A melodious violin sound echoed in the rented house. It was the famous piece 'The Butterfly Lovers', tender and touching.
Coupled with the melancholy in the young woman's heart as she played the violin, it added an extra layer of poetic beauty,
Captivating even those who knew nothing about music.
These old-fashioned rental houses had no soundproofing, and as she played, the afternoon sunlight seemed to soften.
Just as Song Panpan was immersed in her performance, a sudden knock at the door interrupted her.
She then put down her violin.
Her heart still racing.
Such a suspenseful, lingering ambiance is something all musicians strive for but rarely achieve,
Even veteran professional violinists struggle to reach this level consistently.
Annoyed by the disruption, Song Panpan knew exactly who the visitor was without having to guess.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhu Auntie entered, she boomed in her typical loud voice, "Song Panpan, you're home! I just bought some watermelons, have a taste."
Song's Mother said, "You're too kind."
Zhu Auntie chimed in, "Hey, these watermelons are cheap. Just one yuan each, though a bit small, but they'll quench your thirst."
"You should eat more while they're in season, I remember when they were expensive, one yuan per jin. A melon this big would've cost six or seven yuan."
She rambled on, and upon seeing Song Panpan emerge from her room, a glint of schadenfreude flashed in Zhu Auntie's eyes before she smiled again as if her previous expression had been a figment of one's imagination. "Panpan, why don't you go find a job?"
Her warm demeanor belied the hurtful words that struck at Song Panpan's vulnerability.
Song's Mother seemed oblivious to the malice, "The other day, Starry Sky Kindergarten sent our Panpan an invitation, but this child hasn't decided whether to accept it or not."
Zhu Auntie remarked, "Oh, she can't go to that kindergarten. You're a returned student from overseas, going to teach at a kindergarten? People will mock you! Why spend all that money studying abroad if you end up at a kindergarten?"
"At the very least, you should join an arts troupe or something."
Song's Mother responded, "But she hasn't taken that job."
Zhu Auntie's smile deepened, "I hear Panpan playing the violin so passionately every day, I thought she was quite skilled. But to professional judges, she's probably just average. No hurry, keep practicing. What's there to fear?"
Song Panpan clenched her fists tightly, the ill-intentioned remarks masked by feigned warmth cutting her like knives.
Recalling the hardships she'd endured over the years, her eyes began to sting with tears. But she held them back,
Knowing that if she cried, Zhu Auntie would only mock her further.
Zhu Auntie then began boasting about her daughter's new boyfriend, a civil servant candidate, and kept insisting on introducing Song Panpan to potential matches.
Song's Mother deftly ushered her out, and after she left, Song Panpan finally broke down, retreating to her room to cry on her bed.
The once celebrated prodigy had fallen to such depths.
Indeed, Song Panpan's family was an ordinary one.
Studying the arts is prohibitively expensive, and it was only after trying a free trial lesson that her teacher recognized her talent for the violin and took her under his wing.
The teacher said the child was gifted and, after some time, truly admired her abilities.
Not only did he waive her tuition fees, but he also took her to competitions, where she won virtually every domestic award.
The teacher had boasted proudly, "You'll definitely make it big in the music world one day!"
He advised her not to study domestically since the violin originated from abroad, and encouraged her to pursue her education overseas instead.
Her family fell silent upon hearing this but ultimately supported their cherished daughter's ambitions.
So she went abroad, sparing no expense in her diligent studies.
In addition to the violin, she even reached a performance level in piano.
But upon returning home, instead of the expected accolades and applause, it seemed her lifetime's luck had been exhausted in her early successes.
Every time she auditioned for an institutional orchestra, some issue arose, leading to her elimination.
Eventually, Song Panpan took a job teaching violin at a training institute.
She had missed the golden window when overseas-educated "sea turtles" were in high demand.
Now, such teachers no longer held the same appeal.
Coupled with decreased consumer spending, fewer students were enrolling.
Many mismanaged training institutes began laying off employees one by one.
As a woman in her twenties, Song Panpan could still find work.
But she wanted to pursue her passion, and suitable opportunities were scarce.
A few coffee shops offered violin performance gigs, and some suggested she busk on the streets with her violin case. But none of these aligned with her aspirations.
Her prolonged unemployment made her something of a local "celebrity" in the neighborhood.
When she used to win awards, everyone praised her as a violin prodigy, telling her not to forget them when she made it big, even asking for photos together.
Now that they saw a supposed genius was no more successful than an ordinary person, the tones changed.
Gradually, snide remarks emerged, with Zhu Auntie being the most gleefully spiteful.
She would constantly nag Song's Mother, saying their ordinary family should never have invested in the arts.
"Oh dear, we don't understand any of that fancy stuff. You should just find a proper job!"
"I introduced you to that skewer place before. The guy's loaded, owns two properties! They need servers, you should go work for him - they'll save on labor costs too."
Song's Mother protested, "But that man is divorced with a child!"
"What's there to fear? Divorced men know how to cherish their partners!"
Her mother didn't want to argue, brushing it off with a forced laugh.
After that, Zhu Auntie seemed to revel in a sense of superiority, frequently visiting to show off while feigning kindness by bringing eggs and fruits.
Her warm manner contrasted with her hurtful remarks.
A while later, Song's Mother came in and said, "Don't cry, that's just how she is, she has a foul mouth!"
Song Panpan declared, "I've decided, I'm going to Starry Sky Kindergarten!" If she couldn't find another job, she'd be the laughingstock.
Song's Mother sighed deeply, then said, "That's better than the training institute, at least."
The kindergarten's salary was quite high too - offering 20,000 yuan upfront, which shocked both mother and daughter.
Song Panpan vowed, "I must prove myself."
Song's Mother said from the side, "We don't need to live our lives for others to see. We'll just live for ourselves, and let others say whatever they want."
After that, Song Panpan came to the Starry Sky Kindergarten, played the piano piece "To Alice" and the violin piece "The Butterfly Lovers", and was immediately accepted on the spot.
The salary was 20,000 yuan per month, plus a 100,000 yuan one-time payment for the rights to use her image.
When she returned from the interview, she had the job offer and 100,000 yuan in her pocket, feeling dazed.
Moreover, a group of kindergarten employees applauded for her.
Shen Wei the school bus driver, Liu Chef, they were all there. Although the number wasn't large, the applause was warm.
The children also blinked their eyes and said, "Pretty sister, you play the violin so well."
In an instant, Song Panpan's heart softened.
What was originally a choice made out of helplessness suddenly gave her motivation. So what if it was a kindergarten?
She could still teach properly.
She would teach some talented children, and see what the neighboring aunties could say then.
Song Panpan had always thought her mother was a woman who didn't fight, but she didn't expect that when the news of her admission came out, her mother immediately went to Zhu Auntie's home for a visit, hinting through her words that her daughter had found a job with an annual salary of nearly 300,000 yuan.
When she returned, Song's Mother excitedly described how Zhu Auntie's face had turned black at that moment.
Her mother even deliberately provoked her, saying, "It wasn't for nothing that she learned everything. If she hadn't learned the violin back then, could she have gotten such a good job?"
Zhu Auntie was angry but didn't dare show it.
The humiliation that mother and daughter had suffered before was now paid back in full.
