Chapter Sixteen: Play Whatever Comes to Mind

All afternoon, Liao Yuan set aside his work to sit knee-to-knee with his sister, talking deep into the night.

He offered his opinions on everything from the group’s dance formations to their camera presence. Liao Meiqi was astounded by her brother’s breadth of knowledge. The look she gave him brimmed with twinkling admiration—nothing else remained in her eyes.

She made a silent vow: this time, she would secure a good ranking, earn a heap of money, and make sure her dashing brother lived a well-fed, comfortable life. For a man of such talent, it was simply a shame to be out there struggling to make ends meet.

The next day, Liao Yuan personally escorted his sister to Donghai Film and Television Base. Only after watching her disappear from sight did he turn to leave.

He was due to report to the Internet Department the following day, but he felt little anxiety about his work schedule. The backlog of “Ghost Blows Out the Light” manuscripts would give him plenty of breathing room.

He didn’t head straight home. Instead, he made his way to the city’s largest music store market to look at instruments.

Upon arrival, he was once again struck by how different this world was. People seemed almost obsessively devoted to the piano; of the hundreds of shops, more than sixty specialized exclusively in pianos. Even among the other dazzling displays of instruments, pianos were the most numerous and prominent—and the most expensive.

A single Steinway, for instance, started at over two hundred thousand yuan for its most basic model. Most lesser brands hovered around one hundred thousand. The ones priced at twenty or thirty thousand—after playing a few notes, Liao Yuan could hardly keep himself from covering his ears; the tone quality was simply too poor.

After wandering through dozens of shops, Liao Yuan found himself unable to resist standing in front of a piano worth around seven hundred and thirty thousand yuan. He lingered there for a long while.

It was the top model in Steinway’s flagship shop. There were a few other pianos worth over a million, but those required private orders; no store would place such a world-class instrument on public display. Even a seven-hundred-thousand-yuan piano was rarely asked about.

Typically, Steinway’s orders came from top academies, gala balls, and connections within the music world.

You get what you pay for. Just by running his fingers over the piano’s surface, Liao Yuan felt the crystalline coolness of the wood—a sensation that filled him with pleasure.

When musicians catch the scent of their prey, they can become more persistent than anyone.

“With this piano, performing should be more than satisfactory,” Liao Yuan thought.

Indeed, more than satisfactory.

But for him, the price was out of reach.

Right now, not to mention seven hundred thousand, he didn’t even have seven thousand to his name.

“Sir, you’re welcome to try it,” a saleswoman with shallow dimples said with a smile. “This Steinway is our top-selling model nationwide, crafted entirely from Grade-A redwood. Its tone quality is unmatched for its price.”

Her professionalism left no trace of bias toward Liao Yuan’s simple attire. In her two years on the job, she’d already met too many understated great pianists. This industry was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. A world-class pianist could easily earn over a million from a single concert; a tour could provide a lifetime’s comfort for an ordinary person. Even national-level players commanded appearance fees above a hundred thousand at music festivals.

Most in this field dressed modestly. Though they wore tails and stood tall and elegant on stage, once the performance ended, a change of clothes rendered them indistinguishable from anyone else.

Did they lack money? Of course not. These were precisely Steinway’s clientele.

Liao Yuan hesitated in front of the piano, but ultimately couldn’t resist the saleswoman’s invitation. He sat down.

He lifted the fallboard, set the prop in place, and positioned his hands above the keys—then paused.

The piece...

He couldn’t just play anything.

A work too astonishing wouldn’t do.

So, he’d just play a simple piece.

...

“Take a ride on the rocket yacht, live a life worth nine hundred ninety-nine!” A young female streamer with fox-like features, dressed in anime cosplay that revealed a hint of her ample chest, strode into the music store with a selfie stick in hand. “Dear viewers, I’ve really gone all out today! This Daji costume alone cost me at least a thousand bucks, so don’t be stingy with your tips!”

“Thanks, Seymour Pavilion, for the rocket! Love you, mwah!”

“Thank you, Big Wolfdog, for the Catgirl!”

“Thank you, Farewell to You, for the yacht! Oh ho ho, I’ve already made back my costume money! What? You want to see a Steinway? A true tycoon, going for the high-end! All right, all right, what a willful tycoon—you ask, I deliver. Let’s see, where’s the Steinway, where, ah, found it!”

The fox-faced streamer waggled her white tail, selfie stick in hand, aiming her camera at the LED sign of the Steinway flagship shop. “Watch closely, everyone, I’m not lying—this is the real Steinway flagship! Genuine and authentic Steinway!”

“Farewell to You, are you there? If you say yes, I’m going in!”

As soon as Farewell to You sent another thousand-yuan yacht gift, the streamer’s eyes crinkled with delight. She headed straight into the Steinway store, but as soon as she crossed the threshold, her steps grew careful. Steinway was the world’s top piano brand—each instrument cost hundreds of thousands, even millions. She didn’t dare dance around recklessly for fear of bumping into something she could never afford to replace.

At that moment, she spotted a young man in a suit seated at a piano.

Her gaze went first to his face—wow, this guy was outrageously handsome!

Then she glanced at the price tag beside the piano. Her body jolted; her mouth fell open in shock, as if struck by lightning.

Good grief, seven hundred thirty thousand!

Oh my, a real tycoon!

She eagerly aimed her camera at the seven-hundred-thousand-yuan piano and the striking young man seated before it.

Many in the livestream audience had never seen a Steinway before. The moment they spotted the seven-hundred-thirty-thousand price, the chat exploded.

“Whoa, is a piano really that expensive? I could never afford one in my life!”

“This isn’t for poor folks like us.”

“I’m an auto mechanic and somehow ended up looking at a Steinway—guess I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“Streamer, want to hang out? I just happen to have a Steinway at home!”

“If you like it, I’ll even steal a scooter to get you one!”

“At this price, I looked down at my seven-thousand-yuan keyboard… sigh, I could cry!”

“Who’s that sitting at the piano? He hasn’t moved in ages—maybe he can’t play? Haha, how awkward!”

“What a poser. Dressed like that and thinks he can buy a Steinway?”

“I’ve never seen a piano this expensive—respect!”