The siblings sat facing each other.
"Zhen Ye Shang" lay on the large bed.
Su Ling sat on the chair like a nervous little cat that had lost its territory, pursing her lips and tucking her legs close, feeling uneasy as she waited for her brother to speak.
"Ahem."
Lu Qing thought he was being perfectly normal.
Trying to remain calm, he explained to his sister:
"Su Ling, this is an electric guitar."
"…I know."
"Her name is 'Zhen Ye Shang'."
"Mm-hmm."
"You can give her a nickname, since she's your first guitar. And she's very beautiful, of course, but also not simple."
"Didn't you say this guitar only cost a thousand or eight hundred?"
Su Ling glanced at him, her tone slightly resentful.
"Yes, that's right. It did cost that much, but the materials and craftsmanship are worth far more. It's from a friend who got it from the inside, so you have to take good care of it. Absolutely, don't damage it."
Lu Qing's eyes still glowed with passion as he occasionally glanced at the pure, flawless body lying on the bed.
"Zhen Ye Shang" was like a spiritual cat, her skin smooth and delicate, lying there defenseless and unrestrained, like a newlywed saint waiting for her husband to claim her.
—Who could resist that?
Lu Qing felt his blood boiling, a shiver running through him as he quickly averted his gaze.
"Ahem, Su Ling."
"Mm-hmm."
"Now that we have the guitar, you can't play it yet."
"Why not?"
"Because electric guitars are different from acoustic guitars. Just having the guitar won't produce much sound. You need an amplifier and effects pedal to really bring out the electric guitar's true nature."
Lu Qing explained, "Of course, if you have an audio interface (sound card) and studio headphones, you can plug them into a computer and use software effects pedals, which would work too. You saw the sound card on my desk, so now we just need to get a connecting cable to create the conditions for you to practice at home. Do you understand?"
He explained everything in great detail, unaware that Su Ling had already done her homework in secret.
Pretending not to understand, she said, "Mm-hmm, I think I get it a little."
"Good."
Lu Qing was very satisfied with his sister's attitude. He licked his lips and rubbed his hands together, saying, "I'm going to let you experience the magic of the electric guitar today."
He said, "There's a music store downstairs called 'Grammy Music Center'. They definitely sell connecting cables and picks. I'll go buy them for you. Just wait here, don't touch the guitar before I get back, especially the six tuning pegs on the headstock. Don't touch them, or you'll break the strings."
"I know, I'm not a brat."
Su Ling pouted and gave him a sidelong glance.
"Okay, then wait here, I'll be right back."
Lu Qing had never been this enthusiastic before.
Whether it was doing homework at school or writing at home.
Even when it came to academic or career matters.
Such important things seemed less significant to him than "going downstairs to buy a guitar connecting cable for his sister" today.
It was as if he had to let Su Ling hear "Zhen Ye Shang" right now.
Bang.
Before there was even time to react,
Lu Qing had already quickly put on his clothes and shoes, rushed out the door, and flashed into the elevator.
"…"
The girl's face showed a look of disbelief.
Silently turning her head, she focused her gaze on the body of "Zhen Ye Shang".
In fact, how could she not know?
The "guitar connecting cable" her brother mentioned was hanging in the three-cubic-meter cabinet.
And there were quite a few of them.
Su Ling had specifically looked them up. Whether it was the VOX or Monster cables, or even the single-block matrix cables brought back from Japan, even if they were only 10 centimeters long, they could cost as much as 200-500 yuan…
And those were just cables.
The guitar cables that normal music stores gave away with guitars were usually only in the 10-30 yuan range.
Even a good 3-meter Fender original cable wouldn't exceed 150 yuan.
"Brother's collecting addiction is beyond saving, but even so, even though he has everything, he still doesn't want to expose the fact that he can play guitar?"
Su Ling pondered.
"He doesn't want me to know that he once deeply loved 'music', it's definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface."
It was clear that whenever he touched a guitar worth over ten thousand yuan, Brother would enter a state of irrationality.
The usually cold, silent, mature, and steady him,
In the face of "divine instruments", his immunity was almost zero.
Even negative.
"Are guitars… really that beautiful?"
[Are they cuter than me?]
Su Ling felt a bit displeased.
Getting up and walking over to "Zhen Ye Shang",
She crouched down, bringing her head level with the guitar on the bed.
She carefully observed its body.
She knew.
For those who weren't guitar fanatics or instrument enthusiasts, unless their mental state was questionable, they would never understand Brother's aesthetic.
At most, they would think, "This guitar looks nice" or "This guitar looks expensive",
But they wouldn't deeply appreciate her beauty from aspects like "the wood grain", "the angle of the tuning pegs", "the color of the veneer", "the seductive shape of the body".
Of course,
This kind of thing,
Only Ryo, the chief supervisor designer of TS, could empathize with Lu Qing.
[Qing-san, recently I designed a beauty, a devilish figure, fully exposed veneer, want to take a peek? Just looking, no charge. Of course, if you insist on buying, I can't stop you. But you'll have to hurry.]
[Qing-san, the other day we reached an agreement with the Japanese luthier Master Takahashi, a batch of 'divine wood' will descend into the guitar market, let the other guitar brands feel the great fear of extraterrestrial demons. Hehe, how about it, are you interested? If so, I'll save one for you, it'll be gone soon.]
[Qing-san, have you bought a new wife recently? Your harem already has three beautiful wives, when are you going to add another?]
[Qing-san, not considering a pink bride? 'Sakura Blue', TS's latest sacred instrument, not expensive, just thirty-six thousand, want to marry? I'll give you a discount.]
…
Su Ling had actually browsed through similar chat records when "checking Brother's phone".
Due to these records being from a few years ago and the content being extremely abstract, she had never taken them to heart.
But now, considering Brother's current state, she couldn't help but note down the existence of this Ms. Ryo.
It always felt, compared to herself who had only been living with him for a short time,
That Ms. Ryo's understanding of Brother seemed to far exceed her own imagination.
It was a kind of "soul analysis that could not be derived without going through time".
She knew where Brother's [weaknesses] were.
She knew what Brother needed most from the bottom of his heart.
What was most terrifying was that she could provide the "goods" for these needs.
"…"
Su Ling felt immense pressure.
"Luckily, luckily she's not interested in Brother, she just wants to empty his wallet."
The girl let out a soft breath, refocusing her gaze.
"Brother would never have thought that I would inspire him to return to the past through such a method."
"No matter how big the obstacles ahead are, no matter if it's the deep sea or the abyss, no matter if I can bear the weight that Brother cannot bear—"
I will,
Do my best.
Let Brother see,
In this world, there will always be someone,
Who is willing to truly enter your heart,
And tightly, hold your hand.
[Even if I am already a mess.]
At this thought,
Su Ling quietly stood up, looking down at "Zhen Ye Shang".
She solemnly said:
"From now on, I'll call you Black Cat."
You are me, I am you.
We will merge into one, carrying Brother's lost memories,
Let him hear again, the echoes from the depths of his soul.
"Then, nice to meet you."
…
…
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
