Chapter 56: Twenty Billion Is Just to Buy a Toy
Yu Xiuqing was supporting Su Huaiyao as they prepared to leave. Hearing the voice, he paused in his tracks and turned to look.
He saw Shen Yuan surrounded in the center of the head table. The boy’s panicked, deer-like appearance was truly striking.
His dark phoenix eyes narrowed. For a split second, they flashed with a crimson light, but it vanished instantly.
Seeing him staring straight at that fool, Su Huaiyao flared up with anger and immediately shook the man’s arm:
“Xiuqing Gege, aren’t we leaving?”
“Wait a moment.”
Yu Xiuqing offered a brief comfort, then turned to instruct the bodyguard: “Bring Shen Yuan here. Don’t let him make an eyesore of himself.”
“Yes.”
Qi Yunzhao nodded and walked quickly toward the stage.
On the other side, Gu Lanxiao pushed Shen Yuan forward and patted his trembling shoulder solemnly, saying firmly:
“Chairman, let him try. In any case, no one else here is willing to arrange the score. I’ll stake my reputation on it: Shen Yuan will definitely resonate with Old Madam Yu’s legacy.”
The Old Master was also surprised to hear this, but more so he was suspicious. He looked the submissive youth up and down with disdain, let out a cold snort, and looked at Gu Lanxiao:
“Are you sure? He doesn’t look as confident as you. I find it hard to believe a fool can compose.”
At this point, he paused, his lips curling into a contemptuous smile. His voice rose a few notches as he said word by word:
“Especially my wife’s music!”
The crowd immediately began to laugh and question Shen Yuan again, thinking he was only good for a circus act.
Gu Lanxiao’s eyes darkened slightly. He smiled and regained his humble demeanor, saying to the Old Master:
“Chairman, I am certain. I say this because Shen Yuan’s musical level is higher than any pianist or composer present. I believe in him.”
Those last few words left Shen Yuan stunned. He instinctively looked up at Gu Lanxiao, his heart filled with immense excitement.
No one had ever believed in him…
This person, whom he wasn’t even that familiar with, was actually guaranteeing for him in public? He was willing to stand on his side?
But he didn’t want Doctor Gu to be associated with him; it would only make those people mock him even more…
Old Master Yu raised an eyebrow. He didn’t speak, but instead stared seriously at the steadfast young man.
Gu Lanxiao had always had a steady personality; he wouldn’t guarantee for a fool on such an important occasion without reason.
Could Shen Yuan really have some extraordinary talent?
After weighing his options, the Old Master finally relented. “Fine. For Doctor Gu’s sake, I’ll allow Shen Yuan to arrange the score. If he makes even one mistake and insults my wife’s work, Doctor Gu will bear the consequences with him.”
If it weren’t for the fact that he had been searching for so many years and still couldn’t find anyone to complete the piece, how could he tolerate a useless brat defiling his wife’s legacy!
Gu Lanxiao bowed slightly, offering a sincere thanks: “Thank you, Chairman, for giving Shen Yuan this opportunity.”
But the muddled little fool beside him was terrified by this sudden situation and hurriedly grabbed his arm:
“I-I can’t do it, Doctor Gu. You should let someone else do it. I don’t play well at all…”
Gu Lanxiao looked at the youth who was still shrinking behind him despite everything he had risked. He grew irritated, grabbed the boy, and whispered in his ear:
“I’m helping you, Shen Yuan. If you don’t want to keep being mocked as a fool, get up there and arrange the score. This is your only chance to make a name for yourself!”
Shen Yuan looked up, his gaze clear and bright.
He looked at the calm Gu Lanxiao, then at the crowd behind the doctor—those people who would only ever look at him with strange eyes. His heart suddenly felt quite complicated.
Seeing him still hesitating, Gu Lanxiao gave him a forceful shove, pushing him directly onto the stage.
Shen Yuan staggered several steps. If it weren’t for the assistant beside the Old Master catching him, he would have fallen over.
“Wait.”
A dark male voice came from behind.
Gu Lanxiao was stunned for a moment. He turned his head and saw Qi Yunzhao walking quickly toward him, and he couldn’t help but frown.
Before the other man even arrived, his voice sounded: “I’m afraid Shen Yuan cannot go on stage to arrange the music. Our Sanye has ordered me to take him away.”
Gu Lanxiao immediately grabbed his hand. “The Chairman has already given his permission. We’ll decide after Shen Yuan finishes playing.”
“Sanye cannot wait.”
Qi Yunzhao threw off his hand. Just as he stepped toward the stage, he was blocked by the Old Master’s cane. The Old Master barked:
“Let him wait! I want to see how capable the person he bought is! Get down!”
Since he was still fuming from Yu Xiuqing’s public defiance, the Old Master normally might have let the bodyguard take the person, but now he refused to allow it.
Qi Yunzhao naturally didn’t dare to go any further; he had seen the Old Master’s power more than once.
He could only bow and retreat, then looked toward the man standing further away and shook his head silently.
Yu Xiuqing’s eyes darkened, appearing as grim and heartless as a night before a storm.
Su Huaiyao was a noble pianist, yet even he had been struck by the Old Master’s cane. Shen Yuan was nothing. If he ruined the music, wouldn’t he be torn into pieces?
