Chapter 64: The Mysterious Youngster

  It's really true that if you're near vermilion, you'll be stained red, and if you're near ink, you'll be stained black. If Chen Chufan wasn't always with Yang Tao, no matter how much his personality changed, he wouldn't have learned the good skill of attracting hatred from the whole audience just by opening his mouth.

  At this time, the atmosphere in the entire band's training room was brought up by Chen Chufan, but it didn't become passionate, instead it became gloomy and oppressive.

  "Haha, you're quite arrogant, kid?" Huo Yuxing spoke again, his tone less lazy and more serious.

  "I'm arrogant because I have the capital to be. Unlike some people, who dare to be arrogant whether they have the capital or not, how childish is that?" Chen Chufan said bluntly. Since he had already torn off his disguise, Chen Chufan simply went all out.

  "Hey kid, try saying that again!" Finally, someone on stage couldn't take it anymore and grabbed the bass in his hand, ready to jump off the stage for a real fight.

  "Taizi, stop!" "Wang Tao, what are you trying to do?" Two voices were almost simultaneously emitted, one male and one female.

  The male voice was naturally from Huo Yuxing, while the female voice belonged to Liu Yuanyuan who had been standing beside Chen Chufan all along. It's unclear whose words took effect, but in any case, the two loud shouts stopped Wang Tao's movements. However, he had already rushed to a spot only two steps away from Chen Chufan, glaring at him angrily.

  Chen Chufan's expression didn't change, still standing there calmly, without a hint of fear.

  "Alright! Since you've said so much, why don't you show off your skills? It's meaningless to just brag. How about it?" Huo Yuxing also stood up and seriously said to Chen Chufan.

  "Then what?" Chen Chufan said calmly: "If it's still like this, it doesn't seem to make much sense! How about we make a bet? If I can make you guys admit defeat, I won't ask for anything from you, but when I come to work, you'll have to cooperate with me well! On the other hand, if I fail to make you guys admit defeat, I'll leave immediately. Is that okay? Give me a straight answer!"

  "No way, I disagree! Chen Chufan, you're being too childish!" Liu Yuanyuan said on the side. Being favored by Director Liu, Liu Yuanyuan believed that Chen Chufan was talented, but music wasn't like martial arts, where one could immediately distinguish between good and bad. Especially since there were no other people present to make a judgment, it was still uncertain whether the band members would accept the result or not. Even if Chen Chufan performed exceptionally well, they could still stubbornly refuse to admit defeat! How would that be decided? This Chen Chufan was someone Director Liu had personally taken care of and given special treatment to; if he were to leave without a word, it would be hard for her to explain herself to Director Liu.

  Chen Chufan's mind was very clear at this time, and he wouldn't have thought of Liu Yuanyuan's worries. He opened his mouth and said: "Liu sister, you must believe me, and also believe in your band brothers, they won't be so shameless!"

  After finishing, Chen Chufan walked towards the middle table in the band's practice room. As he passed by Wang Tao, who was holding a bass, he gently patted Wang Tao's shoulder with his hand, feeling indescribably relaxed and carefree.

  Chen Chufan walked onto the stage but didn't sit down at the piano immediately. Instead, he walked up to Huo Yuxing.

  "The piano is beside you, can't you see it?" Huo Yuxing said coldly.

  "It's no fun to play only your strong points, why don't you lend me your guitar and let me have some fun!" Chen Chufan said with a teasing tone, ignoring Huo Yuxing's sarcasm.

  It's just a joke, Chen Chufan now wants to do is like in the game. He wants to try it out in this gathering, whether he can inexplicably understand other instruments as if he could play the piano out of nowhere. He still remembers that dream, where he was the king of musical instruments, and there was no instrument he couldn't master. Today, seeing so many instruments, he naturally wanted to give it a try. In fact, when Chen Chufan provoked everyone with his words, he had already planned to do so.

  Huo Yuxing raised his head in surprise and looked at Chen Chufan, he was a bit puzzled by Chen Chufan's meaning. Could it be that he was really a genius? Playing the piano well, and also playing the guitar with good hands?

  "What? Won't lend it to me? Or are you afraid that I'll play the guitar better than you and lose face?" Chen Chufan continued to boast.

  Huo Yuxing didn't respond, but instead made way for him and handed the electric guitar directly to Chen Chufan.

  Chen Chufan held the guitar in his hand, strumming it casually, and the guitar emitted a meaningless sound. Along with this action, Chen Chufan indeed discovered that he had a particularly familiar feeling towards the guitar in his mind. It was as if he had practiced it thousands of times before. However, Chen Chufan didn't have long fingernails, so he couldn't pluck out the sounds he needed.

  "Is there a spare?" Chen Chufan asked.

  Looking at Chen Chufan's chaotic guitar playing, listening to the sound of the guitar, Huo Yuxing immediately noticed Chen Chufan's hands. They were not a pair of hands that played the guitar, his left hand fingers did not have calluses from pressing the strings, and his right hand did not have fingernails for plucking the strings, which at least proved that Chen Chufan had absolutely not practiced playing the guitar recently.

