Light Snow
A light and lively prelude sounded under An Siyao's hands.
Xia Yu quickly recognized this piece, a popular piano composition called "Light Snow."
Originally, the piece was a small tune passed down in a small country, adapted dramatically by a pianist during World War II, almost completely changing the tune, but the emotions it conveyed remained unchanged.
The original tune came from a widely circulated folktale in that country.
The protagonist of the story was an ancient general of that country, and the plot took place before the general came to power.
Light Snow referred to a special kind of rice, which, after a highly sophisticated process, would become icy and fragrant. When taken, it had analgesic and anti-infection effects.
At the time, the general, who was just a small leader, was always injured in the anti-invasion war. In ancient times, wound infection was one of the major causes of soldiers' deaths, and the ruthless god of death naturally would not favor the general.
In order to help him, his wife made this special rice for him.
The general, who had never heard of Light Snow, thought it was just ordinary medicine. With the help of the medicine, he performed bravely on the battlefield, quickly attracting attention and promotion.
After repelling the invaders, the general went from being a small leader to a vassal of the city lord. He was full of pride, but his wife grew weaker day by day.
The general tried many methods but could not save her.
It was only after his wife's death, while sorting through her belongings, that he learned the cause of her death from a scroll.
The production of Light Snow was complex, requiring manual labor and the mixing of rice with a medicinal ingredient called snake persimmon.
And snake persimmon was highly toxic.
Although the story was sad, the main emotion of Light Snow was light and lively.
Underneath the light and cheerful melody, there was a hint of faint sorrow.
This piece expressed the wife's emotions, as if she were telling the story herself.
Even as her life gradually faded away, her heart remained joyful because the rice she made had saved her lover.
Closing her eyes, An Siyao poured her emotions into this piano piece, conveying the feelings through the echoing music.
Her performance intoxicated the audience, but the judges on stage detected a hint of discord.
It was too sweet.
The sorrowful part was weak, and the lively part was almost overflowing. This was not a tragedy of love and loss; it was clearly a confession song, swearing to one's lover and willing to give everything.
When the piece reached a transitional part, An Siyao's fingers paused for a moment, and she coughed softly.
The cough did not affect her performance, but the emotions of the music changed slightly after the sound of the cough.
It was because An Siyao's emotions had changed.
Coughing during a performance was considered a major mistake, and An Siyao glanced at the camera, her heart filled with sorrow, grieving that she couldn't offer a perfect piece.
The sadness manifested in the music, becoming more and more intense, eventually intertwining with the liveliness, and finally lingering in the air as the music ended.
"Excellent!" Four of the five judges applauded.
"Even if it had been Jiulang alive, this would be the level." The last judge also gave a high evaluation.
However, there was no joy in An Siyao's heart. She was still preoccupied with her coughing incident.
"Is your body not well yet?" The judge was concerned about her health.
"It's just a cold," An Siyao answered.
"It's alright, there are still five days before the finals, take a good rest."
After analyzing An Siyao's delicate snowpiece, spending four to five times more on the evaluation time than other contestants, the five judges stopped talking only upon the hint from the producer.
After the performance, An Siyao left the venue with her teacher, not bothering to listen to the other performances.
With An Siyao's performance before them, both the audience and the judges lost interest in the following ones.
After the competition was over, Xia Yu returned to the hotel, still thinking about An Siyao's delicate snowpiece. It was such a hard-to-resist piece.
He was again worried about An Siyao's health; although it didn't seem serious, she was still sick.
He could put aside the matter with White Cat for now and go to An Siyao's place tomorrow.
Although the competition was over, everyone was staying at the same hotel. After the announcement of the finalists' list tomorrow, there would be a party where he could see An Siyao again.
Upon going to bed, Xia Yu entered sleep.
The next day, his plan faced some problems as An Siyao didn't show up at the party.
In essence, An Siyao was also a homebody. Moreover, she remembered what Xia Yu had said about coming back after ten to fifteen days, and since it was already past the tenth day, she waited for him in her bedroom for convenience.
At the party, the list of those advancing to the finals was announced, a total of ten people, including Xia Yu.
Five days later, on December 1st, it was time for the finals. The ten contestants would compete for the ranks of the top ten in the region.
Music competitions were different from sports; there was no need for players to compete against each other, so the finals would be held with all ten players together.
If it were a two-person final, playing one piece per person, plus the judges' comments, the entire competition would end in more than ten minutes. Even if the organizer agreed, the audience would not accept such an arrangement.
When he returned from the party, Xia Yu went to White Cat again, in order not to waste the day's gaming time, and took a look at Tina's new home.
It was a two-storey wooden villa with a small attic. The villa was large, but the decoration inside was very simple.
There were three empty rooms inside. Tina chose the smallest one, as a larger room would make the girl feel uneasy.
Lying next to Tina, feeling the comfort transmitted from the girl, Xia Yu fell asleep contentedly.
Sleeping with Tina, in White Cat's body, was a top-level enjoyment.
One night passed, and when the sky brightened, Xia Yu returned to his own body.
He thought that he should hurry up and acquire the psychic skill, as the feeling of enjoyment it brought was irresistible.
Today, he would see if he could meet An Siyao; if not, he would go to White Cat to practice the skill.
No, today was Sunday, no class.
He could only wait for tomorrow. The day after tomorrow would be the finals, and after that, he could return to An Siyao's place.
At noon, Xia Yu went to the hotel's restaurant for breakfast. It was the hotel's own restaurant, and though the taste was not bad, it was not nearly as good as An Siyao's home or the chefs at Dong Zhi Xiang Academy.
He hadn't had Bai Yu dumplings in a long time either.
While eating lunch, his phone rang.
He was one of Xia Yu's childhood friends. The other party's father had been in cahoots with Xia Dongyang for several years, so Xia Yu had a good relationship with him. The connection had gradually faded after the friend's father went inside.
After Xia Dongyang's disappearance, Xia Yu asked him to investigate and it seems that information had been found.
As expected, it was about Xia Dongyang.
"He's in A'fang?" Xia Yu asked in surprise.
"Yes, I have a friend in charge of a construction site in A'fang, and Xia Dongyang found work under him."
After asking the location of the construction site and his friend's name, Xia Yu hung up the phone.
Xia Dongyang actually went to the construction site to work as a brick mover?
Xia Yu found it a bit unbelievable.
Had he been taken over by someone from another Earth?
Quickly finishing lunch, Xia Yu decided to go and take a look.
Before stepping out of the hotel, his phone rang again.
The call was from his sister, Yuxue.
Pressing the answer key, her energetic voice came through. "Big brother, guess where I am right now?"
Minimizing the call screen, Xia Yu saw Yuxue's phone location, which was right by his side.
Turning around, he saw Yuxue. She was walking with the school principal's close friend and the language teacher towards the hotel.
No wonder the principal said he had a surprise for him yesterday; he had brought Yuxue.
Quietly walking behind Yuxue, Xia Yu tapped the girl's shoulder.