Did I Have an Optical Illusion (Lin Mu Round/Double Large Cup/Still Owe Sister Zhi 4 Updates)

【I've been disliked.】

【Once again, I've been disliked.】

...

The faint sound of a piano drifted through the corridor.

Lin Mu's face was expressionless as she followed GaoBan Weihua along the expensive red carpet.

"Second Young Lady, how did you meet that gentleman named Lu Qing?" GaoBan asked curiously.

"Ah..."

Lin Mu didn't want to talk about it, nor did she want to dwell on the unpleasant memory.

He was just a guest.

Just a guest...

Even if she hadn't done what she did, he wouldn't have come back.

That must be the case.

As Lin Mu thought this, she stubbornly said, "Who knows him? He's just a playboy, switching partners every day. He's not that good-looking either. It's not like anyone cares about him. Tch, someone like him will end up getting chopped one day."

GaoBan: "?"

Couldn't understand.

But she could vaguely sense that the Second Young Lady seemed to have some interest in that man.

No.

It was a deep interest.

【Well, I'll look into it when I have time.】

It would be for the sake of the First Young Lady, too.

She thought this to herself.

...

The two continued walking through the high-end environment surrounded by marble decor.

The space of the Mosse Piano Experience Center was anything but ordinary.

Rather than saying that each soundproofed piano room was expensive and special, it would be more accurate to say that the entire half-floor layout was tailor-made for these pianos.

Yes,

A hundred thousand or even millions of dollars worth of grand pianos deserved their own dedicated rooms.

At this moment, in the piano room with the best spatial and reverberation sound field, First Young Lady Mu Xia's fingers danced across the keys.

The flowing melody was like birds soaring over the sea, flock after flock, flying across the blue horizon,

diving and circling, free and leisurely.

It was clear that today, her music yearned for the sky.

"Ah..."

"Is Sister practicing 'Blue Double'?"

Leaning against the door of the piano room, Lin Mu stopped GaoBan from opening the door, signaling her to wait until Mu Xia finished the piece before entering.

—Not disturbing or interrupting the beautiful melody was the most basic etiquette among high-quality musicians.

"GaoBan, you can go ahead and do your work. I'll go in by myself later."

"Alright. I'll wait for you outside in 15 minutes." GaoBan Weihua said.

"Mm."

Lin Mu watched the all-around manager leave the corridor, then quietly took out her phone.

The back of her phone case was printed with four anime rock girls.

Using her spare time, Lin Mu flipped her phone over,

enjoying her sister's melody while unlocking the screen, and skillfully opened the music app, finding the only artist she checked three times a day—

「YinciP」.

"Sigh."

She let out a soft sigh, looking dejected.

"As expected, there's still no news."

The girl's eyes dimmed.

Three years.

Yinci hasn't released any new songs.

Every day waiting, every day waiting.

Waiting in the morning, waiting at night, crouching in front of the fridge, waiting in the cold air that came after opening the double doors.

No new songs.

No updates.

No explanation.

Just changed the ID from "YinqingP" to "YinciP."

And then disappeared without a trace.

"Ah."

The girl's fingers swiped across the screen.

It could be seen that YinciP's last original song had stopped three years ago in the winter.

【The inspiration for this song came from the late snow.】

【I've wanted to create a song about snow for a long time.】

【Today, I finally had the chance to see her drifting in the sunlight.】

【That ephemeral beauty is hard to describe in words.】

【This song uses piano, music box, and classical guitar as the main instruments to depict the hazy melody. The composition and arrangement were all done by YinqingP alone. I hope you like it.】

The introduction to the song was clear and concise, as if written yesterday.

Lin Mu's eyes darkened, and she clenched her other hand into a fist. Even her sister's 'Blue Double' could no longer heal the hole in her heart.

Perhaps someone would ask—

【What is it like to watch a once-unknown musician rise from obscurity to become a fan-favorite, with songs that grow increasingly polished and infused with deeper soul?】

Lin Mu couldn't describe it.

But her only feeling was heartache.

This heartache came from the one she admired the most, stopping abruptly on the path where he should have continued forward.

