How Far, How Long

"Hey, your face is already completely red, you should stop drinking..."

Shen Yiyue warned as she looked at Ji Mengyao, who was already tipsy.

She picked up an empty bottle and checked the alcohol content: 2.2%.

Really? How could someone get drunk on what's basically juice?

This girl had been demanding alcohol, but who knew she'd be such a lightweight.

Dinner was over, and everyone was gathered around the living room sofa, with several empty bottles scattered on the coffee table.

Beside them, Ning Yu had already finished several bottles of strawberry passion fruit flavor without showing any signs of intoxication.

She was lounging comfortably on the sofa, occasionally chiming in with a comment or two.

Most of the drinks Ji Mengyao had brought were nearly gone.

"What are you talking about! We haven't... finished yet...!"

Ji Mengyao waved her hand dismissively, putting on the typical stubborn drunk act, and grabbed another bottle from the floor to open it.

"Wu Di... please talk some sense into her... uh..."

Just as Shen Yiyue was about to ask Wu Di to stop her stubborn behavior,

Ji Mengyao shoved another bottle into Wu Di's hands.

"Drink with me!"

Wu Di accepted the bottle somewhat helplessly, and Ji Mengyao clinked her glass against his.

He could only silently continue drinking with her.

Shen Yiyue covered her face, giving up on the two with a "do whatever you want" expression.

Suddenly, Ji Mengyao caught sight of a digital piano neatly placed by the window, and her expression turned curious:

"Hey? Whose is that?"

"I traded for it at the base today."

Ning Yu answered.

"Little Yu, you play piano?"

Shen Yiyue discovered yet another skill she'd never known Ning Yu had, while passing her a piece of dried meat.

"Mmm... a little bit."

Ning Yu mumbled while chewing on the meat.

"Really?! Come on, this is perfect timing, let us hear something~~!"

Ji Mengyao seemed to perk up with interest, setting aside her bottle and eagerly trying to convince Ning Yu to play something.

"You want to hear?"

Wu Di showed little reaction, seemingly indifferent to music, but politely nodded along with Ji Mengyao.

Ji Mengyao nodded enthusiastically, looking genuinely excited despite her alcohol-flushed face.

"Do you want to hear too?"

Ning Yu caught Shen Yiyue secretly glancing at her and turned to face her directly.

Of course Shen Yiyue wanted to hear, but worried that Ning Yu might not want to perform, she awkwardly replied:

"I... I'm fine either way... it's up to you, Little Yu..."

Seeing her wanting to hear but too shy to say so, Ning Yu poked her forehead.

"Just say it if you want to hear, silly."

"Hehe."

Shen Yiyue covered her forehead and giggled, realizing her thoughts had been written all over her face.

[Ding! Task: Near and Far progress updated!]

[Task: Near and Far (3/?) Grant Ji Mengyao's request]

?

Ning Yu was puzzled - how could such a relaxed, pleasant moment of playing piano after dinner trigger a task update?

She slowly walked to the digital piano she had traded for today and turned on the power switch.

She sat gracefully on the piano bench, sweeping her silvery hair back over her sheer dress.

Ning Yu pondered for a moment, then seemed to have a sudden inspiration.

This world... probably doesn't have this song, right?

"I'll play and sing something..."

She said.

She gently placed her hands on the white keys, her foot working the pedal in coordination.

The prelude began, composed of F and F augmented chords.

The originally gentle and calm F chord, when joined by the closely-spaced augmented chord, suddenly created an ethereal, otherworldly feeling.

Though after the chord inversions, these two chords differed by just one key, the atmosphere had completely transformed.

It was as if one was suddenly walking along a star-paved path in the infinite Milky Way.

The small apartment filled with a romantic atmosphere, moonlight quietly falling on Ning Yu's delicate fingers as they danced across the keys.

Ji Mengyao's previously drunken expression suddenly changed to wide-eyed wonder - she had never heard this melody before, but it felt somehow warm and familiar.

Shen Yiyue turned around to lean on the sofa backrest, watching Ning Yu's elegant playing form in a daze.

As the prelude ended, Ning Yu began to sing softly:

"Enchanted by your eyes"

"The Milky Way leaves its trace"

"Through the cracks of time"

"It remains real"

.....

Her voice was sweet, gentle, and full of sensitivity, seeming to pour directly from the ears into the soul of the listeners.

Everyone was immediately captivated by Ning Yu's singing, holding their breath.

She played simple broken chords, progressing from F to F augmented to F6 to F dominant 7,

Creating a gradual ascension from 1 to #1 to 2 to #2.

With each semitone rise, it was as if more starlight appeared in that galaxy, lighting up layer by layer.

Ji Mengyao watched Ning Yu's playing technique, nodding in appreciation at the beautiful application of skill.

Soon the situation changed.

"Waiting until your silver fills the horizon."

"Waiting until seasons blur together."

"Only then dare I speak of addiction."

Ning Yu's singing paused briefly, but her playing grew more intense as the verse ended and the chorus approached.

Her left hand began descending, making the melody heavier, building up to the chorus's climax:

"How much further until I can enter your heart."

"How much longer until I can get close to you."

......

Her voice seemed to tell some ancient story, containing a subtle yet helpless sorrow.

The singer meant nothing, but the listeners felt everything.

Ji Mengyao suddenly froze, no longer focusing on Ning Yu's playing technique, but rather feeling her heart caught by the lyrics.

She felt an inexplicable pain in her chest.

"How much further until I can enter your heart... How much longer until I can get close to you..."

She moved her lips, silently repeating the two lines Ning Yu had just sung.

In the small apartment, the listeners were lost in their own thoughts, Ning Yu's performance seeming to give them some long-forgotten shock.

......

After a while, Ning Yu's voice began climbing to a peak:

"How should I search."

"How lucky must I be."

"To dare let you discover you're not alone."

"While I can still fly with you."

At the song's climax, Ning Yu slowly closed her eyes, as if floating in the cold, lonely vastness of space.

Hearing such moving vocals, Shen Yiyue could barely contain her emotions, feeling as if something ineffable was about to burst forth from this song.

It was impossible not to be drawn into the story it told.

"Orbiting is meaningless..."

"At least I can..."

"Be with you..."

As the song drew to a close, Ning Yu's voice grew deeper and gentler, bringing this beautiful yet sorrowful story to its end.

When she finished the final arpeggio, she turned around.

Looking at the stunned faces of her audience, each wearing a different expression.

Ning Yu felt somewhat guilty:

Here I am, having crossed over to this apocalyptic world, playing a song from my past life for my friends.

This shouldn't count as plagiarism... right?