Brush Up Your Proficiency

By the time Wang Hao finished his skill practice on the mountain and returned home, it was almost midnight.

At this hour, the villagers were already asleep, and the entire village was immersed in silence. This tranquil atmosphere might fill timid children with fear, urging them to rush home.

However, Wang Hao, approaching thirty, naturally wouldn't show any signs of fear. He bathed in the bright moonlight of the night, walking slowly towards his home.

Along the way, he was careful, afraid of making too much noise and startling the village dogs, which would then wake the sleeping villagers. After all, being disturbed while sleeping soundly could lead to a terrible morning mood!

On his way home, Wang Hao didn't forget to review the results of his skill practice.

This time, he played "Erhu Reflecting the Moon" a full thirty times. Apart from the initial ten points of proficiency gained during the first performance, he consistently earned 1.2 proficiency points each time thereafter.

As a result, he gained a total of 53.2 proficiency points, raising his Erhu skill proficiency to a height of 57.8.

Wang Hao was quite satisfied with this result. After all, he had completed one-twentieth of the one thousand proficiency points required for the intermediate Erhu skill in just one night, making the advanced Erhu skill within reach.

Wang Hao walked to his home, looking at the light in front of him, and his heart couldn't help but feel warm. No matter how late you come home, there's always someone at home leaving a light on for you. This must be the meaning of home.

"Xiao Hao is back? Why did you practice the Erhu so late? Go to sleep quickly! Mom will go close the gate." Mother Liu Zhi heard movement outside. As she spoke, she quickly walked out of the house. After seeing that it was her son Wang Hao, Liu Zhi began urging him to quickly go inside and sleep.

"Okay, Mom, why aren't you asleep yet?" Wang Hao couldn't help but ask, looking at his mother's tired expression.

"Mom just slept for a little while, and then got up to see if you were back. Okay, stop talking nonsense, and quickly go back to your room to sleep!" Liu Zhi urged.

Hearing his mother's concerned words, Wang Hao obediently closed his mouth and said nothing more. He silently turned around and returned to his room, carefully put away the Erhu, and then quietly went to bed and entered dreamland.

That night, Wang Hao slept very soundly.

The next morning, as the first ray of sunlight shone into the yard, Wang Hao was still immersed in a sweet dream.

However, the sounds made by his parents tidying up the yard woke him from his dream.

Wang Hao lingered in bed for a full hour before slowly getting up, rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning as he walked out of the room to eat breakfast.

To Wang Hao's surprise, Wang Lan was also awake.

At that moment, his parents and sister were sitting around the dining table in the small courtyard, eating breakfast and chatting about something.

"Good morning!" Wang Hao yawned as he walked towards them. However, he was greeted by a staring contest from the three family members.

Looking at their strange gazes, Wang Hao's yawn was cut short. He asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you guys? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Brother, don't you know about the commotion you made last night?" Wang Lan was the first to speak, with a sly smile on her lips.

"What commotion?" Wang Hao looked at his sister blankly. "Last night, I was just playing the Erhu in the back mountain, how could there be any commotion!"

"Just playing? Last night, everyone in the village was talking about the sudden Erhu sound. Tell me, how much of a commotion did you cause?" Wang Lin took over the conversation, looking at Wang Hao with a profound expression.

When the Erhu sound inexplicably rang out in the village last night, Wang Lin initially didn't take it seriously. He simply felt that it had a certain vibe, thinking that someone was playing music.

Later, he suddenly felt that the source of the sound was a little off. For some reason, the first thing that came to his mind was that the Erhu sound came from his son Wang Hao.

After all, the Erhu sound appeared precisely when his son went to practice the Erhu. It must have been his son playing, no doubt about it.

With this guess in mind, he even took his wife and daughter for a stroll on the street, under the guise of digestion, but in reality, he wanted to hear the discussions and exclamations of the various small groups in the village regarding the unknown sound source, which secretly pleased him.

There were a few moments when he almost couldn't help but say that it was his son playing, but fortunately, his wife reminded him, so he didn't say it. Otherwise, his son, who was always used to being low-key, would suddenly be in the spotlight, which would inevitably make his son feel uncomfortable.

"What, the whole village heard it? How is that possible? The back mountain is quite far from the village, how could it travel so far?" Wang Hao's eyes widened in disbelief when he heard his father's words, and he said in surprise.

He originally ran all the way to the back mountain to find a quiet place to practice the Erhu and improve his proficiency.

Who knew that it would cause such a big commotion and be heard by the whole village! What should he do now? If everyone is interested in his Erhu performance, how can he practice in peace in the future? Wouldn't it be like the park again, ending up being surrounded? Thinking of this, Wang Hao felt a little flustered.

"I don't know about that, but I recorded a video, Brother, look!" Wang Lan shook the phone in her hand triumphantly, then turned the video volume to the maximum, and handed it to Wang Hao with a bit of flair.

Wang Hao suspiciously took the phone. When he heard "Erhu Reflecting the Moon" coming from the video, his heart couldn't help but cool down: This is indeed the sound of my Erhu, but how could it spread so far?

This was completely different from what he had expected, making him feel very confused and depressed. He wondered to himself, why did things develop like this?

He knew that rumors would often become more and more outrageous, and it was most reliable to keep a low profile and live a down-to-earth life.