The first dance of the party was unusually significant. Avril walked up to Xia Fei blushingly. She was showing her courage to dare invite Xia Fei, a nobody, to a dance, so even an idiot could tell what she was thinking.
Avril was basically publicizing the relationship between Xia Fei and her to the entire Alliance. Even though some people in the circle already knew about it, no one was sure if the daughter of the Jian family was serious about the relationship.
After today, there would be a lot of news about them flying around, and due to the substantial difference between their backgrounds, there would be a lot of gossip, too. Xia Fei did not really mind it, but Avril was a young woman, after all. Would she be able to handle the pressure from the rumors?
Xia Fei shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was going to happen eventually. If Avril had already made up her mind, all he needed to do was stay by her side and encourage her.
Having this thought, Xia Fei lifted his gaze and grinned. He decided to face the rumors bravely. Xia Fei could not care less about what the others would think as long as Avril was happy.
Avril’s father, Newman, stopped Avril with a frown and whispered into her ear, “Have you really decided on it? Your grandfather is asking you to dance with Li Mo, instead.”
Avril glanced at Li Mo, who had a dark expression, in the crowd before looking at Xia Fei, who was smiling at her. She then walked toward the latter.
Avril reached her hand to Xia Fei. Her delicate fingers were like the most exquisite piece of artwork as they trembled slightly. Xia Fei softly touched her hand by adhering to the standard etiquettes of a gentleman. The two entered the dance floor and started dancing to the lively music.
The people were shocked; Avril’s partner turned out to be a nobody. Many of them began to ask who Xia Fei was. They had yet to recover from the astonishment of seeing Xia Fei have a secret meeting with Tai, and now, he had become Avril’s dancing partner, too. Many people were confused and began to have wild thoughts about it.
Nicole wore a complicated look. She pinched the glass in her hand and lowered her head. She indifferently glanced at the scars on her wrists and murmured softly, “This isn’t fair; this isn’t fair at all…”
“Our new supplier seems to be quite close to the Jian family?” Tai asked with a frown.
Williams smiled. “Isn’t that a good thing? Haven’t you been worrying about his company not being capable enough to supply the military sufficiently? It now seems that Xia Fei does have his connections, and it’s essential to develop one’s connections in the Alliance.”
Mata from the Adjudicator Union was shocked, too. He knew of the relationship between Xia Fei and Qin Mang. Since Qin Mang was his rival in the Adjudicator Union, Mata had never had a good impression of Xia Fei, so he was displeased when he saw the good relationship between Xia Fei and Avril.
Words could not describe the jealousy and envy in the hearts of the young men who were Avril’s admirers when Xia Fei, who did not even belong in their circle, smashed their dreams into pieces.
That being said, the person who hated Xia Fei the most among the crowd was Li Mo without a doubt. He could only feel his rage rising in his chest when he saw the two dancing on the floor. His vision even blurred slightly, and it was only luck that had let him retain his consciousness.
The Golden Finger Cup, which was already within his grasp, had flown away because of Xia Fei, and even Avril was slowly getting closer to his opponent; Li Mo seriously could not endure it.
Li Mo had been surrounded by praises and compliments from a young age. The outstanding environment he grew up in, with his family in possession of wealth comparable to a nation… He had everything that Xia Fei lacked, yet how did he still lose to the latter? Li Mo could never accept such a humiliating defeat.
Li Mo turned around, for he no longer felt like staying here.
A strong hand held him back.
Li Mo turned around and saw his father staring at him coldly.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I-I… I don’t feel like staying here,” Li Mo stammered.
Li Guan wore an evil grin as he asked with a deep voice, “You’re scared just like that? You’re admitting your defeat?”
Li Mo lowered his head in silence. What else could he say?
Li Mo, who had grown up in a luxurious household, was different from Xia Fei. He had already lost the primitive ability of humans to fight for their welfare after being in the lap of luxury since he was born.
Xia Fei was willing to risk his life at all cost for Avril, while Li Mo was only trying to find comfort in his comfort zone. He did not even dare to compete in a drinking challenge, so what more of risking his life?
It was like the difference between a stalk of weed growing in the wild and a flower being raised in a greenhouse; both had completely different nature.
“You idiot, how could you let yourself be defeated so easily?! How are you supposed to achieve great things in the future like this?!” Li Guan snarled. He rarely scolded his son, yet he was utterly disappointed in Li Mo’s behavior today. Was he still a hot-blooded man?
“I told you that our Li family used to be butchers, whose hands were always covered in fresh blood. If anyone dares to step on our heads, we’ll pay them back tenfold. That’s our Li family’s belief.”
Li Mo nodded stiffly. His thoughts had already flown off even though he was still physically at the party.
“Stand here and watch; I’ll show you the capabilities of the Li family today,” Li Guan said.
Li Mo was startled. Was his father going to take the matter into his own hands today?
He was like a helpless kid who had seen a glimpse of sunlight in a dangerous jungle. He was filled with hope once again.
“This is only the beginning. Anyone who dares to provoke the people of the Li family will never have a good ending,” Li Guan said with a fierce look in his eyes.
…
The first song ended. Avril left the dance floor while wrapping her hand around Xia Fei’s arm.
The people were dumbfounded. They even forgot to give their applause.
Clap… clap… clap…
Thuram was the first to burst out laughing while clapping, followed by the military triumvirate.
The crowd finally collected their thoughts, and a thunderous applause soon took place.
“You did a pretty good job,” Avril said.
Xia Fei smiled. “I’ve only learned to dance a few days ago. I was worried I might step on your foot before I got up. Luckily, I managed to get by.”
Avril stuck her face close to Xia Fei’s arm intimately.
Xia Fei knew that she was purposely doing it in front of everyone. It was obvious that Avril had long made up her mind. She was planning to let everyone know about their relationship. Her action was like a silent protest to her grandfather, who preferred her to be with Li Mo.
“You should go over there,” Avril said.
Xia Fei followed Avril’s gaze and saw Ernst surrounded by guests with formidable backgrounds. The military triumvirate and Thuram of the Adjudicator Union were among them.
“It’s fine if I just stay by your side. I’m not really interested in their topics, anyway,” Xia Fei said.
Avril blushed, then said softly, “You had my first dance, making you a very important guest of the Jian family, so you should be with my grandfather now. It’s part of the rules. My father and I will be attending to the guests.”
Xia Fei frowned. Knowing how complicated the rules of the upper class were and hearing Avril request so, he had no choice but to follow them.
Avril unwillingly let go of Xia Fei’s arm, went to the crowd with Pang Xing by her side, and greeted every guest with a smile.
Xia Fei tidied his collar and strided toward the biggest circle among the crowd.
Xia Fei did not know many of the people in the circle, but he could easily tell that they were the most important guests from their appearance and demeanor. Many others seemed eager to join the circle, and they were all standing outside it, listening in on the conversation, yet only few of them could get a word.
The crowd sensibly cleared a path for Xia Fei. After all, having had the honor of being Avril’s first dance, he was supposed to be in the circle, too.
Thuram pulled Xia Fei to him and signalled him to stand by his side.
Xia Fei took a glass of champagne with a smile. The group was discussing the recent hottest topic of Eden. Xia Fei casually listened to the discussion, having no intention to interrupt.
Nicole raised her glass at Xia Fei. She seemed to be congratulating him, yet he could see a faint hint of dejection in her eyes.
“I wonder if those humans from Eden have reached the Alliance?” an old man with a goatee asked. Xia Fei remembered seeing him on the news. He was the chairman of a financial organization, but Xia Fei could not recall who he was exactly.
Tai smiled. “About that, I can only say that they have yet to arrive at the capital ring.”
It was a tricky response. The Pan-human Alliance was incredibly big. Saying that the humans from Eden had yet to arrive at the capital ring did not necessarily mean that they had not reached the Alliance. Perhaps the fleet was only a few hours away from the capital ring.
The discussion continued. Li Guan was observing Xia Fei’s expression opposite him. He gave an old man with a black beard a signal when he felt that it was time.
The old man acknowledged it and asked, “Why don’t we play the galaxy piano as part of the tradition?”
The rest of the group agreed. A few men soon carried a large strange object over. It looked like a typical meteor which could normally be sweeping across the sky, but this one had artificial carvings of irregular keys. The keys were extremely smooth—an indication that someone had been playing it oftenly.
“Nice piano; could it be Master Solo’s final masterpiece, Genesis?” Williams asked.
Ernst laughed and spoke with pride, “General, that’s very impressive of you. This piano is indeed the Master of galaxy piano, Solo’s final work, and one he’s the most proud of, Genesis. It’s made over seven thousand years ago. I happened to stumble upon it in an art museum not long ago, so I decided to invite it to the Sunset Villa.
Ernst used the word ‘invite’ instead of ‘buy’, showing how respectful he was toward the strange-looking instrument.
Xia Fei twisted his lips. He was not an expert in the field of music, nor did he know what a galaxy piano was, but he was intrigued by the strange appearance of the instrument.
“What does this galaxy piano do?” Xia Fei asked. He noticed that Phantom and most people were staring at the piano with glittering eyes.
“Xia Fei, that’s a real galaxy piano!” Phantom exclaimed.
“So what?”
“So what?!” Phantom sounded a little displeased by Xia Fei’s ignorance. He said, “The galaxy piano is the oldest instrument in the alliance. It’s also the most complicated and the hardest to learn. Apparently, it will take the best artisan over fifty years to craft a galaxy piano. Did you know how many galaxy pianos did Master Solo, whom Ernst had mentioned moments ago, craft in his entire life?”
Xia Fei shook his head; he believed that it was difficult to craft the strange-looking instrument, yet he did not expect that it would take fifty years to craft one. How ridiculous.
“Solo is the best among the artisans who craft galaxy pianos. He learned how to make a galaxy piano from the age of four, completed his studies at the age of seventy-nine, and started crafting galaxy pianos at the age of a hundred. He completed his first work, Originless Darkness, at the age of 191 and completed his second work, Origin, at the age of 315.”
