Looking at Xia Yu, the head maid felt that the petite figure suddenly became towering, and the black eyes also revealed a sinister red glow.
Stepping back a couple of paces, she was panicking inwardly when Xia Yu spoke again.
“If you don’t want to continue working here, you can resign. A young mistress cannot be replaced, but there are countless maids to be had.”
Xia Yu flicked a piano key, producing a crisp sound, making him appear even more composed and causing the head maid to grow more anxious.
He continued, “I heard your daughter is in District Two? Perhaps you could go keep her company. She’ll take care of you in your old age, won’t she?”
“No!” The head maid was now thoroughly panicked.
Seeing this reaction, Xia Yu smiled inwardly, knowing he had already won.
“So just do your job properly and don’t meddle in what doesn’t concern you.” Waving his fingers, Xia Yu began playing the Goura Etude again.
Sweat appeared on the head maid’s face. Indeed, she had a daughter in District Two, but the girl was useless and disrespectful. Far from providing care, she had caused countless troubles throughout her upbringing, all of which the head maid had managed to resolve by leveraging the An family’s reputation and her salary as head maid.
In fact, because her daughter had recently caused too many problems, she had sent her to District Two to hide.
If she lost this job, having given all her savings to her daughter, she would have no chance of a peaceful retirement. Moreover, if her daughter caused more trouble, she would no longer have the ability to handle it.
The idea she had just formed—to inform An Siyao’s father—vanished instantly.
As the saying goes, a young mistress cannot be replaced, but there are always plenty of maids. In the event of a serious conflict between a mistress and a maid, it is obvious who would be dismissed.
Wiping sweat from her brow, the head maid glanced at Xia Yu and moved toward the door to exit the room.
As she reached the door, Xia Yu’s voice rang out, “Did I say you could leave?”
The head maid hastily withdrew her hand from the doorknob and stood nervously to one side, waiting for Xia Yu’s instructions.
But Xia Yu said nothing further and focused on playing the piece.
After finishing the piece, Xia Yu gave instructions: “I want a glass of milk.”
“I’ll get it right away!” Relieved, the head maid hurried out of the room like she was fleeing.
Xia Yu continued playing the piano.
“Will this be enough?” An Siyao’s voice echoed in Xia Yu’s mind.
“The key is to maintain the right rhythm and progress gradually. However, this head maid doesn’t need gradual persuasion; she dares not lose this job. If you directly threaten to quarrel with your father and have her fired, she will also obediently comply.”
The piano piece reached a difficult section, and Xia Yu focused on playing it through before continuing, “However, such direct threats lack artistry and will only give you a reputation for being ruthless. Gradual, indirect threats earn true authority.”
“I see.” The girl fell silent.
Five minutes later, the head maid knocked on the door.
Xia Yu continued playing the piano until finishing the piece before saying, “Come in.”
Entering the room, the head maid handed Xia Yu the warm milk.
Xia Yu took the milk and drank it all in one go.
Seeing such a crude manner of drinking, the head maid opened her mouth to scold him but timely realized herself and closed her mouth.
“Not bad.” When Xia Yu praised her while handing back the empty cup, the head maid’s anxious heart gradually calmed.
This was also a necessary step, as people cannot endure living without any sense of security. Therefore, Xia Yu needed to give the head maid a promise: safety in exchange for obedience.
Praise meant acknowledgment, which implied friendliness, and friendliness brought security.
“Get out.” Xia Yu disliked having someone staring at him.
“Yes.” The head maid left the room.
Rubbing his chin, Xia Yu realized the outcome of this confrontation had been better than planned. If things had not gone smoothly, he would have had no choice but to use force and direct threats to make the head maid comply.
If these incidents were discovered, it would be a huge problem.
An Siyao’s image as a well-behaved girl would collapse immediately, and her elusive father might take unpredictable actions to correct her behavior.
The reason this went so smoothly was largely due to the intimidation skill—so convenient that a mere stare could break the opponent’s spirit.
After defeating the “boss” at the villa, Xia Yu felt pleased. His piano playing felt much smoother.
After playing the last note of the third section, Xia Yu touched his forehead.
This time, he seemed to have made no mistakes at all, and his tempo was even perfectly steady?
“Congratulations, you’ve already learned the Goura Etude,” An Siyao sent a congratulatory message.
He had already mastered it?
It had been less than four hours since he possessed An Siyao’s body. The original plan had estimated sixteen more hours to master the Goura Etude, yet he had already done it?
He played through the piece again from the beginning, confirming that he had indeed mastered it.
He recalled the sudden improvement in his fingerwork just now. Without that, he could never have learned it so quickly.
So what had caused that improvement?
Xia Yu didn’t feel like a typical protagonist in a manga whose skill level suddenly surged after reminiscing. Moreover, he hadn’t done any reminiscing just now.
Thinking about it, he opened the bonus panel.
[Painting Bonus Lv2, Music Bonus Lv2, Flower Arrangement Bonus Lv2]
All the bonuses had risen to Lv2.
What was going on?
Certainly, some condition had been triggered, causing the bonuses to increase. By reflecting on what he had done just now, he could identify that condition.
After careful consideration, Xia Yu came up with three possibilities:
First, he had reached a certain level of proficiency using An Siyao’s body.
Second, he had defeated the small boss—the head maid.
Third, An Siyao’s affection toward him had increased.
Xia Yu couldn’t determine which specific condition had caused the increase, but at least now he understood the direction of bonus improvement.
Sure enough, with Lv2 bonuses, he had mastered the Goura Etude, which originally would have taken two more days.
“Shall we learn a new piece now?” An Siyao asked Xia Yu.
“Do you have any recommendations?” Xia Yu asked.
“The Maiden in the Abyss, Tower of Locrus, and Rosaria’s Theme are all suitable pieces,” An Siyao listed a series of titles Xia Yu had never heard before.
After a moment of silence, Xia Yu asked, “What piece would be suitable for playing in a cafe?”
“A cafe?” An Siyao was puzzled, not understanding why Xia Yu would ask such a question.
Recalling the tunes she had heard in cafes during her childhood, she hesitated before answering, “The Prelate’s Dance is often played in cafes, but it’s quite difficult.”
“When can I probably learn it?” Xia Yu asked.
“You can’t learn it directly. First, you need to practice with one or two simpler pieces. Based on your previous progress, it would take about a month,” An Siyao concluded by comparing with her own training speed.
“What about based on my progress just now?” Xia Yu referred to his progress after the bonuses reached Lv2.
“Then it would probably take about ten days,” An Siyao answered.
Ten days? He wondered whether the job posting at the corner cafe would still be available by then. However, with his skill, he could probably find another cafe.
Xia Yu nodded, satisfied with this result.
Placing his fingers on the piano keys, he said, “Alright, let’s move on to the next piece. Let’s start with Tower of Locrus.”
“Okay, it’s a piece with a desolate feel,” An Siyao briefly explained the style of the piece before beginning the lesson.
Eight hours of gaming time quickly approached its end.
In the last five minutes, Xia Yu closed the piano lid, left the music room, and entered the girl’s bedroom.
Sitting on the bed, he yawned, a strong sense of drowsiness coming over him.
In fact, he had felt drowsy several times while playing the piano.
But this wasn’t his own drowsiness—it was the girl’s body’s fatigue.
“You didn’t sleep last night…” Xia Yu’s words stopped short. Throughout the night, the girl’s body had been used by him until 2 a.m., and the girl had to attend classes in the morning. Sleep deprivation was normal.
His own body was taken care of by the system for sleep, so he had overlooked the girl’s need for rest.
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