I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

"What a good boy," Mother Teresa exclaimed again, gently soothing his breath and calming his emotions.

"...Thank you so much for visiting me, Mother Teresa!"

Perhaps because she had released all the pent-up emotions, Xi Wang quickly broke free from Mother Teresa's embrace. Wiping away the tear stains that still lingered on her eyes and face, Xi Wang regained her usual smile and spoke in a light tone.

"Also... I apologize for doing something slightly impolite..."

As she spoke, Xi Wang found some tissues and handed them to Mother Teresa.

"It is our duty to comfort others and bring peace to their hearts... Moreover, there is nothing wrong with expressing one's feelings in accordance with one's own emotions, let alone being impolite."

Mother Teresa shook her head, denying Xi Wang's words, and took the tissue. She unfolded it, folded it again, and then wiped away the tear stains that Xi Wang hadn't been able to wipe away, tidying up his slightly disheveled appearance that he hadn't noticed.

"Keep moving forward, child. Continue along the path you have chosen, and you will eventually reach a brighter future."

"Don't worry, I, [He], and He who is going to [He]'s side will all be watching over you and sending you blessings."

After helping Xi Wang regain his previous handsome and lovely appearance, Sister Teresa looked at his eyes, which were still slightly red from what he had just done, and said softly.

"I will."

Xi Wang responded firmly, then noticed the teacher gesturing to him from not far away, and hurriedly bowed to her to express his gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Sister Teresa, and... this time, watch me closely!"

"I will make him, and all of you, proud!"

After saying that, he hurriedly ran to the teacher's side, listening to the teacher's instructions, checking his appearance again, and adjusting his thoughts and mood.

But this time, the joy surrounding him could no longer be concealed. His steps, which should have been solemn and serious, became lighter without him realizing it. No matter how hard he tried to control his expression, the corners of his mouth kept turning up.

Seeing this, the teacher neither reminded nor scolded him, but instead smiled back, sending him blessings in her smile... It's so rare for this child to encounter such a situation, and so rare to see him so happy, so let him be.

Moreover... all the teachers have seen Xi Wang's talent and hard work, and he will only perform even better now.

And that was indeed the case. From the moment Xi Wang stepped onto the stage, he began his own "performance".

He walked onto the stage with joy and happiness. Unlike the other students who looked nervous and serious, he had a clear smile on his face, and even his steps were light and brisk, unlike the stiff steps caused by excessive tension that other students had.

He stood in the center of the stage and bowed to the crowd with an elegant yet slightly flamboyant gesture, which was followed by applause from the crowd to welcome and encourage him. At this moment, all the audience’s eyes were focused on him.

It was filled with encouragement, anticipation, and curiosity, but also with disgust, disdain, and contempt.

However, Xi Wang didn't care. He simply walked leisurely to the piano, sat down, and let the music resonate amidst his fluttering fingertips.

It was a very light and cheerful melody, a very joyful rhythm. Every time he struck a key, it seemed as if a note would playfully jump out, ride on the gentle breeze in the auditorium to the people, enter their ears, leave some of the joy it carried in their minds, and then leave again, running and dancing happily in the auditorium.

The parents who were still whispering and discussing their children gradually fell silent, as the cheerful melody took their thoughts away.

Subconsciously, I hummed along to the tune, my toes lifted and fell involuntarily, and my fingertips moved rhythmically, clapping along to the beat.

A sense of joy emanated vividly from the music, dancing into everyone's hearts with each note, making them realize in a wonderfully clear way that the child playing... was truly happy.

He is sharing his emotions with everyone in this unique way.

When the song ended and Xi Wang had even completed the exit etiquette, the crowd seemed to react slightly, and the applause gradually changed from scattered bursts to thunderous applause.

But Xi Wang didn't care about any of that. He just walked quickly backstage to the spot where he had just rested and found Mother Teresa waiting there again, just as he had hoped.

"What a delightful sound, child."

As Xiwang approached quickly, Mother Teresa did not hold back her praise, gently grasping the cross pendant on her chest with one hand and offering her heartfelt blessing.

