Sunday was confused.
His sister had been normally looking at her phone; this was a rare moment of rest for her after she became famous.
Then, she suddenly became inexplicably excited, muttering softly:
"He followed me! He really followed me!"
Words that made no sense.
After that, her expression suddenly tensed, and she started typing and sending messages.
In the end, she was as happy as a blooming flower.
"Brother! It's Qiequ Ren! The long-famous singer! He wants to collaborate with me!!!"
"Qiequ Ren?"
Sunday pondered upon hearing this.
He, of course, knew who Qiequ Ren was.
His sister had also mentioned him to him.
A singer who became famous over nine hundred years ago, all of his released songs were of extremely high quality.
At the peak of his fame, he suddenly went silent.
This silence lasted for several centuries.
At the time, there were all sorts of speculations, but no evidence to confirm them.
By now, everyone assumed he had died.
But then, not long ago, he suddenly announced his return.
As the head of the family, Sunday knew that many things in the world could not bear the light of day.
Therefore, he was skeptical whether this account still belonged to the person from over nine hundred years ago, even though it had official verification.
In the face of enormous profit, deception...
It was all too normal.
But...
Sunday looked at the overjoyed Robin, and for a moment, he didn't know if he should share his almost conspiratorial thoughts with her.
After some hesitation, Sunday finally spoke:
"The family had no previous contact with him; his sudden contact... could it not be him, but a scam?"
"I understand Brother's concerns."
After a brief moment of excitement, Robin had calmed down.
"This collaboration isn't about us providing the work; it's about the other party writing the lyrics and music.
If he's an imposter, we'll know by looking at the quality of the work."
Sunday breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that Robin hadn't been carried away by joy.
But then, a new question arose.
"In that case, why would he suddenly seek you out? We've never had any contact with him..."
"The email said that my vocal range is very suitable for his new song, which is why he sought me out.
However, after being silent for several centuries, suddenly coming out and finding me is indeed very suspicious; it's better to ask for clarification."
Robin: Senior, why did you propose this collaboration?
Qiequ Ren: My fans all thought I was dead.
Qiequ Ren: I need to jump around a bit to prove I'm still alive.
Qiequ Ren: Otherwise, they'll exile me to cold Siberia to plant potatoes.
Robin let out a soft laugh.
She hadn't expected this senior to be quite humorous.
Robin: Then, regarding this collaboration, what do we need to contribute?
Qiequ Ren: All the songs uploaded before were free, and this time will be no exception.
Qiequ Ren: Just don't let these few songs down.
Robin: You mean...
Robin: Free?
Qiequ Ren: Yes.
Facing a situation that felt like a windfall, Robin's expression was not joy, but wariness.
"Something's not right, Brother."
Robin looked at her phone, her brows furrowed, and said with a serious expression:
"We might have really encountered a scammer."
In Robin's mind, a complete logical chain proving the other party was a scammer had already formed.
Her efforts over the years had given her some fame in the universe, and it was normal for her account to be constantly watched.
Similarly, Qiequ Ren's account was also constantly monitored.
The moment Qiequ Ren's account followed hers, a bold and meticulous criminal syndicate immediately targeted it.
They would fake an account, making it look exactly like Qiequ Ren's, using Qiequ Ren's name, but in reality, they only wanted to use her fame to promote their own songs and profit from it!
If she were to be carried away by the immediate benefits, agree, sign a contract, and promote it with Qiequ Ren as a gimmick...
Just at this moment of universal joy, Qiequ Ren would suddenly issue a statement, saying he had never collaborated with her, only followed her...
Then she would be in an irretrievable situation...
That was close, she almost fell into a trap.
Robin, in a mere instant, conjured up a massive conspiracy in her mind.
Now, this theory had only one problem.
Why could the fake account also fake the number of followers?
"Did the other party say something? Why are you suddenly suspicious?"
"He said this collaboration is completely free; I just need to sing with all my might.
Although Qiequ Ren's songs have always been free, collaborating with such a figure surely wouldn't be for nothing."
