I am a Big Player
Chapter 623 - 614, thank you little professor_1

Chapter 623: 614, thank you little professor_1

The entire audience at the piano competition, upon learning that Liu Jiamin was the Little Professor’s student, was actually most excited by Joseph.

He had been longing for the Little Professor to return to the Juilliard School of Music to continue teaching, yet he couldn’t find him anywhere. Then he came to judge at this piano competition and, unexpectedly, another genius girl who had been taught by the Little Professor emerged out of the blue.

Could it be that the Little Professor had returned to a domestic school to continue teaching students? Joseph felt this was very likely.

He wanted to rush up and ask this genius girl where the Little Professor was now, but he couldn’t do it just yet, because Liu Jiamin had not finished her acceptance speech.

After the stir caused by Liu Jiamin’s public acknowledgment of her mentor, everyone quieted down again to look at the girl on the stage, standing firm like a stubborn snow lotus.

Is playing the piano tedious? Tedious, anyone who has practiced knows.

To play a piece that sounds nice in public, one must practice over and over again in private, from awkward to skillful—not everyone can play a piece by sight like a master, and even masters don’t do it often.

After playing a piece many times, sometimes even if your mind wanders, your subconscious can still play it, that’s because you’ve imprinted the piece in your heart with sweat.

Liu Jiamin said, "I always thought that I might never achieve such great success in my life because lessons with renowned teachers can cost 2,000 yuan per class, and my family couldn’t afford it. Some people dream of being scientists when they’re young, some dream of being stars, but my dream was to play the piano, to play the finest pianos, to play the most beautiful pieces, to perform at the highest standard."

"Just when I thought my dream was about to die, I met my mentor, the Little Professor. He gifted me an upright piano so I wouldn’t have to play on borrowed pianos humbly. He gave me the guidance I needed most, so I didn’t have to worry about not being able to afford a famous teacher. Many people are envious of me because even a master like Teacher Liu Fei wanted to take me as a student, but if I hadn’t met the Little Professor, my skills probably wouldn’t have been good enough to earn Teacher Liu Fei’s praise, and none of what followed would have happened."

"When I reached the summit of Mount Everest, I felt the grandeur of life, and you probably can’t imagine a girl like me could summit Mount Everest. Above 7,000 meters altitude, humans become like walking dead, thinking slows down, and even opening a tent zipper becomes extremely difficult. I am very grateful to the Little Professor for giving me a different life, and this is also the origin of my personal performance style."

"Among those present, many are children on the road to pursuing their dreams. Earlier, a child who came from out of town asked me how I kept going; I didn’t know how to answer at the time. I want to say something else to give you some inspiration. The Little Professor once told me that a person with dreams will never die. I share this with everyone for mutual encouragement."

After she finished, the audience suddenly realized that Liu Jiamin’s acceptance speech seemed like she was expressly thanking the Little Professor, which was enough to show how massive his influence had been on her...

Many children downstairs who study the piano, along with their parents, suddenly thought they should find out where the Little Professor was teaching now, and how much he charged for a class?

What they didn’t know was that Ren He had no plans at all to teach classes...

When Ren He was at Juilliard, his monthly salary at the end had reached $37,000, which was considered a high income. In China, his fee for one class might be around 5,000 yuan, far exceeding that of most well-known teachers.

Of course, if a domestic master-level performer like Liu Fei were to teach, their fees wouldn’t be much less than Ren He’s, the only difference being in terms of fame as a composer. However, for learning the piano, composing talent isn’t necessary—it’s just an additional bit of fame.

After Liu Jiamin finished her award speech, the first thing she remembered was the task Ren He had entrusted to her: to get Joseph’s phone number.

Joseph was stunned when Liu Jiamin said it was the "little professor" who wanted the phone number. "Is the little professor here?" he asked and then began looking around, hoping to spot Ren He. He ended up disappointed, seeing nothing at all.

By this time, Ren He had already left on his own. Yang Xi would take the nanny car back to the Courtyard House, and there was no need for him to pick her up.

The audience at the scene suddenly noticed Joseph looking for something, and they found it a bit strange. What was going on today? It seemed like Yang Xi was also looking for something earlier...

When Yang Xi returned to the Courtyard House and saw Ren He, she immediately put on a look of grievance, as if she was about to cry. Ren He laughed heartily, "Alright, stop pretending. I’ll play a couple of support rounds for you."

There was indeed a method to handle a gaming-addicted girl, and Ren He had now mastered Yang Xi’s routines! No sooner had Ren He finished speaking than Yang Xi had already gone to start the computer!

The winters in the Capital are cold. The snow had just ended, and the snow on the ground hadn’t fully melted away. The snowman that Ren He and Yang Xi had built the day before had lost its shape due to the sunlight.

The coldest time is when the snow is melting. Even with Ren He’s constitution, he didn’t want to stand in the icy, snowy outdoors with a phone in hand. He went back inside the house and dialed Joseph’s number, speaking with a smile, "Hello Chairman, long time no see."

"Where are you? Come back to teach at the Juilliard School of Music," Joseph got straight to the point, "After you disappeared, Juilliard put you on unpaid leave. You’d still be a professor when you come back!"

"I’m afraid I can’t return. Where do you live? I’ll come to pick you up and have dinner at my place," Ren He felt that if there was anyone in America he owed, it was probably the Chairman of the Juilliard School of Music.

Joseph was someone who could abandon all dogma for the sake of music; as long as Ren He was skillful enough, he was willing to bear all the pressure to employ him.

For such a person, music was half of his life. The other half was dedicated to educating others to appreciate music. Not only was Joseph a famous violinist, but he was also a dedicated educator.

During the days they worked together at the Juilliard School of Music, Ren He saw firsthand Joseph’s sincerity towards music and students, which explained why he had been the Chairman of the Juilliard School of Music for so many years.

Many people do not believe that effort will be rewarded or that sincerity will always find its place. They are more convinced that society is unfair and that hard work does not necessarily lead to success.

But in Ren He’s view, this is often just an excuse for their laziness.

Society is indeed unfair, but every persistent person must wield their own dedication, smashing through countless barriers to create a crack through which light can shine into their lives.