116 Buying a Guitar

As always, I am making my three requests: please vote, please recommend, and please add to your library! Please, please, please add to your library!

Old Yu followed the sound and looked over, immediately brightening up.

Yang Tang also looked over and saw a young girl with a complexion as clear as jade and a figure as slender as a lily. She was about 1.7 meters tall, and just standing there gracefully, she infused a sense of light, tranquil comfort into one’s heart.

"Oh, Yin'er is here. Come, come, just in time to introduce you. This is Yang Tang, one year older than you and just finished the college entrance exam this year. He is the person I mentioned whose piano playing is nothing short of miraculous!"

"Him?" Yu Yin’s bright eyes flickered, and she looked at Yang Tang with a hint of disdain. "He’s probably just thinking about picking up girls."

Yang Tang didn't mind the young girl’s attitude at all. He happily said to Old Yu, "Uncle Yu, you’d better hurry and help me pick out a guitar!"

"Alright, alright, you two chat, you two chat." Saying this, without waiting for Yu Yin to say anything else, Old Yu disappeared happily among the musical instruments.

Seeing this, Yu Yin rolled her eyes, walked gracefully over to Yang Tang, and stared straight at him.

Yang Tang didn't understand her intentions and stared blankly back at her beautiful face, as if he were "admiring flowers, the moon, and a beauty." A trace of banter played at the corners of his mouth, giving him a slightly frivolous air.

"Why are you looking at me?" Yu Yin finally couldn't help but snap.

Yang Tang curled his lips and said, "If you weren't looking at me, how would you know I was looking at you?"

"Move aside!"

"Move where?"

"Move from the seat."

"Why should I?"

"Because this is my family's shop, and you are sitting in my usual spot, got it?" Yu Yin said with a sense of entitlement.

Yang Tang then remembered the strange smile on Old Yu’s face when he sat there a few days ago. "Your seat? Oh, please, sit!" Having figured out the cause and effect, he stood up without a hint of embarrassment, muttering, "Don't sit on a hot bench with a cold bottom; be careful you don't get sores!"

As soon as these words were out, Yu Yin, who had just stepped lightly to sit on the wide stool, stiffened. She touched her backside with the back of her hand, stepped away from the seat again, and said, "You, you..." Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked left and right, only to find that this was the only wide stool in the shop. "Quick, find a way to cool this stool down for me!"

Yang Tang sneered, "Look at how red your face is. Before you sit down, why don't you just let out a fart? A little puff of air and it’ll be cool!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Yin’s face turned bright red, and she nearly actually let one out. At the same time, her internal anger reached its limit. Just as she was about to lash out, Yang Tang turned and slipped away into the rows of musical instruments.

"You jerk!!"

Yu Yin’s exclamation was loud and clear, but Yang Tang pretended not to hear it, stubbornly hiding among the instruments and refusing to come out until Old Yu’s voice drifted over.

"Little Yang, come over and take a look at this guitar."

"Coming!"

Hearing this, Yu Yin wanted to follow and argue, but then she thought, this Yang Tang is a smooth talker; the more you argue, the more he’ll likely enjoy it. She decided to let it go for now. She touched the wide stool, which had lost its residual heat, and sat down awkwardly. Pretending not to care, she began to play a melody, which sounded decent at first glance.

Yang Tang heard the music and couldn't help but smile, though he didn't comment. He walked through the instrument aisles to Old Yu’s side, his gaze involuntarily falling on the guitar in the man's hands.

It was a second-hand guitar that looked a bit mottled on the surface. Yang Tang plucked a string and found the tone was quite pure and well-maintained. He couldn't help but remark, "Uncle Yu, this wouldn't happen to be the prop you used to woo your wife, would it?" As soon as he said this, the piano music from Yu Yin’s side came to an abrupt stop.

"What? You think this guitar is no good?" Old Yu asked with a darkened face.

Yang Tang pretended not to notice Old Yu’s expression and curled his lips, saying, "If it's for picking up girls, this is a good guitar. It’s a pity that it’s just a practice instrument; what I want is a solid-wood guitar!"

Old Yu’s face darkened even further, because this guitar was indeed the one he used to woo Yu Yin’s mother back in the day. At that time, he knew next to nothing about instruments and didn't have much money, so he chose a cheap guitar that looked sturdy. He didn't know that low-priced guitars were made of plywood and built to the standards of furniture. No matter how sturdy furniture is, it’s still just furniture, not a musical instrument.

Yang Tang naturally didn't know Old Yu’s dark history; he had accidentally poked a hole through that paper window. Unfortunately, Old Yu couldn't expose his own shame, so he just had to take it. He said with some displeasure, "You’re a guitar novice and you don't have much pocket money—what do you need a solid-wood guitar for? Just take this free one home and practice until you're familiar with it before thinking about anything else!"

Hearing this, Yang Tang realized something, and a sense of gratitude arose. "Uncle Yu, so you’ve always thought I had no money? Well, since you brought out this 'vintage' guitar, I really have to thank you!"

"Thank for what? Just take it and use it. I’m giving this guitar to you," Old Yu said generously.

Yang Tang was in a bind now; he couldn't push it away, and he couldn't accept it either. Just at this moment, Yu Yin’s voice rang out from the side. "No, Dad. If you give this guitar away, how are you going to explain it to Mom when we go to visit her grave next time?"

