Chapter 42: Hellish Performance

Jiang Sui was fairly lucky, this world’s music knowledge was almost the same as in her previous life.

The names of famous musicians were all familiar.

Plus, she had some talent herself, so she could more or less understand what Lu Yunze was talking about.

She was genuinely interested in this area, and once the lesson began, she found herself even more absorbed than she’d expected.

“Young Master, did you mean it like this just now?”

“Hmm? This part seems a bit different from what I knew before.”

“I understand it all now. Can I try playing a piece myself? Young Master, Young Master?”

The person beside her didn’t respond for a while, and Jiang Sui’s voice was thick with confusion.

“Young Master, are you listening to me?”

“Yes!” Lu Yunze snapped back to himself.

That was a lie. Even though Jiang Sui was right next to him, her voice sounded almost muffled in Lu Yunze’s ears.

He had thought teaching someone would be simple, especially since Jiang Sui had a foundation and wouldn’t be completely lost with the terminology.

Maybe he’d even discover some of his own issues in the process, and further improve his skills.

But things never go perfectly smooth. Right from the start, Lu Yunze ran into trouble—a big one at that.

Whenever he talked to her, Lu Yunze’s gaze would unconsciously drift downward, and every time that happened, this thought would pop into his mind:

So big, so white!

At school, Jiang Sui didn’t have to wear a thick maid outfit. On top, she only wore a short-sleeved shirt, the thin fabric stretched high by two large, white rabbits. When it came to tension, it never disappointed if anything, it performed too well.

Feeling the blood in his body all rushing downwards, Lu Yunze coughed twice.

“Jiang Sui, don’t you think… you’re sitting a bit too close?”

“Am I?”

“Aren’t you?”

Every time Lu Yunze tried to put some distance between them, Jiang Sui would scoot closer, and now she was nearly pushing Lu Yunze off the edge of the chair.

“Isn’t this a normal posture for piano duets?” Jiang Sui’s expression showed no hint of guilt. Instead, she struck a pianist’s pose.

“You’ve just started learning and you already want to try playing duets?”

“It’s not like I can’t! Look, the piano is so big, there are so many keys—two people, four hands, can cover the whole range, right?”

“It’s not like you have to squeeze together to play a duet.”

There’s a performance style called “two pianos.”

Two grand pianos are placed head-to-head. Unlike four-hand duets, both performers can’t see each other’s keys or hand movements, so they have to coordinate entirely by ear to finish the piece together.

But Jiang Sui didn’t know this. She just looked thoughtful for a moment, then clapped her hands. “I get what Young Master means now.” With that, she stood up.

She understood?

Lu Yunze was a bit stunned. He hadn’t even explained it in detail yet, and she’d already caught on.

But once she left the seat, Lu Yunze could reclaim the whole chair, and suddenly the world felt much wider.

But in the very next second, a warm, soft sensation pressed against his back, molding with pressure into two enormous, yielding shapes.

“Mm?!”

Lu Yunze jumped in fright, but two slender arms reached over his shoulders and landed on the piano.

“So this is what Young Master meant?”

A girl’s warm breath brushed his ear, and that soft laugh shot straight into Lu Yunze’s eardrums, tugging at every nerve in his body.

“This is definitely more convenient, but my arms aren’t long enough to reach the far end.”

“Jiang Sui, are you sure this is more convenient?”

“Isn’t it?” Jiang Sui sounded genuinely puzzled. “Young Master, you’re sweating a lot. You smell a bit.”

That’s what she said, but she flared her nostrils, as if enjoying Lu Yunze’s scent.

Forget it, let her play a while.

Lu Yunze gave up struggling. The more he resisted, the more excited Jiang Sui got, and the tighter she clung, like a tentacle monster. He might as well just go along with her; she’d get bored and let go eventually.

Thankfully, it was just the two of them in the classroom, so Lu Yunze didn’t have to worry about anyone else’s gaze.

But soon enough, just as he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a lively conversation echoed from the corridor outside.

“President, I remember your family has a collector’s edition guitar, right?”

“No way, turns out Senior Wu is a rich second-generation!”

“What rich second-generation, I saved up working part-time to buy it myself.”

Click.

The door opened, and Wu Xuan, chatting and laughing with the underclassmen, was the first to step into the classroom. He froze when he saw Lu Yunze and Jiang Sui.

A whole crowd followed behind him, squeezing into the room—only to turn to stone at the sight of those two.

“Ah…”

“Huh?”

