World Famous Music, Fatal Slap

As Su Rui's words rang out, everyone present felt an inexplicable tension. Many were speculating about what Su Rui intended to do.

A counterattack, or perhaps, a more forceful slap in the face.

It was just after dark, and the air conditioning in the hall wasn't quite strong enough. Beads of sweat appeared on many foreheads. The atmosphere in the room was akin to war drums sounding on a battlefield.

"You're... kidding me..." Deng Hao's face stiffened, his brow twitching incessantly.

"Xiao Su, that's enough... don't mess around anymore." Hu Yuhua finally spoke up to dissuade him, though a smile gradually crept into his eyes.

Su Rui smiled and glanced at Deng Hao and Bai Yanyun. His eyes were even more intoxicated as he said to them, "Just stay there and listen. I'll teach you what world-class master level is."

Deng Hao's face was gloomy, while Bai Yanyun maintained her last bit of composure and calmness.

"Ding..."

Without warning, without any preparation, Su Rui's fingertips pressed onto the keys. It was Beethoven's Für Elise, a piece by the romantic master. He sat quietly by the piano, his gaze fixed on the night view outside the window, his fingertips constantly dancing on the black and white keys. Every note, every transition, was perfectly executed.

Everyone was silent, savoring the music.

Facing Deng Hao and Bai Yanyun's almost idiotic provocations, Su Rui finally erupted at this moment. In his hazy intoxication, he simply followed the music score in his mind and his muscle memory, allowing this timeless, beautiful melody to constantly echo in the silent hall.

Deng Hao's eyes gradually changed.

Embarrassment, stiffness... and anger.

Of course, he could judge the quality of this piece, but precisely because of that, he felt angry.

Why? Why are you the same age as me, yet you can reach this level?!

And those who were initially somewhat skeptical finally couldn't help but feel ashamed of their earlier thoughts. The standard of this Für Elise was clearly higher than the A Midsummer Night's Dream played earlier. If Su Rui was someone who only practiced one piece his whole life to gain fame, how could this be explained?

Suddenly, the piano music took another turn.

The atmosphere of Für Elise still lingered, but a new melody had already emerged.

The music was sorrowful, gentle, and beautiful, like a maiden softly pleading with a hint of melancholy. A pair of lovers, forced apart by worldly pressure, tragically died together in pursuit of happiness.

In a corner of the hall, someone was listening silently, tears streaming down their face.

"Richard Clayderman's... Romeo and Juliet." In the crowd, a well-dressed noblewoman around forty years old, her eyes red-rimmed, sighed with emotion.

Su Rui's fingertips never stopped. One classic masterpiece after another filled the hall.

The melody was high-pitched, the transitions sorrowful and low... This was Ballade pour Adeline.

Hazy and light, like a song and a dream... This was A Maiden's Prayer.

Warm and pure... This was Mariage d'Amour.

Symphony No. 5.

Swan Lake.

Symphony No. 5...

The people in the hall could no longer remain calm. They gradually moved forward, gathering around Su Rui, listening to him play one piece after another, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

Everyone had ears and could hear the quality of the music. There were many geniuses in the world, but from ancient times to the present, there had absolutely never been a situation like today.

They had heard people play the piano, but they had never heard anyone play like this.

Performing a piece is absolutely not just about pressing your fingers on the corresponding keys of the sheet music. To perfectly perform a piece, the performer needs to invest their whole heart and soul, even expressing their emotions deeply. Furthermore, the transitions between pieces require time to separate; otherwise, carrying the emotion of the previous piece into the next will make the melody sound strange.

This is why in most concerts, after playing a piece, the performer needs to rest for a few minutes to adjust their emotions.

Even world-class piano masters cannot achieve seamless transitions with such ease.

And most of the pieces Su Rui played were not of the same style. There were romantic, solemn, radical, and sorrowful pieces, but when they transitioned between each other, people could not detect any abruptness whatsoever.

This... was a bit too terrifying.

Su Rui did not stop. At this point, the gazes of the crowd towards Su Rui had become strange. They felt that the young man in the dim light before them no longer belonged to the realm of mortals but was a celestial being who had descended to the world.

Su Rui was unaware of the situation around him at this moment. He gazed at the sky outside the window, then closed his eyes after a moment.

He paused slightly, then reached out his hand to the side.

"Would you like something to drink?" Li Ruobing asked softly.

"Petrus, 2010 vintage."

Li Ruobing, holding a glass of red wine, frowned slightly. This was her favorite winery.

In the past, she had never done such a thing as serving tea or water for someone, but Su Rui's performance today made her feel that pouring Su Rui a glass of wine was perfectly acceptable.

The rich and mellow wine flowed down Su Rui's throat. His ten fingers lay flat on the keys, and the piano music began again.

From the leisurely tranquility of Chopin's Nocturne to the fresh joy of Tales from the Vienna Woods; from the harmonious gentleness of Flower of Scotland to the passionate intensity of the Eroica Symphony...

In the vast hall, countless light and shadows seemed to dance, gradually condensing into the figures of piano masters from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, some heroic and spirited, others wild and eccentric.

This was the accumulation of Su Rui's countless reincarnations. He had infinite time; in each life, he could spend his entire existence perfecting a certain skill.

Or, perfecting a certain piece of music.

This was the accumulation of countless reincarnations, descending upon this hall in such an abrupt manner, striking the hearts of everyone present.

Su Rui suddenly opened his eyes, silently looking at Deng Hao, and also seemingly looking at the world in the distance.

Beethoven, Liszt, Williamson, Chopin...

Under the dim light, these piano masters seemed to stand behind Su Rui, staring at Deng Hao's face with extremely indifferent and contemptuous eyes.

As if saying, "Does that slap hurt?"

With a crisp clang, Bai Yanyun's trembling hand could no longer hold the wine glass. The glass fell onto the marble floor, shattering into countless sparkling fragments.

Silence.

Complete silence.

Who knows how long it took, but when the last note from Su Rui's fingertips faded, the people in the hall still couldn't escape the grip of that intense emotion.

Several young women, holding phones with the recording function on, rubbed their aching arms, looking at Su Rui as if he were a deity.

Su Rui seemed drunk. He twisted his neck, swayed his finger, and walked up to Deng Hao. He wagged a finger in front of Deng Hao's nose and asked, "Do you admit defeat?"

The hall remained silent. Su Rui's words were spoken softly, but they clearly reached everyone's ears.

At this point, there was no longer any suspense or dispute about the outcome.

From now on, no matter how accomplished Deng Hao was in music, he could never compare to Su Rui, who had just performed what felt like a full concert.

As for the slander Deng Hao had just uttered, claiming Su Rui only practiced one piece his whole life to gain fame...

Everyone had only one thought in their minds... Screw you!

Deng Hao looked at Su Rui as if he were a monster. A look of despair filled his eyes. For some reason, his chest suddenly tightened, and a sweet, metallic taste filled his throat.

"..." Under everyone's gaze, Deng Hao's fists turned white as he clenched them. Breathing heavily, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Good," Su Rui said with a smile, patting Deng Hao's shoulder. The smile at the corner of his mouth held a hint of mischief. "As for the punishment..."

"You, and Miss Bai, will sing 'Where is the Road?' together."