Xie Feng moved his index finger over the entire surface of the piano while making a complete turn around it. The room was completely empty, with no one around either. One person and one piano, that’s it.
Xie Feng sat slowly on the seat attached to the piano, but no sound came out even after several minutes. Xie Feng’s hands were placed on the keys and his vision was fixed on his fingers, static looking at his hands and the keys.
He was so immersed in his own world that he didn’t even notice that Mu Wuying, who happened to be passing by, saw him by accident and stopped at the door.
Even without seeing his face, she could never mistake that wide back for anyone else.
Although many minutes had passed in silence, she didn’t interrupt him and just stared at his back, as she could feel his aura changing completely, as if he had transformed into another person.
Aside from the silence, if there was one thing that stood out, it was the overwhelming amount of emotions that filled the air. Mu Wuying could feel a lot of sadness, pain, regret… As if he had a magical power that could influence people’s hearts, without changing his expression, without saying anything, without moving… Only his aura was enough to move the heart of anyone.
Even before he began to play, she could feel her own emotions stifled and her heart squeezed.
Mu Wuying knows that Xie Feng is adopted, she also knows that he lived in an orphanage throughout his childhood. Because she was Xie Feng’s girlfriend in the past, he told her many things about him.
But he never told her all the sad things he had experienced, nor did he tell her all the bad things he had to live with. For him, all of this was not necessary and the only thing that really mattered was that she be happy, nothing else.
Even though she wanted to know more, since he didn’t want to lie, he didn’t talk either.
What kind of man is he really?… What kind of life did he have?… What experience has he had in the past?… What is he thinking or remembering in this moment to release an aura of such a degree that it shakes the heart?…
Mu Wuying had many questions, but she did not dare to speak. For fear of interrupting him, she covered her mouth with both hands and kept her eyes fixed on him.
Ding…
Xie Feng’s fingers that had been silent for a long time finally moved. It was only a note, but it was as if that note did not resonate in Mu Wuying’s ears, it was as if it resonated in her heart. As if that simple note had magic, it spread through every nerve in her body, provoking all her emotions.
From a single note, the smooth piano music gradually, from Xie Feng’s fingertips, began to thump each cord of her heart.
Mu Wuying even thought it was lucky that there were no more women to appreciate it at this time, or else they would really be hypnotized by him. At the same time, she felt it was a pity that no one else could appreciate such a masterpiece.
She had already heard Xie Feng play this same piece in the past. An unknown melody, with no name, no lyrics.
But when he played it for her at that moment, it was just a demo… a play.
However, because that same melody, a melody she had already heard, felt so different… Mu Wuying doesn’t know.
As if all the sadness he felt in his heart was being released from his fingertips and spread through the piano keys… As if it was another melody and not the one she had heard.
***
Xie Feng doesn’t know why he had the strong impulse to play the piano again. After Xie Yao’s parents died, after she almost died, after Mu Wuying broke off her relationship with him, he stopped playing the piano.
To this day, it has been more than two years since the last time.
Although his heart seemed to cry out urgently for him to stop, this song was meant to express love, warmth, and not sadness… He could not stop his hands from moving on their own.
Xie Feng’s eyes are closed and, as his fingers move by themselves, thousands and millions of images reappear in his brain, shining as memories.
No one knows that he was actually bullied as a child.
No one knows that he was actually mocked by everyone.
No one knows that he was not really handsome at all when he was still a child.
No one knows how many nights he cried in silence, as he endured the cold and hunger.
No one knows that he was actually a very kind person in the past, but that people showed him that kindness would never lead him to the right path.
It is because of all this that Xie Feng never cares about people who praise his appearance… Because he was mocked, he knows that appearance is something superficial.
It is because of all this that Xie Feng does not act differently with people who have little and he was able to make friends with Xiao Luo, a modest young man who came to Shanghai from the mountains.
The only thing people see is what he wants them to see and what they want to see.
‘No… there was someone… There was someone who never made fun of me and who treated me like a true friend’.
A girl he met even before he met Xie Yao, but for reasons of destiny, they had no choice but to separate.
It was because of that little girl that he became interested in the piano, and it was because of that girl that he was able to improve so quickly after being adopted by Xie Yao’s family.
The melody suddenly changed its tone, from sadness and pain to happiness and joy.
Unconsciously, Xie Feng began to remember something he had almost completely forgotten.
“Xiao Feng, you will learn to play the piano and I will sing!”.
“Ehh! It’s not fair, you only have to sing but I have to study!”.
“Don’t complain, men should be gentlemanly, that way many girls will fall in love with you”.
“Who cares about those girls… I’m ugly anyway”.
“Who said you’re ugly? The person who decides if you are handsome or not, at least at this moment, is me!”.
“Uh?”.
“You know, beauty is subjective. It’s up to each person to judge whether someone is pretty or ugly. To me, you are handsome. So, you should make a little effort to learn to play the piano and make me fall in love with you!”.
“D-don’t do it! If you fall in love with me, all the kids at the orphanage and at school will beat me up again out of jealousy!”.
“You… Listen, Xiao Feng! At some point in your life, when you fall in love, you have to protect that girl for life, so you can’t keep acting like this! You must be braver and meaner, but even though meaner you must be kind and loving because girls like me do not like men who are not nice”.
“I don’t understand, how can I be evil but good… Aren’t these two personalities opposites…?”.
“You… Argh! Just start playing that piano!”.
“That… Can I not study?”.
“No!”.
Many beautiful memories flashed in Xie Feng’s mind. Memories that he had hidden deep in his heart.
These memories made Xie Feng realize something important. Even in bad times and sadness, there are always happy and joyful moments. We just have to find those moments and appreciate them.
“Hahaha…”.
Xie Feng could not help but laugh out loud as he remembered his younger self.
‘I really was a pitiful little man…’, he thought.
Looking at the time, he realized that the twenty minutes were almost complete, so he stood up.
“Uh… I forgot to close the door”. Xie Feng saw the doors open wide and remembered that after entering the room, he was mesmerized by the piano. Therefore, he did not even close the door.
Without worrying too much, he closed both doors again and went to the gym.
Xie Feng did not know that shortly after he left the building, the doors opened once again, and a person with watery eyes entered the room.
***
Xie Feng walked slowly through the halls of the university and made his way to the basketball gym. However, as he approached the gym, he noticed that the number of students seemed to be increasing.
“What’s going on? Isn’t everyone supposed to be in class?”. Xie Feng murmured in confusion.
Xie Feng’s black eyes lit up with an sky blue color for a split second and, out of curiosity, he sent a gust of wind into the gym.
Soon, he understood why so many students seemed to be moving in that direction. At the same time, a bitter smile appeared on his face as he said: “Today is really going to be a day without peace”.
He shook his head and after an exasperated sigh, his steps accelerated. Soon he arrived at the gym and saw that in the middle of the basketball court, there were two groups of people facing each other.
On the left side was the Shanghai University basketball team, and on the right side, of course, were Xie Feng’s friends and classmates.
“Really, today there will be no peace for me…”.
