Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-One

Zither enthusiast?

I carefully observe that frail man, only seeing his thin and small stature, the type that would be blown away by the wind. Right now, he is constantly wiping away the sweat on his forehead, occasionally revealing a look of contempt when he looks up at the sky, very clearly, he hates such hot summer days. In comparison, that Fan Duo appears refreshed, the smile at his lips reserved and courteous, eyes faintly glowing with pride.

One person is of dignified bearings, confident and calm, one person appears timid, thin and frail, it is just as those people had said before, who will win, who will lose, seems to have already been set.

On that side, the two people have already settled in their seats, before Fan Duo is that emerald green Yao Lu of his, and before Jiang Cheng is indeed an extremely ordinary zither, made of sycamore wood, both zither appears before everyone at the same time, giving off the same feeling as their owner –– completely incomparable.

“Alright, the final zither playing competition starts, one of three rounds.” An elderly sat in centre strokes his beard as he says: “The first round requires both of you playing {{Dreaming Melody}} one time each, drawing lots to decide who plays first and who plays after.”

Fan Duo and Jiang Cheng draw a lot each, Jiang Cheng is first.

Jiang Cheng shakily places the bamboo lot down, “I shall go first then.” He takes a deep breath, then rests his fingers on the zither strings, the notes jumping out one by one.

This {{Dreaming Melody}} should originally express a type of grandness and leisure of roaming the heavens and earth, but Jiang Cheng playing it like this, instead makes me abruptly think of one thing……a cold and hard, tasteless, steamed bun.

Jiang Cheng tenses his body and finishes playing this tune, with one raise of his head, he is faced with everyone’s disdainful looks, he shamefully smiles, “I have finished playing, if Teacher Fan Duo would please……”

Fan Duo does not say much, directly sitting down and striking the chords. A crisp and pleasant-sounding melody like that of spring water, flows through the air, sometimes high and sharp, sometimes comforting and leisurely, painting a scene before everyone, of an eagle freely soaring through the skies.

The final note is played, leaving everyone longing for more, and the winner is obvious.

“The first round, Fan Duo wins.” The elderly speaks, “The second round, play a melody with ‘nation’ as the theme.”

This time, Fan Duo plays first, Fan Duo maintains his top-level skills, instantly playing out a grand and majestic tune that stimulates the hearts of people, his thick brows tightly knitted together, a face of seriousness, such concentrated expression makes everyone unknowingly follow him in being pumped up, everyone’s heart filled with the thoughts of protecting the homeland and defending the nation.

The tune ends, everyone enthusiastically applauds him, even the people on the dispirited side are strongly clapping their hands, looking excited, “Well played!”

Fan Duo lightly smiles, “Teacher Jiang Cheng, please.”

Jiang Cheng still appears as timid as before, wiping away the sweat rolling down from his forehead, he slowly strikes at the zither strings, the sounds played somewhat tentative and uncertain, then the notes go from small to big, from tender to strong, like a seedling growing and budding. The zither melody starts to turn ambitious, as though there are infinite dreams wanting to be achieved, but at the highest peak, it rapidly falls, becoming very low in an extreme comparison. After going low, comes an intense atmosphere and helplessness, seeming like a fierce fire had burned away all rationality, so strong that it makes people want to roar loudly, it is in this furious climax of the zither melody, that a rough sound of broken string is heard, and all fury and helplessness disappears without a trace.

Everyone is stunned, before they have snapped out of the trance, Jiang Cheng’s one hand flicks at several strings, the light notes bringing all the emotions to an end.

“Fi-, finished.” Jiang Cheng makes a huge sigh of relief.

“This round……” The elderly discusses with two people on the side for a long while, then says: “Jiang Cheng wins.”

“What?” The arrogant side immediately exclaims in anger, “He clearly broke the zither string, how could this be considered a win?!”

The elderly meaningfully looks at Fan Duo, “Fan Duo, do you perhaps know what you lost in?”

