“Before Major General Taylor arrives, teach me. I want to play it for him.”
“Impossible. This instrument is very complex. If you truly want to learn, you must start from the basics, memorizing what each key represents.”
“So troublesome?”
Princess Salome tilted her head slightly.
“How long would it take to learn the piece you played?”
“Well, if you learn quickly…”
Miao Te thought for a moment, then raised one finger.
“One day?”
“…One month.”
The princess raised an eyebrow, and her charming peach-blossom eyes instantly turned sharp.
“I command you to teach me in one hour.”
Miao Te was unhappy as well.
“Even if you’re a princess, you can’t be unreasonable.”
Is this something that can be taught in an hour?
Princess Salome’s face brightened with a radiant smile.
“My word is law.”
Miao Te: “…”
Does Your Highness know how unreasonable you are? Do those who adore you know?
“One hour, hurry up. Two minutes have already passed.”
“I already said it’s impossible!”
“Then I shall punish you.”
The teenager was angry too.
“Punishing me won’t make it possible!”
“Then I’ll punish Major General Taylor along with you.”
“What does this have to do with the Major General—”
“Since you’re his little lover and you’ve displeased me, naturally, I’ll go after him. Hmm, keeping him locked here for a month sounds perfect~”
“Hold on, who is whose lover—”
“Quickly, start teaching.”
The two argued pointlessly for a long time, but ultimately, Miao Te couldn’t withstand the princess’ unreasonable demands and came up with a compromise.
The princess didn’t want to learn the entire method of piano playing in just an hour; she merely wanted to learn how to play that particular piece within the hour.
The silvery liquid metal spread out, like a delicate veil lightly covering all the piano keys, coating each one with a soft, silvery layer. Once Miao Te finished playing, the liquid memory metal recorded the sequence in which each key was pressed, along with the duration of each note.
Then, when the princess played, she needed to press whichever key changed color. She only had to follow the color and timing of each change to play.
…Don’t ask how Miao Te came up with this method.
Whether it was drumming games or dance machines, such games were quite popular back on Earth.
At first, the princess struggled to keep up with the keys’ changing colors, often flustered. She saw one key change color but failed to press it before the next one changed.
Also, multiple keys would change color at once; even if her eyes could follow, her fingers couldn’t keep up.
So, after several attempts, she would fail halfway each time.
Even though she failed multiple times, Salome didn’t lose her temper. Instead, her excitement only, and she stubbornly stuck with the instrument, becoming more determined with each setback. In the end, she was so absorbed that she nearly forgot everything else.
Even when a servant brought her aromatic refreshments, she waved them away, telling them not to disturb her, and eagerly continued pressing the piano keys in sync with the memory metal’s color shifts…
Miao Te understood the princess’s obsession.
That type of rhythm-tapping game had long enjoyed lasting popularity on Earth. Many people found that once they started playing, they couldn’t put it down—only after beating ten levels in a row, holding their breath with each one, did they realize that five or six hours had flown by.
Ah, he remembered being just as engrossed in games back in the day, playing for hours on end.
Shaking his head at the thought, the young man casually reached over to the tray the servant had set aside and took a small pastry. Standing by the piano, he watched the princess wrestle with the keys, snacking as he observed her struggle.
Princess Salome possessed both a high level of perception and finger coordination. Through sheer determination, she managed to conquer this complex tapping game—or rather, to fully play the piece—within just an hour.
Honestly, this piece was merely a sequence of assembled notes, vastly inferior to Miao Te’s performance, yet Salome felt deeply satisfied.
Though she couldn’t say why, completing the piece after so much effort left her with an indescribable sense of fulfillment.
She let out a long breath, feeling wholly satisfied and relaxed, then turned to look at Miao Te, who had been standing by her side watching.
Her bright green eyes sparkled, like a normally haughty green-eyed white cat, now gazing up at Miao Te with a shining look, as if asking for praise and approval.
The young man, holding the last piece of pastry in his right hand, met her pleading green eyes and paused, then chuckled.
Suddenly, he remembered his younger self.
Back then, he too would sit at the piano, his mother standing beside him. After finishing a piece, he’d look at her expectantly, and then she’d smile, reaching out a warm hand to gently pat his head.
That memory seemed to span across time, overlapping with this moment.
He smiled, reaching out, and gently patted the head of the person seated at the piano, just as his mother once did.
“You played well.”
He smiled, saying the same words his mother had once said.
This action left Salome stunned.
Her pupils contracted sharply, and her face showed a rare look of astonishment.
As a princess, from the day she was born, no one had ever dared to be so bold.
She widened her eyes at Miao Te, and he immediately realized what he had done, quickly retracting his hand in panic.
“Ah, sorry, I just—”
Oh no.
He thought.
Accidentally patting the princess on the head—would she charge him with disrespect and have his hand chopped off?
Salome stared blankly at him, and after a while, her wide eyes gradually softened, curving upward.
She tilted her head at Miao Te, her waterfall-like golden hair cascading over the keys, and a bright smile appeared on her face.
She smiled joyfully.
It was the purest of smiles, with no hidden meanings. Salome smiled like a child who had just been praised, her face radiant and bright.
The teenager was momentarily stunned by her childlike joyful smile, then relaxed. Looking at Salome, he too smiled, a soft and gentle one.
An indescribable softness filled the air around them. Strangely, even the room’s lighting seemed to soften as it fell upon them.
Time stood still, forever etching this moment of their shared smiles into eternity.
When the black-haired Major General walked in, this was the scene that greeted him.
He paused in his steps, his slender, phoenix-like eyes narrowing slightly, and the blue within them deepened a bit.
