NOVEL WEB Chapter 71: People Are Numb
"!!!"
Even Ganyu was shocked by what Xu Zheng just said.
"No more jokes, Master. Let me tell you what Lady Ningguang and I talked about."
"Oh, alright." Ganyu softly agreed.
That afternoon, after leaving Yuehai Pavilion, Xu Zheng naturally made his way to his usual spot: Wanmin Restaurant.
"小许正 (Little Xu Zheng), I thought you weren't coming today! You even missed lunch."
Xiangling looked genuinely happy to see him.
She'd been a little down earlier—Xu Zheng usually never missed lunch unless something big came up.
And if he did, he always told her first.
"I'm here now! It's scorching out, and I'm craving one of Xiangling-jie's cold drinks."
"Got it!" she replied.
"Lu~"
Guoba greeted him warmly too, totally forgetting the time Xu Zheng once said he wanted to eat him.
(Yeah, that happened.)
Xu Zheng knelt down and patted Guoba on the head.
After all, that wasn't just any head—it was the head of a god.
Guoba's full title? The Stove God, Marchosius.
Long ago, he poured his power into the land to protect humans from natural disasters.
In doing so, he lost most of his strength—and his mind.
Eventually, he faded away and went into hibernation…
Until Xiangling found him and brought him home.
That afternoon, Xinyan had nothing planned and stayed at Wanmin Restaurant, working on some new lyrics.
Because there weren't many rock musicians in Liyue, she had to write, compose, and perform everything herself.
She sat hunched over a table, scribbling on paper.
Then scratched everything out, unhappy with it.
At that moment, she noticed Xu Zheng walk in.
She stood and waved excitedly.
After all, he'd cooked for her and given her that flower tea gift—he'd earned "friend" status in her book.
And in Xinyan's eyes, Xu Zheng was rock and roll.
"Hey, Xinyan—I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?"
"Good news? Bad news?"
She blinked in confusion. Eh, whatever!
"Hit me with the bad news first!"
"The bad news is… you're gonna be real busy soon. More gigs coming your way."
"That's bad news? Pfft. I want more gigs!"
Clearly, Xinyan thought Xu Zheng was just hyping her up.
"What's the good news then?"
"The Qixing has decided to designate a performance area just for you."
Xu Zheng said it casually.
Xinyan froze for a second, then her face lit up.
"You're serious!?"
"Totally. Direct from the source—100% guaranteed."
Xu Zheng patted his chest confidently, but didn't take credit.
"YES!!"
Xinyan cheered.
This meant no more getting chased off mid-performance by Millelith.
No more worrying about when and where to play.
Now she'd have a fixed stage, a real place her fans could always find her.
Until now, performances had been spontaneous.
Fans had to chase her voice to find her.
But that limited how far her music could reach.
She suddenly felt like all her struggle had been worth it.
This moment… it was happiness.
Wait a second—
She just met Xu Zheng yesterday…
And today the Millelith greenlit her venue?
Was that a coincidence?
Xu Zheng did say he "heard" the news from someone.
He didn't look like someone powerful enough to pull strings in the Qixing.
Right?
"…Thanks for letting me know." Xinyan smiled gratefully.
Just then, Xiangling walked over with cold drinks.
She'd heard the tail end of the conversation.
"Congrats, Xinyan!" she said sincerely. "Drinks on me today."
"Then I'm ordering meat!"
Xinyan wasn't shy at all.
"Ha ha ha!"
Xiangling laughed—she'd expected that.
With drinks in hand, Xu Zheng sat across from Xinyan and peeked at her papers.
"Writing lyrics?"
"Yup. But everything I write just doesn't feel… rock enough!"
Suddenly, three options popped up in front of Xu Zheng:
Option 1:
Say: "Writing songs is tough. How about a walk for inspiration?"
Reward: 1★ item – a brand-new pair of shoes.
Option 2:
Say: "This is great stuff! Anything you write is gold."
Reward: 2★ item – a pair of Xinyan's worn shoes.
Option 3:
Say: "Give me the pen. Let me try."
Reward: 10 Primogems.
Xu Zheng squinted.
Option 1 was normal.
Option 2… a little weird, but okay.
But compare 1 and 2 side by side?
Why were used shoes worth more than new shoes!?
He even glanced under the table to check Xinyan's shoes.
Just regular old shoes.
Was this… a fetish tax?
Forget it.
Xu Zheng was not that kind of guy.
Primogems were clearly the superior reward here.
"I suddenly feel like getting into rock too. Hand me the pen—let me give it a shot."
"Here you go."
Xinyan was excited. Having someone new take interest in rock always made her happy.
But she didn't expect much.
Xu Zheng barely paid attention in music class back in his past life.
He didn't know how to write music.
But… he did remember songs.
If he couldn't create, he could still shamelessly transcribe.
With a flourish, he wrote down the lyrics to "The Most Dazzling Folk Style".
Sure, it was square-dance grandma music back on Earth.
But for Liyue?
It was perfect for Xinyan's mass-appeal rock style.
Xinyan hadn't expected anything serious.
She figured the lyrics wouldn't even rhyme.
But as Xu Zheng wrote more… and started to hum the melody…
Her eyes widened.
This… this was fire!
This song would sweep through all of Liyue. She could feel it.
She immediately pulled out another sheet to scribble down the melody.
"How was it? Pretty solid, right?"
Xu Zheng felt a little unsure—this wasn't Earth.
Who knew how people here would react?
"…Let me ask you this," Xinyan leaned in, serious.
"You really a newbie? Never written rock before?"
"Pretty much. Just heard a little bit."
Xu Zheng's previous life was mostly just casual listening.
Xinyan felt her brain go fuzzy.
I'm a fraud.