  He hadn't practiced guitar, yet he still wanted to show off his guitar skills in front of him? Was Chen Chufan trying to humiliate himself? This made Huo Yuxing very puzzled. He didn't superficially think that Chen Chufan was a fool because his former master had once told him a sentence: never take others as fools, otherwise the only fool would be yourself!

  But he didn't believe it, a person who rarely practiced guitar could have such high attainments on this instrument, which was unrealistic. He, who mainly played the guitar, of course knew that the only way to play the guitar well was to practice hard. So at this time, his anger, doubt, entanglement, disdain and other emotions were all disturbing him, making him extremely conflicted.

  "Pick up? Isn't it just on the piano rack?" Huo Yuxing said coldly, suppressing his complicated emotions.

  "Ah!" Chen Chufan's eyes glanced at the guitar rack on one side, picked up the pick again, and randomly strummed the guitar once more. This time, the tone of the guitar satisfied Chen Chufan.

  He glanced at the guitar sheet music in front of him, which was indeed "The Great Earth" by Beyond. Although Chen Chufan had never specifically studied guitar sheet music, he had read countless music books that naturally included some introductions to guitar sheet music. His extraordinary memory allowed him to remember all the chord symbols clearly. Plus, now that he understood music theory, reading guitar sheet music was no challenge for him. Moreover, Chen Chufan thought that although playing the guitar was difficult, guitar sheet music was simple and easy to understand - it just indicated which strings to press with his left hand and which strings to pluck with his right hand.

  " 'The Great Land', I actually like it too!" Chen Chufan said calmly after testing the sound.

  Right after that, a magnificent solo suddenly echoed through the entire practice room, with precise pronunciation and perfect rhythm. The performer would occasionally insert some unique guitar techniques at just the right moments, giving people an incredibly wonderful feeling. Especially for Huo Yuxing, many places where Chen Chufan's playing made him feel enlightened, such as just now, a simple ascending arpeggio processing, actually made the transition between the two sections more perfect, and he hadn't thought of it at all, of course, his own guitar score didn't indicate that either.

  They're all about music, so Huo Yuxing is naturally very clear that it's difficult to master various skills to such an extent. Although the guitar playing in this song is relatively simple and can't test Chen Chufan's true level, just based on his string of skillful moves, he has at least proven himself to be absolutely inferior to Chen Chufan in terms of musical understanding. Is he really here to apply for a pianist position? Or is he actually here to steal his own rice bowl? Huo Yuxing even had such thoughts in his heart.

  What made Huo Yuxing feel even more like vomiting blood was Chen Chufan's left-hand fingering. Because he was standing right next to Chen Chufan, he could see every move of his playing clearly. From the start of the performance, Chen Chufan had not played according to the fingering indicated on the guitar sheet music, or rather, he had not used any fingering that Huo Yuxing could understand. It was completely random! Just looking at Chen Chufan's left hand flying quickly over the fretboard, but no matter whether it was a solo or a rhythm, no matter whether it was plucking or strumming, the sound produced by the guitar was extremely accurate. What kind of situation was this? What kind of playing technique was this? Huo Yuxing already felt like he was collapsing!

  This discovery has even subverted Hu Yu Xing's understanding of the guitar. Is this how the guitar should be played? Could it be that his own playing method for over eight years was wrong? But he had practiced according to standard teaching materials!

  After playing the song, Chen Chufan felt extremely good! He once again felt that inexplicable joy and happiness from within his body, just like when he first played the piano in that coffee shop. This feeling made Chen Chufan very intoxicated.

  Chen Chufan stood up and didn't say a word, silently handing the guitar in his hand to Huo Yuxing standing beside him.

  Huoyu Xing's eyes were still dazed, his handsome face looked a bit stupid, and he was obviously still in a trance from Chen Chufan's performance just now.

  Not only was Huo Yuxing still in a daze, but the entire practice room was also in a state of stunned silence. The practice room had been quiet for a long time since Chen Chufan started playing the guitar. Everyone's eyes, either shocked or puzzled, were fixed on Chen Chufan. Although each person's thoughts might be different, the question in their minds was probably the same: Was this young man really a pianist? He should clearly be a professional guitarist!

  Relatively detached, Liu Yuanyuan might be the only one who thinks Chen Chufan's guitar playing is good. Although she doesn't understand music and can't play any instruments, so she can't accurately distinguish how well Chen Chufan plays the guitar. She simply thinks Chen Chufan sounds pretty good. However, as a personnel manager for many years, she has developed a keen sense of observing people's expressions to discern their intentions. Apparently, even before Chen Chufan started playing his forte, the piano, he had almost won over this notoriously unruly band, and Liu Yuanyuan was both delighted and astonished! Could it be that his guitar playing is better than his piano playing?