A Young Woman's Heart

"Try them all." Mr. Xue smiled and walked to a wooden guitar. There was a sample of each type of instrument available for trial. As for some special ones, you would need to apply for them before the staff would take them out of the cabinet.

Yu Shu lowered her eyes slightly, her face flushed, and nodded carefully as she accepted the wooden guitar.

However, the weight of this thing exceeded her expectations, so much so that she bent over and paused for a full three seconds before straightening up again.

"Is it heavy?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously. She had held Hua Yinyin's pipa before, but it didn't seem that heavy.

"A little..."

“Wearing the suspenders would be better,” Mr. Xue suggested.

Surrounded by a group of people, Yu Shu shrank back like a sensitive plant that had been poked, barely daring to move. It took her a long time before she gently plucked a guitar string.

The pure feeling, tinged with a tremor, filled her with both surprise and unease.

But in the end, I took it off and decided to try another one.

So it became electric guitars, basses, accordions, violins, and even ukuleles and grand pianos...

She tried all sorts of small and medium-sized musical instruments, and from initially being afraid to touch them, she has now gone around looking for new instruments that she has never tried before.

My curiosity about music seemed to have been completely piqued.

But the more choices I have, the more confused I become, because each one seems good, but there are also some aspects that I don't really like.

Mo Xueyao was already tired from accompanying her shopping. You should know that the second floor area is about the size of a basketball court, and with the intricate shelves forming a 'maze', after walking around a few times, she was already too lazy to move.

After quickly looking around two or three times, she was the first to sit down. By the time the other girls had all gotten tired and sat down next to her, the setting sun had already slowly descended outside the window, casting a lazy and warm orange glow. An orange cat on the wall by the roadside covered its mouth with its tail and yawned, squinting at Mo Xueyao behind the window.

The cat and the human's eyes met for a fleeting moment, but only for a second, because the latter quickly drooped its head again, burying its head in its arms like a student sleeping on a desk.

Mo Xueyao turned around, glanced at Mr. Xue who was even more energetic than the girls, and asked, "So, have you made your choice yet?"

“Shu’er doesn’t seem to have made up her mind yet…” Wang Jiale leaned on Mo Zhuyou’s shoulder, while the latter leaned on Hua Yinyin’s shoulder, and Hua Yinyin, in the end, leaned on Mo Xueyao’s shoulder.

"Hey, hey, don't all lean on my side—" Mo Xueyao said helplessly, leaning against the wall with one hand and pushing Hua Yinyin's head with the other. "You guys are not as good as Xiaoxue. Look how energetic he is."

"Indeed, when it comes to shopping, Xiaoxue is more like a girl than Xiaoyaoyao."

"Hey, that's not a good way to put it! Be careful Xiaoxue gets angry."

"What? Xiaoxue can get angry?" Wang Jiale teased with a light laugh, while Mr. Xue simply gave a hearty smile.

"How about we let Shu'er be the keyboardist! Keyboardist!" Hua Yinyin suddenly perked up and grabbed Yu Shu's shoulders, shaking her vigorously.

Wang Jiale was a little confused: "Keyboard? Isn't that what Xiaoyao is talking about?"

"Huh? Me?" Mo Xueyao cleared her throat. "I think I'm a pianist... but I can't afford a piano, so I'm using an electronic keyboard for now, cough cough."

"What do you mean?" Mo Zhuyou didn't quite understand the difference between a keyboard player and an electronic keyboard player.

"So that means... let Shuer be in charge of the timbre of the other instruments to match ours?" Wang Jiale roughly understood what she meant.

"That's right, that means if we're lacking drum beats, we can have her fill in; if we need an electric guitar, we can have her do that too; if we want a more ethereal and mysterious sound, like an xun or something, we can have her do that too!"

"So, a keyboardist is like a brick; you can move it wherever you need it?" Mo Zhuyou seemed to understand.

Mo Xueyao pressed her head against Hua Yinyin's temple and tilted her head, saying, "But, isn't this requirement even more difficult? Are you sure it's okay? After all, theoretically, one needs to be proficient in all kinds of musical instruments..."

"Then let's not use an electronic keyboard like Xiaoyao's. Let's use a shoulder keyboard with fewer keys that's easier to carry!"

“Strictly speaking, a shoulder keyboard is just a music synthesizer. With the right software, you can even make the same sound with a computer keyboard.” Mr. Xue straightened his clothes and explained, “If the shoulder keyboard is properly tuned, it can even produce a short piece of music with just one key.”

"Is this even considered a musical instrument?" Mo Xueyao asked, frowning. "It sounds like it's just playing audio; there's not much technical skill involved..."

"Of course it counts. It's a keyboard instrument, and if you really want to master it, it's no simpler than playing the piano."

"So, how about this! A shoulder-mounted keyboard! Let Xiaoxue tune an electric guitar sound for Shuer first, and we can use it as a playable electric guitar for now. We can expand on it later if we want to play other things. It sounds pretty good!"

Yu Shu seemed to be somewhat tempted by what she heard—it has to be said, Hua Yinyin is quite a good salesperson.

"Then...the keyboard?"

"Okay! Let's go to the keyboard area and see what we can choose!"

The keyboard area alone took up an entire shelf.

There are keyboards of various shapes here. The shoulder-mounted type looks most like an electronic keyboard, while others look like a jumble of random keys and knobs that don't seem to fit the image of a musical instrument at all.

"The keyboard itself is also a kind of instrument that can be adapted to different situations. By simulating the timbre of different instruments, it can even lead the band to improvise," Mr. Xue continued to explain. "Of course, to reach that level, you have to practice for a long time."

