hand in one motion. “Niannian, don’t be scared, I’m here!”
[…]
[You didn’t talk to me like that just now!]
The system broke down in an instant.
So it was not the host’s favorite dog after all!
In the darkness, the sense of touch was infinitely amplified.
Gu Qinian could feel that the little hand holding his was soft, but also strong and reassuring.
No matter how dark a place he had been trapped in in his previous life, there had never been a little hand like this reaching out to him…
“Hm?”
Gu Tang realized the other boy had gripped his hand back, and very tightly too.
He thought young master Gu must be terrified, so Gu Tang simply leaned forward and wrapped both arms tightly around his waist.
“Pah————”
The emergency lights in the piano room suddenly switched on.
“What are you doing?”
There stood Xie Qian, one hand on the light switch, the other on the doorframe, his face full of disbelief.
What had he just seen?!
Late at night, in the darkness.
Inside a music room no one ever came to, Gu Tang and Gu Qinian were holding hands and hugging each other.
Xie Qian: My eyes are going blind!!!
It felt like he had come to catch an affair in progress…
“So you were also coming to practice in the music room at night. Then why didn’t you come with me?”
This time, Gu Tang was genuinely a little angry. He usually did not lose his temper, but now his tone was openly questioning.
Xie Qian had been practicing in a piano room on the second floor, playing a short section at a time and deliberately putting on a ghost act, frightening his young master Gu!
Gu Tang shot Xie Qian a hard glare, then rubbed Gu Qinian’s head. “Niannian, it’s okay now. Don’t be scared, don’t be scared.”
Young master Gu stood nearly one meter eighty tall, but he still deliberately bent down so Gu Tang could reach the top of his head.
Seeing that scene, Xie Qian finally lost the composure he always pretended so well to have and roared, “Does he look like someone who’d be scared?!”
Gu Tang ignored him completely and only looked at young master Gu. “Are you scared?”
Gu Qinian lowered his thick lashes and softly answered, “Mm.”
Xie Qian: “???”
Damn!
What kind of green-tea dog was this?!
After all this commotion, neither Gu Tang nor Xie Qian had any interest in practicing anymore.
The three of them prepared to leave.
However, the moment the piano lid was closed, another burst of tinkling piano notes sounded again.
This time, it was not Xie Qian playing.
He got so frightened that he grabbed Gu Tang in a hug.
Gu Qinian seized the back of Xie Qian’s neck and ripped him off Gu Tang.
Xie Qian was still unconvinced. “What? You’re allowed to hug him, but I’m not?”
“That’s right. You’re not.”
Young master Gu’s pitch-black pupils swept over him, reflecting no light at all.
Xie Qian shrank his neck.
Humans were like animals—everyone had an instinct to avoid danger and seek safety.
This classmate Gu in front of him was making every internal alarm bell scream. In a way, he was scarier than a ghost…
But Xie Qian had his pride. He was the little prince of piano, after all. Why should he be suppressed by some brat who came out of nowhere?
After holding it in for a long time,
Xie Qian finally came up with something to snap back with, trying to save face. “Why? Why can’t I hug him? Are you two dating or something?”
The moment those words came out, the air in the room froze solid.
Gu Qinian fell silent.
Words jammed in his throat, but he could not say them.
Gu Tang was stunned for quite a while before finally understanding what Xie Qian meant. He asked blankly, “How can a boy date another boy?”
Gu Qinian turned his head and glanced at him, his thin lips pressed into a straight line.
At exactly that moment, the eerie piano music started up again.
This time, it sounded like it was coming from the rooftop.
After hearing it so many times, everyone was not as scared anymore. At least it was better than the awkwardness just now.
Gu Tang was very bold and took the lead. “Let’s go up and take a look.”
The system and Xie Qian, however, somehow reached complete agreement.
[Do you have a death wish?]
Xie Qian: “Do you have a death wish?”
This was exactly the kind of stupid behavior people always did in horror movies. Who would follow him?
Gu Qinian walked to Gu Tang’s side without the slightest hesitation. “Come on. I’ll go with you.”
[Waaah!]
Xie Qian: “? Don’t leave me behind!”
The group followed the narrow stairs of the little white building all the way up to the fourth floor, and sure enough, the piano music grew closer and closer.
But when they listened carefully, something felt off.
Gu Tang’s ears twitched. “This isn’t…”
“It’s not live playing—it’s a recording!”
Xie Qian realized it too.
Damn it!
Who was using this place to pretend to be a ghost and scare people?!
“…Duan Zhengyu?”
Even Gu Tang was stunned when he recognized him.
What was Little Glasses doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?
“Of course I’m studying!” Duan Zhengyu pushed up the little glasses on his nose, sounding completely righteous.
