The melodious piano music she heard today made Tao Huanyi feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity. In her mind, she saw herself as a child, with her mother beside her, teaching her to play.
“Our Xiaotaozi is so clever!”
“Big Brother’s come to see you again. I bet he came especially to hear you play.”
…
Tao Huanyi returned to the present with a little more courage. Her mother’s praise back then, and Big Brother’s encouragement, had given her complete confidence.
She could do this!
After taking several deep breaths, Tao Huanyi finally stepped into the piano shop.
“Excuse me,” she asked softly. “Are you still hiring piano teachers?”
The old man by the entrance scrutinized Tao Huanyi for a long while, then waved his hand in front of her face. When she didn’t react at all, he realized she was blind and immediately began shooing her away. “Go on, get out! Even if we were hiring piano teachers, we wouldn’t hire a blind person like you!”
“Sir, please let me try. I really need the money…”
“Needing money doesn’t mean you can go about it like this! What’s a blind person like you doing playing the piano? Get out, and stop interfering with our business!”
The Old Gentleman was so rough in trying to drive her away that he kept shoving Tao Huanyi toward the door.
Tao Huanyi caught her foot on the threshold and stumbled, falling backward. She thought she was about to fall and hurt herself even more, but a large hand caught her around the waist.
“What’s going on?!”
Tao Huanyi straightened up. Behind her came a clear, warm voice.
He must be a gentle young master. His voice was pleasant, and his hand had been gentlemanly; it hadn’t lingered on her for even a moment.
The Old Gentleman said impatiently, “Her! A blind person, and she still dares apply to be a piano teacher here! Young Master, you tell me—how’s a blind person supposed to play the piano? I say she’s obviously just here to cause trouble!”
Tao Huanyi was about to speak when she heard someone playing a piano inside. Her hearing was already sharp, and the moment she listened, the words slipped out before she could stop them. “The tone is round and powerful, yet soft and far-reaching. And it’s a large upright piano, so I’d guess it’s a Hongpai?”
The man behind her sounded surprised. “How could you tell?”
Tao Huanyi’s confident-sounding explanation made him wave his hand in front of her eyes.
Once he confirmed that she really couldn’t see—and that the piano was being played inside—he realized she couldn’t possibly know that there was room for a large upright piano at the back of this little shop.
“I can’t see, so my hearing is especially good. And when I was little, I tried all kinds of pianos. I can tell them apart by their tone.”
The Piano Shop’s Young Master seemed intrigued. He gave the Old Gentleman a meaningful look. “Stay here and keep an eye on her. I’ll go back inside and play a couple more notes.”
“Sure.”
The Piano Shop’s Young Master went inside and called the Old Gentleman outside.
The Old Gentleman set the phone to speaker, and the Young Master’s voice came through it. “Ready? Listen and tell me what this is.”
“Mm.”
A few notes rang out from inside. Tao Huanyi only needed to hear two keys to identify it. “That’s a small grand piano. The tone should be a Field.”
“Exactly! Now listen to this one.”
This time, she needed only a single note.
“This is… a Tao piano.”
Her family’s piano!
Why was there a piano from her family here?
“Young lady, you’re amazing! I was an old fool, too blind to recognize a true expert! I’ve worked in piano shops for years, and I’ve never seen anyone with your kind of skill!”
The Piano Shop’s Young Master came back out, treating Tao Huanyi with great enthusiasm, as if he’d just found a treasure.
“Miss, are you looking for work here? What kind of position?”
“Anything is fine. I’m short on money…”
“Then you can sell pianos here. The base salary isn’t high, but you’ll get commission. With your skills, I expect you’ll sell quite a few. Oh, and since you have trouble getting around because of your eyes, you can ask Uncle Huo to do whatever you need.”
Selling pianos wouldn’t earn enough for her uncle to keep the business going. She needed to find a way to spend more time with the instruments. With her abilities, she ought to be able to earn some money from performing, too.
Tao Huanyi nodded, then suddenly thought of something. She turned toward him with a serious expression. “Could I ask for one extra condition?”
“Of course. Go ahead!”
“I can only work four hours in the afternoon each day, and I can’t come in on weekends. Also, I’d like to practice piano here when it’s quiet…”
“Of course! Uncle Huo, prepare a Braille contract for her tomorrow.”
“Will do!”
“Thank you, Young Master.”
At the words “Young Master,” the man looked awkward. “My name is Zheng Minglang. Just call me by my name from now on. It feels strange having a girl like you call me ‘Young Master.’”
“All right, Brother Minglang.”
Zheng Minglang paused, then laughed. “Can you get home all right? Would you like me to take you?”
Take her home?
Tao Huanyi remembered Shen Yanchen’s icy tone and hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no! I can get back on my own.”
“All right, then. Remember to come tomorrow.”
“I will!”
Tao Huanyi went back with several boxes of medicine. When she reached the entrance, her ears twitched. She heard people talking inside the piano shop.
“That young lady’s incredible. She could even recognize the sound of a Tao piano! I wonder who she is…”
“My guess is that she’s the Tao family’s daughter from back then. I heard she was a piano prodigy, and after the fire at the Tao home, that famous little girl went blind.”
Zheng Minglang froze, his thoughts turning over as he muttered, “Huh? Could it really be her?”
“Who knows? Let’s wait and see.”
Tao Huanyi knew she was running out of time and didn’t dare listen any longer. She hurried back to the Shen residence. She rushed up the stairs and had been back in her room for less than fifteen minutes when Shen Yanchen returned.
Downstairs, the servants greeted him respectfully.
“Young Master!”
Shen Yanchen noticed the little leather shoes worn by the woman at the entrance. His eyes narrowed, and he looked straight toward the upper floor.
“Where’s the Madam?”
“Young Master, the Madam is upstairs. She hasn’t gone out at all today.”
“That’s right!”
At that, Shen Yanchen’s expression hardened, and his voice dropped to freezing cold. “So you’ve got a new Madam and forgotten the Shen family’s rules? Who gave you permission to lie to me?”
The two maids’ eardrums rang. Terrified, they dropped straight to their knees. “Young Master, we—we don’t understand what you mean…”
Tao Huanyi was afraid he would take it out on the maids, so she came forward with her white cane. Standing at the top of the stairs on the second floor, she called out, “Don’t take it out on them. If you have something to say, say it to me.”
Shen Yanchen gave a cold laugh. “You’re certainly quick to defend other people! Then I’ll ask you directly: where did you go today?”
Alarm bells rang in Tao Huanyi’s mind. She thought she’d been careful enough that he shouldn’t have noticed anything.
Where had she slipped up?
Could it be…
Had he seen her while he was out?
“I… someone came to deliver medicine today, so I just went to the entrance to get it.” Tao Huanyi raised a hand and held up the medicine boxes. “Someone brought them over. I was right at the door for two minutes.”