Fan Duo slightly furrows his brows, silent without a word.

“The melody you played just now, indeed has high-reaching ambitions and stimulates the hearts of people, but this word of ‘nation’ is not just ‘ambition’ as it appears on the surface.” The elderly slowly says: “Jiang Cheng’s melody is just like the experience of a growing youth, there’s immaturity, there’s aspiration, there’s arrogance, there’s loss, there’s fury.”

“The definition of ‘nation’, should be this. Fan Duo, do you admit defeat?”

Fan Duo glances at Jiang Cheng, lowering his eyes as he says: “I do.” Whereas Jiang Cheng is baffled by his own win, as though he doesn’t even understand what the teacher is saying.

“The final round, play a melody with ‘summer’ as the theme.” The elderly deeply looks at Jiang Cheng, “Jiang Cheng, play it well.”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng fearfully answers.

Fan Duo plays first again this time, the melody light and energetic, heated like summer days, but also pleasant and comfortable like the summer breeze. After Fan Duo finishes playing, he solemnly looks at Jiang Cheng, seeming to see Jiang Cheng as a worthy opponent.

Whereas Jiang Cheng……

Everyone covers their ears, looking at Jiang Cheng who is constantly making mistakes in shock, but they only see Jiang Chen play the zither with a face of seriousness, showing not the slightest of careless attitude.

Fan Duo is first to launch an attack, angrily saying: “Jiang Cheng you!”

Jiang Cheng furrows his brows and wipes away his sweat, cowardly saying: “Teacher Fan Duo, what’s wrong?”

“Are you looking down on me?! Why are you not bringing out the level from before?!” Fan Duo smacks the table as he says this.

“The level from before?” Jiang Cheng wipes away his sweat, saying in distress: “Teacher Fan Duo, am I, am I not paying just the same as I was before? It’s fine if you look down on me, my, my level only comes down to this.”

“Jiang Cheng, have you been trying your best to play?” The elderly also furrows his brows as he seriously asks this, “Speak the truth.”

Jiang Cheng appears respectful, “Teacher, Jiang Cheng has definitely been competing seriously, with no negligence at all.”

“Then……” The elderly raises his hand, “Fan Duo wins.”

Both sides start arguing again, Fan Duo returns to his seat with a darkened face, whilst Jiang Cheng is still wiping away his sweat.

I secretly laugh, Jiang Cheng wasn’t lying, he was indeed playing the melody seriously, the reason why he played it so badly is because he hates summer, extremely hates it, nothing more than this.

After the zither competition, everyone quickly disperses, be it the teachers of Fan Duo’s school, or the teachers of Jiang Cheng’s own school, no one is willing to speak to Jiang Cheng, everyone minding their own business as they clear out the area, and those several senior teachers also sigh and shake their heads at Jiang Cheng as they leave. Towards this, Jiang Cheng does not show any look of displeasure, holding his zither as he foolishly stands in his original spot.

Yuwen Rui suddenly chuckles, saying to Jiang Cheng: “Sir Cen, falling so low to be a little zither player here with such talents of yours, do you not find it somewhat unreasonable?”

Jiang Cheng looks left and right, finally pointing at himself and asks in puzzlement: “Is Gentleman speaking to me?”

Yuwen Rui nods with a smile.

“Gentleman, afraid you have got the wrong person.” Jiang Cheng apologetically smiles, “I am no Sir Cen, I am called Jiang Cheng.”

“Be it Jiang Cheng, or be it Sir Cen, I just know that you are the person I am searching for.” Yuwen Rui leisurely says, his long and fine eyes filled with certainty.

Jiang Cheng rubs his head, “Gentleman sure speaks profoundly, but I am indeed not the person you are looking for, I am only a Confucianist teacher that teaches zither playing.” Jiang Cheng walks away with his zither in arms after saying this, and Yuwen Rui actually just watches him leave with a smile, not saying a single word.

