Chapter 20: You Have to Pay the Price
Lin Rumeng tugged at Lan Qingqing’s arm, “Qingqing, do you have a program for the show?”
Lan Qingqing shook her head, “Then why don’t we join this one? We don’t have anything planned anyway.”
“Sure.”
The classmate who had asked them earlier beamed,”Great, I’ll put both your names down now. We’ll rehearse together later.”
“Alright.”
When Lin Rumeng got home, she excitedly told her family about it. Father Lin and Mother Lin said they would definitely come to support her. Lin Yimo also thought for a moment and agreed.
Lin Rumeng was overjoyed. She quickly took leave from violin lessons so she could focus on practicing the dance.
On the day of the arts festival, the venue was bustling with excitement. Father Lin, Mother Lin, and Lin Yimo arrived early. From backstage, Lin Rumeng spotted them and waved. Mother Lin smiled and waved back.
The show began, one performance after another, and soon it reached the latter half.
“Next, let’s welcome Chen Qianxi and Lin Yuejiu from Class 1, Grade 2, with their performance.”
The audience applauded.
Hearing the name “Lin Yuejiu,” Lin Yimo froze for a moment, then looked up at the stage.
She hadn’t dressed up specially—still in her school uniform—sitting at the piano. Another girl slowly appeared in a prepared stage costume.
“Lin Yuejiu can play the piano?”
“Wasn’t she only good at the violin?”
“I don’t know… let’s just watch.”
Lin Yuejiu placed her hands on the keys, exchanged a glance with Chen Qianxi, and nodded. The music began.
When the melodious sound of the piano flowed out, everyone looked up at the girl playing.
Wasn’t she a violin specialist? She could also play piano? And from the looks of it, she didn’t seem rusty at all—she looked skilled, even practiced.
Was this… the gap between people?
Lin Yimo stayed silent, his eyes fixed on the calm-faced girl on stage. He remembered what a certain teacher had once told him—how she had asked that teacher if she could learn other instruments too. She had said she didn’t want to disappoint anyone, and that if she mastered them, she could perform in front of others one day. If the audience clapped and praised her, her parents would feel proud.
She… might not be what he had thought—maybe she wasn’t avoiding effort, but trying not to let them down.
His heart gave a sudden pang. He looked up at her now thinner face and clenched his fist.
Then what did she mean by those “days written down”?
The performance ended quickly, met with thunderous applause.
The two stepped off stage, and the host came back up.
“Next, let’s welcome Class 1, Grade 2 again with their dance performance. Please give them a warm round of applause!”
Lin Rumeng went on stage.
The dance ended quickly, followed by applause, and many more people now knew her.
When the arts festival ended, Lin Rumeng changed out of her costume and went to find Father and Mother Lin,”Mom, Dad, did you see my performance?”
Mother Lin smiled, “Of course. We even took lots of pictures.”
Father Lin was about to say something when someone nearby called out, “Jiujiu!”
The family paused and turned toward the voice.
The class monitor was walking toward Lin Yuejiu,”Goddess, weren’t you only good at the violin? How come you can play the piano too?”
Chen Qianxi instantly puffed out her chest with pride, “Our Jiujiu can do so much more than that!”
“Goddess Lin, have you always been able to play? You didn’t look like a beginner up there.”
Lin Yuejiu smiled,”I’ve been learning for a long time.”
The class monitor was amazed, “So that means you learned two instruments at the same time?!”
“Not exactly at the same time. I learned piano in my spare time.”
“My goodness… your violin is already amazing, and you can play piano too. Truly impressive!”
“No matter what you learn, you have to pay a price.”
“So, what price did you pay? Time?”
Chen Qianxi replied, “Not just time, but also energy. Playing piano takes a lot of practice—especially for the hands. I practiced piano when I was little. I played every day, and my fingers were almost worn raw. Later I gave up because it was too hard.”
“So, goddess, you stuck with it?”
Chen Qianxi wrapped an arm around Lin Yuejiu’s shoulder, “Otherwise, how would our Jiujiu be able to play so well? Right, Jiujiu?”
Lin Yuejiu gave her a smile.
Back then, she had to practice violin every day, but she also wanted to learn piano and still had to study. After finishing violin practice, she made herself play piano too. Every day was completely filled with just these three things. She spent endless hours playing and practicing, her fingers rubbed raw countless times, leaving her exhausted in both body and mind. She used to think that when her piano skills became truly polished and exceptional, she would perform for them. Unfortunately, before she had the chance, she was already driven out.
The three of them chatted a bit more, then went their separate ways.
That left the Lin family standing there in awkward silence.
Lin Rumeng, a little uneasy, smiled and said, “I didn’t know my sister could play the piano. Mom, Dad, did you know?”
Father Lin and Mother Lin exchanged a complicated look, “We… didn’t know either.”
So when she said before that she didn’t have time to play, was it because she was secretly practicing piano?
Lin Yimo stared at her fading back, his gaze wavering.
After the arts festival, the students returned to their study-only routine.
One day, the teacher announced that there would be a small round of tests—each subject would have a simple assessment.
The students groaned in unison.
“Complaining won’t help, better cram last minute.”
“Ahhh! Another test! Save me!”
“Buddha says: You guys hug my thigh every day, you’ve rubbed all my Buddha light away.”
“Help, we’re not even in our final year yet, and it already feels like senior-year life.”
Taking advantage of the fact that Lin Yuejiu’s deskmate was away, Chen Qianxi darted over to sit beside her, poking her with a pen, “Jiujiu, are you ready this time?”
“Hm? Ready for what?”
“The test, of course.”
Lin Yuejiu flashed a confident smile, “Ready.”
The test began quickly. Lin Yuejiu looked at the paper, took a deep breath, and picked up her pen to start answering.
*
The homeroom teacher walked in with a smile on his face.
“Old class is smiling so much—could it be that we all did well this time?”
“Probably. If something can make him smile, it’s got to be good grades.”
“Alright, quiet down.”
The room fell silent instantly.
“I’ll announce the rankings. First place: Xu Nianshen.”
Everyone clapped with blank expressions. There was never any suspense about this first place.
“Second place: Du Zhuo.”
Du Zhuo was the same guy who had gotten second last time but failed in his attempt to become Xu Nianshen’s deskmate—forever the class’s ‘perpetual third.’
The class applauded.
“Third place…” The homeroom teacher paused, glanced at Lin Yuejiu, and continued, “Lin Yuejiu.”
Everyone froze.
“Who did he say?”
“Lin Yuejiu? She got third place?!”
“Damn, last time she was eighteenth, and now she’s third? That’s insane progress!”
