Rent

"I was rejected."

Inside the magnificent hall, Finnis stood by the window, gazing at the snow-white world outside. Recalling how He Wei Ni Ya had retreated like a frightened rabbit, shaking her head and muttering, "No, no, no, I need to ask my teacher about this big thing," before fleeing the scene in a disheveled state, he couldn't help but slightly curl the corners of his mouth.

"What an interesting fellow."

Seeing how much Finnis cared about He Wei Ni Ya, Olenna behind him clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her flesh.

"Brother, you came here this time just for that woman?"

"Hmm?" Finnis turned around, looked at his sister, and then smiled. "What else could it be? It could be for you, after all?"

These words instantly turned Olenna's face pale, and her body swayed involuntarily, as if she might fall at any moment.

But she still managed to stand firm, then raised her head and looked at her brother with a stubborn expression. "I can do it too. We have the same pronunciation, I'm only a little bit worse than her."

Upon hearing Olenna's words, Finnis's smile widened even more.

He didn't immediately refute his sister, but slowly walked towards Olenna, speaking softly, each note as if precisely placed on piano keys.

"You should know that before coming to your Third Hospital, I went to the Second Academy first, right?"

Olenna pursed her lips tightly, then nodded. "I know, otherwise you wouldn't have come by boat, brother."

"Then do you know why I went to the Second Academy first?"

Olenna shook her head.

"I have convinced TuPake to join my band."

Olenna's eyes widened little by little. "TuPake is..."

"The Fifth Note of the gold scale."

Olenna's mouth dropped open involuntarily. "Doesn't that mean..."

"Yes, we already have two Gold-ranked notes," Finnis said calmly. "And according to TuPake, he can also contact a Gold-ranked person, and there's a good chance he can get that Gold-ranked person to join us as well. So... that would make three notes."

Olenna had no idea that Finnis would act so quickly.

Even before the official announcement of the Grand Ceremony, he had already found three gold-tier items.

Since that's the case...

"Then I..." Olenna was about to speak.

But Finnis casually interrupted him, "If that's the case, why are you, who is only a silver-rank, able to join my team? You must know just how important this Grand Ceremony is to the Lawrence Family."

Olenna remained silent once again.

Meanwhile, Finnis continued speaking slowly.

"Unlike the one twenty years ago, this time there's no one like the headmaster, so it's impossible to assemble the Seven Sound Divine Song. Therefore, whoever can gather the most Golden Sound will be more likely to receive the Lord's Grace of Holy Sound. And the Lawrence Family has been waiting for this moment for twenty years." At this point, Finnis paused, then looked into Olenna's eyes again, his tone gradually turning cold. "And the two of us are the hope of the family... at least originally we were. We were both nurtured by the family in secret, with all their efforts. Logically speaking, you should also be a Golden Rank, so that before the Grand Ceremony begins, the Lawrence Family will have two Golden Rank members, and everything will develop in our favor."

"But you've fallen behind, my sister."

"It's because of your incompetence that we've ended up like this. If I hadn't found TuPake, the Lawrence Family's ambitions of the past twenty years might have vanished in vain... Don't you feel any shame?"

Olenna had almost buried her head in her chest, but she still tried to defend herself. "Brother, the Seventh Sound is the hardest to reach the gold rank. I've tried my best. Even if I don't reach the gold rank, I'm still the first choice among the silver rank... If it weren't for that woman, we wouldn't have..."

Before he could finish speaking, a crisp slap rang out.

Olenna stared wide-eyed at Finnis, her face filled with disbelief.

"You have disappointed me greatly, Olenna." Finnis said calmly as he withdrew his hand. "That's why you can't become a Gold-rank... You don't have that kind of magnanimity."

Olenna covered her cheek, looking at her familiar yet unfamiliar brother, and unconsciously took two steps back.

This was the first time Finnis had ever hit her.

How could this happen? When exactly did it start?

In her memory, Finnis still felt as warm and friendly as the sun, which is why she liked Finnis so much.

But then one day, everything changed.

The sun seemed to transform from the morning sun of spring into the scorching sun of summer, and finally into a flame capable of burning and injuring people.

When was it...? Ah, she remembered.

