Liu Manman

On the morning of the 23rd, Xia Yu turned off the alarm clock and got up from bed.

He first pulled open the curtains and took a glance at the weather outside.

The snow had stopped, and a thick layer of snow had accumulated on the ground, but the property management staff had already cleared the snow from the roads.

As everything was covered in a blanket of white, Xia Yu felt that the room had become somewhat brighter than usual.

After finishing washing up in the bathroom, he went to the dining room where Zhong Yunze was eating breakfast.

The breakfast was made by the nanny, and she was also responsible for cleaning the villa, otherwise, Kong Hanyue would definitely make a mess.

Sitting down at the table, the nanny served him breakfast, which consisted of bread and porridge.

As Xia Yu sat down, Kong Hanyue and Yuxue also came downstairs, with Yuxue looking excited and Kong Hanyue yawning.

"You're all up early today." Zhong Yunze looked at his watch, it was only seven o'clock.

"Mmm, we're going out to play together today." Kong Hanyue mumbled, chewing on her bread.

Zhong Yunze looked incredulously at Xia Yu: I'm working hard on managing the company, and you're taking advantage of this to invite my mom to play?

"Don't look at me, it's her idea," Xia Yu didn't want to take the blame.

"I want to go too!" Zhong Yunze said.

"Don't be silly, what about your company? Haven't you already asked your dad's friend for help? Let's solve this as soon as possible so we can all go out and play together later." Kong Hanyue patted Zhong Yunze's shoulder, comforting him.

Zhong Yunze had no choice but to bite his bread fiercely.

After finishing breakfast, Xia Yu and the other two said goodbye to Zhong Yunze and took the subway to the station near Yan Wei's house.

It was dangerous to drive in slippery snow, and Xia Yu didn't trust Kong Hanyue's driving skills.

After picking up Yan Wei and Yan Li, the group took the subway to the suburbs.

Getting off at the last station, Kong Hanyue led them onto a bus.

The bus slowly arrived at the foot of a small hill.

"There's an ancient villa on the hill, and it's the best place to enjoy the snow when it's snowing." Kong Hanyue said proudly.

They registered at the entrance of the mountain road, and the group began to walk upward.

The retro stone path and the stone platforms on both sides for holding candles indeed had a lot of charm.

However, were such scenic locations really interesting to these children?

Xia Yu didn't mind; having lived two lives, he had experienced a lot of fun, and with his skills in painting and music, he was content to appreciate the beauty.

But for younger children, playing was better than just looking.

He turned to look at the four girls behind him, who were excitedly taking photos with their phones.

Their hearts were filled with happiness, not because of the scenery, but because they could use the photos to show off to others later.

It was a kind of indirect happiness.

Relaxing, Xia Yu asked Kong Hanyue again, "Is this place restricted?"

If a place like this didn't have restricted access, there should be more people coming.

"Yeah, it's sort of a private property." Kong Hanyue replied.

Halfway up the mountain, the stone path branched off, leading to a wooden house of moderate size.

There was nothing special about the wooden house, but it was built on a steep slope with a few wooden supports at an angle.

"The best place to take photos is over there!" Kong Hanyue led her three friends towards the wooden house, with Xia Yu following behind.

Inside the wooden house, there were tables and chairs, and a long balcony on the outermost side, from which one could enjoy the beautiful scenery. However, at this moment, the dozen or so tourists inside the house were not looking out from the balcony. They were all sitting and enjoying tea while looking in one direction.

The sound of an ancient zither came from that direction. When Xia Yu and his group entered, the performance had just finished.

"Is there a performance today?" Kong Hanyue was surprised, and the four girls walked towards the zither player.

As they got closer, Kong Hanyue recognized the player. "Manman!" She waved to her.

The one playing the zither was none other than Xia Yu's junior sister, Liu Manman. Liu Ronglan called her the day before yesterday, and Liu Manman arrived today, playing the ancient zither here.

Xia Yu didn't know what Liu Ronglan said, nor did he know what Liu Manman wanted to talk to him about.

Liu Manman also saw Xia Yu and his group. She smiled in response and began playing another song.

Kong Hanyue immediately sat down with her three friends, took out her phone, and started taking pictures.

Xia Yu ordered four cups of flower tea from a waiter and listened to Liu Manman's music.

The name of this piece was "Ruins City," a song with a touch of desolation and loneliness.

The flower tea quickly arrived, and Xia Yu took a sip, nodding his head. Although it was expensive, it was indeed delicious.

On the other side, Liu Manman, who was watching Xia Yu, noticed him nodding his head while listening to her music, and her eyebrows furrowed.

She suddenly stopped playing and said, "Sorry, let me start over." Then she focused entirely and began to play again.

The focused music sounded different from casual play, especially to the ears of a connoisseur like Xia Yu.

If this were a fantasy world, someone would gasp in awe at her skill, exclaiming how amazing she was, and how much progress she had made in just two months.

After chasing away the strange thoughts in his head, Xia Yu marveled at Liu Manman's progress. She had already reached the late stage of level 4 and was only two levels away from catching up with him.

Once the piece was over, Liu Manman stopped, and applause rang out in the room.

Liu Ronglan's skill was just at the late stage of level 5, but level 4 was already quite impressive.

The song had captivated many listening tourists, who felt a sense of desolation. Even those who didn't listen carefully found it very pleasant to the ear.

After they stopped clapping, Liu Manman did not continue to play another piece; instead, she stood up and walked to Xia Yu's side.

It was then that the surrounding tourists noticed the four beautiful young women sitting at the table with Xia Yu. Their gazes towards Xia Yu inevitably carried a hint of hostility.

Xia Yu didn't notice this and was looking at Liu Manman, wondering why she had suddenly come to his side.

Although she was Liu Ronglan's granddaughter, Xia Yu didn't have much contact with her.

Liu Manman was also looking at Xia Yu, as she said, "Why not have another round, Second Place?"

Could it be that she came to seek revenge due to the ranking issue?

In the all-region competition, Xia Yu's strength was at the early stage of LV4, and it was only because of the amazing performance of the song "Pod042" that he managed to surpass Liu Manman, who was at the mid-term level of LV4.

A good song could make up for the gap between levels, but now Liu Manman had improved! She felt that this time, she could definitely show Xia Yu who the real senior was!

And then, with her prestige, she would make him agree to her demands!