1987 My Era

Chapter 641, Things About the Piano

For several days in a row, Li Heng stayed in his study reading manuscripts instead of going anywhere else.

I read through all 58 pages of the manuscript of "Dust Settles Down" from beginning to end.

To avoid distractions and to save time, they became a bit obsessed, eating steamed buns for breakfast and then buying a bag of steamed buns for lunch.

During that time, I ran into Wei Xiaozhu outside of school. When I learned about his situation, I specially brought him dinner twice.

After reading it through once, he went over his thoughts again.

After reading the manuscript a second time, he gathered his emotions and began to lay out his notebook again, turn on his pen and ink, and prepare to continue writing Chapter 59.

Ten minutes had passed, but the pen nib remained suspended above the white paper, refusing to fall.

After a brief stalemate, Li Heng frowned, finally sighed, put the pen on the desk, and slumped weakly in his chair, as limp as a lump of cotton.

I still haven't found that feeling when I was writing before?

I don't know where things went wrong.

Could it be due to being too hasty?
Lost in thought for a long time, Li Heng stood up, walked out of the study, and left Building No. 26.

He planned to go for a walk outside to stretch his muscles and clear his mind.

Ok?
The doors and windows of Building No. 27 are open. Has Comrade Zhou Shihe returned?
Li Heng stood at the gate of the courtyard and looked inside for a long time, but he couldn't see a single shadow. Just as he was wondering whether to go in, a group of people came into the alley.

There were men and women, old and young, probably a family of six, each carrying a large bundle of things.

Li Heng looked over and saw that the other party had stopped in front of the building at No. 23.

Is Professor 23, who recently went abroad, a new neighbor?

As he was thinking this, the female professor walking at the front of the crowd smiled at him.

Li Heng returned the greeting and smiled as well.

This interruption made him abandon his plan to go into building number 27, and he turned and walked towards the alley entrance.

As he walked, he thought to himself: Building No. 24 has been vacant for a long time, why hasn't the school arranged for anyone to come in?

After leaving Lushan Village, Li Heng pondered for a while, then bought some fruit and supplies for pregnant women and babies before heading straight to the hospital.

"Old Yong, how are your wife and daughter?" Li Heng, familiar with the place, found his way to the private ward and happened to run into Zhang Zhiyong, who was coming out of it.

"Shh!"

Zhang Zhiyong put his index finger to his lips, bent down, and said with a shifty look in his eyes, "Uncle Heng, keep your voice down, Sister Chunhua just fell asleep."

Li Heng nodded, indicating that he understood, and then handed him the things in his hand.

Zhang Zhiyong accepted the gift, quietly left the ward, and then came out again, leading him outside: "The doctor said that Chunhua's condition has stabilized, but the child still needs to be observed for a period of time. There's nothing seriously wrong with him at the moment."

Upon hearing this, Li Heng breathed a sigh of relief for the simpleton and said happily, "It's good that he's alright. We've finally made it through this ordeal."

Zhang Zhiyong said with a grin, "Have you had dinner yet? Shall we grab something, brothers?"

Li Heng asked, "Won't drinking cause trouble? Aren't you going home to take care of your wife and children later?"

Zhang Zhiyong said, "Don't worry, Lao Heng. I'm not stupid. My mother is inside watching over us. Nothing will happen."

Li Heng laughed, thinking to himself, "Your nickname is 'stupid,' yet you say you're not stupid."

They found a roadside restaurant, ordered a few of the restaurant's signature dishes, and started drinking beer.

After half a bottle of beer, the simpleton said, "Uncle Heng, this time we have to thank Teacher Yu, otherwise I wouldn't have made it through this."

Li Heng agreed with this statement.

The dim-witted cat looked around, then lay prone on the table and asked, "Are you really planning to marry Teacher Yu?"

Li Heng rolled his eyes: "You're such an ingrate. Teacher Yu helped you, and you immediately changed your tune."

The simpleton scratched the back of his head and kept chuckling to himself, "Teacher Yu is beautiful and has a great temperament. Isn't that wonderful? Wouldn't you be making a huge profit if you married her?"