The dorm was too noisy with four people living together, and first-year junior high courses were not even that intense. The other three only knew how to play games, so of course he had to find a quiet place to secretly work hard and then amaze everyone!
As for why he was playing music…
His mother had said that piano music purified the soul. Studying while playing piano music in the background could broaden the mind and double learning efficiency!
So after all that, it had been a false alarm.
After graduating from elementary school, Little Glasses Duan Zhengyu had also tested into Jiang City No. 1 Middle School’s experimental class and ended up in the same class as Gu Qinian. Meanwhile, the Jiang siblings had to temporarily leave the embrace of the motherland because their father had to go abroad for work.
Gu Tang had promised the brother and sister that when the time came, he would definitely go see them off at the airport.
On the last weekend of military training, Xie Qian took the initiative to invite Gu Tang to practice piano together.
After the piano-room incident, Xie Qian had strangely become much less pretentious, though his mouth had also become much more snarky. Maybe that had been his true personality all along.
“Sorry.”
Gu Tang looked at Xie Qian apologetically. “I can’t go practice this weekend. My two good friends are going abroad, so I have to go see them off.”
Xie Qian looked utterly incredulous. “You’re really rejecting practicing with me over something as boring as seeing someone off at the airport?!”
Gu Tang: “…”
Xie Qian refused to believe that Gu Tang would abandon him for the sake of little friends—right up until he saw Gu Tang packing his bag and preparing to leave the dorm.
Xie Qian stared at him eagerly. “You’re really leaving?”
Gu Tang looked at Xie Qian, who resembled an abandoned little puppy, and sighed. “Do you want to come too?”
Xie Qian gave a huff. “Why would I take part in something this boring?”
One hour later, in the car.
Gu Qinian sat with his arms folded, glaring coldly at the uninvited guest. “Why did you bring him?”
The uninvited guest was even showing off while eating a fruit platter in the car!
Gu Tang tugged at young master Gu’s sleeve. “The school’s empty this weekend, and he’d be all alone staying behind. It’s kind of pitiful, like a little puppy no one wants…”
The one eating the fruit platter suddenly lifted his head.
Xie Qian wiped his mouth. “I heard that!”
Hearing it was one thing. People who freeloaded rides, food, and fruit platters had no right to speak.
Following Gu Tang and Gu Qinian, Xie Qian ended up getting dragged all the way to the airport.
Assistant Jiang had never expected that when he went abroad for work, the boss’s son would actually come see him off. He was so touched he nearly cried. Although he knew it was all because of the children’s friendship, he still felt incredibly honored.
Assistant Jiang: I will devote my whole life to the Gu family!
Children’s friendship was innocent and pure, without all those complicated adult things.
The moment Jiang Yiwen and Jiang Yiyi saw Gu Tang, they rushed over and hugged him. Young master Gu stood with his hands behind his back at the side. Jiang Yiyi believed that the male lead could only be hugged by the female lead, so she kept her hands off him. Jiang Yiwen, on the other hand, politely shook hands with Gu Qinian, like two underage business elites.
Gu Tang took out the presents he had prepared long ago for his friends.
The gift for Jiang Yiwen was the latest gaming equipment set, while Jiang Yiyi received a giant drumstick made of pure gold.
Gu Tang looked very proud. “I picked the presents, and Niannian paid for them, so this counts as a joint gift from the two of us!”
Jiang Yiyi hugged the golden drumstick and loved it so much that she took a bite out of it, then bared her teeth and said, “I like it, but I can’t eat it…”
“I already prepared that for you too.”
Gu Tang pulled out a full box of chicken drumsticks in all kinds of flavors and handed it to Jiang Yiyi. “Take them and eat them slowly.”
Thinking about how they would soon be far apart, with no idea when they might meet again, Jiang Yiyi’s eyes reddened. She hugged Gu Tang again. “Tangtang, I’m going to miss you so, so much.”
Her words made Gu Tang’s nose sting too. “I’ll miss you both too. Keep in touch anytime.”
At that moment, Jiang Yiyi noticed Xie Qian, who was crouching in the corner eating fruit.
She looked Xie Qian up and down a few times, then looked back at Gu Qinian. After that, she confidently raised a little fist at young master Gu and waved it.
Jiang Yiyi: “Go, childhood sweetheart! Crush the newcomer!”
Author’s Note:
Jiang Yiyi: Who says a childhood sweetheart can’t beat the newcomer?
Some little angels were worried about messy CP issues, but don’t worry, this story doesn’t have that at all.
This story is simply Qinian ? Tang, a very, very, very, very, very one-sided arrow. Or you could also say it’s Qinian, Tang, and Their Little Friends. The leads and the other little friends all share pure friendship, no messy chaotic ships.
As for side couples, they basically won’t appear in the main story. Whether I write them in extras later depends on the situation.