It was after she lit up the musical notes and confirmed that she wouldn't become a gold-ranked individual that her brother's attitude immediately changed, and he became even more aggressive after learning of He Wei Ni Ya's existence.

The way my brother treats He Wei Ni Ya today is the same way he used to treat me.

Olenna bit her lip hard; she wanted to say something more, but Finnis had already lost patience.

"I don't have much time to waste with you," Finnis said coldly. "The Grand Ceremony hasn't officially started yet, and I can't stay here any longer."

Olenna lowered her head. "Understood, I won't bother you."

"Disturbing me? You think you're uninvolved? No, Olenna, you have things to do too," Finnis said calmly. "In a sense, I came here for you as well."

You came for me?

A glimmer of hope rose in Olenna's heart, but it was extinguished by Finnis's next words.

"I heard that your relationship with He Wei Ni Ya isn't good," Finnis said. "So I've come to urge you to repair your relationship with her."

Olenna didn't react. "How do I repair my relationship with her?"

"It's simple, just give in and apologize to her."

Finnis's words left Olenna stunned for a while before she understood what Finnis was talking about.

"I apologize to her?!" This was perhaps the most agitated Olenna had been since seeing Finnis. "Why?! I didn't do anything wrong! Me and her..."

"Because you're her subordinate," Finnis said calmly. "It's that simple."

Olenna gasped again.

She stared intently at Finnis, her eyes reddening.

"This is what my father instructed," Finnis said. "Is there a problem?"

Silence,

A long silence followed.

Olenna bit her lip until it bled, and the sweet taste spread slowly in her mouth.

For a moment, Olenna felt she should say something, do something, even rush up to Finnis and punch him in the face, rather than just stand there.

But she did nothing; she just stood there, like a puppet.

"Any other questions?" Finnis asked again.

"...there is none left."

"Very good." Finnis nodded slightly. "Then you may leave."

Olenna nodded stiffly and turned to leave.

But she stopped when she put her hand on the doorknob.

Her body was trembling so much that she had to take several deep breaths to steady herself. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she turned to look at Finnis, gritted her teeth, and said, word by word.

"Isn't it just the Gold Rank?"

"I will definitely become a Gold-ranked individual, no matter... what the cost."

"You just wait!"

After saying that, Olenna flung open the door, strode out of the room, and slammed the door shut behind her.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Finnis didn't utter a single word. He simply stood by the window, watching the furious Olenna run out of his lounge and quickly disappear into the vast expanse of white snow.

Then he spoke softly.

"This isn't something I forced you to do."

He Wei Ni Ya was also jogging in the snow.

Her brows were furrowed, as if she were deep in thought.

Then, she heard Bai Wei's lazy voice in her mind.

"You look troubled," Bai Wei said. "Is it because the prey suddenly appears, but you don't know how to start?"

"... I don't understand what you're saying."

"He Wei Ni Ya, at a time like this, is it really necessary for us to keep talking in riddles about such basic things?" Bai Wei said. "People shouldn't lie to their own hearts."

"You mean, you are my heart?"

"At least I live here," Bai Wei said with a smile.

He Wei Ni Ya pursed her lips, as if acknowledging her intention to play the Seven Sound Divine Song.

But at the same time, it also seemed like he didn't want to argue with Bai Wei.

In any case, as long as they remain ambiguous and don't give a clear answer, there will still be room for maneuver no matter what happens later.

"Women should always maintain an air of mystery and should not let men see through them easily."

This was something He Wei Ni Ya overheard two upperclassmen talking on the day she enrolled, something she remembered and has followed ever since.

Of course, this doesn't just apply to men, but to everyone. After all, once someone's purpose is seen through, they can easily become controlled by others.

Especially for a completely unknown entity like Bai Wei, it is even more important to preserve the last shred of... mystery.

Bai Wei, seemingly oblivious to He Wei Ni Ya's thoughts, continued to speak with great interest, "Judging from your reaction, that young master named Finnis must have been in your plans for a long time, but you're clearly not ready to hunt him down yet. Hmm... the word 'hunt' is quite apt."

"Pu Tiansheng has the ability to suppress pitch, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to kill the real He Wei Ni Ya in the first place."

