Chapter 34#
Playboy (4)#
To make Li Tang feel the same pain as him, even if only temporary, was incredibly difficult.
Lu Yi had considered that if Li Tang was juggling multiple relationships, not all of them could be after his money. There would always be one or two foolish ones—like the original owner, for instance.
If the boats capsized, Li Tang’s life would surely become unpleasant.
But finding all these cheating partners was no easy task. Besides, those who had attended college were all adults; they knew what kind of man they had chosen deep down.
The original owner was the same. Hadn’t he heard the rumors? He knew. But between trusting others and trusting a scumbag, he chose to believe in love.
And just as Lu Yi’s roommate said, even if one boat capsized, new ones would come along. For someone like that, losing a few was nothing more than a scratch.
The reason Li Tang was paying him extra attention now was simply because he had downed pesticide and nearly died, causing a big stir, and even cutting into Li Tang’s allowance by a few percent.
Once the dust settled and things calmed down, Li Tang would surely toss him to the back of his mind.
After weighing his options, Lu Yi decisively abandoned the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th boats under Li Tang’s feet and went after who he believed was Li Tang’s unattainable white moonlight.
Although Wang Wang had said that man was very close to Li Tang, Lu Yi, well-versed in the flaws of men, didn’t think Li Tang had actually won him over.
As a famous female writer once said: “What you can’t have becomes the moonlight in your heart and the red mole on your skin. Once you get it, the moonlight turns into a grain of rice, and the red mole becomes a blotch of mosquito blood.”
In the original owner’s predestined fate, even up to his death, Li Tang still regarded that man as his white moonlight. This meant that Li Tang had never succeeded in getting together with his white moonlight.
Since he couldn’t catch up for now, let Li Tang never catch up at all. Something sought but never attained, yet easily plucked by someone else—Li Tang would be absolutely disgusted.
At this point, Lu Yi wasn’t thinking of making a move himself, but he planned to build a good relationship with that Rong Huan and see if he could play matchmaker.
Even if that failed, a friend with considerable influence could subtly shape someone’s perception of another.
With this in mind, he found the music shop where Rong Huan worked. After confirming through the teaching roster that Rong Huan taught piano, he signed up for piano lessons—using, of course, the money he got from exploiting Li Tang, that big spender.
The moment he got the sixty thousand, Lu Yi split the money into two portions: one for long-term investments, the other for daily expenses and short-term investments.
The stock market in this world differed somewhat from his own, but all industries are interconnected. As long as he practiced more and didn’t borrow money, the worst that could happen was losing the principal. Even if his financial status became meager, he wouldn’t become overly cautious in his area of expertise.
After signing up, he didn’t hang around the music shop every day. Since the schedule showed classes every Saturday and Sunday morning and afternoon, even as a free-spirited college student, showing up at the shop for no reason would make his intentions too obvious and seem deliberate.
Following his usual habits, Lu Yi arrived fifteen minutes early.
He had learned piano before—a childhood hobby. After getting a Level 10 certificate, he barely touched it again.
Back when he was in school, Ms. Lu loved making him perform in front of relatives. But after he started college and then work, she stopped making such requests, and no clueless elders asked him to “put on a show for everyone.”
Having not touched it for so long, he could easily pass as a beginner.
But the awkward part was that since he marked “no prior experience” in his registration, he got placed in the beginner class. And the beginner class was mostly kids who had just started school.
After all, most families that let their children learn piano were fairly well-off. Kids pick up things quickly, so most parents send them to learn at a very young age.
Those who had studied for a few years had some foundation; the untalented went to intermediate class, the talented to advanced.
The basic beginner class consisted of the youngest—only in kindergarten—and the oldest, just in fourth grade.
When Lu Yi learned piano, he had private tutors at home, so he wasn’t familiar with how group classes worked.
He came for the teacher, not the class, so he hadn’t thought it through. As a result, a tall, long-limbed grown man sitting among a bunch of little radishes stood out like a sore thumb.
At first, it was okay. But when all the kids arrived, he was practically surrounded by a swarm of little dwarfs. Even sitting on a stool, he towered over them. Whether he sat in the middle, front, or back, he was especially conspicuous—and terribly embarrassed.
But the worst was yet to come. He sat patiently among the little radishes, only to see a gentle, beautiful, kind, and amiable young—female—teacher walk in…
Li Tang was a total homosexual, not interested in women at all, so Rong Huan absolutely couldn’t be a woman.
But the information provided by the music shop didn’t include—
He had wanted to create the illusion of a complete coincidence. The shop wasn’t that big; if he asked directly, Rong Huan would eventually find out he came specifically for him.
