By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 69 Piano Island
Online reviews said Gulangyu Island was crowded and noisy, so Jing Chaoyi didn't have high expectations. However, the title "Piano Island" piqued her curiosity—everyone says there are many pianos here, and that it produces many musicians; is there one for every three people? Surely she could at least listen to some piano music.

After parting ways with Li Younan, she strolled alone to the Organ Art Center. A sign on the glass door read: "Today's performance canceled."

Okay, I haven't bought the tickets yet anyway.

She glanced through the glass at the huge, dark metal thing inside. A few people were asking questions at the door, but she didn't listen closely. The sea breeze felt nice, so she turned and left.

I contacted my senior, but he was still up and about, so I just wandered around the island aimlessly.

There are many old houses with mottled walls, and the stone paths, covered with green vines, are uneven and make a clattering sound when you walk on them, which is quite interesting.

I saw a public piano.

The first one was placed next to a small square, next to a large banyan tree, whose roots had already pushed out of the ground.

The lid of the zither was closed and locked.

Jing Chaoyi sat on a stone bench for a while, watching tourists take photos and the shadows of leaves swaying on the ground.

Two leaves were on the lid of the piano, but no one paid any attention to them.

The imagined scenario of a master musician playing a Jay Chou song never actually happened.

Later, I saw another one at the entrance of a narrow alley, placed behind the iron railing of a courtyard gate, also covered up tightly, and covered in dust.

Jing Chaoyi squatted down and looked through the gap in the railing at the piano keys inside; they were also gray.

I walked around, stopping and starting, but I didn't hear the sound of a piano, nor did I see anyone wanting to play it.

Li Younan finally finished his work and called to say he was hungry.

Jing Chaoyi then strolled around and found a restaurant to eat at.

The shop was tucked away in a small alley, dimly lit with warm lighting. The first thing you saw upon entering was a beautiful black grand piano in the corner. She called Li Younan to ask what he wanted to eat, and Li Younan said anything was fine.

So, Jing Chaoyi ordered two servings of seafood fried rice and two cups of milk tea... all her favorite flavors.

While waiting for food or someone else, I would look out the window at the old house and occasionally glance at the quiet piano.

The waiter first brought over milk tea, and Jing Chaoyi casually asked, "Do you also have piano performances here?"

The waiter said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, the teacher who plays the piano today had something come up and can't make it."

Jing Chaoyi nodded, "It's nothing."

Before long, Li Younan arrived, and the fried rice was served.

"Senior, I ordered you milk tea, hee hee..."

"Okay, thank you."

Li Younan sat down; by now, he was no longer sweating.

The fried rice was delicious, and the tapioca pearls in the milk tea were chewy and bouncy.

The two ate slowly, listening to the low voices and the clatter of dishes in the restaurant. As the waiter passed by the piano, he casually wiped the dust off the lid with a cloth.

The lights were shining, making it bright.

I took a stroll after dinner.

Li Younan's task was to walk 30,000 steps, which was not an easy goal to achieve. After all, the last time a similar task was done at West Lake, it only required 10,000 steps.

Fortunately, Gulangyu has a marine monsoon climate, and the weather today is more comfortable than the day at West Lake. Moreover, there are no motor vehicles here, so it's a place where you have to walk the whole time.

Visit every place you can.

Jing Chaoyi had good stamina, after all, she was a girl who always rollerbladed, but after walking around for a long time, she still got tired, so she found a small drink shop to sit down for a while, and then continued on her way.

That's good; neither of them seems inclined to return to the outlying island.

Li Younan wasn't deliberately trying to complete the task; he was just casually strolling around. The scenery he saw while doing parkour was one thing, but slowing down like this was a different experience altogether.

There are many old houses here, including various consulates and villas built by modern powers, in all sorts of styles. It's hard not to imagine peeking into one of these villas and seeing a young lady from the Republican era playing the piano.

These kinds of places are holy grails for cultural travel; you can't get the feeling without a certain sentiment.

