In another world, Lu Mingfei is learning card making.

So, Lao Xu, why did you bring me here? Just to have me play a tune, and then you just left on your own?

Lu Mingfei was full of doubt, but since Professor Xu hadn't called him, he decided to wait a while—what if Professor Xu was trying to get something and was walking back? If he followed, wouldn't he be taking a detour?

Lu Mingfei squatted to one side, waiting for Professor Xu to return, but at that moment, the teacher from the "Black and White Keys Art Center" walked over:

"You're Professor Xu's student, right?" He casually pulled up a chair and gestured for Lu Mingfei to sit down. "I'm also Professor Xu's student."

"Sigh, it's just that my skills aren't good enough, so I can only open a class next to his house to make a living."

"Then... Senior Brother?" Since he had already said that, Lu Mingfei no longer stood on ceremony and sat down in the chair he had brought. "So what did Professor Xu do?"

"Oh, because he wants you to continue learning from him—not the kind of learning you're doing now, but the kind of learning from the old society, the kind where you inherit his mantle."

This senior student has quite an artistic air about him. His black clothes are messy yet aesthetically pleasing, and he has a slicked-back hairstyle. He looks exactly like the stereotypical artist.

"I also studied under the old gentleman before, and it was his support that allowed me to open this after-school class." The senior student was quite approachable, squatting down next to Lu Mingfei:

"So now that he's too embarrassed to advise you, I have to take on this responsibility. Xiao Lu, be honest with me, do you want to dedicate yourself to the music field and become a respected artist?"

"You've only had one lesson with your teacher, just one hour, and you can play so well—if you're really willing to learn, in just ten years, no, five years, you can represent your country in Vienna's Golden Hall and become the youngest musician to perform there..."

Lu Mingfei nodded, then asked a question:

"Senior, what is the Golden Hall in Vienna?"

The artist in the alley was rebuffed, but he wasn't angry; he just patted his thigh again.

"That's a very prestigious place, a sacred place that all artists dream of. If anyone can perform there even once, even just as a player in a section of an orchestra, it's something they can brag about for a lifetime..."

"Your talent is just that amazing, so why don't you dedicate yourself to the arts?"

"Forget it." Lu Mingfei shook his head decisively. "I only learned piano because of my elders' requirements. If they hadn't said I needed to have some kind of 'artistic literacy,' I wouldn't have been learning piano with Professor Xu."

Upon hearing this, the senior brother's face changed color and expression constantly shifting—sometimes it was resentment at Lu Mingfei's lack of ambition, sometimes it was sorrow at his own misfortune, until finally, it turned into a kind of relief of "I really can't do anything about you".

"Should we still learn piano?" After thinking for a long time, the senior student finally blurted out another question.

"I want to learn."

"If you want to learn, then go find Teacher Xu—it's late enough today. I heard him say that you only have one class a day that lasts an hour and a half, right? Hurry up and finish your class so you can go home and rest early."

Lu Mingfei glanced at him, then looked into the distance at Liu Miaomiao, who had taken his place and was playing the piano.

"Okay, I'm leaving now."

……

Liu Miaomiao was still playing Chopin's Impromptu in A-flat major.

As a semi-professional "musician" who confidently says "I'm taking an exam," her performance is naturally of a high standard. However, with Lu Mingfei's outstanding performance as a precedent, the other students will no longer surround her and praise her as before.

—In fact, their focus had shifted from Liu Miaomiao to Lu Mingfei.

The boys talked about his playing skills, while the girls discussed his appearance.

With the red-robed monks taking care of him, Lu Mingfei is now almost completely different from what he was a week or so ago.

His slightly long hair barely revealed his slender eyebrows, unable to conceal his strikingly bright eyes. Coupled with his features, which could only be described as "exquisite," he almost instantly captured the hearts of these girls of all ages.

This made Liu Miaomiao, who was surrounded in the center, feel a little... jealous?

In fact, she didn't know how she should feel—even though Lu Mingfei had nothing to do with her, she just didn't want to talk about him with the people around her.

She didn't even want people around her to talk about him, let alone talk about him with them.

Liu Miaomiao stopped playing, closed her eyes, and calmed herself down.

...It seems today is not a good day to practice the piano. Shall we come another day?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After using the spark, an hour flew by, and Lu Mingfei completed his learning tasks for the day.

Although Professor Xu's expression turned extremely gloomy after hearing that Lu Mingfei's ambitions were not in the field of art, he did not stop teaching properly because of this—in fact, what he taught became visibly more advanced, as if he wanted to attract Lu Mingfei to this path.

Lu Mingfei, of course, would not go down that wrong path because of this.

He possesses extraordinary power, magical cards, and his own spirit; he was so obsessed with music that he went back to study it.

Yes, music can be turned into magic cards, or rather, in the current magic card system, there's practically nothing that can't be turned into a magic card. If you want, you can even build a deck full of scatological stuff—but it takes time and effort, waiting five or six years, and in the end, you get a deck that can neither play nor produce anything...

What's in it for?

Of course, not everyone in St. Marian is enthusiastic about dueling, and quite a few people think that magic cards are for making food and doing academic research, but unfortunately, Lu Mingfei is not one of those people.

He had just snatched an orange-level material from the devil a few days ago and was preparing for battle. Where would he find the time to work on music and art?

After waving goodbye to Teacher Xu, Lu Mingfei walked briskly towards the elevator. Some of the hallway lights were broken, and Lu Mingfei stumbled from the light into the darkness, and then back into the light, finally stopping in front of the elevator doors.

Standing with Liu Miaomiao again.

She seemed lost in thought, not pressing any elevator buttons, just standing there against the wall, blankly staring. Lu Mingfei reached over her shoulder and pressed the down button, waking her up in the process.

Liu Miaomiao stared at Lu Mingfei's face, remained silent for a long time, and finally managed to ask a question:

"You play the piano so well, why didn't you play during military training?"

Why didn't I play? Because I didn't know how back then, what else could it be? If I had known, I would have climbed up and shown you all...

As Lu Mingfei watched the red numbers on the screen gradually climb, he thought for a moment and replied, "Because I don't want to play."