This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 31

Translator: Diviner

“Who allowed you to play here?!”

The cold, sharp voice interrupted Xu Feng, who was also enduring his own terrible piano playing. He stopped and looked toward the source of the voice.

At the doorway stood a girl with waist-length hair, a face untouched by makeup, and an aura as noble as a flower of wealth. However, her undisguised anger slightly diluted her haughty, indifferent demeanor.

The moment their eyes met, Xu Feng noticed all the anger in her gaze and expression evaporate instantly, replaced by sheer confusion and bewilderment.

The intensity with which she had questioned Xu Feng, and the restrained demeanor she had been holding, collapsed in an instant.

Xu Feng had no idea who this girl was or what decisions she had made outside earlier. He stopped his actions and was about to pull out the temporary permit given to him by the school administration to explain that he was allowed to use the practice room.

At that moment, two other male students also entered, somewhat rudely chiming in, “Excuse me, but outsiders are not allowed to enter here without permission…”

Halfway through their sentence, they finally recognized Xu Feng’s highly recognizable face, which had recently been all over TV and the internet.

“Uh? Aren’t you, you’re that Xu Feng?!”

The girl remained in shock, unable to speak, seemingly unable to believe that the “heavenly cacophony” she had just heard had actually been played by Xu Feng himself!

Just moments earlier, she had wanted to berate the person who had insulted Xu Feng and his work… only to realize that person was Xu Feng himself?

Seeing they recognized him, Xu Feng was relieved that it saved him some trouble. He took out the temporary permit from his pocket, “Yes, I have approval to use this practice room during the graduation party period.”

“The permit is here; you can take a look. If you still don’t believe it, you can ask your instructors.”

These art students are something else, he thought. It’s almost the holidays, yet they’re still so diligent, practicing even during lunch breaks. It made things awkward for everyone.

Is the job market really this competitive?

The girl didn’t bother looking at the permit, which she knew couldn’t possibly be an issue. She pinched her fingers together, calming her emotions. “Sorry, we thought it was someone unrelated who got in here… Um, may I ask, did something go wrong with this piano?”

Seizing the moment, she quickly regained her composure and reverted to her earlier aloof demeanor.

The two male students, hearing this question, also cast curious glances.

Given that the person playing inside was Xu Feng, whose skills were so highly regarded, it had to be the piano’s fault — not a technical issue on his part. How could someone with such high vocal skills and a decent level of instrument proficiency play the piano so poorly?

Even if Xu Feng didn’t know anything about the piano, he wouldn’t play like this in public.

Every master has a weak spot, and not knowing a particular instrument is perfectly normal; there’s no need to fake it.

So, there could only be one explanation… maybe the piano itself was broken?

Xu Feng’s eyelids twitched at this question.

He had deliberately chosen a time when there would be fewer people around, but who would have thought he’d still be caught?

And from the looks of it, these people completely refused to believe that the same Xu Feng who had shone so brightly on the variety show and in the PK match could really be clueless about playing the piano…

“The piano should be fine,” Xu Feng replied.

Hearing his answer, the three students looked utterly bewildered.

If there’s nothing wrong with the piano, then what’s going on?

Xu Feng stood up, took his sheet music, and after thinking carefully, said, “Since this is a free public performance here, well, if you want to hear a lossless version, you’ll need to pay a little extra.”

In the past, Xu Feng might have felt a bit embarrassed or awkward saying this, but now it came out naturally.

After all, after that PK match, there were already quite a few similar rumors floating around online.

Standing in the doorway, the three art students were stunned, even forgetting to close the door, allowing the cold air from the air conditioner to spill out.

The tall girl’s expression once again broke her composure, her mouth opening slightly in disbelief — she had never imagined such an answer.

Because this is a public space where everyone can listen to Xu Feng play for free, he wouldn’t perform a “lossless version”? To maintain fairness to paying customers?

And there’s actually a difference in quality between the paid and free versions?

It sounds somewhat reasonable…

But the “lossy version” was way too terrible, wasn’t it?

It was damaging to their hearing.

The two boys beside her exchanged glances, but neither found any explanation in the other’s eyes.

After three seconds of silence, the leading student stumbled upon a polite response, “Then, we look forward to your lossless performance at the party?”

Hearing this, Xu Feng hadn’t reacted much yet when the usually silent girl suddenly raised her head, and an idea flashed through her mind.

Ever since Xu Feng’s PK match went viral online, and only the accompaniment of The Wind Rises was released, many students at their school had been flocking to the practice rooms daily, playing this accompaniment with various instruments.

There had even been several arguments because of it.

Frequent performances and exchanges are generally a good thing… but although the party is mainly for entertainment, there will still be a ranking. If the song gets played too much, it might lose that element of surprise on stage, affecting Xu Feng’s final ranking.

It’s like watching a movie after being spoiled about the plot; it reduces the sense of anticipation.

Their Art College’s performance project was still kept confidential!

So, was Xu Feng deliberately coming to their college to use subpar playing techniques to gently remind the students of the Art College to keep the spread of The Wind Rises from becoming too wide while they practiced?

Otherwise, why would it be such a coincidence that they heard this “lossy version” performance right when they, the students about to perform on stage, were coming upstairs?

There were still some logical gaps that were hard to reconcile, but that was probably it!

Many people say her logical ability wasn’t good, but it seems they weren’t entirely right. She figured out the truth in no time.

Believing she had grasped Xu Feng’s intentions, the girl discreetly took out her phone, shared her thoughts with her two classmates, and then gave Xu Feng a polite but composed smile, “I’m terribly sorry; I didn’t realize we had caused you trouble. I apologize for my earlier behavior.”

The other two boys, seeing the message from their usually reliable, quiet, and aloof classmate, didn’t doubt her judgment and quickly apologized to Xu Feng as well.

Xu Feng, having just gained a few skill points, was planning to exchange a few polite words and leave. But being blocked by these three gatekeepers at the door of the practice room, he was momentarily puzzled.

Wait, guys, I was just playing badly in your practice room, why are you all apologizing to me?

Is this what it means to study art?

Xu Feng’s respect for art students grew considerably. “It’s okay. I’ll be leaving now; I won’t disturb your practice any longer.”

The girl, filled with admiration for someone so famous yet still honing his skills during lunchtime, offered a reminder, “Mr. Xu Feng, the graduation party is graded internally, so even if you treat it like a fan meet-and-greet, it won’t affect your final score. Make sure to give it your all!”

“Huh?”

Xu Feng paused mid-step.

What the heck is a fan meet-and-greet?