Your Heart Is in Turmoil

"Come upstairs with me. I have a job you'll definitely be interested in." Mycroft walked straight upstairs, leaning on his umbrella.

Sitangna stared intently at Brother Mycroft's slender figure. His tall frame was much like Sherlock's, but he had a certain air of a classic English gentleman that Little Sherlock lacked.

Even the casual way he swept his coat aside made him look just like a model radiating charisma. Elegant, very elegant.

"What's there to look at? The fat on Mycroft's stomach is about to burst his buttons. If he keeps eating so many sweets, we'll see him in a coat one size bigger next month."

Sherlock pulled his dressing gown closed, a sneer on his lips. He glanced at Sitangna before heading upstairs.

"What's wrong with you? You've been talking strangely lately. Are you sick?" Sitangna wasn't about to indulge him. She widened her eyes and glared hard at him.

She kept glaring until he disappeared into the stairwell, grinding her teeth.

"He probably can't figure out his own feelings and is a little jealous," Watson teased casually as he dried his hands.

"I think so too, hehe." Mrs. Hudson clipped a red bow beside Sitangna's ear. The vibrant red really suited fair-skinned Nana.

"Jealous? What does that mean?" It wasn't a commonly used word, so Sitangna didn't recognize it and couldn't translate it immediately. She called Candy out to serve as a free translator.

[Jealous: a strong sense of possessiveness or unease arising from fear of losing a cherished person or thing-similar in meaning to the Chinese expression "eating vinegar," but broader and deeper.]

Aaaaah! Startled, Sitangna hurriedly tossed her phone aside and looked in shock at Aunt Hudson and Watson, who were smiling kindly at her.

"You're joking, right?" Her heart was pounding in her chest, faster and faster, and she felt the embarrassment of having a secret exposed in public.

"We haven't completely figured Sherlock out. After all, that guy really knows how to put on an act. But you're already very obvious." Watson nodded solemnly as he spoke, quite certain of his own thoughts.

Thinking back to when he and Mrs. Hudson had gossiped together, it had really been fun.

"Dear, don't you know you stare at him without realizing it when you're eating or resting? What a little scatterbrain." Mrs. Hudson stroked her hair affectionately.

"I remember one time you even got food on your eye, and Little Sherlock was the one who handed you a tissue."

"Yes, yes! I saw that too! Then Sherlock must have seen it too, hahahahahaha!" The thought perked Watson right up.

"You're done for, you've fallen in love~" the two busybodies said in unison.

"Keep your voices down!" Help! Sitangna felt she couldn't stay here any longer.

Sure enough, gossip was the best way to stir up emotions. Seeing Sitangna's face turn bright red as she sat there in a daze, Mrs. Hudson and Watson clapped their hands in delight.

[This is a little awkward... I'm getting out of here first.]

Candy promptly fled. Sitangna closed her eyes resentfully. "You might as well not have said anything."

"All right, all right, let's stop teasing the girl. I'm going back to my room to change. Tonight I absolutely, positively have to go on a proper date with Jessie."

"Who's Jessie?" Sitangna changed the subject abruptly, the heat still lingering in her cheeks.

"She's his new date. She came by the house looking for Little Peanut last time, but you were still out on a case then," Mrs. Hudson explained. "The one with the blond curls, right?"

"Uh... she's the one with brown hair." Now it was Watson's turn to be embarrassed.

It couldn't be helped. Ever since he'd started following Sherlock, he was always being dragged out on cases at the slightest provocation. He'd parted ways with several dates because they hadn't been able to grow closer.

"If I don't go see her soon, she'll be dating someone else." Watson wasn't exaggerating. Before a relationship was official, people were free to date as they pleased.

"Didn't you say you had a girlfriend? How come she's just a date now?" Sitangna remembered him saying so not long ago.

"She was before. Now I don't know." Watson spread his hands helplessly.

"Then hurry up and go. There probably won't be anything else tonight. Are you coming back tonight?" Sitangna stuck her head out to look at him, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"We'll see. I'll message you in advance." After giving it some thought, Watson withdrew the foot he'd placed on the first stair. He was afraid that if he went up, he wouldn't make it back down.

This was fine. He went straight out, breathing freely in the cold air outside, and felt the world was a better place.

"I'll go upstairs and work on my project, then, Auntie. I have to go to my senior's house tomorrow to hand in some materials." Sitangna helped Aunt Hudson put away the Christmas decorations and prepared to return to the attic.