Li Heng said, "If you're so capable, say those words in front of Xiao Han and Song Yu."

Upon hearing Xiao Han and Song Yu, especially Song Yu, the dim-witted man trembled and shut up.

While Li Heng was having a meal with Lao Yong, it started raining heavily. Only then did he realize that it was already May, the plum rain season in Jiangnan.

After the meal, he bought an umbrella and took the bus back to school.

Somewhat coincidentally, I ran into Wu Siyao from Tongji University next door on the bus.

Wu Siyao also saw him, but instead of sitting down as usual, she only glanced at him secretly from time to time.

Li Heng pretended not to notice the girl's secret actions, turned his head to look out the car window, and didn't pay attention to when she got off the car.

When we returned to Lushan Village, the rain had lessened, and we could hear the sound of a piano from a distance in the alleyways.

It is Liszt's piano piece "La Campanella".

Li Heng was so engrossed in the music that he unconsciously stopped in front of the small building at number 27. Only after the song ended did he impulsively knock on the gate.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

The knocking wasn't loud, but it was quite noticeable at the end of the quiet alley.

A moment later, Zhou Shihe appeared on the balcony and peered down.

Their eyes met for two seconds, and before he could speak, the girl had already turned around. In less than half a minute, she appeared in the courtyard.

With a soft creaking sound of the bolt being pulled, the gate finally opened a crack. She stood behind the gate, holding a black umbrella, and quietly watched him.

Li Heng asked, "Have you had dinner yet?"

Zhou Shihe nodded slightly.

Li Heng asked, "Practicing your competition piece?"

Zhou Shihe remained silent.

Well, judging from this, this girl has absolutely no intention of letting me in.

The two haven't had a proper conversation since the incident at the library.

Facing Xiao Xu across the threshold, Li Heng suddenly blinked and said, "Dust has settled, and the novel has already reached chapter 58."

Zhou Shihe almost instantly understood that he was tempting her, and she also knew what he was thinking when he said those words. She had only read up to chapter 56, with two more chapters to go.

Zhou Shihe hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "My mother is resting in the bedroom."

Her voice was gentle and melodious, but the meaning behind her words was self-evident.

Li Heng was taken aback. "Your mother is resting, and you're still playing the piano?"

Zhou Shihe said quietly, "From childhood to adulthood, my mother has been used to falling asleep to my piano music."

Well, he had nothing to say, so he said "Goodnight" and turned to walk towards his small building.

Good night?

Zhou Shihe tilted her head back slightly to look at the sky, then glanced at her watch: 6:34
There's still at least an hour or so until it gets dark.

Her gaze passed through the wooden fence to the figure bending down to open the door next door. She hesitated for a moment, then finally pushed open the gate, closed it, and walked over.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Li Heng turned around and saw it was Miss Zhou.

He looked at her.

Looking at each other, Zhou Shihe thought for a moment and asked softly, "I remember you wrote up to chapter 58 a few days ago, but it's still not finished. Are you having some difficulties?"

Li Heng nodded.

Zhou Shihe looked him straight in the eye for a moment, then turned and walked back to her home, her steps light and silent.

At that moment, Zhou Shihe understood his thoughts, and he understood her gaze.

Li Heng, demonstrating their unparalleled teamwork, locked the door again and followed.

Sure enough, the gate to the courtyard of building number 27 was not closed, nor was the main door on the first floor. After changing her shoes, Zhou Shihe was opening her wet umbrella and placing it on the open floor of the living room.

As Li Heng walked, he closed the door for her, and soon he was inside.

As soon as the door closed, the two exchanged a silent glance, then went up the stairs one after the other.

Somewhat surprisingly, all the bedroom doors on the second floor were open. Li Heng turned his head to look at this room and that room, but there was no one in any of them.

Where did this Zhou mother come from?

He muttered behind her back, "When did you learn to lie? Don't you have a conscience?"

Zhou Shihe, who was in front, smiled knowingly, but then quickly wiped the smile off her face. Without responding, she went straight into the music room.

Upon entering the music room, she sat upright in front of the piano.

