Weekend. Bright and early in the morning, Ling Hanlu and Xu Shuping shared their recent accomplishments with each other.

　　Ling Hanlu aimed the camera at a small handmade pink pig made of wool felt.

　　This was another new hobby cultivated under Xu Shuping's suggestion. After the DIY materials kit arrived from online shopping, she immediately started working on it overnight, following the instructions diligently. She generously dedicated the time that used to be spent at her desk to this trendy stress-relief gadget. The quality of the finished product was secondary; the key was relaxation of body and mind.

　　Ling Hanlu knew she was miles away from being "crafty," but she still held hope and proudly presented her labor to Sister Xu. "Shuping, take a good look. Does it look anything like it?"

　　"Oh my, why does this pig you made look a bit crooked?" Xu Shuping's clicking tongue sounded incessant.

　　"What crookedness? It's meant to have a mischievous grin!" Ling Hanlu futilely adjusted the corners of the pig's mouth, trying to make it look more handsome and gentlemanly. "Okay, I admit, my skills aren't that refined."

　　"I'm just teasing you! Hanlu, the point of playing with this is mainly for fun, to block out distractions and forget about worries. A good mood is more important than anything else. A woman's mood has a big impact on her hormones... If not careful, premature aging could happen, and menopause..."

　　"Here you go again... I get it!" Ling Hanlu interjected, cutting off Xu Shuping's well-intentioned lecture. "Didn't you say the cashmere dress for Erbao will definitely be ready to wear by autumn? Show me what you've been working on."

　　"Just wait!" Xu Shuping redirected the camera toward the coat rack on the side of the dressing table. Hanging there was a light blue knitted vest, with the skirt part poised for action. "Can you see clearly? The pattern is a bit intricate, takes some time..."

　　As Xu Shuping spoke, she turned the phone back around. The camera passing over a certain area coincidentally elicited a startled cry from Ling Hanlu. "Sister, what's going on with your legs?"

　　2

　　Forty minutes later, Ling Hanlu appeared downstairs at Xu Shuping's house carrying two large shopping bags from the mall. Walking in front of her was a tall man in a light blue shirt and dark blue pants. They entered the elevator one after the other.

　　Their destination floor was the same. When the elevator doors opened, the man courteously gestured for Ling Hanlu to exit first. She hesitated for a moment when she saw her destination was to the right. Glancing at the item in his hand, he deliberated briefly before stepping out.

　　He stood comfortably behind Ling Hanlu as she approached the door. When the doorbell rang, the hostess of the house came to answer it. The two women stood at the doorway, half chiding and half surprised, while he remained motionless.

　　Xu Shuping noticed him when she opened the door. As the door closed gradually, he gradually disappeared from view, leaving only half of his figure. Although only a single beam remained, his eyes shone directly through it.

　　"Xiaoliang, is there something you need?" Xu Shuping's tone was very calm, almost too aloof. It seemed as if she were deliberately stretching the gap between her and this young man.

　　"I'm just here to reinforce the doormat at your doorstep. One corner is curled up, making the mat loose. It could be slippery and unsafe. Please close the door so I can work on it properly."

　　"Alright, thank you!" Xu Shuping responded, and the door slowly closed.

　　"He is...?" Ling Hanlu asked as she walked inside, referring to the helpful person outside the door.

　　"He's from the property management center."

　　"Your property management service is really comprehensive, huh? They even handle this kind of thing? This is definitely a high-end community."

　　Ling Hanlu carried the bags into the kitchen, organizing the contents neatly in the refrigerator. Unable to fit everything, she held some items in her hands and looked around.

　　"...Hanlu, I don't want to hide this from you." Xu Shuping leaned against the kitchen door frame, one hand on her crutch. The look of guilt was written on her face, though Ling Hanlu couldn't see it.

　　"You don't have to stand there! Come on, let me help you over!"

　　The living room was separated from the south-facing balcony by four sliding glass doors. As the two women settled on the sofa area, Xu Shuping's gaze constantly wandered between the angle formed by the glass doors and the shelf directly in front of them, where a piano stood.

　　"Shuping, what are you daydreaming about?" Ling Hanlu wiggled her fingers, pulling her friend's wandering mind back.

　　"Oh... Would you like tea or juice?" Xu Shuping snapped back to attention.

