Hey, do you want to try being my boyfriend?”
Ling Ke could hardly believe his ears. The person in frontof him was asking him this question in a deep and husky voice.
That person was someone whomhe had secretly liked for many years. The person’s lips curved upwards as hisgaze fall upon him, piercing through his soul. His eyes were clouded withuncertainty and ambiguity.
The first time Ling Ke met Qi Feng was during the summerholiday in his last year of elementary school.
He remembered the temperature that day was higher thanusual; the sun stood high ablaze in the sky. Ling Ke was taking the train to amusic school for his Grade 8 piano examination. By the time he had reached theplace, he was already sweating profusely from the heat.
Once Ling Ke entered the waiting hall, he quickly found aseat at the side and started perusing his music sheet; his mind completelyabsorbed in recalling some of the important techniques, especially from Cramer’s.The beat of this piece was very fast. The piece had manyinstances where one is required to use multiple fingers simultaneously and LingKe’s biggest problem was using his third finger to play the piano. This causedhim to frequently make mistakes when he had to use a few fingers to press onmultiple keys to produce a single chord. Ling Ke tried to practise by gentlytapping his fingers on the table, pretending that the table was the piano.
Just at this moment, he heard a faint sound towards hisright. A boy about the same age as him had sat down beside him.
The boy was wearing an exquisite black performance outfit,with a vest adorning the outer layer of his shirt. The boy’s hair was neatlycombed and his skin was white and smooth. Even though the boy was young and hisfacial features had not fully matured, his attractive features already seemedto foreshadow the handsome young man the boy would grow up to become. With eyesthat were naturally smiley, it was not surprising to expect that the young boywould become someone popular among both men and women in the future.
Ling Ke stared at him blankly for two seconds. He hadnever seen someone so pretty before and hence he was nervous.
“Hey.” The boy smiled at him and asked, “What’s yourname?”
A pleasant scent wrapped around the boy. That faint scentappeared to be coming from the boy’s shirt or hair.
Ling Ke remembered that his T-shirt was drenched insweat. Not wanting to make the boy uncomfortable, Ling Ke instinctively turnedaway.
However, this only caused the boy to inch closer and takethe initiative to introduce himself: “I am Qi Feng.”
“My name is Ling Ke.”
A radiant smile spread across Qi Feng’s face. He leanedforward and asked, “How old are you this year?”
His gaze swept across the other people in the waitinghall, before lingering at Ling Ke’s face. “I think you are the only person herethat is of the same age as me. Have you graduated from elementary school?”
Ling Ke was a bit of an introvert, especially in front ofnew people. He did not expect Qi Feng to actively strike a conversation withhim. Even his tone sported a sense of familiarity as if they were old friends.This caught Ling Ke off guard.
“I have just graduated…this year.”
Qi Feng continued to gush enthusiastically “Wow, me too!Which elementary school were you from? Which middle school are you attending?How long have you been learning the piano?”
The rapid torrent of questions caused Ling Ke to bemomentarily at a loss of words. After organising his thoughts, Ling Ke told Qi Feng thename of his elementary school and the middle school he would be attending. “Istarted learning piano when I was Primary 2. It has been five years since Istarted.”
Learning piano from Primary 2 was not considered early.Many people had started learning the piano since they were in kindergarten,such that by the time they graduated elementary school, they had alreadyfinished Grade 10.
Qi Feng also took the initiative to tell Ling Ke hisschool. Ling Ke had never heard of the school before. “What school is that? Isit good?”
Qi Feng shrugged and replied, “It is a private school, withquite little people attending. Whether it is good or not, I am not sure since Ihave never attended another school before. But my mother said it is the bestschool in town. She does not want to let me study overseas so early.”
Ling Ke was shocked upon hearing that. “Studying abroad”was something that had never occurred to him at this age. He suddenly felt thedistance between him and Qi Feng increasing drastically.
Qi Feng then proceeded to tell Ling Ke about some of theinteresting happenings in his school: Stuck-up teachers who were alwaysboasting; the wide variety of extra-curricular activities as well as the manyoutdoor learning lessons that took place in his school.
Ling Ke listened on enviously. This school seemed a lotmore interesting than his elementary school!
After talking for a while, Ling Ke’s music sheets caught QiFeng’s attention. He reached out for the music sheets. “Wow, your sheets are soworn out. You must be very good at the piano since you practise so much!”
Ling Ke shook his head, “It is just pretty average.”
Qi Feng raised one of his eyebrows. “Tsk, don’t be somodest.”
Ling Ke was not being modest. His piano skills werewithout a doubt ordinary. Even his piano teacher often said that his skillswere quite average. However, as the piano teacher knew the reason why Ling Kewas learning the piano, he did not comment much on Ling Ke’s piano abilities.