When she reached the second floor, she found the door open. She could see Mycroft and Sherlock sitting not far away. Fortunately, Sherlock had his back to her, which eased her guilty feeling a little.

Wait, why did she feel guilty?! This was so strange.

She'd meant to slip away, but Mycroft had already seen her, so Sitangna obediently waved and nodded hello.

Brother Mycroft's gaze passed over Sherlock, and he nodded at Sitangna, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He seemed to be in a very good mood.

Sherlock didn't turn around. He'd long since recognized the sound of her footsteps. Watching Mycroft greet the girl, he raised an eyebrow and murmured through his thin lips, "What a phony smile~"

Sitangna heard him too. She made a face at his back and hurried up to her room before he could turn around.

"Hahaha, what an interesting young lady." Mycroft tapped his umbrella lightly against the floor. Sherlock knew it was a sign that he was pleased.

"Don't worry, she doesn't like old men like you." Sherlock sneered and returned to the matter at hand, as if deliberately denying him a chance to retort.

In fact, Mycroft hadn't intended to retort. He merely stared meaningfully at Sherlock, the same familiar smile on his lips.

"Put those wandering thoughts away. It's absolutely not what you think." Sherlock knew perfectly well what the teasing in his older brother's smile meant. His defense now was as feeble as his earlier declaration that he wasn't gay.

"I haven't said anything yet." Mycroft rested both hands on the handle of his umbrella, holding it in front of his chin.

"I'll take the job. Give me the address, and I'll find your phone tomorrow." Sherlock stood up by the door, apparently eager to see him out.

"The address is in the file. I'll leave it on the table. Good luck, dear brother."

Clearly, Brother Mycroft was far more composed than Sherlock. In the end, one of them had lost their emotional contest.

"Goodbye. I won't see you out." Sherlock picked up his violin and began playing a piece he'd composed himself.

The music was melodious one moment and sparse the next, as if tormenting the uninvited guest who still hadn't hurried off.

Mycroft glanced at his younger brother's back as he pretended to be calm, then left him with a murmur that was shattered by the sound of the violin.

"Your heart is in turmoil, Sherlock."

His voice was soft, but Sherlock still heard him. He didn't stop moving his bow, though. Instead, his jumbled thoughts sparked a little inspiration.

Before long, a brand-new melody filled the apartment, gentler in style than anything he'd played before.

"Oh, this music is more soothing than ever. Even the person playing has become gentler." Mrs. Hudson smiled as she curled up on the sofa, knitting the secret gift she was preparing.

Sitangna's fingers paused over the keyboard. Her thoughts drifted with the music without her realizing it, and she only came back to herself some time after the violin fell silent.

"Damn! What was I about to write?" That damned male succubus!

The apartment lights were still on at midnight. Poor John came back that night after all.

Thanks to Sherlock's harassing phone calls, this date had also been successfully driven away. Furious, Watson grabbed Sherlock and shook him wildly to vent his anger, while the heartless Sherlock mocked him for having become much less charming.

Sitangna got up before dawn the next day. It was still a workday, and she had to avoid the morning rush hour on her way to her senior's house. Since it was a group meeting, she'd made a special effort to dress up and put on some light makeup.

After slinging on her backpack, Sitangna checked her outfit in the full-length mirror. It had been getting colder and colder in London lately, so a pumpkin hat and earmuffs were essential, as was a fluffy scarf. It didn't do much to block the wind, but it was very warm.

Perhaps she'd made too much noise, because Sherlock and Watson got up early too. She'd only declined to accompany Sherlock as his assistant that day the night before, and a certain petty man had been mocking her outfit all morning.

When Sherlock spoke up for the third time, finding a new way to mock how she was bundled up like a bear, Sitangna charged over like a cannonball and stuffed a red bean bun into his mouth before he could react.

"Shut up!" That was the breakfast she'd just heated up that morning. There had been five buns in the packet. Watson had already eaten two, and she and Sherlock had eaten one each. The last one had ended up going to Sherlock too.

"You changed your perfume. Lancôme's Idôle. Did you use up that bottle of the pink ribbon one?" Sherlock took the bun out of his mouth, the sweet red bean filling melting on his tongue.

"There wasn't much left when I brought it, and I used it every day, so it ran out." She took a deep breath of her own scent. The new perfume smelled wonderful!

