The fake heiress loves to act? The max-level boss isn't interested in playing along.

Steinberg chased after them out of the music store, where the autumn sun was shining obliquely on Wangfujing Street.

The crowds were dense, filled with the sounds of bicycle bells, vendors' shouts, and trams rumbling by.

They intertwine to form a noisy ocean.

The divinely gifted girl he wanted to talk to had already disappeared into the crowd.

Where are they?

Steinberg looked around anxiously.

The cane tapped rapidly on the ground. "Where did that girl go?"

In the blink of an eye.

The translator and members of the delegation followed.

Lin Jingqiu hurriedly followed.

She looked at Steinberg's anxious expression.

The complex emotions churning inside me surged even more intensely.

"Master, she may have gone far away..."

Lin Jingqiu said softly.

The streets here are interconnected, and it's a bustling downtown area.

Where can you find it now?

Steinberg stood on the street, his silver hair slightly ruffled in the wind.

He gazed at the bustling street, his face revealing undisguised regret and disappointment.

It felt as if some important treasure had been lost.

Lin Jingqiu had only ever seen that expression on the face of the most outstanding musicians when they discussed lost classics.

"Her music..."

Steinberg murmured to himself, his voice as soft as a sigh, "Like a mirror. A mirror that reflects the soul."

His trip to China, ostensibly for cultural exchange, was a long journey across the ocean.

The real reason was that he had hit a creative block in Europe.

Three years have passed, and he still can't write a single new note.

All the melodies seemed to be seen through a layer of fog.

I can't hear a heartbeat, and I can't feel any warmth.

But the girl's piano music just now...

A melody as vast as the sky and as solid as the earth.

Like a ray of light, it suddenly cleaved through the fog.

"I need to talk to her again."

Steinberg turned around, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Jingqiu. "Ms. Lin, you said she's Su Yurou's daughter? Is Ms. Su... the mother of that performer from yesterday?"

Lin Jingqiu's heart skipped a beat.

She hadn't expected Steinberg to remember it so clearly.

However, she didn't intend to keep it a secret.

"Yes……"

She said with difficulty, "Fu Hua is Su Yurou's daughter, and Fu Chaochao and Fu Hua are sisters."

"sisters……"

Steinberg repeated the word, his eyes growing deep.

Yesterday's performance on stage was technically superb but utterly devoid of warmth.

And that girl in the music store earlier, as calm as a deep pool.

One trembles under the spotlight, the other remains silent amidst the clamor.

How could they be sisters?

"Back to the theater."

Steinberg suddenly said, "I need to see Ms. Sue. Now."

Lunchtime was drawing to a close in the city theater's cafeteria.

Fu Chaochao sat by the window, with almost untouched food in front of her.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and she was still sobbing softly.

Su Yurou sat opposite her, gently patting her daughter's back: "Chaochao, eat something... Mr. Steinberg's demands are too high, that's not your problem..."

"Even if he doesn't choose you, there's no need to feel bad. You're very talented, and you'll have many more opportunities to go abroad in the future."

"But he said I have no warmth..."

Fu Chaochao looked up, tears welling up in her eyes again. "Mom, I've practiced for so long, my fingers are calloused, am I really that bad?"

"That's because he doesn't know how to appreciate it."

Fu Youchuan walked over with a tray, his face gloomy. "What do foreigners know about Chinese music? Chaochao, don't take it too seriously. Eat and drink as you please."

With the Fu family's resources, sending Chaochao abroad to study in the future would not be difficult at all.

Su Yurou sighed.

She was actually quite confused—Steinberg's words, though harsh.

But she had heard real masters play.

Fu Chaochao's piano playing... was indeed exquisite, but lacked soul.

But she couldn't say that.

This is the daughter she raised herself, the culmination of more than a decade of her hard work.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from the entrance of the cafeteria.

Lin Jingqiu hurried in, her eyes scanning the cafeteria.

His eyes lit up when he saw Su Yurou.

"Yu Rou!"

She walked over quickly and lowered her voice, "Come out for a moment, I have something important to tell you."

Su Yurou was taken aback: "Jingqiu? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Come out and speak."

Lin Jingqiu glanced at Fu Chaochao, who was still sobbing, her expression complex.

Su Yurou comforted her daughter for a couple of minutes, then followed Lin Jingqiu to the corridor outside the cafeteria.

The autumn sunlight streamed in through the glass window.

Bright spots of light were cast onto the terrazzo floor.

"What exactly happened?"

Su Yurou asked.

Lin Jingqiu took a deep breath and looked into her friend's eyes: "Yu Rou, what I'm about to say might be hard for you to believe—but it's all true."

She paused for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts: "I just accompanied Mr. Steinberg to Wangfujing to buy a gift, and at the music store... I ran into Fu Hua."

Su Yurou was stunned: "Huahua? What's she doing at the music store?"

"Accompanying a classmate shopping."

Lin Jingqiu's voice trembled slightly, "That's not important. At that time, she played a piano piece in the shop."

Mr. Steinberg overheard this and immediately said, "This is the student I've been looking for."

The air was still for a few seconds.

Su Yurou blinked, as if she didn't understand: "What?"

"Fu Hua can play the piano."

Lin Jingqiu said, word by word, "And she played it very well. I've been teaching piano for over ten years and I've never heard such a sound before."

That's not skill, not training, it's... talent. The very pinnacle of musical talent.

Su Yurou's expression changed.

Surprise, doubt, shock, fear—a mix of emotions swirled on her face.

Finally, it freezes into a complex blank space.

"Mr. Steinberg is at the theater now; he wants to see you."

Lin Jingqiu grabbed her hand. "He wants to take Fu Hua as his student and take her to France. Yu Rou, this is a golden opportunity, you have to seize it."

"For the theater, and for the children."

"Huahua, she agreed?"

Su Yurou suddenly asked.

Lin Jingqiu choked.

She recalled Fu Hua saying, "I won't study music," her tone calm yet firm.

She left without looking back, seemingly completely uninterested.

But there's also the possibility that the child is afraid.

Who knows if what people say on the street is true or false?

It's normal for children to be wary.

"She...rejected it?!"

Su Yurou remained silent for a few seconds.

Then she slowly shook her head: "Then forget it."

"never mind?!"

Lin Jingqiu almost cried out, "Yu Rou, do you know what this means?! Steinberg is a titan of the European music scene! That he took a liking to Fu Hua is a blessing for the child, how can you just let it go?"

"I know."

Su Yurou interrupted her, her voice very soft.

But with an undeniable resolve, "Huahua refused; she had her own choice and her own reasons."

"She's only a teenager, what choices could she possibly make?!"

Lin Jingqiu became anxious, "You are her mother, you should make the decision for her. If this opportunity is missed, it will never come again in this lifetime."

Looking at her friend's excited face, Su Yurou felt a jumble of emotions.

That child never needed anyone to make decisions for her.

Since she has refused, nothing anyone says will change her mind.

"Jingqiu,"

She said softly, "Huahua is different from Chaochao. I raised Chaochao with care. She needs me and depends on me."

But Huahua... she has her own world.