Chapter 150: Follow the Rhythm, Move About!
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
When the server was pushing a cart of beverages and refreshments, he realized that this private room had actually drawn the curtains.
A while back, there had been only one person, and he had said he wanted to listen to music, but now, the private room had drawn the curtains and the room was now in "sealed mode." That meant that the private room's roof was also sealed, so people outside couldn't hear what was happening inside, and the people inside would not be disturbed by any activity outside.
What is one person doing in the private room with sealed mode? Listening to music? With the curtains drawn and the room sealed, what music is he listening to?
The server looked at the side. There was no "Do Not Disturb" sign and the curtains were not drawn all the way, meaning that there was nothing secretive going on, so the purpose was to block off the noise from outside.
The server reached out and lightly pulled the curtains apart. He had only opened a narrow slit when he heard the distinct sound of a rapid and concentrated music chord that made him pause as an astonished looked appeared on his face.
Servers in Space without a little hearing ability would not get far. As the boss was once a famous electric guitar performer, the staff here, from the manager to the waiters, would at least understand the basics of an electric guitar, and the more they understood, the more they could obtain the favor of the boss and climb higher. Therefore, the staff here spent their free time learning about electric guitars and how to differentiate performing techniques. This was the ability of all employees at Space. They might not know how to perform, but they needed to know how to listen.
Their high salary was not just from serving drinks, guiding customers, or an excellent service attitude. For that sort of requirement, just Qi'an City alone would have a hundred thousand people who could do it, so why had these people ultimately gotten this job?
Hearing ability! Differentiating ability! Comprehending ability!
Thus, before he even saw the situation in the room, just listening, he could make a preliminary judgement.
Someone was performing, and the instrument was an electric guitar. From the clarity and accuracy of the notes, the performer's control in both hands was very strong.
An expert!
Opening the curtains, the server saw the situation inside.
Fang Zhao was demonstrating to Thomas and Cheng Lan the plucking technique. The sounds the server had heard just now were from him using both hands to pluck the electronic guitar.
Seeing the server enter, Fang Zhao stopped and looked over suspiciously.
The server apologized. "Sorry to bother you, take this as a form of compensation for the security team disturbing you."
The server brought out the items on the cart, laid them all on the table, and left quickly.
Fang Zhao glanced at the time; it was already past 10. During this period, Cheng Lan and Thomas had received many calls but had rejected them all. Their friends who they had arranged to meet had been hurrying them. However, Thomas and Cheng Lan had said they had an urgent matter and would head over later.
"It is getting late, and I have said a lot. Although it is not complete, I have covered some of the basics. This is it for today," Fang Zhao said.
Thomas still wished to continue. "Ah? You are stopping? It's actually past 10! Time passes too quickly."
Cheng Lan spoke. "Senior you must be tired. Have a rest. You probably won't accept any gifts, so how about we find a time when you are free to give you a treat." Fang Zhao had said a lot, starting from the basics and slowly delving deeper. They could handle the examinations without any problems now.
Thomas and Cheng Lan actually felt that, if they were to take the test now, they could get at least 80 if not 90 out of 100 marks. In any case, they would not fail. To prevent themselves from forgetting, the two intended to watch the video a few more times to refresh their memory when they got back.
Cheng Lan asked, "Oh right, Senior, can we share the video we took with the rest of our class? Only people from our class."
"Sure."
"Senior, you can upload the video to your profile under the school's teaching and administrative web page. Then you can set up privileges—for example, a fee for viewing your materials. Many teachers in the school do it," Thomas suggested.
"No need," Fang Zhao replied.
Eyeing the table in front of the sofa filled with drinks and snacks, Fang Zhao told the two, "Leave this pot of tea, this bottle of wine, and this plate of refreshments. As for the rest, bring them with you."
"This..."
