Gu Yijin VS Shen Qingling

Ruan Mingyi wasn't sure whether Shen Qingling could play the piano.

But she knew Gu Yijin was skilled at it, so she didn't want Shen Qingling to go up against him.

In Ruan Mingyi's view, there was no need to agree to something like this.

Yet Shen Qingling unexpectedly agreed.

The young man looked calm and composed as he said, "The piano? I can play."

Gu Yijin revealed a half-smile. "If you're only agreeing out of spite, there's no need to force yourself."

Sheng Xia also mocked him arrogantly, "Knowing how to play and being good at playing are two different things. Don't confuse them. If you're just going up there to play a few simple pieces, I can do that too."

Ruan Mingyi leaned close to Shen Qingling's ear. "Can you really play? If not, just ignore them. Nothing will happen if you don't take the bait."

But Shen Qingling smiled. Rarely gentle, he said, "Just trust me. It's true that nothing would happen if I didn't take the bait, but I don't want you to lose to her."

077: "Ruan Mingyi's Heart-Throb Score increased by 10."

That gentle yet domineering and confident "I don't want you to lose to her" made Ruan Mingyi suddenly understand.

She was practically about to be charmed senseless by Shen Qingling in that moment.

No, was Shen Qingling really this good at sweet talk?

Wasn't he supposed to be a cool, aloof male god who spoke little? How could he say things like that so effortlessly?

That sentence wasn't even particularly flirtatious, so why was her heart racing so fast...

Maybe, in Shen Qingling's eyes, it wasn't some deliberately seductive love confession. It was simply a genuine expression of what he felt.

He simply didn't want to see her lose to Sheng Xia.

That was where Shen Qingling's charm lay.

With just one sentence, the young man had effortlessly thrown her heart into disarray, making her fall for him beyond escape.

A smile appeared in Ruan Mingyi's eyes. "Why would you deliberately say something like that? You'll make me think you like me a little."

"I've never said that I don't like you."

Shen Qingling's feelings were never something he hung on his lips.

Ruan Mingyi froze. Her already unsettled heart was once again stirred into turmoil by Shen Qingling's words.

She suddenly remembered a saying: if you wanted to know whether a man truly liked you, don't look at what he said. Look at what he did.

He had agreed to accompany her to such a boring banquet, even knowing everyone would see him as a gigolo.

He had put on a formal suit he disliked and styled himself in a way he considered overly "flashy and frivolous," all to help her save face.

At this banquet, quite a few women who were as good as her—or even from better families, gentler, and more interesting—had extended olive branches to him. Yet he rejected every one of them. She had heard those women call him an unattainable "flower on a lofty peak."

But she had plucked that lofty flower little by little.

The young man who had initially been cold as ice now joked with her and wanted to win her a reward that was not actually important to her.

For the first time, Ruan Mingyi clearly realized that the idea that "Shen Qingling hates her" was wrong.

Maybe he liked her, just a little.

077: "Ruan Mingyi's Heart-Throb Score increased by 10... What has this girl been imagining? How did one sentence from you give her so many points? Is this still the Ruan Mingyi who was so stingy with Heart-Throb Scores?"

Shen Qingling: "She's merely realized that Shen Qingling somewhat 'likes' her. When some things are explored bit by bit, they will form the result she wants."

He had merely laid down the foreshadowing she wanted along this path, allowing her to smoothly reach the "destination" he wanted her to reach.

Ruan Mingyi felt a little moved.

Compared to countless verbal declarations of "I like you" from a man, this sort of affection that she had suddenly discovered herself was even more shocking.

"Hey, have you two flirted enough?"

Sheng Xia was surprised to see Ruan Mingyi dazed by a single gentle smile from Shen Qingling.

She might not understand Ruan Mingyi one hundred percent, but she understood her eighty percent. This woman had never taken love seriously, and Sheng Xia had thought Ruan Mingyi was merely playing around with this one too.

But now, it seemed that wasn't the case?

And that man's smile really was quite attractive...

077: "Sheng Xia's Heart-Throb Score increased by 3. Her heart is more honest than her mouth, this young lady."

Shen Qingling looked at Sheng Xia. "I said I can play. Does Miss Sheng have anything else to say?"

"Then I'll take that as you agreeing. Ajin, you go first."

Gu Yijin felt as though he had been treated like the pet dog of a spoiled young lady.

Forget it. Sheng Xia had always been like this.

Gu Yijin had long since gotten used to it.

He smiled gently. "Then I'll go first. Xiaxia, listen carefully. I'm playing this piece especially for you."

Sheng Xia nodded somewhat perfunctorily. "Mm-hm, go ahead, Ajin. I'll listen carefully."

