Second Piano Concerto

The afternoon sun shone lazily.Tan Shuo moved a small wooden stool and sat in front of the rice noodle shop, lighting a cigarette.

It was past meal time, and there was no one else in the rice noodle shop.Tan Shuo is not a big smoker, and sometimes he can't think of smoking one for several days, but he likes to take a few puffs after he is busy with his work. The leisurely feeling can make him completely relax.He was sitting in front of the rice noodle shop with a cigarette in his mouth, and occasionally looked up at the clouds floating in the blue sky. He was in a daze when he suddenly saw Qin Haiou walking slowly along the small street.

Tan Shuo sat without moving.He thought that Qin Haiou would see him and greet him, but Qin Haiou kept his head down and walked past the door of the rice noodle shop without looking sideways, as if he didn't notice his existence at all.

Tan Shuo's eyeballs followed Qin Haiou's figure, and soon he could no longer see Qin Haiou's face, only the back of the other's head.He thought for a while, picked up a stone and threw it over.

The stone hit Qin Haiou's back, Qin Haiou froze, turned around, and saw that it was Tan Shuo, showing a slightly surprised expression.

"Have you eaten?" Tan Shuo asked.

Qin Haiou hesitated for a moment: "Eat."

Tan Shuo looked at him, exhaled and repeated: "Have you eaten?"

Qin Haiou was silent for a longer time, and finally said: "No."

Tan Shuo got up and signaled him to enter the store: "Zhuzhu and the others have already eaten, and I have eaten the leftovers. You come in, and I will cook a bowl of rice noodles for you."

Qin Haiou looked at Tan Shuo's back as he walked towards the stove, and was stunned for a while before he went into the shop and sat down.Tan Shuo put the finished rice noodles in front of him, while he sat across from him with a cigarette in his mouth, looked at him and said, "When I first came to town, I met a silly boy who couldn't get over his love and jumped off the Xiaonan Bridge. The water in that place was not waist deep. I stood on the bridge and waited for him to get up by himself, but he flopped a few times and then fell again. I had no choice but to jump down to pick him up, only to realize that it was bad luck Because the child entered the water incorrectly, his eyes were scratched by the broken glass at the bottom of the river, his face was disfigured, and his face was covered in blood. I carried him to the health station, and they gave me a pennant later.”

When he said this, he slowly took a breath of cigarette with a dignified expression.Qin Haiou listened to these words, then subconsciously looked up at the wall of the rice noodle shop, but did not find any pennants hanging there.Tan Shuo said: "How can a humble person like me have the nerve to hang the flag outside? Keep it upstairs."

Qin Haiou looked at him again, wondering if he had finished speaking, or what his intention was when he said this.Tan Shuo looked at him and smiled, and persuaded him earnestly: "If you jump into the river, don't go to Xiaonan Bridge. I think Xiaoxi Bridge is not bad. There is a lot of shallow water and mud. Even if you fall into the mud, you won't lose your appearance, otherwise How many little girls have been hurt."

Qin Haiou didn't understand why he said that, and after reacting for a while, he said in a daze, "I won't jump into the river."

Tan Shuo was surprised: "Then why do you look like you have nothing to live for?"

Qin Haiou looked at him, moved his mouth, but couldn't make a sound.

After he came out from Willow Bank this morning, he wandered aimlessly around the town, letting his legs lead him forward, but he didn't know where he was going.Finally he stopped in an empty corner and sat there for a long time, with a cold blankness in his heart, feeling nothing.He has never been so afraid, but he doesn't know what he is afraid of. Is he afraid of losing everything, or is he afraid of everything he is about to face?But at the same time he didn't believe it was true.He escaped the pressure and the piano, but never thought that he might be completely abandoned by the piano.Regarding the fact that he couldn't even play the piano in front of Liu Yang, he felt a sense of distrust from the bottom of his heart.He didn't know how to think about it, because he had lost the ability to think.He could only sit there staring at the flowing water in the stream, even if a faint thought flashed in his mind, it immediately passed away like that flowing water, leaving nothing in the end.He sat until the afternoon without knowing it, and finally came back to his senses.He thought of Zhuzhu, and thought that she must be anxious if he hadn't gone back to eat lunch at this time, so he stood up and walked back.

