The rehearsal room's door was openly and generously pushed open.
Lin Feng's "hiss——" sound, which was like an old bellows, came to an abrupt halt. He slowly put away that expression which was somewhat twisted due to exerting too much force, restored that facial paralysis face he usually had which looked as if he had seen through the red dust, and turned his head to look at the doorway.
Xu Zhixia walked in.
Tonight she wore a slightly loose black hoodie, her face wearing a trace of an evil smirk as if she believed she had grasped the opponent's vital point. She walked to the wall side, put down her expensive guitar covered in stickers with chic movements, then crossed her arms, looking at Lin Feng leisurely and confidently.
"If you do not give me a reasonable explanation," Xu Zhixia shook the mobile phone in her hand, "I will send this sound of a 'dying whale' to the whole school's students to listen to."
Lin Feng looked at her, his eyes without any waves: "I am practicing vocalization."
"Practicing vocalization?" Xu Zhixia sneered, "Big brother, don't joke. Whose family practices vocalization looking like they are summoning an Ancient God of Cthulhu? Those who don't know would think you are engaging in some evil sacrificial ritual."
Lin Feng was silent for a moment, but his inner heart was helpless.
He really was practicing vocalization, but he also had no method. Who made him a salted fish without any vocal talent? Before that damn system dragged this carp over the Dragon Gate, he could only use this most primitive, most clumsy, and also ugliest method to hone the basics.
"It really is breath practice." Lin Feng said honestly; although admitting the matter of having no talent hurt his self-esteem a bit, in front of absolute evidence, quibbling appeared very superfluous.
"I don't believe it."
Xu Zhixia directly clicked the video play button, and adjusted the volume to the maximum.
"Hiss————uh——cough cough cough..."
The tragic, hoarse, suffocating sound instantly filled the whole room. Xu Zhixia pointed at the screen with a face full of disdain: "Listen to it yourself, is this like a movement made by a carbon-based lifeform? If you admitted you were sending signals to aliens, I might even believe it a little."
Lin Feng tilted his head, looking at the self with hideous features inside the screen, his expression still calm like a pool of dead water.
"So what?" he asked.
Xu Zhixia froze.
This reaction is not right!
According to the script, shouldn't he be panic-stricken, kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, begging herself to delete the video?
"So what?" Xu Zhixia stared with wide eyes, "You aren't afraid of me sending it out? Do you not love pretending to be High and Cold? If this video flows out, your 'Guitar Buddha' persona will collapse until not even dregs remain!"
"Oh, that."
Lin Feng suddenly realized, then explained with a flat tone: "As long as you don't let my band members see it, it's fine."
"Huh?"
"As long as Ren Yichen, Shen Linyin, and Lu Mingxuan don't know I am practicing behind their backs like a dead dog, then there is no problem." Lin Feng looked at Xu Zhixia, his eyes actually revealing a kind of weird honesty, "In front of them, I must be that genius who never practices and can carry the whole field upon picking up the instrument. As for you... whether you see it or not actually doesn't matter, anyway you are not the audience we need to conquer."
These words, like a clap of thunder, ruthlessly struck upon Xu Zhixia's crown.
She opened her mouth wide, and those mocking words originally prepared all got stuck in her throat.
Not wanting people to see the effort behind the scenes...
Must maintain the image of a genius who never practices...
Noble in front of people, suffering behind people...
This... isn't this exactly her, Xu Zhixia's, life creed?!
Xu Zhixia looked at Lin Feng, her eyes instantly changed.
The original contempt and banter in her eyes disappeared, replaced by a kind of excitement as if having found a relative lost for many years, as well as the shock of "high mountains and flowing water meeting a bosom friend".
It turns out, in this world, it is not just her alone who is carrying a heavy burden in order to act cool!
It turns out, this facial paralysis face is also a senior believer of the "effortless school"!
"You..." Xu Zhixia's voice trembled slightly, "You think so too?"
"Wanting to become a top superstar, maintaining a sense of mystery and a halo of genius is a necessary means." Lin Feng spouted nonsense in all seriousness, actually just to cover up the fact that he relied on the system to cheat.
Xu Zhixia was deeply touched. She lowered her head, looking at the video in the phone, her finger hovered over the screen for a second, and then decisively pressed the delete key.
"Deleted?" Lin Feng raised his eyebrows.
"Not only deleted, but also emptying the recycle bin." Xu Zhixia finished operating a series of movements, raised her head, and looked at Lin Feng with a solemn expression, as if looking at a comrade-in-arms fighting side by side.
She stepped forward, wanting to pat Lin Feng's shoulder, but hindered by the height difference and the opponent's high and cold aura, the hand extended halfway and was taken back again.
"Since everyone is a person on the same path, then forget it this time." Xu Zhixia cleared her throat, trying hard to maintain the majesty of a senior, "Junior Brother Lin, on this road of 'disguising as a genius', you still have a long way to go. That sound just now was indeed too ugly to listen to, it's easy to reveal the stuffing, next time pay attention to soundproofing."
After speaking, she tossed her hair chicly, turned around and walked toward the doorway.
"That..." Lin Feng just wanted to open his mouth.
"No need to see me out!" Xu Zhixia waved her hand with her back facing him, her figure appearing especially determined and handsome, "In this cruel music circle, only people like us understand each other's pain. Jiayou, Junior Brother Lin!"
Bang.
The door closed.
Lin Feng: "..."
He lowered his head, his gaze falling on the corner of the wall.
There, a Stratocaster covered in personality stickers and worth a significant amount, was leaning against the wall all alone.
That is a brain pit, right? Absolutely is a brain pit, right?
Just now she was still posturing and lecturing people, but in the end, she turned her head and forgot the guy she eats with?
Just at this moment, a system prompt jumped out before Lin Feng's eyes:
[System Prompt: Due to discovering that each other possesses shared "Core Values of Posturing", target character [Xu Zhixia]'s favorability rating has been updated.]
[Favorability: 3 -> 17 (Revolutionary friendship like fellow disciples)]
Lin Feng looked at that guitar, then looked at the system panel, and the corner of his mouth finally could not help but twitch a bit.
"If I really recruit her into my band in the future... will it really not lower the whole team's average IQ?"