Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  It was Uncle Hai who opened the door.

  He was a little confused to see three young men standing outside.

  Of the three of them, Cheng Mu was wearing a thin jacket in the thick of winter. It was obvious that he was a trained man.

  As for Lu Zhaoying and Cheng Juan, they looked rather laid back, but the air they exuded—especially Cheng Juan—was pretty intimidating too.

  “Are the three of you Miss Qin’s friends? Please come on in.” Uncle Hai was a little surprised to find out that Miss Qin’s friends were like this.

  He had been with Master Wei for the longest time and had been to all sorts of events.

  But there were way too many households in the capital, there was no way he could remember every family.

  Cheng Juan was one who stayed in most of the time. Although everyone had heard of him, few had seen him before.

  His circle was the hardest to integrate into in the whole of the capital.

  Lu Zhaoying, on the other hand, seemed rather familiar to Uncle Hai. Yet, Uncle Hai had no recollection of a Lu Zhaoying or a person known as Young Master Lu.

  He knew Chen Shulan inside out, but her children and grandchildren seemed very averse to the capital.

  He never would’ve expected any of them to have friends from the capital.

  Much less those from the Lu family.

  “Thank you.” Cheng Juan straightened up slightly when he thought that Uncle Hai might just be Qin Ran’s teacher. He then looked toward Uncle Hai and bowed slightly.

  The three of them followed Uncle Hai in and soon saw Qin Ran and a few others sitting on the couch.

  “Qin Ran,” Lu Zhaoying said as he quickened his steps towards her. When he saw Pan Mingyue around too, he smiled. “Your classmate is here too?”


  It was a big space, more than a hundred square meters. There were two tables, a microphone, a screen, and further in were a lounge and a billiard table.

  There were three long couches in the lounge, with a coffee table in between.

  Qiao Sheng and Wei Zihang were on the left couch while Qin Ran, Pan Mingyue, and Lin Siran sat on the middle couch. The one on the right was left empty.

  Cheng Mu sat beside Qiao Sheng.

  Cheng Juan casually sat on the other side.

  Qiao Sheng had been talking to Wei Zihang but stopped when he saw Lu Zhaoying and Cheng Juan.

  Qiao Sheng remembered how his mother mentioned something about Cheng Juan during the parents’ meeting. It wasn’t much, but he remembered it clearly.

  Lin Siran, Cheng Mu, and Cheng Juan were familiar with most of them around.

  Not to mention Pan Mingyue and Qiao Sheng.

  Hence, it wasn’t that awkward even if they weren’t all on the same page.

  **

  On the other side, a few middle-aged men whispered a few questions to Uncle Hai before walking towards Qin Ran.

  After Uncle Hai’s introduction, they knew that Qin Ran was the disciple that Master Wei wanted to take in.

  Master Wei was the chairman of the National Violin Association. He was internationally renowned, and till now, had only rarely gone to the capital to guide some newbies.

  Both his fame and popularity and his importance in the industry made a significant difference to his disciples.

  In all aspects, his disciples had a headstart over others.

  If it wasn’t for Master Wei’s disciple being in Yun Cheng, they knew that they wouldn’t have had this opportunity.

  Hence, they all greeted Qin Ran first before Master Wei arrived.

  “Hello, Miss Qin. I’m Wen Yin. Master Wei has taught me a few lessons before……” What a move to introduce their relationship to Master Wei.

  Qin Ran had been leaning back on the couch in a rather laid back manner.

  But as they arrived, she got up and greeted them very politely too.

  It took about five to six minutes for the group of them to finish speaking and take their leave.

  “They’re all students of your teacher?” Lu Zhaoying looked at the few people in shock. They were all middle-aged men in suits. “They’re pretty nice to you.”


  Qin Ran sat back down and went back to her usual self. “Mm.”


  Lu Zhaoying took his eyes off them. He didn’t expect Qin Ran’s teacher to be so capable. “Your teacher isn’t here yet? What does he teach you?”