Li Heng looked around the doorway, then went to the window and drew the curtains.

Zhou Shihe frowned almost imperceptibly, a bad premonition rising in her heart. She knew what she might be facing if things continued like this. Instinctively, she wanted to stop him.

But she knew that this person would never listen to her.

Without much thought, she instinctively got up to escape, wanting to get out of the music room as quickly as possible.

She was fast, but Li Heng was even faster.

She had just reached for the doorknob when her right hand was covered by a large hand. The two were not evenly matched in terms of strength, and the doorknob did not budge.

She tried to open the door again, but to no avail. Frustrated, she stood by the door, then lowered her eyes and remained motionless.

Li Heng turned on the switch, turned on the light, and said gently, "Don't overthink it. I just want to listen to you play the piano to calm my mind and find some inspiration for my writing."

Zhou Shihe didn't reply, but her eyes were fixed on the bolt that had just been locked from the inside.

Li Heng seemed to know what she was worried about and said, "I feel safe with the latch on, and I won't be disturbed."

Seeing him talking nonsense with a straight face, Zhou Shihe calmed down, tucked her disheveled hair behind her ear with her right hand, then turned sideways, took small steps, and came back to the piano to sit down.

Li Heng sat in the chair to her left.

After a long silence, a melodious voice came from her lips, "Which piano piece would you like to hear?"

Li Heng immediately recited, "The Imprint of Rain".

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shihe's chest heaved involuntarily, her slender hands hovering over the keys for a long time.

What piece of music is "Rain Imprint"?
It was practically the song that sealed their love, and also the song that most stirred her heart, giving it a special meaning.

In Singapore, in the Netherlands, in the past, whenever this piece was played in the music room, the two of them would feel their hearts drawn infinitely closer, creating endless ripples.

In this situation, Li Heng's request to hear the piece of music seemed reasonable to her, but she also questioned his motives.

After waiting for a long time without hearing the piano, Li Heng said, "If you're tired of 'Rain Imprint,' let's switch to 'Butterfly Lovers.'"

After saying that, he shifted his body, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to wait.

Waited for a long time.

Surprisingly, instead of "The Butterfly Lovers," she played "Rain's Impression."

As soon as the melodious tune began, Li Heng felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly by a hand. A strange feeling quietly grew in his heart, and many images involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

These images were all related to Ms. Zhou in front of him. There were scenes of them living together in Beijing, skiing in Northeast China, dancing in Singapore, the piano playing at a concert in the Netherlands, and the image of him kissing her… Time ticked by, and he lost track of how much time had passed…

In a moment, he couldn't help but slowly open his eyes, gazing at her delicate figure up close, quietly admiring her exquisite face and her incredibly nimble hands on the piano.

Halfway through the performance, Zhou Shihe seemed to sense that something was wrong with him. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then lowered her eyelids again, pretending not to see anything, and continued to play the piano.

A few minutes later, the music ended.

Zhou Shihe slowly finished, then her gaze fell on the sheet music, without looking at him.

After hesitating for more than ten seconds, she moved again and changed the tune.

It was changed to "The Butterfly Lovers".

If Zhou Shihe is the epitome of womanhood in her everyday life, with perfect looks and temperament, then her talent as a pianist can break through that ceiling, unleashing 120% of her charm in Li Heng's presence.

It truly lives up to the saying: Her beauty surpasses that of the past and present, her lotus flowers blush with shame, her smile blooms like a flower, and her voice flows melodiously.

Li Heng, immersed in the world of piano music, was somewhat captivated and became momentarily mesmerized.

A few minutes later, when the last note of "The Butterfly Lovers" was played, Zhou Shihe looked up as the music ended and suddenly realized that he had left his seat and was leaning over her.

She instinctively turned to back, but the piano blocked her way.

Their eyes met, and Li Heng sincerely praised, "Shihe, you look beautiful today."

Zhou Shihe pursed her cherry-like lips, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

But she's too scared to move now.

She had learned her lesson from the previous times; as long as she made a move, the critical point between them would be broken, and the man in front of her would make an even bigger move.