“His second work took longer than the first, and the quality was a lot better, too. He was already 315 years old after completing the masterpiece, Origin, but he did not give up on his ambition to make the ultimate galaxy piano and began searching for materials in preparations for his third work.
“Unfortunately, he ended up catching the deadly Domra Virus Disease. He lost the feeling in his right arm and his legs became paralyzed, so he had no choice but to let his disciple carry him while he worked with his only arm left.
“When Solo finally finished his last masterpiece, Genesis, the exact galaxy piano right in front of you, he was already 603 years old. It has taken him almost three hundred years, so how couldn’t you feel excited after seeing the galaxy piano in person?”
Xia Fei shook his head. “It’s a nice story, and Solo is a very ambitious man, too. He deserved to be called a master, but I still don’t understand, what’s so special about this strange-looking instrument? Was it really worth it for someone to spend their whole life making it?”
Phantom replied in a deep voice, “According to legends, humans’ origin was a seed hibernating on an asteroid roaming aimlessly in the universe. After countless years, the asteroid collided with a planet in the Venal galaxy, ending the seed’s adventure.
“Here, the seed found its partner. Their descendants eventually became humans after a long time of evolution. The galaxy piano’s appearance is based on the asteroid that carried our ancestor.”
Xia Fei took a close look at the galaxy piano. “Its appearance does resemble an asteroid, but the keys are irregularly placed, making it difficult for people to play it. It’s not like the piano on Earth with keys aligned together.”
Phantom laughed. “It won’t be called the galaxy piano if it’s not difficult to play it. This instrument is known for being difficult to master, but the upper class of the Pan-human Alliance is proud of themselves for being able to play it. It’s a tradition. I’m afraid that many people here know how to play it. After all, they’re part of the alliance’s high society.”
Xia Fei asked, “Do you know how to play it?”
Phantom proudly patted himself on the shoulder. “My master has a galaxy piano, but it’s not as expensive as this one. It goes without saying that a skillful person like me would learn how to play it from my master. My master is easily an expert when it comes to playing the galaxy piano.”
Phantom looked extremely proud of himself. His master, Moonshadow, was a carefree man, who was talented in everything. He was called the genius of the Assassin Sect; Phantom had obviously learned a lot from his master, or else he would not know the origin of the galaxy piano so well.
The crowd was very excited. This galaxy piano called Genesis had garnered a lot of attention. It was as expected of humans, who would never admit how ignorant they were, especially those in the high society. Even though not many among the crowd truly knew about music, many were still boasting about it. Not only were they trying to prove how well-educated they were, they were even trying to receive approval from the others this way.
The crowd immediately asked the host of the night, Ernst, to play a song. Ernst pretended to be humble at first, yet he soon asked someone to bring him a chair when he saw that he could no longer turn it down.
Ernst took a deep breath and suddenly moved his fingers. The galaxy piano began to emit a strange sound. It was blurred and indistinguishable. Suddenly, the whole world became quiet as the sound pierced through the night sky.
Due to the special structure of the galaxy piano, Ernst had to move around to reach the keys, which were placed further apart. He looked as if he was performing a dance for some ancient, profound rituals.
The crowd burst into applause after the piece ended. Ernst said proudly, “I’m getting too old. I’m worn out from playing just a single piece, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, too. Please don’t laugh at me.”
Li Guan said, “Your ‘Meteor Recitation’ is splendid. I can even see a meteor shower sweeping across the sky when listening to it. No doubt you’re a master of it, so there’s no need to be so humble.”
The crowd proceeded to give their compliments, too.
Meanwhile, Xia Fei stood still and rubbed his chin in deep thoughts as if something was bothering him.
Phantom asked, “How was it? Are you impressed by the galaxy piano now? It’s easily the most profound instrument of the Pan-human Alliance.”
Xia Fei thought for a moment before saying, “It felt like I was in the middle of the night sky, surrounded by stars, when he started playing the instrument. It’s deeply attracting everyone’s attention; it’s indeed one of a kind.”
Phantom exclaimed, “The galaxy piano is specifically designed to let people hear the sounds of the universe! The piece he played isn’t too difficult. If you get the chance to listen to the topmost concert in the White Dwarf Opera House, it’ll be a more unforgettable experience for you.”
Xia Fei frowned. “I’m still a little puzzled, though. The sound this instrument is producing seems to contain murderous intent. It feels similar to something I’ve come upon in the past.”
Phantom looked at Xia Fei anxiously. “Aren’t you being a little oversensitive? Everyone always describes the galaxy piano’s sound as profound and mysterious, yet how did it become murderous in your ears? The origin of the universe is creation, not destruction, and the galaxy piano produces the sound of the universe—thus, the sound of creation.
“I believe that it’s due to the palpable murderous aura in you, which is why you’ve misinterpreted the sound produced by the galaxy piano.”
Xia Fei shook his head. “I don’t know about the origin of the universe. Both its creation and destruction are out of humans’ reach. The sounds produced by the galaxy piano are full of uncertainties, too. It might sound like ‘creation’ to you, but it sounded like ‘destruction’ to me, akin to endless killing.”
