After three days of exams, the students emerged from the testing center—some elated, others dejected.
Linlin’s expression remained calm, much the same as usual.
It was only when she saw her father and mother waiting beneath the shade of the trees that the sweetest smile bloomed at the corners of her mouth. She ran toward them in great strides.
Her red dress fluttered around her, and the ribbon in her hair streamed behind her. The bright, lively girl under the sunlight attracted countless admiring glances.
After the college entrance examination, Linlin ate a meal and then slept so deeply that she lost all sense of time.
When she woke the next morning, it was already nine o’clock.
The curtains in her room had been drawn tightly shut by Lin Zhilan, blocking out every ray of light.
Linlin rolled happily across the bed, feeling so carefree that she wanted to hum a song.
Now that the college entrance examination was over, Lin Zhilan refused to let her bury herself in books and practice problems anymore. There would be plenty of studying once she entered university, and she would never again have such a good opportunity to rest properly.
Linlin couldn’t sit still for long. She remembered the flute lessons she had taken at the performing arts troupe before.
Lin Zhilan fully supported her and even took her specially to the troupe.
After the reforms and opening-up, the performing arts troupe had acquired many new instruments.
The most fashionable one at the moment was the violin.
The island was remote and had nothing like a youth activity center, so Linlin found it all very novel. She went every day to watch the others practice.
Seeing how much her daughter liked it, Lin Zhilan asked someone in Shanghai to buy her a violin and gave it to her as a graduation present.
Linlin was both delighted and surprised. “Mom, I don’t even know how to play. It’s enough just to listen.”
Lin Zhilan smiled. “Why don’t you give it a try? Mom isn’t asking you to become a master. You can just play it as a hobby.”
Linlin had worked incredibly hard to get into Capital Aviation University. She could truly be said to have been single-mindedly devoted to her studies.
Jiang Chengzhou had loved basketball since he was little, while Su Li liked everything under the sun. Lin Zhilan felt a little regretful that she had never cultivated a particular hobby in her daughter.
Hobbies might not bring any practical benefits, but they served as an inner psychological shield against emotional exhaustion and emptiness—a buffer for one’s mental health.
Lin Zhilan hoped that, apart from her studies and future work, her daughter would also have a corner of her life that could bring her joy.
As it happened, Linlin was interested in the violin, so Lin Zhilan felt it was worth trying.
“It must have been expensive, right?” Linlin asked cautiously as she touched the black imitation-leather violin case.
Lin Zhilan smiled. “It only cost about one month of Mom’s salary. It wasn’t expensive.”
Linlin gave a coquettish little shrug. Only her mother could say something like that.
Lin Zhilan received three salaries every month. Her work at the hospital and pharmaceutical factory made up the bulk of her income, with her school subsidy added on top. Altogether, her monthly earnings were quite substantial.
Linlin rested her head on Lin Zhilan’s shoulder. “Mom, did you give my brother a present when he finished the college entrance examination?”
“No,” Lin Zhilan said with a smile. “But I gave him a thousand yuan at the time and told him to spend it however he liked. You’ll get the same once you start school.”
The corners of Linlin’s lips curved upward. “Then deduct the cost of this violin from that money and give me the rest, okay?”
She didn’t want any special treatment. She wanted the same as her brother.
Naturally, Lin Zhilan agreed.
Linlin began learning the violin from one of the older girls in the performing arts troupe’s orchestra.
She wasn’t there to compete for anyone’s position, so she had no conflict of interest with the troupe members. Everyone welcomed the pretty, generous girl.
Of course, Lin Zhilan’s efforts behind the scenes also played a part.
To help her daughter learn the violin, Lin Zhilan specially gave every member of the orchestra a jar of the beauty cream she made herself.
As a result, Linlin became the orchestra’s darling.
It wasn’t only the violinists who wanted to teach her. The pianists, accordionists, saxophonists, and others all hoped she would learn from them as well.
Later, word spread about the beauty cream’s effects, and performers from other departments even wanted to come teach Linlin singing and dancing.
But Linlin had always been a girl with a mind of her own. She firmly chose the violin.
Su Li had finally gotten a break for the summer. Seeing his sister learning an instrument, he made a fuss about wanting to learn one too.
When her child wanted to learn, Lin Zhilan naturally had no reason to refuse. “Then what instrument do you want to learn? Mom will buy one for you. But we have an agreement: once we buy it, you have to stick with it. No giving up halfway.”
“Okay.” Su Li nodded, then frowned in distress. “But I don’t know what would be good.”
Su Li simply wanted to follow the trend. He had no particular goal in mind.
Linlin was currently engrossed in learning the violin, so she hurriedly recommended it to her younger brother. “What do you think about the violin?”
Su Li shook his head vigorously. “No, no! Your neck gets all crooked learning that. Sis, I advise you to stop learning it too.”
Linlin: “…”
What a brat!
Lin Zhilan smiled. “Didn’t your sister take you to the performing arts troupe before? There are so many instruments there. What would you like to learn?”
“I don’t know, Mom. Pick one that doesn’t make me bend my neck. I promise I’ll study hard.”
Lin Zhilan coughed and exchanged a glance with Su Lang. “Li Li, what do you think of the trumpet?”
Li Li looked at her blankly. “Is the trumpet any good?”
Su Lang struggled to hold back his laughter. “Whether it’s good or not, it’s definitely loud.”
“Then that’s fine.” Su Li agreed at once. “I’ll learn the trumpet.”
The performing arts troupe did indeed have trumpet players, though the instrument’s proper name was the cornet. Thanks to his sister, Su Li was able to join the extracurricular lessons as well.
When Gu Zhiyuan came to look for Linlin with several other classmates, Linlin and Su Li were practicing in the courtyard of their home.
The moment Gu Zhiyuan and the others stepped through the gate, everyone fell silent. Their footsteps halted involuntarily, and they even forgot to continue chatting and laughing.
Su Li’s shrill trumpet completely drowned out the sound of the violin. Yet everyone instinctively ignored the noise in their ears, their attention drawn entirely to the girl standing in the middle of the courtyard.
Linlin was wearing a white dress patterned with roses. Tiny pale-pink flowers wound their way down the bodice and spread across the flowing skirt, while a matching fabric sash cinched her waist and made her figure look even more slender.
She must have washed her hair not long ago. Unlike at school, where she usually tied it into a high ponytail, she had loosely gathered it with a hair tie, leaving a strand of hair falling beside her neck.
Linlin hadn’t noticed them. Her head was tilted slightly to one side, her chin resting lightly against the violin as it nestled against her shoulder. Her slender, fair fingers danced deftly across the strings.
Soft light and shadow wrapped around her delicate figure. The way the girl devoted herself to playing was hazy and beautiful, dreamlike enough to leave all her classmates staring blankly. For a moment, none of them could bear to disturb her.
Su Li noticed the group first and stopped playing.
With the trumpet’s piercing sound gone, Linlin stopped as well and looked at her younger brother in confusion.
Su Li lifted his chin toward the gate. “Sis, did they come looking for you?”
Linlin turned around and finally saw her classmates.
Gu Zhiyuan took a small step forward. “Linlin, we wanted to compare answers with you.”
Linlin blinked. Once the exam was over, it was over. Her parents hadn’t even asked how she thought she had done, and she hadn’t considered estimating her score.
The other students had hesitated for a long time before discussing it among themselves and deciding to come to Linlin’s house together.
They hadn’t expected to witness that scene the moment they arrived.
One of the bolder students was the first to break the silence. “Linlin, are you practicing the violin? It sounds wonderful.”