　　"I don't need anything right now, I'll get it myself if I'm thirsty. By the way, how long will Da Bao be studying abroad?"

　　"He'll be back about a week before school starts. It's still early." After Xu Shuping finished speaking, her eyes drifted off again.

　　"Does Er Bao miss you when he's at his grandmother's? Does he call you?"

　　"At first, he did a little. I could hear the sadness in his voice. But these days, he's gotten better, he's adapted." Xu Shuping's emotions were subdued, even when discussing her children, she responded calmly without much enthusiasm.

　　"Your mother-in-law really understands you."

　　"Yeah, she's really kind. She says she wants to see the kids and take them out to play, but I know deep down she wants me to have a few days of relaxation."

　　"Hey, your orchid is thriving. How...?" Ling Hanlu pouted, pointing to the fragrant plant in the corner of the living room.

　　"Hanlu, if you want to ask, just ask directly."

　　"If you're feeling upset, just say it."

　　Ling Hanlu was no stranger to understanding people's feelings, though she wasn't as adept as a "mind reader". But based on what she overheard by the door just now, to say she had no suspicions would be unrealistic. However, she didn't find pleasure in probing further, so she lacked the motivation to delve deeper.

　　"Do you remember the piece I played at the teahouse that day?" Xu Shuping dredged up their shared memory. Just as Ling Hanlu had said, she had some things on her mind that needed to be expressed.

　　"I remember, Nocturne. Chopin's, right?"

　　"Yes, Nocturne in E-flat major."

　　"That was quite impressive, Shuping, you've been hiding your talents too well!" Ling Hanlu exclaimed, making Xu Shuping seem detached from the world.

　　"What did you hear?" Xu Shuping's question came out of the blue, catching Ling Hanlu off guard.

　　If one were to answer rigorously, this was a question far removed from Ling Hanlu's area of expertise. But evidently, that wasn't Xu Shuping's intention.

　　"Are you asking me, a layman? Well, let me think... The two girls behind me said it was particularly moving, particularly beautiful... I felt the same way."

　　"But he could hear the sadness."

　　"He?" Ling Hanlu glanced at the marble-textured frosted security door.

　　"Yes. Liang Chen."

　　Xu Shuping's "sadness" occurred on the first day after Da Bao went abroad. At that time, Ling Hanlu was still overseas.

　　That morning, she tidied up the piano area, took down Da Bao's trophies from the wall shelf, wiped them clean, and put them back one by one. As she tidied, she remembered her child's journey as a pianist since the age of four. She was grateful that her eldest daughter was a child with both talent and diligence. In the eyes of others, her child was "someone else's child," and she herself had also gained the title of a "successful mother." Therefore, Xu Shuping couldn't have predicted how she would feel "sadness" while immersed in such memories later on.

　　Xu Shuping lifted the lid of Da Bao's piano and sat on the bench. Her fingers gently touched the keys, and the first thing she noticed was the light brown stains on several white keys. She remembered that the night before Da Bao left, he had eaten truffle chocolate while practicing the piano. Yes, it was from that time. Xu Shuping went to the kitchen to get a cloth to wipe it off, and the keys made a single muffled noise. Second Bao came out of his bedroom, wobbling along, shouting, "It's so noisy and ugly!"

　　It was then that Xu Shuping remembered that she could actually play this piano, which she had subconsciously touched just now. She had never passed any exams or participated in any competitions, but the nine years of sporadic practice on the old piano at her aunt's house had given her a slightly lighter and more agile touch when dealing with the mundane life of this world than ordinary girls.

　　But now, kneeling in front of the piano with a cloth wrapped around her fingertips, she saw Second Bao running back to the playroom barefoot, and for a moment, she suddenly felt the urge to confront this little guy who couldn't even speak properly.

　　Xu Shuping threw the cloth aside and stood up. She pulled out the eldest daughter's music book and practiced scales, arpeggios, and the like until she was proficient. Then, she sifted through a pile of sheet music and finally invited the poetic Chopin.

　　"How did Liang Chen happen to hear it?" Ling Hanlu poured two glasses of juice.

　　"He came to conduct a service quality survey. Randomly selected households. The segment he heard was my ninth time practicing in the morning..."

