Under the pressing gaze of that cold look sufficient to kill, the masked girl opened her mouth almost subconsciously, her voice trembling yet accurately landing on the beat.
"I muddled through a year, this year seems unchanged..."
The moment the singing voice left her mouth, the girl herself froze for a moment.
In the past, when playing and singing by herself, her brain always had to be split in half to use; one half managing the throat, one half managing the fingers. The result was often attending to one thing and losing sight of another, the rhythm suddenly fast then suddenly slow, just like driving an off-road vehicle on a muddy dirt road, bumpy enough to make one want to vomit.
But now, the situation had completely changed.
Lin Feng's guitar sound was just like a high-speed railway track laid perfectly flawless.
That rhythm as stable as a rock, that clear and definite accent prompt, was just like an invisible big hand, steadily holding up her voice. She did not need to bother thinking about when to enter the beat or when to take a breath, because Lin Feng's guitar had already paved the road completely.
She only needed to close her eyes, place her voice upon it, and then just slide forward following the inertia.
This feeling... was too silky smooth!
The girl exclaimed in her heart. Although she considered her singing skills not bad, she was after all not an all-around "Tank 300" off-road vehicle, with no way to gallop willfully on the wasteland of rhythm. She was just a train that needed tracks, and this man beside her who looked like a robber was actually a top-level "track-laying expert"!
With the fading of her fear, her originally tight shoulders slowly relaxed, her singing voice also gradually unfolded, and that unique magnetic voice was finally thoroughly released.
"Guarding the world after you left, empty and void..."
At the same time, Lin Feng was carrying out a "technical self-criticism" only he himself knew about.
His fingers danced on the fretboard; possessing the [Guitar Dao (Mortal Stage)], at this moment he was simultaneously processing two melody lines. The thumb was responsible for the bass strings' Walking Bass, while the index, middle, and ring fingers were responsible for the filling of chords and melody.
This kind of "one guitar producing the effect of two" operation was already a god-level skill in the eyes of ordinary people, but in Lin Feng's view, it was not perfect enough.
Tsk, it would be good if I could add some body percussion techniques here.
Lin Feng, while playing, attempted to use the heel of his palm to strike the soundbox, creating a percussion effect similar to drum beats.
But he just tried it for a second, then immediately gave up.
No go.
Although his sense of rhythm had become invincible because of the [Ancient Rhythm Sacred Constitution], "body percussion" belonged to the advanced techniques of guitar performance, and could even be said to be in the category of percussion.
As a cheat-user who relied on the system to eat, Lin Feng sorrowfully discovered that as long as the system didn't light up [Percussion Dao] for him or his [Guitar Dao] didn't break through to the [Foundation Establishment Stage], he really could not display this kind of high-level flashy operation involving the resonance of the instrument body.
Forcing the percussion would only sound like patting a watermelon, destroying the existing aesthetic sense instead.
Forget it, biting off more than one can chew. It seems that wanting to become that kind of fingerstyle master who knocks here and there, I still have to continue livering tasks.
Lin Feng imperceptibly shook his head, seeming very dissatisfied with his own performance.
However, this scene falling into the eyes of the onlookers completely changed flavor.
At this time, the girl just happened to sing to that most brainwashing chorus:
"I muddled through a year~"
"Wandering on the side of the stone-paved street~"
"Once the smile was brilliant but nowadays, empty and void~"
That handsome guy who looked incomparably cold, while playing dazzling fingerings, lightly shook his head right when the girl sang to the emotional part.
What was the meaning of that head shake?
An onlooker girl cupped her face, her eyes full of stars: "Heavens, he shook his head! It's definitely because this song made him think of some sad past event! Look at his eyes, how deep, how helpless, this is the highest realm of being 'empty and void'!"
Beside her, the big brother who originally wanted to call the police also put away his phone, sighing as he said: "How is this robbery? This is clearly an expert hidden among the people! Look at this guitar playing, it sounds ten thousand times better than what that girl played herself! The coordination between these two is simply heavenly clothes without seams; could it be they deliberately acted out this 'guitar snatching' scene to do performance art?"
Even the masked girl who was singing, glimpsing Lin Feng's "disappointed" head-shaking motion with her peripheral vision, felt her heart give a thump.
Did I sing wrong somewhere? Or does he feel this song is too vulgar?
Stimulated by this thought, in order to prove herself, she sang even more strenuously, directly pushing up the high pitch part, actually performing even better than usual!
"All the past I dare not write with force~"
"Afraid the brush stroke is too heavy, stained with parting~"
People on the square gathered more and more; the passersby who were originally just watching the excitement were all attracted by this high-quality live performance at this moment, raising their phones one after another to start recording.
And in the center of this bustle, Lin Feng remained expressionless, his inner heart calculating without any waves:
This guitar string is a bit rusted, the sustain isn't long enough. Negative review.
...
As the last lingering note slowly dissipated in the air, Lin Feng cleanly and swiftly used his palm to cut off the vibration of the strings, drawing a perfect full stop for this impromptu "Empty".
The square instantly erupted with a burst of enthusiastic applause.
"It sounded so good!"
"Play another one!"
"That coordination just now was superb!"
There were even quite a few passersby who had listened until they were high, directly taking out mobile phones to scan the code on the guitar case placed on the ground, or throwing in a few notes of small change.
The masked girl looked at the red and green banknotes that suddenly appeared in the guitar case, and her whole person was dazed. Heaven and Earth has a conscience, she really just wanted to find a corner with no people to practice courage and breathing, and basically never thought about selling art to make money!
But... since she is already here, this sky-splashing wealth, if one doesn't take it, it is in vain.
