"Would you like to start the lucky draw, Host?"
"Starting the lucky draw..."
"Prize One: Suzuki Jiro’s musical talent."
"Prize Two: Joe Hisaishi’s musical talent."
"Prize Three: Fang Jinlong’s musical talent."
Without any hesitation, Zhang Jingdong chose: "I’ll take Prize Three."
"Prize redemption complete. Host, you have 4 more chances to draw. Would you like to continue?"
Zhang Jingdong walked around the screen and gave Yuan Mei a deep look, then said to her, "Sister Mei, why don’t you take a break, and let me perform for you guys?"
Yuan Mei, impressed by his profound calligraphy skills just now and by his confident and calm gaze, suddenly felt a surge of expectation, "Sure."
She stood up and gave up her seat to him.
Zhang Jingdong took a seat, stroked the strings of the instrument, and also subtly sniffed the faint fragrance lingering around Yuan Mei.
Yuan Mei noticed his actions of playing the instrument and smelling the fragrance, and subconsciously glanced at the screen, then for some reason, her face blushed slightly.
Zhang Jingdong then complimented, "Sister Mei, this instrument is really nice, not only is the wood excellent, but it also has a lingering resonance."
"Of course, the most crucial is your skillfulness, as swift and refreshing as drawing a sword."
For some reason, although Zhang Jingdong was praising her, Yuan Mei couldn’t shake off the feeling that this guy was flirting with her!
She quietly glared at him in her mind: "Thank you, I believe Mr. Zhang’s performance will definitely surprise us!"
Zhang Jingdong noticed the slight shyness in her eyes, then chuckled lightly: "Of course, please enjoy!"
Yuan Mei, still not quite used to his confident way of speaking, was slightly taken aback, then left feeling a mix of embarrassed and annoyed.
As Yuan Mei was about to cross the screen to the other side, he called out, "Mr. Yan, everyone come over here, not only is my music pleasing to the ears, but the techniques I use during playing are also very much worth appreciating!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Ning and the others immediately got up and came over.
Yan Ning teasingly said, "Boss Zhang, this is something you asked for yourself. If you end up embarrassing yourself later, don’t blame us for not being able to control our expressions."
Zhang Jingdong laughed heartily, "Don’t worry, I, Zhang Jingdong, have always relied on real skills in my adventures. If I play well, feel free to applaud and cheer, if I play poorly, feel free to hoot as much as you like, I can take it!"
Yan Ning admired his easygoing spirit and said, "That’s just like Boss Zhang, really up for anything. Well then, go ahead!"
At that, Zhang Jingdong picked up a nearby pipa and said, "It’s rare to get such an opportunity, allow me to showcase what I’ve got, let’s start with a pipa piece, how about ’Ambushed from Ten Sides’?"
Excited by him voluntarily raising the stakes, Yan Ning immediately agreed, "Sure!"
Zhang Jingdong prepared briefly and then started his performance.
As a maestro of traditional Chinese music, Fang Jinlong was proficient in various Huaxia classical instruments, especially the pipa.
So, just as Zhang Jingdong began playing a brief segment, the three beauties on the opposite side were once again completely astounded by him!
Especially Yuan Mei, just like how Zhang Jingdong could deeply appreciate the depth of her skills earlier, she, knowledgeable about various traditional instruments, immediately recognized Zhang Jingdong’s extraordinary abilities.
And compared to her surprise towards Zhang Jingdong, she was utterly astounded by him; she even wanted to take him as her master!
In her view, among all instruments, the erhu and pipa were the hardest to master due to having fewer strings.
For comparison, the guzheng has more strings, featuring twenty-one, making the pitch of each string relatively easier to control.
Thus, to fully express the essence of a piece, under the same conditions, the pipa demands more from the performer.
Although Yuan Mei had spent more time practicing the pipa over the years, her skills had never surpassed those in guzheng; firstly, because the former was harder to learn, and secondly, because true masters of the pipa were very rare these days, and she had not found a suitable teacher.
Now, encountering Zhang Jingdong, a truly masterful expert, she secretly decided that she must seize the opportunity to learn from him no matter what.
Meanwhile, Yan Ning was once again deeply shocked by this guy’s formidable abilities; she discovered he was like a treasure trove, or no, more like someone who could cast spells.
Every time such a situation arose, not only did he never disappoint, but he would also bring tremendous surprises.
She had never seen a man as versatile and spectacular as him.
While they say that quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes—for instance, argue too much and one day you might suddenly get divorced, similarly, when enough surprises accumulate, one day she might find herself completely in love with him.
"Congratulations Host, you have successfully gained 20 points of goodwill from the target person, and you are rewarded with one million yuan!"
He Jieyu was also completely shocked by Zhang Jingdong!
Unlike Yuan Mei and Yan Ning, she was initially amazed by his wealth, knowing he had billions and had bought a multi-million Bugatti Veyron.
Now, discovering not only his profound skills in calligraphy but also his mastery in musical instruments, and additionally, his handsome appearance, she suddenly realized he was a rare gem of a man, equally matched in looks, wealth, and talent!