My father enjoys music and encourages his household to play.” “Who are they?” “The older er hu player is my third uncle, and that’s his son on the yang qin. The other player is my cousin.” Cousin! I looked down to hide my confusion. My heart was beating like a drum. The music ended, but I could still hear the blood rushing through my ears. Embarrassed, I selected a large and sticky kuih angku, a steamed red cake stuffed with yellow bean paste, and bit into it. When I looked up again he was standing next to Yan Hong. “Li Lan, this is my cousin Tian Bai.” We did not shake hands as I had heard
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