Chapter 2: The Expat’s Dark Past

An uneventful night passed.

The next day, Li Can arrived at Reed Pit.

As he stepped into the school, a familiar sensation washed over him. After last night’s extensive socializing, readjusting to old speech habits came easily; he adapted swiftly. Though, he mused, next time it would probably be his English that he’d forget.

Walking through the school grounds, he noticed there weren’t many people around—perhaps even fewer than expected. After all, the National Conservatory, a powerhouse of domestic music education, the cradle of revolutionary musicians, was famed for blending classical artistry with modern trends. With just over a thousand undergraduates, six hundred graduate students, and three hundred staff members, the total population on this sixty-acre campus was likely less than that of a middle school in the capital.

He passed the "Lofty Mountains and Flowing Water" sculpture, strolled down verdant paths, and soon found himself amidst blooming gardens. Beside the statue of an ancient musician playing the guqin stood a quaint, traditional pavilion. Before his eyes lay a small pond—it wasn’t particularly clean, but neither was it dirty.

On the platform, Senior Sister Xiaohua curled up in the sun, basking in the offerings of her junior classmates, meowing from time to time. Passing by, Li Can watched the lively younger students sneak snacks into the pavilion and felt as though everything had returned to the way it was.

This was youth!

“Can the street dance club please not practice in the piano rooms?!”

“Who the hell is smoking in the piano room again?!”

“Are those two in there rehearsing four-hand piano or just dating?!”

From afar, he could already hear someone’s exasperated complaints.

Suppressing a laugh, Li Can headed straight for Professor Xu Qing’s office.

Knock, knock!

“Come in!”

“Master, I missed you so much!”

A twitch flickered across Professor Xu Qing’s eyelids at the familiar voice.

He watched Li Can stride in with a wide grin, and with a stern face, let out a cold snort.

“The troublemaker’s back?!”

“Heh heh… Master, don’t say that!”

“You’d better know your limits.”

Whenever Li Can’s overseas adventures came up, Professor Xu Qing could hardly keep a straight face. After all, he was an old talent of the conservatory himself—who hadn’t been wild in their youth? Still, one had to maintain appearances. He straightened up, putting on the air of a strict teacher.

“Got into a fight before coming back?”

“No, it’s not like that…” Li Can’s smile froze. “He was a bully—a real knight in shining armor, tormenting me for a whole year before I finally fought back!”

“Ah, a year’s worth of pent-up anger, released in a flying kick, a flurry of punches, and about thirty slaps.”

“That’s because he wouldn’t listen! No manners at all…” Li Can hurried to defend himself. “I just wanted to help him remember and maybe knock some sense into him.”

“And you didn’t let up even when he begged for mercy.”

Xu Qing sneered, fixing his gaze on Li Can.

“Well… I didn’t quite hear him,” Li Can’s voice grew smaller under the “stern” glare.

Xu Qing let out a cold chuckle.

“And after the fight, you started dancing on top of him, even composed a ditty called ‘Just Do It,’ added some cheap strobe effects, and posted it online? Titled it ‘Precious Footage of Early International Student Taming a Chimpanzee’?”

Cold sweat broke out on Li Can’s forehead.

Even though he knew his master wasn’t truly angry, such a public reckoning still made his skin crawl. Hearing his own past deeds recounted, Li Can honestly couldn’t recall what he’d been thinking at the time.

Perhaps art had addled his brain as well…

Yes! It was all art’s fault!

“Kid, you’re pretty wild!” Xu Qing seemed both amused and exasperated. Truthfully, he could barely contain his laughter. Inwardly, he marveled, “Way wilder than I ever was. The kid’s got nerve.”

As for the fighting… well, that could be big or small. That Nelson fellow had gone too far—constantly hiding behind various advantages and bullying Li Can for an entire year. A beating was well deserved. At any rate, Li Can hadn’t hit too hard… presumably.

“Yes, yes, you need understanding more than anyone. I understand you completely.”

Thinking back to Li Can’s antics abroad, Xu Qing simply couldn’t fathom what went through his head: brawling, piano duels, crashing events. Yet, maddeningly, his actions were always justifiable—never a clear fault, and sometimes even demanded support.

For instance…

Fighting was bad, yes. But after being bullied for a year, with repeated failed mediations, Li Can had seized his chance when his opponent slipped up.

Good heavens, one against five—an imposing young man from the northeast demonstrating his country’s martial arts in Europe.

As for piano duels, they happened every other day. Li Can simply couldn’t stand foreign students asking, “I hear you’re a genius too?” or, “I’d like to see what a prodigy from your country is like.” The moment he couldn’t stand it, he challenged them outright.

Win? Just let it go? Why should he endure suspicion for nothing?

Whether a duel started was up to them, but ending it was always up to Li Can.

By besting others time and again with his skill during “friendly exchanges,” he made his country proud—hardly something to criticize.

As for crashing events, there wasn’t much to say. It wasn’t like Li Can started it. Sharing the same stage, if you couldn’t keep up, that was your own fault—mediocrity was its own sin.

“If it weren’t for Sir Henry’s high opinion of you, what would you have done if things got out of hand?”

Xu Qing sighed.

“So far from home, you have to think of your own safety.”

Indeed, what truly concerned him wasn’t the fighting itself, but Li Can’s well-being. After all, he was his disciple. What happened to Nelson was inconsequential—the main thing was keeping his own student safe.

This was, after all, the disciple who had composed the acclaimed “Fantasy Impromptu” in the professional piano world!

“Still, you handled things well—never excessive. Even if trouble arose, you were always in the right.”

Xu Qing’s greatest relief was that, though Li Can attracted trouble, he always managed it well. He never let his master clean up after him.

Xu Qing understood. When it came to Western classical music, his country had indeed started late due to historical reasons, and abroad, it was easy to suffer indignities. To face it all with dignity and a straight back was already impressive.

“All right, I won’t say more.”

Xu Qing stood and moved to the sofa, fiddling with his tea set. As he sipped, he asked, “Your graduation project is coming up. You’d better start preparing, though it shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

“What about your plans for the future… Have you made up your mind?”

“I have, Master, don’t worry.”

Though he said not to worry, Xu Qing couldn’t help but sense some evasiveness in Li Can’s tone. His heart skipped a beat.

He cursed inwardly: This kid isn’t still thinking about making money in the entertainment industry, is he?!

“No, I’m not at ease. Tell me clearly!”

“Um…”

Faced with Xu Qing’s deathly stare, Li Can’s eyes wavered, but he summoned his courage and spoke.

“I… I still want to stick to my original plan—to make money in the entertainment world, meet girls, and have some fun!”

“Pfft!”