She had long anticipated that as long as she was alone with him in a confined space, her charm would be amplified infinitely in his eyes, and his restless desires would also be amplified infinitely.

At this moment, you look at me, I look at you, and our pupils reflect each other.

For a moment, the music room was extremely quiet.

A feeling of attraction lingered between them.

Under her gaze, Li Heng leaned forward slightly, then paused, and leaned forward again, once, twice, three times.

When he leaned out for the third time, his head was already right in front of her.

In an instant, Zhou Shihe felt the overwhelming pressure, heard her heavy breathing, and sensed the undisguised love and desire in his eyes.

Zhou Shihe was a little uncomfortable, and her delicate body subconsciously leaned back, but the piano still blocked her way.

But it wasn't entirely useless; she leaned back, creating a small gap between the two of them.

But this gap eventually disappeared completely as time went by.

There is no way to retreat.

With no way out, Zhou Shihe had no choice but to stop all her movements. At this moment, she unusually stopped struggling and just leaned against the piano quietly, her small mouth slightly pouting, her eyes fixed on his eyes, without stopping him.

She now had a strong feeling that he wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted today.

As Li Heng bent down, Zhou Shihe's skin touched his lips.

Instantly, her body tensed up like a string!

She was extremely nervous.

Under his relentless pressure, every cell in my body was feeling suppressed and contracting.

Gazing into his affectionate eyes, watching him reach out his right hand to gently stroke her left cheek, Zhou Shihe felt her taut string about to snap and desperately wanted to call for help.

But the thought of calling out to someone was inexplicably extinguished by herself the next second.

Her thoughts raced, and before she could react, his head moved closer in her pure, bright eyes, and her red lips were firmly captured in his mouth.

Zhou Shihe was stunned, then felt a strong hand wrap around her waist, and a red tongue burst through the door, taking over her entire territory.

In an instant, a strange, trembling sensation spread from her mouth throughout her body, causing her heart to skip a beat and her whole body to go limp.

For a moment, she had an impulse to shout loudly towards the window, to make a final struggle.

But she didn't utter a sound; instead, in a strange and mysterious way, all thoughts of resistance were extinguished.

As he performed various tricks in her mouth, as he picked and bit her red tongue, Zhou Shihe became limp and powerless. Slowly, slowly, she lay down on the piano like a kite with a broken string, swaying in the wind and rain.

The man was always by her side, pressing down on her.

The moment he pressed down on her, two lines of clear tears unconsciously streamed down Zhou Shihe's face.

Tears streamed down her face, landing on the corner of his mouth. As Li Heng kissed her, he tasted a salty flavor.

He froze, stunned.

After being stunned for about seven or eight seconds, Li Heng pulled away from her mouth, looked at the tears in the corners of her eyes, and met her gaze.

After a long while, Li Heng tenderly kissed her, following the tear tracks from bottom to top, from the corner of her mouth to her face, and then to the corner of her eye, going against the flow all the way up.

She didn't move, silently lying on the piano watching his every move.

As the man kissed the corner of her eye, Zhou Shihe suddenly raised her right hand and slapped him across the face.

"Snapped!"

A loud thud, a slap landed on the ground!

However, this time was different from the past. The slap was not as hard or forceful. She struck with a sense of grievance, but withdrew half of her strength halfway through.

Li Heng remained silent for a while, then put his left arm around her and held her even tighter.

Zhou Shihe bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, clenched her right fist, and used all her strength to punch her waist and abdomen hard on her arm.

It really hurt when the fist hit his arm.

However, Li Heng was not affected and continued to hold her.

She punched his arm again, but to no avail.

After two failures, Zhou Shihe's heart pounded violently, and tears welled up in her eyes again. Without looking at him, she let her hair down and pressed her forehead against his chest. She clenched her right fist and punched his left chest many times until she had no strength left. Then she grabbed his clothes on both sides of his waist with her two small hands and cried silently.

She cried in his arms…

This was the first time Li Heng had experienced such a situation, but he seemed to understand her emotions. He looked down at her without trying to comfort her.

Because he knew that Zhou Shihe, as he understood her, didn't need anyone to comfort her.

