Chapter Twenty: The Zither Duel

  Liu Yiran didn't say a word, but sat down by herself, stroking the ancient zither in front of her, its aura becoming even more extraordinary at this moment, making people dare not harbor any impure thoughts.

  The demon beauty who was clamoring to compete with Liu Yiran in the piano looked at her boyfriend and said in a low voice, "Husband, you have to help me win her, I want to see how arrogant she is." After finishing speaking, she kissed Wu Xiangru, the so-called 12th generation descendant of the Guangling School, on the face, as if they had already won before the piano competition even started. Li San Sheng couldn't help but laugh at this dramatic scene.

  He Caiyun is a genuine Xi'an girl who has been fascinated with the guqin since childhood. Her academic performance was also outstanding at Shaanxi Normal University Affiliated Middle School, and she entered Jiaotong University with excellent grades. She naturally joined the guqin club at Jiaotong University due to her love for the instrument. With her natural beauty and the elegance of the guqin, she stands out even more. She is definitely a girl that ordinary children from small towns and those who have climbed up from rural areas cannot hope to possess. He Caiyun's guqin skills are indeed exceptional, as evidenced by her passing the eighth level with the highly difficult piece "Loulan Scattered". Before Liu Yiran joined the guqin club, no one could be compared to her.

  He Caiyun met her current boyfriend Wu Xiangru, the 12th generation descendant of the Guangling School, through a guqin competition. Wu Xiangru's lineage is as high as that of many renowned Guangling School masters, but his skill level is not as high as theirs; he relies on his family background to be recognized by connoisseurs. Compared to ordinary guqin enthusiasts, however, he is still at a master level, having recently passed the highest-level guqin examination and being considered a future guqin master. The two had an unexpected encounter, with one looking up to the other's illustrious family background and the other admiring the first's beauty; they naturally came together without much hindrance.

  However, just as He Caiyun was shining brightly at Jiaoda, Liu Yiran, who had hardly played the piano a few times at Jiaoda, saw He Caiyun's skills on the guqin during one of her outdoor performances and couldn't help but want to play a piece too. At that time, a "Feng Qiu Huang" stunned everyone, making many people amazed by her talent, and also because of her beauty and temperament that surpassed He Caiyun, she instantly became a star at Jiaoda. Suitors were endless, but no one could win her heart.

  He Caiyun was invited to join the Guqin Society by everyone's request, and although she was a bit reluctant at first, she could still adapt to Liu Yiran. However, as more people joined the society, most of whom were drawn in by Liu Yiran's stunning looks and elegant demeanor, He Caiyun began to feel uneasy. She had grown accustomed to being the center of attention, but now found herself overshadowed by Liu Yiran. Her jealousy eventually got the better of her, and she challenged Liu Yiran to a duel within the society. Liu Yiran agreed without saying a word, and the outcome was predictable: the two played a rendition of "Yangguan Sandie", with He Caiyun's skills proving no match for Liu Yiran's. This led to today's comical scene where He Caiyun had her boyfriend, the 12th generation successor of the Guangling style, come and seek revenge.

  "What's the tune?" Wu Xiangru, whose handsome and elegant demeanor made Li San Sheng feel inferior, had already captivated the hearts of all the talented female students in the grand hall who were learning to play the guqin.

  "Willow Yiran, which one is better?" To be honest, Li Sansheng thought that He Caiyun's looks were not bad at all. Those eyes could make many men immediately fall in love without even needing to get on their horses. Especially with that ponytail and the dragon-like eyebrows, she was a real stunner. It's just that her personality wasn't that great, and taking her home would be like bringing back a complaining wife.

  "Whatever," Yilian said lightly, stroking her own guqin.

  "Then it's 'Plum Blossom in Three Stanzas'." Wu Xiangru looked at Liu Yiran and smiled.

  Li Sansheng had been observing the guy who was more handsome and cooler than himself from the start, and in his heart, he had cursed him many times, thinking that being good-looking was useless. He might be a cowardly pretty boy or maybe even impotent, because this guy kept stealing glances at Liu Yiran with his small eyes, naturally with lustful intentions, without any regard for his own girlfriend He Caiyun who was right next to him, acting so arrogantly that Li Sansheng felt like going up and punching him.

