Blind Girl by the Bonfire

"It's fine." An Siyao's voice was weak.

"You can't play the piano like this, just give up." Xia Yu advised the young girl.

"No, I promised, I will win." Shaking off Xia Yu's supporting hand, An Siyao walked towards the backstage.

Was it a promise?

Xia Yu thought back to fifteen days ago when he casually promised to watch the live broadcast to appease An Siyao.

He didn't pay any attention to the performance of the next contestant, only feeling relieved when An Siyao stepped onto the stage from backstage.

An Siyao sat in front of the piano and raised her hand to play the prelude.

Ding ding ding ding - thump!

The thump was too sudden; it was not part of the prelude but a mistake made by the young girl.

Just like Xia Yu said earlier, there was no way to play the piano properly in such a shaky state.

The audience and judges were startled, staring at An Siyao in amazement.

Such gazes made the young girl even more anxious.

She had already made a blunder in the third round; would she not be able to play at all this time?

Biting her teeth, An Siyao raised her hand again to start the prelude.

But she failed once more.

Everyone realized that something was wrong with An Siyao's body, and they watched her closely.

An Siyao tried another time, failing on the second note.

She kept up the playing motion, then slammed her arm onto the piano cover after a moment of stiffness.

Timid audience members closed their eyes, imagining how painful it must be to slam one's arm onto the piano cover with such force.

Xia Yu immediately chose to swap bodies.

He entered An Siyao's body.

He felt the weakness of the body and the pain in the left arm.

When he returned to An Siyao's body, the scene he imagined of the girl happily welcoming him didn't occur.

An Siyao remained silent, feeling guilty for her terrible performance and unwilling to give up.

Xia Yu intended to explain the situation and withdraw from the competition using An Siyao's body, but her silence made him reconsider.

An Siyao's silence was caused by her seriousness towards the competition, and withdrawing was not the outcome she wanted.

However, there was nothing he could do; Xia Yu could only play the piano at a level 4, while An Siyao was at level 5. He couldn't bring victory to her.

No, that wasn't true.

Xia Yu's gaze shifted to the skill level-up card in the item box. As long as he used the card, he could raise his music skill to level 5.

But he had gone through all this trouble only to obtain this card in addition to a recommendation from Hua University.

As he hesitated, An Siyao's crying voice resounded in his mind.

Forget it.

Do you want to use the level-up card?

Yes

Please choose the skill to use

Music

Success

Placing his hand above the piano keys, Xia Yu began to think about what piece to play.

His willpower was stronger than An Siyao's, so he could barely play some pieces, but it did not include highly difficult pieces like Praise to the Sun.

Even medium-difficulty pieces like the Pope's Dancer were somewhat forced.

He could only choose a low-difficulty piece.

After thinking for three seconds, Xia Yu made a decision.

His hands pressed down on the piano keys.

The audience below the stage listened with concern to the music that sounded once again. They were afraid Lan Siyao would fail again, but the girl did not.

The initially flawed rhythm gradually became perfect.

It was a tranquil tune.

Peaceful, warm, and faintly fragrant.

Liu Ronglan recognized the piece.

It was a classical tune called "The Blind Girl by the Bonfire," an entry-level piece.

This piece had a simple melody and a slow rhythm.

But simplicity isn't roughness, slowness creates charm.

Under Xia Yu's hands, this piece burst forth with intense emotions.

Closing her eyes, Liu Ronglan's world plunged into darkness.

Silence, coldness, and loneliness surrounded her.

With the arrival of the music, a bonfire appeared in front of her. The bonfire's light brought warmth, but the cold remained, and the bonfire's burning caused sound, but the silence persisted. The bonfire could not enter her heart, and she remained lonely.

The melody suddenly rose.

Beside the bonfire, a blind girl in black appeared. The blind girl's voice was light and delicate, dispelling the silence; her palms were soft, driving away the cold, and her living heart expelled loneliness.

Liu Ronglan felt tranquility and comfort.

However, the firewood kept consuming, and the bonfire could not last forever. She had to get up and venture into the darkness to find fuel for the fire.

No matter how long she took to come back, and regardless of whether she found firewood, the blind girl would be patiently waiting by the bonfire.

Just by looking at the blind girl, Liu Ronglan felt her heart was filled, and she had nothing more to desire.

The music had disappeared for a while, and the audience was still lost in a gaze with their own blind girls.

Until Xia Yu closed the piano cover, that sound pulled the audience back into reality.

The five judges moved their lips, unsure where to start their evaluation.

Xia Yu didn't want to hear their comments anymore, as his head hurt badly.

Standing up, he explained his physical discomfort, escaped the judges' chattering, left the hall, and returned to a nearby hotel.

Lying in bed, he held his head.

"Thank you," said Lan Siyao, her voice somewhat hoarse.

"Shouldn't it be, 'welcome back'?"

"Yes, welcome back," the girl's voice became cheerful.

She spoke again, "That piece..."

"I just chose a simple piece because your body cannot play the difficult ones," Xia Yu defended himself.

Xia Yu didn't want Lan Siyao to know that during the performance, the prototype of the blind girl was her.

Although Xia Yu interrupted, Lan Siyao continued, "I will work hard to find firewood."

"???"

What the hell was firewood for, to light a bonfire? But the blind girl's positioning was like a mascot, guarding the bonfire.

Or she didn't see herself as the blind girl?

The blind girl is... me?

Is this a promise to work hard to support me?

Xia Yu's emotions were complicated, but Lan Siyao's body did not allow him to dwell on it any longer.

Removing his outerwear, he crawled into bed.

As he was about to enter his dreams, a series of prompts flashed before him.

Your bonus has reached lv3.

You have received a game reward.

Please choose one from the following three options:

1. Mark field +1

2. Skill Level Upgrade Card lv4 +1

3. Trustee AI personality change

In addition, you can also...

...

On the other hand, in the hall.

Liu Ronglan's granddaughter, Xia Yu's cheap female senior Liu Manman, was talking to Trustee Yu:

"This player's performance is not very good, in addition to the lack of skill, his excessive movements are a bit too much, probably because he is too nervous, what do you think?"

"Hmm, hmm, hmm." Trustee Yu replied.

Choked by Trustee Yu's response, Liu Manman changed the subject: "Tomorrow evening's awards will be presented, and your ranking will definitely be very high."

"Hmm, hmm, hmm."

"..."

Isn't this the time you should say, "Yours is not bad either?"

After giving Trustee Yu a deep look, Liu Manman stopped communicating.