Hearing the words from the person beside them, the crowd was taken aback and turned to look at the speaker. Everyone recognized him as Zhang Libao, the eldest son of the Zhang family. He wore a smug smile as he stared at Xu Ze across the room, his eyes filled with provocative look.
At the sight of him, everyone quickly understood. Young Master Zhang had always been one of Sun Lingfei’s admirers. He must have been jealous of Xu Ze’s performance with Sun Lingfei earlier, which had stolen the spotlight. That was why he couldn’t resist making such a remark, deliberately trying to provoke and challenge Xu Ze.
Asking Sun Lingfei to play the piano was essentially asking Xu Ze to play the violin. While it was no issue for Sun Lingfei, who was skilled at the piano, what about Xu Ze? The piano was relatively easier to learn; with a few years of practice, one could play decent pieces. But the violin was far more difficult. Without starting from a young age, it was hard to master.
To challenge Xu Ze to play the violin right after he had finished playing the piano was pure trouble-making, meant to embarrass him.
Although everyone knew this was a deliberate attempt to making things difficult for Xu Ze, the way it was phrased—as a simple request to hear Sun Lingfei play the piano—made it hard to criticize. So, all eyes turned to Xu Ze, waiting to see how this handsome and composed young man would handle the situation.
However, to everyone’s surprise, Xu Ze showed no sign of discomfort. He remained calm and smiling, simply looking at Zhang Libao without any displeasure, as if waiting for Sun Lingfei to respond.
Sun Lingfei knew Zhang Libao was targeting Xu Ze. She frowned slightly and said with a light smile, “Young Master Zhang, if you’d like to hear me play the piano, I’ll perform a piece for everyone after Xu Ze and I finish this serenade.”
Seeing Sun Lingfei shielding Xu Ze, Zhang Libao grew even more annoyed. He forced a dry laugh and said, “Lingfei, today is your birthday. It wouldn’t be right to have you perform too much. Just one piece, just one piece will do… Hehe…”
As Zhang Libao persisted, Li Yue, who was standing nearby, also frowned. It had been years since he had openly lost his temper in public, but seeing Zhang Libao deliberately provoke Xu Ze ignited his anger.
Although the Zhang family was one of the prominent families in Beijing, Li Yue knew that even if he taught this kid a lesson, the Zhang family wouldn’t dare to do anything to him.
Just as Sun Lingfei was about to speak, Xu Ze smiled and said to her, “Lingfei, you’ve already played two pieces. How about we play one more together? Let’s follow Young Master Zhang’s suggestion—you play the piano, and I’ll accompany you on the violin.”
“Huh?” Xu Ze’s words left not only Sun Lingfei stunned but also everyone else, including Li Yue and Li Xiaorui, who looked at him in disbelief.
For young ladies from prestigious families, learning one or two elegant instruments was common, as it helped cultivate their temperament. However, for young masters like them, learning such instruments was often seen as unnecessary and impractical. Even if some were forced to learn under strict upbringing, few mastered them.
Now, not only had Xu Ze played the piano exceptionally well, but he was also daring to challenge the violin. This was truly surprising.
Seeing Xu Ze’s calm and confident expression, Sun Lingfei felt reassured. She knew Xu Ze well—if he offered to play, he must be capable. Moreover, his impressive piano skills earlier had given her confidence.
“Alright…” Sun Lingfei smiled sweetly at Xu Ze, her eyes filled with affection. She handed him the violin and walked over to the piano, sitting down gracefully.
Xu Ze took the violin, placed it under his chin, and gently drew the bow a few times to test the instrument. Then, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, he smiled at Sun Lingfei, took a light breath, and slowly began to play.
As the bow moved and his fingers pressed the strings, a serene and soothing melody filled the air. Sun Lingfei followed the tune, gently brushing the piano keys, and the clear, melodious sound of the piano joined in.
Watching Xu Ze and Sun Lingfei switch instruments and still perform flawlessly together, the audience’s jaws dropped in amazement. Eventually, they closed their mouths and quietly listened to the music that is full of spirit and freshness…
Zhang Libao stared wide-eyed at Xu Ze, who was playing the violin with grace and dedication, feeling both incredulous and bitterly disappointed. “Is this guy a professional musician? How can he be good at everything? Damn it…”
Li Yue grinned at his dumbfounded sister and said lightly, “So, what do you think? Pretty impressive, huh? Are you surprised?”
Li Xiaorui turned to her brother with a strange look and said helplessly, “Brother, why are you so happy? It’s not like you’re the one playing.”
“Haha… I’m just happy. Seeing Xu Ze show off and shock everyone like this… it just makes me happy… Hehe…” Li Yue chuckled, looking nothing like the troublesome figure people usually saw.
“Hmph…” Li Xiaorui wrinkled her nose slightly, finding her brother’s behavior quite odd. She asked curiously, “Brother, how did you and Xu Ze become so close? It’s rare to see you get along with someone like this.”
“Well… I don’t know. I just find him likable… Heh…” Li Yue continued to chuckle, not caring what his sister might think.
“Geez…” Li Xiaorui was speechless. If she didn’t know her brother better and hadn’t seen him helping Xu Ze get closer to Sun Lingfei, she might have started suspecting something…
At that moment, the duo finished their performance with a final, beautiful note and stopped playing.
Sun Lingfei stood up happily, smiling at Xu Ze, who held the violin gracefully in his hand, and blinked lightly.
Seeing Sun Lingfei’s joyful expression, Xu Ze’s faint smile deepened. Amid the warm applause, the two bowed slightly in thanks and then walked into the crowd.
Sun Lingfei’s father, satisfied, clapped his hands and raised his glass, inviting everyone to toast to Sun Lingfei’s twentieth birthday.
As Xu Ze and Sun Lingfei walked through the crowd, nodding politely to the enthusiastic elders, they quietly slipped out of the main hall and found a relatively quiet corner.
Sun Lingfei looked at Xu Ze with a sweet smile and whispered, “You finally came…”
“Mm… I promised I would, so I’m here,” Xu Ze replied warmly, gazing into her beautiful eyes.
“Today… you’ve given me so many surprises. I never knew you were so talented at both the piano and the violin…” Sun Lingfei held her glass, looking at Xu Ze with delight.
“Hehe…” Xu Ze looked at her affectionately and smiled. He placed his glass on a nearby pergola and took out a small box from his pocket. He opened it gently and handed it to her, saying tenderly, “Happy birthday!”
“Wow… it’s so beautiful…” Sun Lingfei exclaimed in delight at the sapphire pendant inside the box. She looked up at Xu Ze in surprise and asked, “Is this for me?”
“Mm,” Xu Ze nodded with a smile.
“Thank you…” Sun Lingfei happily took the box and examined it carefully. Then, she looked up at Xu Ze’s handsome, affectionate face and gently bit her lip. “Can you help me put it on?”
“Of course.” Xu Ze carefully took the pendant from the box, unfastened the clasp, and waited for Sun Lingfei to turn around. He gently placed the pendant over her head and fastened it behind her neck. Inhaling the faint fragrance from her jade-like neck, he couldn’t resist leaning down and lightly kissing her cheek.
Sun Lingfei tremblightly at the touch and turned around, blushing as she angrily said, “You Bad guy…”
Seeing her shy reaction, Xu Ze felt his heart stir again. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her into a tight embrace despite her soft exclamation of surprise.
The two held each other quietly for a moment until they heard Li Xiaorui’s voice calling from the entrance of the hall, “Lingfei… Lingfei…”
Startled, they quickly separated, straightened their clothes, and shared a sweet glance before walking toward the entrance.
Seeing them approach, Li Xiaorui smiled knowingly, causing Sun Lingfei’s cheeks to flush slightly.
“Uncle Sun is looking for you… Hurry over. You’re the star of today—you can’t keep disappearing,” Li Xiaorui said, pulling Sun Lingfei into the hall. Xu Ze followed closely behind.
As Sun Lingfei entered the hall, everyone laughed and said, “Here comes the birthday girl!”
Many of the young masters noticed Xu Ze entering with Sun Lingfei, and the sharp-eyed ones spotted the new sapphire pendant around her neck. Their envy grew even stronger.
Zhang Libao whispered to someone beside him, “Well? Did you find out more about that guy?”
“Yeah… Hmph… He’s just the adopted grandson of Old Master Tang from Xing City,” the young man replied disdainfully.
“Hmph… A country bumpkin daring to show off in Beijing… Let’s find a chance to teach him a lesson. He needs to know that Beijing isn’t some backwater like Xing City.”
Hearing Zhang Libao’s words, the young man hesitated. “But… Li Yue is here.”
“Hmph… idiot, we’ll wait until he’s not around,” Zhang Libao snorted coldly.