Fang Zhao had explained so much today, and not only were the two unable to help Fang Zhao settle his tab, even food and drinks were being given by him. They could not help but feel a little embarrassed. They would come once or twice a month, and although they did not consider themselves to know the place well, they knew that the drinks and snacks served here were more expensive. They would seldom order these.
However, upon Fang Zhao's insistence, they could not decline.
"Then... thank you, Senior!"
The two of them returned the electric guitar to its original state on the wall before thanking Fang Zhao sincerely once more, grabbing the food, and leaving.
The private room's sealed status was lifted. The roof opened and the curtains were drawn back as the upbeat tempo from the music outside drifted back in. Quicker and more explosive, it made it easy to drive up the atmosphere. All the various restless and agitated energy in the air rose up with the music.
Fang Zhao sipped on tea to moisten his throat, then opened the wine on the table. For this sort of atmosphere, wine was better suited. Following that, he took out his notebook and continued to observe the going-ons in the dance hall.
Elsewhere, Cheng Lan shared the video she had just taken with the class chat group.
At this time, there were still people who were discussing the impending final exams. The things they grumbled about most were regarding ancient instruments.
"We are composing students. Why do we need to learn about those obsolete instruments when we can complete it all using software? Leave those to ancient people!
"Aren't the electric guitar and the classical guitar all guitars? Why are all their points completely different? It's less than a month to the exams and there are still so many points to remember?! I don't have enough brain cells."
"Just from trying to memorize all the material, my hairline seems to be receding."
Just as these people were grumbling, they suddenly received a notification: "Your classmate Cheng Lan has shared a video in the class chat. 'Ancient electric guitar secret manual for examination, do not leak to outsiders'."
Every day, there were people sharing some resources within the group chat. Some were useful, while others were not, but this could only be decided after seeing them. For the sake of their exams, they would not let any shared videos slip by!
Those online viewed it, as they had nothing to lose. After all, they had been watching lots of reference videos prior to this, and the results had been insignificant and had made them even more confused.
"Eh? Isn't that Senior Fang Zhao? I even attended his lecture today."
"Where is this place? Thomas? Where did you and Cheng Lan run into Senior Fang Zhao?
"One look at the electric guitar on the wall and I know where you guys went. You guys went clubbing! Why didn't you call me along?!"
"I couldn't tell that Senior Fang Zhao can also play the ancient electric guitar?"
"I didn't know that Senior Fang Zhao would actually go to that sort of place."
...
Half an hour later.
...
"Seems decent, but is what he is saying correct? Why does it seem different from the reference videos I watched?"
"Didn't you hear what Senior said? 'Listen to mine'!"
"Seems like a bluff, but if we memorize incorrect points, we will be out of luck for the exams."
...
An hour later.
"I got my uncle to take a look. He said that everything Senior Fang Zhao has said till now is correct. My uncle was the previous chairman of the Yanzhou ancient electric guitar association."
"I don't care. Cheng Lan, Thomas, private message, send me a copy of the video!"
"I want it too!"
"Thomas, are you my brother? If you are my brother, stop ignoring my private messages."
Files shared within the group chat could only be viewed but not downloaded. Therefore, they had to get the original video from the sender.
...
Two hours later.
"F*ck, I saw someone from the other class sharing this video! We have a traitor in our group!"
"Which *sshole leaked the information?"
"What's important is who it leaked from. Didn't we say that, regardless of whether it was your first love, crush, or current partner who asked, we still would not budge?!"
"I have bad news for everyone. Our neighboring school is also circulating the video."
"F*ck! There is definitely more than one traitor!"
"Retarded c*nts! If it spreads too much, the teacher setting the exams might change the questions at the last minute! Isn't this hurting ourselves?"
Cheng Lan was enjoying her own birthday celebration when she suddenly received over ten calls. It was the same with Thomas. Seeing that they seemed urgent, he put one through and found out that, within two hours, the video had been circulated among every music academy in Yanzhou. It was even rumored that there were people from other continents that had gotten a copy through certain means.
