Chapter Eighteen: The Master

“Seymour Pavilion gifts streamer Fu Xiao Porcelain a rocket*1.”
“Second Young Master of the Zheng family gifts streamer Fu Xiao Porcelain a rocket*3.”
“jeffreyjoshu gifts streamer Fu Xiao Porcelain a rocket*6.”
“Farewell to You gifts streamer Fu Xiao Porcelain a yacht*18.”
“Hepburn Downstairs gifts streamer Fu Xiao Porcelain a yacht*27...”

Staring at the flood of gifts across the screen, the foxy streamer could hardly contain her excitement. She lowered her voice, bowing repeatedly to the screen, “Thank you, grandpas, thank you, grandpas.”

To be honest, Fu Xiao Porcelain was filled with anxiety. As an outdoor streamer, aside from her pretty face, she didn’t have much else going for her. Truthfully, she had only entered this business after failing to find a job post-graduation, and she had never expected that her way of speaking and her content would win the affection of so many viewers.

Occasionally, her ranking in the outdoor streamer viewer chart would break into the top ten. But never before had she seen rockets and yachts showered so suddenly and in such abundance as today.

She knew very well the reason for this sudden surge of gifts in her live room. Unconsciously, she turned to look at the handsome young man, hesitating whether to seize the opportunity and cling to him.

In her mind, holding onto such a big shot would surely guarantee a steady stream of future gifts. But she was equally aware that a grand pianist like him would never take notice of a small streamer like herself.

She would have to find another way.

Just then, Liao Yuan finished his piece. A new kind of longing welled up inside him. He stared intently at his hands. At this moment, his hands seemed wound up like clockwork—though they had left the keys, they still twitched and danced in the air.

He wanted to play. He couldn’t help himself.

Suddenly, Liao Yuan recalled the memories of his previous life. A teenage prodigy, he hadn’t touched any instrument for nearly six years since graduating high school. But yesterday, he played the ukulele. Today, the piano.

His blood was boiling within him.

Even after leaving the keys, Liao Yuan could still envision his nimble fingers flying across the piano, painting vivid pictures.

A little obsessed.

Liao Yuan paused, suppressing the desire within him, and stood up. Like a lover stroking gently, he slowly set the piano stand in place, closed the lid, and turned to leave.

For him now, a piano worth seven hundred and thirty thousand, though it suited his hands perfectly, was something he couldn’t afford in the short term.

“Sir!”

The female sales assistant hurried after him, “Sir, are you sure you don’t want to look around some more? We have many different models here. For a pianist as outstanding as you, a custom grand piano would be a perfect fit. If you have other ideas, you could leave your contact information, and we’ll assign a dedicated service person to assist you twenty-four hours a day.”

Liao Yuan’s steps halted—not because the saleswoman’s words moved him, but because standing before him was a woman dressed in peculiar clothing, holding a selfie stick, blocking his way.

Fu Xiao Porcelain was nervous. She realized she had underestimated the handsome young man’s looks. When he stood up, his height over one-eighty centimeters made her heart flutter.

She tilted her head slightly, looking up at Liao Yuan, swallowed hard, and forced a laugh, “Hello there, big boss!”

Ugh, ‘big boss’? Why did I say what I was thinking!

Fu Xiao Porcelain caught herself, saw the handsome young man frown, and quickly corrected, “Uh, hi, handsome! Would you mind giving me a business card? Let’s get acquainted. My name is Fu Xiao Porcelain, I’m an outdoor streamer...”

Liao Yuan glanced at her selfie stick, turned, and ran off faster than before, soon vanishing into the piano market.

Fu Xiao Porcelain: “...”

She wanted to cry, but no tears would come.

How terrifying could I possibly look? Did you really have to run that fast?

The audience in the live room clearly noticed the scene.

“Big boss’s mind is truly unfathomable!”
“The ancients were right; masters all have eccentricities!”
“Don’t cry, Porcelain! Grandpa will buy you candy!”
“Hahaha, this is hilarious, Fu Xiao Porcelain scared off the big boss!”
“Hey, did anyone record that? That piece was beautiful, I want to download it online.”
“I am a teacher at Imperial Capital Music Academy, and I think that piece was original. I’ve never heard it before.”
“Wow, Imperial Capital Music Academy, hand the big boss some tea!”
“The difficulty of that piece was absolutely performance level; it shouldn’t be so unknown. Looks like it really was an original.”
“Stupid Fu Xiao Porcelain, why didn’t you aim the camera at the big boss’s face? We didn’t see his proper face at all!”

...

After leaving the piano market, Liao Yuan didn’t head home immediately, but went to a nearby tech market. He bought a set of video recording equipment and audio gear.

Seeing Fu Xiao Porcelain’s selfie stick had reminded him that to become a competent music content creator, he’d need not only musical instruments, but also a proper set of recording and video devices.

However, Liao Yuan didn’t have much money to buy top-tier equipment; all his recording and video devices together cost less than five hundred yuan.

Because of the cheap price, the camera’s quality was only slightly better than so-called AV resolution, but Liao Yuan was mentally prepared for this.

The audio gear was equally inexpensive, but sufficient for basic recording needs.

After returning home, Liao Yuan immediately connected all the devices to his laptop.

He didn’t begin uploading as a content creator right away; instead, he picked up his ukulele.

He planned to compose a song to help his sister, Liao Mei Qi, on her path in the talent show.

Songwriting was his profession—not as arduous as novel-writing. Even after two lifetimes, he could still recall clear melodies in his mind.

Tomorrow would be Liao Mei Qi’s first day of training. According to her, the first training would last a full day and night.

The production team wouldn’t give the contestants any rest.

They would, in the shortest time possible, eliminate half the contestants in this training, from the so-called Top 101 to Top 51.

Liao Yuan could feel his sister’s eagerness to rise. Though he didn’t want to tread this path again, faced with her only chance to stand out, he didn’t want to waste it.

After all, Liao Mei Qi had dropped out of high school. Thanks to their family upbringing, she was proficient in various instruments, but in a world where diplomas are the key to opportunity, her future would be bleak without one.

Rather than resigning, he would push Liao Mei Qi toward the road she most desired.

Given the time constraints, Liao Yuan wrote a simple song.

Besides composing and writing lyrics, he also recorded a short video of fingerstyle playing and a full performance of the song.

He sent everything to his sister’s phone via WeChat at the fastest speed.

He didn’t just record one song.

After today, according to the show’s rules, all contestants’ communication devices would be cut off.

He had to ensure that Liao Mei Qi’s advancement would be smooth and flawless.

According to the show’s agreement, for three months, all contestants, including staff, wouldn’t be allowed to leave the recording site.

Even those eliminated would be sent by the production team to a secluded holiday villa to prevent information leaks.

The production team was thorough—even after elimination, contestants at the villa would still have access to professional teachers for further instruction.

...

The next morning, Liao Yuan arrived early at Donghai Broadcasting Station.

Today was his first day reporting to the Online Department.

As soon as he entered the lobby, he sensed an unusual atmosphere; even the receptionists and passing staff shot him fervent glances.

Liao Yuan was baffled.

While clocking in, a stranger suddenly approached, excitedly saying, “Mr. Liao, can we take a photo together?”

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ps: Today the book is on recommended, for one week. This is its first recommendation slot, which affects its future fate. I hope all the big bosses can generously support it—please vote for recommendations, add it to your collection, and, ideally, send some rewards, as the fan leaderboard looks sad with so few fans, sob sob sob.