Since Princess Salome had given prior instructions, there was already an attendant waiting by the door when he arrived. Without needing the princess’s permission, they led him straight in.
He walked directly forward, his steps intentionally heavier on the wooden floor, and in the quiet of the room, the sound of his footsteps seemed exceptionally loud.
The dull sound of his footsteps naturally caught the attention of the two at the piano. Princess Salome turned and, upon seeing Major General Taylor, her eyes lit up.
“It’s about time I got you here, Major General Taylor.”
She said this with a cheerful smile, looking at Taylor with a delighted expression.
“I just learned this, so let me play it for you.”
Saying this, Princess Salome started pressing the piano keys, playing the piece with simple, monotonous notes.
When she finished the piece, she turned to look at Taylor, who stood still and gave him a radiant smile.
“Did you like it?”
The young Major General leaned slightly, resting sideways against the wall with his arms crossed, his dark, messy hair falling across his slender eyes, as he stood there with his legs crossed.
He maintained this posture from beginning to end, his gaze cold as he watched the two at the piano.
When the princess asked him that question after finishing the piece, his gaze shifted slightly, his pale lips parted, and he uttered two words.
“Terrible.”
He said this expressionlessly.
Miao Te: “……”
Major General, isn’t it a bit too bold to be this cold and blunt with the princess, who technically is your superior?
Even if it’s the truth…
Playing it this well in just an hour was already the limit.
The young man sighed.
Forget it; he might as well step in and save the situation.
Thinking this, Miao Te casually pulled over a stool, placed it next to the princess, and sat down.
“Just play this part.”
He pointed to a small section and said to Princess Salome, then raised his hands above the keys.
“Let’s go.”
He turned his head and smiled at the princess beside him, and then his hands, along with hers, pressed down on the keys.
The sound of the piano suddenly became lively, no longer monotonous, carrying a captivating resonance.
The princess’s fingers tapped lightly on the keys before her. Initially surprised, she quickly caught on, smiling happily as she tapped the keys alongside the young man.
Their hands fell on the keys almost simultaneously, with a subtle time lag between them. Yet the music they played together had a remarkably harmonious feel, creating an unexpectedly beautiful sound.
Their hands fluttered across the keys like butterflies, their shadows intertwining on the keys.
The black-haired Major General remained in his stance, arms crossed and leaning sideways against the wall, watching the two play. The pleasant notes surrounded him.
He watched the two of them, expressionless.
***
“As a reward for teaching me to play this piece, I’m giving you this instrument.”
“Huh? No, that’s not necessary.”
“What I grant as a gift, I never take back.”
“But this is such a valuable…”
Miao Te hesitated. He did want it, but Princess Salome liked this instrument as well. Taking something someone else cherished didn’t feel quite right.
The golden-haired princess rolled her eyes.
“Why are you so dense? I give this one to you, and it’s hardly difficult for me to have another one delivered.”
Miao Te suddenly understood.
That was true.
It would be hard for him to get a piano from Mier, but if Princess Salome merely requested it, Mier would rush to deliver one without a second thought.
Since that was the case, he gladly accepted the princess’s gift.
***
Somehow, the piano must have been delivered via an express channel, for as soon as Miao Te and Major General Taylor stepped into their quarters, there it was, already placed steadily in a corner of the room.
What incredible speed.
Miao Te couldn’t help but think.
Hmm, after a long day, he decided he’d wait until tomorrow to play it.
Thinking this, he yawned and turned to head toward the washroom.
But as soon as he took a step, someone grabbed his wrist, pulling him back in the opposite direction.
Miao Te was dragged by Taylor over to the piano, still somewhat dazed and unsure of the Major General’s intentions, as he watched him take a seat in front of the piano.
The Major General remained silent, his gaze lowered, shadows from his long lashes falling across his deep blue eyes.
He raised his hand, his pale, elegant fingers pressing down on a white key, and a pleasant note echoed from the piano.
After that note, the Major General’s fingers stayed on the key, unmoving, as if waiting for something.
Miao Te felt he understood.
The Major General wanted to learn to play the piano, too.
Thinking about it, he almost forgot—this Major General was a true Earth enthusiast. An instrument from Earth would intrigue him.
Teach him, of course. If the Major General was interested, he would certainly teach him.
He was about to say something when he noticed the white bandage on the Major General’s right hand.
The healing solution had been removed, and the outer skin looked scabbed over, but the injury was still serious beneath. Playing the piano could aggravate it and make things worse.
“Next time,” he said. “No rush; I’ll teach you in a while.”
Saying this, Miao Te turned to leave, but before he could, his wrist was grabbed once again.
The young man turned back to see the Major General sitting there, gripping his wrist tightly. He wasn’t looking at Miao Te; his gaze remained fixed on the black and white keys in front of him.
He lowered his head slightly, dark strands of hair falling across his face, his strikingly handsome features serene and unreadable.
Yet he held Miao Te’s wrist without letting go, his lips pressed together, sharper and thinner than usual, almost a harsh line.
However, this sharpness wasn’t like the icy edge he showed to enemies; instead, it was…
“You taught her.”
The Major General spoke, his tone cold, yet somehow carrying a hint of reproach.
Miao Te: “…”
Detecting a trace of hurt in the aloof Major General’s tone must have been his imagination!
Definitely!
And thinking that the Major General’s slight pout, mixed with a hint of disappointment, was somehow cute—well, he must have lost his mind!
Absolutely!
***
Happy Halloween! Enjoy the chapters. (1/2)
Translated by NightOwll
***