No news.

No reason.

"Sigh."

Speaking of which, why did she choose rock, why did she choose the path of a musician?

In those dark years,

in the years when her mother passed away, who washed her black heart a million times from the ink pool.

What was it that allowed her to cry freely in the solitary nights, curled up in bed?

Crying until her tears dried up,

crying until she released all the bad emotions?

But why, after all, having already overcome fear and being able to live alone, the thing that filled the heart suddenly disappeared as if it had never existed, giving the impression of being magical, as if everything were illusory.

"It's all fake."

"What exactly happened."

"Where did he go."

"Why hasn't he updated."

"Why did he change his ID."

As a master of Slap bass in the world of anime, Lin Mu was very clear about what "YinciP" represented.

Ci, means "abandon".

P stands for Producer—Music Producer, in the music circle, it refers to a music producer who specializes in using Vocaloid virtual singers to create songs.

Of course, many Japanese arranger gods also use this name, even if they don't use virtual singers.

"..."

He gave up.

But.

Music is such an important thing, how can you just give up like that.

It's really... heart-wrenching.

And it's really... so irresponsible.

Lin Mu silently exited the music app and opened the social media app.

She planned to check YinciP's small account one more time.

She scrolled through her following list and found an unverified user named "YinqingNeverPracticesPiano" at the bottom.

Clicking into it.

Although there was a little expectation, every time there was a little expectation.

But when she really saw the last piece of content that had stopped at "three years ago," the girl's heart also seemed to stop, and the hope that had been there suddenly extinguished.

YinciP:

【The composition and arrangement are getting better, I want to go to Beijing to study mixing with Master Li. But the master class is so expensive... The tuition and travel fees together are also 80,000... and it's only for 5 days... Ah... I'll save up first.】

【Ah... The teacher went to America... Emigrating with the family...? It seems I can't take his offline classes anymore...】

【Although a bit bewildered, I still bought the full set of AmpleSound's official sound sources. Hehe, the textured sound is indeed better than plastic sound sources... Of course, when the technique reaches the recording level, it's still better to record electric guitars. After all, real instruments are always the best.】

...

Lin Mu silently clicked exit, her expression complicated.

Then, as if her fingers had developed muscle memory,

she silently opened the video platform.

On the video platform, YinciP's avatar was a black anime depressed boy, with only a few thousand fans.

But there were hundreds of performance videos recorded.

Each video represented a different song, all in ACG, Japanese rock, J-POP styles, of course, also included different instruments.

Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, fingerpicking, singing, solo, original, adaptation, cover, arrangement project... all kinds of videos filled the space, the only common point was that none of them showed his face.

These videos, Lin Mu had already watched thousands of times.

To her, she could recognize YinciP with her eyes closed, could hear his playing habits, the details of the sound he produced.

Even just through the angle of the guitar strings, she could completely distinguish him.

Unfortunately...

"How can someone not log in for three years?"

"All three social accounts going missing, that's too much, too much..."

The girl rubbed her eyes.

She took a deep breath and clicked open the little mailbox icon in the upper right corner.

There were messages she had received before—from him.

【Thank you for your attention, Lin Mu. I have received your question about the songs to start with for Bass. I don't recommend choosing "Tokyo Teddy Bear" with a BPM of 204. After all, no one can jump into such difficult ACG songs right away, unless they are a genius.】

【Lin Mu, I have listened carefully to your cover of "Tokyo Teddy Bear" that you recorded and sent. Hmm, I take back what I said before. You are indeed a genius. You are very suited for the ACG route, and no one has more potential as a Bass player than you.】

【Lin Mu, I have read your concerns carefully. In fact, disagreements among band members are very common. Issues like song selection, practice, rehearsal costs, pressure from others, performance mistakes, and equipment damage are all things that can happen.

But don't worry, any team that wants to form a bond needs time and the accumulation of character.

I think you just haven't found the right teammates yet. Keep it up.】

【Lin Mu, what did you say? You fired all your band members? Unilaterally?

And you yelled at them?

