The Piano Master

The two of them listened to the accompaniment and piano accompaniment several more times. Even when the delivery person came knocking, Li Fan was reluctant to go open the door. After taking the food, he casually set it aside and returned to study this song with him.

Clearly, the song had conquered them both. They had even forgotten their hunger.

They studied it for three hours. When Xue Qian took the microphone, played the accompaniment, and began to sing.

Li Fan was utterly captivated.

"Put it simply, speak simply. Leave out the emotional buildup. You're not an actor, so stop designing all those scenes..."

Xue Qian's deep voice fully conveyed every emotion in the song, as if he had breathed life into it.

That was also one of the reasons the song had become so popular.

It had to be said that Xue Qian's fundamentals were exceptionally solid. By the first time he sang it, he had already gotten it almost exactly right.

Once he started singing, he couldn't stop. He sang for nearly three hours before finally stopping. His face was glowing with excitement as he said, "Li Fan, contact him. I'm going to find him and ask him about this song in person. At my concert, I want to present the song to my fans in its most perfect form!"

"Okay!"

After Li Fan sent a reply by email, the two exchanged a smile. Only then did they realize how hungry they were, and they decided to go eat the lunch that had already gone cold.

Of course, that was a story for later.

As its name suggested, Mengmeng's Leisure Restaurant had a very relaxed atmosphere. Zhang Han played with Mengmeng, looking completely at ease.

At eleven fifty in the morning, Liang Mengqi, Yu Qingqing, and Zhao Dahu arrived at the restaurant.

"Hehehe."

Zhao Dahu twisted his body and giggled. "Today was just too satisfying. I slapped my resignation letter right onto the director's face! That felt great. He's always been picking on me, hmph! Boss, make a little more food for lunch, okay? I want two portions too. I didn't realize it this morning, and these two heartless people snatched it all away!"

"The rice cooker can only steam so much rice," Zhang Han replied with a chuckle.

Mengmeng didn't eat much. Excluding her, there were four adults present. Based on how much they had eaten in the morning, Zhang Han needed one portion, Liang Mengqi and Yu Qingqing needed two each, Zhao Dahu needed one, and Mengmeng needed half a portion. That came to six and a half portions in total, already enough to nearly fill the large-capacity household rice cooker.

Besides, Zhang Han felt that this arrangement was pretty good. He didn't want the restaurant to be like an ordinary professional restaurant, where cooking took forever. This restaurant existed mainly to provide Mengmeng with food and a place to stay. Selling a little food while he cooked was merely incidental.

As for making money from the food? Zhang Han had never considered it. If he had, the restaurant would probably bring in more than a million yuan a month.

Returning to the matter at hand, when Liang Mengqi heard Zhang Han say there was only that much rice, her expression immediately became wary. She hurriedly said, "I'm telling you, I always eat two portions. Besides, you two are people I brought here. You can't forget your obligations!"

Yu Qingqing followed close behind. She turned around and gave Zhao Dahu's shoulder a heavy slap. "You, Zhao Sissy, can only eat one portion!"

"Why? I..."

"Hm?" Yu Qingqing glared at him.

"Fine, fine. I'll agree, all right? Seriously! But one portion isn't enough for me either. How about... the three of us divide those two portions evenly?" Zhao Dahu asked tentatively.

"No!"

"No!"

Two brusque refusals answered him at once. Their firm tones left him in no doubt that if he kept nagging, the two women in front of him might transform into tigresses!

Liang Mengqi was somewhat restrained, with the bearing of a refined young lady, but Yu Qingqing was not someone who indulged people. She was the type who could erupt at the slightest provocation!

She had a taekwondo black belt, after all. That was no joke.

"Ugh..." Zhao Dahu sat dejectedly at the table beside the two women, silently shedding tears in his heart.

Liang Mengqi and Yu Qingqing, meanwhile, chatted and laughed until Mengmeng came downstairs to eat. The two women smiled and exchanged a few words with her.

The food was ready. Zhang Han carried his and Mengmeng's portions to the dining table. Liang Mengqi and Yu Qingqing needed no prompting and went over to serve themselves.

This time, they were decisive. Each scooped out two heaping portions, then smugly glanced at Zhao Dahu's miserable face before returning to the table with victorious expressions to enjoy the fragrant lunch.

"How can it be this delicious?" Yu Qingqing said as she ate, shaking her head in amazement. "Ugh, how am I supposed to eat anyone else's cooking after this?"

"Ugh." Liang Mengqi sighed as well. "It's over, it's over. I ate two portions in one sitting. If my brother found out, he'd laugh at me. And eating this much, I'll probably gain weight in just a few days."

"Ahem, well, I'm not worried about gaining weight. I'm actually a little thin. How about you two give me..." Zhao Dahu's timid voice came from behind them.

"Dream on!" the two women rejected him coldly in unison.

Afterward, they glanced at each other and broke into laughter at the same time.

