Chapter 269: Liu Manman: “That’s the Life”

“Still no luck?” Xia Yu asked again.

“This is a rare Sapphire Crown! How could I possibly give it to you? I wear it every time I come home now. We’ve already bonded, okay?” Liu Manman replied.

“Not even if I trade you a piece of music?”

“What piece of music?” Liu Manman asked curiously.

“An original Guzheng composition,” Xia Yu replied.

“No thanks. My grandma can compose too,” Liu Manman declined. She wasn’t interested in ordinary compositions.

“A piece at the level of the secluded palace of the source?”

“A piece of original music at the level of the secluded palace of the source?” Liu Manman was somewhat skeptical.

Xia Yu then made a video call.

The call was quickly answered. On the other side, Liu Manman was wearing a pink sleep dress and lying on her bed.

On her head sat the Sapphire Crown.

In person, the crown was even more beautiful than in the photos.

After admiring the crown for a while, Xia Yu placed his phone in front of him, found a suitable angle, and secured it with a book before beginning to play the Guzheng.

As the prelude started, Liu Manman sensed that this piece was different. Listening to the music, she seemed to see an endless plain, with the wind passing around her.

Although she was merely at a high level of skill, Liu Manman, born into a family of Guzheng masters, had top-tier appreciation abilities. She could tell this piece was of a caliber that could be passed down through generations.

The last time she had heard a Guzheng piece of this caliber was five years ago.

After Xia Yu finished playing, she immediately asked, “What’s the name of this piece?”

“‘Baima’ (White Horse),” Xia Yu replied. “So, do you want it?”

Liu Manman had originally wanted to scold Xia Yu, telling him that no piece of music could compare to the bond she had developed with the Sapphire Crown over so many days. However, the piece was simply too exceptional.

“Deal,” Liu Manman readily agreed.

Xia Yu sent the sheet music to Liu Manman.

After glancing through it, Liu Manman asked again, “Did you just compose this?”

“Just completed it today,” Xia Yu replied.

“It’s indeed nearly as good as the secluded palace of the source. You must have spent a lot of time on it, right?” Liu Manman assumed that a piece of this quality would have taken at least a year to create, even if Xia Yu was exceptionally talented.

“Yeah, it took me a whole half month,” Xia Yu nodded, sighing. He had started composing this piece fifteen days ago after determining that he couldn’t recreate the atmosphere of the open field in a short time.

“Haha, you’re really joking. This is an original composition. How could you finish it in just half a month?” Liu Manman laughed.

Xia Yu didn’t respond, simply watching Liu Manman laugh.

Ten seconds later, Liu Manman’s laughter gradually became awkward.

Half a minute later, Liu Manman stopped laughing. Covering her face, she asked in a slightly hoarse voice, “You really finished it in just half a month?”

“Minus wasted time, about ten days,” Xia Yu provided a precise figure.

“Haha, that’s quite a long time,” Liu Manman swallowed her bitterness and changed the subject. “Prepare three million for me. Tomorrow I’ll bring the crown to see you.”

“I’ve already given you the piece, and you still want money from me?” Xia Yu was puzzled.

“What? You actually don’t want to pay!” Liu Manman became excited. “Although the piece is good, its licensing isn’t worth that much. I’ve already given you a big discount!”

Xia Yu now realized that Liu Manman had misunderstood.

He explained, “What licensing? I’m giving it all to you.”

Liu Manman’s body stiffened. “All of it to me?”

“Exactly. I haven’t even registered it in the music database yet. Just take it,” Xia Yu wasn’t particularly attached to this piece. His true goal was capturing the atmosphere of the open field. Everything else was just for entertainment.

In his notebook, there were many small tunes waiting for him to develop into full pieces. One more or one less didn’t matter much.

In comparison, if he gave Liu Manman three million, he would only have five million left, which might be a bit tight for developing a mobile game.

“What? You don’t even want credit for it?” Liu Manman couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t just a piece of music; it was an opportunity to leave her name in music history.

“Nope,” Xia Yu gave a definite answer.

“How much more should I give you then?” Liu Manman started calculating how much money was in her personal savings and whether she should use other jewelry to pay.

“No need,” Xia Yu replied. Because it had come too easily, he somewhat underestimated the value of the piece. He vaguely felt that the piece’s value might be higher than he thought, but since it was Liu Manman, it didn’t matter much.

Once he completed the piece capturing the atmosphere of the open field, the fame he would gain would be unattainable even with hundreds or thousands of “Baima”-level pieces. As for money, once the mobile game was released, he would experience being a billionaire and wouldn’t care about the small amount Liu Manman wanted to offer.

