Ep1: Which girl is that?

April.

After days of chilly weather, the capital city gradually warmed up, new buds sprouted on the trees, and one could faintly hear the gentle sounds of life stirring and awakening after a long, silent winter.

For Anna, today was her first time performing with a large traditional orchestra. This precious opportunity was given to her by her teacher Kevin. Half of the orchestra consisted of her classmates, all outstanding talents in their field, who had shown her great care and attention. She also cherished this opportunity, which she had been preparing for over the past month secretly practicing more, and returning to the dormitory at exactly 11 PM was a regular occurrence.

Anna began learning the pipa at the age of six. Similar to the dance class she enrolled in at the same time, her parents initially only wanted her to learn for fun. Later, her teachers praised her talent. While other children her age struggled to concentrate in class, she could skillfully pluck, slide, twist, and strum the strings. Even the most basic and tedious techniques were mastered with perseverance.

Just as her teachers had predicted, she later won many first prizes in major competitions and had the opportunity to perform for artists.

The renowned Professor Kevin took notice of him and recommended him to the Kinh Dai Academy of Music.

There was less than half an hour left until the performance. The teacher, who had been unwell lately and couldn't come to the venue, had sent a message beforehand telling her not to be shy.

"Junior, are you nervous?" Hanly, a senior student at the same school as Anna, studied the zither. She leaned against the dressing table, holding a thermos flask.

"Just a little," Anna smiled softly.

In the vanity mirror was a young girl wearing a light-blue lily-of-the-valley cheongsam, tailored neatly at the waist, her figure slender and graceful. She draped a thin white knitted cardigan over her shoulders. Her jet-black hair was swept up into a bun, secured with a white jade hairpin. A few wisps of hair framed her temples, and her jade-like ears were adorned with a single round pearl. She possessed a quiet, classical beauty—every feature, every glance—like a timeless beauty stepped out of an ancient painting.

“Nervous, or just pretending to be? I can’t tell at all,” Handy teased. Even before meeting Anna, she had long heard of her reputation: famous from a young age, gifted with extraordinary talent. She was said to possess an ethereal, fairy-like beauty and to be a student of Kevin, praised endlessly by others. Handy had been somewhat skeptical—after all, hearing is not always believing.

Later, when they finally met, she saw her holding a PIPA, playing tang Palace Night Banquet. Dressed in a red Tang dynasty costume, her figure was not particularly full-figured, yet she overflowed with spirit and grace. As each note rang out, in that fleeting moment it seemed to recreate the grandeur of the flourishing Great Tang era. Only then did Handy truly understand what it meant to be “favored by heaven”—to be born with a gift meant to earn one’s living.

The young girl was both talented and hardworking, with a gentle and humble personality; it was hard not to like her.

Handy stretched her neck to relax and said, "Your boyfriend will probably be here today, right? Having dinner together again? I'm really envious of you young people."

"He has, something to do today, so he can't come."

"Oh, I see, that's a shame. But work is more important." Hanly patted her shoulder to comfort her.

"Yes."

Anna had a boyfriend she'd been dating for almost two years. When Jack pursued her, he made such a fuss that the whole school knew about it. Initially, she thought he was just a rich playboy obsessed with beauty and rejected him many times. Later, he persisted for over half a year, knowing she was afraid of the cold, even waiting outside the dormitory on a snowy day, his face pale with cold but still smiling.

He pulled a warm water pouch from inside his coat, already heated by his own body temperature. The young man’s sincerity made it hard for anyone not to be moved.

Romantic love was sweeter than she had imagined. Like so many couples deeply in love, it was a first love, filled with countless first experiences—both novel and joyful. Anna found herself sinking deeper and deeper into it.

Jack was a good boyfriend. Three years older than her, he had an outstanding family background and striking looks. His temperament was gentle and refined, and he took meticulous care of her. From the time he began pursuing her until now, his kindness had never wavered.

Nothing has changed. Recently, Jack even mentioned taking her home to meet his parents, suggesting he wants to take their relationship further.

Anna was worried about the disparity in family backgrounds between the two sides, but also secretly thought that perhaps they would get married in the future.

Because she couldn't attend the performance, Jack apologized at length. She felt it was nothing, and wasn't angry, as there would be many other performances later.

Jack repeatedly assured her that he would try to arrive in time for the performance to end so he could take her back to school.

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