"But this suppressive power is not unlimited. It's already the limit when dealing with the original He Wei Ni Ya, that kind of young lady who never even went to school for a day. But if you want to devour Finnis, who is also Golden Sound- ranked person but has already fully matured, the suppressive power of the spectrum is not that great. You can see that from how much effort you had to deal with that guy who was only a Silver-ranked person last night."

"What you need is time, but that's precisely what you lack most, because the Grand Ceremony is about to begin."

"However... I'm curious, He Wei Ni Ya."

He Wei Ni Ya felt a pull on her left hand. She subconsciously looked down and found that her middle finger was fully upright, while her index and Ring Finger were bent and overlapping. The overall feeling for He Wei Ni Ya was that someone was watching her with their arms crossed, a half-smile on their face.

"Even the great families and powerful forces within the Holy Sound did not think about playing the most perfect divine music. They only thought about being better than others so that they could get the largest share of the Holy Sound's grace."

"As for the ultimate divine grace obtained by playing the Seven Sound Divine Song, no one wants to obtain it anymore."

"But you want it anyway."

"What is it that you absolutely need to play the Seven Sound Divine Song to accomplish?"

Faced with Bai Wei's blunt and seemingly piercing question, He Wei Ni Ya had no choice but to retort, "Mr. Visas, these are just your guesses. I have always said that I just want to live."

"Ah, of course, that's just my guess." Bai Wei didn't argue, but just said with a smile, "Maybe in my eyes, you should be that kind of person."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," He Wei Ni Ya said. "I don't have such ambitions... Come to think of it, you seem to have recovered quite a bit."

Bai Wei naturally understood He Wei Ni Ya's "dismissal," and he didn't pretend not to understand. He smiled and said, "Indeed, my soul has almost recovered, but I want to stay in your body a little longer."

"Do you intend to grow old with me?"

"Of course... it won't take that long. If I had to say, I just feel that something interesting is about to happen, and I want to see it from your perspective a little longer," Bai Wei said. "Of course, I'm not freeloading; I'll pay the rent."

As soon as Bai Wei finished speaking, He Wei Ni Ya saw her index and Ring Finger separate, and then her thumb moved forward uncontrollably, touching the tip of her middle finger.

He Wei Ni Ya raised her beautiful eyebrows. "What does this mean?"

"This is the rent I'm paying you," Bai Wei said calmly. "Can you snap your fingers?"

"...meeting."

"When you encounter a problem you can't solve, just snap your fingers like this."

Bai Wei controlled two fingers and gently snapped them together.

At that moment, He Wei Ni Ya felt a tremor deep within her heart, and a powerful force spread from her two fingers, radiating outwards in waves, causing her musical score to become extremely irregular and disordered.

It's like someone is frantically pounding the keys of a piano!

This has never happened before!

What kind of power is this?!

He Wei Ni Ya was deeply shocked. Although she tried to maintain a calm expression, her obviously abnormal eyebrows betrayed her state of mind.

"What's this?"

"You can call it... [Termination]," Bai Wei said with a light laugh. "You are Gold Score, your perception is better than the average person, so you should know what it does?"

He Wei Ni Ya was silent for a moment, then asked, "What's the highest level you can reach?"

"Given your physical condition, you can interrupt almost anything except a divine song."

Bai Wei spoke calmly, and then, without giving He Wei Ni Ya a chance to continue thinking, slowly raised three fingers again.

"Three times."

"...What?"

"I said, the rent I'm paying you is three times," Bai Wei said. "I'm allowing you to use the power of this finger... three times. Of course, you can also choose not to use it at all, just like you said, and be a stable person. But you can only use it a maximum of three times."

... Three times?

He Wei Ni Ya's pupils narrowed slightly.

The three fingers were right in front of her. Although her intuition told her that using Bai Wei's power wasn't a good thing, but...

She asked in a low voice, "What will happen after three times?"

"Then you'll need to give up something more, Miss He Wei Ni Ya." Bai Wei slowly lowered his fingers, then chuckled and said, "Nothing in this world is free, is it?"

"Think carefully about where you want to use these three opportunities, Miss He Wei Ni Ya."