Chapter 270: Yu Xue: Worrying

Xia Yu didn’t have the energy to mess around with Liu Manman. He waved his hand, indicating the girl to leave and not disturb his sleep.

“The sheet music is in the piano room. You can just ask Youxue where it is. Don’t come looking for me. I need to sleep.” After saying that, he turned over and continued sleeping.

Seeing that Xia Yu was genuinely tired, Liu Manman left his bedroom. After asking Youxue, she arrived at the piano room.

Even though he was an heir to the guzheng, he had a piano room instead of a guzheng room. Liu Manman complained inwardly.

“You can stay here by yourself, Manman. I need to go buy groceries,” said Youxue.

“Don’t worry. I’ll stay at home,” Liu Manman said cheerfully, taking out the guzheng.

Actually, it was precisely because she was there that Youxue felt uneasy.

Was it really okay to leave her sleeping older brother and a woman alone at home?

If it were other girls like An Siyao or Xu Youxiang, Youxue wouldn’t have had such concerns because she felt those girls were only likely to be touched by Xia Yu.

But with Liu Manman, who lacked a sense of personal boundaries, Youxue was uncertain.

And her older brother was the same, not even locking the door while sleeping.

Well, she just needed to hurry back.

Sighing, Youxue closed the piano room door and then closed Xia Yu’s bedroom door before leaving.

Thinking for a moment, she moved the black cat sleeping on the balcony to Xia Yu’s door, hoping that in case something happened, the cat could handle it somehow.

That was all she could do.

Unaware of Youxue’s concerns, Liu Manman was happily playing the guzheng.

Receiving a new piece was just like getting a new game, which made her very happy.

The piece “White Horse” wasn’t complicated, even somewhat simple. However, simplicity or complexity wasn’t the standard for judging a musical piece. The key was whether it was pleasant to the ear and could provide emotional enjoyment.

Liu Manman felt that simple pieces were better than complex ones because more people learned simple pieces, and each learner would know the composer.

She sighed at Xia Yu’s talent and lamented her own, feeling somewhat melancholy.

Adjusting her mood, Liu Manman devoted herself to playing “White Horse.”

After an hour, she could already play it fluently.

Standing up, she began to walk around the piano room.

Xia Yu had just said the sheet music was in the piano room, which should refer to the ensemble version.

Simple ensembles were like regular duets, taking turns playing lines. But a true ensemble meant both players had their own melodies for most of the piece, from beginning to end.

Adapting a solo piece into an ensemble wasn’t simply taking turns or something that could be completed in a short time.

She guessed that the piece was still a solo, just with an additional, somewhat optional melody.

She didn’t want to miss the opportunity for the piece’s debut, but she also felt it might not be appropriate for an outsider like her to take the lead. Hence, she invited Xia Yu to perform the ensemble.

Soon, she found Xia Yu’s notebook. Opening it, the first page contained the solo version of “White Horse,” the second page had an unfamiliar piece, and the third was blank.

Flipping further, all the pages were blank.

She picked up another notebook underneath, which contained many short tunes, all drafts.

So where was the promised ensemble version?

Liu Manman calmly analyzed and carefully thought, picking up the initial notebook again. She turned to the second page and looked at the unfamiliar piece.

Looking closely, she found this piece somewhat familiar.

Comparing it with the “White Horse” sheet music, she noticed some similarities; several melodic sequences were nearly identical.

But there were only a few! It was like the secluded palace in the mountains—it was a rearranged piece, but it could already be considered a new composition!

This couldn’t have been completed in just one night; it must have been finalized the previous night. Liu Manman thought.

What she didn’t know was that this ensemble version was indeed completed by Xia Yu in one night, drawing inspiration from previously conceived ideas for “the breath of the wilderness.”

Seeing such an excellent piece, Liu Manman felt a strong urge to try it out, but she couldn’t play the ensemble alone.

After thinking for two seconds, Liu Manman left the piano room, moved the black cat away from Xia Yu’s door, and opened Xia Yu’s bedroom door.

Five minutes later, Youxue returned home.

She placed the groceries in the kitchen and immediately went upstairs to check on things.

What she saw was Xia Yu lying motionless in bed and Liu Manman kneeling beside the bed, looking deeply distressed.

For a moment, Youxue almost thought her older brother had passed away.

Unsure, she approached the bed, reached under the covers, and touched Xia Yu’s wrist, finally feeling reassured.

Her actions woke Xia Yu. Still groggy from sleep, Xia Yu almost thought a female thief had come to touch him while he slept.

Looking at Liu Manman kneeling beside his bed, Xia Yu asked, “What’s going on?”

“Did you sleep well?” Liu Manman asked anxiously. “If you’re rested, let’s go practice the piece.”

Xia Yu picked up his phone and checked the time—it was only ten o’clock.

He lay back down, pulled the covers over himself, and said, “I just fell asleep at six this morning. Tell me, do you think I’ve had enough rest?”

With that, Xia Yu drifted back to sleep.

At noon, his alarm clock rang.

Forcing himself up, Xia Yu saw Liu Manman still sitting on the sofa in his room, waiting for him.

“Let’s go practice,” Liu Manman said.

“Eat first.”

After having lunch together, Liu Manman once again suggested practicing.

So Xia Yu played the piece twice with her, then stood up, indicating he was about to go out.

“I waited all morning for you, and you only practiced twice!” Liu Manman exclaimed angrily. “Where are you going?”

“To An Siyao’s place.”

“Why are you going to see An Siyao? To practice piano?” Liu Manman asked.

“…Is there anything else in your mind besides practicing piano?” Xia Yu recalled his time with Liu Manman. The girl seemed to always be doing something related to the guzheng.

“Besides practicing piano, what else could you possibly do with An Siyao?” Liu Manman countered.

“A date.”

“Hahaha.” Liu Manman thought Xia Yu was joking, so she laughed along for three seconds. “Well, whatever you two are up to, take me along.”

“You’re sure?” Xia Yu looked at her doubtfully.

“Absolutely sure!” Liu Manman replied confidently.

But two hours later, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Watching the two in front of her, sharing pastries mouth to mouth, exuding a thick, nauseatingly sweet romantic vibe, Liu Manman was filled with confusion:

Who am I? Where am I? Why am I being shown this!

You two actually got together for real!

They had seemed so indifferent to each other before, yet now they were inseparable. What had happened in the time she wasn’t around!

Straightforward as always, Liu Manman voiced her confusion. She directed her question at An Siyao.

An Siyao blinked, then solemnly told Liu Manman, “Love at first sight.”

“Sure, I’ll believe that! I was there when you two first met!” Liu Manman didn’t believe her for a second.

“There’s a lot that happened. You don’t need to ask anymore,” Xia Yu directly refused to answer Liu Manman’s question.

“Hmph, fine. Don’t tell me then.” She dumped her portion of pastries into her mouth, grabbed Xia Yu’s hand, and said, “Come on, your date is over. Let’s go practice piano together!”

The three of them went to An Siyao’s music room.

An Siyao sat to one side, resting her chin in her hand, watching them practice.

In the following days, the three spent their time like this, and Xu Youxiang often came by to listen to the music for half the day.

Before long, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.