The rich madams that had been playing mahjong with Mrs. Song surrounded the instrument and commented.
Although Mrs. Song had no knowledge about zither, both of her daughters had taken piano and violin lessons.
She looked at the delicate handiwork of the Chinese harp and became fond of it in an instant.
Her fingers stroke the strings of the instrument, and suddenly ‘turned’ into a knowledgeable person: “It’s a zither, a very expensive one.”
“I heard your eldest daughter knows how to play zither, why don’t we trouble her to play a song for us.” Someone casually suggested.
Mrs. Song looked up, unnoticed by others, her eyes furtively swept a glance across Gu Yanhao and Old Grandfather Gu’s faces.
“Jiuyue, I remember Old Grandfather Gu likes to hear ancient string instruments, moreover, there are so many friends and relatives here today, why don’t you play a song for us, think of it as a birthday present for your Dad.”
The truth was, the moment Song Jiuyue caught sight of the ‘zither’, her hands were already itching to play.
Other than designing, she also loves music.
Piano, violin, and zither, she knew how to play these music instruments well.
When she had time, she would tinker with them to look for inspiration in designing.
Listening to Mrs. Song’s words, she became a bit shy as she looked around at the people present, “I only know a little about zither.”
“Dajie, you are too humble, I know best whether you’re skilled in zither or not.” When Song Jiumei spoke, she praised Song Jiuyue high up to the sky, putting her on a pedestal.
Displaying a shy smile on her face, Song Jiuyue’s eyes sneakily darted towards Song Wuyou and Gu Yanhao sitting on the sofa.
Both of them were looking in her direction.
Song Jiuyue was thinking in her heart that she must show her most perfect side to Gu Yanhao and Old Grandfather Gu.
She must open their eyes and show them that she was much better than Song Wuyou!
She also must make them realized, other than possessing a beautiful face and a somewhat good body, Song Wuyou was nothing!
She absolutely had to let Song Wuyou felt even more inferior and useless compared to her!
And she would make Song Wuyou understand perfectly that she does not qualify to stand beside Gu Yanhao!
Mrs. Song came over and pulled Song Jiuyue’s hand, laughing as she said, “It has been a long time since Mama heard you play, this zither was sent by your Uncle Yang.’
“Although he said it is your Dad’s birthday present, but in my opinion, it is for you, so don’t let your Uncle Yang down, today you must let us hear a beautiful performance.”
The word ‘performance’ represented a prism of meanings.
“Then, I hope everyone will be generous in their views.” Song Jiuyue sat before the ‘zither’ with dignified grace.
Her back was straightened up which made her appear taller, a sweet and charming smile on her face caused a commotion amongst Song Nan’s old friends, considering to have their sons to ask her hand in marriage.
Even elder couples that did not have daughter wanted to adopt her as their daughter.
Song Jiuyue raised her arms, slender fingers lightly plucked at the strings.
Instantly, her expression stiffened.
‘The sound of this ‘zither’….. doesn’t seem right.’
Still, she maintained her ‘smile’ and tried to pluck at it once again.
‘Weird, what is wrong?’
Carefully inspecting the strings and the ‘zither’ only then did she realize they were different from the zither she was familiar with.
The strings on a zither had different thickness and slenderness, length, and even a different number of zither roots[1].
She gently stroke the strings another time only to find though the layout of the strings was similar to a zither’s, but the sounds it emitted were entirely different.
After a closer observation, it dawned on Song Jiuyue that it was actually not a zither.
She looked up and gauged everyone’s expression, she was about to say that this was not a zither when her eyes caught sight of the bright anticipation in Old Grandfather Gu’s eyes.
She faltered; was she going to disappoint him at a time like this?
Smoothly, she shifted her gaze towards Gu Yanhao. The man was leaning comfortably into the sofa, there seemed to be a faint smile hanging on his mouth as he looked her way.
As if he too was looking forward to enjoying her beautiful performance.
She gave the surrounding people another glance, all eyes were focused on her.
If she said that she did not know how to play this kind of string instrument, would they be disappointed? Perhaps, they would even laugh at her?