"This... is indeed suspicious. But it can't completely rule out it being the person himself... being unconventional.
Let's be more careful; first, have him send a sample track to see the specific situation before making a judgment."
Robin pondered for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement.
Robin: Senior, could you please provide a short sample track for listening first?
Qiequ Ren: I'll just sing a section for you directly.
Bai Luan took out his Anywhere Door and arrived at the music room in Herta's Home, where he found a piano.
Now, only one problem stood before him.
He couldn't play the piano.
Well, before, when he made accompaniments, he used electronic editing, so a score was enough.
But now, since it was a sudden whim, there was no time to arrange it.
Just singing acapella would greatly reduce the effect.
If he performed too poorly and Robin refused to collaborate, then he would be embarrassed.
Hmm...
Facts proved that getting carried away was harmful.
At a time like this, it was time to activate the Little Black Room!
The next time I come out, I'll be a piano master!
The next second, Bai Luan entered the Little Black Room.
"Herta, can you play the piano?"
"Hmm?"
Herta walked over, intrigued.
"Why so elegant today? Do you want to develop in a graceful direction?"
"Because I temporarily need to use a piano, I thought I'd just pick up this skill while I'm at it."
"It seems you'll be staying here for a long time again, but unfortunately, this body does not have a piano module installed."
"Is that so? It seems I can only ask the system for help."
"Don't rush, this body doesn't have it, but the Herta Puppet's body has the module."
Herta waved her hand, and the original Herta Puppet became active, walking over.
"Let her teach you."
Bai Luan glanced at the Herta Puppet; the Herta Puppet operating in simple intelligent mode looked a bit dull.
"Then I don't need to go to the system."
"Teaching a piano beginner is very taxing, so I'll be going now.
I'll come back to see you when you've mastered it."
"Thanks."
Herta didn't reply, turning and leaving.
The Herta Puppet, after Herta left, sat beside Bai Luan.
Fortunately, the piano bench was long enough; two people could sit without feeling crowded.
Next came the long, long practice time.
"Wrong."
"Incorrect."
"Pressed the wrong key."
"Too slow."
"Played it wrong again."
"Distracted."
The Herta Puppet, with incredibly precise and rigorous attitude, corrected Bai Luan's mistakes like a robot.
After countless mistakes, the Herta Puppet's brows furrowed, as if she had reached a certain threshold, and she turned to look at Bai Luan.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
The Herta Puppet didn't say much; she just raised her hands, pinched Bai Luan's cheeks, and then vigorously kneaded them:
"Pay! More! At! Ten! tion! Make! Few! er! Mis! takes!
Un! der! stand! ?"
"Mm... I... I understand..."
Bai Luan's face was distorted in the Herta Puppet's hands, his voice muffled.
"C-can you... p-please... let go... first..."
The Herta Puppet didn't knead for too long and soon released her hands.
Bai Luan rubbed his reddened cheeks, looking at the Herta Puppet beside him with some confusion.
Logically speaking, the Herta Puppet wouldn't act like this...
Just as Bai Luan was confused, Herta's smiling voice came:
"It seems you've triggered the easter egg I left for you."
Bai Luan turned his head to look at Herta, who was introducing her masterpiece.
"Appropriate punishment is beneficial to your progress.
Whenever your number of mistakes accumulates to a certain amount, 'I' will get angry, you know."
"You really do put effort into strange places..."
"It's very interesting and effective, isn't it? With punishment, you'll think about not making mistakes and treat this matter more seriously."
Herta came behind the Herta Puppet, placing her hands lightly on her shoulders.
"The number of times to trigger the punishment, I entered casually, and as for the punishment methods, they were chosen randomly.
This time it might be kneading your face, next time it might be turning away and ignoring you, or it might be taking out my hammer and chasing you for a few minutes.
Genius, right?"
Bai Luan rubbed his cheeks.
Yes, genius.
This was what Herta of the Genius Society loved to do.
He sighed, saying with a hint of helplessness:
"As long as you're happy."