Chapter 1273: Chapter 1273: The Rematch, Relief
He Qing saw the mother and two daughters coming out of the station exit and walked up to et them.
Before getting closer, she called out, “Yanyan, Yueyue, Auntie He is here to pick you up.”
Seeing He Qing, Yanyan and Yueyue ran over: “Auntie He, we advanced to the next round.”
He Qing had already known this from the phone call and gave them a big hug: “You two are amazing, Auntie He is so proud of you.”
They returned ho amidst cheerful laughter. Rong Daniang and Elder Rong heard the commotion and ran out to greet them.
As soon as Yanyan and Yueyue got out of the car, they began to chatter, and Elder Rong and Rong Daniang continuously exclaid, “Good, good, good.”
Once everyone was inside the house, Rong Daniang said, “I made so wontons, do you want to eat a little?”
Luo Qiao looked at her two daughters: “Do you want to eat?”
Yanyan and Yueyue nodded: “Then let’s eat a little.”
Seeing that her daughters wanted to eat, Luo Qiao said, “I will just have five or six, add more pepper to the soup, just the thing to warm the body.”
Only then did Elder Rong rember the ginger sugar water on the stove: “I was so thrilled I forgot all about it, there’s ginger sugar water on the stove, I’ll go fetch it now.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Drinking ginger sugar water made them feel much more comfortable.
Luo Qiao pulled her two daughters aside: “Alright, now you need to calm yourselves. Past achievents only represent the past; we are starting a new journey. No matter what, always maintain a good attitude.”
Yanyan frowned and asked, “What’s attitude?”
Luo Qiao smiled, realizing she got carried away, explaining attitude to two five-year-olds might be premature, but still said, “Attitude refers to your ntal state. Simply put, no matter what happens, stay calm and composed. The chairman once said ‘Modesty helps one to make progress, arrogance makes one lag behind.’ Understand?”
Although they didn’t fully understand, the children grasped the idea: not to be too proud lest they fall behind and to strive for good results in the next competition.
After eating the wontons and chatting for a while, Luo Qiao took her daughters to bathe and prepare for bed.
Before sleep, the daughters made two calls back to China, and it was clear the family was happy with their performance today.
After settling down the two daughters and watching them fall asleep peacefully, Luo Qiao suddenly felt maybe she was overthinking it. Her daughters always had a good attitude, and her concerns were perhaps unnecessary.
Life returned to its peaceful rhythm, only Yanyan and Yueyue took leave from kindergarten to prepare for the competition.
Since Luo Qiao needed to take leave next week, she beca busier, trying to push her lab work ahead as much as possible.
Rong Daniang was quite responsible, always stopping Yanyan and Yueyue from practicing too long, as too much could wear down young children.
The two children were indeed talented, spending two hours every day training with the teacher, and at ho aside from practicing the piano, they also studied the books Luo Qiao brought from a Chinese kindergarten’s senior class, almost finishing them.
Their mother said that in a few days they would begin learning the curriculum of Chinese pre-primary classes, aiming for them to keep up with their peers when they return to China and smoothly transition to primary school.
The week flew by quickly, with Luo Qiao trying to minimize rest during the day to catch up on her work, and coming ho earlier at night to practice the piano with her daughters, occasionally offering guidance on playing techniques.
When the semifinal ca around, the mother and daughters took the six o’clock train to New York the evening before, staying at a hotel not far from the competition venue.
The next morning, after getting ready and having breakfast, they arrived early at the semifinal venue, drew their numbers, and entered the waiting area.
Luo Qiao stayed by her daughters’ side. The two sisters were not overly nervous, with an excellent mindset, even doing their arithtic howork while waiting.
Luo Qiao smiled contentedly. These were indeed her daughters.
When the competition officially began, they put away their books and listened attentively to others’ playing to make ntal comparisons.
As Yanyan’s turn to go on stage approached, Luo Qiao had her go to the restroom in advance, get ready, close her eyes, and ntally rehearse her piece as the final preparation.
It must be said that the children in the semifinals were all very impressive.
Finally, it was Yanyan’s turn to perform. Seeing her daughter walk confidently onto the stage, showing no signs of stage fright, bowing politely to the audience, introducing herself and her piece, and then approaching the grand piano in the center of the stage.
The lodious piano sound resonated throughout the venue; for Yanyan, the seven minutes was an indulgence, imrsed in the world of music. Luo Qiao was truly relieved; the two sisters genuinely loved the piano and it wasn’t just because of her arrangent.
When Yanyan finished her performance and returned backstage, Luo Qiao gave her a big hug: “Yanyan, you did awesoly.”
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