"Of course, Miss Hettie, how could I refuse your invitation?"
"That's wonderful, Zhou! My home has a rare vintage piano—may I watch you play?"
Hettie's eyes sparkled like stars, her admiration for Zhou Yi shining as brightly as when she first heard Albedo's piano compositions.
Back then, she had exerted unimaginable effort to become Albedo's student, a testament to her determination and obsession with the piano.
Zhou Yi found her persistence both exasperating and endearing.
"Very well, then I’ll play a piece just for you."
"Zhou, I adore you! Aside from the piano, you’ll be my greatest love—I swear it."
Hettie buzzed around Zhou Yi, firing questions at him one after another. Matthew had never seen her so enthusiastic about anyone other than Albedo.
Albedo merely chuckled. "Surprised, Matthew?"
Matthew nodded. "Senior Hettie seemed to hold a grudge against Zhou earlier, almost as if she was jealous of how much you favored him. But now... it’s like she’s a different person. I’ve never seen her like this."
"That’s just Hettie’s nature. Don’t be shocked. The day your skills surpass Zhou’s, she’ll treat you the same way."
Matthew nearly broke into a cold sweat. Surpass Zhou? What kind of absurd joke was that? He wouldn’t dare entertain such a fantasy!
While confidence was important, he knew the difference between self-assurance and delusion. Even his mentor Albedo might not surpass Zhou—what hope did he have?
"Master, please don’t tease me. I wouldn’t dream of such a thing."
"Heh, humility is a virtue. By the way, child, you recorded a video of Zhou’s performance earlier, didn’t you?"
"Yes, Master. I’ve already copied it to your computer."
Albedo smiled approvingly. "The piano world is about to witness another genius."
He turned to Matthew and added, "Go ahead and share the video. Later, we’ll take a group photo—I’ll post an OTO to introduce this rising star to everyone."
By the end of the banquet, Matthew had snapped a group photo with Zhou Yi at the center, clasping Albedo’s hand.
On Zhou Yi’s other side stood Hettie, her gaze fixed on him with such intensity that an outsider might mistake it for infatuation.
Matthew edited the photo in black and white, giving it the grainy texture of an old film photograph.
The moment the OTO was posted, it sparked widespread discussion.
Matthew’s OTO included not only the group photo but also candid shots he had captured throughout the evening.
There were images of lively conversations, Hettie and Zhou Yi deep in discussion, Zhou Yi at the piano, and Albedo embracing Zhou Yi.
The centerpiece wasn’t the group photo but the shot of Zhou Yi playing—his profile exuding an elegance so captivating it was almost intoxicating.
One might say the banquet’s true protagonist wasn’t Albedo but Zhou Yi.
Of course, this wasn’t Matthew’s doing; it was Albedo’s decision.
The piano world gaining a talent like Zhou Yi thrilled him—he adored gifted individuals.
It was like finding a rare steed and its discerning master. Albedo couldn’t wait for more people to recognize Zhou Yi, this extraordinary thoroughbred.
A true artist is open-minded and appreciative of others, not one who resorts to exclusion or suppression to deal with a talented newcomer.
Albedo had once experienced being suppressed and slandered by his seniors, and he didn’t want such a thing to happen again to Zhou Yi. He knew all too well how helpless and painful that feeling could be.
Matthew didn’t feel jealous of Albedo’s favoritism toward Zhou Yi either—in his eyes, it was only natural.
After Matthew posted the photos, all the guests attending the banquet that night reposted them on OTO.
Unsurprisingly, it sparked heated discussions on OTO. These were all outstanding figures in their respective fields, each with their own fanbase.
[Zhou Yi actually attended Albedo’s private dinner party! That’s an event filled with legends of the piano world!]
[He’s so handsome—absolutely peerless. Even among these pianists who are all charismatic and good-looking, my eyes just can’t look away from Zhou. He’s utterly captivating.]
[My favorite dancer is there too! He’s actually friends with Albedo!? That’s unbelievable.]
[Now this is what a real banquet looks like—everyone seems relaxed and comfortable, not just holding glasses and forcing smiles at each other.]
[Zhou and the lady next to him look so perfect together. She’s stunning, like a movie star from the last century.]
[That’s Hettie, Albedo’s top disciple—a renowned and aloof goddess in the piano world. Countless men have tried and failed to win her over.]
[Wasn’t Hettie famously known for disliking men? She once said she’d never marry or fall in love in her lifetime. But in these photos, she doesn’t seem that way at all.]
[Go check out the new video Albedo posted on OTO. He’s utterly mesmerizing—I’ve already fallen for Zhou.]
Under various comments, people kept mentioning the new video Albedo had shared, prompting others to go watch it.
Albedo was a celebrity who rarely posted updates, so this video drew a lot of attention.
At first, many assumed it was a performance of his own piano compositions or a clip of him playing.
But when they opened it, they were shocked to see that the performer was none other than Zhou Yi!
The video lasted over ten minutes, ending with thunderous applause—proof of how electrifying the performance had been.
In the final scene, Albedo introduced the performer with a caption:
[You’d never guess—this was an impromptu performance.]
[His name is—Zhou Yi.]
[—A pianist from China.]
With those words, the video concluded.
Whether or not they had studied piano, viewers could sense the extraordinary nature of this impromptu piece.
Just watching the speed of Zhou Yi’s fingers was enough to tell how challenging the composition was.
Fellow pianists who saw it praised Zhou Yi, calling him a "genius pianist."
[Only now do I realize how incredibly talented Zhou Yi is. Did you know he also won first place in the International Mathematical Modeling Competition!?]
[This was an impromptu performance! Absolutely, undeniably unmatched. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this man’s shadow.]
[Zhou is a phenomenal musician. Even as a pianist myself, I’m completely awestruck by him.]
[He’s actually my countryman! He’s amazing—I’m cheering for him! Shared!]
[I never knew such a beautiful piece of music existed in the world. It moved me to tears.]
"Outsiders would kneel in awe upon hearing this, while insiders are already on their knees, listening reverently."
"I offer my knees in admiration! And if possible, I'd gladly offer my whole body too."
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!
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