  It wasn’t just Lu Zhaoying who was curious. Qiao Sheng, Lin Siran, Cheng Mu, and the rest were rather interested too.

  They looked away from the row of people who had just left and turned to Qin Ran instead.

  Cheng Juan reached for a lighter in his pocket and fiddled with it, but he didn’t take a cigarette out.

  He looked up at Qin Ran as well.

  Qin Ran was sitting on one side of the couch with her arm on the armrest sipping some tea.

  “Ah,” She cleared her throat upon hearing the question and honestly said, “The violin.”


  Qiao Sheng and Lin Siran had heard about Qin Ran knowing to play the violin.

  They weren’t too surprised.

  But Cheng Mu, Lu Zhaoying, and the rest hadn’t known about this.

  Cheng Juan raised a brow. “You can play the violin?”


  “Mm.” Qin Ran squinted her eyes.

  “No, why haven’t you mentioned this before?” Lu Zhaoying straightened up and looked at Qin Ran with much surprise.

  Cheng Mu still had a cup of water in his hands—he couldn’t take alcohol as he was driving at night. Even he was taken aback by what he had just learned.

  Most violinists should be rather calm and resilient, but Qin Ran was nothing like that. She was one who would get frustrated after 10 minutes of penmanship practice.

  She would even throw her pen aside sometimes.

  Qin Ran turned to look at Lu Zhaoying and then put her cup on the coffee table. “Why do I have to tell you that I can play the violin?”


  Lu Zhaoying was speechless.

  **

  Right then, someone knocked on the door again.

  Uncle Hai had been standing near the door waiting, as Master Wei said he was arriving soon.

  He went up and opened the door.

  But there were two middle-aged men instead.

  One was a rather smiley man, but dressed in prim and proper clothes, making him appear formal.

  The other was in casual clothes but seemed colder and less approachable.

  They were like the three men who came earlier, not ordinary people.

  Uncle Hai had a list of names for the people Master Wei invited, but he couldn’t find anybody on the list that matched their age and background.

  “May I ask if Miss Qin Ran is inside?” Feng Loucheng smiled at Uncle Hai politely.

  Qian Dui standing beside him had caught sight of Qin Ran sitting inside.

  “You must be Miss Qin’s guests, please come in.” Uncle Hai was shocked but did not express it as he invited them in.

  The couch that Qin Ran was on hadn’t been filled yet. Then again, they might not choose to sit together. Hence, Uncle Hai got some attendants to bring two chairs over and prepare some juice for them.

  That was when he saw a few of them from the National Violin Association get up and walk towards Qin Ran.

  “Chairman Wen, haven’t you already said hi to Miss Qin?” Uncle Hai thought about it and asked.

  Qin Ran was a little impatient when it came to such civilities.

  Wen Yin looked up at Uncle Hai, hesitating slightly. “The mayor is here, isn’t it rude if we don’t say hi?”


  Feng Loucheng was a righteous man and wasn’t seen much at other events.

  Uncle Hai was stunned. “Who are you referring to?”


  “I’m talking about the mayor of Yun Cheng, Feng Loucheng. He was the one who came in just now in a grey shirt,” Wen Yin whispered.

  A few of them then went over to Qin Ran’s side and greeted Feng Loucheng as well.

  Although Yun Cheng was a rather small city, a mayor wasn’t an ordinary person by any means. Feng Loucheng, especially, was making much progress in his role. When Master Wei met Jiang Hui the previous day, he even mentioned how selfless Feng Loucheng was.

  He was full of praise for this man.

  Uncle Hai thought that everyone Qin Ran invited was students. How would he have expected Feng Loucheng to be invited as well?

  And he actually came?

  **

  On the other side, Chen Shulan was preparing to be discharged.

  Master Wei spoke to Chen Shulan’s doctor about her discharge, and the doctor was agreeable to it.

  But Master Wei found that the doctor’s expression was rather dark.