But he hadn’t figured out exactly which class Rong Huan taught, and since the kids had different progress levels, classes were divided by proficiency.
Now that it had come to this, Lu Yi decided to go with the flow. During the class, he even intentionally made a few mistakes in a questioning tone.
Originally, Lu Yi thought this would draw the teacher’s attention—and it did, but only more awkwardly.
After the class ended, the female teacher asked him a few questions and said, “With your level, you shouldn’t be in the beginner class.”
The beginner class mainly taught basics, but this student’s foundation was already solid.
Lu Yi had been waiting for her to say that: “I actually learned some piano before and read some basic books, but I never got certified. I signed up this time to find out my level and get a certificate. After all, having a certificate would make things much easier.”
Indeed, having a certification helps find related jobs. The teacher breathed a sigh of relief: “I see.”
Even though this adult student wasn’t bad-looking and had a pleasant demeanor, he still looked completely out of place among a bunch of kids—it almost made her teaching difficult.
“Tell you what, if you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to attend the next class. Come back here before it ends. After all the classes are done, I’ll take you to Teacher Rong. He should know which class suits you best.”
The surname Rong wasn’t common. Lu Yi felt a huge weight lift off his chest, but his face showed nothing: “Thank you for your trouble.”
Lu Yi didn’t attend the next class. Instead, he went to the front desk, explained his situation based on what the female teacher had said, and then openly inquired about Teacher Rong: “Excuse me, due to a mistake in filling out the registration, I was placed in the beginner class. Teacher Xu, who taught me, said I should be in intermediate or advanced. She told me to find Teacher Rong. Could you tell me where Teacher Rong is?”
“Are you looking for me?” A pleasant male voice sounded behind Lu Yi.
Lu Yi turned around. The first thought that popped into his head was: No wonder this guy could be Li Tang’s white moonlight.
After a few seconds of stunned admiration, Lu Yi repeated his situation, carefully choosing his words to clearly convey all the necessary information.
“Alright, I understand. So, the advanced class and beginner class have different schedules. In five minutes, I’ll be teaching the advanced class. See if you can follow along. After class, we’ll decide together. Is that okay?”
Rong Huan was good-looking and had a pleasant aura. His beauty was gentle and non-aggressive. His voice was like a clear spring flowing through a mountain stream—clean and pure.
Lu Yi agreed.
Once in the advanced class, Lu Yi found that he wasn’t the only adult. The students were generally over fifteen, and some were particularly tall, looking older than him.
His awkwardness faded, but correspondingly, his presence in Teacher Rong’s eyes diminished. Lu Yi wasn’t sure if this change was good or bad.
He listened to the lecture but was somewhat distracted. If only Teacher Rong taught the beginner class—then he wouldn’t have to work hard to catch his attention.
The class flew by quickly as Lu Yi divided his attention. After it ended, it was almost noon. When the other students had left, Rong Huan waved at the new student: “Come, sit beside me.”
After becoming an adult, Lu Yi hadn’t dealt with teachers in a long time. This tone used for teaching children felt nostalgic, but not unpleasant.
Lu Yi strode over and sat down beside Teacher Rong.
Rong Huan patiently asked, “How did you feel? Was there anything you didn’t understand?”
“I basically understood everything.”
“Then let me test you on a few points, okay?”
“No problem.” Lu Yi made a suggestion, “Teacher Rong, being friendly and approachable is a virtue for teachers, but I’m an adult now. If possible, I’d like you to try treating me as a peer or a colleague—on equal footing.”
Lu Yi’s goal wasn’t to become Teacher Rong’s good little student.
Rong Huan paused. “Sorry, habit.”
“Then play something for me, and I’ll see where you stand.”
Lu Yi flexed his fingers. It had been a long time since he played, so his technique was a bit rusty. He pressed a few keys on the piano, tuned it to his liking, and then played the first piece he had ever learned—a beginner’s piano piece.
After listening, Rong Huan asked, “Do you know how to read staff notation?”
“Yes.”
“Then try something more difficult—play the piece in front of you.” He swallowed the customary “okay” that almost slipped out.
Lu Yi glanced at the sheet music and began to play.
When he finished, he looked at Rong Huan.
Maybe it was his imagination, but Rong Huan’s originally amiable expression turned a bit sour: “At your level, I can’t teach you. I’ll have the front desk refund your tuition.”
To appear rusty, Lu Yi had deliberately played a few wrong notes earlier. He pressed, “Why?”
Rong Huan looked at the young man before him, his tone cooling: “Someone at your skill level could even be a teacher yourself. There’s no point in hiding it. Tell me, what are you really here for?”