Wen Wan's voice was cool and clear, yet it was like a fine needle, carrying an undeniable challenge.
Jiang Xun, hearing this, was not angered; instead, he lazily chuckled.
He stood up from the bamboo chair, stretched, and his joints made a series of subtle cracking sounds.
"Alright."
He responded crisply, as if the invitation was not for an artistic contest, but a casual game of landlord.
He strode towards the piano room next door, his relaxed posture causing Wen Wan's brow to furrow a little deeper.
In her eyes, art was sacred, something to be gazed upon and pursued for a lifetime.
Yet, the man before her treated it like a plaything to be discarded at will.
This casual disregard was more unbearable to her than any venomous words.
She wanted to see what he could possibly play… In the shade just a wall away, a lithe figure was clinging tightly to the window ledge, peeking furtively inside.
It was Qin Lan.
After they parted at the stables, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and the more she felt something was off.
The absolute control he displayed on horseback was like a thorn, piercing her heart and making her restless.
She refused to believe it and insisted on following him to see what other tricks this pretty boy had up his sleeve.
The result was seeing him confront Wen Wan, the famous 'high mountain flower' of the Conservatory of Music.
"Heh, he sure knows how to pick places."
Qin Lan pouted, a wave of disdain washing over her.
"After flirting with me, he's now here to corrupt the ethereal fairy? I'd like to see how you get out of this!"
She was ready; the moment Jiang Xun made a fool of himself, she would be the first to rush in and mock him… Inside the piano room.
The massive French windows welcomed the entire afternoon sun, and the dust motes floating in the air were clearly visible.
A gleaming black Steinway grand piano, like a silent behemoth, lay quietly in the center of the room, exuding an expensive and solemn aura.
Jiang Xun walked nonchalantly to the piano stool and sat down.
He didn't adjust his breathing or build up emotion like other performers.
He simply casually lifted the lid, his slender fingers sliding over the black and white keys, producing a few discordant notes.
This demeanor deepened the disappointment in Wen Wan's eyes as she stood by the door.
He was indeed an amateur.
She was already preparing to turn and leave.
But just then.
Jiang Xun's fingers descended.
The first note rang out.
Ding—
Clear, clean, like a dewdrop falling into the center of a cold pool, spreading a transparent ripple.
Wen Wan's foot, about to step out, suddenly paused.
This timbre… Immediately after, the second and third notes flowed out.
It was an extremely simple melody, ethereal, distant, carrying a hint of otherworldly coolness.
Wen Wan's pupils suddenly contracted!
This… wasn't this the prelude to her guqin piece "Asking Snow on Cold Mountain" that she had just played?!
He had actually only heard it once, and with a piano, he reproduced the essence of the guqin perfectly!
No!
That's not right!
This was no longer mere reproduction!
The piano's range was wider, its expressive power stronger. Under his interpretation, the crisp coldness of the mountain spring was imbued with a deeper background.
It was like looking down upon the entire lonely cold pool from the peak of a ten-thousand-foot snowy mountain.
The artistic conception was even higher!
Wen Wan was completely stunned; she felt her heart being gripped by an invisible hand, forgetting even to breathe.
And this was only the beginning.
After the prelude, the melody suddenly changed.
It was no longer a cool imitation, but something that belonged to Jiang Xun himself.
The piano music began to grow deep and oppressive, like a lonely traveler trudging alone through an endless night.
Every note carried the exhaustion of dying from overwork in his previous life, carrying the helplessness and unwillingness towards fate.
That sense of loneliness, deeply buried in his soul, was released without reservation through the piano keys.
Wen Wan's face instantly turned pale.
She understood.
She understood that bone-deep loneliness.
There was a story in this piano music!
Qin Lan, hidden in the shadows, had originally been looking forward to a good show, but the mockery on her face had long since frozen.
Although she didn't understand music, she could feel the sorrow emanating from the piano, like a vast net, enveloping her heart and stifling her until she couldn't breathe.
Is this… is this still the same high-spirited man from on horseback?
Just as everyone was immersed in this sorrow, the piano music took another turn!
The oppressive melody was suddenly torn apart by a high-pitched, impassioned chord!
It was like the first ray of dawn, piercing through the heaviest night!
The piano music became grand, majestic, full of new life and power!
That was the ecstasy of gaining the system after transmigration! It was the absolute confidence of controlling everything in this new world!
If the previous piano music was the abyss, then the current piano music was a deity descending upon the abyss!
He was playing his two lives!
It was struggle, death, new life, and kingship!
The entire Conservatory of Music, at some unknown point, had fallen completely silent.
All the sounds of practicing instruments had ceased.
Windows were pushed open, heads poked out, and everyone's faces carried undisguised shock and bewilderment.
They followed the divine piano music, looking towards the Elegant Sound Pavilion, like the most devout believers, worshipping their god.
"Heavens… who is playing the piano?"
"What piece is this? How have I never heard it before?"
"This… can this sound be played by a human?"
Inside the piano room.
Wen Wan's body was trembling slightly.
Her proud art, her lifelong adherence to aloofness, her heart as calm as an ancient well… all were shattered into pieces before Jiang Xun's overwhelming piano music!
She felt like a little girl standing before a towering waterfall, small, ridiculous, and vulnerable.
It turned out that true art was not skill, not artistic conception, but soul.
It was about crushing one's entire life, then reassembling it, and telling it to the world through musical notes.
And she, with all her skill, lacked a soul.
Her world, at this moment, completely collapsed.
Qin Lan, in the corner, desperately covered her mouth with her hand, preventing herself from screaming out.
She looked at the man sitting at the piano, his expression still lazy, but his fingers seemingly imbued with divine power, her heart pounding wildly.
Power.
Skill.
Art.
How many sides of this man did she not know?
He was like a bottomless black hole, making her feel fear, yet uncontrollably wanting to draw closer, wanting to explore.
Finally.
The last note fell.
Carrying the splendor and dominance of ruling the world, it lingered in the air for a long time.
The entire world fell into a deathly silence.
Jiang Xun slowly raised his hands, as if he had only done something insignificant.
He turned around, looking at the disoriented woman at the door, a faint smile playing on his lips.
There was no mockery or show-off in that smile, only a calm understanding.
Wen Wan came back to her senses.
She looked at Jiang Xun, and for the first time, all the frost melted from her cool eyes, replaced by a tenderness she hadn't even noticed herself, and a nearly fanatical admiration.
She took two steps forward, the hem of her plain white dress tracing a humble arc on the floor.
Her voice carried an uncontrollable tremor.
"Sir… would you honor Wen Wan with your presence for tea and discussion of the zither?"
[Ding! Detected strong admiration from special character 'Wen Wan', emotional link activated!]
[Current favorability: 30 (Looking up to a high mountain)!]
[Ding! Family prestige +1500!]