  He wasn’t very knowledgeable about this field, but with the doctor explaining Chen Shulan’s condition to him, he understood that Chen Shulan’s body was at its limit.

  He confirmed his speculations.

  “Thank you so much,” he said to the doctor.

  When he arrived at Chen Shulan’s ward, he paused for a while before knocking on the door.

  Mu Nan opened the door. The nurse was helping Chen Shulan change up in the washroom and helping her out.

  Chen Shulan seemed to be in a better state than yesterday. There was more color in her cheeks.

  “Grandma, First Aunt just called. She said that she and Grandpa Lin are going to visit you today, but I told her that you’ve got something on already.” Mu Nan handed the cell phone to Chen Shulan.

  Chen Shulan looked down at the phone but did not receive it. “Keep it for me. If she calls again, tell her that I’m out today and don’t have the time.”


  Mu Nan did not know what had happened between Chen Shulan and Ning Qing, but he listened to her anyway.

  He didn’t probe further as he kept her cell phone in his pocket.

  “Mu Ying isn’t back yet?” Chen Shulan asked.

  Mu Nan nodded without saying much.

  Chen Shulan kept quiet too.

  She was in a good mood today and didn’t want to get mad with Ning Qing or Mu Ying. She turned to Mu Nan. “Is your mother still busy?”


  Mu Nan’s gaze hung low as he said, “Mm.”


  Chen Shulan was still smiling as she nodded.

  Master Wei got someone to drive them in an extended car today.

  Chen Shulan and Mu Nan were sitting in the back seat while he sat in the front passenger seat.

  The roads were rather congested at night and it took them almost 40 minutes to get there.

  As Master Wei opened the door and got off, his cell phone rang immediately.

  It was Jiang Hui.

  He watched as Mu Nan helped Chen Shulan out of the car and smiled. “We’re just on time, Jiang Hui also just arrived.” Jiang Hui was one of the main guests he invited for the day. The Jiang family had a rather huge holding in the capital.

  Master Wei was already paving the way for Qin Ran before she even went to the capital.

  **

  Upstairs.

  Jiang Hui arrived just before Master Wei did.

  He was almost 40, but he looked only about 30.

  Most people in the capital were unable to outsmart him in their ways.

  In the past, Uncle Hai would subconsciously avoid Jiang Hui’s gaze when they bumped into each other.

  Seeing Jiang Hui now, he suddenly felt that he wasn’t much different from the rest of Qin Ran’s younger friends. “Young Master Jiang, please come in.” Uncle Hai made way for Jiang Hui.

  Uncle Hai had taken the arrangement of the room into consideration. It wasn’t too appropriate to have Jiang Hui sit with the group of youngsters, neither did it seem right to place him with those of the National Violin Association.

  He had planned to have Jiang Hui sit at the main table to wait for Master Wei’s arrival. But seeing that Feng Loucheng was already sitting around Qin Ran’s group of friends, he hesitated.

  But before he deliberated long, he saw Jiang Hui walking towards Qin Ran after seeing something.

  Uncle Hai knew that Master Wei invited Jiang Hui to pave the way for Qin Ran.

  He got the attendant to bring another chair over and followed Jiang Hui.

  Jiang Hui saw Qian Dui and Feng Loucheng. He paused and was about to walk towards them when he saw the group of youngsters on the couch……

  He was speechless.

  His gaze shifted from Cheng Juan’s face to Qin Ran’s, and then looked at Lu Zhaoying and Cheng Mu with a look of disbelief on his face. “Young Master Cheng, what are you guys doing here?”


  Both of them weren’t interested in playing the violin at all, why would Master Wei invite them?

  In fact……

  It wasn’t that surprising for Lu Zhaoying, but Cheng Juan wasn’t the type of person anyone could invite.

  Cheng Mu put his cup down and looked at Jiang Hui. “Young Master Jiang, we’d also like to know, what are you doing here?”


  Wasn’t this Miss Qin’s apprenticeship banquet?

  The two of them faced each other, each with a look of confusion.