Sure enough, a little over a minute later...

Zhou Shihe's violently heaving heart gradually calmed down, and her tears also stopped, but she hadn't yet left his embrace. With her forehead pressed against the man's chest, she returned to her normal state.

Then, the two bodies leaned against each other and fell into a long silence.

After about four or five minutes, Zhou Shihe, who was lying on the piano, pushed his chest hard with her right hand.

Li Heng understood, released his arms from her, climbed off her, and landed on the ground.

As soon as he left her, Zhou Shihe felt much lighter. She closed her long eyelashes and didn't look at him, remaining motionless on the piano.

His gaze lingered on her delicate curves for a while before Li Heng left the music room, closing the door behind him.

More than 10 minutes slipped by silently before Zhou Shihe finally came to her senses and began to react.

She slowly opened her eyes, glanced at the door, then stretched her arms behind her and slowly sat up on the piano.

She sat up but didn't move immediately. Instead, her gaze fell on the chair where someone had been sitting. After a long while, Zhou Shihe finally began to tidy her messy hair and clothes.

The door to the music room opened.

Li Heng, who was waiting in the living room, looked over immediately.

What he saw was a stunningly beautiful face devoid of joy or sorrow. As for her current state of mind or emotions, Li Heng observed her for quite some time but couldn't discern anything.

Under his gaze, Zhou Shihe smoothed her hair behind her ear with her right hand, walked through the living room, and entered the bathroom.

A moment later, the faint sound of flowing water could be heard.

Through the reflection in the living room glass, Li Heng could vaguely see her bending over in the bathroom washing her face, scooping up handfuls of cold water and splashing it onto her face.

After a moment of contemplation, Li Heng stood up and went to the door of the washroom.

Noticing the shadowy figure under the electric light, Zhou Shihe, who was washing up, straightened up and faced her with her frail back, still clutching a washcloth she had just taken from the washstand.

Looking at her charming figure, Li Heng broke the silence and asked, "Are Manning and Ye Ning coming over tonight? Do you want to stay in Mai Sui's bedroom for the night?"

Zhou Shihe ignored her.

Seeing this, Li Heng stepped into the washroom and said, "If you give me the cold shoulder, I'll hug you."

Zhou Shihe paused for a moment, and it took her several seconds to reply: "They had something to do, and they said they would bring over some late-night snacks later."

Li Heng raised his eyebrows. "So, you haven't had dinner yet?"

Zhou Shihe gave a soft "hmm".

Li Heng asked with concern, "Are you hungry?"

Zhou Shihe said quietly, "It's alright."

Based on the past two years of getting along: it's alright, just hungry.

Li Heng said, "Wait for me a moment, I'll go make you a bowl of noodles."

After saying that, he left and went to the kitchen.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Zhou Shihe breathed a sigh of relief, gazing at her reflection in the wall mirror, at her alluring red lips.

He must have kissed countless other women to have learned so many tricks.

Thinking of this, she felt a tightness in her chest for no reason. As she turned on the tap to let the water run, she squeezed out some facial cleanser and applied it evenly to her face.

He had smacked both cheeks, leaving them covered in drool.

After she had carefully washed her face and applied beauty treatments, Li Heng brought up a bowl of noodles.

Egg noodles, the simplest type of noodles, now exude a wonderful aroma.

Zhou Shihe came out of the washroom and sat down on the sofa.

Li Heng pushed the noodles in front of her and handed her chopsticks.

Zhou Shihe hesitated before taking the chopsticks, then bent down to stir the noodles with them, trying to cool them down as she was afraid of getting too hot.

Seeing that he was sitting opposite her with no intention of leaving, she looked up at him, then looked at him again, as if to say: You've listened to the piano music, why aren't you writing?

Well, when she looked at him a second time, Li Heng understood that it was time to get to work. He stood up and left without saying a word.

Zhou Shihe stirred the noodles with her chopsticks until she heard the door closing downstairs, at which point she took a small bite of noodles.

She savored the noodles as they entered her mouth, finding them quite delicious.

Then she politely and gently put the food into her mouth, one bite after another.

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(End of this chapter)