  "Plum Blossom in Three Variations" is one of the top ten ancient guqin pieces. The earliest known score was found in the Ming dynasty's "Shen Qi Mi Pu". It consists of 10 sections, with five merged ending sections symbolizing the plum blossom opening its five petals; and the theme melody appears in three different tonal areas, hence the name "Three Variations". The title has no relation to the original meaning of the piece. Later generations associated it with Jin Dynasty's Huan Yi's flute piece "Plum Blossom Melody", which expresses the plum blossom's elegance and tranquility through its static state, while the urgent parts of the melody evoke the dynamic image of the plum blossom swaying in the wind, unafraid of the cold.

  "Plum Blossom in Three Variations" is a compulsory piece for the 8th level of guqin, but it's very difficult to play it well at this stage. Even Wu Xiangru, a master who has just passed the 9th level, finds it challenging to play this piece. After all, it's one of the top ten famous pieces of guqin, and not everyone can easily bring out its charm. Wu Xiangru chose this piece because he guessed from his girlfriend He Caiyun that Liu Yiran was around the same level as him.

  "The sound of the guqin rose quietly, and the two people remained still as if they were transcendent beings, their eyes narrowed as they entered their own realm."

  Li San Sheng, who had also closed his eyes, knew as soon as the sound of the guqin began that he would lose this duel. The first six sections of "Mei Hua San Nong" use a cyclical repetition technique, while the last four sections form the second part, depicting two images of plum blossoms: stillness and movement.

  While Liu Yiran was already slightly inferior to Wu Xiangru in terms of circular finger technique from the very beginning, Li Sansheng had to admit that Wu Xiangru's guqin level seemed to be genuinely high-end without any impurities. Just taking the generic sound playing method of circular finger technique as an example, it is estimated that at his age, he is already among the top-notch, and only a few top-notch people from the Central Conservatory of Music and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music can compare with him.

  From the first section of "溪山夜月" to the last section of "欲罢不能", Li San Sheng nodded his head and carefully appreciated it. It's possible that Liu Yi Ran had also heard the high and low notes of Wu Xiang Ru's qin, and her mood had ups and downs afterwards. When the mood is affected, naturally the technique will be influenced as well.

  In this case, Liu Yiran unexpectedly lost to Wu Xiangru. In the Guqin Society's grand hall, most of these students were Guqin enthusiasts and could also tell the difference between the two people's high and low notes.

  A fallen leaf settles.

  "Your skills are already quite good, and with the guidance of a famous teacher, I estimate you can still improve by another level." Wu Xiangru said this to Liu Yiran after defeating him, just like a victor lecturing a loser on TV, pretending to be a superior being. This made Li San Sheng despise him even more, as he couldn't stand people who pretended to be better than others.

  Liu Yiran still didn't say anything, she just nodded slightly.

  "Yuri, aren't you supposed to be amazing? Yet you still lost." Heo Yoon-yeon didn't let go of this rare opportunity to strike at Yuri. This was a chance that she wouldn't normally get, and she wasn't going to pass it up. She was absolutely thrilled, more so than if she had won herself. With a triumphant smile, she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's arm.

  Liu Yiran could only shake her head at this kind of worldly woman.

  "My master was the late Mei Yueqiang, a giant in the world of Qin. It's no wonder you lost," Wu Xiangru said proudly, his eyes roaming freely over Liu Yiran's body, causing her to frown slightly.

  The members of the Guqin Society were all amazed by this stunning performance, and when they heard that Wu Xiangru had studied under Master Mei Yaicheng, a giant in the world of qin music, they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Master Mei was the pinnacle of the Guangling School, and it was unexpected to learn that Wu Xiangru had studied under him. It seems that his high level of skill on the guqin wasn't just due to luck, but rather the result of true mastery.

  It's a bit disappointing that the face of Guqin Society, Liu Yiran, lost. After all, these kids who have always regarded Liu Yiran as the perfect woman each had their own thoughts and views.

  Liu Yiran stood up and took a look at the members of the Guqin Society, familiar and unfamiliar faces, nodded slightly, and turned to leave the Guqin Society.

  "Yuliran, I think you should quit the Guqin Society." He Caiyun said, watching Yuliran's back as she walked away.

  Li Sansheng saw Liu Yiran frowning, and he felt a sense of disgust towards He Caiyun's malicious intentions. The members of the Guqin Society were instantly stirred up by He Caiyun's words, with some people unhesitantly criticizing her for being overbearing, but others still supported her, after all, she was the president of the Guqin Society and had been running it for so long, how could Liu Yiran, who had just joined the society, be compared to her.

