Simulation of Destruction, Why Am I Always the Arbiter

When you were 6, you were promoted to first grade and asked your parents to enroll you in extra music lessons. Since Eden had already started learning other instruments, you felt it was necessary to learn as well so you could find common ground for conversation.

Besides your daily studies, you also made time to practice the Sword Form, swinging a toy sword in the yard every day, almost to the point where your parents thought you were possessed.

You and Eden were once again signed up for a competition by your teacher. Eden didn't go, but you did and easily took first place.

At 7, you were in second grade, and you and Eden...

At 8... 9... 16...

Sixteen years flashed by in an instant, and Ye Chang'an couldn't quite recall what he had done over those past decades.

After all, besides studying and practicing, he spent his time looking for Eden, and there wasn't much else worth remembering.

As for the various music championship trophies displayed in his room, he simply didn't pay them any mind.

This was because Eden had only participated in competitions during kindergarten and hadn't gone to any since. All the championships had been swept up by Ye Chang'an.

"Sigh, if it weren't for the prize money needed to help the family with expenses, I wouldn't even want to compete."

His family was very poor. The only reason he could attend school was because it was free. The money for subsequent tutoring classes came from his prize winnings.

Fortunately, the family's financial situation had improved significantly recently. He could now go to high school even without participating in competitions.

"Oh, right, high school tuition is apparently completely waived because I got a recommendation."

Recalling an irrelevant matter, Ye Chang'an shook his head, slung a bag over his shoulder, and headed out.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going out to work. I'll eat dinner out tonight."

After saying goodbye, he went straight to the restaurant where he worked to start earning money.

It felt a bit like his life as a salaryman before transmigration, both involving earning money by playing music.

The difference was that back then, it was for survival. Now, it was to buy musical instruments.

This guy had studied so much music that he wanted to acquire all the instruments he knew.

It wasn't a lot, just a few hundred.

So, he had to work hard to earn money.

While he was busily playing, a beautiful woman with red hair, golden eyes, and long legs walked into the restaurant.

The moment she entered, she captured everyone's attention because she was incredibly striking.

Image: "Eden Who 'Grew Up'", Location: "Images/1702640055-100390983-111108964.jpg"

Her legs, her chest – you couldn't not look, and once you looked, you couldn't look away.

Eden was already accustomed to this. Since she entered puberty, such gazes had gradually increased, and she had become immune.

But there was one thing that she couldn't let go of.

Staring at the white-haired youth sitting at the piano, lost in his music, she felt a surge of annoyance.

—This guy is genuinely not interested in me at all.

In Eden's eyes, Ye Chang'an was a strange person. She had found him odd since he loudly declared he wanted to be good friends with her in kindergarten.

Every day, he sought her out only to talk about music, never anything else.

It was fine when they were little; there wasn't much else to talk about besides music.

But she had grown up! She had grown to a point where others' eyes practically glued to her, yet this guy still only wanted to talk about music when he met her.

He didn't talk about life or aspirations, only music.

She seriously wondered if this guy was even a man.

If you said he wasn't a man, then when he beat people up, he was incredibly manly. No matter how many audacious men tried to harass Eden, he could beat them all down.

After beating them up, he'd go back to talking about music.

But if you said he was a man, it felt like an insult to the word "man," because, as a man, he seemed completely uninterested in women.

He found conversations with other women tiresome after three sentences, but with Eden, he could talk for three hundred sentences and still not stray from music.

"Do you want to spend your life with music?"

Eden really wanted to ask him that, but she never could bring herself to say it.

She was afraid Ye Chang'an would seriously reply that he wanted to spend his life with music, and then she would be heartbroken.

He was so good-looking and talented, yet the man she liked only liked music and not her.

She was done for.

"No, no, I have to snatch him back from music."

Eden muttered softly, striding towards Ye Chang'an with her long legs.

Chapter of Creation: Journey to a New World: 4. Cohabitation? Do You Want to Be Attacked at Night?

"Chang'an, want to take a break?" Eden asked softly.

Ye Chang'an looked up and saw Eden, the smile on his lips gradually blooming into a bright, even row of white, neat teeth. "Eden, you're here! Want to play a duet?"

He really looked good when he smiled. Eden was a bit mesmerized and quickly shook her head.

"No, it's been a while since I've touched a piano, my fingers are a bit stiff."

It had indeed been a long time since she had touched a piano, or rather, any musical instrument.

It wasn't a lack of time, just a lack of desire.

She was afraid she'd smash the instrument.

All because these things always occupied Ye Chang'an.

"Stiff fingers are precisely why you should play more. Come on, sit down, I've already saved a spot for you."

Ye Chang'an shifted his body, leaving a small space. If Eden wanted to sit, she'd have to squeeze in next to him.

It couldn't be helped, it was a single seat, and the restaurant owner hadn't anticipated the situation of a duet.

Why pay two people when you could pay one?

So Eden had nowhere else to sit and had to squeeze in.

Did she want to?

"Then let's play a duet."