On the other side, Lin Feng let out a long sigh of relief. That kind of refreshing feeling as if OCD had been cured made his whole body feel transparent.
Rhythm fixed. World peace restored.
Once again successfully enforcing justice on behalf of Heaven, maintaining the order of the music world. Lin Feng contentedly took off that expensive Taylor guitar and handed it back to its owner.
"Return to you."
Just as he turned around preparing to leave while deeply hiding his merit and fame, a weak voice suddenly came from behind:
"That... Great God, please stay your steps!"
Lin Feng stopped his steps and looked back.
He only saw that masked girl holding the guitar with one hand, while the other hand flusteredly fished out a mobile phone from her pocket; the screen was lit up with WeChat's QR code interface.
"Can you... scan a code?"
Lin Feng froze for a moment.
Scan code? Add WeChat?
Could it be... she recognized me?
Lin Feng's brain operated at flying speed. Was it because the performance at the Livehouse last time was too explosive? Or was it because of that appearance at the club mixer?
In this instant, a stream of indescribable sorrow and excitement actually surged in Lin Feng's heart.
Recalling that club social mixer last time, that was the eternal pain in Lin Feng's heart.
As the band's lead singer and guitarist, Ren Yichen's handsome face, even if he did nothing and just sat there drinking water, would be surrounded by a group of senior and junior sisters until not a drop of water could leak through.
Although this guy, in order to maintain "family harmony" (mainly afraid of the second sister-in-law Shen Linyin exploding), righteously refused all peach blossoms, this did not hinder him from enjoying a bit of popularity and worship.
As for bassist Lu Mingxuan, the moment this fellow stepped out of that rehearsal room which he had certified as having bad Feng Shui, he immediately lifted the seal of being "half-dead," and switched on the spot into "Sunny Cheerful Big Boy" mode.
That day, relying on his brilliant smile that was like bathing in a spring breeze and his super high EQ, he mixed within the circle of senior and junior sisters with the force of rising wind and surging water; it was truly a case of meeting the source left and right, and his popularity level even pressed straight toward Ren Yichen.
As for Shen Linyin, that was even more of an existence situated at the very top of the food chain. As the publicly recognized School Flower iceberg drummer, her heat on the campus forums even once rolled over and crushed Ren Yichen, who was her boyfriend. She only needed to sit there quietly, and the surroundings seemed to automatically form a vacuum gravitational field.
Although the whole school knew she was Ren Yichen's family member, and Ren Yichen was guarding by her side at all times like a vicious dog guarding its food, hating that he couldn't paste a label saying "Married, Do Not Disturb" on his forehead to declare sovereignty, it still could not block the scorching gazes cast from all directions.
If it were not for this seal of "the famous flower has an owner", the boys queuing up to ask for WeChat that night could have lined up from the plaza entrance all the way to the Number 2 Canteen, squeezing Ren Yichen into the city moat.
Only Lin Feng.
Only him.
Because he perennially wore a high and cold facial paralysis face that said "Strangers do not come near, owe me five million", he sat all alone in the corner drinking cola the whole night; within a radius of two meters not a blade of grass grew, even a mosquito dared not approach.
That night, Lin Feng was cold as ice and frost on the surface, but in reality his inner heart was bleeding: I am also a member of the band! I also have a heart that wants to be worshipped by junior sisters, wants to talk about a vigorous love at this age, and conveniently cheat... ah no, guide the rock and roll hearts of ignorant junior sisters!
And now!
At this very moment!
Finally someone took the initiative to come ask for WeChat! Moreover, it is a rich woman (crossed out) girl who possesses a Taylor guitar and whose voice sounds very good!
Is this the legendary fan welfare? Is my spring finally coming?
Inside Lin Feng's heart, that little person named "Hot-blooded Rock Youth" was currently rolling around crazily and scattering flowers. In order to express his friendliness, and also to display the affinity of being an "Idol", Lin Feng decided——
To smile a bit.
He tried hard to mobilize his stiff facial muscles, attempting to outline an arc at the corner of his mouth that was probably the "evil, charming, and wild" type of a domineering CEO or the "confident and charming" type of a rock star.
He took out his mobile phone, the corners of his mouth rising.
Heh, want my contact information? Take it.
However.
In the masked girl's perspective, the picture was like this:
That terrible man who just forcefully snatched her guitar and killed her countless times with his eyes, after hearing her request to add WeChat, first stared at her silently for three seconds (actually recalling past events).
Immediately after, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, one eyebrow raised, revealing a hair-raising expression.
That was "three parts sneer, three parts coolness, four parts carelessness".
That expression was clearly saying: Just based on you, you want to add me? A guitarist of this level is also worthy of wasting my data traffic? Tsk, truly troublesome.
"S-sorry! If it's inconvenient then forget it! Ah no, I will be very quick!"
The girl was scared by that sneer "full of contemptuous flavor" until her hand shook, almost throwing the phone out. She thought she delayed the Great God's time and provoked the opponent's impatience, and hurriedly shoved the QR code almost right up against Lin Feng's mobile phone camera.
"Beep."
Scan successful.
Before Lin Feng had time to pass the friend verification, the girl was just like a frightened rabbit, holding the guitar and bowing repeatedly: "Thank you Great God for the guidance! Goodbye Great God! Won't disturb Great God anymore!"
After speaking, she grabbed the guitar case on the ground, not even having time to tidy up the small change inside, turned around and ran into the crowd, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Lin Feng: "..."
He held the mobile phone, looking at the interface on the screen saying "The other party requests to add you as a friend", and touched the corner of his mouth that he had just tried hard to raise.
That just now... could it be it wasn't a smile filled with charm?
Why did she run faster than if she had seen a ghost?