I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"Not at all."

"Oh, what kind of car did you take?"

"the bus."

"A private bus? I see. You really are the eldest daughter of the Shen family."

Shen Xi glanced at the boy who was deep in thought and gave him an expression that said, "I don't want to talk to a lunatic."

……

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

On Monday afternoon, Cheng Fei angrily pushed open the door to the club activity room of the Corridor Research Department.

"Shen Xi, you're playing dirty tricks!" Cheng Fei shouted angrily.

The aloof girl with long, dark hair looked up, her expression puzzled.

"You already knew the exam scope, didn't you?"

Cheng Fei remembered everything.

That afternoon, Shen Xi stood in the corridor outside Class 6 of Grade 1. Cheng Fei thought she had come specifically to drag him to a club activity.

The teachers' office is right next to Class 6 of Grade 1.

From that day on, Shen Xi had been openly and subtly mocking Cheng Fei for doing so many practice problems in the last few units without any real benefit.

The grade rankings were posted at noon.

Shen Xi remains in first place, and Cheng Fei remains in second place.

Incidentally, Nagasaki Asuna came in third place, and Lin Xuanqi, who doesn't eat fish heads, came in thirteenth.

41. The goal is the light-tone club.

Cheng Fei stared at Shen Xi's delicate, seemingly unaffected face, feeling indignant and resentful.

The girl's cold laugh was tinged with sarcasm. "I've kindly reminded you countless times not to just focus on doing the later questions."

"You call that a reminder?" Cheng Fei had reason to suspect that she had been waiting for this day to come.

All I can say is how vicious this woman is. In both her past and present lives, Cheng Fei feels that only Lin Xuanqi can surpass her.

"No matter what, I won, and that's it. Are you going to break the contract? Cheng Fei, who prides himself on being a realist and a strongman." Shen Xi emphasized the last few words.

Cheng Fei paused for a moment, then asked, "What did you say back then?"

Shen Xi said expressionlessly, "You cannot voluntarily withdraw from the Corridor Research Department, and you must follow my arrangements for club activities."

"Is it really okay to imprison my personal freedom like this? You might as well just say you can't live without me and want me to stay by your side forever; I'd find that more acceptable."

"Forget about meaningless nonsense, if you want to deny it, just say so." Shen Xi crossed her arms in front of her chest and interrupted him without any politeness.

"A bet's a bet, so we'll do as you say. From now on, I'll be a member of the club, whether I live or die." Cheng Fei sighed, then smiled maliciously. "Teacher Shen, I hope you can be as open and honest as I am when you lose next time."

Shen Xi revealed an expression of extreme disgust, covering her chest with both hands, "Why can you laugh in such a way that feels both sunny and despicable? Sure enough, no matter how thick the skin is, it can't hide a filthy heart. I finally understand what it means to be a beast in human form."

"Teacher Shen, how about we make another bet? Let's bet on the upcoming midterm exam," Cheng Fei said, putting down his schoolbag.

"Not interested."

Are you afraid?

“I just feel it’s pointless, since the result is the same anyway. I’m afraid that even I will feel sorry for you after losing so many battles.” Shen Xi looked at Cheng Fei with a sad expression.

"Fine, I won't gamble, but I'm sure I'll be number one in the grade in the midterm exams," Cheng Fei said with a confident smile.

Shen Xi frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't plan to transfer schools for the time being. Also, could you please stop giving me that smile? It's really disgusting."

"Disgusting, isn't it? A lot of people have been taking pictures of me without my consent lately, and they're probably going to be uploaded online." Cheng Fei stroked his chin.

"While others may not talk about it, I've said I'm the exception."

“Okay, I understand that Professor Shen has a unique aesthetic sense.” Cheng Fei nodded and said, “By the way, Professor Shen, if I’m not too busy next week, I’d like to apply to go downstairs for club activities.”

"What do you want to do?"

"For my safety, I need to find a place to learn piano."

"Incomprehensible."

"Lin Xuanqi forced me to do it."

"I disagree."

"If I die and become a ghost, I might actually come back to this club room."

Shen Xi shuddered with disgust, as if she could already see her future, haunted by the vengeful spirit that Cheng Fei had turned into. "Alright, I'll approve your request for now, but you have to be available whenever I call."

"Yes, Minister." Cheng Fei nodded, turned and walked towards the door. "Then I'll be going."

……

Cheng Fei went downstairs and first came to the singing department. Through the glass window on the door, he saw that most of the people inside were girls, who seemed to be practicing chorus. There was also a teacher accompanying them on the piano. It was a serious atmosphere that could not be disturbed.

Cheng Fei then walked to the other side of the light music department and saw three girls sitting together having a tea party. The piano in the corner was covered with a dusty dark red cloth, and only its outline could be seen. Not far away, there was an electronic keyboard next to a drum set.

In terms of hardware facilities, Sakura High School in Academy City may not be the best in some aspects, but in terms of overall quality, no school would dare to claim to be the best.

Every music-related club activity room is equipped with a piano, whether they actually use it or not, it's all about the grandeur.

Cheng Fei knocked on the door and then went inside.

All three girls turned to look at him.

"It's you. You still haven't paid the five yuan I asked for directions last time," a short-haired girl said seriously.

Another stylishly dressed girl ignored the first one and smiled, saying, "Excuse me, is there something you need?"

"Well, I've always dreamed of playing the piano since I was little, but I haven't been able to because of my family's circumstances. So I was wondering if I could borrow the piano in your activity room to practice for a while if I don't need it?" Cheng Fei said with an apologetic smile.