Of course, she wanted to. She squeezed over, leaning half her body against Ye Chang'an, her ample chest slightly deforming from the pressure.

"Mmm~" The pressure on his arm made Ye Chang'an frown. He lowered his head and stared for a long time.

"What are you looking at?" Eden's face flushed, a little shy.

It wasn't polite to stare like that, without even trying to hide it.

But she was still secretly pleased. At least Ye Chang'an wasn't completely uninterested in women; he just hadn't been stimulated enough before.

After all, this was the first time she had been this close to Ye Chang'an... not counting the time before she had developed.

"Eden, this is a bit inconvenient. Shall we add some difficulty?" Ye Chang'an looked up and said.

Eden: "(⊙_⊙)? Add difficulty? How?"

"You turn ninety degrees to the right, and I'll turn ninety degrees to the left. We'll play back-to-back, one hand each for the duet."

Ye Chang'an had already turned ninety degrees; only Eden needed to turn.

Once she turned, there wouldn't be any sensitive parts of her that could touch Ye Chang'an, and she would only be able to play with her left hand.

"My left hand isn't flexible enough," Eden said through gritted teeth, completely fabricating it.

How could her left hand not be flexible enough? She could play an entire piece with one hand without any problem.

She just wanted Ye Chang'an to turn around and play a normal duet.

But who was Ye Chang'an? He immediately got up and said, "Then you sit here and play with your right hand, and I'll use my left."

—Why is this dense guy so clueless?

Eden was both angry and not angry. She took a deep breath to calm her heaving chest and moved over.

"Okay, let's do it."

She was already used to Ye Chang'an's denseness, though it occasionally broke through her defenses.

"Then let's begin. The piece is..."

Ye Chang'an turned and sat down, his left hand dancing skillfully across the keys, making the notes come alive. Beside him, Eden played skillfully, harmonizing with him.

They understood each other's playing styles too well. With one hand each, their coordination was seamless.

"Clap, clap, clap~" Enthusiastic applause erupted. The restaurant patrons chose to applaud after the performance ended.

Mainly, Eden's arrival had shifted their focus away from eating. They had witnessed the duet from beginning to end as if they were at a concert.

Ye Chang'an stood up to thank them, and Eden also curtsied, lifting her skirt.

The applause grew even more fervent, and the atmosphere felt even more like a concert.

"Ahem, Chang'an, who is this girl?"

The restaurant manager walked over to ask. Ye Chang'an enthusiastically introduced, "Manager, let me introduce you. This is my good friend, her name is Eden."

The standard he had set in kindergarten had been met, and he and Eden had become good friends.

But Eden felt that a prefix of [childhood sweethearts] could be added, or the word "good" could be changed to "female."

However, she knew Ye Chang'an would never say such a thing, so she shot him a resentful glance before smiling and nodding at the manager. "Hello, I'm Eden."

"Oh, oh, hello, hello. Ahem, you two continue then, I won't disturb you."

The manager wisely walked away, not even mentioning whether they needed an extra stool.

They were all adults, how could he not understand the thoughts of young people?

"Mhm, let's rest for a bit. By the way, Eden, why are you here? Are you here to eat?"

Ye Chang'an turned back to ask her purpose. Eden's mouth twitched, and she shook her head. "No, I came to find you."

"Oh, so you want to play a duet with me, huh? Heh heh~ Looks like I wasn't wrong. And what do you mean your hands are rusty? You played perfectly, I didn't feel anything like that at all."

Ye Chang'an smiled knowingly and praised her, making Eden even more resentful.

"Can't I come to you for anything else?"

"Anything else? What is it? Is there a competition?"

"No."

"No? Then you need someone to fill a spot for a concert?"

"You filling a spot for a concert? When have you ever been anything but the grand finale? Eden couldn't help but retort, then immediately felt like she was getting off track, quickly covering Ye Chang'an's mouth.

"Mmph? Mmph?" Ye Chang'an couldn't speak, and Eden seized the opportunity to state her business.

"I'm here to take you to see a house. Didn't you say you wanted to rent a place near the school in high school to focus on music?"

"(⊙o⊙)..." Ye Chang'an was stunned for a moment, then thought about it carefully and realized he had indeed said that.

"Yeah, I was going to rent a place, how could I forget about that? Hey, is it too late to go today? School starts tomorrow."

Time was a bit tight, and it was too late to sneak away from work.

What real estate agent would be available for rentals this late at night? It wasn't like buying a house.

"It seems it's too late. We should just stay in the school dorms," Ye Chang'an sighed, and Eden was speechless.

"Before you decide, can you think carefully about what I said? I said I'd take you to see a house, not look for a house."

"Aren't looking for and seeing a house the same thing? What's the difference?" Ye Chang'an asked, genuinely not seeing the distinction.

"Forget it, forget it. You go to work first, and come with me after you finish."

Eden didn't want to waste any more words with Ye Chang'an. Talking about anything other than music with this music fanatic was like playing the lute to a cow.

So she found a place to sit and wait, and finally dragged Ye Chang'an along with her to the car after he got off work.