TL: bluedreamsfairy
PR: Sam Jiejie
Even though Ning Xuemo had played two parts already, no one wanted to stop her. Eventually — the entire song 《A Moonlit Night among Flowers by the Spring River》ended, along with the lingering sound of the melody.
After a moment of silence, a thunderous applause echoed throughout the s.h.i.+p! Every musician stood up to clap their hands heavily for Ning Xuemo’s performance! Including the three judges! Even the strictest of teachers wouldn’t have been able to pick up a fault in her performance!
The three judges complimented her in unison: “Only Heaven has such a piece! Which human has ever heard it?” Gu Ziyan also sighed: “Hearing Lady Xue’s song, makes this Gu feel I have learned in vain! Lady Xue is completely worthy of the Great Master t.i.tle! Lady Xue has achieved the First position!”
Ning Xuemo laughed gracefully: “I don’t deserve your flattery.” If the truth be told, she wasn’t that interested in the First-Rank position. Instead, she wanted the prize of the Flamboyant Crystal Tree.
{Flamboyant Tree = Crystal Poinciana Tree}
Her eyes shone while s.h.i.+fting her gaze towards that object, rejoicing that it would finally be hers! She then replied kindly: “Thank you, Your Esteemed Gu. Right now, this zither should be given back to its rightful owner.” Gu Ziyan shook his head: “The zither is not mine. It just happened that I picked it up, worried about letting it go to waste. If Lady Xue wishes for it to be returned, then you should look for the real owner.” Ning Xuemo tried to hold back her shocked face, but since she was extremely intelligent, she cast a glance at Yan Ziyuan.
Meanwhile, Yan Ziyuan’s face paled as her eyes flashed. Previously, she believed that in the end, he wouldn’t hate her to that extent, but she had thought too much! She looked at her zither secretly, and never imagined that he had taken it because it was wasteful to leave it where it was. Moreover, he even wanted to give it away. ‘Yan Ziyuan, unrequited love is a disease! You should be punished! You should be cut in half!’, she scolded herself. She smiled faintly and said aloud: “Xue Xue, that zither is mine, actually. Can I have it back? I will gift you another one in return.”
Ning Xuemo didn’t decline. In fact, she handed her the musical instrument very happily: “You don’t need to offer me another one! I am in the middle of a trip, so it would be very troublesome.” After being handed the zither, Yan Ziyuan plucked the strings softly. Tinkling sounds arose. Her expression was very odd: a mixture of adoration and absent-mindedness.
In the meantime, Gu Ziyan was observing her and smiled. ‘Did she still treasure this zither?’, he thought to himself. He remembered that she really loved it. No matter where they went, she would always take it with. She wouldn’t b.u.mp into anyone, nor let them touch it. — Except him, obviously. He was the one who chose it for her. He also knew because of that, she took great care of it. CLANK! Yan Ziyuan abruptly scratched the zither with both her hands! Seven strings fell apart! Everyone’s attention was on her, and all of them were puzzled. Even though it wasn’t an unique zither, the quality of the workmans.h.i.+p was unrivaled, hence its value was considerably high. However, who would have expected that Yan Ziyuan would suddenly break the strings!
Gu Ziyan’s smile stiffened as he clenched his hands tightly and shouted: “Ziyuan!” But Yan Ziyuan didn’t turn her head towards him. Instead, she kept on splitting the soundboard with a strike of her palms. The wood was split into two parts…! …Ruined! As soon as she finished, she finally looked back at his livid expression. She smiled serenely: “This zither is defective. I wanted to destroy it a long time ago, but only now I could.”
Gu Ziyan’s face lost all color. He continued to clench and loosen his fists, unable to voice out his thoughts.