Most importantly, jewelry at the level of the Sapphire Crown was usually in the hands of collectors, especially crowns like this, which were difficult to obtain.

“You must have some special requirements, right?” Liu Manman became cautious.

“If I had any needs, I’d go find An Siyao. Why would I come to you?” Xia Yu said.

“Haha, you sure like to boast. Do you think An Siyao would even pay attention to you?” Liu Manman still thought that Xia Yu and An Siyao had a somewhat distant relationship as before.

Xia Yu didn’t explain. When Liu Manman returned, facts would speak the loudest.

After the jokes, Liu Manman began to consider Xia Yu’s offer.

Leaving her name in music history was extremely attractive to her. She had always wanted greater fame, which was why she had tried every means to drag Xia Yu and An Siyao to the Global New Generation Music Festival in the past.

“Then I’ll take this piece from you. You won’t go back on your word?” Liu Manman confirmed again.

“I value that Sapphire Crown more than this piece,” Xia Yu affirmed.

“Then it’s settled,” Liu Manman ended the call with Xia Yu, put down her phone, and excitedly rolled around on her bed.

After rolling around twice, she stopped, first taking off the Sapphire Crown on her head, then continuing to roll.

Originally, she had only hoped to have some influence in the Guzheng world during her lifetime, but now she had received an opportunity to leave her name in Guzheng history!

In the future, her name would appear on the required repertoires for Guzheng learners!

After being excited for a while, Liu Manman gradually calmed down.

She began to think, was it really right to do this?

She knew her own level well. Whether she could become a Guzheng master in her lifetime was uncertain, let alone leaving her name in history.

Was it really right to take credit for such a piece?

After hesitating for a long time, she picked up her phone and made another video call to Xia Yu.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Hearing this, Xia Yu felt a jolt in his heart.

“You don’t like ‘Baima’? Give me a month. Whatever style you like, I’ll compose something at the same level as ‘Baima’,” he was reluctant for anything to go wrong since he had finally found a suitable gift for Xu Youxiang.

“No, I just feel that doing this is wrong,” Liu Manman’s face was somewhat pale. Xia Yu’s words about being able to compose something no worse than ‘Baima’ in any style within a month had struck her heart hard, making her feel her own insignificance again.

“It’s a fair trade. What’s wrong with that!”

“I still don’t want it. Give me the crown and just grant me exclusive rights,” Liu Manman replied.

Seeing that the crown could still be obtained, Xia Yu relaxed.

He looked at the dejected Liu Manman and felt some sympathy for the girl.

He knew that Liu Manman had always wanted greater fame, but her talent was truly incomparable to An Siyao’s.

Perhaps he should take the opportunity to see what kind of talent Liu Manman actually had.

However, this needed to be done discreetly. He mustn’t be suspected again, as had happened with You Xue.

“Also, for this Mid-Autumn Festival gala, let’s play this piece together,” Liu Manman added. She didn’t want a piece composed by Xia Yu to make its first public appearance played by someone else, even if that someone was herself.

“Okay,” Xia Yu agreed. “I’ll slightly modify the piece so that two people can play it together.”

“Then it’s settled. It doesn’t really matter whether we play it as a duet or not. You play one round, then I’ll play one,” Liu Manman hung up the phone.

Putting down her phone, Xia Yu picked up the sheet music, beginning to think about how to split the piece for two players.

In the skill menu, Inspiration Level 3 and Music Level 5 glowed.

Using a recording, Xia Yu experimented with the duet.

He had originally only wanted to preserve the charm of the piece for the duet, but as he modified it, inspiration struck, and he couldn’t help but keep going.

This revision continued until the next morning.

After writing the final note and briefly testing the duet effect with a recording, Xia Yu yawned.

He took out his phone to check the time—it was already six o’clock.

After quickly organizing the sheet music and putting the Guzheng away, Xia Yu left the piano room and collapsed onto his bed.

He had barely fallen asleep when he felt someone nudging him.

He thought it was You Xue and didn’t open his eyes. Drowsily, he reached out his hand and patted the person’s head. “Let your older brother sleep a bit longer.”

However, after patting a couple of times, he felt that the texture of the head was a bit off. He opened his eyes and saw Liu Manman.

“Hmph!” Liu Manman punched Xia Yu’s hand away, assuming a boxing stance and glaring at him. “I consider you a friend, but you want to be my older brother?”