Chapter 16

Jocelyn York hung up the phone and placed her hands back on the piano. She couldn't remember where she had left off playing.

"Whose call was that?"

"A friend."

The man standing next to the piano was wearing a white shirt and holding a cup of hot coffee.

"Was it that guy named Nan?"

"No!"

She didn't look at him, but her hand forcefully pressed down on the piano keys, filling the room with deep and rich low tones.

"Haha, seems like it was him." He chuckled while watching her, lifted his coffee cup, and took a sip.

"Dad! Seriously..."

She sighed in frustration. She couldn't hide anything from him, her own father.

"Dad was wrong. Just focus on playing the piano." He stood up and left.

In the spacious room, there was only her and a 20-year-old Yamaha piano, both treasured possessions of her father's.

Her father loved the piano but couldn't play. This middle-aged man, nearing fifty, owned the largest piano store in the city, with various brands and models available. The only item not for sale was this Yamaha C3B.

It was Jocelyn's late mother's dowry.

When she was a child, she was an active girl, playing with slingshots, soccer balls, and water guns - all the boys' favorites, and she excelled at them all.

Her father always told her that girls should be gentle and elegant, at least proficient in one or two musical instruments.

She didn't listen and argued with her father, shouting, "Why does a girl have to be like a girl?"

Faced with this stubborn daughter, he had no way to deal with her.

Then one day, a boy quietly told her that he liked girls who were feminine, at least not tomboys...

She was angry, embarrassed, and blushed, but he didn't seem to care and just laughed...

Anyone else could deny her, but not him.

Later, her father noticed that something seemed off with his daughter. She started tying up her hair, buying various types of dresses to pile up in her closet, rejecting invitations from "bros" and choosing to hang out with female classmates.

He even worried if something had happened to his daughter, if she had become abnormal?

But such worries didn't last long because he was delighted to discover that Jocelyn started secretly touching the pianos she had disliked before, earnestly and clumsily striking the black and white keys. It was a good sign...

He even hired a piano teacher to come to their house and teach her every day.

But it had to be said that she really didn't have any talent. On this point, father and daughter were exactly the same. The only difference was that she persisted.

When she was able to play her first complete piece, she was extremely happy. She went out by herself and brought someone back in the evening.

He was a handsome boy, tall and thin. She pulled him to the piano and played her first piece for him.

It was treatment that not even her father had received…

..."Samson Nan, who is that girl?"

"Which one?"

Finally, after the ancestral worship at grandma's house was over, he dropped off Raina Nan and his mother at home and was about to leave, but his mother called him.

"The one who called you! I feel like I've heard that name before..."

"Jocelyn, a high school classmate. You've met her, right?"

"I've met her?"

"Yeah, when she came to our house that one time and had an argument with Raina, you forgot?"

"Hmm!"

She glared at him and turned her head away.

"That one, the tomboy with short hair?"

His mother slapped her forehead.

"Come on, it's been so many years. She's not a tomboy anymore, okay?"

Samson Nan smiled. It seemed that his mother's impression of Jocelyn was still stuck in the past.

"Is that so? Is she still unmarried?"

"Yes."

"Then, what does her family do?"

"Well, her dad sells pianos, you know Jia Yun Piano Store? It's their family's... Wait, are you doing a background check?"

He stopped himself before continuing.

"Talking about the real reason! So, Samson Nan..."

His mother thought for a moment and looked at him seriously.

"Ask that girl out and see when she's available to come over for a meal."

"Huh? Why?!"

Before he could say anything, Raina Nan stood in front of him and asked."What are you meddling in, kid? I was talking seriously with your brother!" Mom pushed her aside.

"Mom, I also think it's inappropriate. What do you mean by inviting her for no reason?" He said with a bitter smile, as Raina Nan glared at him angrily.

"She helped you so much, don't you have anything to show gratitude?"

"What should I show? I will thank her in person later."

"Oh, why are you so clueless! It's all for your sake! Think about it yourself!"

Saying that, mom entered the house on her own.

...

"Should I go now?" Samson Nan looked at Raina Nan who was still standing at the front door.

"Oh."

"Well, bye?"

"Mm..."

Her reply was weak.

"What's wrong again, little one?" He touched her head and smiled.

"It's nothing, you can go..." She looked away.

"You didn't say bye, I won't leave~" He smirked and said in a slightly coquettish tone, not wanting anyone else to see him like this.

"Bye, is it okay now? You idiot..." She whispered the last few words.

"That's about right." He laughed, then suddenly tightened the hand that was touching her head, pressing her head against his chest.

"Brother?!" He held her in his arms, slightly bent down, placed his chin on top of her head, and gently sniffed her hair.

She was startled, and when she came back to her senses, her face was already burning. She pushed him away in a panic, not daring to look into his eyes.

Time seemed to stand still, only for two seconds.

"Brother, bye." She finally looked up at him, smiled somewhat reluctantly, but very softly.

Blushing, like the cherry blossoms in early spring.

"That's my little one." He smiled lightly and left, satisfied.

...

At ten o'clock in the evening, Jocelyn York soaked in the bathtub, the bathroom filled with mist, unable to see anything clearly.

It's absolutely addictive to soak in hot water in the middle of winter, once you get used to it, it's hard to get up.

Drip, drip, drip.

The phone outside the bathroom door rang.

Who would call her at this time?

She didn't pay attention and closed her eyes.

Drip, drip, drip.

The ringtones kept ringing, who had something important to tell her?

She wrapped herself in a towel and walked out quickly.

"Hello."

"Jocelyn, it's Samson Nan."

"Samson Nan?"

She was surprised, the person on the other end of the phone called her twice in one day, unprecedented.

"Can you come to my house next weekend?"

"Huh?!"

She panicked, the towel fell to the ground, she was naked, fortunately there was no one around.

"Are you free?"

"Yes, I'm free."

She held the phone tightly and even forgot to ask him what it was about.

"Well, we'll contact each other by phone then."

"Okay."

After hanging up the phone, she covered her mouth, motionless.

But the curved eyeliner betrayed her.

She was smiling, but she suppressed her laughter.