A Successful Debut

This woman is also helpless. Because of her appearance, she has to choose to cover her face to avoid trouble. Otherwise, going out every day would be a big problem, as she would attract a lot of attention. Unfortunately, the trouble is not caused by her face. It can be said that she has not enjoyed the benefits of fame, but has enjoyed the disadvantages of fame. She is an innocent victim who has been implicated.

Si Ming glanced through the glass window and saw Yuezheng Qiong browsing in the idol music section, looking at the huge posters on the counter. It was a group of four or five boys around his age, and videos of them singing and dancing were playing at the store entrance.

To be honest, Si Ming had no idea what the difference was between these groups. Although these idol groups would do their best to promote their new songs, in fact, several similar groups were formed every year, and then the same number of groups disbanded and disappeared in the same year. Moreover, he didn't think these guys' songs were that good, especially since the lead singers of these groups usually sang terribly and relied entirely on their looks to sell their persona.

Ironically, girls are very susceptible to this. Even knowing that the other party's purpose is to scam money, they still show great enthusiasm and wave their money to support these short-lived groups. Where does their enthusiasm come from? This is probably a secret that only girls can understand. In a sense, these girls are no different from otaku boys; they are both easy to scam.

Sometimes Si Ming was glad that martial arts existed in this world to distract him, otherwise he would definitely have copied and pasted, taking out those classic songs from Earth and teaching these guys who only knew how to sell their personas what music really was. Compared to these idol groups that only knew how to scam money, even a certain boy band that was often criticized had some merit in their songs; at least their songs were worth paying for.

The entertainment industry in Su State is really backward. Even when they create idol groups, they just copy others and the quality is extremely low. Sometimes, after listening to their songs, Si Ming feels that he should be the one charging money to make up for the damage his ears have suffered.

Yuezheng Qiong's eyes fell on Si Ming, so she put the record back in its original place, walked up to him, and sighed, "My sister told me she found a replacement accompanist. I never expected it to be you. Now I haven't repaid the favors I owed before, and I've accumulated new ones. The rate of increase is almost catching up with loan sharks."

Si Ming didn't get away with it for nothing. He explained that Yuezheng Yao had used the "Nine Shao Pitch-Setting Art" as payment, saying, "This was just a normal transaction. There's no question of who owes whom. At least I personally think I made a profit."

Yuezheng Qiong nodded, emphasizing, "That only settles the favor for this time; I still haven't repaid your life-saving grace."

She didn't seem to care at all about Yuezheng Yao passing on the Lineage's secret techniques to outsiders, as if it were just a trivial matter.

Based on Si Ming's observations in Nation of Beauty, in the Aristocratic Clan, the lower the level of the clan members, the more they value their clan's heritage, treating it as a treasure, with the determination that as long as the property exists, they will live; if the property is lost, they will die. On the contrary, the upper echelons of the Aristocratic Clan do not care much about keeping the Cultivation Method secret. Perhaps they have a higher perspective and realize that under the overwhelming trend, individual resistance is meaningless, so they go with the flow.

Yuezheng Qiong said, "Since she gave you her martial arts skills, I'll also give you a suggestion that wasn't mentioned in the book: try practicing with different musical instruments. You'll find that the effect is different each time. The auxiliary effect of a single instrument is only prominent at the beginning. Once your body adapts to the frequency of the instrument, the efficiency will decrease until it's the same as not playing an instrument at all. I happen to know how to use various musical instruments. If you have any questions, just ask me."

Si Ming finally understood why Yuezheng Yao had given him martial arts skills and asked him to help Yuezheng Qiong. She had planned that her sister would repay the favor in this way, a truly shrewd deal that killed two birds with one stone.

"You can play all kinds of musical instruments? Wouldn't that count as being proficient in all kinds of weapons?"

"I can use it, but I'm not an expert. I'm just a little better than an amateur. I can't handle anything more professional. This is the requirement of the Yuezheng Lineage for all members. Not everyone has to be an expert, but at least they should have some understanding."

"Teacher Yuezheng said you're going to participate in a program, what exactly is going on?"

"It's a very common talent show, but this time the focus is on street bands. Of course, it's still in the planning stages and hasn't officially started yet, but I learned about it in advance through Lineage channels."

Si Ming was puzzled. With the power of the Yuezheng Lineage, if Yuezheng Qiong wanted to become famous, she could simply create a program tailored to her needs. There was no need to use such a roundabout and troublesome method.

However, since their relationship was still superficial, it was not appropriate to pry into secrets. Discussing things too intimately with someone you barely know is a major taboo, Si Ming had no choice but to keep his questions to himself.

As they talked, the two walked towards the vicinity of the station, since this was the area with the highest foot traffic, and choosing this location was undoubtedly the best way to gain recognition.

Should I play it once first?

"That's the best way to do it."

After Si Ming took out the harmonica, Yuezheng Qiong was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Did my sister give you this harmonica?"

"Yes," Si Ming noticed the other person's Anomalies expression and, with a sudden thought, asked, "Could this harmonica be yours?"

Indirect kissing isn't a big deal. As long as neither party cares, it's nothing. But if one party does care, things become ambiguous, especially if it happens in front of the other party, which makes it particularly noticeable.