  Wu Xiangru said, "Yu Yun is right, you should quit the Guqin Society. I'll come to guide everyone in the future." Although he had a hint of unwillingness in his heart, his girlfriend He Yu Yun had already taken things this far, and if he didn't support her, it would put her in an awkward position. As for Liu Yi Ran, he also had some illusions about her, but he knew that he couldn't catch up to such a proud girl who was even more arrogant than himself. From start to finish, Liu Yi Ran hadn't given him a serious look, which made Wu Xiangru, who was spoiled by girls, very disappointed. Unable to get what he wanted, he would rather destroy it. He cherished his girlfriend He Yu Yun, who was only slightly inferior to Liu Yi Ran, so Wu Xiangru said this with an extreme mindset.

  "What a wonderful wife following her husband!" Li Sansheng said with a loud laugh.

  Liu Yiran turned around to see that it was the boy who had just followed her, which made Liu Yiran feel even more absurd about this farce. A suitor like a fool would stage a heroic rescue here? Is this self-inflicted humiliation or self-confidence?

  "He wanted to be a hero saving the beauty" He Qiyun looked down on Li Sansheng's outfit from top to bottom, seeing Li Sansheng looking like a country bumpkin, and said disdainfully. Wu Xiangru also found this scene too ridiculous and couldn't help but laugh.

  Inside the Guqin Society, dozens of members seemed to have gotten used to Liu Yiran's pursuers doing shocking things, and when they saw Li Sansheng, who looked like a country bumpkin, they couldn't help but burst out laughing, pointing fingers at him.

  Still like that, they laughed, Li Sansheng also laughed, laughing more brilliantly, a strange scene was staged here again.

  He Caiyun saw Li Sansheng laughing so brightly, like a fool, pulling Wu Xiangru's arm and laughing, and even said "How did a fool come".

  Li Sān Shēng laughed unscrupulously and freely, his laughter as gentle as a breeze on a cloudy day.

  This world is just a group of fools laughing at another group of fools, all are mediocre people, all are fools.

  Liu Yiran saw everyone laughing at Li Sansheng, perhaps kindly making himself feel that this was utterly undignified for a man. For the first time, she spoke to her pursuer who would never have anything to do with her, the super happy Li Sansheng who was smiling at her, saying "You can go now".

  No excessive colors, no emotions, just such a light sentence.

  "Compared to the relatively rustic Guangling School, I still have a soft spot for the refined and elegant Shushan School." Li San Sheng's smile faded as he looked at Wu Xiang Ru with a hint of provocation, seemingly ignoring Liu Yi Ran's words.

  "You also understand the guqin, have you seen a guqin before? Hahaha" He Caiyun seemed to have heard an earth-shattering joke, laughing even more wildly, and the rest of the people had the same feeling.

  It's like the auntie at the vegetable market discussing with you which year of wine from which French chateau is best to drink at what time, ultimately it's as absurd and ridiculous as a fairy tale.

  "As the inheritor of Master Mei's legacy, it's really embarrassing to see you play 'Mei Hua San Nong' at this level. If your professorial senior brother in Shanghai Music Academy knew about this, he would be so ashamed that he'd die." Li Sansheng said with no attempt to hide his words.

  The grand hall was eerily quiet, so quiet that one could hear the sound of their own heartbeat. Everyone no longer thought Li Sansheng was a foolish pursuer like Liu Yiran, let alone a group of Tsinghua geniuses with absolutely no intelligence problems.

  "You understand the guqin," Wu Xiangru said with a pale face.

  "Compare with you", Li Sansheng said strongly.

  Liu Yiran looked at the suddenly turbulent scene, seemingly interested in the duel that was about to happen again, and turned around to look at the two men who were pointing their needles at each other.

  A face that makes women infatuated and a temperament with pride in every bone, an ordinary male stranger who is destined to be inconspicuous and unremarkable no matter where he is placed on the campus of Jiaotong University.

  "Your song selection"

  "Since you are a descendant of the Guangling School, then use 'Guangling San'"

  "May I use this ancient qin of Fuxi?" This was Li San Sheng's first time speaking to Liu Yi Ran, and he couldn't help but feel nervous, though he tried his best to maintain his composure for the sake of the Li family's reputation.

  Liu Yiran nodded slightly.

  "Guangling San", also known as "Guangling San", is a required piece for the ancient qin's tenth-level examination.