Chapter 38
"Open your mouth." Her voice was light and calm.
Lu Xiao looked at the kiwi slices so close to his face, then glanced at Zhuo Hua's calm and unwavering eyes, and then thought about the chaos that might be erupting outside... He opened his mouth.
The cool, sweet fruit melted in his mouth, and an indescribable, soul-cleansing coolness instantly swept over him, dispelling all fatigue and lingering anger. He looked at Zhuohua with a complex expression, a mixture of helplessness and shock, but ultimately it transformed into an overwhelming warmth and dependence.
Zhuohua watched his relaxed brows, then picked up a piece of fruit and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly and deliberately. The city lights outside the window shimmered on her cool profile, making her crystal eyes appear even more deep and unfathomable.
"The taste is acceptable," she commented, as if she were merely reviewing an ordinary dessert. As for the panicked, terrified clamor outside, driven mad by the "ghostly phone call"? It was nothing more than dust brushing over the sacred mountain, not even eliciting her to lift an eyelid.
On the top floor of Xingyao Media, outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the private lounge, the city's light pollution blurred the stars, leaving only artificial neon lights flowing in the night. Inside, however, was a refreshing, pure, almost otherworldly fragrance. It was the scent of starfruit, carrying a coolness that cleansed the soul.
Lu Xiao sat cross-legged on the soft carpet, facing the relaxed Zhuo Hua. He had just swallowed a piece of fruit that melted in his mouth, as if it contained a cool galaxy, and that peculiar energy was gently washing over his limbs and bones, dispelling the fatigue that had been tense from anger.
He closed his eyes, savoring the tranquility. When he opened them again, his gaze was clear and bright, like black jade washed by a mountain spring, all traces of his previous anger and weariness gone.
"How do you feel?" Zhuohua looked at his refreshed state, her voice calm and gentle, but a hint of satisfaction shone in her eyes.
"It feels like I've had a good night's sleep, I'm full of energy," Lu Xiao answered truthfully, even clenching his fist, feeling his fingertips brimming with power. He looked at Zhuohua and couldn't help but ask, "This fruit... it's amazing, what's it called?"
Zhuohua's slender fingers picked up another piece of translucent fruit, her movements casual yet possessing a natural rhythm. "Starlight Dew Fruit".
Her tone was as calm as if she were introducing roadside weeds: "They grow where the celestial gale layer meets stardust and dust, ripening only once every 100,000 years. Harvesting them requires using divine power to remove the gale and drawing starlight to purify their impurities. When mortals eat them, they can cleanse their hearts and marrow, gaining a little strength, which is better than nothing."
She paused, put the fruit slice into her mouth, and chewed slowly. "However, the taste is acceptable, sweet but not cloying."
Lu Xiao: "..." Once every 100,000 years? Nine Heavens Gale Layer? Divine Sense Stripping? He looked at the few fruits left on the plate and suddenly felt that each one weighed more than a thousand pounds.
The snack his girlfriend casually cut up sounded like a priceless treasure capable of triggering a war across the three realms. He silently swallowed back the thought of "better than nothing," and deeply understood the celestial version of "inhumanly extravagant."
Zhuohua seemed to understand the complexity in his eyes, and the corners of her lips curved almost imperceptibly. She didn't continue the topic. "What are the plans for tomorrow?" she asked.
"The morning is for vocal lessons, and the afternoon is for basic dance lessons."
Lu Xiao immediately snapped out of his shock at the immortal fruit and got into work mode, taking out his phone to check his schedule. "The vocal coach is Ms. Li Manqing. I heard she's very strict, but her temper is better than Ms. Qian's. The dance coach is Ms. Luo, a very senior master of physical fitness."
He paused, then looked at Zhuohua with a hint of caution in his eyes, "Huahua, tomorrow... how about we... um, to tone it down a bit?"
Zhuohua looked up at him, her clear, glassy eyes devoid of emotion, and simply asked, "Where have I failed to restrain myself?"
Lu Xiao choked. Yes, she had indeed "restrained" herself. In the physical education class, she restrained her divine power and didn't send anyone flying; she merely reacted instinctively. In the dialogue class, she restrained her divine sense and didn't cause Professor Zhang's Dao heart to shatter on the spot; she simply read "Quiet Night Thoughts" as a declaration of tribulation. But this kind of "restraint" was still devastatingly impactful for a mortal teacher.
He sighed and changed his approach: "What I mean is, perhaps... we can try to understand the artistic sensibility of 'ordinary people' that the teacher wanted to express?"
He struggled to find the right words. “For example, when singing, ordinary people might need some… um… more subtle, more delicate nuances to express their emotions? Rather than that kind of…” He recalled the soaring, almost tearing-the-sky grandeur of her reciting “Quiet Night Thoughts” and searched for the right adjectives, “…that kind of power that directly affects the very essence of the soul?”
Zhuohua listened quietly, her long eyelashes slightly lowered, as if she were considering the suggestion. After a few seconds, she nodded: "Okay."
Lu Xiao felt a sense of relief, but before he could even feel happy, she added, "However, mortal emotions are too complicated and redundant for me, and understanding them is very mentally taxing. I'll just do my best."
Lu Xiao: "..." Fine, I'll do my best. This is already the biggest concession the Immortal Venerable has made. He silently lit a candle for Teacher Li Manqing and Teacher Luo tomorrow.
The following morning, in a specially acoustically treated vocal studio on the top floor of Xingyao Media, sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting long, thin beams of light onto the floor. The air was filled with the mixed scents of piano rosin and wood floor cleaner.
Teacher Li Manqing sat at the piano, her temperament gentle and graceful, exuding the tranquility of an artist. She looked at Zhuohua, who stood tall and straight beside the piano, and then at Lu Xiao, who was focused and upright beside her, and nodded to herself.
Director Su had specifically instructed that these two were key personnel for the company to cultivate, especially this Miss Zhuohua, whose background was mysterious, but... her talent seemed to be somewhat unique? She had also heard about Qian Min and Zhang Rui's experiences.
"Today we'll start with basic breath control exercises," said teacher Li Manqing gently, guiding the conversation. "The foundation of singing is breath. Imagine your breath as a smoothly flowing river, supporting your voice..."
She demonstrated by taking a deep breath and then producing a long, steady "ah—" with a full, rounded sound and a stable, long breath.
“Come on, Zhuohua, you try it first. Follow my demonstration and smoothly pronounce ‘Ah—’, try to prolong it as much as possible, and feel the support of your breath.” Teacher Li Manqing looked at Zhuohua with an encouraging smile.
Zhuohua obeyed and stood still. Unlike Teacher Li, she didn't make a noticeable inhalation; she simply uttered a very natural "Ah—"
A single note.
In an instant, the air in the entire vocal music classroom seemed to freeze!
That's not the voice of an ordinary person!
It was an existence that could not be described by the rules of physics! It was not harsh, but it had an absolute and undeniable penetrating power, as if it were acting directly on space itself!
Without obvious fluctuations or deliberately crafted resonance, it simply exists steadily and constantly, like the cosmic background radiation, omnipresent and without beginning or end!
The "steady river" atmosphere that Teacher Li Manqing meticulously created is as fragile as a thin layer of ice in the face of this constant "Ah—" that is as unchanging as an eternal cosmic law.
The piano's soundbox emitted a deep hum, and the leaves of the green plants in the corner moved swiftly without wind, making a soft rustling sound.
The smile on Li Manqing's face froze. Her fingers trembled slightly on the piano keys, and she felt an indescribable, constant pressure on her eardrums and heart. This wasn't the breath of singing; it was... the materialization of background noise from the vacuum of space!
Lu Xiao stood to the side, closing his eyes in anguish. He knew it! He knew it would turn out like this! The Immortal Venerable's "restraint" was simply switching from "world-destroying" mode to "universal truth" mode! What the mortal teacher wanted was a gentle stream; she gave him a galaxy of stars!
Zhuohua seemed completely oblivious, continuing to output that "Ah—" steadily, her eyes calm and unwavering. She was indeed "steady," as steady as a physical constant!
"Stop! Stop for a moment!" Teacher Li Manqing finally found her voice, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor, and quickly raised her hand to signal. She gripped the edge of the piano, took several deep breaths, and barely managed to suppress the dizziness she felt from being overwhelmed by the "truth."
Looking at Zhuohua's cool and stunning face, which seemed to say "I have done my best to cooperate," she felt that her teaching system was undergoing an unprecedented impact. In her more than 20 years in the industry, this was the first time she had encountered a student who could sing even the simplest breath control note with the ultimate philosophical feeling of "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao"!
“Zhuohua…” Teacher Li’s voice was a little weak as she forced a kind smile. “This… the ‘steady’ breath, the ‘steady’ we understand, might… be a little different?” She tried to explain. “It needs a little… um… a sense of rhythm in life? A little bit of natural, subtle fluctuation, like breathing?”
Zhuohua tilted her head slightly, seemingly trying to understand this "rhythm of life." After a moment, she spoke again, attempting to add a very faint fluctuation, like the lowest point of a sine wave, to the "ah—" that Teacher Li had requested.
Buzz—!
This time, the lights in the entire vocal music classroom flickered very clearly and in unison! At the same time, Teacher Li Manqing felt her heartbeat being forcibly pulled, briefly synchronizing with that slight fluctuation!
The feeling was like an invisible hand gently squeezing her heart, so eerie it sent chills down her spine!
Ms. Li's face was deathly pale, and the knuckles of her fingers gripping the piano were white. She looked at Zhuohua, her eyes filled with disbelief and horror, and a bewildered sense of "what on earth am I teaching?"
Lu Xiao couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he quickly stepped forward and respectfully said to Teacher Li Manqing, "Teacher Li, how about... I give it a try first?"
He was terrified that if Zhuohua continued to "understand," Teacher Li would become the third victim who needed oxygen to survive.
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