On the way home, the journey was silent.
Su Ling was preoccupied with her thoughts, while Lu Qing felt a stirring in his heart.
The taxi driver, glancing occasionally in the rearview mirror, could sense the subtle tension between the siblings.
He cleared his throat but dared not speak.
A buzzing sound broke the silence.
Lu Qing picked up his vibrating phone and saw a message from Lin-chan:
—"Qing, I want to ask you something. Do you think... there are people in this world who seem carefree and flirtatious, yet excel in the path of music, completely opposite to the image of a master you once described...?"
"..."
Of course.
She had already noticed the almost imperceptible flaw in the video.
—"Perhaps," he replied ambiguously.
—"There are countless types of music in the world, and outstanding performers come in all forms.
The so-called 'perfect performance,' based on perfect pitch, rhythm, and technique, is itself a false premise.
After all, 'emotion' is abstract, and everyone interprets it differently, applying varying degrees of intensity."
Strictly speaking, Lin Mu wasn't wrong.
She was just too shy to fully express her feelings in front of an "unfamiliar" audience, unable to reveal the true emotions hidden in her heart.
Was this a technical issue?
Not at all.
But to teach her the lesson of "always remaining humble and composed, never letting success go to her head," he had no choice but to nitpick the one minor imperfection in her otherwise flawless performance, forcing her to reflect on it herself.
Lu Qing knew all too well that, in a way, Lin Mu's skill as a performer was already on par with his own.
She was a steadfast technical virtuoso, at the peak of her abilities and still improving;
he, on the other hand, was a seasoned theorist whose golden days were behind him.
The glory and hard work of the past, after years of abandoning music, had left him almost "deprived of his skills,"
with only the "inner strength" accumulated over time still circulating within him, quietly waiting for its master to reclaim the path of mastery.
Thus, the question of how to continue guiding the young girl became one that Lu Qing had to carefully consider.
"Brother, what are you thinking about?"
Suddenly, Su Ling interrupted his thoughts.
"Nothing. Just wondering if I should bring my laptop next time we go for coffee. Today, I was so captivated by her performance that I didn't get any work done."
He forced a lighthearted smile.
"..."
Su Ling could see right through his attempt to change the subject. Such a small trick was almost laughable in her eyes.
She steered the conversation back:
"So, you're definitely coming next week, right?"
"Mm," Lu Qing nodded.
"Since I need to write and work on my book anyway, I can do it at home or outside. So, I plan to come once a week, or maybe every other week. After all, I lost the bet, and she gave us so many gifts... it's almost too much to carry."
He pointed to an oversized gift bag beside him, filled with items that must have cost at least 300 yuan—various loaves of bread, baked cakes, premium ice cream, and even an ice pack to keep it all fresh.
Looking at it all, he was at a loss for words.
"..."
Su Ling was equally dumbfounded by Lin Mu's genuine yet gullible nature.
"That girl isn't bad, she's just not very honest," she said, offering her own assessment of Lin Mu to her brother.
"I think the fact that she gave us so much delicious food means she truly considers you a 'guest.'
At the same time, I don't think she has any other 'guests.' In fact, I suspect she might close up shop right after you leave and not reopen until the following Sunday when you return."
"...You really seem to understand her."
Lu Qing was surprised by Su Ling's insight.
Based on his own understanding of Lin Mu, his sister's prediction was about 90% accurate—it was almost uncanny.
"So, do you want to come with me again next week?" he asked.
"Of course. Wherever you go, I'll go. I enjoy going out with you."
She said this with a completely straight face.
"..."
Her obvious concern, which she hadn't shown earlier in the shop, was already a feat of restraint.
Now that they were alone, she could speak more freely, without worrying about embarrassing her brother.
Lu Qing could sense that Su Ling's subtlety and depth were far beyond what most people could imitate.
In terms of "composure," "strategic thinking," "planning," "deduction," "appearance," or "attributes," she was a pure SSS-level, a true all-rounder.
"Su Ling, I feel like there's been some distance between us lately. Are you hiding something from me?"
Lu Qing didn't back down, probing her directly.
"How could that be? You took me to appreciate a senior's performance and to relax. Of course, I'm very happy."
Su Ling was gradually being drawn out of her shell, and under the influence of her lingering resentment, she accidentally let a bit of her true feelings slip.
"!"
Lu Qing chuckled.
"Is that so? Well, did you gain anything from today?"
He didn't press her or ask about the deeper meaning behind her mention of a "senior."
Instead, he continued to probe her true thoughts at his own pace, following his own logic.
"..."
The driver up front was sweating bullets. Although he couldn't understand what they were saying, he could feel the layers of meaning behind every word exchanged by the pair in the backseat.
—This was terrifying.
The driver didn't dare speak or ask questions, focusing solely on the road ahead.
Su Ling smiled sweetly, her signature perfect smile, and nodded at her brother. "Yes, I feel like I'm completely out of my depth compared to Lin Mu."
"How so?"
"Her level of skill in performance doesn't seem possible for someone her age.
If I had to guess, she must have her own 'original compositions.' And these 'original compositions' aren't something she'd easily share with others.
So, I was thinking... when will I be able to write a song like that—
A song poured with emotion, one that can convey feelings and truly move someone."
"I see."
Lu Qing felt a swell of pride as he looked at his sister's expression, filled with both longing and hesitation.
"You can do it," he encouraged.
"Really?"
"Yes, you definitely can."
His expression was full of certainty.
...
The car moved forward into the night.
Tiny stars dotted the sky, casting a dreamlike urban beauty under the moonlight.
The night scenery outside the windows rushed past, much like the day's journey—
it felt as though they had witnessed something significant, yet they couldn't quite recall what it was.
As they approached their destination, the car stopped at the entrance of their neighborhood.
Just as Lu Qing was about to open the car door, Su Ling seized the moment when his guard was down—
and asked:
"Brother, have you ever written an 'original composition'?"
...
...
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
