h the dense forest and scattered fine light spots on her, Tang Wu's beautiful eyes flickered with a barely noticeable dark hue... much like the autumn sky at dusk, filled with large patches of mysteri...Volume 3: Go to That Distant Place Chapter 17: The Goddess of the Piano

6 Zhao Yi was indeed eloquent and assertive. From the moment he sat down, he started playing Mahjong with a few others, but Su Can politely declined and stood by drinking Biluochun while watching them play.

Zhao Yi had been observing Su Can from the start; he wasn't poorly dressed and thus drew Zhao Yi's attention. However, Zhao Yi found him less entertaining than expected as he was the only one not sipping fruity tea or coffee but rather holding a cup of green Biluochun with a smile, somewhat out of place in the current atmosphere.

A few times during their session, new guests were brought in by servers. One approached Zhao Yi and greeted him; both wore branded attire suggesting they were regular customers here.

Glancing at them all, he noted the nervousness on the faces of these second middle school students and quipped, "Are you guys playing around here Want to borrow my platinum card"

"Sure thing! I'll get it from you when we settle up!" Zhao Yi surveyed their group. "I brought them here for some fun; this is their first time."

The man chuckled dryly and left with his companions.

Here, the two girls from Second Middle School now looked at Zhao Yi with more interest. The two boys beside them appeared somewhat uneasy. In the school, Zhao Yi was quite a figure, one level higher than them, good friends with Liu Rui but seemingly wealthy due to his father's involvement in medical equipment business and monthly compensations.

Liu Rui leaned over to whisper into Su Can’s ear, "Damn! I had planned on introducing these two girls to you. Zhao Yi is rather bold."

"Hm" Su Can raised an eyebrow.

Liu Rui continued, "You should seize the opportunity, Zhao Ying and Lu Zhifei are quite something. In our class, there are plenty of admirers! I好不容易把她們約出來，否則你以為我帶你來豐什麼？雖說一中美女如雲，但那些女生一個比一個現實，美女更是彆指望了。喂，怎麼樣，你覺得趙穎和陸知菲這兩個女孩不錯吧？這要是放在一中，就算不上等貨色，至少也是搶手貨了吧？能看上你已經很不錯了，你還不好好把握！”

Su Can helplessly said, "Can you stop doing such things for a while First focus on getting into college."

"Get into college" Liu Rui snorted. "It's still far away in the future, enjoy life while you can! Anyway, do you think you could get into Tsinghua or Peking University"

Su Can smiled and ignored him.

The girl who had been called out seemed to feel bad about leaving Su Can alone and said to him, "Is there anything fun at your No. 1 High School Anything interesting Oh, right, wasn't there an incident where someone stabbed another student last time What happened in the end"

Upon hearing this, Liu Rui saw a chance to showcase himself and was about to expand on the topic, but Su Can tugged at him suddenly and said to Zhao Ying, "Our school is quite dull; there's nothing really interesting. As for the incident you mentioned, it did happen, but it wasn't as exaggerated as people might imagine. The student who stabbed someone was eventually expelled."

However, Liu Rui jumped in eagerly and said, "I also know about this! In fact, one of my friends witnessed the entire event!" He glanced at Su Can with dissatisfaction; he had forgotten about it earlier but now that it was brought up, he thought, This is a great chance to show off! Why is this guy being so timid Such heroic deeds don't happen often. Plus, getting stabbed and still being fine makes him stand out even more. It's perfect for impressing these girls! I can definitely steal the limelight from Zhao Yi!

But Su Can didn't have such thoughts; who would want to promote an incident where they got stabbed

Zhao Ying muttered, "Oh," and it was evident to everyone that Su Can wasn’t very talkative and had a somewhat arrogant personality. He couldn’t fill the void in social situations either, which made him seem even worse after Liu Rui’s introduction earlier. Even though he looked decent, his shyness would make him hard to introduce.

Zhao Ying and Lu Zhifei both thought that finding a boyfriend like Zhao Yi was necessary; he handled himself gracefully in social situations and came from an excellent background, fitting the description of a typical prince charming. However, despite being famous for his charm in Grade 12, he had quite the reputation for being flirtatious—his last girlfriend was also considered one of the most attractive girls in her grade.

So, for boys like Zhao Yi, although they can be charming and capture the hearts of many girls as a dark horse prince, they are not something that ordinary girls like Lu Zhifei could easily obtain.

As she was daydreaming, Lu Zhifei became distracted and lost two games. Both girls subconsciously looked at Su Chan; while Zhao Yi is dazzling, it's indeed hard to win him over, whereas a regular boy like Su Chan should be more attainable for them.

