The next morning, there was a class as usual.
After the morning session, Lin Yuan headed straight to the piano room.
Having realized his shortcomings the day before, he was eager to improve his piano skills.
Arriving at the piano room, Lin Yuan was surprised to find it crowded today.
This was unexpected.
It was the first time Lin Yuan encountered such a situation; he had visited several times before without encountering such a crowd.
Unbelievable.
He considered waiting for a vacant room, but decided to leave instead, unsure of how long the wait might be.
But as he turned to leave, a voice from beside him caught his attention.
"Would you like to use the piano?"
Turning, Lin Yuan saw Gu Xi, the same girl who had apologized to him yesterday. A thought crossed his mind:
No wonder.
Normally, the piano room wouldn't be so crowded.
However, considering that every time Lin Yuan encountered Gu Xi, something unfortunate happened, it seemed almost like a pattern!
So, it was likely that the piano room was crowded because they had encountered each other.
"No, thank you."
Given the trend of bad luck, Lin Yuan preferred to avoid it.
"It's alright, you can use my piano room."
Gu Xi looked at Lin Yuan, her anticipation evident.
This was the plan she had devised late at night.
She aimed to fill the vacant piano room with classmates, creating an opportunity to invite Lin Yuan to practice in her room.
"I have other plans."
Lin Yuan quickened his pace upon hearing her offer.
Gu Xi watched him leave in shock, feeling a pang of regret:
Have I offended him too much?
How can I mend this rift?
"Gu Xi, are you alright?"
The door of one of the piano rooms opened.
A girl in a white down jacket asked with concern, casting a glance at Lin Yuan's departing figure.
"I'm fine."
Gu Xi forced a smile, "Thank you, class monitor. It must have been challenging to organize so many students for the piano room."
"I should thank you."
The monitor replied sternly, "These guys usually slack off on practice. With so many unused piano rooms, it wasn't difficult to organize them once you stepped in. After all, the school's piano rooms are for the music department. I heard you were guiding everyone, so they all agreed to come. It wasn't much effort to organize."
"Well, since we're here, let's fulfill our promise."
Gu Xi said, "Let's start with the first room on the left."
Her initial plan was to have Lin Yuan use her piano room to make up for the regret of driving him away during their first encounter, while she guided other students in different rooms.
However, Lin Yuan had declined her offer outright.
Though her plan had failed, she couldn't let her classmates' efforts go to waste.
Two hours later.
Gu Xi had guided every classmate in the piano rooms, her voice hoarse from teaching.
Being a teacher was truly exhausting.
She called her friend, invited them to the cafeteria, and discussed her feelings over a meal.
"You mentioned a plan yesterday."
When they met up, her friend asked, "Did it work out?"
Gu Xi frowned, "It was a complete failure."
Her friend chuckled. Just as they were about to continue, a boy rushed over, "Gu Xi, are you thirsty? I got some drinks for you and your friend."
He handed two bottles of orange juice to Gu Xi.
"Thank you," Gu Xi smiled gratefully.
The boy hesitated for a moment, blushing as he stammered, "Y-you're welcome," before hurrying off.
"What's going on?"
Her friend, who had known Gu Xi since their first day, looked at her in astonishment, "Don't you despise these boys' flattery the most? I thought you found them tiresome, just like I do."
"Why would I find them tiresome?"
Gu Xi seemed taken aback, "Isn't it normal for classmates to get along and be friendly?"
"Huh?"
Her friend raised an eyebrow, "But didn't you say that leading them on would only give them false hope, and rejecting them outright was the only way to get them to give up their unrealistic fantasies?"
"You don't understand."
Gu Xi replied, "If you don't genuinely like someone, having them fawn over you is irritating. Putting in all that effort to flatter someone, only to be rejected in the end, is very uncomfortable."
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan exited the piano room, feeling his good luck returning. Jian Jian had messaged him, inviting him to dinner!
"Cafeteria No. 2."
Lin Yuan headed to the agreed-upon spot.
Xia Fan arrived shortly after, asking, "Didn't you seem short on cash this month? Why the sudden treat?"
"Hey."
Lin Yuan gave a simple, mysterious smile, "I bought a scratch-off ticket last night with whatever money I had left, and won 800 yuan!"
"No way."
Xia Fan was stunned, "Scratch-offs actually pay out? I always thought they were scams."
Lin Yuan asked, enviously, "Where did you buy it?"
He seemed eager to try his luck.
Xia Fan glanced at him teasingly, "Save your time. Not everyone has such good luck."
"Not necessarily."
Lin Yuan said, reaching out to Xia Fan's jacket.
Xia Fan was startled, "What are you doing?"
Lin Yuan said nothing, patting Xia Fan down, then abruptly stood up, "I need to use the restroom. You guys eat first."
With that, Lin Yuan dashed off.
Jian Jian and Xia Fan exchanged bewildered looks.
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan reached the restroom and addressed the system, "Do I have any more treasure chests? Open them now."
The system acted swiftly, and the final treasure chest was promptly opened: "Congratulations on achieving a professional painting level."
"Painting?"
Lin Yuan's expression froze.
Why painting this time?
There's no novel, not even a song. At least those could be sold. Why a painting skill out of nowhere?
"Painting is an art form."
The system seemed a bit exasperated, "Besides, achieving a professional painting level holds much greater value than writing a novel or composing a song. I hope the host can prioritize accordingly."
"..."
Lin Yuan returned to the cafeteria with a sense of loss. Unlike before he left, he now had a wealth of painting knowledge in his mind, ranging from sketching to gouache.
Jian and Xia Fan looked at him, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Lin Yuan shook his head, started eating, and silently reassured himself:
Although I can't immediately utilize the professional painting level, it's still a valuable skill in the long run. I can't blame the system for its simplicity and lack of foresight. Maybe I have a latent talent for European-style painting.
After all, it's an extra skill.
And skills can be monetized:
How about setting up a stall in a busy area, offering sketching services to students?
While the pay might be modest, small gains add up.
Or perhaps I could apply to teach a painting class. However, with my commitments to the composition department, I might not be able to free up weekends, and composing likely pays better than painting.
Lin Yuan found himself caught in a dilemma.