Was Gu Lanxiao taking out his resentment on Shen Yuan because I didn’t agree to save the imprisoned Gu Di?
Doctor Gu is truly something…
What kind of good music could that stupid thing play?
Moreover, he had already angered the Old Master once for Su Huaiyao’s sake. If he forcefully took Shen Yuan now, his elderly grandfather might actually have a heart attack on the spot.
Forget it. It was just a fool. There was no need for him to intervene. Even if he enraged the Old Master and was killed or punished, it was his own fault. What did it have to do with him?
In any case, twenty billion was just to buy a toy.
Now that he was bored with it, he didn’t want it anymore.
Su Huaiyao looked toward the stage with excitement, asking hypocritically: “Xiuqing Gege, do you think Shen Yuan can arrange the melody Grandma Yu had back then?”
Of course he couldn’t. The original score had been scrambled by him on the spot. Even if Shen Yuan had an excellent memory, it was impossible to memorize all the notes in such a short time.
But what was annoying was that the fool’s original score wasn’t perfect either, causing him to lose face! He would remember this grudge and pay him back tenfold!
Yu Xiuqing remained silent, not even bothering to lift his eyelids. The smile on his lips was enough to make one shiver.
After a long while, he slowly spat out a contemptuous sentence: “My grandmother was a world-famous pianist during her life. How can a fool be worthy of comparison?”
Su Huaiyao showed a fawning expression: “Xiuqing Gege is right. Shen Yuan has too little experience; how could he reach Grandma Yu’s height?”
Over here, Shen Yuan sat before the piano. Looking at the massive crowd and those disdainful eyes, he was shivering with nerves from head to toe, and his legs felt like jelly.
Assistant Xiao Chen leaned over and whispered a warning in his ear: “The Chairman has ordered that if you play a single note wrong, or if the prelude doesn’t match the sequel, he’ll make things even worse for you.”
Hearing this, Shen Yuan panicked. He tried frantically to adjust his emotions, but his heart was beating too fast and his head was dizzy; he couldn’t control himself at all.
He suddenly grabbed the assistant’s arm: “C-can I not play? Ask the Chairman to let me go…”
Xiao Chen pulled his hand back. “Since you’ve come up here, this isn’t a place you can leave just because you want to!”
Having said that, he walked to the side, raised his arms above his head, and clapped. The lighting technician immediately switched the lights.
The stage suddenly went dark. Shen Yuan was in despair. His pale small face once again appeared under the spotlight.
He hadn’t come up here voluntarily…
The crowd finally fell silent, staring at him.
They were all waiting to see the youth make a fool of himself.
Yu Xiuqing watched Shen Yuan standing alone on the stage for the first time. Seeing his helpless, piteous expression, he felt an inexplicable wave of bitterness in his heart.
It felt… like it almost hurt.
This Shen Yuan looked like a little boy who had been hurt. Those large, bright black eyes were full of terror and unease, as if only clutching his clothes could give the little fool a shred of security.
Shen Yuan’s gaze crossed the sea of people and landed on the man who was watching with a cold eye. He was so frightened he immediately looked away and pulled a black silk scarf from his pocket.
This item was something that man had used to seek thrill the night before, tying it over his eyes…
A shameful memory suddenly surged into his mind, and Shen Yuan’s cheeks quickly turned a beautiful red.
He hurried to cover his eyes with the silk. Once his vision went dark, he could no longer see the faces of those people.
The sight of the youth blindfolding himself to play the piano left Old Master Yu dazed, his lips trembling with disbelief.
Many years ago, his wife had also once blindfolded herself to play a piece at a concert.
The assistant beside him thought the move was absurd and tried to go over to pull off the scarf, but he was stopped by the Old Master: “Let him play like that.”
Though Shen Yuan had grievances he couldn’t speak of, for the sake of his life, he could only steel himself. He placed his fingers on the black and white keys, practicing over and over in his mind.
He forced himself to calm down, took a deep breath, and then pressed down on the keys.
Ding-dong… ding-dong…
A melodious piano sound slowly flowed out. The youth lowered his head slightly, focusing all his attention on the keys.
His fingers were soon flying, bringing forth a beautiful melody. The piano music gradually became clear and resonant.
Throughout the entire process, there was not a single pause or any hint of hesitation. Instead, it was exceptionally smooth.
The audience below was stunned. They stared with wide eyes, and some even stood up involuntarily.
Such a transformation was entirely unexpected.
Listening to such perfect music, all the bitterness, jealousy, and malice Su Huaiyao had felt reached a peak, making him incredibly displeased: “Xiu-Xiuqing Gege, is… is that Shen Yuan?!”
Yu Xiuqing’s gaze was already fixed entirely on the youth; he didn’t even answer his White Moonlight’s words.
He was equally incredulous. This Shen Yuan—blindfolded and playing with confidence—was someone he had never seen in these past two years.
He was so bright and brilliant.
How could this be?
How could a fool who knew nothing effortlessly handle a piece his grandmother had left behind, which no one had been able to arrange for so many years? Had Shen Yuan been hiding it all along…
Recommended Reads
