The place where Xie You lived when he was studying was a small three-story building facing the river. The exterior and interior decoration were very old.
The house is cleaned regularly, knowing that the owner will come. The rectangular mahogany dining table is covered with brand new tablecloths and napkins. The flowers in the vase are delicate and beautiful. The window glass is clean and bright, and you can see the gorgeous sunset in the sky at a glance.
A few thick music theory books were scattered on the sofa in the small living room, and a few pages of music scores and a dark green pen were also placed on the coffee table—after a few years, everything remained the same as it was when Xie You left, as if the room The time here has been frozen.
Standing at the entrance, Xie You seemed a bit timid, not daring to step in, as if taking half a step forward would reveal the tightly sealed old time.
The driver brought the luggage in. Yu Nian thanked him and closed the door. Seeing Xie You standing in a daze, he took two steps forward and stood beside Xie You side by side. He held Xie You's hand without hesitation, and said with a smile, "When I entered the door, I saw that the rose outside the windowsill was still blooming. It was very beautiful."
Tucking his fingers into Yu Nian's with his backhand, as if he had absorbed strength and courage, Xie You led Yu Nian to the window, "You can see it from inside," he added, "When the sun just rises in the morning , the sun will cast the shadow of the rose flower on the table, which is very beautiful."
Yu Nian opened the window, touched the white petals of rose pollen, then turned his head and smiled at Xie You, "This rose is so lush!"
Infected by Yu Nian's smile, Xie You's eyes softened, "Well, you can see it from the study window upstairs."
The two walked up the narrow wooden stairs one after the other. When they reached the second floor, Xie You led Yu Nian into the study first. Sure enough, there were a few roses blooming outside the window.
After coming out of the study room, after hesitating for a few seconds, Xie You took Yu Nian to the door of another room and introduced, "This is... the piano room."
The piano room is not too big, the windows are facing the river, and the evening wind is very gentle. The most conspicuous thing in the room is a Steinway upright piano made of mahogany. Yu Nian didn't rush in, but asked, "Did you practice piano here before?"
Xie You nodded, "Well, I will practice for an hour when I get up in the morning before going out, and I will practice for another three hours when I go home at night. Two days on the weekend, if there is no other arrangement, I will practice from morning to night." He focused his eyes on Landing on the piano with the lid closed, the voice is very soft, "I like the feeling of my fingers pressing on the black and white keys, I will be very happy."
Yu Nian looked at Xie You's side face, and the faint sadness in his heart suddenly became stronger. From childhood to adulthood, countless days and nights, repeated practice every day, no lively social interaction, no variety of entertainment, Xie You devoted all his time in the past ten years to the piano keys. But fate seemed to take a sharp turn, turning all the ideas into shatters.
Yu Nian couldn't bear it, so he gently took Xie You's hand, and when the other's eyes fell on him, he bent his lips and smiled, "I can't sleep now, should we go for a walk?"
The afterglow of the setting sun has dissipated, the night is low, and the street lights by the river are lit up one by one. The wind was a little strong, Yu Nian stretched out his hand to button Xie You's windbreaker, and then closed his own.
Before he had gone far, Yu Nian was rambling about the progress of his album production, complaining that one song was too difficult to write, and he dug a hole by himself to dance, and recorded it several times but was not satisfied. At this time, an uncertain voice sounded from behind the two, "Is it... Xie You?"
The pronunciation of the word "Xie You" is very standard.
Yu Nian keenly noticed that when he heard these words, Xie You's pupils shrank slightly, as if he had made a mental preset before turning around slowly.
An old man with gray hair was looking over hesitantly. He was wearing a three-piece checked suit with glasses on the bridge of his nose. He was neatly dressed and formal. When he saw Xie You's appearance clearly, a joyful smile appeared on his face, "God, it's, it's really you!"
When the other party walked over quickly, Xie You hid his right hand behind his back nervously, clenched it tightly, and said in a hoarse voice, "Mr. Blundell, long time no see."
After the joy, Brendel looked at Xie You with relief in his eyes, "I thought that I would never see you near Leto again." He laughed loudly again, "Meeting you here makes me think I went back to a few years ago. But compared with the past, you have changed a lot. Just now, I was not sure if it was my amazing student!"
Then, he raised his wrist to look at the time again, "It's too bad, there's not enough time, there's a performance by my favorite orchestra at the concert hall at eight o'clock."
Xie You answered subconsciously, "Youth Symphony Orchestra?"
"Do you still remember?" Blundell nodded again and again, "Yes, it's them, I remember you liked them very much before." He then invited, "I can get as many tickets as you and your friends Want to go together?"
His lips moved, but Xie You quickly refused again, "We still have things to do, sorry."
Although disappointed, Blundell didn't force it. He was in a hurry, chatted a few more words, and left in a hurry.
Xie You held Yu Nian's hand, put it in the pocket of the trench coat, and explained, "That's the teacher who taught me music theory."
Yu Nian rolled his eyes, "After a few years, he still remembers you."