I look at him suspiciously, “You……will let him go just like that?”

Yuwen Rui elegantly smiles, “Silly lass, what kind of person do you think I am?”

I calmly say, “Not a good person.”

He lightly knocks onto my forehead, narrowing his long and fine eyes as he lightly asks: “Ah-Lan, would you like to learn to play the zither?”

……learn to play the zither?

I slightly struggle to hold up my body, shakily pointing at him as I say: “You……you want me to learn how to play the zither from Jiang Cheng?”

Yuwen Rui nods.

The handsome face of the person before me is still ever so reserved and refined, but I cannot help but shudder, I silently look at him for a long time, in the end, I bitterly spit out four words, “You really are ruthless.”

You may want to ask me why I would be so worked up, I can only say that since young, I have been a master of zither, chess, books and painting, especially when it comes to the zither, simply reaching the level that cannot be compared to mere mortals.

To put it in a more refined way, hearers saddened, listeners shed tears, human and deities all angered, ghosts and demons all wails, birds and beasts all flees……

To put it in a less refined way, it is toooooo incredible!

So you tell me, what it means for Yuwen Rui to make me become Jiang Cheng’s student?

I look at his pretty side profile and think that should anyone get involved with Yuwen Rui in this lifetime……

Tragic, simply too tragic, I don’t even want to think it, just thinking of it is terrifying……

Mother ah, Earth is so dangerous, please take me to Mars!

Although I don’t wish to persecute other people at all, but forced by Yuwen Rui’s abuse of power, I have no choice but to go up to the doors of Jiang Cheng’s home with a zither in arms, Yuwen Rui disguises as a graceful gentleman, leisurely standing at the side of the door, saying to Chen Liang: “Place the table here.” Then says to me: “You can start now.”

My little hands trembles, unable to strike down, “Cousin, you don’t need to be so ruthless, right? You just need to mess with Jiang Cheng alone ah……”

His long and fine fox eyes dangerously narrows, “Ah-Lan, do you not wish to eat Zhen Yu Court’s braised pork, sizzling duck, and salt water boiled chicken for the next few days?”

I immediately sit up in all seriousness, righteously saying: “Cousin, zither playing is originally a work of art, I shall not care about the outside world.”

Yuwen Rui nods in satisfaction, “Start now.”

I grievingly strike at the zither strings, heart giving rise to bleakness, this world ah, those that have meat are the real masters.

With the first note of my zither playing, a woman can be vaguely heard yelling from the house on the side, “Ai-yo-wei, why has this chicken gone crazy ah?!”

With the second note of my zither playing, a dog starts barking, followed by a man’s scolding, “Ah Huang have you gone mad ah?! Why are you jumping around?!”

With the third note of my zither playing, a shrill woman’s voice harshly curses, “Seriously! Murder with a thousand cuts, whose family’s pig is being slaughtered ah?! Aren’t you going to let people sleep now?!”

With the fourth note of my zither playing, an egg comes smashing over from an unknown direction, “Who’s f*cking giving birth directly at someone’s doors?!”

All of all of this, Yuwen Rui seems to have not heard anything as he remains as calm as ever……

Because his ears have been stuffed with cotton.

╮(╯_╰)╭

Just when I was prepared to continue and double my efforts, Jiang Cheng’s house doors were strongly opened from the inside, followed by Jiang Cheng furious face appearing within our sight. He covers his ears with a face of pain, “All of you come in now!”

Yuwen Rui elegantly waves his hand, “Ah-Lan, stop now.”

I silently stop, all whilst thinking, back then when I had sent Yuwen Rui crashing down, I had used ten notes, today, I was able to achieve such results with just four notes……

Yuwen Rui strokes my head, praising me: “No need to think now, Ah-Lan, you have improved.”

“All of you shut up now!” Jiang Cheng turns and gloomily asks: “This Gentleman, what exactly do you want?”