When he passed the rice noodle shop, he was in a trance, and he didn't see Tan Shuo sitting at the door, but Tan Shuo could see through his mood.At this time, he finally understood that what Tan Shuo said earlier was just a cover.What Tan Shuo really wanted to say was the last sentence.

At this time Tan Shuo got up and patted him, and then said: "Don't be so sad, what is more important than eating? Eat well, and I will take you to see the beautiful woman after eating." Without waiting for his reaction, he clamped Smoked, he took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

The person on the other end of the phone quickly picked up, only to hear Tan Shuo say: "Is it convenient for a while? I want to bring a friend to your place for tea."

The other side seemed to give an affirmative answer.Tan Shuo then hung up the phone, walked to the door of the store and began to close the store.

Qin Haiou's mind was so chaotic that he couldn't think about why Tan Shuo did this.It was Tan Shuo's words that reminded him and made him realize that he was acting badly, but he couldn't find a solution, and he didn't know how to make himself feel better.He actually didn't want to see anyone at such a time, but Tan Shuo had already made arrangements quickly.Qin Haiou hesitated, but found it difficult to refuse, so he had to accept passively.

He finished eating the rice noodles silently, then went back to the inn and talked to Zhuzhu, and then left with Tan Shuo, and the two walked towards the other side of the town.

**

Tan Shuo took Qin Haiou to a small tea shop.This shop is small because its storefront is only about □□ square meters. Although the side of the street is equipped with light-transmitting floor-to-ceiling glass, most of it is covered by green vines hanging from the eaves, and only a small window-like piece is exposed.Two of the three walls in the shop are covered by neat wooden shelves, in which tea leaves or tea sets are placed, while the remaining wall is clean and white, with a Guqin hanging in the upper middle.

In the center of this small shop, there is a tea table and three wooden stools, with a small cabinet next to it.Sitting behind the tea table is a girl who is as small and exquisite as this shop. She has delicate features, fair skin, and straight black hair. She looks very quiet, but she speaks in a brisk tone, her eyes flashing with joy, and said to Tan Shuo with a smile: " coming?"

Tan Shuo nodded, sat down on one of the wooden stools, and then moved out another stool, motioning for Qin Haiou to sit down too.The shop was already small, but the two big men sat at the tea table, making the shop even more crowded.But the girl seemed to be used to it, she skillfully took out a piece of agarwood from the small cabinet and lit it, and then put a large dark brown tea bowl in front of Tan Shuo.

"Your sea bowl." She said with a smile.

"This is Nalan Jin," Tan Shuo turned to Qin Haiou and said, "You can call her Xiao Jin." Then he said to the girl, "This is Xiao Qin, but you have to call him Lao Qin."

The girl sized Qin Haiou up, but didn't immediately respond to Tan Shuo's words.She took out a blue Ru porcelain teacup from the cabinet, put it in front of Qin Haiou and said, "This cup is more suitable for you."

"Thank you." Qin Haiou opened his mouth slowly.

Nalan Jin smiled at him, sat down and started making tea.

The smell of agarwood quickly spread in the small shop.Nalan Jin carried out the work in an orderly manner, with a calm and focused expression, elegant but unaffected posture, and very stable and flexible hands.The three of them didn't speak for a moment.It wasn't until the first tea was ready that Nalan Jin raised his eyes to look at the two of them. While pouring tea for Qin Haiou first, he said with a soft smile, "Brother Qin, is he sleepy?"

Qin Haiou was startled and came back to his senses.Nalan Jin said again: "It's the most sleepy time in the afternoon, so drink some hot tea to refresh yourself." After she finished speaking, she pushed the Ru porcelain cup forward, and poured all the rest of the tea into it. In Tan Shuo's big tea bowl.

"Are you watering the flowers?" Tan Shuo asked.

"Is there any flower in the world that can compare to Boss Tan," Nalan Jinle said, "I just feel that Boss Tan has become rounder again after not seeing him for more than two months. Drinking more tea will help you lose weight."