There was a small stage in the banquet hall, with a piano placed on it. Someone was currently seated there playing.

Anyone invited by the Sheng Family to attend a banquet like this naturally wouldn't be ordinary.

That person was Zhong Qing, the piano master invited by the Sheng Family. She was famous both at home and abroad.

Gu Yijin walked over and said something to her. Zhong Qing smiled and yielded her seat.

Gu Yijin's piano skills were indeed no empty boast. Although his playing was inferior to a Top Piano Master like Zhong Fan, he had no problem crushing the young masters and young ladies in this circle.

Sheng Xia's group of girlfriends quickly gathered around her and began flattering her.

"Xiaxia, your Ajin is showing off his piano skills again. It sounds so nice."

"Young Master Gu said he was playing especially for Xiaxia. How romantic. When will I find a boyfriend like that?"

"Only Xiaxia could find a boyfriend like Gu Yijin. We don't have that kind of luck."

"Xiaxia, when will you introduce us to your Ajin's friends?"

"I heard that young master from the Tang Family is pretty good too. He still doesn't have a girlfriend."

Ruan Mingyi rolled her eyes at the sight.

She asked curiously, "What do you think of Gu Yijin's playing?"

Shen Qingling gave an extremely pretentious assessment. "It's average."

Ruan Mingyi smiled in surprise. "Average? Then I'm really looking forward to your performance later."

"By the way, when did you learn the piano? You've never mentioned it before, and none of the rumors at Jiang University said anything about it."

Shen Qingling's personality and hobbies were easy enough to find out about—for example, he liked painting.

But she had truly never heard anything about the piano.

When had Shen Qingling learned it?

—Of course, just now.

With 077 at his side, what cheat ability couldn't he have?

Shen Qingling: "Qiqi, how many points do I need to buy a Top Piano Master cheat ability?"

077: "Since this is the host's first time buying a cheat ability, I'll give you a discount. I'll reluctantly let you have it for one hundred thousand points."

Shen Qingling: "Damn, what a greedy merchant. It's still one hundred thousand points even after a discount?"

077: "You want Top Piano Master. If you want Advanced instead, I can give it to you for seventy thousand. Advanced would actually be enough to crush Gu Yijin."

Shen Qingling gritted his teeth. "No, that won't do. If I'm going to slap him in the face, I have to buy the best. One hundred thousand points, right? I'll buy it!"

077: "Host, your current points are... not enough..."

Shen Qingling: "Has our relationship grown distant or what? You're really going to argue with me over this little amount?"

077: "Fine. Considering the host's outstanding performance, I'll let you owe me these points. Just pay me back next time."

System Shop: Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the "Top Piano Master" cheat ability. Points deducted. Welcome to visit again.

Immediately afterward, Shen Qingling felt a wave of dizziness in his head, as though something had been injected into his body. He felt refreshed all over, and even his aura had changed.

Shen Qingling opened his panel and took a look. He discovered that his points had been cleared to zero, but the character attributes section now had an additional stat: aura, with a value of 87.

"This cheat ability can even increase aura? Then it wasn't a bad purchase."

"Of course. If the host buys a top-tier talent-related cheat ability, the boost to aura is very high. If you buy a martial arts-related one, it can increase health and combat power."

"That actually sounds pretty reasonable."

Shen Qingling thought over the piece he would play later.

077 told him that he could directly enter the system space to practice. That was the wonder of the system.

From the outside, Shen Qingling simply looked like he was sitting off to the side with his eyes closed, resting.

Sheng Xia curled her lips. "Don't think pretending to sleep will let you get out of this."

Shen Qingling ignored her completely, making Sheng Xia bite her lip in both anger and embarrassment.

Sheng Xia was like an elementary school student. She wanted to talk to Shen Qingling, yet she also wanted to bully him. In truth, she only wanted his attention.

Unfortunately, a certain someone had no appreciation for romance and directly ignored her, making the young lady even more indignant. She was determined to see him bow his head to her.

—What a strange elementary-school mindset.

After a while, Gu Yijin came down from the stage.

As expected, he received thunderous applause.

Ruan Mingyi couldn't help feeling a little worried. "He didn't really fall asleep, did he?"

Shen Qingling slowly opened his eyes. "No. I was just practicing the piece I'm going to play later in my head."

Sheng Xia muttered speechlessly, "What are you pretending for? Practicing in your head? Who do you think you are, some piano master?"

Shen Qingling stood and prepared to take the stage. He straightened his suit, then showed off to Sheng Xia in profile. "You'll find out soon enough whether I am. It's not too late to apologize to me now."

Sheng Xia snorted coldly. "Look how full of yourself you are. Apologize to you? Just don't play so badly later that you have to apologize to everyone."