Filed to story: The Scarlet Vengeance: Justice of a Framed Beauty Novel (Grace & Jason)
“Yes, it’s really beautiful, and now he’s learning with me from the same teacher. The teacher says he’s improving quickly!” Jasper said. “When winter break comes, you should come to Emerald City. By then,
Lawrence will play even better! We can play new songs for each other.”
At this moment, she didn’t know that every word she said made his heart sink a little deeper.
“Do you like him that much?” he asked.
“He’s my new friend, of course I like him,” Jasper answered without hesitation, “William, you’ll definitely become good friends with Lawrence too!”
William lowered his eyes slightly, but he felt that he and Lawrence would never become good friends.
After ending the call, William looked at the video of Lawrence playing the piano on his phone again.
At the beginning of the video, before Lawrence started playing, his gaze was fixed on the camera, or rather, on Jasper behind the camera.
The way Lawrence looked at Jasper made William feel uneasy.
Even though he was only a 10-year-old child, he was more mature than his peers, so he naturally understood what it meant to like someone.
This Lawrence also likes Jasper!
At this moment, he clearly had this realization.
Immediately after, a crisp “start” was heard in the video, and Lawrence began playing the piano.
When William listened to Lawrence’s piano playing for the first time, he knew why Jasper would like it.
It was a kind of soulful piano playing, even if the technique wasn’t great, even if some parts of the piano playing were rough, it still had a charm that couldn’t be hidden.
And this “Transcendental Etude No. 12 Chasse-neige”, he could also play it. In terms of technique, he might even be better than Lawrence in playing this piece.
However… his performance lacked soul, like a robot playing the piano.
Even his piano teacher had said that his piano playing was technically sound, but lacked a certain infectious quality.
But this was something that Lawrence possessed!
Is this what talent is?
His talent was in technique, while Lawrence’s talent was in infectiousness.
Only skills can be improved through practice and guidance, but what about infectiousness? That cannot be compensated for in any way!
William closed the video and went to the piano room. He sat in front of the piano, opened the cover, and began to play.
What he played was also Transcendental Etude No. 12
Chasse-neige, which is the same piece Lawrence played in the video.
But anyone with some knowledge of music can hear the difference.
Why is it that, no matter how skilled he is, he can’t seem to play the feeling that Jasper likes? William keeps playing over and over again, even though his ten fingers are already hurting, but Grace doesn’t stop.
I don’t know how long it had been when the door to the music room was pushed open and Philip walked in. He looked at his son, who was playing the piano like a machine, and furrowed his brow slightly. After a moment, he walked up and took hold of his son’s hand.
The sound of the qin suddenly stopped.
William suddenly came to his senses and looked up at his father, “I want to practice playing the piano a little more.”
“It’s already very late now, it’s time to sleep,” said Philip.
“I want to practice, maybe if I practice more, I can play better,”
said William. Perhaps that way,
“But even if you play better, what does it matter?” Philip said. “I thought you should know what’s important to you. You want to hold onto the people you care about, and the piano won’t make that decision.”
William bit his lip slightly. He had chosen to return to the Barlow family with the hope of standing by
Jasper’s side and becoming someone worthy of her.
“Although the piano can certainly enhance one’s skills, it is merely an embellishment. In this world, there are many skilled pianists, and there will always be someone better than you. You can never be certain that your piano skills are superior to everyone else’s,” said Philip.
“But Jasper likes the piano,” murmured William.
“So instead of being the person playing the piano, why not be the person who listens to someone else play? Wouldn’t that be better?” said Philip. “You don’t have to do everything yourself, but you can be the person who makes the decisions! As long as you have enough decision-making power, you can make your destiny follow your own ideas, right?”
William listened quietly, and his eyes gradually became clear.
What he wants is not just to play the piano well to please Jasper, but also to stand by her side in the future, become a stronger presence, and get the person he desires.
So, for him, the piano is actually not the most important thing!
He has many more important things to accomplish.
“I understand,” said William.
“Now that you understand, go to bed. There are things to do tomorrow,” said Philip.
William nodded and followed his father out of the music room. But as he left, he glanced back at the piano, lost in thought.
Philip patted his son’s shoulder. “Well, since it was your decision, don’t regret it.”
William pursed his lips and looked up at his father with a determined gaze. “I won’t regret it!”
However, half a month later, William suddenly came to
Emerald City on a weekend, claiming that Philip had business.
to attend to here and he came along.
As a father, Philip naturally wouldn’t expose his son’s lie. He came here for business, but he could have sent someone else to handle it. He didn’t have to come in person.
The main reason for coming to Emerald City was that his son was thinking about Jasper. That’s why they came from Deer Capital.
At this moment, in the Reed family’s mansion, Lawrence met
William for the first time.
Although Jasper had shown her a photo of William before, it wasn’t until she actually met him that she truly felt that sense. of oppression.
The other person was taller than him and was wearing clothes. that didn’t look cheap. The servants respectfully called him
Mr. Barlow.
When Jasper saw the other person, he immediately rushed. over and naturally hugged them.
Jasper’s happiness was so evident.
“William, this is Lawrence,” Jasper introduced, then turned to
Lawrence and said, “Lawrence, this is William.”
Two boys were staring at each other, it was their first formal meeting and they were sizing each other up.
William appears calm, while Lawrence seems a bit uneasy.
“Hello, Lawrence,” said William.
“You…hello, Mr. Barlow,” Lawrence stuttered in response.
“Jasper has been saying that you play the piano very well. Can you play a piece for me to listen to?”
William asked.
“Of course…I can,” Lawrence quickly replied.
“This is a gift I prepared for you when I came. I hope you like it,” William politely said, then took out a beautifully wrapped small box and handed it to Lawrence.
Lawrence was pleasantly surprised to receive a gift.
Jasper’s eyes lit up and she asked, “What about me, William? Did you bring me a gift?”
“Of course I did,” William said, taking out a butterfly hair clip and placing it in Jasper’s hand. “I saw this and thought it was pretty, so I wanted to give it to you.”
It was a beautiful butterfly hair clip with pink and purple crystals embedded in the wings and eyes. Jasper’s face immediately lit up with a big smile, clearly showing that she liked the gift.
“Thank you, William!” Jasper said with a smile, giving William a big hug.
At that moment, Lawrence suddenly felt a little envious of William.
After a while, Jasper pulled Lawrence to sit in front of the piano and started playing a piece for everyone to listen to.
Lawrence is playing the piano. These days, he has been receiving guidance from a teacher who is teaching him about piano playing. As a result, he has made significant progress in his technique.
Previously, he had some areas where he was not very smooth, but now he has corrected those issues.
William listened quietly, his young face displaying an unusual seriousness.
Hearing it live like this is much more impactful than watching a video beforehand. He can now better understand why
Jasper loves the Lawrence piano so much.
The sound of the music that evokes such a feeling, perhaps he will never be able to play it himself.
2/4 If we were to compare natural talent in playing the piano, he has actually lost to Lawrence.
Just like his previous teacher’s evaluation, he has reached a level of skill that can rival many professional pianists, but his piano playing seems to lack emotion and fails to resonate with others on a deeper level.
Because he simply cannot integrate his emotions into the music he plays.
After a song ended, Jasper took the initiative to ask William, “Isn’t Lawrence’s playing very beautiful?”
“Yes, it sounds very nice,” William smiled and replied.
Jasper casually said to Lawrence, “I knew it, William will definitely love your music.”
Lawrence gave a shy smile.
In the evening, Lawrence left the Reed House and went back home with the gift that William had given him.