Chapter 266: First Contact with a Musical Instrument

"What do you think? Sounds good, right?"

Gu Chen stopped strumming, a smug look on his face.

Yun Jiao gave a perfunctory nod, her big, beautiful eyes fixed on the guitar in his arms.

Her eyes were filled with curiosity, and the desire to try it herself.

It was impossible for Gu Chen not to notice.

His eyes darted around for a moment before he tried to coax her, "Want to give this a try? Then sing a couple of lines for me first."

Yun Jiao tilted her head slightly, looking like a beautiful, delicate little kitten, and Gu Chen was utterly captivated.

It was the first time he’d ever thought of children as such cute, soft, and adorable creatures.

Of course, this was limited to Yun Jiao. Before her, all the kids he’d met were bratty little monsters who would cry and scream at the drop of a hat, throw tantrums, and destroy everything in sight.

For instance, some of his relatives had kids, and one time, two of those little monsters ran into his room and destroyed one of his beloved guitars and an album from his favorite artist.

So Gu Chen had actually developed a bit of a dislike for children.

But of course, seeing this little girl in his grandpa’s shop today—as beautiful as a porcelain doll and so well-behaved—it was impossible to dislike her.

It just goes to show that people are visual creatures. When faced with a child who looked like Yun Jiao, you couldn’t help but have a good first impression based on her appearance alone, regardless of her personality.

Yun Jiao sat beside him, watching intently as he strummed the guitar and sang the first line of the song again.

"Did you get that? Sing it back to me."

Yun Jiao nodded, opened her mouth, and sang, "The red sun shines upon the sea, a cool evening breeze turns chilly."

Yun Jiao’s linguistic talent was immediately apparent; she even handled Cantonese with ease.

The moment Yun Jiao sang the first word, Gu Chen’s eyes widened, his pupils dilating slightly in shock and excitement.

After she quickly finished the line, Yun Jiao looked at him.

Her expression seemed to ask, ’What’s the next line?’

Gu Chen swallowed, eagerly continuing with the next line, and Yun Jiao followed right along.

Her young voice was so ethereal it sounded like a melody from the heavens. Outside, people were drawn in by the singing, peeking curiously into the shop’s entrance.

After a few more lines, Gu Chen couldn’t hold back any longer. He put down his guitar and swept Yun Jiao into his arms.

"Oh my god! Little Yun Jiao, you were born for this! How can anyone’s voice be so perfect!"

"AHHHH!!! Why are you so young?! Why did I have to meet you now?!"

Gu Chen acted like he was going crazy, spinning around a few times while holding Yun Jiao, before dropping to his knees, grabbing his hair, and howling at the sky.

Yun Jiao: "???"

’What is this guy doing?’

His crazed antics scared away the people outside.

Gu Chen was just frustrated and regretful. Yun Jiao was too young. As much as he wanted to bring her into his band as the lead singer, he knew his grandpa would surely break his legs if he actually tried it.

Besides, a child as young as Yun Jiao really didn’t belong in a place like a bar.

But to find a voice like this and not be able to take her with him... one could only imagine how frustrated beyond tears Gu Chen felt.

"Little Yun Jiao, if you want to sing in the future, you have to come find me, okay? And please, don’t ever waste that voice of yours."

Seeing that he was done with his fit, Yun Jiao, her beautiful little face expressionless, pointed at the guitar he was holding.

Gu Chen went, "Oh," and said, "Come on, I’ll teach you how to play."

Inside the antique shop, one taught while the other learned diligently.

Later, Gu Chen let Yun Jiao try it herself.

But she was too small, and the guitar was huge for her. She could only use her clumsy little hands to pluck the strings one by one.

The sound came out haltingly, but she didn’t make a single mistake.

At this, Gu Chen’s eyes shone even brighter as he looked at her.

’This is what it means to be a true natural, gifted by the heavens. What a shame she’s so young.’

"Do you like this kind of instrument? Want to learn? I can take you to try some out. There are other instruments besides the guitar you can learn, you know."

Yun Jiao’s eyes sparkled as she nodded.

She had only ever created melodies with her voice before. She never imagined that in the human world, there were instruments that could make music too.

’I want one.’

Gu Chen felt smug. ’See? Grandpa lost this round. This kid clearly loves music, just like me.’

Just as he was thinking this, someone walked in through the door.

Gu Chen glanced over, didn’t recognize the person, and said lazily, "Buying or selling? The owner’s not here. Feel free to look around on your own."

"Dad."

Yun Jiao got up and trotted over to him.

Hearing her call him "Dad," Gu Chen immediately sat up straight.

He looked toward the man at the door—a man with a dark complexion and a simple, honest air. His features were pleasant, but by no means stunning.

’No way. This fair-skinned, pretty, soft little dumpling is the daughter of this simple, honest, dark-faced man?’

’How is that even possible?!’

After all, Gu Chen was just an eighteen or nineteen-year-old kid, and his thoughts were written all over his face.

Not only were they on his face, but he also blurted them out.

"Mister, are you really little Yun Jiao’s dad? Her mom must be gorgeous, right? How else could little Yun Jiao be born so beautiful, like a little fairy? How did she get all the good looks?"

Heh, this father-daughter pair looked like they were from two different worlds when they stood together.

Of course, it was pretty much the same with him.

No matter who Yun Jiao stood next to, it felt like they were from different worlds.

Hearing this, Yun Linhai wasn’t offended at all. Instead, he looked proud.

’Our Jiaojiao is just that pretty of a little girl, hehe.’

"My Jiaojiao is the prettiest child in our village."

Gu Chen said, "Not just the village! I’ve been to this county, the city, and other cities too, and I’ve never seen anyone prettier than her."

Yun Linhai grew even prouder. "Right? I’ve never seen anyone prettier either. And she’s so well-behaved and filial. You have no idea, it’s not just people in our village—even the animals love spending time with her..."

The two of them went on and on, showering Yun Jiao with praise.

Yun Jiao: ...

Sigh...

She tugged on her dad’s clothes. ’That’s enough, that’s enough, stop praising me! I’m getting embarrassed!’

With such an appreciative young man to talk to, Yun Linhai reluctantly stopped showing off his daughter.

"Jiaojiao, where’s your Grandpa Gu? We should be heading home."

"Don’t go yet."

Before Yun Jiao could say anything, Gu Chen quickly cut in.

"My grandpa said he wanted you to stay for dinner! He already went to the restaurant to make arrangements. Besides, Mister, I discovered that little Yun Jiao is incredibly talented in music, and she likes instruments, too.

You have to nurture her talent in this area and not let her voice and gift go to waste. If you have time, I can take you to a music shop to see if we can find her a teacher."

Since it concerned Yun Jiao’s interests, Yun Linhai became serious.

He knew that Jiaojiao loved to sing and that her singing was exceptionally beautiful.

But learning an instrument... that was something he’d never really considered.

After all, as an ordinary fisherman, the concept of musical instruments was foreign to him.

"Jiaojiao, do you like it? Then we’ll learn!"

Yun Linhai was clearly a doting father.

Gu Chen was a bit surprised. He could also tell that Yun Linhai was just an ordinary person.

Learning music and instruments was a very expensive hobby. An average family would be unwilling to waste money on it, especially for a little girl to learn.

He thought he would have to waste his breath trying to convince him, but he hadn’t expected him to agree so readily.