Called them weak?】

【Lin Mu, you are getting stronger and stronger. I have seen your amazing performance in your latest cover. You even nailed "If I Could Become a Constellation," so Slap Bass is no longer an issue for you.

You are reaching the next level, The Next Level Play. Enjoy the music, Enjoy the ACG. Keep it up.】

【Haha, Lin Mu, you have also realized that a great musician will eventually become a gear enthusiast, haven't you? It seems you have good conditions, which is truly enviable.】

【Ah, regarding effects pedals, although Bass doesn't need a flashy matrix board, I still recommend Vivie's Kangaroo Compressor. It has great texture and is very Japanese.】

【Alright, Lin Mu. I have considered your suggestion. If I come up with inspiration for a new song, I will definitely ask you to do the Bass recording. I will invite you to the recording studio and put your name at the top of the new EP. Let's look forward to it together.】

……

“Hmm.”

Even though she had to read these messages dozens of times every day.

Even though she used to call him "senpai" respectfully,

Every time she got a response, every time he was patient, every time she received warm encouragement.

But I don't know from which day it started,

The sound and pronunciation P disappeared.

Although he didn't delete all his accounts, he seemed to have drowned in the deep sea, silent and no longer replying to any questions.

【Senpai, senpai? What are you doing? Can you talk to me?】

【Senpai, I'm sorry, it's my fault for not understanding boundaries. Please don't ignore me... I'm wrong.】

【Senpai, are you angry with me? Why haven't you replied for three days?】

【Senpai, can I come to see you?】

【Senpai, I want to see you.】

【Senpai, you are in Tianhai, right?】

【Why did you disappear.】

【Why aren't you talking.】

【Does senpai hate me?】

【Are you tired of me?】

【Senpai.】

【Senpai.】

【Reply me.】

【Senpai.】

【Please.】

【Reply me.】

【Reply me…】

【Senpai, don't ignore me. Really. Please.】

【Senpai, I really made a mistake. I can't live without your replies. I feel so sad, I can't sleep, I feel so bad.】

【Senpai, if there's anything I did that made senpai dislike me, can you tell me directly? I really don't know how to win senpai back... Please, just reply to me. Senpai.】

【Senpai, I understand.】

【I understand.】

【You said you would invite me to record a song, but that was a lie.】

【You lied to me.】

【You are a liar.】

【I bought all the Vivie gear you recommended, and I practiced all the songs you liked.】

【I always thought that when I became truly strong, I would invite senpai to be my teammate. But senpai, you treated me like this, you were so heartless to me!】

【Senpai, are you afraid of me?】

【Senpai?】

【Senpai, ah.】

【I re-watched all your videos on the wall station and the MV and Vlog on the cloud, and every time I listen, I have different feelings.】

【You are also suffering, right?】

【Your covers are very Emo.】

【Mol-74's "Breath" was played with a suffocating emotion by senpai. The emotions you wanted to convey, I received them, right?】

【Senpai, you are avoiding, aren't you?】

【You must be very scared.】

【Senpai, although I can't fully understand your pain, I know how hard it has been for you to get to where you are now. You poured all your emotions into the songs, didn't you?】

【Playing the piano for yourself when you are sad, recording the songs you like for yourself, playing your own songs when you can't sleep.】

【Your songs are all written for yourself.】

【You are creating for yourself.】

【You want to heal yourself.】

【Senpai, I have understood you.】

【I know what you need.】

【I listened to your songs over three thousand times. Senpai, I completely understand you.】

【I will wait for you.】

【I will wait for you to come back.】

【Even if senpai hates me, even if you are afraid of me, I will still stay here, waiting for senpai.】

…

Remaining unread messages: 999+

The Blue Double was nearing its end in the music room.

Lin Mu, with a blank expression, suddenly looked up.

As if the messages sent from her phone were not from her own hands.

She slightly raised her face, like a sulking girl, and muttered to herself:

“…Come to think of it, isn't YinciP's build similar to that of the playboy I just met?”

She pursed her thin lips, extended a calloused left finger, and stroked her own lips, reflecting:

“Was it just my imagination?”

……

……