“See? My piano skills are amazing, aren’t they~”
After the piece ended, Ling Xiao hopped lightly and landed on the ground. She walked up to Jiang Cheng, proudly raised her head, and patted her own chest.
Looking at her completely flat figure and that smug, bratty personality, Jiang Cheng nearly thought she was a shota who had disguised himself as a girl to infiltrate the girls’ academy.
Not that a shota wasn’t nice too, but unfortunately Jiang Cheng only liked girls.
“That sounded really nice.”
Jiang Cheng praised her sincerely. Those words weren’t dishonest either. Ling Xiao’s performance only seemed unimpressive by Jiang Cheng’s standards—her piano skill barely reached Level 3, which was already quite remarkable in a world where most people didn’t even have Level 1 Music Theory.
Unfortunately, although both were Level 3, Jiang Cheng had more seniority—at least her Experience Bar was fuller.
“Hehe~”
Ling Xiao tilted her head up, thoroughly pleased with herself, her red hair cascading down, long enough to cover her little bottom.
She really was quite an adorable little girl.
“Hey, you’re Jiang Cheng, right? Why don’t you go up and try it too? I… I can give you some pointers.”
“Oh my, I know my talent is amazing, but who knows? Maybe you’re not half bad either? Perhaps you might have one-tenth of my skill~”
“Or would you like me to personally teach you how to play, hand in hand? If you compliment me a bit more… I might consider it~”
Looking at Ling Xiao’s insufferably smug expression, Jiang Cheng took back every compliment she had just given her.
This girl really was getting way too full of herself. Didn’t she know the meaning of modesty?!
“I’m telling you, Jiang Cheng, don’t be such a scaredy-cat. I promise I won’t laugh at you, so don’t worry~”
Looking at her expression that seemed to say “come at me if you dare,” Jiang Cheng’s fists clenched.
‘This girl really is asking for a beating!’
‘I’m going to teach her a proper lesson!’
Jiang Cheng swore she would make this Female Imp pay for her arrogance.
And so, without another word, Jiang Cheng walked straight to the piano, ready to give her a “little knife to the butt”—a real eye-opener.
When Jiang Cheng bent down and sat gently at the piano, Ling Xiao, who had been chattering nonstop, immediately shut her mouth and quieted down. Honestly, it was almost cute.
Jiang Cheng ignored Ling Xiao. She took a deep breath, her gaze turning focused. She gently raised her arms, slender fingers hovering above the keys.
The piece she chose to play was “Overture of the Dead.”
At the first note, Ling Xiao looked relaxed.
Ten seconds later, Ling Xiao began to fidget.
Half a minute in, Ling Xiao’s jaw hung wide open, completely unable to close.
‘What piece is this?’
She was certain she had never heard this piano piece before.
‘Is it the work of some great master, or… this girl’s own…’
Jiang Cheng wasn’t aware of Ling Xiao’s shock at all. Even if she had been, she wouldn’t have cared. She was completely immersed in her performance.
It seemed like specks of snow were landing on her shoulders. Jiang Cheng opened her eyes. Before her was an ice valley.
The ice walls clearly reflected many of her own faces, staring coldly at Jiang Cheng, watching her take step after step along this path she could not choose.
The melancholic, restrained calm was shattered, and the melody instantly became resolute and powerful.
Jiang Cheng’s vision blurred. The ice valley vanished, replaced by a dead, silent battlefield.
White snow fell, blanketing the corpses frozen pale.
A broken sword jutted abruptly from the snow. Its hilt was wrapped in bloodstained cloth, flapping loudly in the howling north wind.
She continued forward, climbing over walls of piled corpses, stepping over purple-red blood on the snow, until she finally stopped on a high slope.
The music suddenly softened, as if the wind and snow had ceased and the world had returned to stillness.
But in the distance, the sound of a charging horn echoed once more…
As the piece ended, Jiang Cheng slowly let out a breath, slightly dazed.
“Wow! Jiang Cheng! What piece was that? That was incredible!”
Ling Xiao trotted over to Jiang Cheng and excitedly clasped her hands.
Jiang Cheng hadn’t yet recovered from the bone-piercing despair of the piece. She stared blankly at Ling Xiao, not understanding what the other girl was saying.
Only after Ling Xiao shouted her name several times did Jiang Cheng finally snap back to reality.
“This piece is called ‘Overture of the Dead.'”
She said.
“‘Overture of the Dead’? What a strange name.”
Ling Xiao furrowed her brow. She was certain she had never heard this piece before.
“It was composed by a great master. I came across it by chance.”
After making that up, Jiang Cheng flashed a sly smile.
“What’s the matter, little Ling Xiao? Do you want to learn?”
“Yes!”
“Let me think… hmm… All you have to do is call me ‘Master,’ and I’ll…”
Before Jiang Cheng could finish, Ling Xiao blurted it out.
“Master!”
Ling Xiao didn’t hesitate for even a moment, which caught Jiang Cheng completely off guard.
Looking at Ling Xiao’s delighted expression, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help wondering if she had truly misjudged this Loli.
Jiang Cheng felt helpless, but words once spoken couldn’t exactly be taken back.
“Let’s add each other as friends. I’ll send you the sheet music tonight.”
“Okay! Thank you, Jiang Cheng!”
‘Maybe she’s just…’
“But when it all comes down to it, I’m still the best! Hehe~”
‘Fine.’
Jiang Cheng silently retracted her intended apology and once again put on a warm smile.
“Oh, Ling Xiao, what else are you good at?”
Looking at Jiang Cheng’s expression, Ling Xiao felt inexplicably afraid.
But she quickly forced herself to perk up.
‘For the honor of musicians everywhere, I accept your duel!’
Ling Xiao grabbed Jiang Cheng’s hand and ran to the adjacent violin room. She picked up a violin and confidently performed a storm-like rendition of “Flight of the Bumblebee.”
Jiang Cheng was surprised to discover that Ling Xiao’s fingers were exceptionally agile, with at least Level 2 Dexterity, and her skill on the violin was approaching Level 3 as well.
She simply let out a cold laugh.
‘Who here doesn’t have Level 2 Dexterity?’
‘Besides, my Level 3 Music Theory isn’t just piano Level 3—it’s All-Instrument Mastery Level 3!’
So she took the violin and, relying on her more advanced Music Theory, played “Flight of the Bumblebee” as well—even more precise and effortless than Ling Xiao’s performance.
Dejected, Ling Xiao dragged Jiang Cheng to the cello room.
Before she could even begin, Jiang Cheng skillfully performed a cello piece famous in this world.
Ling Xiao then brought Jiang Cheng to the folk instrument room, trying to salvage her pride.
But to her surprise, Jiang Cheng wasn’t only proficient with the trumpet and tuba—she could even pick up a suona and play “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix,” then put on sunglasses, grab an erhu, and play “Moon Reflected on the Second Spring.”
Ling Xiao, out.
“Waaah… Little Orange Sister, you’re so amazing… Can you teach me…”
Watching the red-haired girl kneel beneath her school uniform skirt, letting out incomprehensible whimpers, Jiang Cheng felt a surge of accomplishment.
[Congratulations! Capture successful! You have obtained Little Follower Ling Xiao ×1]
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