"Listen to the applause that hasn't stopped yet. Your efforts have finally paid off, and your music has already been recognized... Hmm?"

Halfway through her sentence, Mother Teresa paused, looking at Xi Wang standing before her with outstretched arms.

"No! No!"

Xi Wang didn't speak, but just blinked, as if indicating something. Her adorable appearance made people smile.

"...Ah, what a lovely child."

Mother Teresa smiled, reached out and gently hugged him. Hearing his satisfied laughter, her expression softened even more... Now, she understood Xi Wang even better.

"Hmm...it seems I've arrived at the wrong time?"

"teacher?!"

A slightly playful male voice sounded from behind. Xi Wang looked up in surprise from Mother Teresa's arms and called out the identity of the person who had come.

"Sigh, I was thinking of sneaking over to see you, but someone else came to visit you instead. That's great. Also, during your performance just now, there were a few parts that were a bit too fast... Pfft!"

Before he could finish speaking, a figure rushed into his arms.

"Be gentle, you're going to break my back..."

"Teacher, I'm so happy... Thank you for coming to see me!"

"Hey, look at what you're saying! This is my student's first official performance, how could I not come?"

He tapped Xi Wang on the head, and as usual began to point out the problems with Xi Wang's performance.

"Also, the pace of your prologue is too fast. Even though the overall atmosphere of the piece is cheerful, an overly cheerful opening forces the pace of the later chapters to speed up in order to match the original rhythm of the music... This will actually lose the 'joyful' tone and give people a feeling of 'anxiety'."

"For example, there were a few sections in the middle where you used a faster pace than usual. Combined with the faster tempo you started with, those middle sections felt even faster. Although you made adjustments later, it's still a problem, and you need to pay close attention to it..."

"Also, the emotions you expressed were far too obvious. This is the root cause of why you sped up the tempo of the whole piece. Although I know you're happy, you still need to restrain yourself a bit. This is fine for a performance, but don't do this during an exam. Not every teacher can accept a performance with such a strong personal style, and the grading criteria are the same, especially at your stage..."

He kept talking, but in the end, his expression and tone gradually softened. He gently hugged Xi Wang, patted his head, and said softly.

"However, congratulations on your successful performance. I can feel the joy you wanted to convey, so... I'm very happy, Xiwang. As your teacher, I'm very happy to have a student like you."

"Thank you, teacher!"

Xi Wang responded cheerfully, unable to contain the smile on her face and the joy in her eyes.

Sure enough... he was "loved".

Chapter Nine But “malice” is also ever-present (5427)

[This performance was a great success. Whether they like you or dislike you, parents cannot deny that the music you played truly moved them, and they even unconsciously followed your rhythm, clapping and humming along.]

[The parents who like you brought their child to congratulate you and expressed their hope that you would take good care of their child, while also telling their child to learn from you.]

"Your parents dislike you... well, you didn't see them anyway, they probably left first."

[From today onwards, your popularity at school has soared even higher. After all, your performance won the favor of most parents, and the rumors about you have faded away quietly, only flowing silently in places unseen... but at least they won't appear in front of you anymore.]

After meeting Mother Teresa, you gained a "family member" and once again had free time each week to speak with her on the phone... To be honest, Mother Teresa's temperament is somewhat similar to Father Henry the Priest's, only more peaceful and gentle, vaguely giving people a feeling of being a mother...

[No, no, what are you thinking...]

In short, you spent the rest of your days in this situation, and you worked even harder, striving to be the best in both your studies and music, aiming to be a "good kid" who would only be admired, not envied.

And so, time flowed slowly, and you gradually grew into a young man, and you had to leave this boarding school—you were admitted to a prestigious music high school with excellent grades.

On graduation day, you said goodbye to all your teachers and classmates, giving each teacher a hug to thank them for their care over the years... As a return gift, you received a whole bag of candy. The male teacher from before even came running over with a backpack full of snacks and candy, letting you choose as you pleased, and he would share the extras with other students.

"Well... according to him, it was to make up for the return gift I didn't give you back then, and also to celebrate the students' graduation, so he simply bought a whole bunch for you to choose from."

