Liu Shikun, a man who was born to devote himself to a music career. In 1939, this boy, who was destined to form an indissoluble bond with the piano, was born in the Shoushan District of Tianjin.
He was the only child in the family, and his parents did their best to nurture him.
In those days of material scarcity, music became an expensive luxury. However, Liu Shikun was fortunate to be born in a well-off family, and his father was originally the owner of a private factory.
With the encouragement of his father, Liu Shikun began to learn the piano at the age of 4 and showed an amazing musical talent. The notes flowing in the piano room were like angels, and the young man was immersed in the wonderful world of music all day long, oblivious to everything in the outside world.
His growth trajectory seems to have been predestined, and he was born to play the piano.
At the age of 12, Liu Shikun was admitted to the High School Affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music with the first excellent results in the province and officially became a student of the Conservatory of Music. When he was 13 years old, a piano master from the former Soviet Union, Tatulian, came to visit the China Conservatory of Music, and Liu Shikun was fortunate to be his disciple.
With such a good education, Liu Shikun's piano skills improved by leaps and bounds, and he was soon able to master many difficult repertoire with ease. He is far more talented than his peers and is regarded as the Academy's rising star.
At the age of 17, Liu Shikun participated in the International Piano Competition held in Budapest and won the third place in high spirits.
For a time, this young man from the East became famous, and his name also jumped onto the international music stage.
In 1962, on a sunny spring day, 23-year-old Liu Shikun was participating in a theatrical performance in the Great Hall of the People to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. He collaborated with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra to present a magnificent piano solo.
After the performance, Liu Shikun was honored to find that among the special audience who applauded him in the audience, there was the figure of the old marshal Ye Jianying.
After the performance, Liu Shikun had the honor to have a cordial meeting with Ye Shuai. Ye Shuai highly praised Liu Shikun's piano attainments, and the two talked happily. At this moment, a gentle and touching girl who followed behind Ye Shuai attracted Liu Shikun's attention - she was Ye Shuai's second daughter, named Ye Xiangzhen.
The two looked at each other, and Liu Shikun suddenly fell in love with this beautiful girl at first sight. And the versatile Ye Xiangzhen was also deeply impressed by Liu Shikun's handsome appearance and outstanding musical attainments.
At a concert a week later, Ye Xiangzhen heard Liu Shikun's performance again, and has since become a loyal fan of Liu Shikun. Finally in the spring of 1962, after many matchmaking, the two officially entered the palace of love and became each other's other half.
The news of Liu Shikun's marriage to Miss Ye quickly spread in the symphony circle. At that time, both of them were twenty years old, and they were in the time of youth and beauty, and the handsome pianist and the smart and gentle daughter of the high-ranking family were really a good match.
After a period of marriage, Liu Shikun's career moved forward steadily, Ye Xiangzhen taught her husband and children at home, the two were very affectionate, and their lives were extremely sweet.
However, the good times did not last long, and this first love of youth failed to reach the end......
In 1982, 43-year-old Liu Shikun led the symphony orchestra to Qiqihar to hold a special concert at the local Grand Theater. The day before the performance, Liu Shikun met the hostess of the theater, Gai Yan, who introduced herself to Liu Shikun and took the initiative to provide various conveniences.
Liu Shikun was immediately attracted by this cheerful and generous hostess. After the performance the next day, Liu Shikun plucked up the courage to invite Gai Yan to dinner. The two hit it off at first sight and quickly ignited a fire of love. It turned out that 22-year-old Gai Yan has admired Liu Shikun's piano attainments since she was a child, and has always been a loyal fan of Liu Shikun.
And the mature and steady Liu Shikun was also conquered by Gaiyan's orange aroma. In 1988, after 6 years of dating, the two finally entered the palace of marriage. After marriage, Liu Shikun devoted himself to the music career, and Gai Yan resolutely gave up her job and became Liu Shikun's staunchest supporter.
Under the careful care of Gai Yan, Liu Shikun was able to have no worries and accelerate his pace to emerge in the international piano world. In 1990, Liu Shikun's solo concert at Carnegie Hall was sold out.
At the same time, their married life is also happy. Gai Yan not only gave birth to a smart and lovely son, but also founded the Liu Shikun Piano Art Center in Hong Kong with Liu Shikun, which promoted art to all levels of society and was widely acclaimed.
Over the years, Gai Yan has silently assisted, and Liu Shikun has been able to achieve a bumper harvest in both career and love.
In 2002, the 63-year-old Master Liu founded the Piano Art Center in Hong Kong and welcomed a special female student - 27-year-old Sun Ying, a beautiful and moving girl.
She has just started working, but she is fully committed to learning Xi piano. Sun Ying's father was the head of the music department at Nanjing University, and she was nurtured by her family from a young age and knew classical music well.
She has admired Master Liu for many years, and this time she resolutely asked Master Liu to accept her as a disciple. Master Liu admired Sun Ying's musical talent and hard-working attitude of studying and Xi, and made an exception to accept her as a beloved apprentice. At first, both teachers and students were distracted and devoted themselves to the study of musical art.
Later, in the process of teaching and learning day after day, Sun Ying was gradually impressed by Master Liu's mature masculine charm. She has a crush on this teacher, who is 36 years older than her.
In 2008, Sun Ying learned the news of the breakdown of the relationship between Master Liu and his wife Gai Yan, and she even ignored the criticism of the outside world and stood up for Master Liu.
This made Master Liu feel grateful to her and sprouted a deeper love. 7 years later, with the matchmaking of friends, the two officially entered the marriage hall. Now, Sun Ying has been by Master Liu's side for more than 30 years, and finally waited for the fruits of love.
In 2020, this year is really extraordinary for the 81-year-old Master Liu. This year, he ushered in the birth of the third child in his life - a smart and clever little princess.
As a father, Master Liu was ecstatic. As a husband, he smiled, gently shook his wife Sun Ying's hand, and dropped a light kiss on her forehead. Sun Ying lowered her head shyly, her face crimson.
In the course of his changeable life, 83-year-old Master Liu is still alive and well, and he and his 40-year-old wife Sun Ying and 3-year-old daughter form an extremely happy family of three.
Every morning, golden sunlight shines through the cracks in the curtains into the bedroom. Sun Ying opened her hazy sleepy eyes and propped herself up, and in front of her was Master Liu's smiling face. "Good morning, my dear Sun Ying.
It's time for our princess to get up and go to school!" Master Liu said with a fluttering eyebrow.
After breakfast, Master Liu easily dressed up the little princess and sent her to kindergarten on the school bus with a small schoolbag. As he passed by the park, he took his daughter's little hand and bought her the ice cream he had been dreaming of.
In his spare time, Master Liu would drive Sun Ying to the suburbs. Under the sun, the grass was green, Master Liu and Sun Ying walked side by side, both with happy smiles on their faces.
Occasionally, Master Liu would let Sun Ying listen to him play the piano at home and experience the spiritual pleasure brought by that music.
At the age of 83, Master Liu is still full of passion and vitality, and every moment with his wife and children is the happiest memory of his life. He thought that the rest of his life would just be spent in peace and warmth.