"No, the harmonica does belong to my sister, but it was a birthday present I gave her when she was eight," Yuezheng Qiong said with an Anomalies expression. "Never mind, she's the rightful owner. Let her give it to whomever she likes."

Upon hearing this, Si Ming's expression also became somewhat Anomalies. Giving away the birthday gift his sister had given him to someone else... Well, Yuezheng Yao hadn't said she was giving it away; perhaps she was just lending it to him temporarily. But treating something with such special meaning so casually made him feel that there was some kind of implication behind it.

"Oh, and remember to change into this when you play."

Yuezheng Qiong took out a stack of masks. These masks only covered the upper half of the face and were all different shapes. They were not flat masks with patterns, but rather masks with outward protrusions. In this way, they could cover the face without affecting singing and playing.

"Why is it masks again? I feel like I'm dealing with masks a lot lately?"

"Ha, this is an inspiration I got from the music festival. Wasn't that female swordsman in blue wearing a Black Tortoise mask? I think we can borrow that idea. After all, it's inconvenient for me to show my face, and it's not good to sing while wearing a mask, so why not make it into a mask set? Come on, pick one yourself. These masks were custom-made by someone, the quality is guaranteed. Azure Dragon White Tiger, Black Tortoise Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu—they all have them!"

Chapter 436 Initial Success

Considering that he had piloted the Vermilion Bird Machine, Si Ming reached for the Vermilion Bird mask, but Yuezheng Qiong easily dodged it.

"How can a grown man like you use the Vermilion Bird mask? This mask is mine; you can choose from the rest."

Yuezheng Qiong put the Vermilion Bird mask on herself and took off her face mask. If someone was very familiar with Yuezheng Yao, they could probably recognize her by her mouth.

However, as far as Si Ming knew, Yuezheng Yao didn't have any close friends, and she hadn't even been involved in any scandals. Although she spoke in a way that made people feel comfortable and was very polite to everyone, she was actually keeping everyone at arm's length. After all, she was the top star in the entertainment industry of Su State, and she was always the one being fawned over. She didn't need to beg anyone.

Although the entertainment industry is a cesspool, and those who remain pure are few and far between, they do exist, provided you have a powerful background. This has been proven on Earth. There are one or two female celebrities in the China entertainment industry who never have scandals and never expose themselves on screen. Although they don't seem to be very popular, it proves that the rules of the entertainment industry still have to kneel before power.

In the Sea Continent, there is another type of person who is qualified to remain untainted by the mud: martial arts masters. If you have enough martial arts strength, others will not dare to provoke you. Otherwise, if you secretly inject a hidden force during a sexual encounter, and it explodes after two months, causing the other party to die from hematuria, it will be difficult for the law to find you, because there are too many people who have a grudge against the deceased.

Moreover, the mask on Yuezheng Qiong's face was too eye-catching. No matter who saw her, the first thing they would notice was the mask, and very few people would pay attention to her exposed lips.

Without a first choice, Si Ming didn't know which one to choose either. There were too many kinds of masks. Besides the ones that Yuezheng Qiong had mentioned, there were also famous mythical beasts such as Dapeng and Bai Ze. He was suffering from decision paralysis.

"Hey! You're a grown man, make a decision quickly. What's with all this indecisiveness? I'll give you five seconds to think it over. Five, four, three, two, one, okay, choose this one," Yuezheng Qiong handed a Qilin mask to Si Ming, brooking no refusal. "The Qilin child symbol is quite good."

"That's a term of address used for juniors, right? Our age difference isn't that big."

"Junior and younger brother are about the same."

Although she was a little reserved at first, Yuezheng Qiong was a tomboy by nature. After chatting for a while and getting to know each other a bit better, she stopped hiding her true nature and patted Si Ming on the shoulder in a carefree manner.

Helpless, Si Ming had no choice but to put on the Qilin mask and then play a fairly popular tune on his harmonica. He had learned it while reading during his break between classes. Although he had only practiced for less than an hour in total, with his strong talent, he was already playing it quite well. In addition, the tune itself was relatively basic and did not have any difficult sections, so he did not make any mistakes.

After finishing the piece, Si Ming looked at Yuezheng Qiong with a lack of confidence and asked, "From a professional's perspective, what do you think?"

He hasn't practiced for long enough. If he had a few more days, he'd be confident he could compete with professional harmonica players.

Yuezheng Qiong gave a hesitant look and said, "How should I put it? Technically, it's very standard, perfectly in sync with the beat, just like a smart circuit playing. But this style is usually honed through hundreds of mechanical training sessions, so it tends to sound too crafty. Yet you still retain the naivety of a beginner, full of energy. It's so strange that these two completely contradictory forms of expression and inner styles have appeared together. This is the first time I've encountered such a situation."

She guessed correctly. Si Ming was indeed a beginner. He had mastered the technique through sheer luck, skipping a lot of training and getting the result directly. This is usually something that only exceptionally talented musicians can achieve. However, Si Ming himself didn't have much talent for the harmonica, so it presented a very contradictory feeling.

Ordinary people may not be able to understand this sense of contradiction, but Yuezheng Qiong comes from a musical Aristocratic Clan. Even if he is not a master, he deserves the evaluation of an expert and can see the intricacies of the matter.