Chapter 29: The Car Accident
"Go Beatrice, you will win this round."
"Oh god, Ling Feiyi! What have you done to my house?!" Lihua was horrified by the spectacle in front of her. The stale waft of nasty bakery cookies assaulted her nostrils as soon as he unlocked the front door. The living room was a total disaster when she walked in. A bag of chips on the couch, a pool of melted ice cream on the floor with Pringles and chocolate pocky sticks all over the place.
Ling Fei Yi, who was immersed in her (Arrowverse) TV show, paid little heed to her exclamatory statements.
"You are going to clean it before you leave! Otherwise, I'll forbid you from visiting my estate without prior notice." Lihua smacked Ling Feiyi in the head with her Gucci handbag.
"Ouch! That hurts!" Fei Yi pouted, her eyes welling up with tears.
Xia Lihua was aware that she was acting, which was really remarkable. "Why don't you join the film industry? You will excel there."
"No thanks, I already have very little time to spare as your secretary. I'm not good at multi tasking. Here is soba noodles with spicy sauce, help yourself up."
"You don't perform half of your secretarial duties nor do you follow me around. Most of the time you sit home participating in programming contests." Li hua eyed the uncooked noodles with greasy oil floating at the top. "Am I supposed to eat this?"
"Yes, don't worry it's not poisoned." Pushing a set of chopsticks to Xia Lihua, Ling Feiyi grabbed the bowl of noodles for herself and bit into some pork. "Brother Sichen is there to assist you when I'm not available."
"He believes you hardly do your duties adequately. From now on, I don't care where I go; you are coming with me." Xia Lihua scowled as she observed Ling Feiyi eating the unseasoned meat; doing so was tantamount to dying from food poisoning. "I told you not to cook when you are at home! You could just order a take out. I am not eating this, the kitchen must be a mess too."
"If you don't eat it, I'll eat it all myself. You may get takeaway if you like. Also brother Chen better not be there while I'm present." Lind Feiyi said begrudgingly as she swallowed the food.
Xia Lihua helplessly face-palmed. Why did these two hate each other so much?
"He said that he had asked you to pick a personal driver for me."
"What? No! I informed him via text that I couldn't decide on one cause there were too many choices! I left the final decision to him. It's not my fault if he didn't read my messages.", Fei Yi shrugged.
Coincidentally, a certain someone's ear was itching. Liang Sichen had indeed imposed limitations on Ling Feiyi's Wechat account, which resulted in him not receiving her messages.
"Nervermind.", Lihua sighed. "I met Su Wanwan while shopping today."
"Enemies do meet on a narrow road!" Now, Ling Feiyi was interested in this topic. She hated those jerks who turned Lihua's life upside down from the bottom of her heart.
"You should have seen Kang Minghao put up an act, it was so convincing and hilarious at the same time." Lihua laughed and told her everything that had happened.
"Brother Kang always comes up with the most stupendous workarounds. I can't stop laughing. Pfft-" Fei Yi clutched her stomach to hold her breath because she thought she could pass out from laughter.
Wiping tears from the corner of her eyes, she began flipping through the channels on the television. Suddenly, her attention was captured by a handsome man playing the violin. Intrigued, she halted her channel surfing and fixed her gaze upon the screen, captivated by the melodic strains and the performer's graceful movements. "Wow! Isn't this teacher Song Yazhi?"
The sight before them resembled that of a deity captivating and entertaining the assembled audience.
"Yes, it's teacher Song. He used to be my inspiration. Seeing him makes me want to play the violin again.", Lihua piped.
"Didn't you bring back your mom's violin from Xia family mansion? Why don't you play something from me?"
"En, you want me to play the violin? But which piece?"
"Fritz Kreisler's Liebesleid [Love's Sorrow]! It's my favourite one currently. Play it for me!" Fei Yi's tastes often fluctuated, making it difficult for her to select one, but she eventually settled on Liebesleid.
Lihua hadn't played the violin for a long time. Using a cotton fabric, she gently cleaned the aged violin case before retrieving her mother's violin, which she had kept in the music room of her villa. The strings felt crisp under her touch, she felt like she had melted.
"Alright. I'll play it for you." Lihua slipped the violin under her chin and laid it softly on her shoulders. Before swiftly pulling the bow across the strings, she grinned at her buddy. "I'm going to give you the best experience of your life!"
She became lost in the symphony's most profound passages, feeling the fragility of the melachonic tune in her bones. She felt all of those painful emotions as the music grew exquisitely strident. She was in excruciating agony since she had lost a love, had no family, and was alone.
Although Liebesleid means "love's sorrow," Kreisler may not have intended the work as a tragedy. Her eyes were sad, but her grin remained bright. Unrequited love was excruciating but it was not as bad as being deceived by your own kin. She had almost died, but she got another chance to be better at life. She, Xia Lihua was back!
She started slowly and gradually increased the tempo, tightening her grip on the violin. Increasing the intensity of her bowing, she applied more pressure and speed to the bow. This resulted in a gradual and controlled increase in sound.
Putting emphasis on musical expressiveness she strived to communicate the depth of emotion in the poignant and emotive composition 'Liebesleid' while also experimenting with subtle vibrato, tone colour, and dynamic changes to contribute her own interpretation. Skillfully maintaining control and clarity, she softened her dynamic level to achieve a smooth and expressive crescendo.
She concluded the piece with a series of descending chords, played forte and with a sense of finality. The last few measures consisted of a descending sequence of chords, leading to a final tonic chord that brings the composition to a close with a lingering quality, allowing the music to fade away gradually and leaving a lasting impression.
"Bravo! Li Li!", Fei Yi whistled and clapped continuously while chanting exalted praises. "It was the finest thing I've ever heard and I'm not even kidding. Right now, I could pass away without having any regrets."
"Let me play some more classical pieces for you." Lihua said with a big smile.
"Sister aren't you tired?"
"I am, yet playing the violin is invigorating and relaxing. I want to keep playing!"
...
The night was as thick as satin. The heavy layers of darkness made the entire place appear like suffocating shroud, enveloping everything in an impenetrable blackness. The moon, hidden behind thick clouds, refused to cast even a glimmer of light through the open window. Stars, normally sparkling jewels in the vast expanse of the sky, have vanished from sight, leaving behind an eerie emptiness.
The young man on the bed was sweating profusely. His fair, lean hands were clinging to the cool duvet uncomfortably.
Ling Yun found himself ensnared within the clutches of a haunting nightmare. In the depths of his subconscious, the scene unfolded with vivid intensity, transporting him to a fateful moment in the past.
CRASH!
"Brother, brother Ling Bing! Can you hear me?" Ling Yun could only scream in fear as he was trapped between the leg area of the backseat and the driver seat. His forehead was dripping blood like a torrent.
His elder brother, Ling Bing who was sitting in the front passenger seat was in much severe condition than him. Even though he kept calling him, Ling Bing had already lost consciousness.
"Ling Bing! Ge Ge!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone