Chapter 151 Mizuki Private High School (Twenty-three)
Although the sliding door of the piano room was not locked, it seemed to be blocked from the inside. Nan Huan pushed it but it didn't open.
"Is that you?"
Song Ci's cautious voice came from inside the door. Nan Huan responded and the other party opened the door.
As soon as they entered the door, the two were met with three pairs of bewildered eyes.
Nan Huan understood. Now that everyone had calmed down, he thought carefully and realized that he had wanted to harm someone just now and had also played a trick on them. Now that everyone was trapped in this building together, it was bound to be a little awkward.
They have time to feel awkward, but Nan Huan and Bei Xi don't have extra time to deal with such emotions.
"Did you see her playing the violin during the club activities this morning?"
Although this was a question, Nan Huan was asking Song Ci in an almost affirmative tone.
Song Ci probably didn't expect that the other party had guessed this. He had already said something even more unpleasant. Now they were obviously no match for the Sound Catcher Beast and had to rely on Nan'an and Bei Wanchao. Song Ci told the truth without hesitation.
"Well, after all, you're such a good pianist, there's no other one like you in the entire Shuimu Private High School, so I saw you the first time. I just didn't expect you to be assigned to the same examination room as us."
She glanced at Bei Wanchao with an embarrassed look on her face. "I don't know if you know that the practical exam will be counted for credits. Your level is much higher than ours, so we have to..."
It was a bit arrogant to say this in front of someone, not to mention that Song Ci glanced at the marks under her twin ponytails and swallowed the rest of the words.
Nan Huan did not let her go and helped her complete all her mental journey. "So you wanted to test the legend about the music building to see if it was true, but you thought it would be too obvious to call her directly. Fortunately, there was a soft persimmon next to her who seemed easier to pinch, so you finally decided to call me, the big nemesis, right?"
Nan Huan felt helpless, but there was nothing she could do. She was standing with Bei Xi, and it was obvious that she was easier to bully.
Song Ci gave her a flattering expression, which was considered as his tacit agreement, and then quickly expressed his opinion, "But I have always heard of the legend of the music building, but have never seen it. I didn't expect it to be true. But haven't you just entered the school? How do you know about the legend of the music building and the sound-catching beast?"
Compared to the dumber Wang Zhengliang and the taciturn Gu Yuchen, Song Ci was much bolder in her speech. For a while, she was the one doing all the talking.
After apologizing to Nan'an and Bei Wanchao, the other party started to inquire about their affairs.
"We don't know the legend about the music building," Nan Huan said as if it was a matter of course, "otherwise why would we go to so much trouble to keep you here?"
"Ah? So you just said..."
Song Ci was confused by her. She intuitively felt that Nan An was telling the truth, but she didn't dare to believe that the other party was just guessing.
"The legend about the music building is just my guess. After all, those slogans and the word 'quiet' indicate that something is wrong in this building. And you just said in the bathroom that you can't make such loud noises in places other than the piano room in the music building. If this is a written school rule, we should have known it when we enrolled. We didn't receive such a notice, so it's just what the students said privately."
Nan Huan didn't lie to her and told her his own speculation.
"Besides, aren't schools the places where rumors are most common? Something must have happened here, which is why there are rumors like this. It's easy to guess."
As for why Nan Huan knew the Sound Catcher, she deliberately avoided the question and explained to an NPC that this was a game and that there was a time loop in this mission. It sounded too ridiculous and too complicated, so Nan Huan gave up decisively.
"Okay, I've explained everything here. I believe you've already seen it. The entire building has been sealed off and you can't get out."
Nan Huan was not polite at all. She had just said so much, and now it was Song Ci's turn.
"We can only get out if we find a way to get out, but the prerequisite is that we need to know the legend about this building, so that we can have a clue."
When Bei Xi told them that the building had been blocked off, she wasn't just saying it casually.
Instead, he deliberately reminded them to go to the first floor to check out the situation. Only in this way would they believe what Bei Xi and Nan Huan said and there would not be any deception. After all, they were now trapped in this building and could only work together to find a way out.
Wang Zhengliang was obviously not as calm as Song Ci. After hearing Nan Huan's words, he was very surprised, "How do you know we have seen it?"
"It's human nature. If you don't see the building being locked down with your own eyes, any normal person would go and take a look first before trusting a transfer student, right?"
Nan Huan seemed very patient and answered almost every question, but he was almost at his limit. "We don't have much time left. Let's not waste time pursuing this kind of question."
The latter words she said sounded very oppressive. Because of the sound-catching beast, they all spoke in low voices. This seemed to remind Song Ci and the others how bad their current situation was.
Song Ci seemed to be still hesitating, trying to judge whether Nan An's words were credible, or she wanted to delve deeper into the words "time is running out", but Wang Zhengliang obviously did not give her so much time.
"In fact, we heard it from our seniors. If we hadn't really seen it today, we would have thought it was all a lie."
Wang Zhengliang touched his forehead out of habit. The aftereffects of the shock he had just received seemed to still be there. When he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the sliding door, as if he was afraid that the monster would push the door open in the next second.
"All music students should have heard this story more or less after entering school. The music building used to be very lively. I mean, except for the piano room, everywhere was very lively."
He found that what he said was ambiguous and explained it.
"A place like a music building should be filled with lingering sounds. Before you entered Shuimu, you must have had a music department in other junior high schools. Have you ever seen such a deserted music building? Even if you are in one, as long as you are not in the piano room, you can't hear any music or talking. Is this normal?"
At this point, Wang Zhengliang seemed to open up his mouth, "Anyway, this building has been like this since I enrolled last year. From the outside, it looks like the building is dead, you know? Even when I was deep inside it, I couldn't feel much of the charm of music."
Wang Zhengliang must really like the violin or music, and he said this sincerely.
"I have always thought that this is the characteristic of Shuimu Private High School. After all, it is one of the best private high schools in the city and even in the country. Naturally, it is different from other schools."
When he said this, he seemed to be looking for recognition and gave Nan Huan a "you know" expression.
Maybe compared to Beixi's coldness, Nanhuan is much more amiable, so everyone wants to reach a consensus with her.
Nan Huan was forced to give an encouraging look, but Bei Xi pressed his waist position as if warning him, so he just looked at the other party honestly, not daring to show any expression.
But Wang Zhengliang was obviously encouraged by her perfunctory expression. "It was only later that I learned from a senior student at the time that the music building was not like this before. He said that this butterfly venue had also danced gracefully, and the corridors would be filled with various piano sounds. Sometimes, students who were practicing would hear instruments coming from afar and sing along. Finding a soulmate in the mountains and rivers and making friends through music is like the resonance of two souls."
"I've experienced that feeling, so I can understand the scene he described, which makes me feel even more regretful."
Seeing that the other party had laid too much groundwork, Nan Huan would have been willing to discuss the resonance of the music with the other party at another time, but they only had twenty-four minutes.
"So what happened to change all this?"
Nan Huan had a feeling that he was about to hear something important, and couldn't help but ask another question.
"Shuimu Private High School is a school that many people dream of attending," Wang Zhengliang did not directly answer the question about Nanhuan. When he spoke again, it seemed as if he had changed the subject.
"People without qualifications look up to us, but students who have enrolled don't have time to enjoy this kind of admiration because of the strict system. They... no, we can only work hard to improve our credits in order to continue to be admired by others."
When he said this, there was an inexplicable sense of tragedy in his tone.
"But for art subjects, or specifically the improvement of the violin, both hard work and talent are indispensable. Hard work takes time, but talent is determined from birth."
When talking about the familiar violin, the faces of the three people present did not look good.
Especially Wang Zhengliang’s words made them a little angry, but what the other party said was the fact and there was no way to refute it.
Having said that, Nan Huan already understood the meaning of his words.
"In other words, when the effort reaches a certain level, it will be difficult to improve the level of Xiaoliang, and it will reach a bottleneck. Correspondingly, the credits cannot be improved, even if you practice day and night."
Wang Zhengliang was a little surprised. He originally thought that Nan'an was just here to accompany Bei Wanchao, and the other party might not even know the most basic music theory, let alone what he had said.
Unexpectedly, Nan'an understood what he wanted to express in just a few words. Even though what she said was not very pleasant and too straightforward, it was undeniable that she was right.
Wang Zhengliang looked down at the calluses on his hands and twitched his lips in self-mockery. "Well, it's like this. It's hard to accept that you are not a genius, but just an ordinary person. Especially for these gifted people who were admitted to Shuimu Private High School, it will be a bigger blow to them."
"I heard a long time ago that there was a student who didn't perform well in the practical exam and stayed in the same place for a long time. After being criticized by the teacher, he somehow developed bad thoughts."
Hearing this, Nan Huan couldn't help but frown.
"Have you been to the fourteenth floor?"
Wang Zhengliang raised his head and asked the two of them.
Nan Huan felt that the fourteenth floor sounded a little familiar. When he shook his head, he remembered that A Liu had said before that there was a passage on the fourteenth floor that led directly to the East Building.
"There is a musical instrument wall and exhibition hall on the 14th floor. They are very beautiful. It is said that people often performed there before." Wang Zhengliang explained, "Sorry, I digressed. In addition to these, there is also an outdoor balcony on the 14th floor. It was originally designed for students who practice too much to have a place to relax temporarily."
"That student, after being criticized, went to the balcony in frustration..."
Wang Zhengliang said this, and seeing Nan Huan's somewhat nervous expression, he felt a little helpless, "Don't worry, he didn't do anything stupid at that time. To be more precise, he didn't have time, because his disappointed look was seen by a sound-catching beast."
Nan Huan, who had just relaxed his vigilance due to his previous words, was aroused again by this sentence.
"But according to the legend, the Sound Catcher looks a little different from what we just saw today." At this point, Wang Zhengliang seemed to remember something. "In the legend, the Sound Catcher glowed with golden light, as if it was born from heaven. It warmed the heart of the dying man and fulfilled his wish."
The development of the story was somewhat familiar and had a bit of a melodramatic plot, so Nan Huan was unable to adjust his facial expression in time.
"He used his voice to exchange for talents with the sound catcher?"
It’s no wonder that Nan Huan has such an amazing imagination. After all, she and Bei Xi already knew from the system’s prompts what the Sound Catcher wanted most, so it wasn’t difficult to guess this.
What she was more concerned about was that the sound-catching beasts that had previously chased her and Bei Xi seemed to be black, and no golden ones were seen.
Wang Zhengliang had guessed the result and was used to being surprised.
"He gained a higher talent for himself, and his piano skills immediately surpassed those of other students, but at the same time he could no longer speak."
"But the story shouldn't be that simple. If that were true, there should be a legend in the school about a person who can't talk but plays the piano very well, and the music building shouldn't be like this now."
Bei Xi, who had not spoken for a long time, finally showed some interest in the story after hearing Wang Zhengliang's words and joined the conversation.
Although he was the one telling the story, Wang Zhengliang always had the illusion that the plot had been spoiled.
"You guessed right. It's not that simple. Although the Sound Catcher made a deal with the student, it didn't take the student's voice immediately. Instead, it blocked the student's voice again."
"It allows students to maintain the ability to speak, but they have to control themselves so that they can't speak, completing the deal. If the student fails, he will have to sacrifice more than just his voice."
"Heh," Bei Xi squeezed out a sneer from his throat.
"Human nature is the most vulnerable to test. If the sound-catching beast completely took away the opponent's voice, it would be fine. The student would no longer have any thoughts and might focus all his energy on practicing piano and reaching a higher level. But the current situation gives him one more choice. The hunter who passes by the prey every day will one day be unable to resist."
She made a somewhat inappropriate analogy, but Wang Zhengliang thought about it and realized that the analogy was terrifyingly real. "There should be more to it than that. If the sound-catching beast holds this mentality, it should do something else to promote the development of the plot, right?"
Bei Xi seemed to understand the golden sound-catching beast's mind very well.
The other party did not take away the students' voices at the beginning, not because he was kind, but because he wanted more, so he must have done other things to add fuel to the fire.
Wang Zhengliang has become numb, and even wonders if the roles of the storyteller and the storyteller should be switched.
"Something has happened. After this student became mute but made rapid progress in his piano skills, a rumor spread throughout the music building that there is a god hidden in the building. If you pray sincerely, you will be able to see him and get his guidance, but you will have to pay with your voice."
Nan Huan took a breath and finally understood the meaning of what Bei Xi had just said. He also finally saw clearly how deliberate the golden sound-catching beast was. Once this kind of gossip spread, no matter how many people believed it, there would definitely be people who would try it. After all, there was nothing to lose by giving it a try.
Just like in front of every school statue, every exam season, there would always be more tributes for no apparent reason. Nan Huan had almost imagined how bad the situation would be in the future.
When a person's talent suddenly improves, there can be many explanations, such as he gained enlightenment, he overcame that hurdle, etc. But if there is someone else like him, then this uniqueness is meaningless, and the exchange he made is also meaningless.
"They say these are all superstitions, and many people don't believe them. When people talk about these things, they all look disdainful. But I don't know how many people have tried it in private. But I think it's not a minority. If I didn't know about this legend, to be honest, I might have tried it. After all, even if I succeeded, I could still refuse the opportunity. Why not give it a try? This is something that costs nothing, and it can improve your piano skills without any effort. For students who want to get higher credits, the temptation is simply too great."
Wang Zhengliang is very honest and does not hide his ambitions at all.
Song Ci had obviously heard of this legend. When she talked about this, the expression on her face showed that she agreed with Wang Zhengliang's approach.
Bei Xi could understand their thoughts very well. After all, the idea that the proud children of private high schools have been instilled with since childhood is fundamentally the word "interest". Using the least effort to obtain greater rewards is their life principle.
But while she was thinking, she shifted her gaze to Gu Yuchen, who had been silent the entire time, with a blank expression on his face.
"So, something happened not long after. A second student who couldn't talk appeared. His piano skills also improved overnight, and he became speechless. The first student's patience, which had been trembling for several months, reached its limit the moment the second student appeared. It was said that a student who happened to pass by heard him questioning in person. Another student said that he saw him questioning the void again on the fourteenth floor, and he showed a very terrified expression."
"But no one knows exactly what happened in the end, and there are many versions of the story, both true and false. Everyone thought something even more horrible would happen, but not long after, the first student returned to normal and was still able to speak normally, but his talent for playing the piano was no longer the same as before. He became an ordinary person and never set foot in the music building again."
Nan Huan had not anticipated this sudden turn of events. He felt as if he had only heard half of the story when it was forced to end.
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