"I'll start then. Just practice your own, don't mind me. Once you're familiar with it, we can practice together," Wang Muman said, seeing Yan Cheng seemed reluctant to practice if she wasn't.
Yan Cheng returned to the piano and began to play. However, his eyes kept drifting towards the person dancing gracefully. Without the embellishment of costumes, she was still stunning. Her figure beneath the sweater wasn't bulky, but rather lithe, a fusion of ballet and other dance forms. It was easy to imagine how she would look dancing on stage in costume. Her expression was one of loneliness, suggesting a deep personal experience, otherwise, she wouldn't possess such power to move people's hearts.
Yan Cheng practiced the piano a few times, becoming familiar with the score. He suddenly caught sight of his grandmother peeking from the doorway, offered her a helpless smile, and walked towards her. This did not disturb Wang Muman, who was always immersed in her dancing.
"Grandma, what are you looking at?" Yan Cheng took his grandmother's hand and led her into the courtyard.
"Watching Jun Maman dance. She's very good, with much of my old flair."
"How many years has it been since you danced?" Yan Cheng hadn't seen his grandmother dance much, only knowing from his father that she had studied dance in her youth.
It wasn't until Yan Cheng called Wang Muman for dinner that she stopped, wiped her sweat with a tissue, took a sip of water, and walked towards the courtyard.
"Come, come, let's eat. We have chicken wings that young people like, and also crispy pork," Grandma had specifically chosen foods that Zhou Mingyu and the others enjoyed.
Wang Muman sat down and looked at the six or seven dishes. It seemed like a lot for three people. "Thank you for the trouble, Grandma," Wang Muman said to her.
"What trouble is this? It's livelier with more people, and I like you too!" The old woman smiled, her wrinkles deepening.
Wang Muman waited for Grandma and Yan Cheng to start eating before she began. This pleased Grandma even more; she was a sensible and polite child. She couldn't help but put some meat into Wang Muman's bowl.
"Eat more, you're so thin. Oh, do you mind if we don't use serving chopsticks!" the old woman suddenly remembered.
"No, when I eat with my brother and father at home, we don't use serving chopsticks," Wang Muman thought that her family didn't have this custom and it wasn't necessary.
Yan Cheng heard them mention two family members but no mother. He glanced at Wang Muman, gaining some understanding of the reasons behind her personality.
Soon, Wang Muman's bowl was filled with dishes, causing her to repeatedly decline. Looking at the food in her bowl, Wang Muman's heart softened. The warm atmosphere made her relax, and the old woman's smile also brought a smile to her lips.
In the afternoon, the two continued their practice. When Yan Cheng said it was okay, Wang Muman practiced with him. Their first collaboration was a bit uncoordinated, sometimes too fast, sometimes too slow. But in the following attempts, their synchronicity improved, and they began to get on track.
During a break, Wang Muman took out her geography homework and asked Yan Cheng about it. Yan Cheng caught the faint, fresh scent of the girl's hair, as if it were steeped in grass and trees. He looked at the question and spoke slowly. Casually, he glanced at the girl's eyes, which were clear and pure. As their gazes met, he could hear his own heartbeat so clearly.
Wang Muman's phone rang; her brother had come to pick her up. Yan Cheng's grandmother wanted to keep them for dinner. In the end, she said, "Come play again. Grandma is lonely and needs someone for company, a little cotton-padded jacket would be nice." She looked at Wang Muman reluctantly, patting her hand. Wang Muman waved goodbye and got into the car.
"Girls are better, more considerate," Grandma said, clutching a milk candy in her hand.