After the meal, Liang Mengqi patted her stomach in deep satisfaction, wearing an utterly blissful expression. She turned her head and gazed admiringly at Zhang Han as he cleared the table. In a joking tone, she said, "Boss, why is your food so fragrant? Could it be that you put some kind of poison in it?"

"Poison..."

Zhang Han couldn't help laughing. "Your imagination really runs wild. Don't worry, it's definitely not poison. My ingredients are the best, which is why the food smells so good. Besides, even if you eat two portions, you won't gain weight. Just don't eat and then go straight to sleep like a pig, and you won't get fat."

"Hmph!" Liang Mengqi blinked and snorted. "I'm not a pig. I do yoga every day."

"Ohoho." Yu Qingqing's eyes lit up, and she clicked her tongue softly. "That tone of yours... don't tell me you've fallen for him?"

Liang Mengqi's face reddened at that. She shot Yu Qingqing an annoyed look, then turned to Zhang Han and asked, "Boss, why don't you play the piano anymore?"

"Because, because Mengmeng wants to listen. That's why Daddy plays the piano." Mengmeng finished her last sip of milk, then waved her little arms as she spoke.

"Really? Mengmeng, do you want to hear your daddy play the piano now?" Liang Mengqi asked with a smile.

"Um... yes. Daddy, Mengmeng wants to hear the piano," Mengmeng called out in her childish voice.

"Okay. Daddy will play the piano for Mengmeng."

Zhang Han put the cleaned dishes into the cabinet, removed his rubber gloves, and hung them beneath the cabinet. Then he walked over and picked up Mengmeng, who was stretching out her little hands to be carried.

He placed Mengmeng on the small single-seat sofa beside the piano.

Zhang Han opened the piano lid, thought for a moment, then turned and asked, "What would you like to hear?"

"Castle in the Sky!" Liang Mengqi answered after a moment of thought, a hint of excitement in her heart.

This was the first time Zhang Han had shown even a trace of a real restaurant owner's bearing. In Liang Mengqi's eyes, his movements were truly gentlemanly!

"Mm."

Zhang Han nodded lightly and prepared to play Castle in the Sky.

Castle in the Sky was the theme song of a very old animated film from Japan. Released there in 1986, the film told of the adventures of the young girl Sheeta and the boy Pazu as they searched for the floating castle of Laputa, along with the island, the army, Muska, and the others.

The song's original title was Carrying You, though it later became commonly known as Castle in the Sky. Composed by the musical master Joe Hisaishi, it became famous throughout the world for its beautiful, tear-inducing melody and deeply moving music, becoming a classic film song.

"He can really play the piano? I thought that Steinway was just for show." Yu Qingqing grinned and spoke softly. Her gaze at Zhang Han was now filled with intense curiosity.

A restaurant owner who could play the piano—just imagining it felt a little strange.

Soon, Zhang Han began playing the piano.

He didn't need sheet music at all. Zhang Han was incomparably familiar with all eighty-eight piano keys. He understood the timbre of each key down to his bones.

When Zhang Han began to play, the graceful opening melody of Castle in the Sky rang out.

However, when the song reached its more sorrowful middle section, Zhang Han suddenly increased his tempo. The slightly melancholy piece became filled with a cheerful atmosphere, and its beautiful melody was utterly intoxicating.

"Pfft..."

Zhao Dahu had just finished slowly savoring his Egg Fried Rice. He solemnly set down his spoon as a mark of respect for the dish, then picked up a glass of milk and took a sip. When he heard the graceful music, he instinctively turned his head.

The moment he saw Zhang Han playing the piano, he spat out his milk.

"Cough, cough, cough! Nani? Is he... really a piano master?"

"Stop making a fuss! Take the mop and clean up the floor you dirtied!" Yu Qingqing frowned and glared fiercely at him.

"Got it."

Zhao Dahu replied softly. He walked carefully toward the kitchen, gingerly picked up the mop, and returned to clean up. As he wiped the floor, he stared absently at Zhang Han playing the piano. For a moment, he even felt that Zhang Han looked pretty handsome. He couldn't help muttering under his breath:

"How can he be so handsome? If I were a woman, I'd definitely chase after him!"

A piece of Castle in the Sky quietly ended to a cheerful rhythm.

Liang Mengqi, Yu Qingqing, and Zhao Dahu couldn't help applauding.

"That was beautiful!" Yu Qingqing praised loudly.

"Hmph, I told you, Boss is a piano master. He's even better than Lang Zong," Liang Mengqi said smugly.

"That's absolutely true." Zhao Dahu nodded in agreement. "When you said it, I didn't believe you. But now, I also think Boss is better than Lang Zong. No! Boss is the greatest living piano master in the world!"

Zhao Dahu had originally disliked Zhang Han because of what happened at the beach. But after coming here today, the restaurant had completely overturned his thinking. The Egg Fried Rice and milk had conquered his stomach, the graceful piano music had conquered his ears, and Zhang Han himself was probably about to conquer his soul!

He couldn't understand how one person could be so capable.