After finishing his course selection form, Yan Xiao went to the piano training shop near his home.
He stepped inside,
and found the whole shop deserted.
They had every kind of instrument.
But there weren't many of each, and they looked secondhand.
Some of the instruments on the display racks
were even hooked up to effects processors and the like.
They looked as though people played them regularly.
Yan Xiao could only assume the place didn't sell instruments, and that these were for the students to practice on.
He walked around the shop and discovered he couldn't find a single staff member.
Left with no choice,
he called out, "Is anyone here?"
Once he had shouted,
a door in the shop that had been closed the whole time opened.
A woman in her thirties pushed the door open and came out. When she saw Yan Xiao, she asked, "Can I help you?"
The question left Yan Xiao speechless.
Someone coming here
would either be buying an instrument or signing up for lessons. Surely they wouldn't just be looking for someone...
"I'd like to learn to play some music."
Yan Xiao explained why he was there.
After hearing him out, the woman nodded. "We can teach you to play. What instrument would you like to learn?"
"Piano, or keyboard. And guitar."
"For piano, are you planning to take the graded exams? It's a little late to start at your age, but if it's just a hobby, that won't be a problem."
After a pause, she continued, "As for guitar, we only teach classical guitar here. We don't have a teacher for electric guitar."
Then, seemingly remembering something, she added, "If you don't want to take piano exams and just want to learn to play pop songs or arrange music, that's fine