You expressed your gratitude, gave him a light hug, and then only took a few candies. The reason... naturally, was that you received far too many! You couldn't carry that many!

[Besides, you can't possibly eat all that sugar! Eating too much will cause cavities!]

Finally, amidst the blessings and laughter of the crowd, you were greeted by Mother Teresa, who had come to receive you, and received congratulations and news from the Church.

[Well... to put it simply, you've encountered a rather... "real" problem—you're short of money, or rather, you're lacking funds.]

Although your grades are excellent and that high school is willing to waive most of your tuition, the problem is... as a prestigious high school, their tuition is already very expensive. Add to that the beautiful campus environment, excellent on-campus dormitories, and various other miscellaneous fees, and the church's financial assistance for you is basically exhausted...

[Simply put, your high school life might seem similar to your previous one, where you're confined to the school grounds, eating and living there... But that's clearly not going to work, because high school social interactions are completely different. Besides friendships, you'll need to invest in something more... "practical."]

For example, buying gifts or going out with friends are essential for maintaining friendships and even for building initial friendships. However, these things require extra money, and the city where the school is located is expensive... So your high school life, especially in terms of daily life and interpersonal relationships... may be very difficult.

Of course, you're not too concerned about these things right now. After all, you've always lived in a school environment, so continuing like this in high school is fine. As for interpersonal relationships... you believe that as long as you show a friendly attitude and help others more, you'll definitely be able to handle it well and make many friends, just like before.

Even if things don't go well, you can still attract others with your excellent grades, become a "good student," and serve as a role model for others.

[In that case, it's only natural that I can make friends with everyone like before... right?]

However, the answer is—no.

After entering high school, you can clearly feel that students are divided into one "circle" after another, or even... "classes".

The privileged and privileged formed one circle; those from ordinary families who insisted on studying here formed another; and then there were students like you who were specially admitted because of their grades, forming yet another circle.

The former often shows a hint of disdain and a natural arrogance towards the latter two... at the very least, they maintain a subtle sense of "condescension."

The latter two simply banded together for warmth and expressed a more obvious dislike for the former.

The students in the school were subtly divided into two relatively obvious "large groups" that were secretly fighting and targeting each other.

This might be a little troubling for you, because extending kindness to one side will likely provoke resentment from the other. Yet, you don't want to refuse someone's request for help... Isn't helping others within your ability a natural and praiseworthy thing? Why is it that here, simply helping to move something, simply carrying a backpack... will result in criticism and ridicule from some people?

[You don't quite understand, so you can only ask your teachers at school or seek help from Mother Teresa.]

And the answer you ultimately get is quite consistent—the most important thing is what kind of person you want to become, so... just be yourself.

You gained some insight, and so you continued to act according to your original thoughts, spreading your kindness as much as possible.

The effect was immediate; you were disliked by both sides.

[One party takes your help for granted and sees it as an opportunity to curry favor, and their tone of voice towards you will often carry a commanding tone.]

The other party will see you as a "traitor" and a "fence-sitter."

You really don't understand why someone would criticize, or even...dislike, someone for something as ordinary as helping others.

However, you didn't gain nothing. At least your actions made the teachers like you, which is the only consolation...

But putting all that aside, what truly devastated you was one person—Eden.

She does similar things to you, is friendly to everyone, and helps out whenever she can... Plus, with her beautiful face and figure, and a good background, almost everyone likes her.

The powerful and wealthy scions were very friendly to her because she herself came from a prominent family.

People from ordinary families were also very friendly to her because she was kind to them. They could ask her any questions about music or even art, and she could answer their questions in simple yet romantic language.

She could even influence students admitted through special admissions based on their grades.

Most importantly, her talent in music and art is truly amazing.

"A prodigy"—that's probably the only way to describe her. Everyone believes that she will shine brightly in the art world in the future.

[That's precisely why you're even more devastated... You and she are doing almost the same things, but you're getting completely different responses. More importantly, her musical talent and ability are clearly superior to yours.]