Rust on My Fingertips

This story is also known as The Restorer Hears a Heartbeat and The Voiceless Sonata

[Antique Restorer X Piano Prodigy] [Mutual Redemption]

On a stormy night, Qi Yan took in Ji Lin, drenched from head to toe.

The moment he recognized that face, the memories he'd locked away for fifteen years came crashing down.

The piano prodigy's finger braces and unsettled eyes overlapped with the boy in his memories, tapping on the "singing cabinet."

His world was as cold and orderly as old bronze, every piece fitting perfectly into place;

his bones and blood were as fragile as fine porcelain, with cracks hidden beneath the surface.

Under the same roof

Qi Yan's fortress of order was invaded by trendy hoodies,

while Ji Lin's perfect mask crumbled beneath the piano music in the dead of night.

When the antique shop was maliciously shut down, his world teetered on the brink of collapse;

when he injured his hand during a concert, his music came to an abrupt halt.

Qi Yan wagered everything he had learned in a lifetime to find the rusted, mottled key, just to open a path to survival for him.

Ji Lin forced his bloodied fingers onto the keys: His light was in the audience. No matter how much it hurt, he had to finish this song of reunion.

Theme: Mending a broken relationship.