Life Exchange Game

After the familiar darkness, Xia Yu found himself facing the black piano once more. The young girl had timed his arrival perfectly, sitting there waiting for him.

“You’re back!” An Siyao greeted him.

“Yeah,” Xia Yu replied casually, lifting the piano lid and starting to practice the Guda Etude.

This piece was quite challenging for beginners, yet it was considered a solid entry-level piece that comprehensively trained various techniques. According to An Siyao, many pianists referred to it as the “entry teacher.”

Smoothly playing through the first part, Xia Yu’s fingers faltered at the second part, pressing a key too early, causing the piece to fall apart with a cascade of wrong notes.

He paused, calmed himself, and resumed practicing. Playing mechanically only meant memorizing key positions, but a piano piece required more than just replicating key sequences; mastering rhythm was essential, if not the main focus.

After more than seven hours, Xia Yu could finally complete the second part. The remaining third part was entirely different from the first two, with an increased difficulty level.

However, despite being more challenging, Xia Yu estimated that he could master the third part in two days. Another day to familiarize himself with the entire piece, and in three more days, he would have the Guda Etude under his belt.

With the foundation of the Guda Etude, learning other pieces would be much faster, and becoming a pianist who could earn money was within reach.

Checking the time, with ten minutes left until 2 a.m., Xia Yu chatted with An Siyao.

“Do you really like playing the piano?” An Siyao asked.

“Not really,” Xia Yu answered honestly.

“Then why use my body to practice?” An Siyao wondered, quickly adding, “Oh, I’m not saying it’s bad to use my body for practice.”

Xia Yu pondered how to answer her question. Should he say he was learning piano just to make money as a pianist at a corner café?

After a moment of silence, Xia Yu replied in a low voice, “I’m just enjoying the feeling of my fingers moving freely.”

He spread his hands, gazing at his ten fingers in a trance.

In An Siyao’s mind, she imagined two bare palms without fingers, and a pang of sadness rose in her heart.

Was he a disabled person without fingers?

“I’m sorry,” the young girl said.

“You actually believed that?” Xia Yu laughed.

“???”

He tricked me again!

An Siyao pouted, ignoring Xia Yu.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just that you’re so interesting,” Xia Yu tried to appease her, knowing he still needed her guidance for his piano practice.

“I’m not here to be your source of amusement!” An Siyao protested.

“I’ll be more careful in the future,” Xia Yu promised.

“So why are you really playing the piano?” the young girl pressed on.

“Not telling,” Xia Yu said, closing the piano lid and leaving the piano room.

He headed to the bedroom and lay on the bed. With five minutes left before he had to leave, he didn’t want An Siyao to take over her body abruptly and risk getting hurt.

“By the way, you mentioned the head maid would be back soon. When exactly?” Xia Yu asked.

From the young girl’s words, Xia Yu had learned that the head maid was the biggest boss in this villa. Knowing when the boss battle would start was crucial.

“Aunt Dong should be back the day after tomorrow,” An Siyao replied.

“Is she hard to deal with?” Xia Yu inquired.

“Probably a bit,” An Siyao admitted, having never tested the head maid’s toughness, so she couldn’t give a definite answer.

“Tell me more about your family situation,” Xia Yu suggested, glancing at the clock. There were still five minutes left, enough time to listen.

An Siyao paused for ten seconds, organizing her thoughts before explaining.

From the young girl’s account, Xia Yu pieced together her situation. After her mother’s passing, her father became engrossed in work, leaving her alone in the villa. From the age of five until now, she had been cared for by Aunt Dong, the head maid.

The head maid was very strict, with detailed rules for everything, and the other maids were afraid of her.

After asking about some minor details, the eight-hour game session ended, and Xia Yu returned to his own body.

Sitting up in bed, Xia Yu pondered the situation. An Siyao aside, the maids didn’t seem like pushovers, and the head maid’s ability to keep them in line suggested she had some skill.

Moreover, from An Siyao’s words, it seemed the head maid had the backing of her father.

After some thought, Xia Yu devised a plan.

He glanced at the black cat under the desk, which was curled up asleep in its nest.

Tomorrow, he wouldn’t go to An Siyao’s place. Instead, he’d visit the black cat to learn intimidation.

Getting out of bed, he turned on the desk lamp, read for a while, played some games, and reviewed his coursework briefly.

At Zilang No.3 High School, a regular public school, the curriculum was far less challenging than that of a private school. With his previous life’s foundation, attending classes and cramming before exams was enough to rank in the top five of the class.

At seven o’clock, he left home, wandered around the market and pedestrian street, and successfully found a vendor selling hamsters.

To learn the black cat’s intimidation, practice was necessary, and practice required a target. Xia Yu couldn’t use Youxue for this, so the most convenient option was to buy a hamster.

For five yuan, Xia Yu acquired a gray hamster, complete with a cage.

Carrying the cage, he returned home.

“It’s a hamster!” Youxue exclaimed, looking at the gray hamster with interest.

Hamsters were fluffy and small, appealing not just to girls but also to some boys.

During his university days, Xia Yu’s roommate had a hamster. Due to a poorly designed cage and lax supervision, the hamster successfully escaped one night. It wasn’t until three days later that the roommate found the hamster, barely alive, in a rarely used cup.

The hamster was eventually buried in another roommate’s succulent pot.

To prevent Youxue from getting attached to the experimental subject, Xia Yu explained, “It’s for the black cat to play with.”

“A fake hamster?” Youxue asked, puzzled.

“A real one,” Xia Yu replied.

Using a hamster as a toy for a cat? The girl was confused but said nothing.

At this age, boys could be a bit strange, which was said to be normal.

Like how Xia Yu would shut himself in his room every evening after coming home.

As a good sister, Youxue didn’t pry into her brother’s privacy.

After breakfast, Xia Yu went to school. When he returned in the evening, he eagerly closed the door and entered the black cat’s body.

The black cat, perched on the windowsill, stood up.

Carefully controlling the black cat, Xia Yu jumped from the balcony to the desk, then to the chair, and finally landed on the floor.

Reaching the hamster’s cage, Xia Yu gathered himself and let out a meow.

His fur didn’t bristle, and the hamster merely glanced at the creature before lowering its head again.

Adjusting his mindset, Xia Yu tried several more times. Finally, when he recalled his dwindling savings of three thousand yuan, he successfully bristled his fur.

Bang-

The hamster was startled, crashing into the cage.

Smoothing his fur, Xia Yu activated the bristling ability once more.

The bedroom’s soundproofing wasn’t great, and Youxue, tidying up the dishes in the living room, glanced worriedly at the bedroom from which the constant meowing emanated.