On Thursday’s evening, Liu Man, Li Xiaoru, and Wen Fangfei played “Butterfly Lovers” together.

There was no way to move the pianos, so Wen Fangfei brought her Guzheng to the piano practice rooms all the way from the Guzheng practice rooms. A Guzheng weighed around 25 to 30 kilograms, and it seemed huge on a woman’s back, specially if she had an average stature.

The two buildings were a mile apart from each other. Wen Fangfei basically walked 3 to 4 laps around the 400 meters long tracks with a Guzheng that weighed 25 kilograms. When she reached the piano practice rooms, her entire back was already drenched in sweat.

Liu Man and Li Xiaoru felt grateful and sorry for Wen Fangfei, “When rehearsal’s over, we will take turns to help you carry your Guzheng back.”

Wen Fangfei laughed, “I’m fine by myself. I’ve been carrying this Guzheng ever since I was a child, and I’m already used to it. I don’t think it’s heavy at all, and I can exercise by carrying it on my back. I don’t even have to go to the gym!”

She took out a pile of music sheets from her purse and handed them to Liu Man and Li Xiaoru, “This is my rearranged Guzheng music. Do you guys want to take a look at them?”

Li Xiaoru said, “No, it’s okay. We won’t be able to read Guzheng music sheets anyway. We all believe in you, and this music will be fine as long as you find no issues.”

Liu Man nodded, too. Although she could understand the music, she didn’t want to make Wen Fangfei feel like she was bossy.

“Then, all right, we should play together once and fix whatever’s wrong in our playing,” Wen Fangfei said.

All three of them sat down in front of their respective instruments.

They’ve already decided on how they were going to play according to their departments. Wen Fangfei was going to start with her Guzheng, and then Li Xiaoru was going to join in to play the main melody. After four bars, Liu Man’s piano was going to join, too, and she was going to play the subpart with Li Xiaoru still playing the main melody. When they reached the climax, Wen Fangfei would be playing the Guzheng as well, and Liu Man would, at the same time, play the lower notes in case she gets too loud and covered up Wen Fangfei’s Guzheng. The three of them were going to play the most classic and beautiful part of the piece together.

When they reached the ending, the two pianists were going to stop, and the piece was going to end with Wen Fangfei’s Guzheng playing.

Maybe it was because the three of them had similar personalities, and they all treated this performance seriously, their first rehearsal was quite smooth, and there were no issues relating to any of their principles.

Of course, Li Xiaoru and Wen Fangfei were already the top students in their respective majors. Even if they wanted to make stupid mistakes, their fingers wouldn’t allow them to. They were very skillful and comfortable with their instruments since they’ve been studying them ever since they were children. They were familiar with every key and every string.

And Liu Man wasn’t as nervous as before when she had to cooperate with Tang Tu. She and Li Xiaoru had already practiced a few times beforehand, and she corrected all the mistakes Li Xiaoru had pointed out for her. Liu Man’s piano part could pass.

However, trios couldn’t pass just because of one person showing off her skills. Even if one person was outstanding, it didn’t mean the entire group was. Professional judges paid more attention to how good they were when they cooperated, and now, what the three girls had to work on was to use their time wisely to practice combining all three parts perfectly so it sounded immaculate. It was not about skills but about having a shared, tacit understanding.

“We have less than two weeks until the performance, and we have class from Mondays to Fridays. Fangfei is also very busy, so she can’t possibly come here every day with her Guzheng,” Li Xiaoru told Liu Man. She was very worried that they wouldn’t have enough time.

Wen Fangfei said sympathetically, “I can come on Thursdays and Fridays, so why don’t we rehearse every Thursday evening, Friday evening, and Sunday morning. We will be able to practice 15 hours a week, and in two weeks, we will have practiced 30 hours. That should be enough.”

“Can your fingers bear it if you play for five hours a day?” Li Xiaoru’s eyes landed on Wen Fangfei’s Yijia. It must be uncomfortable, with these things stuck on her fingers. She saw Wen Fangfei adjust them many times.

TL’s Note: Yijia is those fake nails musicians wear to protect their actual nails when they play instruments like Guzheng. (They have to pluck and press onto the strings all the time, which must suck-)

“I often practice from day to night. It’s a regular thing for me.” Wen Fangfei didn’t see it as a big deal. “Besides, wearing Yijia is neither painful nor tiring. In ancient times, you would have to endure the pain of using your real nails to pluck the strings.

“I can only imagine the pain,” Li Xiaoru glanced at her fingers and was rejoiced that when she was a child, her parents let her learn piano instead of Guzheng.

But in reality, playing the piano for five hours was also very arduous. The pianist’s fingers would hurt, and doing so would also require strong physical strength.

Otherwise, no one would say the famous motto: “One minute on stage, ten years of work”. No musical instrument was easy.

TL’s Note: This classic quote means to achieve one perfect performance, you need to practice a lot offstage. (Lots of pain)

Liu Man remembered from her previous life that there was no such thing as “Yijia” in the Han Dynasty. Madam Xu used to have very long nails, especially used to play her instrument. Due to staying in the cold palace for a long time and not having enough nutrition, Madam Xu’s nails were brittle and not thick enough. Often, as she played, her nails would break. She would then play the piano with her fingers, and all ten of them had thick calluses.

Liu Man was never able to have long nails, and her nails were as tenuous as Madam Xu’s. She had always pressed onto the strings with her fingers, and she could still recall the pain when she first started learning.

At that time, whenever she finished practicing, Little Zhao would always give her some icy water to soak her fingers in.

“Man Man, Man Man, did you hear what we said?” Li Xiaoru interrupted Liu Man’s nostalgia.

Liu Man came back to reality, “What did you say?”

“How did you doze off?” Li Xiaoru laughed, “Fangfei and I just promised that we’d come practice tomorrow night at seven. We’ll need to tell the teacher that we are reserving this room. I think reserving one room will be all right since it’s not exam week and we have tons of practice rooms.”

“I’m fine with it,” Liu Man said.

“Okay, since the practice rooms are going to be locked soon, we’ll meet tomorrow,” Li Xiaoru looked down at her phone, “Oh my, it’s already 10’o clock. Man Man, how about you stay in the dorms tonight? It won’t be safe this late outside.”

Liu Man nodded. Since all her living necessities were all still in the dorm, she could stay the night, “We need to escort Fangfei to her dorm first.”

Wen Fangfei hurriedly waved her hand, “You don’t have to. I’m fine.”

“No way, you’re so pretty. What if you get dragged into a forest by some creepy dude? We are obliged to protect you!” Li Xiaoru half joked.

Needless to say, the security in their school was great.

Wen Fangfei smiled and stopped rejecting their offer.

Before leaving the piano room, they would pass by the practice room manager’s office. Li Xiaoru said to the female teacher, “Miss, we’ll come back tomorrow night. Can we leave a Guzheng in the 5th-floor room? Can you also lock the room, please?”

“No problem,” The female teacher said, picked up the key, and went upstairs.

Translated by: Sydney, Puppxteer/Yutong, & Isabella

Proofread by: DoraiO