I Know Your Secret

After writing the words "brother and sister," He Wei Ni Ya did not immediately put down her staff. Instead, she tapped her finger lightly on the table, pondered for a moment, and then drew a question mark after the words "brother and sister."

Although she had learned of this information from more than one source, she still could not be 100% certain.

Ultimately, most of her information came from whispers in the Girls' Dormitory. Phrases like "He Wei Ni Ya, I'll tell you a secret, but don't tell anyone else" or "Wow, He Wei Ni Ya, you have no idea what I just heard from XXX" couldn't possibly be 100% true.

Of course, the information is indeed highly credible, because there are quite a few real "aristocratic young ladies" in the Girls' Dormitory. They do know a lot of things, and He Wei Ni Ya has confirmed this information with them more than once. So it can be basically confirmed that this information is true, but we should still keep a last bit of doubt.

After adding a question mark, He Wei Ni Ya put down her staff and began to carefully examine each name on the paper.

This is the condition for playing the Seven Sound Divine Song.

Yes, to play the Seven Sound Divine Song was He Wei Ni Ya's goal, her greatest ambition.

She entered the academy as He Wei Ni Ya for this very purpose, and now she has been working towards it for a year. The names on this piece of paper are all the results she has achieved so far.

When she first enrolled, He Wei Ni Ya thought finding the remaining six Golden Sound would be an easy task.

After all, when she enrolled, the entire academy knew that she was the Seventh Sound, so logically, the remaining six vocalists should also be as famous as her.

But the reality was not as He Wei Ni Ya wished; the Golden Ranks were far more mysterious than she had imagined.

This wasn't a deliberate cover-up by the Three Great Academies, but rather because not all the other gold-ranked students were freshmen like He Wei Ni Ya.

There are two types of students in the Three Great Academies of the Holy Sound Academy.

One type is the regular students who attend the academy for four years, graduate normally, and then find normal employment. Many of these students come from noble families, so even if they are Gold-ranked, they return to serve their families after graduation, making it impossible for He Wei Ni Ya to find them.

Another type is the students who stay on campus, who have a longer academic career than regular students. It could even be said that they stay on campus not only to study, but also to work for the college.

Such students who remain at the university are extremely rare, and they must have a specific professor as their Mentor. For example, He Wei Ni Ya's Mentor was Professor Lai Ang Na, who accompanied her on her mission to Lyra.

So she was one of those students who could stay on campus after four years of normal study.

Let's go back to the previous question.

Except for a very small number of Gold-ranked students with privileged backgrounds or connections who choose to graduate normally, the vast majority of Gold-ranked students choose to stay at the academy.

After staying on at the school, they disappeared from everyone's sight.

It wasn't a physical disappearance, but rather that after staying on at the university, they no longer needed to wear the robes symbolizing class and musical notes. They would take on more research-related work and no longer mingle with ordinary students. And those classmates who knew them, who knew their class and musical notes, had long since graduated.

Therefore, over time, fewer and fewer people know about these gold-tier items.

This is why He Wei Ni Ya has only found about half of the people in a year, and some of those people even have the same notes.

It's not that she didn't work hard; on the contrary, this is already the result of her hard work.

If she were given more time to become a student staying on campus, she would have access to more information and would eventually find all the musical notes.

The problem is, she doesn't have that time.

The Grand Ceremony will begin this year; if you miss it this year, you'll have to wait another twenty years, which is something He Wei Ni Ya cannot accept.

Therefore, we need to be more proactive.

But the problem is...

He Wei Ni Ya subconsciously looked at the entangled left middle finger.

She's facing more than one problem right now.

Right now, the only one who sees through her ambition is this guy named Visas.

Even if Visas saw through it, He Wei Ni Ya couldn't admit it, because she couldn't cooperate with Visas.

They all wanted to play the Seven Sound Divine Song.

But the Seven Sound Divine Song they wanted to play was definitely not the same one.

If the ultimate goals are not aligned, then short-term cooperation will only lead to greater division.

Moreover, He Wei Ni Ya doesn't trust anyone in this world.

She didn't even believe Bai Wei's claim that a well-nurtured soul would leave this world. If she could, she would cut off that finger right now to prevent future trouble.