"Well," Xie You said with a slight smile and nostalgia in his eyes, "I always sit in the first row in class. He likes to ask me difficult questions, but I can answer them correctly every time. He said that I let him Frustrated."
Yu Nian laughed, "When I was in school, the teacher said similar things. The quizzes he gave were very difficult. He proudly said that no one in the class would be able to answer them. I didn't expect that I got them right."
The two took a walk to a small restaurant by the river for dinner, and watched the night scene along the way for a while. Back home, Xie You was in front, Yu Nian took two steps, stopped at the corner of the stairs, hesitated for two seconds, and shouted, "Xie You."
Xie You turned around and lowered his head from the steps higher, "What?"
The five fingers holding the railing tightened, Yu Nian smiled, his voice was not heavy, but firm, "I want to tell you, if, I mean, if you want to play the piano, I will be your most loyal listener."
After the voice fell, the surroundings became quiet. After a long time, Xie You responded in a harsh voice, "Okay."
Entering the piano room again, Xie You took two steps towards the piano, stopped again, and looked at Yu Nian. With a smile in his eyes, Yu Nian said, "It's okay." After speaking, he directly reached out and grabbed Xie You's wrist, leading him to the piano bench.
After Xie You sat down, Yu Nian found a seat on the small sofa by the window, propped his chin with his hands, and stared at Xie You's silhouette in a daze.
He could understand Xie You's apprehension and prudence—the piano and music are the existences that he cherishes on the altar in his heart, and he must use the greatest respect and the most effort to be qualified to touch them. It is blasphemy if you can't put your heart and soul into it, if you can only play flawed music.
In sight, Xie You lifted the wooden piano cover carefully, and the black and white keys with simple colors appeared in front of his eyes. Straightening his back, taking a light breath, Xie You put his trembling fingers on the keys, but he didn't dare to press them down for a long time.
Until Yu Nian stood behind Xie You, put his hand on the back of Xie You's slightly cold hand, and gently lowered his strength, with a sound of "clank", the crisp sound of the piano swayed in the air.
Yu Nian sat back on the small sofa, supported his chin again, and stared at Xie You.
It didn't take long before the sound of the piano sounded like continuous waves of water. Xie You sat on the piano bench, closed his eyes, pressed the keys with his fingertips as if he had a memory, and embedded the notes into the melody precisely.
Yu Nian curled up lazily on the sofa, listening to the music, as if the stars were shining brightly in front of his eyes.
At the end of the song, the ending sound faded away, Xie You opened his eyes, and subconsciously looked at Yu Nian, with nervousness and apprehension that couldn't be concealed in his eyes. He didn't even dare to ask, how am I playing
Yu Nian sat up straight and applauded lightly, his eyes seemed to be filled with starlight, "He played super well, and the whole serenade didn't miss a note, it's really great."
Only then did the tense figure relax, Xie You was embarrassed, "I've been reviewing all the time."
Hearing this sentence, Yu Nian's nose was sore. In the past few years, Xie You has never touched the piano again, so this review can be imagined, maybe in the dead of night, with his eyes closed, his fingers pressing the air, playing and connecting over and over again, just because he was afraid that one day, I can no longer recall the correct melody.
Yu Nian stepped on the soft carpet with bare feet, hugged Xie You's back from behind, rested his chin on the other's shoulder, and said softly, "Xie You, let's collaborate on a song."
"You play the piano, I sing, just the two of us in the whole song, okay?"
Looking down at the black and white keys, Xie You finally replied, "Okay."
I lived in the small building for two days, Yu Nian bought vegetables and cooked, Xie You washed the dishes, and when Xie You was doing remote work in the study, Yu Nian would sit on the carpet and write songs on paper with a pen in his hand. However, seven or eight drafts were scrapped, and I was unable to write a satisfactory melody.
Turning on the computer, Xie You got up, bent down and picked up Yu Nian who was staring at a certain point in the air in a daze, from the ground, walked all the way to the cloakroom before putting him down, leaned over and kissed Yu Nian's forehead, "Niannian, it's time to change." The clothes are out."
Yu Nian was still a little dazed, and he responded quickly after a few seconds, "Okay."
Xie You changed into a long black windbreaker with a hand-cut black shirt underneath, showing deep eye sockets and stern brows. Yu Nian rummaged around, and simply put on a white sweater, and added a simple and casual denim jacket. It was raining outside, opened the door, Xie You opened a big black umbrella, hugged Yu Nian in his arms, and walked out.
The car drove all the way to the floating restaurant, and He Xiao had already sent someone over to reserve the venue in advance. The restaurant is surrounded by glass walls, allowing for a 360-degree unobstructed view of the city. Sitting down by the window with Xie You, Yu Nian hummed an unstructured tune unconsciously, humming, and suddenly raised his hand to signal for the waiter to bring a pen and paper.
Writing a series of musical notes on the paper in messy handwriting, Yu Nian pinched the pen, tilted his head to Xie You, who was looking at him quietly, and said with a smile, "The song we collaborated with should be called "Serenade"!"