Walking and stopping like this, it was evening before we knew it.

The stone path was a little damp, and the cool sea breeze felt pleasant on my face. The alley was quite quiet, with the faint sounds of a roadside food stall in the distance. As I walked, I came across a string of wind chimes hanging under the eaves of an old house, tinkling softly in the wind, their delicate sounds drifting through the narrow alley.

Jing Chaoyi paused, looking up at the dark eaves where the sound came from. "Senior," she said, "let's find a suite later!"

Li Younan nodded; he had the same idea.

There are now just over two thousand steps left to complete the task.

The old villas on Gulangyu Island are indistinct at night, but the warm yellow light shining from the windows makes people feel at ease.

Jing Chaoyi recalled the quiet public pianos from earlier that day, and a little bit of the unfulfilled longing in her heart resurfaced—since it's called "Piano Island," there should be somewhere where she could hear piano music, right? Even if it's just a piano placed near her place of residence, that would be fine.

She scrolled through her phone and actually found a few hotels with pianos. The pictures online looked pretty, but she didn't know what they were like in person.

I chose a place where reviews repeatedly mentioned "the sound of a piano in the garden" and "you can play the piano in the lobby".

The location is convenient, but the price is a bit high. She looked at Li Younan, holding her phone, and asked, "Here?"

Li Younan didn't look at it and said, "Either is fine."

Jing Chaoyi put away her phone, feeling a little smug.

When we arrived at the location, it was an old villa that had been converted.

As I pushed open the door, the receptionist was very welcoming.

While checking in, Jing Chaoyi couldn't help but glance into the lobby—and there really was a black upright piano in the corner by the window, its lid open.

The little knot in her heart seemed to be gently smoothed out by the shiny black body of the instrument. The young man probably noticed that Jing Chaoyi was looking at the instrument and casually said, "You can play it if you like, anytime before 10 pm."

Jing Chaoyi nodded without saying anything.

The room was on the third floor, and the corridor was quiet.

The family suite is probably designed for a family of five, and it has two bedrooms.

Li Younan felt a little regretful; he had reached exactly 1,500 steps here, just 500 steps short of completing the task.

But he felt it wasn't necessary to finish it today.

Li Younan put down his luggage, and since Jing Chaoyi wasn't in the room, he wandered downstairs again.

Jing Chaoyi strolled downstairs alone. The hotel garden was quite large, and it was difficult to see the whole thing in the darkness. She could only smell the fragrance of flowers mixed with the salty sea breeze and vaguely hear laughter and voices. Following the sound, she walked to a small platform deep in the garden, where a grand piano was indeed standing.

There are so many pianos!

Several people who looked like guests were sitting around chatting, while the piano bench was empty.

Jing Chaoyi stood at a distance for a while. The night breeze was quite cool, but the piano keys remained silent.

Back in the lobby, the upright piano was still there.

After hesitating for a moment, Jing Chaoyi walked over and sat down. Her fingers lightly touched the piano keys; they were cool.

She randomly pressed a few off-key notes, and even she found it funny.

The music stopped, and the hall became even quieter, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind outside the window.

Forget it.

I'm quite tired today, let's go upstairs and rest.

Just as she was about to leave, she turned around and realized that Li Younan was standing next to her.

He stroked his chin, looked at the piano, casually placed one hand on the keys, and a smooth yet lively melody emerged.

Jing Chaoyi was stunned. "Huh? Senior, you can do this too?"

Li Younan glanced at Jing Chaoyi casually and said, "Oh, just a little bit."

Jing Chaoyi stood up and gave up her seat, so Li Younan naturally sat down.

Someone came downstairs, the wooden stairs creaked softly, and the guests outside came in, pushed open the door, and the sea breeze rushed in, carrying the faint sound of the tide in the distance.

Li Younan's fingers landed on the piano keys, playing Jay Chou's "Silence".

Jing Chaoyi was stunned and began to stare at Li Younan.

(End of this chapter)