A pure smile

A genuine, unpretentious smile, like a ray of sunshine on a plateau, is simple and sincere, possessing an indescribable infectious power that touches the softest part of the heart, awakening the goodwill within everyone. Even the most stubborn enemy will lower their guard and feel guilt and goodwill towards you.

The three girls were stunned.

The short-haired girl was the first to recover, "That's easy to arrange, eight hundred a month to borrow the equipment, thank you for your patronage."

The stylishly dressed girl continued to ignore the former, her face showing curiosity, "In that case, why not consider joining a club with a piano? Sakura has several."

"Because I only practice for a week," Cheng Fei said, shrugging.

"Oh, I see." The fashionable girl smiled somewhat reluctantly. "Then please wait a moment while I ask our minister for his opinion."

"This is troublesome." Cheng Fei nodded.

So the fashionable girl picked up her phone with its cute protective case and put it to her ear. "Senior Hongxia, someone wants to borrow the piano in the club activity room to practice... It's a boy... He said he only needs it for a week... Hmm... Okay, then you go ahead and do your work."

She put down her phone and looked at Cheng Fei. "The captain said that the three of us can decide by voting, so let's cast our votes first."

She looked at her two companions and said, "I vote in favor. It's only for a week, so I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

The short-haired girl glanced at Cheng Fei. "If you don't pay, I object."

Cheng Fei gave a wry smile.

I never imagined there could be someone in the world even more profit-driven than him.

Finally, there was a girl with very long bangs that almost covered her eyes. She kept her head down and didn't say a word, clearly someone with social anxiety. She spoke in a trembling little voice, "Uh...I...I abstain..."

Cheng Fei decided to win her support, so he bent down, looked into her eyes, and gave her a sincere smile. "Classmate, could you please vote in favor? This week is really important to me, and I will only practice when you are not playing, so I will definitely not disturb you."

Both times Cheng Fei visited, they held tea parties. Judging from their observation, they spent most of their time holding tea parties. If it really didn't work out, Cheng Fei could come at noon or other times.

The socially awkward girl didn't dare to look Cheng Fei in the eye. "Uh... well, okay, I'll vote in favor..."

"Lonely Girl, traitor," the short-haired girl condemned her.

"Please, please spare me...!" Sandwiched between Cheng Fei and the short-haired girl, the socially awkward girl exaggeratedly clasped her hands together.

The fashionable girl clapped her hands. "Then two votes in favor and one vote against, it's passed."

"Thank you so much, you've been a great help," Cheng Fei said sincerely.

42. Cheng Fei begins to play.

Cheng Fei walked to the piano, uncovered the dark red cloth covering the dust, folded it, and placed it on the windowsill next to it.

Even Cheng Fei, a layman, could tell that this piano was in a completely different league from Lin Xuanqi's, and it looked quite old.

Cheng Fei tried it and was able to make a sound, although the pitch was probably not very good.

"Can I start playing now?" Cheng Fei turned around. "Will it disturb you?"

The stylish girl smiled and waved her hand, "It's okay, it's okay. Our captain went to work today, so there won't be any practice."

"Understood." Cheng Fei took a deep breath and sat down.

Five black keys plus seven white keys make up a group of notes, and there are seven groups of notes on the entire piano.

Cheng Fei reviewed the few piano facts he had.

Then, the boy took out his phone, placed it on the piano, and opened a "canon tutorial for beginners" that he had found beforehand.

He didn't expect to understand piano sheet music overnight. This tutorial uses numbers to number the keys, so you can play the piece simply by pressing the keys without thinking.

Cheng Fei planned to try to replicate the four lines that Lin Xuanqi had taught him to play.

If possible, Cheng Fei planned to use a shortcut to skip all the music theory knowledge and force himself to play the piece, since he had limited time.

The theory was established, and it was time to put it into practice.

The boy lowered his head and then froze.

Although this simplified sheet music marks 1 to 7, it doesn't specify which group of notes 1 to 7 belong to, or perhaps he didn't understand it.

Cheng Fei decided to randomly choose a group of notes to play, since embarking on the journey to the West was more important than reaching Mount Ling.

So the boy started playing.

The three girls from the Light Music Club sat around drinking tea while eavesdropping.

One minute later.

"Pfft—" The short-haired girl sprayed the tea she had just drunk back into the cup, her mouth twitching wildly.

The fashionable girl gave an awkward but polite smile.

The socially anxious girl was lost in thought, seemingly daydreaming.

Cheng Fei, who had stopped playing, stared at the piano with a serious expression.

The time I forced myself to play it was not only out of rhythm, but the tone was also strange. It was not nearly as good as the time when Lin Xuanqi made me play it step by step.

Indeed, this profound musical instrument is not something that can be easily mastered, even for someone with extraordinary intelligence.

It seems I absolutely have to use these points.

Cheng Fei opened the shop and spent 5,000 points.

[The eighth note: a pendant of a great musician from the cloister era; it is said that the wearer saw melodies.]

The icon is a black musical note pendant, which doesn't look particularly special.

Based on previous experience, these kinds of items can take effect passively, so Cheng Fei didn't take the items out of his inventory and into reality.

"Hey classmate, have a cup of tea first. Piano is an instrument that takes time to develop." The stylish girl placed a paper cup in front of Cheng Fei and said with a smile.

The short-haired girl stood on Cheng Fei's other side. "Do you need tutoring? The fee is two hundred yuan per lesson."

"Thank you, but I won't pay. I'm very poor." Cheng Fei shook his head helplessly and put his fingers back on the piano keys.

A surreal scene suddenly appeared.