Lan Jin wasn't interested in following Weibo at the moment, as she was pondering how to earn money to avoid Lan Yichen, that brat, from complaining again that she, as his older sister, didn't give him spending money and he could only run to Lan Jiaojiao for it.
After some online research, she heard that Mr. Zhang Mai, the most famous pianist in our country, was a world-renowned maestro of the music hall of fame.
Regrettably, he did not have a single original piano composition of his own, about which he felt quite disappointed.
Fortunately, Lan Jin had a few of her own original compositions, known as the Apocalypse Trilogy, and she thought perhaps she could collaborate with Zhang Mai.
On the one hand, she could earn money to support the family, and on the other, she could ensure her compositions would continue to be passed down in this world and not be buried.
It was a win-win situation.
But she had never anticipated that not only would he refuse to buy her compositions, he also ridiculed them as trash.
Even if offered free of charge, he would not care for them one bit.
Just that evening, after much effort, Lan Jin finally managed to meet the legendary pianist.
Unexpectedly, Lan Jiaojiao was also there.
The reason Lan Jiaojiao was there was supposedly because she had created a new composition and wanted to seek Zhang Mai's guidance.
Since Zhang Mai intended to take her as a disciple, she needed to build a good relationship with him.
Zhang Mai, in his thirties but not yet forty, was still very young, with a handsome and gentle appearance, scholarly and refined.
He wore his hair slicked back, dressed in a sharp suit with a bowtie, as if he had just come from a concert.
When he returned to the hotel to rest, he happened to meet Lan Jiaojiao and was also stopped by a long-waiting Lan Jin.
"Sister, what are you doing here?"
Lan Jiaojiao looked at Lan Jin in surprise as she appeared out of nowhere, raising her eyebrows.
But Lan Jin didn't give her a second glance, as if that would be too much trouble, and turned her gaze to Zhang Mai, stating her purpose with neither servility nor overbearingness.
When Zhang Mai heard that she was the Lan Family's simple-minded fool with the reputation of being a crazy fan, who apart from courting disaster only liked to seduce people, and was also an ugly freak...
But now it seemed the rumors might be mistaken, she was not bad-looking after all.
Unfortunately, apart from that seductive face, she was utterly useless!
Zhang Mai's impatience became evident almost immediately, his disgust barely concealed.
Had it not been for seeing the sheet music in Lan Jin's hands and hearing the purpose of her visit, he might have had his bodyguards throw her out long ago.
"Is this really your own composition?"
Zhang Mai took the sheet music from Lan Jin's hands; it was only the first half of the Apocalypse Series 1.
For safety, Lan Jin kept the latter half in her pocket for the time being.
However, after only a glance or two, Zhang Mai furrowed his brow even more, "I'm afraid this composition might…"
"You could try playing it first before rushing to a conclusion," Lan Jin suggested calmly, noting his frown, her cool gaze flickering slightly.
She wasn't the least bit worried that her composition wouldn't sell.
On the contrary, she had a premonition that this piece would be a huge hit!
"Uncle Zhang, why don't you give it a try? This should be the first time my sister composed music, I'd like to hear it too," Lan Jiaojiao interjected upon hearing that Lan Jin had created a piano piece, feeling surprised yet finding it utterly laughable.
This waste probably had even forgotten how to play the piano, and yet she still fancied emulating her in creativity, not fearing being the butt of jokes.
Now, seeing Zhang Mai's look of disgust, she presumed the composition must be atrocious.
However, she didn't mind persuading Zhang Mai to play it. It would be all the more direct a way to slap Lan Jin in the face, likely to be quite a spectacle.
"I'll play it just for Jiaojiao's sake," Zhang Mai said, clearly very reluctant. After all, he could tell if a composition was good just by looking; he didn't need to play it.
This piece was clearly not to his taste, but he didn't mind doing a favor for Lan Jiaojiao.
Upon arriving at the hotel's specially arranged music room, a black grand piano stood at the most conspicuous central position, its black and white keys gleaming enchantingly under the warm lights.
Zhang Mai walked straight to the piano and sat down slowly, placing Lan Jin's sheet music before his eyes.
His slender fingers on the keys, melodious notes began to flow gently from his fingertips...
Apparently finding the piece too mundane, Zhang Mai felt it was lackluster to play, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper, his impatience growing more apparent.
He barely played the introduction when he simply stopped altogether, unwilling to waste any more time.
His opinion remained unchanged; in fact, his words became sharper, and somewhat hurtful.
"Forgive my bluntness, but there's nothing special about this piece. The introduction is too plain and lacks any highlights. To me, it holds no value," he said.
Pausing, he added, "Such a composition could easily be whipped up by anyone knowledgeable in music. I don't know where you got the courage to approach me with this, but I am not a collector of trash."