Hettie walked straight onto the stage and sat down at the piano. The guests below quieted down, waiting to hear her play.
It seemed she often performed at banquets, so no one was particularly surprised.
Zhou Yi leaned against the wall, sipping his drink as he asked his system:
"System, do you have any impressive piano pieces? Preferably ones this world has never heard before."
"Of course, but you know the drill."
"Go on, how many attribute points?"
"Just 50,000. Absolute masterpiece—guaranteed to make the big shots below lose their minds, including that woman you're trying to charm."
"Alright, alright, you think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?"
"I don’t, but I’ve mastered your tastes. You love chasing women who start off a little tsundere."
Zhou Yi... Zhou Yi couldn’t deny it.
Admittedly, conquering that type of woman was more fun for him.
"Aren’t you looking forward to seeing her dumbstruck expression later?"
"Host, I’m not a man. I can’t get excited, nor do I understand your thrills."
......
Zhou Yi stopped bantering with the system and directly purchased the recommended piano piece, titled Tears of the Divine.
Hettie was called a pianist for a reason—she had her own unique style.
Her playing was fiery and unrestrained, a stark contrast to her cold, elegant appearance.
Perhaps all her passion was poured into the piano, allowing the audience to feel the raw emotion. Everyone present was utterly captivated by Hettie’s performance.
There was no denying it—Hettie was a mesmerizing woman, especially when she played.
As the piece ended, applause erupted. Hettie lifted the hem of her dress and curtsied gracefully.
Albedo smiled and praised her, prompting Hettie to finally show a smile of her own.
"Professor, Mr. Zhou said he wanted to challenge me. Now it’s his turn."
She glanced at Zhou Yi, her expression practically saying, Let’s see what you’ve got.
Albedo sensed the tension but was always eager to witness a piano duel.
With a chuckle, he said, "Is that so, Zhou? You’re performing too?"
"Yes, Mr. Albedo."
"Wonderful! We’re in for a treat tonight. Which piece will you play?"
"I’ll improvise."
The pianists in the room exchanged intrigued looks.
"Go ahead, Zhou. We’ll all be cheering for you."
Matthew, meanwhile, raised his camera again, ready to record the moment. He always captured photos and videos at these gatherings, and tonight was no exception.
Zhou Yi stepped onto the stage and sat down slowly, closing his eyes before his fingers danced across the keys.
The audience’s reactions shifted from anticipation to shock, then awe, and finally sheer amazement—all within two minutes.
This was undoubtedly a piece they’d never heard before, convincing them it truly was an improvisation.
How else could such a breathtaking composition remain unknown? And his playing was flawless—not a single misplaced note or hesitation!
"This is unbelievable! He’s like the reincarnation of Master Bach!"
"Oh my God, this will become a classic, mark my words."
"To think such a prodigy was unheard of in the piano world... What a tragedy we nearly missed him tonight!"
Even Albedo and the other guests couldn’t stop marveling.
One elderly pianist sighed, "I pale in comparison."
As for Hettie? She reacted exactly as Zhou Yi had predicted—completely stunned.
Or perhaps enchanted was the word.
Her gaze fixed on Zhou Yi, lips slightly parted, lost in the music.
Only when the piece ended and thunderous applause filled the room did she snap back to reality.
Now she understood the vast gulf between them.
All traces of her earlier arrogance vanished as she clapped fervently for Zhou Yi.
Matthew was beside himself with excitement. Thank goodness he’d recorded it—this was improvisation!
His footage might become study material for countless students. He hurried to back it up on Albedo’s computer.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yi was showered with praise.
"Zhou, you’re the most talented pianist I’ve ever met!"
"Absolutely. Even at my age, I’m humbled. Talent trumps years of practice—though that’s a harsh truth for those without it."
"Zhou, I’d considered taking you as my student, but clearly, you’re beyond teaching. You’re God’s own pianist."
"If I hadn’t come tonight, I’d have missed something extraordinary. Hearing you play is my luckiest moment."
The admiration was genuine. Brilliance deserved respect.
And Hettie? Her eyes now held only deep infatuation.
"Zhou, your talent is staggering. I can’t believe I was so rude earlier... I’m sorry."
"No need. It was just a friendly match. I wasn’t offended at all."
"You’re magnanimous, and I’m utterly smitten."
Her beautiful eyes burned with passion. From then on, she stuck to Zhou Yi’s side—the icy beauty turned into an adoring fan.
"Zhou, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No. Why do you ask, Hettie?"
"Would you consider me? I adore you."
"Uh... isn’t this a bit sudden? I’ve never thought about it before. Besides, didn’t Matthew say you’d sworn off marriage?"
"That was before I met you. Zhou, are you free tonight? Would you like to come to my place for a drink?"
Hettie was completely besotted.
It was as if Zhou Yi only needed to say "marry me," and she’d drag him to the courthouse without hesitation.
077: "Host, does she have some misunderstanding? Should you remind her that piano skills aren’t sexually transmitted?"
Zhou Yi: "Maybe she just sees me as her soulmate. Artists fall fast and hard."
He added wistfully to the system, "Pity I already promised Claire tonight. Otherwise, a drink at this beauty’s place would’ve been perfect."
077: "You could visit Hettie first, then Claire. It’s not like they conflict."
Zhou Yi: "? That’s even more shameless than my ideas."
"But I like it. Decision made."
What would it feel like to have this aloof beauty burning with passion in bed?
Zhou Yi was looking forward to finding out.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
