874: Love & Hate

Love & Hate

0Xiang Weimin wasn't willing to let off Hyson so easily this time around, he looked seriously at Hyson and said, "I answered your question seriously. Shouldn't you reciprocate?"

"But I'm also serious," said Hyson. 

"Becoming an idol wasn't your dream?" asked Xiang Weimin.

Hyson shrugged nonchalantly, "It's a dream. So what if it's not mine?" He suddenly covered his mouth and yawned before continuing, "I never had dreams, Ge."

"I heard you're a piano prodigy in your childhood," mentioned Xiang Weimin. "What about that? That wasn't a dream? You could become a famed pianist with your talent and hold concerts all over the world."

"Piano..." Hyson's eyes dimmed when he repeated that word.

That change didn't go unnoticed. Xiang Weimin could tell there was a story there so he asked, "What about piano?"

Hyson looked at him but didn't answer.

"What? Not willing to speak or don't want to share it with me?"

Hyson pressed his lips together before shaking his head, "I usually don't like talking about such things. It doesn't suit my sunshine image." Xiang Weimin raised his brow at him while Hyson went on, "But I think I can tell you about it. After all, we share a deeper bond."

"We do?"

"Ge, we almost died together," reminded Hyson. "That accounts for something, no?"

"Should I feel honored that you're willing to share your secrets with me because we almost went to see the king of hell together?"

"I think you should be honored," replied Hyson solemnly. "After all, not everyone gets to know about this."

Xiang Weimin shook his head and patted Hyson's head, "Stop distracting me. And tell me what's up?"

Hyson stopped smiling and looked away from him. He was looking at the fruit plate but his eyes weren't focused as he spoke, "I have a very complicated relationship with the piano. I love it and I hate it equally."

"Why?"

"When I was young, I loved it because wherever my mum played the piano, it felt like the gloomy air around her would magically disappear. Only a warm halo would be left that made me feel warm. That made me want to get close to her. It was a wonderful feeling," stated Hyson. He looked up at Xiang Weimin again and added, "You see, people called me a prodigy but they didn't know that my mum was even better than me. Her fingers truly belonged on those black and white keys."

Xiang Weimin listened attentively. He didn't know much about Hyson's childhood. He only learned the most basic things. And most of it was after the time he met Raelle. Before that, what kind of a life he lived or what kind of a person he was, no one talked about it. Not even Hyson. It was like he wanted to keep those years locked up somewhere and never recall it.

Whenever he spoke about his memories it was like his memory only began from the moment he met Raelle. But what about before that? 

Knowing that Yue Yue left with nothing back then already made it clear to Xiang Weimin that Hyson or Yue Yue didn't have an easy life in those years. But none of them liked to talk about that.

"And why do you hate it?" asked Xiang Weimin in a soft voice.

"Because of the same mother of mine," answered Hyson smiling bitterly. "You do know that we lived in a remote village back then right?" Xiang Weimin nodded his head and seeing that Hyson continued, "There weren't that many rich people in that village. But only a couple of them. One of them had kids my age in their family and hired my mum as a piano teacher. It was exactly that time when I learned to play the piano since we couldn't afford it. That family was very kind actually and they taught their kids very well. However, I hated it when those kids looked at my mother with those pitiful eyes. No matter how nice they were, they couldn't hide the fact that they felt bad for their piano teacher who couldn't speak but was astonishingly talented. Although the logic is twisted, I still hated piano instead of those kids. Because even until now, I'd say that they were one of the rare kind people I came across at that age."

Xiang Weimin didn't speak anything. He didn't even know what he could say. He felt very uncomfortable just listening to it for some reason. He could hear the helplessness in Hyson's voice and one won't be able to find it that often. He was right. Talking about this really ruined his sunshine image. 

But from this, he understood that Hyson hated it when people pitied his mother's disability. He hated it when people said his mother was different. Because even back then, Hyson didn't think there was anything wrong with his mother. He proudly showed off that his mother was more talented than others. But so what if he never felt inferior? It wouldn't stop Yue Yue from feeling inferior and hiding in a shell.

"Ge, are you feeling bad for me as well?"

Xiang Weimin shook his head, "No way. You have an amazing mother. Why would I pity you? Do you think I'm in a position to pity you when my mother didn't even have time for me all her life? The relationship between me and my mother is like that of two people who respect each other and admire each other. Yours is like that of a friend, a son, and sometimes you even act like her father."

"I'm not that old," grumbled Hyson. "How can I play the role of her father?" He paused before adding, "But you know, I have another reason to love piano."

"What is it?"

"The piano became the bridge that allowed me to cross the distance of thousands of miles between me and Ellie. It allowed me to find my best friend. It allowed me to find a family. It also allowed me to find a home."

Xiang Weimin smiled knowingly and patted his head lovingly, "It's your will that brought you where you are. The rest are just means. What's meant to be yours, will be yours eventually."

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