It was over. At this moment, Lu Yunze felt like his school life was truly over.

“Uh, well…” Wu Xuan glanced back at the people behind him. “I think we can come back later. Looks like we interrupted something.”

“President, but this is our classroom…”

“This week’s Crazy Thursday is on me.”

“President, you’re the best!”

As everyone really was about to turn and leave, Lu Yunze sprang up from his chair and rushed to stop them.

“Wait! It’s not what you think!”

After spending some time explaining things to Wu Xuan and the others, their expressions finally returned to normal. Otherwise, Lu Yunze truly wouldn’t be able to show his face at school anymore.

“So she’s your friend, Lu Yunze. I thought you’d found a new girlfriend besides Luo Yao.” Wu Xuan said, patting Lu Yunze’s shoulder.

“Girlfriend? Since when did it become trendy to call female friends ‘girlfriend’?” Lu Yunze felt like his heart was about to explode.

Jokes aside, guests still had to be entertained. Aside from freshmen coming for tours, the people who came here were either club members, counselors, or teachers.

It was rare to have such a pretty junior around, so everyone was extra enthusiastic. The first glass of fresh water was handed straight to her, and a bunch of people kept asking after her well-being.

“Junior, are you interested in music?”

“Want to join our club?”

“The sign-up sheet is here, I’ve filled everything else in—just waiting for your signature.”

What a bunch of annoying people.

Jiang Sui grumbled inwardly, but before she could say anything, Lu Yunze forcefully intervened, pushing everyone aside.

“Give it a rest. She’s just a little interested and doesn’t want to do this for long. Besides, her family’s finances can’t support it.”

“That’s a shame.”

He made his position clear, but everyone’s enthusiasm hardly diminished—especially after hearing Jiang Sui say she wanted to try playing a piece herself.

Lu Yunze’s face was full of obvious worry. People who played music often had strange tempers, and even with a newbie, some of them wouldn’t hold back their words.

All he could do was encourage Jiang Sui before she started:

“If it doesn’t go well, that’s okay. Don’t take it to heart. Keeping your mindset steady is the most important thing.”

“Okay, Young Master.”

With everyone watching, Jiang Sui sat at the piano, placed her hands on the white keys.

“By the way, Lu Yunze, have you heard her play before?” Wu Xuan whispered to Lu Yunze.

“No, why? But she said she has a foundation.”

“Hmm, then it shouldn’t be too terrible.”

“…You’re making me nervous with that.”

She said she had a foundation, but how solid was it? With her cleverness, she should be reliable.

That’s how Lu Yunze tried to comfort himself, but as always, the unexpected was about to happen.

Jiang Sui raised her hands, took a deep breath, and—slammed down hard!

In an instant, a piercing, hellish sound swept through the entire club classroom. Everyone present was struck by this mysterious force, and stopped what they were doing.

Lu Yunze crushed the paper cup of water in his hand, spilling water all over his shoes without noticing.

Wu Xuan beside him wore a look of immediate pain.

Everyone’s eyes fell on Jiang Sui, but she didn’t notice at all. She was completely immersed in her musical world, playing the gentle notes on the score like a raging storm.

Her touch was less like playing the piano and more like beating up an enemy who owed her money.

He knew Jiang Sui would play badly, but he didn’t expect it to be this bad!

Just holding back from running away was already hard enough for Lu Yunze. Luckily, the piece wasn’t long—otherwise, they might all have started howling in agony.

When the last note ended, Jiang Sui let out a long breath, the corners of her lips lifting. She knew she’d made some mistakes, but finishing the whole piece felt so satisfying.

“Young Master, how was my performance?”

The club classroom fell into a long silence. Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Lu Yunze could only shakily give her a thumbs-up.

“For a beginner, your performance was actually pretty good.”

That’s what he said, but in his heart, he was apologizing to all the famous pianists—he’d just lied his way straight to hell.

“Really? So I guess I do have some talent.” Jiang Sui actually believed him, bouncing over to him after getting off the chair. “I’ll be counting on you to teach me more, Young Master.”

“Ahaha, sure, sure.” Lu Yunze looked like he was about to cry.

Teach her more? And in the future, too?

Not just Lu Yunze, even Wu Xuan and the others looked green in the face.

If Jiang Sui’s violent performances happened a couple more times, this club would get shut down for disturbing the peace in no time.

And there was something else that bothered Wu Xuan.

The festival was coming up soon would this girl’s presence affect Lu Yunze’s practice?