"Am I round?" Tan Shuo asked Qin Haiou.

Qin Haiou was stunned.

"He doesn't think so," Tan Shuo said to Nalan Jin, "I don't think so either. Two to one, what you say doesn't count."

The two chatted one sentence at a time, from Tan Shuo's weight to Nalan Jin and Liu Yang's experience of traveling together for more than two months.But Nalan Jin never ignored Qin Haiou's expression.Whenever Qin Haiou seemed to be in a daze or preoccupied, she would naturally bring the topic to him to tease him.She is petite and beautiful, with a soft and melodious voice, bright eyes when talking and laughing, coupled with her sense of proportion, Qin Haiou was repeatedly interrupted by her gloomy thoughts and forced to speak by her, but he could not feel disgusted with her .In the end, it was Qin Haiou who chatted more with her, while Tan Shuo was drinking tea and snacks, and gradually became too lazy to speak.

With such a person in front of him, Qin Haiou felt that the afternoon passed much faster than when he was alone.The three of them sat in the store until it was getting dark, and then Tan Shuo suggested that they might as well go to Longge Restaurant for dinner together.Xiao Hei was very happy to see them, so he sneaked out to eat a few bites with them and brought them a lot of seasonal fruits.When the three of them finally came out of Longge Restaurant, even Tan Shuo felt that he couldn't eat anything anymore.The three said goodbye at the entrance of the restaurant, and Tan Shuo and Qin Haiou walked back slowly along the stone road.

At this time, the sky was completely dark, and the roof tiles of the ancient town were connected into a dark piece, with diamond-like stars hanging in the sky, and densely packed lights underneath.The two walked quietly on the road, Tan Shuo didn't speak, Qin Haiou didn't speak either, just thinking about his own thoughts.Now his emotions have stabilized a lot. Although he still feels pain and loss in his heart, at least he has regained control of himself, and he will no longer be frequently absent-minded.He began to try to rethink what happened this morning. At that time, Liu Yang's existence did arouse his resistance, but that was his problem, not Liu Yang's fault.His psychological reactions became more serious, but his desire for the piano had never been stronger and clearer.He is not willing to give up the piano just like this, nor is he willing to be given up by the piano just like this.The more contradictory he was, the deeper this unwillingness became.He had to do something - no matter what, even if it was to experience that frustration again, he couldn't tolerate the piano withdrawing from his life, it was something he absolutely didn't want to see.

He was immersed in such thoughts, his legs just walked forward with the people around him, and he didn't know how long he had walked, when he suddenly heard Tan Shuo say "go to bed early", and then he saw him reaching for something in his trouser pocket while Turned around and went to the side of the road.

Qin Haiou stood still, only to realize that they had returned to Tan Shuo's rice noodle shop.There was a jingle in Tan Shuo's trouser pocket, presumably he was taking out his house keys.

Qin Haiou's heart felt hot, and a warm current surged up, suppressing all other complicated thoughts.He didn't realize what Tan Shuo had done for him in this half day until now.When he was disheartened and confused, it was Tan Shuo who woke him up with a stone, and then took him to Nalanjin's shop without any explanation, so that he would have someone to accompany him for the rest of the time.It's hard to imagine what kind of mood he would be in now if he locked himself in the hotel room instead of this.Although this cannot fundamentally solve his problem, it does help him in real ways.In order to do this, Tan Shuo even closed the store, but now he didn't say a word, didn't even say thank you, and took out the key to open the back door of the rice noodle store.Seeing him like this, Qin Haiou rushed to stop him, but after he stopped, he felt that "thank you" was not enough to express his gratitude, so he stood there with his mouth open for a while, looking a little silly.

Tan Shuo kept the key inserted in the keyhole and waited blankly for Qin Haiou to speak, but after waiting for a long time, there was no response from the other party. Looking carefully at Qin Haiou's expression, he suddenly understood, and grinned: "Ha ha, Young man!" After speaking, he turned the lock and pushed the door open.

Qin Haiou watched the door close in the night, stood there for a moment, then turned and walked towards the inn.