“It’s okay,” An Siyao’s voice was weak.
“You can’t play the piano like this. Give up,” Xia Yu advised the girl.
“No, we made a promise. I will definitely win.” Shaking off Xia Yu’s supporting hand, An Siyao walked toward the backstage.
A promise?
Xia Yu recalled what he had said fifteen days ago to comfort An Siyao—that he would watch the live stream.
He didn’t even listen to the next contestant’s performance. Only when An Siyao stepped onto the stage from backstage did his heart finally settle.
An Siyao sat in front of the piano. She raised her hands and pressed the keys for the opening notes.
Ding ding ding ding—dong!
That “dong” was too sudden. It wasn’t part of the prelude—it was a mistake by the girl.
Just as Xia Yu had said, in a state where even standing was unsteady, there was no way she could play the piano well.
The audience and judges were startled, staring at An Siyao in shock.
This gaze only made the girl more anxious.
The third round had already gone wrong once—was she now unable to even play this time?!
Gritting her teeth, An Siyao raised her hands again and restarted the prelude.
But she failed again.
Everyone realized something was wrong with An Siyao’s body. They all looked at her.
An Siyao tried once more. This time, she messed up on the second note.
Remaining frozen in the playing posture for a moment, the girl slammed her arm onto the piano lid.
The more timid audience members instinctively closed their eyes. Just from the force, they could imagine how much pain she must have felt.
Clutching his fingers tightly, Xia Yu immediately clicked on “Free Selection.”
He entered An Siyao’s body.
He felt the body’s weakness and the pain in her left arm.
Re-entering An Siyao’s body, the scene he had imagined days ago—of the girl joyfully welcoming him—did not happen.
An Siyao was silent, feeling guilty and frustrated about her poor performance.
Xia Yu had originally planned to use the girl’s body to make an explanation, to announce that she was unwell and would withdraw from the competition. But her silence made him hesitate to proceed as planned.
An Siyao remained silent because she valued this competition and the previous promise. Withdrawal was not the ending she wanted.
But what else could she do? Xia Yu could play at an Lv4 level, but An Siyao’s level was Lv5. He couldn’t bring her the victory she wanted.
No, he wasn’t entirely helpless.
Xia Yu’s gaze shifted toward the Skill Level-Up Card in his item inventory. If he used the card, he could upgrade his music skill to Lv5.
But after going through so much, participating in this competition was not only for the recommendation from Hua University—it was also for obtaining this card.
As he hesitated, An Siyao’s voice rang in his mind. It was a sound of crying.
Forget it.
[Will you use the Level-Up Card?]
[Yes]
[Please select the skill]
[Music]
[Usage successful]
Placing his hands above the piano keys, Xia Yu began to think about which piece to play.
His willpower was stronger than An Siyao’s, so he could barely play some pieces. But this definitely did not include high-difficulty ones like “Praising the Sun.”
Even medium-difficulty pieces like “The Prophet’s Dancer” were somewhat challenging.
He could only choose an easy piece.
After three seconds of thinking, Xia Yu made his decision.
His hands pressed onto the keys.
The audience below listened anxiously to the music resuming. They feared An Siyao would fail again, but she didn’t.
The initially flawed rhythm gradually became perfect.
It was a peaceful melody.
Calm, warm, as if with a faint fragrance.
Liu Ronglan recognized this piece.
It was a classical piece titled “The Blind Girl by the Bonfire,” an entry-level composition.
This piece had a simple melody and a slow rhythm.
But simplicity didn’t mean crudeness, and slowness carried its own charm.
Under Xia Yu’s fingers, the piece overflowed with intense emotion.
Closing her eyes, Liu Ronglan’s world plunged into darkness.
Silence, coldness, and loneliness surrounded her.
As the music played, a bonfire appeared before her. Its light brought warmth, though the cold remained. The crackling fire brought sound, though the silence persisted. The fire couldn’t reach her heart—she was still lonely.
Suddenly, the melody rose.
Beside the bonfire appeared a blind girl in black. Her voice was light and ethereal, dispelling the silence. Her hands were soft, removing the cold. Her living heart also drove away loneliness.
Liu Ronglan felt peace and comfort.
However, the firewood kept burning, and the bonfire couldn’t last forever. Liu Ronglan had to rise and go into the darkness to find more fuel.
No matter how long she was gone or whether she found firewood, the blind girl was always quietly waiting beside the bonfire.
Just seeing the blind girl filled Liu Ronglan’s heart, leaving her with no further desires.
Long after the music faded, the audience remained in a personal moment, gazing at their own blind girl.
It wasn’t until Xia Yu closed the piano lid with a loud thud that everyone returned to reality.
The five judges moved their lips, unsure where to begin their evaluation.
Xia Yu didn’t want to hear their critiques either. His head was pounding painfully now.
Standing up, Xia Yu explained his physical discomfort, dodged the judges’ nagging, left the venue, and returned to the nearby hotel.
Lying on the bed, he pressed his head.
“Thank you.” An Siyao’s voice was a bit hoarse.
“Shouldn’t you say ‘welcome back’?”
“Mm, welcome back.” Her tone became cheerful.
She continued, “That piece…”
“It was just a simple piece I randomly chose because your body couldn’t handle anything difficult,” Xia Yu defended himself.
Xia Yu didn’t want An Siyao to know that while playing, the prototype of the blind girl was actually her.
Though Xia Yu had interrupted her, An Siyao continued, “I’ll work hard to find firewood.”
“??? “
What the heck was firewood for? To fuel the bonfire? But wasn’t the blind girl supposed to be a mascot staying by the bonfire?
Or was she not seeing herself as the blind girl?
The blind girl was… me?
Was this a promise to take care of me?
Xia Yu’s mood was complicated. However, An Siyao’s body wouldn’t allow him to dwell on it.
He took off his coat and crawled into bed.
As he was about to fall asleep, a prompt flashed before his eyes.
[Your bonus has reached Lv3]
[You have received a game reward]
[Please choose one from the following three options]
[1. Marker Slot +1]
[2. Skill Level-Up Card Lv4 +1]
[3. Hosted AI Personality Change]
[In addition, you can…]
…
Meanwhile, at the venue.
Liu Manman, Liu Ronglan’s granddaughter and Xia Yu’s nominal senior apprentice sister, was chatting with the hosted AI Yu:
“This contestant’s performance wasn’t great. Besides lacking technique, he had too many unnecessary movements. Probably just too nervous. What do you think?”
“Mm-mm-mm,” replied the AI caretaker Yu.
Caught off guard by the reply, Liu Manman changed the topic: “Tomorrow night’s award ceremony will surely place you very high.”
“Mm-mm-mm.”
“…”
Aren’t you supposed to say “you did well too” now?
After staring at the AI Yu for a long time, Liu Manman ended the conversation.
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