But her intuition told her that she couldn't do that now.

Putting aside the fact that she suddenly lost a finger, what will outsiders think?

If Bai Wei has the ability to light up her notes, does he also have the ability to extinguish them?

Neither of these two points is acceptable to He Wei Ni Ya at present.

Therefore, she can refuse Bai Wei's trade request now, but she absolutely cannot fall out with him.

Even if you were to take action against him, it would have to be based on a thorough understanding of him.

This is also He Wei Ni Ya's current principle of conduct.

Just then, the middle finger that was entangled twitched slightly, and He Wei Ni Ya realized that she had been "changing clothes" for a while. So she changed her clothes and packed her things in ten seconds and then released the seal.

When the paper bearing the cursed mark fell off, He Wei Ni Ya felt Bai Wei return to her body.

It seems the seal is indeed effective.

"Miss He Wei Ni Ya, you've been taking quite a while to change your clothes," Bai Wei said casually.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Visas," He Wei Ni Ya apologized, then added honestly, "I also had some personal matters to attend to. Please understand."

"Ah, I understand. I'm not here to blame you," Bai Wei said with a smile. "I just want to say that if this happens again, you can wrap it a little looser. It's too tight and I feel uncomfortable; I can hardly breathe."

...breathe?

He Wei Ni Ya carefully observed her middle finger, wondering how someone could breathe with only one finger.

But she wisely refrained from asking questions and instead said, "Mr. Visas, tomorrow is the day I go to my Mentor's for class."

"That's your bald teacher?"

"... Mentor Lai Ang Na still has some hair, though not much," He Wei Ni Ya said. "But what I want to say is that I need to enter the Staff Building where the Mentor are located, and there is a Magic Barrier Magic Barrier the Staff Building that can detect all powers that do not belong to the Holy Sound. I am worried that your presence will be exposed."

"So you want to cut me up and then go over there?"

"...That's not it." He Wei Ni Ya tried her best to keep her expression unchanged. "I just wanted to disguise myself and cover your presence with the power of the Holy Sound."

"Oh? So what are your thoughts?"

"How about this one for today?" He Wei Ni Ya looked at the talisman on the table. "If you're uncomfortable, I can loosen the reins a bit. Of course, if you don't want to, I can think of other ways."

He Wei Ni Ya was a little nervous when she asked the question.

It's like a child trying hard to tell a lie in front of their parents.

Bai Wei, however, seemed oblivious to everything and simply smiled.

"Of course, no problem."

"If you'd like to wrap it a little looser."

"Many people think that Lyra is a group of people who don't know how to appreciate art, who only know how to piece together those aesthetically unappealing, dark, greasy machines. But I don't think so." Lai Ang Na placed a disc engraved with musical notes into a strange-looking machine. As he lowered the machine's "claws," a melodious tune quickly emanated from within. "Look at this," he said, "These aesthetically unappealing things, put together, can actually produce such moving sounds. Isn't that a kind of art?"

"On the contrary, those self-proclaimed orthodox, well-dressed Rhine Father and Knight always exude a vulgarity, just like the things they like... Please, who would treat a child as a work of art, especially a boy? It's simply... incomprehensible."

Lai Ang Na turned to look at He Wei Ni Ya, his smiling eyes filled with admiration.

"Look at you, He Wei Ni Ya."

"You are the true work of art, a work of art that can only grow on this pure land of Holy Sound."

He Wei Ni Ya's face was flushed, her expression showing a mix of joy, pride, and shyness. "Thank you, Mentor."

"Hehe, why are you thanking me? I haven't done anything yet," Lai Ang Na said. "Although I was planning to find a way to help you while you still couldn't light up the notes, thankfully you managed to do it on your own. Now you are a true Gold Tier Note, a true work of art... Any thoughts?"

"It's all thanks to my Mentor's excellent teaching," He Wei Ni Ya said. "If my Mentor hadn't constantly encouraged me and reassured me, I definitely wouldn't have been able to light up the notes so quickly."

"You silly child," Lai Ang Na said with a faint smile, "Have you put all your extra talent into talking?"

Although he was smiling, there was little joy in Lai Ang Na's eyes, and even his tone was much colder than usual, as if everything he had just said was just for show.

