Chapter 138: Knowing a Thing or Two

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Knowing a Thing or Two

"The mature beauty spent 369 yuan on you. Affinity: 53. Cashback: 19,557 yuan."

Hearing the system prompt, Su Yunzhou turned to Xia Wanqing, who had just finished paying. "Thank you, boss!"

Xia Wanqing pursed her lips into a smile. She put her phone away and handed him the bag bearing the trefoil logo. "You’re the real boss here!"

Looking at the exceptionally handsome and incredibly kind Su Yunzhou, her heart swelled with emotion. Earlier, Su Yunzhou had headed straight to the trendy sports discount store downstairs. He had made a show of trying on a few items before finally settling on two plain T-shirts—one black, one white.

Xia Wanqing knew exactly why he had done this. A man who could casually drop tens of millions on real estate investments had actually bought such cheap clothes just to make sure she didn’t feel guilty. He was simply too gentle. Meeting him was truly too...

Seeing Xia Wanqing space out, Su Yunzhou could easily guess what was on her mind. He waved a hand in front of her face. "Hey, hey, hey! Don’t overthink it! I come from an ordinary family too. I’ve known hardship, poverty, and exhaustion. Besides, you compensated me with two shirts, so technically, I came out ahead!"

Looking at his smile, Xia Wanqing spoke from the bottom of her heart. "You really are such a sweet guy!"

"Haha! A sweet guy! I can’t accept that!" Su Yunzhou teased. "Doesn’t that rank right below a simp?"

"Ah—" Xia Wanqing hurriedly explained. "I... I didn’t mean it like that..."

Seeing the anime-style madam stammering in a panic, Su Yunzhou felt a wave of secret amusement. Sometimes, teasing this anime-style madam was truly an entertaining pastime.

The two headed toward the parking lot. As they passed by the ground floor, they suddenly heard the elegant sounds of musical instruments coming from ahead. The crowd had thickened, bustling as if some sort of music event was taking place. Upon getting closer, they realized it was an instrument-themed event organized by the IFS mall.

Various musical instruments were set up across the first floor for people to freely play and perform. For convenience, iPads displaying sheet music were thoughtfully provided alongside them. Many people stepped up to give it a try.

As for their skill levels... they were all over the place. Some melodies were as serene and distant as High Mountain and Flowing Water, while others were as pleasing as a gentle breeze caressing wind chimes. And then there were others... that were better left unmentioned.

Of course, to protect the customers’ ears, patrolling staff members would step in to handle anyone who was simply banging on the keys. They didn’t just chase them away, as one might expect. These staff members were employees from the mall’s music education centers or instrument stores. They all knew how to play, so they would patiently guide the amateur performers. As for where that guidance ultimately led, that depended entirely on their individual sales pitches.

"Wow, I didn’t know IFS hosted events like this!" Xia Wanqing’s eyes sparkled as she looked at a piano nearby that rarely anyone dared to try.

The piano bore a large Yamaha logo, and a young male staff member stood beside it. He had a refined temperament, looking exactly like a part-time student from a Music Academy.

"Hello! Feel free to give it a try!" he greeted them. "As long as you finish playing any piece from the sheet music library on my iPad, you’ll receive a special reward!"

Su Yunzhou thought of the Master Level Piano Skills he had acquired for a mere 6 Skill Points. His hands suddenly itched to play, and he was just about to step up and give it a shot. However, he heard Xia Wanqing say, her face flushed red, "Ooh, let me show you my hidden Skill!"

"Oh?" Su Yunzhou pulled back his foot. "Then... I’ll be watching closely."

She walked over gracefully. Sitting before the piano, she looked as beautiful as a classic painting. The prelude drifted through the air. The melody was beautiful.

Relying on the Master Level Piano Skills implanted by the system, Su Yunzhou instantly identified the piece, along with the techniques needed to refine it. She didn’t handle the first few measures of the opening section very well, but it was still obvious that she had at least three and a half years of practice under her belt. About a Level 5 piano proficiency! ℯ

Her rendition of a simplified version of "Canon" drew the attention of many onlookers. Of course, there was no doubt that her stunning looks were a massive bonus.

The piece concluded. CLAP CLAP CLAP. Applause broke out.

The people who had stopped to listen cast admiring glances her way. The pervs in the crowd openly stared at her, occasionally muttering, "This woman is truly talented and beautiful!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I just noticed she has that anime-style madam vibe! I wonder which lucky bastard gets to be with her."

"I often watch a musician on B Station who wears a mask and dresses revealingly. Could it be her?"

Standing nearby, Su Yunzhou’s mouth twitched upon hearing this. He coughed heavily twice, his eyes flashing with a clear warning. The perv was about to say something else when he saw the anime-style madam walking over, carrying a small Mickey plushie with a faint smile on her face.

Could it be that his lucky day had arrived?

But the very next second, winter returned. The anime-style madam directed her sweet smile entirely at the man who was just a bit taller and a bit more handsome than he was.

"It’s been a long time since I last played. I feel like my technique has regressed a lot," she said.

Su Yunzhou smiled calmly. He offered a few words of praise first before tactfully pointing out a couple of minor technical flaws.

Xia Wanqing was momentarily stunned, a hint of an "I knew it" expression flickering in her beautiful eyes. Someone from an ordinary family having such a profound understanding of piano pieces meant he must have received a high-class education since childhood. Moreover, the issues he pointed out hit the nail on the head; she was aware of them but simply couldn’t correct them in practice. When it came to art, aside from immense hard work, talent truly was essential!

Xia Wanqing asked curiously, "How do you know so much? What piano level are you?"

"I only know a little!" Su Yunzhou replied, then added, "As for my ’level,’ I’ve never taken the exams!"

Xia Wanqing gave him an "I don’t believe you" look, her curiosity growing. "Do you want to demonstrate and let me..."

"Alright! I’ll give you some face!" Su Yunzhou said with a warm smile. "I don’t ’play the piano’ for just anybody."

With that said, he walked toward the piano. The lecherous guy from earlier had been about to leave, but seeing Su Yunzhou step up, he stopped in his tracks, eager to see him fail at showing off.

The staff member politely approached and asked, "Sir, which piece would you like to perform?"

Su Yunzhou took the iPad, scrolled through it, and said, "I’ll play this one!"

The staff member glanced at the selected piece and was somewhat surprised. He had chosen max difficulty right off the bat. This... would likely just result in noise. He politely warned, "Sir, this piece might be a bit..."

Su Yunzhou waved his hand dismissively. "It’s fine. I’ll give it a try."

The staff member said no more and silently stepped aside, already planning how he could salvage the situation later and whether there was a chance to turn this guy into a new client. Several of his colleagues had made sales today, while his own performance record was still sitting at zero. He couldn’t let them outdo him.

He thought to himself, "You can do this!"

Xia Wanqing watched the man sitting at the piano and felt that something about him was different. His every movement exuded a certain presence. She thought to herself, "Right! A master’s aura! That’s the exact feeling."

Because there had been a decent performance here just moments ago, quite a few people had lingered, and passersby cast curious glances his way. Not far away, three stylishly dressed, beautiful girls were whispering among themselves.

"Qing, look! That guy is so handsome!"

"Yeah! He’s even better-looking than the campus idol from the acting department."

Another girl wearing glasses pushed up her frames and said, "You two fangirls. When will you realize that good looks don’t put food on the table? A talented man, even without good looks, is still very..."

The melodious sound of the piano suddenly rang out. The bespectacled girl let out a sound of surprise, instantly captivated by the passionate and powerful melody.