That was thoughtless, but also quite ruthless. Yang Tang breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help glancing at Yu Yin, who was arching her eyebrows at him. He thought to himself, *Is this girl's brain squeezed by a door? Who uses their ancestors as a shield like that?* Meanwhile, he declined, "Uncle Yu, look, since this guitar carries such baggage, I can't buy it, and accepting it as a gift is even less appropriate."

Yu Yin chimed in, "Hmph, I’m glad you have some self-awareness!"

Old Yu felt a bit dejected upon hearing this, shaking his head slightly. "Forget it, forget it. I’m suddenly a bit tired. Yin'er, you take care of Yang Tang. If he really wants to buy a guitar, the rows on the east side are all for sale." After saying this, he carried the mottled guitar and turned toward the back.

Yang Tang’s mouth opened slightly, wanting to ask Old Yu to stay, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Seeing Yang Tang looking troubled, Yu Yin assumed he was hoping for a discount. Her eyes rolled, and she patted Yang Tang on the shoulder, saying, "Want to buy a guitar? Follow me!"

Yang Tang tilted his head noncommittally and followed Yu Yin as she wound through the shop to the east wall. Half of the wall was hung with electric guitars and basses, while the other half held four or five rows of guitars arranged in a staircase fashion. The bottom row had seven, the next had six, then four, then three. High up sat a pure black wooden guitar; everything else had a price tag, except for that one, which didn't even have a brand name.

"What? You’ve got your eye on the 'Black King'?" Yu Yin said with a hint of contempt. "It’s a pity that guitar is too expensive; it's not something you should be thinking about. The seven guitars on the bottom row are all plywood, ranging from 150 to 500 RMB. But in my opinion, they’re all junk. If you want a decent starting point, take this one!" She pointed to a guitar at the corner of the second row. "1,200. The color of the shell is a bit dull, not great for picking up girls, but its tone ranks third among these six guitars."

Yang Tang asked, "Which one here is the most expensive?"

"Naturally, the Black King, but don't even think about its price. The second most expensive is the one in the middle of the top three. It’s 9,500. If you’re serious, I can give you a 5% discount. As for the best overall sound quality, it’s the one on the far right of the top three, priced at 9,200, no discount!"

"Can I take a look?" Yang Tang requested.

Yu Yin glanced at Yang Tang, surprised that he wasn't scared off by the nearly 10,000 RMB price tag. She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Fine, taking a look is no problem, both of them..."

"If possible, I’d like to try the Black King as well!"

Yu Yin’s bright eyes widened. "Are you crazy? The Black King is 58,888. Why look at that?"

"Don't worry, since I said I want to look, I can naturally afford it!"

Yu Yin: "..."

"What? You don't believe me?" Yang Tang arched his eyebrows.

"No..." Yu Yin waved her hand.

Yang Tang recited, "Therefore, the responsibility of today lies not with others, but entirely with us, the youth. If the youth are wise, the country is wise; if the youth are strong, the country is strong..."

"You, you are that liberal arts top scorer, Yang, Yang, Yang..."

"Yang, Yang, Yang? Why not Hengyuanxiang?" Yang Tang rolled his eyes. "I’ll just call you junior. Junior Yu Yin, since you know I’m the top scorer in the college entrance exam, you should know that the prize money is quite substantial, right? So, me looking at the Black King—it’s not like a toad trying to eat a roast goose, is it?"

"Pfft!" Yu Yin was amused by the phrase "roast goose," but then she straightened her face. "It’s just some prize money, what are you showing off for? Fine, look if you want." As she spoke, she took down the guitar from the middle of the top three.

Yang Tang took it and plucked the strings. His expression remained calm, but he was disappointed in his heart—this is the sound for 9,500? And that's in RMB? In his past life, he could have found a master to custom-make one for 9,500.

He had to admit that, much like the "Eagle Eye" skill, after these idle days, Yang Tang had discovered a new ability in Qinglong’s guitar skills called "Absolute Pitch." Simply put, whether a tone was pure, accurate, or pleasant, Yang Tang could tell just by listening. It was a pity that Qinglong’s skills didn't boost his voice; his singing voice remained the same old thing, or else he could be imitating superstars on the street right now.

"Try this one too."

Yu Yin took down the guitar on the far right of the top three and handed it to him.

Yang Tang tried it and found the tone was a bit better than the last one, but to his "Absolute Pitch" ears, it was still rough!

"Let me try the Black King."

"You really want to try it?"

"Duh!"

Yu Yin hesitated, but in the end, she didn't argue with Yang Tang. Acting like a professional merchant, she took down the black wooden guitar from its high perch and handed it to him.

"Clang... eh?"

Yang Tang plucked the string. A sound, which seemed rough at first but resembled a clear spring upon closer inspection, slowly drifted through the air. He tested the tone a couple more times and finally couldn't help but exclaim, "Clang, clang... good!!" Although the tone of the Black King was only just passing in the ears of "Absolute Pitch," it was already quite remarkable for this level.

"You’ve only played a few notes, what could you possibly have heard to call it 'good'!" Yu Yin seemed a bit disdainful of Yang Tang "pretending" to be a pro, and couldn't help but tease him. "Are you really planning to buy this guitar? 58,888, no discount!"

A new week, please add to your library, please add to your library, please add to your library!!