He Wei Ni Ya knew that Lai Ang Na had not yet spoken what he truly wanted to say.

Sure enough, not long after, she heard Lai Ang Na ask, "Now that you've lit up the notes and become a true Gold Rank Seven Note, what are your thoughts on the Grand Ceremony?"

"Idea?"

"Yes," Lai Ang Na asked. "For example, which orchestra are you planning to join?"

His tone seemed casual, but He Wei Ni Ya knew that this was what Lai Ang Na really wanted to say.

In fact, Lai Ang Na was not a particularly powerful professor among the Three Great Academies, or even in the third house alone. He became He Wei Ni Ya's Mentor because he had some connections with He Wei Ni Ya's family.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the two sides are equal in status, and Lai Ang Na's status is even higher. After all, although gold-rank is rare, one can still be produced every few years.

The problem is that the gold rank before the Grand Ceremony and the gold rank after the Grand Ceremony are not the same thing.

If He Wei Ni Ya lit the notes after the Grand Ceremony and couldn't Grand Ceremony, then even if she was incredibly talented, Lai Ang Na could still keep her in check.

However, since it was lit up just before the Grand Ceremony, and it is extremely rare, and there may even be only one of its Seventh Sound, the value is greatly different.

Countless professors and forces of higher status Lai Ang Na will extend olive branches to He Wei Ni Ya. These are all beings who want to play the Seven Sound Divine Song, and Lai Ang Na cannot afford to offend them.

That's why Lai Ang Na first probed He Wei Ni Ya; those flattering words were merely a prelude to utter the final, crucial sentence.

When he asked the question, Lai Ang Na kept looking into He Wei Ni Ya's eyes.

He Wei Ni Ya, seemingly oblivious to everything, stammered, "Huh? Shouldn't this be arranged by you, Mentor?"

Lai Ang Na narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression remaining largely unchanged. "Oh? Is that what you think?"

"Hmm... what else?" He Wei Ni Ya suddenly sounded aggrieved. "Mentor, don't you want to take care of me anymore?"

After confirming that He Wei Ni Ya wasn't joking, Lai Ang Na's expression relaxed and he smiled again.

Of course, this smile was much more genuine than before.

"Since I've made you my student, I won't abandon you," he said calmly. "Since you haven't given this much thought, then leave it to me. I'll help you find the most suitable orchestra for you. Until then, just focus on your studies."

In other words, he would sell himself to the person who offered the highest price.

He Wei Ni Ya naturally understood what this meant.

Lai Ang Na didn't have the ability to assemble an orchestra to perform the Seven Sound Divine Song. After all, apart from He Wei Ni Ya, the only one he could really be proud of was the silver-ranked Doss.

That's why he lent He Wei Ni Ya as a "commodity".

But He Wei Ni Ya didn't care. After all, it didn't matter to her who she sold to, so she obediently replied, "I will try my best."

So Lai Ang Na's gaze softened as he looked at He Wei Ni Ya.

Since that's the case...

"Now that you've lit the notes, as your Mentor, I should give you something in return," Lai Ang Na said. "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

He Wei Ni Ya's eyes lit up.

Before long, He Wei Ni Ya left the Staff Building where Lai Ang Na worked.

She held a small Music Box in her hand, which she had just gotten from Lai Ang Na.

As for the purpose of this Music Box...

He Wei Ni Ya looked down at her gloved left hand.

It can only be said that it was a backup plan she left for Bai Wei.

But it cannot be revealed yet.

With that thought in mind, He Wei Ni Ya put the Music Box away.

Then she looked at the sky again. It was still early before sunset, so she had some time.

Since that's the case, she decided to go to the library again.

But at that moment, a boy suddenly appeared in front of her.

"He Wei Ni Ya," he said, "I want you to team up with me."

He Wei Ni Ya looked up, somewhat surprised, at the boy who had suddenly appeared.

She didn't know the other person.

"Who are you?" she asked, remaining polite.

"Don't worry about who I am, you have to team up with me!"

The other person stared intently at He Wei Ni Ya, and then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Because... I know your secret."

He Wei Ni Ya's smile gradually faded.