If it were other entertainment videos, of course more circulation was better. However, this was an educational and instructional video on a rare ancient instrument. According to Thomas, this sort of video could garner a high price if sold online, and there would be no shortage of buyers. After sharing the video among the class, the two had enjoyed the limelight and been elated after receiving compliments, but now, when they heard the news, they immediately sobered up despite being tipsy from the drinks.
What if Fang Zhao got angry over this? What if Fang Zhao changed his mind and wanted to upload the video to sell? Now that the video had already been circulated, even if it was uploaded, nobody would purchase it. There were already many people who had this video, and it was still increasing by the minute.
Thinking about the consequences, the two could not care about the birthday celebration or whatnot. Immediately rushing over to Fang Zhao's private room and seeing Fang Zhao still there, they explained everything while full of guilt.
"Senior, your video has been circulated. How about uploading a copy onto the school's website? At least it will show that the copyright belongs to you so nobody else can pass themselves off as you.
Fang Zhao was rather suspicious of the news. In two hours, how had it spread so wide?
Rather than regretting not uploading it for sale on the internet, Fang Zhao was astonished that there would be that many people paying attention to ancient electric guitars. However, he still listened to Thomas's suggestions and uploaded the video to the Qi'an Academy of Music's webpage. At the same time, he also uploaded a copy onto social platforms, where it was for the public and free to use.
"Senior, you... are not angry?" Cheng Lan asked hesitantly.
"Why would I be angry? More people understanding is a good thing. The video being circulated that widely means a contribution to the spread of the culture of ancient instruments. It also means that the amount of people interested in ancient instruments is greater than what we imagined."
Seeing that Fang Zhao was not getting angry over this matter, the two who were panicking gradually calmed down. At the same time, their admiration of Fang Zhao grew. At their age, there were not many people in the world who had the same sort of mentality as Fang Zhao. It might only be Fang Zhao alone. No wonder Great Master Xue Jing had so energetically recommended Fang Zhao and brought him along for the global lecture tour. Fang Zhao was worth it! Any other person would have been trying get benefits a long time ago.
"Senior, you aren't going back yet?" Cheng Lan asked.
"No, it is lively now." Fang Zhao noticed that, at this time, the atmosphere at the nightclub was at its apex. Surely he would not miss this chance to observe.
"Since you don't intend to leave yet, how about entering the dance floor and enjoying with us?" Cheng Lan suggested.
Thomas nodded his head and echoed her. "Yes, yes, you can feel the atmosphere better on the dance floor. The experience is totally different from sitting in the private room!"
Fang Zhao thought about it. He had already been a spectator for so long; he could try entering the dance floor and experiencing for himself that sort of atmosphere.
Thomas and Cheng Lan told their friends that they would be entering the dance floor and proceeded to clear the way in for Fang Zhao, both preventing people who were bouncing around from knocking into Fang Zhao and blocking off a few that were clearly not sober.
"Here, here, the sound effects here are especially good. I just love to dance at this spot," Thomas shouted over the blaring music.
Under the blurry lights, intoxicated people had begun to make their way to the dance floor. Like water that had reached its boiling point, the people starting dancing and swaying crazily.
"Don't worry about whether you can dance well or not, just follow the music and your brain, just like how we compose music. Just follow your instincts," Thomas explained from the side.
"If you really don't know how, I can teach you, Senior," Cheng Lan added in.
"Better not. Senior, don't listen to her. Us men need to be manly. Just follow me. Make sure your muscles are not too tense. Watch my shoulders, arms..." Thomas demonstrated a simple motion.
"Just like that. Take one step, remember how each step feels, pay attention to your joints, follow the rhythm, and move! about!"
Thomas had just finished when he saw, from the corner of his eye, a person beside Fang Zhao got sent flying by Fang Zhao's fist.
Thomas: "..."
Cheng Lan: "..."
Brother, I didn't ask you to move like this!