“Which piece did you choose?” Qi Feng asked as he flippedthrough the piano sheets. He quickly came to a conclusion. The most torn andtattered page was obviously the piece that had been played the most. “I havealso chosen the same piece as you – that piece from Schubert’s collection.”
When Qi Feng was looking at his piano sheets, Ling Ke waslooking at Qi Feng’s hands.
People who play the piano would often find themselvesunconsciously looking at the hands of others who also play the piano, especiallysomeone like Ling Ke whose pinky finger was evidently shorter than that ofnormal people. His inborn disadvantage made him more aware of the differencebetween him and others.
Qi Feng’s hands were beautiful. Even though he was young,he had long and slender fingers that were suitable for playing the piano. IfLing Ke’s piano teacher had seen Qi Feng’s hands, he would definitely praise QiFeng’s hands as hands that were born to play the piano.
“Hey, do you want to go to a music school in the future?”Qi Feng asked.
Ling Ke’s thoughts were interrupted. He unhesitatinglysaid, “No.” Attend a music school? You might as well kill him!
Since he was Primary 2, Ling Ke had never gotten to spenda peaceful and relaxing summer holiday. Every July and August, he would stay athome playing the same monotonous examination tune over and over again. Hispa.s.sion for the piano had died down in these five years of immense practisingand now the only thing he want to do is to quickly finish all the piano examinationsso that he never needed to touch the piano again!
Qi Feng was slightly astonished. “Then, why are youlearning the piano?” Without waiting for Ling Ke to reply, he said to himself,“Oh, you are playing it as a hobby…Then why do you bother to take examinations?The examination tunes are all so boring.”
Ling Ke had no choice but to confess. “No, it is toenhance my portfolio for middle school.”
Qi Feng was bemused. “Portfolio?”
Ling Ke briefly explained what he meant. Qi Feng said, “Huh?So what is the purpose of it?”
“There is no special meaning behind it…” Ling Ke did notwant pretend to like the piano. Yet, seeing that Qi Feng had carefully dressedup for this examination, he felt that Qi Feng may be someone who is genuinely pa.s.sionateabout the piano. This made Ling Ke ashamed about his practical reason oflearning the piano.
Ling Ke examined Qi Feng’s outfit again and saidhesitatingly, “Aren’t you hot from dressing like that?”
Qi Feng lowered his head and loosened his tie, beforesmiling awkwardly. “I also did not want to wear this, but my teacher said thatI should treat every performance as an actual one and should give it my all…Evenif it is hot, I can’t help it.”
Although Qi Feng admitted that it was hot, there was no signof sweat on his face.
“Candidate Number Seven, Li Xu.” A staff called out. “CandidateNumber Eight, Ling Ke can start preparing.”
Ling Ke immediately became nervous. “It is going to be myturn soon.” He had no mood to continue his conversation with Qi Feng.
Qi Feng rested his chin on his hand, his expressionindifferent. “You are already going to enter the examination hall, so don’tstress out too much. It is not like the teacher will eat you up.”
Ling Ke did not hear Qi Feng’s light-hearted teasing. Hewas too stressed-out. After waiting for a while, he felt an urgent need to visitthe restroom. He quickly went to the restroom, leaving Qi Feng to look afterhis belongings.
Ten minutes pa.s.sed in a blink of an eye. After Ling Kereturned, Qi Feng handed Ling Ke his music sheets and grinned. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Ling Ke played Cramer’s wronglytwice, but the two pieces he played after that went quite well, especially Schubert’s.He should be able to pa.s.s….right?
Ling Ke heaved a sigh of relief as he exited theexamination hall. He deliberated on whether he should return to the waitinghall to wait with Qi Feng for his turn.
However, as Ling Ke was making his way to the waitinghall, he was stopped by one of the staff. “Student, have you finished yourexamination?”
Ling Ke pointed towards the waiting hall. “I am…waitingfor someone.”
The staff shook his head. “If you are waiting forsomeone, please wait outside.”
Ling Ke could only give up and leave the examinationhall.
The sun outside was very glaring. Ling Ke found a shadyspot to wait for Qi Feng. However, there was no sign of Qi Feng even after halfan hour had pa.s.sed.
Ling Ke’s gaze unintentionally stopped at the sleek blackcar that was parked in front of him.
He thought about what happened two hours ago. When he had reached the music school, he sawa black car stopping at the entrance of the school. He remembered seeing aformally dressed boy stepping out of the car. Since there were many people atthe entrance hall, he had only shot a quick glance at the boy before making hisway to the waiting hall.
There was hardly anyone who would dress in such formal clothingfor a piano examination, especially in such a warm and humid weather. Uponseeing the black car now, Ling Ke finally realised that the boy he had seenearlier was actually Qi Feng.
“Wow, it’s a Bentley!”
A few parents who had been waiting for their children atthe entrance were pointing at the black car. “Is that car from someone sendingtheir child to the examination hall?” Another parent sighed and said, “I saw the car just now. Allthose rich people are already focusing so much on developing their childreninto all-rounders. Our children definitely cannot lose out!”
