460: 8.60 Ella's Favorite Song

8.60 Ella's Favorite Song

Lu Yizhou's lips were pursed as he stroked the handwriting on the last page. E… It should be Ellie, right? The only one he knew would cherish Ella as deeply as him was only her. His eyes zeroed in on the word 'betray'. He had a hunch that this entry was supposed to be connected to the third clue and it turned out he was right.  2

Unfortunately, there was nothing more to the diary that could elaborate why Ellie would use 'betray' of all words. Who could have betrayed Ella? For what reason?

He flipped through the diary once again, trying to see if there was something he had overlooked. But no, Lu Yizhou still did not find anything else. He heaved out a sigh and finally closed the book. Coincidentally, his attention was drawn to the name on the very first page again. There was a name that was crossed out before 'Ella' was written above it. Perhaps Ella was not satisfied with her first attempt and decided to redo it, but Lu Yizhou could not deny the possibility that… this diary might belong to someone else in the first place.

[Can you scan this page to see what has been written under the inkstain?]

[666: Oh! 666 will give it a try, Host!]

Nodding, Lu Yizhou finally faced the two protagonists who had been fidgeting on their seats, impatient. "Thank you for waiting." He stood up and handed over the diary to them. "Here, you can read it."

Ji Yan accepted it with a perplexed look. "Is there something we should take note of?"

Lu Yizhou shook his head. "Nothing so far."

While Ji Yan and Olivia were reading the diary, Lu Yizhou decided to go through the facts he had gathered about the Knox Family as well as the side quests. So far, he had received six side quests and completed three. Lu Yizhou had given up on trying to earn Master Knox's trust so that left two incomplete ones. 

'Play Miss Ella's favorite song' and also, 'Revive the Miss of the Knox Family'.

He glanced at the clock and saw that he still had more or less three hours left. [Have you found out about the song she hummed as well as the one that was played on the piano?]

[666: Of course, Host! Who do you think 666 is? Easy peasy lemon squeezy!]

Lu Yizhou did not even want to ask what the system meant by that. He turned to Ji Yan and Olivia. "I think I am going to complete the side quest to play Miss Ella's favorite song. Do you want to stay here or come with me?"

The answer came in a heartbeat. "Let us come with you!"

Lu Yizhou could only nod helplessly, feeling awfully like a mother hen who was leading two little chicks to cross the road. 

Along the way, Ji Yan and Olivia threw him one question after another. "Do you know her favorite song?" "How do you know that?" "Is that a white witch's power?" "Wait, what does being a white witch entail? Can you show us your magic?" Of course, their questions fell into deaf ears. Lu Yizhou pretended not to see when Olivia mouthed 'bitch' at him from the corner of his eyes, then glared at Ji Yan when the latter nudged her admonishingly with his elbow.

The piano room was adjacent to the library, with a large window that oversaw the garden and distant hills over the treetops, draped in the murky orange glow of sunset. It would have looked breathtaking if only the garden had been lush and thriving with colorful flowers. As it turned out, the withered garden only added to the gloomy and deserted atmosphere.

Lu Yizhou made his way straight to the piano. It was the same as the one on the fourth floor, with classic black and white keys, three pedals and wheels on its legs, often used for recitals and large performances. Unlike the one upstairs, Lu Yizhou could not spot even one speck of dust on this one. In one glance, it was clear that this piano was well kept.

Lu Yizhou sat himself down on the stool and carefully lifted the lid.

[666: Host, 666 doesn't know that you can play the piano.]

Lu Yizhou snorted. [Why should you know everything about me?]

[666: Host is so mean! QAQ 666 is the one who has been with Host for the longest, remember?!]

'Of course, Daddy can play the piano!' Ozzie nuzzled her face on his cheek, proud on his behalf. 'He is a multi-talented man meow!'

Lu Yizhou took a deep breath and placed his fingers on the keys. Slowly, his eyelids fluttered shut as he pulled out the dusty memory from the depth of his mind. Of course 666 would not know that he could play, after all he hadn't gotten the chance to do it during his time as a transmigrator. It was not like he had played a musician's role before. 

He did not go straight to the song, instead he played random tunes, ones that were familiar to him back in the days when he had not entered the simulator yet. It brought him to his childhood, to the time when he was just a normal child like others. 

Lu Yizhou had forgotten whom he had learned this song from, but it plucked on his heartstrings. It did not hurt anymore, but the sensation remained akin to old scars. If you ignored it, you would forget about it soon enough. Nonetheless, once you reached out, you would realize that the scar was still there. No matter how long time had passed, it would not disappear. Ever.

The world seemed to fade away around Lu Yizhou and what filled his mind was only the soothing yet poignant melody and his fingers that were getting more and more adept to the dexterous dancing. He did not notice the sharp intake of breaths from the two protagonists, nor did he note how his long hair started to flutter around him even though the room was devoid of any breeze.

After that, he seamlessly switched to the song 666 was playing inside his mind, the rhythm of his fingers never faltering even a bit. Lu Yizhou hummed the lyrics along.

I love you, you love me

We're a happy family 

With a great big hug 

And a kiss from me to you

Won't you say you love me too?

When he looped the song for the second time, he sensed it vividly when someone sat on the little space beside him and sang along. "I love you… you love me…" Lu Yizhou finally opened his eyes and offered Ella a gentle smile. The little girl was wearing a pure white dress as usual, her hair was let loose around her shoulders. She beamed at Lu Yizhou, happiness crinkling on the corner of her eyes. Her body was half transparent yet for some reason, she looked radiant now as though there was a bright light that emanated from her. "We're a happy family…"

[[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the side quest 'Play Miss Ella's favorite song'! Please check the reward in your inbox!]]

Lu Yizhou played the song one more time before he gently drew his hands away from the piano. 

"Thank you," Ella told him genuinely. She sat on her knees and hugged Lu Yizhou around the shoulders. "It's been such a long time since someone played this song for me. I'm so happy!" 

Lu Yizhou's heart squeezed painfully in his chest as he gathered Ella's translucent body in his arms. "In the future, I will play it for you as many times as you want." He made a solemn vow. "You only need to say the word, Ella."

Her clear giggles rang out in the air, filling him with inexplicable warmth and boundless affection. "Then I will gladly take you up on your offer!" After saying that, her body slowly disintegrated into sparkles that disappeared along with the setting sun. Lu Yizhou closed his eyes to savor the last remnants of her presence before opening his eyes again, a faint smile curling on the corner of his lips.

He startled at the sight of Ji Yan's teary face.

"T–That was beautiful!" Ji Yan sobbed into his arm. "I don't know any better way to describe it but… it is simply so beautiful!" Olivia had her back to him so as to hide her face but Lu Yizhou could see that she was wiping her tears once in a while.

Lu Yizhou: "..."

For the lack of words to say, he could only go to his system inbox and see what kind of reward he had obtained. Lu Yizhou had prepared himself to see another stamina potion, health potion or strength potion. That's why he was taken aback when he received a skill card instead, a rare one at that!

[Skill card 'Time Suspender (rare)' obtained!

Ella wishes that happy times will last forever so she can always be together with the people she loves. Use this card to suspend the time for five minutes so that you, too, can be together with the ones you love. Remaining uses: 1/1]

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