Chapter 307: Isn’t That Elder Zhu?
“Thank you, Brother Chu Ling, Sister Lai,” s.h.i.+ Xuexin said with a smile. “Why don’t I accompany you in first?”
Hu Lai said, “Wait a minute, Chu Ling has prepared a surprise for you. Today is your birthday, so we naturally have to see the surprise first before we can go in and sit.”
“What is it?”
“First of all, we want to introduce you to a violin master,” Hu Lai said. “This is a master that our Chu Ling accidentally got to know last time he went out for filming. The two of them quickly became good friends. Chu Ling showed him your performance and he felt that it was not bad. If fate allows, he would like to take you in as his disciple.”
“Really! That’s great! Brother Chu Ling, you’re the best!” s.h.i.+ Xuexin was so excited that her voice went up a notch.
Chu Ling looked at her lovingly. “You like the violin. It’s only right that I do this for you.”
“Brother Chu Ling, you have done too much for me,” said s.h.i.+ Xuexin. “I wonder which master it is?”
“Wen w.a.n.g.”
“Ah, it’s Wen w.a.n.g! He’s the country’s top violin master, he’s very famous. I’m so happy!”
“Master is here!” Hu Lai reminded.
An elderly man with white hair and a beard walked over with an extraordinary temperament. Hu Lai hurriedly went forward to welcome him. “Master Wen!”
“Chu Ling, Hu Lai,” Wen w.a.n.g said amiably. “Is this the birthday girl?”
“Yes, Xuexin, come and meet Master Wen!”
s.h.i.+ Xuexin hurriedly extended her hand. “h.e.l.lo, Master Wen!”
“Xue Xin, I have often heard Chu Ling mention you. Seeing you today, you are indeed beautiful.” Wen w.a.n.g laughed heartily.
“Master Wen, you flatter me. I’m really grateful that you’ve come to my birthday party. Please forgive me for my poor reception.”
Both of them exchanged greetings.
Downstairs, Li Juekai and Gu Qingqing were greeting Old Master Li and an old friend of his that had rushed over together.
After getting out of the car, Li Juekai wanted to stop the vehicle and said, “Qingqing, accompany Dad and Uncle Zhu upstairs first.”
“Sure.” Gu Qingqing smiled and said, “Dad, Uncle Zhu, this way please.”
Uncle Zhu’s real name was Zhu Junrong. He looked ordinary and said to Old Master Li, “Old Master, you really have to let s.h.i.+ Jin learn from me. I’ve seen her play the violin once. She’s really talented! If you don’t agree to it today, I won’t leave!”
Old Master Li smiled. “You’ll have to ask Qingqing first.”
“Qingqing, you could be considered a junior that I’ve watched grow up. You won’t be stingy in lending your daughter to me, right?”
“It would be s.h.i.+ Jin’s honor to learn from Uncle Zhu. But Uncle Zhu, she is no longer a young lady. She is already an adult and has her own thoughts and career, so what I say definitely won’t mean much to her. When the time comes, you’ll have to personally ask her for her opinion.”
Zhu Junrong’s tone was unhappy. “This is what you call immoral. When Xuexin was still in the Li family, you sent her here to study. Although she was mediocre, did I say anything to reject her? Did I show you any disrespect? Now that you’ve acknowledged your biological daughter, you’re not giving her to me! How infuriating!”
Gu Qingqing smiled gently. “Uncle Zhu, at that time, the child was still young and we couldn’t take care of her, so we had to rely on you. Now, Her situation is really different. Please understand.”
Zhu Junrong was fuming, but Gu Qingqing’s words were gentle and polite, so he couldn’t flare up. However, when she walked in front of Old Master Li, her expression did not look too good.
In this industry, it was not easy to find a good teacher. However, it was not easy for a good teacher to meet a good student either.
Zhu Junrong had been thinking about s.h.i.+ Jin for a long time, but he had never gotten a chance to get close.
It was a rare occasion for her to be celebrating her birthday at this time. The Li family was holding a huge banquet and Zhu Junrong had come over early in the morning to support them. Who knew that this would be the result?
“Uncle Zhu, this way please.” Gu Qingqing guided Old Master Li and Zhu Junrong forward.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin was still chatting with Wen w.a.n.g. Chu Ling was also trying his best to recommend s.h.i.+ Xuexin to Wen w.a.n.g.
Hu Lai was also standing to one side.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin suddenly saw Old Master Li and Gu Qingqing.
She hadn’t spent much time with Gu Qingqing, so their relations.h.i.+p was limited. However, Old Master Li had watched her grow up, so she was closest to him.
However, Old Master Li was still dressed in a traditional Chinese suit and a pair of ordinary cloth shoes. He looked no different from an ordinary old man from a small town.
Maybe he’d even left some chickens and ducks downstairs which were waiting to be delivered.
With that thought, s.h.i.+ Xuexin felt conflicted. On the one hand, she was trying her best to restore her relations.h.i.+p with Gu Jingyuan and use his power to expand her career. However, on the other hand, she really didn’t like Old Master Li’s old-fas.h.i.+oned ways and didn’t want to be a.s.sociated with him.
Seeing Old Master Li coming over, she couldn’t really greet him. What would Chu Ling think if Old Master Li gave her a chicken or duck?
While she was conflicted, she also saw Zhu Junrong, who was beside Old Master Li. Her violin teacher when she was young had not looked like Teacher Zhu.
Teacher Zhu had been teaching in a small town at that time. Not only was he very old-fas.h.i.+oned, but he was also extremely strict and hit her palms at any moment.
Furthermore, in that small town, Teacher Zhu had kept saying that she did not have much talent and needed more training to make up for her lack of ability with diligence. This had made s.h.i.+ Xuexin doubt herself.
It was only when she returned to the s.h.i.+ family later that all sorts of teachers began praising her. s.h.i.+ Xuexin had quickly regained her confidence and received numerous awards.
She really did not understand what was going on with this Teacher Zhu. She was already very skilled, and when she returned to the capital, she was no worse than the others. Why had he been so stingy with praising her and being nice to her? She really could not understand why.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin could be said to hate and fear him at the same time. Even in her dreams, she could see his ferocious expression. She did not want to see him at all anymore.
In that moment of hesitation, she subconsciously hid behind Chu Ling, completely ignoring the three people.
Old Master Li and Gu Qingqing seemed to have sensed something amiss and looked in s.h.i.+ Xuexin’s direction.
They could not see s.h.i.+ Xuexin in person. They only saw the enlarged photo at the door. It was s.h.i.+ Xuexin’s high-definition photo.
Then, without saying anything, the two of them walked inside.
Li Juekai followed closely behind. He did not see s.h.i.+ Xuexin and walked towards the main hall.
Only then did s.h.i.+ Xuexin step out from behind Chu Ling. The smile on her face did not change, but she secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Wen w.a.n.g said in a low voice, “Isn’t that Elder Zhu?”