「Black Cat, Nice to Meet You.」 (Thank you, Nianbao, for the盟, today there will be three updates)

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."

…

…