Thinking about this, Zhao Ying and Lu Zhifei couldn't help but feel disappointed. Although they didn't have high expectations of Zhao Yi, he had been placed at a rather high level in their minds due to his good family background and cheerful personality, making him somewhat out of reach.

When Liu Rui caught up with Su Chan while going to the restroom, he gave him an unpleasant look for embarrassing him earlier. Watching Zhao Ying and Lu Zhifei's expressions, Su Chan roughly understood their thoughts. He turned on a faucet without getting upset about Liu Rui's questioning; Zhao Ying and Lu Zhifei were seated like well-behaved girls, attracting some attention from other patrons who occasionally exchanged glances.

After looking away from them, Su Chan smiled at Liu Rui, saying, "It’s not that I’m disrespectful to you, but girls like Zhao Ying and Lu Zhifei are indeed great. However, if one day we were in an ordinary tea shop instead of this elegant place, would they still be comfortable spending six dollars on a cup of milk tea as they do fifty for a pot of tea here"

Liu Rui was stunned, staring at Su Chan as if seeing him anew. Although he usually acts carefree, it doesn't mean he's oblivious. Sometimes, perhaps because of an uncertain future, one might behave more recklessly; now, however, Su Chan often does things that make Liu Rui think deeply, like a beam of sunlight piercing through the closed eaves, clearly illuminating the dust.

Back at the table, Liu Rui's thoughts had changed. He wasn't troubled by Su Chan’s lackluster performance in front of everyone; instead, he felt that there were many things Zhao Ying and the girls didn't understand under their superficial charm and dazzling presence.

"You guys don’t know this! Zhao Yi just revealed a big secret!" A man said mysteriously as the two who had gone to the restroom returned. Clearly, with Zhao Yi's charisma expanding, any previous animosity they might have harbored towards him was now gone, replaced by eagerness to get closer to him.

"What secret" Liu Rui asked out of curiosity.

"Sometimes in the afternoon, there’s a beautiful pianist who plays here! It's said she plays incredibly well; most people come just to watch her perform!" Another man continued enthusiastically, describing Zhao Yi's tale vividly. "No wonder so many people are here today," Zhao Ying and Lu Zhifei both rolled their eyes, saying, "So what A pianist playing here might have already been taken by some boss!"

Zhao Yi, who was being haughty, suddenly pulled a long face and said sternly, "Don't talk nonsense. I know the boss of this teahouse. He has opened several companies in Shengge City and runs this teahouse here in Xihaicity quite professionally. This girl is learning to play the piano. She’s around our age, but her family isn’t ordinary at all. They invited her to perform because they are friends with the teahouse owner, as a form of exercise for her. When she plays, the security guards always stand guard nearby. People who come here usually aren't so formally dressed, but now everyone is sitting upright and respectfully watching her play. I’ve seen her perform many times here; that girl’s comfort level is truly beyond our reach."

Zhao Ying and Lu Zhifei both feigned agreement with "Oh, really" but inside they were extremely jealous.

Su Can was taken aback by Zhao Yi's humility in referring to himself as an ordinary person who couldn't approach her.

It seemed that this girl wasn’t a commoner at all.

The teahouse performances had no announcements and the moment many waiters came out, a girl dressed in a black pleated dress elegantly stepped forward. Many immediately began to clap but she ignored them, sitting down at the piano and the applause quickly died down.

Zhao Yi was electrified, his body straightening up as he gazed intently toward her. His eyes seemed to have returned to a more innocent state from several years ago, staring dreamily at the girl.

Everyone in the hall turned their heads whether they were regulars or newcomers who had come out of curiosity and looked towards the central platform where the black piano sat.

The curtains around were drawn aside and the hanging lights above the black piano illuminated, casting a conical beam of light on the stage. The girl's delicate arm moved gracefully as her hair tied back exposed her snow-white neck, and her fingers danced across the keys. Richard Clayderman’s melodious "Melody of Attila" flowed through the teahouse, separated from the afternoon sun by curtains.

A few boys were stunned; even at school cultural evenings, they hadn't seen such a harmonious and tranquil scene before.

Zhao Yi glanced at the stupefied crowd with pride swelling in his heart. Though he couldn’t approach this girl or only watched her play from afar, there was always that moment when hearing her piano playing filled his heart, which had never been full of familial warmth, with happiness.he armed police detachment, Zhao Lijun, knocked on Zeng Quanming's door. Standing at a height of one meter eighty, he had a slightly pale complexion but his eyes were sharp and intelligent. He warmly...