The bar’s lighting was quite dim. Apart from the stage, the rest of the place was lit only with dark-coloured lamps, mainly to protect the privacy of the guests.
Combined with the screening partitions, most people could only hear Si Lingxi’s voice and had not seen her appearance.
Her cool, indifferent voice, though pleasant to listen to, could easily make people think of the kind of older woman who would be jealous of a young girl.
Only the guests at the two nearest tables looked up and saw what Si Lingxi looked like.
A head of sleek, jet-black hair, a tall and slender figure, cool phoenix eyes, vivid red lips, and an absolutely stunning face. Even in her seated posture, she exuded the aura of a aloof, mature beauty.
A woman like this would be the object of others’ jealousy, not the one doing the envying.
So no one at those two closest tables spoke up in agreement. Instead, they whispered among themselves.
“So beautiful!”
“What a stunning beauty!”
“Maybe she genuinely thought it wasn’t good.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions.”
The audience below buzzed with chatter. The bar owner hurried onto the stage to smooth things over.
“Sorry about that! Sorry! It’s this young lady’s first time performing today. Perhaps the piece she chose doesn’t quite suit the atmosphere of the place…”
“The young lady played very well!”
“Boss, no need to make excuses. She played nicely, the piece was suitable too. We’re enjoying it.”
“If you want to nitpick, go listen to a master at the national grand theatre!”
At that moment, a clear, calm voice cut through the noise. “Apologies. My girlfriend has high standards for classical music, so her words may not have been very polite, but there was no malice intended. Please forgive us. We have no wish to argue.”
After a brief pause, Lu Zheng continued, “As for the performance, if possible, I hope the boss can switch to another singer or band. Even some light music would be fine. Thank you for the trouble.”
“Give you an inch and you take a mile?”
“High standards? Why don’t you float up to heaven?”
“What? Looking down on Hua country’s classical music? Are you lot even from Hua country?”
Someone reminded them, “He said she has high standards for Hua country’s classical music.”
“That’s just double standards! Deep down, isn’t it still dissatisfaction with Hua classical music? This is artistic conception. Do these people even understand artistic conception?”
Lu Zheng could only shake his head and sigh.
In matters like this, everyone had their own reasoning. By rights, bar patrons dissatisfied with the music could request a change, but the current issue was that the other guests had misunderstood Lu Zheng and his group.
They thought Lu Zheng and the others were picking faults on purpose, making trouble, because they themselves found the guzheng piece quite pleasant.
Lu Zheng would not allow Si Lingxi to be wronged and simply leave. There was no need for that. Strictly speaking, these guests did not have the authority to drive them away.
They had come to enjoy themselves, not to suffer grievances, let alone leave while swallowing their anger.
Yet forcefully demanding the owner change performers would inevitably arouse the other guests’ sympathy and sense of justice, making the atmosphere even more hostile.
That was unnecessary too. After all, they were not enemies, and there was no core conflict.
In this situation, there was, of course, one perfect solution.
“Where exactly did I play poorly? Please point it out, sir. If it truly exceeds my ability, I am willing to apologise and leave.”
At that moment, the young lady in hanfu sitting in front of the guzheng stood up and spoke.
As the centre of the storm, she could not remain silent forever. She did not want to put the owner in a difficult position. She would leave, but she was not convinced, and before going, she wanted to hear what the critic had to say.
The next instant, Lu Zheng rose from his seat. As he walked towards the stage, he smiled at Si Lingxi. “It seems I haven’t played a piece for you in a long time.”
Si Lingxi paid no attention to the stares and words of these ordinary people. Hearing Lu Zheng speak, her eyes brightened. “Have you composed a new piece?”
Her phoenix eyes arched slightly, her red lips curved in a faint smile, causing the guests at the nearby tables to feel their hearts skip.
“It is an ancient qin piece whose lyrics survive, but the score has long been lost. I have recomposed the music. It happens to fit perfectly today. Just listen.”
“Alright! What is it called?”
“You’ll know when you hear it.”
Their conversation, as if no one else were present, nearly infuriated the guests in the bar.
Lu Zheng, now exposed under the stage lights, looked handsome enough, but of course he did not enjoy the same privilege as a beautiful woman.
Before anyone could speak, however, Lu Zheng smiled at the hanfu-clad young lady. “Talk is cheap. How about I play a piece to demonstrate?”
“Please do!”
The young lady in hanfu stepped aside with a graceful curtsey and gestured invitingly for Lu Zheng to take the seat.
Lu Zheng nodded, sat down, tested the tone of every string on the guzheng, then finely adjusted five of them.
This professional display made several hot-tempered guests swallow the words they had been about to shout.
“One more thing. Actually, my skill is far inferior to my girlfriend’s.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the guzheng sounded.
“Zheng—zheng—zheng—”
The guzheng’s tone was brighter and crisper than the qin. Under Lu Zheng’s fingers, it flowed like a clear spring, quickly unfolding a vivid scene that made listeners feel as though they were in a forest beneath the open sky.
There is no fear of comparison unless one knows the goods.
For technical matters, laypeople often cannot distinguish quality under normal circumstances, but only if the difference has not reached a qualitative level.
Before Lu Zheng played, these guests had found the hanfu lady’s performance pleasant enough, feeling it was not far off from the guzheng and guqin videos they had seen, so they thought Lu Zheng and his group were making trouble.
But once Lu Zheng began, all the noisy voices in the venue fell silent.
A short, beautiful passage rang out. The lightness, joy, and affection within it were felt by everyone present.
Then, a clear, gentle vocal line, perfectly matching the rhythm yet never overpowering the music, softly filled the bar.
“There is a beauty whom I behold and never forget.
One day without seeing her, my longing drives me mad.
The phoenix soars and circles, seeking its mate across the four seas.
Alas, the fair one is not by the eastern wall…”
“Holy shit, Feng Qiu Huang!”
“Shh!”
After a brief commotion, the bar fell completely silent, quieter than before.
Lu Zheng played and sang. The piece Feng Qiu Huang unfolded like a beautiful, moving story, tender and lingering.
Everyone seemed to see a phoenix roaming the four seas, expressing its love, while its mate, the hen-phoenix, lay distant and hazy, subtly embodying all the beauty of the world.
When the piece ended, the lingering notes hovered like birdsong.
The audience was about to let out a collective breath when a long, drawn-out note sounded.
“Woo—”
Looking over, they saw a woman standing from the seat that had just been vacated. In her hand she held a jade xiao, and she was blowing a clear note.
“Woo—”
“Zheng—zheng—zheng—”
The next moment, the guzheng sounded again, clearly responding to the xiao.
With the jade xiao leading and the guzheng accompanying, the melody remained Feng Qiu Huang, but the mood had shifted to the divine hen-phoenix actively welcoming the divine phoenix. The two entwined like glue, necks intertwined in affection, soaring through heaven and earth, never to part.
“Holy shit?”
“What am I hearing?”
“My ears are pregnant, what do I do!”
