Chapter 1028: Chapter 1028: Understanding the Intent Through the Play of the Zither
After a long time, Shuo Yu finally maneuvered his wheelchair around to face Qin Sisi. He sized her up for a moment, wondering if she could understand his piano music, then picked up the paper and pen from the table, wrote down a sentence, and handed it over to Qin Sisi.
Qin Sisi was slightly astonished when she took it and read: "What do you think?"
So, had he come to ask for her opinion on his piano playing?
After brief contemplation, Qin Sisi did not comment on the piano music. Instead, she cut to the chase and asked: "If you like her so much, why don’t you marry her?"
The other day, at Xiao Meng’s urging, she had sneaked into Tianmu Mountain to spy and saw that when Teacher Ru Lin looked at Shuo Yu, her eyes were filled with such deep affection and restraint. Those were the eyes of someone in love, impossible to hide. If Shuo Yu made the first move, Qin Sisi was ninety-nine percent certain that Teacher Ru Lin would agree.
Shuo Yu’s expression changed drastically at Qin Sisi’s straightforward question, which he had not expected.
His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but then he remembered his own stumbling speech was atrocious to hear, worse than that of a three-year-old, and he closed his mouth again.
He lifted his hands as if to gesture something to Qin Sisi, but then realized that she might not even understand sign language, and he dropped them back down in dejection.
Qin Sisi noticed Shuo Yu’s eagerness and awkwardness and handed the piece of paper back to him, along with the pen on the table.
Shuo Yu’s expression calmed a little, and he picked up the pen to write another sentence on the paper.
Qin Sisi looked down and saw that Shuo Yu was gripping the pen hard, clearly with a lot of complex emotions, almost tearing through the paper with the tip of the pen.
"I am disabled." This was the second sentence that Shuo Yu wrote.
Qin Sisi had already understood Shuo Yu’s feelings of inferiority, and she wasn’t surprised by this revelation. She was grateful for his trust, as he was able to be honest with someone he had never had any communication with before.
After pondering for a moment, she squatted down, lifted her head to look into Shuo Yu’s sorrow-filled eyes, and said clearly, word by word: "In my eyes, you are the greatest Forging Master in the Demon Sacred Realm, my most admired idol; in Teacher Ru Lin’s heart, I believe you are not disabled, but a talented genius and an all-powerful hero. There is no perfect person in this world, and you have achieved what many able-bodied people cannot, you should feel proud."
Shuo Yu was stunned, probably because no one had ever said such words to him before, for he had never exposed his feelings to anyone.
This time, for some reason, perhaps because his longing had reached its peak, he wanted to find an outlet for it.
He had heard from Ru Lin about Qin Sisi’s high talent in Music Magic, and he himself loved playing the piano, although he had never formally studied Music Magic, practicing quietly alone in his lonely room.
When he played the piano strings once more, he suddenly felt an irrepressible loneliness and solitude inside him. Knowing that Qin Sisi was on the flying device, he sent someone to bring her here, and since she was a genius in Music Magic, let him express himself through the piano to see if she could understand.
What he didn’t expect was that Qin Sisi not only understood but also grasped the depth so thoroughly, hitting the softest spot in his heart almost immediately, leaving him nearly defenseless.
However, he believed her words; he trusted Qin Sisi’s respect for him because indeed, he was the greatest Forging Master in the Demon Sacred Realm, and he was indeed proud, for he had the capital to be proud and arrogant.
But could Qin Sisi’s guess about Ru Lin’s true feelings be right? Am I really her genius and hero?
Born with a disability, an ingrained sense of inferiority always led him to doubt himself, no matter how great his accomplishments.
Shuo Yu picked up the pen once again, his palm trembling slightly. Just as he was about to write, Qin Sisi suddenly said, "I know you can speak; you can communicate with me using language."
Hesitant for a moment, Shuo Yu still chose to write: "It was she who taught me to speak. I only want to talk in front of her alone, and besides, I’m not good at it."
A few brief sentences, and countless vivid memories already flashed through Shuo Yu’s mind.
He was born without vocal cords, unable to make any sound. The young Ru Lin didn’t understand these truths; she just thought Shuo Yu couldn’t speak and felt sorry for him.
So whenever she had time, she would try teaching Shuo Yu to speak. Pointing at herself, she’d say "I", pointing at Shuo Yu, she’d say "you", pointing at a big tree, she’d say "tree", pointing at the fresh flowers, she’d say "flower".
Like this, she taught him word by word. At first, Shuo Yu wasn’t in the mood to learn; he knew he couldn’t make sounds, but the girl in front of him was so earnest, her eyes twinkling like the stars above, looking at him. Eventually, he couldn’t help but take it seriously, thinking, let’s just treat it as playing along with her.
After Ru Lin demonstrated countless times, Shuo Yu finally made his first sound in life: "I".
His ears were fine, and when this odd sound emerged, both of them were stunned. Shuo Yu couldn’t believe he had actually made a sound, and Ru Lin, having taught him for so long without success, was also deeply disheartened.
After a dozen seconds, Ru Lin burst into loud cheers, bouncing and dancing around Shuo Yu’s wheelchair.
Watching the jubilant Ru Lin, Shuo Yu couldn’t help but smile, and then felt a prickling in his nose and a warmth in his eyes.
He secretly made up his mind, for this lifetime, he must be good to this girl; all the best things he could possess, he wanted to give to her.
During those years when Shuo Yu was undergoing treatment in the Muyin family, Ru Lin taught him all the common words and phrases used in daily life, and Shuo Yu learned diligently, hoping one day he could speak like a normal person.
Indeed, he had no vocal cords; he could produce sound through the vibrations of his esophagus, which required a lot of practice and would be very painful.
Later, Shuo Yu’s father finally accepted the fact that Shuo Yu’s illness was incurable and took him back to the Jin Gang family in Daye City. That was when Shuo Yu and Ru Lin parted ways.
When he first returned to Daye City, Shuo Yu still practiced making sounds diligently. But as he grew older, he gradually realized how serious his physical defects were. How could Ru Lin, such a good girl, possibly want to be with him?
Under the influence of such negative thoughts, Shuo Yu gradually stopped keeping in touch. Thus, although he could make sounds, he was extremely unpracticed and his pronunciation was not very standard.
Shuo Yu, despite his inferiority complex, was inherently sensitive and proud. He didn’t want to show his embarrassing weakness in front of others, so he refused to speak when others were around, except with Ru Lin.
Ru Lin insisted that he must communicate with her using language, leaving Shuo Yu no choice but to reluctantly speak. He knew in his heart that Ru Lin would never mock him for his unpleasant voice.