　　That day, Xu Shuping's home was the last stop for Liang Chen's visit. The music stopped, and he pressed the doorbell.

　　After Mrs. Xu completed the visit and signed the form, as she politely retreated back into the house, Liang Chen added a sentence beyond "I wish you a pleasant life," saying, "The music was very moving."

　　Xu Shuping thought it was just a polite remark and didn't pay much attention. She replied with a "Thank you" and gently closed the door.

　　"What's the name of the piece?"

　　"Nocturne. By Chopin."

　　"Oh, Nocturne. If I listened to it at night, I definitely wouldn't be able to sleep. Hehe, sorry to bother you! Goodbye!"

　　"Wait!" Xu Shuping pushed the door open a bit. The tall man's profile was disappearing into the darkness of the corner, then he quickly returned.

　　"Ma'am, do you have something else to say?"

　　"You tell me, why would listening to it keep you awake?"

　　"Well..." Liang Chen scratched his head, "I actually don't understand music, so please don't mind. I felt that in some places, it sounded a bit hesitant. And, "he looked at Xu Shuping's changing expression," and also, this piece carries a sense of sorrow, even though the melody is quite bright..."

　　"Anything else?" Xu Shuping pushed the door straight.

　　"Just sadness. That's it."

　　"Who said you don't understand."

　　Ling Hanlu's mango juice had already run out. Xu Shuping had only taken a shallow sip, as if her sense of taste had been deprived by the awakening of her other senses. The mother of two, with her sprained ankle wrapped in bandages, her toenails chipped off the violet polish, revealing half of the original color.

　　"Do you want me to fix it for you? The color on your toenails... It suits you, you're fair," Ling Hanlu touched Xu Shuping's slightly swollen instep.

　　"Hanlu, you're beating around the bush again. I thought you'd ask me, 'What's with the sadness?' With two children, a considerate mother-in-law, a harmonious family, what sadness could there be!"

　　Xu Shuping's self-reflection led Ling Hanlu back to that night at the teahouse. She remembered the unfinished discussion about "lightness," about "soaring," about "envy." She began to ponder the sorrow of a woman with a happy family.

　　It must be about not feeling light anymore! "Soaring" is too tempting for a woman burdened by daily family responsibilities and sweetness. For a woman whose figure is no longer light, she would care more about whether she still has the ability to soar, and whether her soaring posture can still be appreciated. When keen eyes, ears, and even souls appear, women are more likely to feel like they've found a treasure.

　　"Shuping, besides understanding your Nocturne, does Liang Chen understand anything else about you? About your..."

　　"Later, he helped me with two deliveries to my doorstep. He said he saw me taking out the trash one day, leaning on crutches, and wanted to help me."

　　"This behavior itself is not a problem," Ling Hanlu's brow furrowed with concern.

　　"Hanlu, I know what you want to say. I hinted at him once that my husband is an active-duty military officer, at the regimental level. Hanlu, trust me, he and I are just kindred spirits, really."

　　"Kindred spirits... What's his situation specifically?"

　　"Just graduated from college. Seems like he's not from around here. But there's no need to know so much, right?" Xu Shuping eagerly sought some form of approval from her friend, seeking validation for venturing into waters whose depth she was unsure of.

　　"Oh, so young..." Ling Hanlu sighed. Comparatively, she felt that kindred spirits with an age gap were even more rare.

　　She briefly immersed herself in the inexplicable surge of thoughts, but this small movement was caught by Xu Shuping.

　　"Hanlu, teacher, I remembered something. Is that secretive young man the one you mentioned before, your student?"

　　"No, he's from the School of Economics next door," Ling Hanlu's heart skipped a beat, not knowing how the conversation had shifted to herself. "He, um, just started his sophomore year. Yeah, that's right."

　　"..." Xu Shuping was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter, spraying mango pulp along with her laughter.

　　Ling Hanlu quickly handed her a tissue, wondering which word had caused this woman to burst into laughter. "What's so funny?"

　　"It's not... It's not... Sorry, sorry! I don't know why, I just pictured you and him in some unspeakable scenario, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

　　"Oh, come on, he's barely legal, big sis!" Ling Hanlu said, hands on hips, exasperated.

　　"Barely legal means he's legal! Think about it..."

　　"Beast!"