A child raised his head and said innocently, “Mummy, arewe poor?” The parent replied, “Even if we have no money, we will doeverything in our power to send you to school. So you should focus on studyingwell and repaying us in the future, okay?”
The child gave an affirmative reply before turning tolook enviously at the black car.
The heat had already worn off Ling Ke’s patience, leavinghim somewhat downcasted.
So what if he managed to see Qi Feng? The only thing he coulddo was to ask him how his examination was. Qi Feng was a rich second generation.Perhaps after today, they would never see each other again.
As he thought of this, Ling Ke shook his head and turnedaround to leave.
When he was eating dinner, Ling Ke told his parents abouthis performance during the examination. He then curiously asked, “What is ‘Bentley’?”
His mother was in the midst of pa.s.sing him a piece ofmeat. “It is a branded car…Where did you hear it from?”
Ling Ke gulped down one spoonful of rice. “Today, therewas a boy around the same age as me who arrived in a Bentley car.”
Ling Ke’s father pushed up his spectacle. “His familymust be rich. An ordinary person wouldn’t be able to afford a Bentley car.”
Lin Ke replied with an “Okay”, before asking again, “Thatperson says he is studying in De Yin National School. Do you know that school?”
Ling Ke’s parents glanced at each other. De Yin NationalSchool is a very prestigious private school. Because every year there would benews articles on students from that school getting accepted into prestigiousoverseas universities, Ling Ke’s parents had naturally heard of the schoolbefore.
Ling Ke’s mother gazed at Ling Ke questioningly, “I heardthat the school fees required is more than 100 000 yuan a year. That is around halfa year of our family’s income. Even if you want to go to that school, theburden on us is too much.”
“…” Ling Ke was ata loss of words. He had not said that he wanted to enter that school.
Ling Ke’s father continued, “My dear son, the world isunfair. Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth while othershave to struggle just to make ends meet. Even though we are not rich, we arealso not poor. Your results are outstanding and you are even accomplished inthe piano. You are already better off than many other people, so you do nothave to feel inferior to others.”
“…” Who is feeling inferior…
Ling Ke could no longer tolerate his father’s nagging. Hequickly finished his meal. “I am returning to my room.”
After he closed his room’s door, Ling Ke lay on his bed.His heart has calmed down and he thought of Qi Feng’s face.
He remembered Qi Feng’s mischievous grin as he leanedforward and told him not to be modest; the fluttering of his long eyelashes ashe earnestly flipped through his piano sheets, and lastly that pair ofbeautiful hands.
He also remembered that faint sweet scent emanating fromQi Feng, as well as the air of dignity surrounding him. Despite that, Qi Feng’scheerful disposition was able to quickly bridge the distance between them.
He had never met someone like Qi Feng, someone so…
His dictionary did not have a more fancy word to describeQi Feng, so he settled on the word: “cool”.
Compared to Qi Feng, Ling Ke felt that he and his friendswere insignificant.
He knew where that feeling of distance came from.
It was from the att.i.tude of the people at the music schoolentrance; from his parents’ admonishments.
He was only thirteen years old. He originally did nothave to think of stuff like social status and cla.s.s difference, but it was theadults who made him understand the actual difference between him and Qi Feng.
Ling Ke blinked his eyes. He was unhappy and a littledissatisfied.
Was it because his family did not have a branded car norcould they afford a private school, that him and Qi Feng could not be friends?
Does that even make sense?
The cool air from the air conditioner gently caressed LingKe’s face. Ling Ke sighed in frustration.
Just then, his mother entered his room with a plate offruits. Upon seeing her son lying stone-faced on the bed, she thought that hewas still feeling gloomy.
She hastily put down the plate of fruit before saying gently,“My darling son, don’t be troubled by all these pointless thinking. You shouldrest for a few days before reading the new textbooks, so that you can continuegetting good results in middle school. Believe yourself, you are not any worseoff than those rich people’s children.”
Ling Ke felt that his mum words were both right andwrong. He nodded his head before standing up and carefully placing his musicsheets in his piano stool.
To be honest, he was still feeling a bit regretful fornot waiting for Qi Feng and not having the chance to bid him goodbye.
However, now that he thought about it, there was no needto feel remorseful. In fact, leaving first was the right decision.
He did not know that he had gradually started to think ofQi Feng as more of a compet.i.tor than a friend.
After a few months, Ling Ke received his Grade 8 piano certificate.He never touched his Grade 8 music sheets again.
After a year, he had successfully gotten his Grade 10 pianocertificate. As he was sorting through his piano sheets, he causally flipped throughhis torn and tattered Grade 8 piano sheets. Upon reaching the last page, he wassurprised to find a faint and neat handwriting at the top of the page.
“My Q number is6868x.x.x, add me as friend when you get back – Qi Feng”