"Hmm..." Yu Shu squatted down in front of this row of shelves, staring blankly at the keyboards of various shapes, seemingly unsure of which one to choose.

"Budget five hundred, budget five hundred..." Mo Xueyao paid no attention to the design, but quickly selected musical instruments with reasonable prices.

Prices slightly over 500 or below 500 are listed in the menu.

In reality, there aren't many options available. After all, such a large music store mainly sells well-known mid-to-high-end instruments. The advantage is that the quality is guaranteed, but the disadvantage is, of course, that they are expensive.

"How about this black and white one? Although the design looks a bit simple... it's a pure candybar phone, but it's only 499 yuan, which is exactly 500 yuan." Mo Xueyao poked Yu Shu's cheek and pointed to the phone next to her.

“This one is nice too, it’s pink, oh, it’s so expensive…” Mo Zhuyou was about to show Yu Shu this way, but when she saw the string of numbers on the price tag, she immediately shut her mouth.

"How about the black and red one? It's the same color as the one Xiaoyao is using now, it feels like a perfect match, right?" Wang Jiale asked, squatting down in front of a 550-yuan shoulder-mounted keyboard.

"Little Shu'er seems to prefer the one in front of her!" Hua Yinyin laughed and jumped to her side. "So you're finally not having trouble choosing this time?"

"Eh? Um..." Yu Shu nodded a little embarrassedly, her gaze quickly shifting back to the keyboard in front of her. It was a shoulder-mounted keyboard shaped like a battle axe, with a curved exterior, making it look like it would be comfortable to hold, at least not uncomfortable to hold.

The outer part is white, while the white keys on the keyboard are painted light blue, and the black keys are painted dark blue, giving it a deep and tranquil feel.

As for the price...

Mo Xueyao tilted her head and glanced at it. It wasn't very expensive, but it seemed to be well over budget.

768 yuan...

……

Chapter Forty-Four: Can you give me a discount?

"Hmm..." When Yu Shu realized that everyone was looking at her, she hurriedly hugged her knees and quickly shifted her gaze to the other shoulder-mounted keyboards that she could afford.

However, she couldn't help but glance in this direction out of the corner of her eye.

"Why don't we ask if there are any discounts?" Mo Xueyao knew her personality well. Although she usually seemed to have difficulty making choices, once she decided on something, it was hard for her to change her mind.

"Yes, let's haggle!" Hua Yinyin nodded vigorously, pointing to her cheek with a hint of pride. "Leave this kind of thing to me!"

"Can we bargain at such a big music store...?" Wang Jiale asked uncertainly.

"Sure, I've got your back!"

So Mo Xueyao helped Yu Shu carry the shoulder keyboard, which was in an exquisitely packaged box, and went downstairs with the others to the cashier.

"Hello~ Can I try this out first?" Hua Yinyin tapped on the counter and asked, tilting her head.

"I'm sorry, this product cannot be tried out because it comes in a box, and it won't be easy to sell once it's opened."

"It's no big deal to take a look. You can just put it back. How will you know if it works or not if you don't try it?"

"That's right. If you don't like it, you can return or exchange it within seven days as long as it's not damaged."

"Then why can't we try it out?" Hua Yinyin asked, hands on her hips. Although she was only a high school student, she was not weak in any way.

"Because our process is different... If you need to return or exchange the goods, we will send them back to the manufacturer for repackaging..."

Although there was no difference, the teller seemed unwilling to budge an inch.

Mo Xueyao felt a little embarrassed and muttered softly, "After all, it's their rule... Should we try again when we get back...?"

"No, what if it's broken!"

"We offer a warranty," the sales clerk said with a smile. "Or you can choose other styles that you can try on."

"But I really like this style—" Hua Yinyin finally steered the conversation to the point, "Can you get a discount on this? After all, I took a risk to buy it!"

"We provide invoices, and you can get warranty service with the invoice..."

"Tch, it's perfectly normal for them to turn their backs on you later."

"Young lady, this is the biggest music store in all of Hangzhou, you absolutely won't..."

"That's why big businesses bully their customers!"

Hua Yinyin tilted her little face up and retorted sharply, not giving an inch, looking like they were about to start arguing.

"Actually, we have a promotion too, we can give you a 5% discount..."

"What's the difference between that and not fighting at all?"

"At least a 10% discount, right?" Mo Xueyao chimed in, but was glared at by Hua Yinyin.

"What 10% off? It should at least be 30% off!"

"Okay, I'll use my employee card to give you an even lower discount, but the lowest I can go is 12%, no lower..."

Mo Xueyao breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that this was good enough.

It's at least several tens of yuan cheaper.

But Hua Yinyin was not satisfied at all, and gave her a rare look of disdain: "Shouldn't you at least give me something? Like a violin case or something?"

"This is already very cheap, there are no free gifts to give away..."

"Could you send me that big speaker? Or how about a synthesizer?"

"Let me go to the warehouse and see if there are any leftover instrument cases as gifts," the clerk immediately changed her tune.

Hua Yinyin pinched her chin, her eyes darting around: "Let's send some basic textbooks or something, they're not worth much anyway."

"Alright, alright, I'll pick one out for you." The clerk smiled helplessly. "Shall I go find you a violin case?"

"Hmm!" Hua Yinyin was finally a little more satisfied.

"I didn't expect Yinyin to be so good at this! Her bargaining skills are about the same as my sister's." Mo Zhuyou teased her by nudging her arm as if she were meeting her for the first time.

"Hmph, if it weren't for Xiaoyao causing trouble, I could have offered an even lower price!"

"How could that be... It's already a very low price, isn't it? It's not like she owns the store; the discount is only so much."

"Tch... All the money from selling too much goes to her."

"She's not a sales assistant..."