Not far away, the melodious and long sound of a zither came from the cherry blossom forest. It was playing "Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix."
It was obvious that the player was very skilled. There were many changes in his playing technique, and his understanding of the song was very unique.
Yuan Shu had heard this song many times and had heard many different people play it. Even the most esteemed musician in the palace had specifically come to Yuan Shu's residence to play it for her, because this was her favorite song and she had received the emperor's bestowment. It was obvious how much the royal family valued Yuan Shu.
As for this player, the "Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix" he played was different from all the versions of "Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix" that Yuan Shu had heard. It was more sorrowful, but there was also a hint of magnanimity. The disappointment and helplessness in the zither music were all revealed by this player.
Yuan Shu was very curious about what kind of person could reveal such complicated emotions. This feeling was full of haggardness, as if the person's heart had been shattered, but was carefully pieced together again and was trying to bloom under the sun.
Yuan Shu thought that the person who could play a song so brilliantly was probably an old man with gray hair.
She couldn't help but stand up and search for the source of the zither music, in hopes of seeing the player's appearance from afar.
Seeing Yuan Shu walk in the direction of the zither music, Shi Lu followed her to protect her.
Although Shi Yi and Shi Bin, who were fooling around at the side, couldn't understand the zither music, they stopped. After the two of them looked at each other, they walked towards the player out of curiosity.
They walked deep into the cherry blossom forest. A young man sat under a lush cherry blossom tree.
Wearing a beige collared shirt and light gray loose pants, he sat there quietly.
There was a zither about 1.6 meters long placed on his lap. The melodious sound of the zither overflowed from his fingertips and echoed with every tremble of the zither string.
His short brownish-black hair reflected a dazzling golden color under the light. The sunlight cast shadows on his fair face through his bangs, covering his closed eyes and intertwining with his long eyelashes. His skin was so fair that it was almost transparent. He had a fragile sort of beauty.
Afraid of disturbing him, Yuan Shu stopped in the distance. She stared at him and his slender fingers that held the zither.
Shi Yi and the others also stopped beside Yuan Shu.
When the song ended, the man's slender hand spread out and landed on the strings gently, covering the last trembling note, but the song still seemed to echo in the forest.
After Yuan Shu closed her eyes, she felt as if there were two phoenixes lingering above the forest, unwilling to leave.
After a while, Yuan Shu finally heaved a sigh of relief and slowly opened her eyes. Coincidentally, she opened her eyes at the same time as that person. When their gazes met, a gust of wind blew past and flower petals fell from the sky. Two pairs of equally calm eyes revealed mirth. There were thousands of emotions mixed in their gazes. Then, they smiled at each other.
Yuan Shu didn't stay any longer. She got up and went back to her seat.
Yuan Shu knelt on the picnic mat and took a sip of coffee as she recalled the previous melody.
Shi Lu stayed by her side, but didn't speak. He could tell that Yuan Shu resonated with this song, so he didn't want to disturb her.
It wasn't until Shi Yi and Shi Bin returned that the forest became lively again.
Shi Yi went to Yuan Shu's side and said excitedly, "That person played the zither so well. I used to go to the concert hall to listen to esteemed musicians play. To be honest, I don't think those musicians are as good as that person!"
Shi Bin retorted, "You're praising him because he was good-looking. How can you understand zither?!"
Shi Yi slapped the back of Shi Bin's head. "What nonsense are you talking about?! Although that person is very good-looking, didn't you notice the zither he played with? Zithers are usually about 1.2 meters long, but his was 1.62 meters long and didn't have zither bones! Isn't that professional enough?"
"Oh…" Shi Bin covered his head and replied with an aggrieved expression.
As Yuan Shu listened to them quietly, she felt that hearing such a song today was indeed a pleasant surprise.