Chapter 18: Far from Being Able to Compare with Lin Yuejiu
Father Lin froze for a moment. “Your student is…?”
The middle-aged man glanced at him. “Lin Yuejiu.”
Father Lin paused. “Jiu… she’s your student?”
“I’m the one who claimed her as my student—she never actually agreed.”
Speaking of this, the middle-aged man’s face was full of regret.
Father Lin gave an awkward smile. “What made you want to take her as your student?”
“She… her talent isn’t exceptionally high, but she’s incredibly hardworking, always willing to try anything. The key point is—she’s very sensible and very filial.”
Lin Yimo stirred and asked, “Filial? How so?”
“Learning the violin is exhausting. I still remember the first time I taught her—she accidentally pulled too hard on a string and snapped it. The broken string whipped across her face, leaving a bloody mark right away. But her first reaction wasn’t to cry out in pain—it was to tell me not to let you all know, so you wouldn’t worry. Isn’t that such a considerate child?”
Lin Yimo fell silent.
He remembered that too—it was about a year after she had come to the Lin family, right when she had just asked to learn the violin. She had come back with that mark on her face. He’d asked if she’d gotten into a fight, and the little girl had smiled sheepishly, “No, I just tripped and fell. There happened to be a branch on the ground, and it bounced into my face. It’s fine, brother—it doesn’t hurt at all.”
A strange pang went through his chest.
“You still haven’t said—in what other way was she filial?”
“Oh, right. When she was learning violin from me, she was especially diligent. Sometimes I’d be exhausted and tell her to take a break, but she’d refuse. Sometimes she even asked me to teach her other instruments. I told her it would be tiring, but she insisted. When I asked her why, she said: ‘I can’t let my family down. They spent money to send me here, so I have to learn well and not disappoint them. And if I get good at it, I can perform in front of everyone someday. If they clap and praise me, my parents will be very proud.’”
The middle-aged man took a sip of wine. “I think that counts as filial, right? Filial and sensible.”
Seeing the three of them silent, he gave a small smile. “I’ve got something else to do, so I’ll be going.”
“Take care.”
The banquet reached its end, and everyone began leaving in an orderly fashion. At the door, someone came up to ask, “Mrs. Lin, why didn’t your child perform a talent today? I thought you were going to make her the grand finale. You used to be the one most eager to show off in front of us.”
The tone carried a hint of malice.
Mrs. Lin’s expression stayed the same as when she arrived. “My child was lost outside before, and I couldn’t find her for a long time, so she never had the chance to learn.”
The woman glanced at Lin Rumeng. “Your real daughter better work hard. It’s fine if our kids surpass her, but she absolutely can’t lose to your former daughter. After all, your old one was so beautiful, sensible, and outstanding.”
Mrs. Lin’s expression froze slightly before she smiled. “That’s not something you need to worry about.”
Standing beside them, Lin Rumeng had heard everything, and her nails dug so deep into her palms they left marks.
The whole way home, no one spoke.
Seeing the three of them so silent, Lin Rumeng panicked a little and tugged at Mrs. Lin’s hand. “Mom.”
Mrs. Lin looked at her. “What is it, Mengmeng?”
“Mom, I want to learn the violin too.”
“Oh? Why?”
Lin Rumeng leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. “Since my sister used to be so outstanding, I also want to become just as outstanding. More importantly, I don’t want Dad, Mom, or Brother to be disappointed in me. I want you all to be proud of me too.”
Mrs. Lin smiled, Father Lin’s expression eased, and Lin Yimo focused on driving without speaking.
Mother Lin asked her, “Mengmeng, do you really want to learn? You have to stick with it once you start, and it’ll be very hard work.”
Lin Rumeng shook her head firmly. “It’s okay, I can do it. I don’t want to let Dad and Mom down.”
Seeing her determination, Mother Lin said, “Alright then. In that case, I’ll help you contact a teacher tomorrow. Tomorrow happens to be the weekend, so you can start learning right away.”
“Okay, Mom,” Lin Rumeng smiled. “Oh, by the way, Mom—can you contact that teacher we met at the banquet?”
“Hm? Why?”
“He’s taught my sister before, so I want him to teach me too.”
Mother Lin looked at Father Lin, and Father Lin smiled. “No problem. I’ll contact him later.”
Lin Rumeng’s smile grew even brighter.
After they got home, Father Lin contacted the middle-aged man. He didn’t hesitate much before agreeing. When Father Lin told Lin Rumeng the news, she was so happy that she kissed him on the cheek, then kissed Mother Lin as well. “Thank you, Dad! Thank you, Mom!”
Father Lin and Mother Lin both laughed.
On Saturday morning, Mother Lin woke Lin Rumeng up to go to her violin lesson. She went, and as soon as she saw the middle-aged man, she said, “Hello, Teacher.”
The middle-aged man responded and let her into the classroom, then took out a violin. “Do you know this instrument?”
Lin Rumeng glanced at him. “Of course—this is a violin, isn’t it?”
“I mean, do you know its strings? What they are and what their pitches are?”
Lin Rumeng blinked at him. “Aren’t those things you’re supposed to teach me?”
The middle-aged man rubbed his forehead. “You don’t know anything about it yourself?”
“Nope.”
Middle-aged man: “…”
Why had he agreed to teach her again?
Helplessly, he began the lesson. But it didn’t take long before Lin Rumeng started feeling tired. Just learning the proper posture for holding the violin was exhausting, and she had to maintain it without moving. She went through the motions listlessly and often asked for breaks. Seeing her like this, the middle-aged man could tell she was only saying she wanted to learn for show. Compared to Lin Yuejiu, she was far behind—completely not in the same league.
Although he wasn’t satisfied with her, he still taught her conscientiously. Whether she truly learned anything would depend on her own effort.
As soon as the lesson ended, Lin Rumeng ran out, got into the car, and went home. The moment she stepped inside, she clung to Mother Lin, acting spoiled and saying that learning the violin was so tiring.
Mother Lin smiled at her. “Then don’t learn anymore?”
“No way. Even if it’s tiring, I’m still going to keep learning.”
Weekend.
School was on break, and almost all the students went home. Lin Yuejiu didn’t go back—she had nowhere to return to. She stayed in the dormitory. According to the rules, she wasn’t allowed to stay on campus during weekends, but her homeroom teacher felt sorry for her and spoke to the principal. The principal, who already knew about her situation and liked her, made an exception and allowed her to stay. However, she had to handle her own meals, since the cafeteria wasn’t open on weekends without students.
Lin Yuejiu made a special trip to the teachers’ dormitory to thank her homeroom teacher.
The teacher smiled and said it was nothing, and even told her that if she didn’t feel like going out to buy food, she could come eat at her place.