Sitangna had been lazy before and rarely wore perfume, but after coming here, she'd found that practically everyone smelled nice. She'd followed the local custom and picked up the habit too. A lovely fragrance really did make her feel happier.

It had been a long time since the last group meeting, so she'd specially switched to this new bottle she'd bought at the mall. The sweet scent of roses surrounded her.

"The pink ribbon one is better suited to winter." "I'm wearing this one. What about it?"

Watson was long used to their daily bickering, but a flock of crows still seemed to fly over his head.

Before leaving, Sitangna took off the down vest she'd been wearing over everything. She went outside to test the temperature and found that her coat blocked the wind well enough to be tolerable. Now she didn't look so much like a bear and wouldn't be cold either.

"Finished eating? It's time for us to leave too." Sherlock put on his hat and wrapped his scarf around his neck, ready to go, while Watson hadn't even changed out of his pajamas.

"Wait, we're going over there this early?" Just because he was up early didn't mean he wanted to go out! "Are we supposed to walk straight in and say, 'Hi, hello, I'm here to take a treasure from your house that could cost you your life'?"

"Then when do you think would be better?" Sherlock finished the red bean bun in two bites and took a couple of sips of milk to wash it down.

"Let's wait a little... I have to get changed first, at least." Since they were going to snatch something, it didn't really matter when they went.

While the two were discussing what to ask first when they went in, Sitangna had already arrived at her senior's house by taxi. It was actually a huge estate!

Sitangna was riding with several of her seniors in a shuttle driven over by the butler. The reception room was some distance from the estate's gates, so everyone either drove over and had someone park their car or was picked up by the butler.

Everyone had arrived quite early, and the whole group was there before nine. Their senior had specially prepared desserts and hot drinks for them, worried that anyone who hadn't had time for breakfast might be hungry.

Everyone called him thoughtful, and his admirers were already envious of his future girlfriend.

At gatherings like this, Sitangna was usually the one who smiled. Everyone ate and drank beside the warm fireplace as they held a little meeting, sharing and discussing what they'd learned from their projects.

The group members were all very nice, and with deliberate encouragement from her seniors, Sitangna, who was somewhat shy around strangers, soon joined in the lively atmosphere.

The more people there were, the further the conversation strayed. Their serious academic discussion had already turned into a gossip session. When everyone learned that Sitangna could play the piano, and that their senior happened to have one, they all urged her to perform.

They even claimed it was a mandatory initiation for every group member. When it came to egging people on, humans really were in sync all over the world.

Their senior saw that Sitangna was a little nervous and reassured her that she could play whatever came to mind. There was no need to be tense. Quite a few people here could play the piano, and everyone just wanted to tease the new member.

"Then I'll play a piano solo version of 'Song of the Chile' for everyone." Looking at the green lawn outside, Sitangna somehow thought of the song.

When they saw that she was ready to play, the cheering crowd immediately fell silent. Their expectations were sky-high, and they gave her plenty of emotional support.

After playing the prelude, Sitangna couldn't help humming along to the main verse. "My heart follows heaven and earth, my thoughts are drawn by cattle and sheep..." The original was sung in an ethnic bel canto style, which she couldn't manage, so she hummed along in a pop style instead.

The people standing beside the piano gradually became entranced. Although they couldn't understand the lyrics Sitangna was singing, they could still appreciate the lingering, tender bond with heaven and earth conveyed by the melodious, delicate tune.

"On the Chile Plain~ beneath the Yin Mountains~ the sky is like a yurt, covering the fields on every side~"

"The sky stretches blue~ the fields stretch vast~ the wind bends the grass to reveal cattle and sheep..."

When the song ended, Sitangna bowed to everyone. Her pleasantly surprised seniors crowded around her and escorted her back to the fireplace, all praising her at once and showering her with compliments as if they cost nothing.

"That was a perfect performance, Sitangna!"

"Yes, it was full of feeling, and you captured the emotion perfectly. Who said you weren't good at the piano? I nearly cried."

This sensitive, perceptive senior had heard the deeper meaning in the melody.

"I don't know why, but I felt like I was lying on the grass." This speaker was an outdoor sports enthusiast who loved nature.

"The song's central theme is the magnificent, fertile scenery of the northern grasslands. It expresses the Chile people's passionate love for their homeland and for life. The composition also stays as close to the original lyrics as possible. It's a very lyrical song," Sitangna explained.