"Huh? What's wrong?"
Seeing Zheng Kai's furrowed brow and troubled expression, Lin Feng couldn't help but be taken aback. Back on Earth, this kind of look usually meant someone was about to ask for a loan. But that clearly didn't apply to Young Master Zheng. The heir of the Zheng family lived in comfort and ease, unlike Lin Feng who had to 'work off debts'. What could possibly be troubling him?
Just as Lin Feng was puzzling over it, Zheng Kai spoke, his voice thick with frustration. "I haven't seen Tingting for three whole days. I feel like she's deliberately avoiding me… Lin Feng, you gotta help me out here."
"..." Lin Feng was speechless for a moment. "That's what this is about?"
So the Young Master was lovesick. Three days… that meant since the City Lord's banquet three days ago, Zheng Kai hadn't seen Kou Tingting. Lin Feng recalled the elders from both families discussing the two young people's potential marriage at the time. Zheng Kai had been over the moon, but Kou Tingting had declared she was too young, wanting to focus on her cultivation and achieve something significant before considering romantic matters. Changgong Xiaojing had chimed in supportively. The elders hadn't pushed the issue, leaving Zheng Kai utterly dejected. So now, it seemed Kou Tingting was actively avoiding him because of this?
A handsome, wealthy heir and a beautiful, affluent heiress – a perfect match. Yet it seemed Zheng Kai was the only one truly smitten. It was genuinely a bit pitiful.
But…
"But… what can I do if you can't see Kou Tingting?" Lin Feng shrugged helplessly, signaling his inability to help.
Zheng Kai leaned in, adopting an ingratiating tone. "That's not true! Lin Feng, you carry a lot of weight now! You can definitely help… Didn't my future father-in-law invite you to the Kou residence as a guest? Why don't you go? Take me with you! Then I can see Tingting!"
Well, he was already calling Kou Tingting's father 'father-in-law' privately. And now he wanted to use accompanying Lin Feng as a guest as a pretext to see her. Young Master Zheng certainly had… ideas.
Lin Feng sighed inwardly. "Why make it so complicated? Why don't you just pay her a visit yourself?"
Zheng Kai's face fell further. "If that worked, would I be this miserable? I have tried visiting! Tingting just refuses to see me!"
"You're being too impatient," Lin Feng advised. "The most important thing in pursuing a girl is patience. 'A watched pot never boils', understand? Hanging around her constantly, popping up whether there's a reason or not… even I would find that annoying, let alone her. Ever heard of 'playing hard to get'? You need to try 'ignoring' her a bit. She'll wonder why you suddenly stopped chasing after her. She'll question if she's lost her charm, or if you've found someone else. Spark that curiosity, and she might just come looking for you."
"Oh?" Zheng Kai's eyes lit up, looking at Lin Feng with newfound respect. "Brother… so you're a pickup artist too? That… actually makes a lot of sense…"
Lin Feng was no pickup artist. He was just spouting lines from cheesy Earthly harem novels and melodramatic TV shows. But seeing that flicker of admiration in Zheng Kai's eyes sparked his own interest. He leaned back, adopting a knowing air. "Just hanging around and showering her with attention isn't enough. Girls love romance, you know? You need to learn how to create it, to touch their hearts."
Zheng Kai tilted his head, genuinely perplexed. "Romance? What's that? Can you eat it?"
Lin Feng: "..."
Zheng Kai pressed on. "Not food? Then what do you mean by 'create' it?"
"Uh… 'romance' is an atmosphere, a setting," Lin Feng explained, warming to his topic. "Like sharing a small umbrella while walking in a gentle drizzle… or a candlelit dinner… or presenting her with nine hundred and ninety-nine roses… With your resources, Young Master, showering her with a cascade of flower petals or declaring your love amidst fireworks of roses would be child's play! And if you could hold a guitar, sing her a love song yourself… Tingting might just fall into your arms right then and there."
Lin Feng recounted various 'romantic' tropes from Earthly fiction and soap operas, leaving Zheng Kai utterly mesmerized.
This world had no TV or movies. Zheng Kai, as a privileged young master, had never needed 'tactics' to attract girls before Kou Tingting – it had always been a snap of his fingers. Hearing Lin Feng's descriptions of 'romantic gestures', he was thunderstruck, his admiration soaring.
"Lin Feng… how did you come up with all this? It's pure genius! I'm impressed! Seriously impressed!" Zheng Kai gazed at him with awe, then suddenly frowned in confusion. "Wait a minute… that's not right! Aren't you a virgin? How are you such an expert at chasing girls?!"
"..."
Seeing the dangerous glint in Lin Feng's eyes and the subtle twitch of his fingers near his Spatial Ring – a clear sign he was contemplating summoning his flying sword or unleashing his strange flames – Zheng Kai instantly sobered up. "Okay, okay! Forget I said that! Forget it… haha… Brother, you're a dark horse! I bow to your superior skills! I truly do… Right! You mentioned holding something and singing a love song? What was it?"
"..." Lin Feng took a calming breath. "A guitar. The ultimate weapon in a pickup artist's arsenal. This."
He flicked his right wrist, and a white wooden guitar materialized from his Spatial Ring. He'd made it himself recently during a break from cultivation, bored. Back on Earth, he'd gone through a guitar phase, even building one himself once. He'd mustered the courage to play a love song beneath his first crush's window… only to be completely ignored. – Transported to another world, Lin Feng couldn't build guns, bullets, planes, or cannons. A guitar was about the extent of his Earthly recreation skills, a small memento of his past life.
"What is that? A Siqin?" Zheng Kai eyed the strange object Lin Feng produced with curiosity. A Siqin was an instrument similar to an Earthly pipa. The Cloud Moon Continent had never seen a 'guitar' before – Lin Feng was its inventor.
"Not a Siqin. This is a 'guitar', also a musical instrument." Lin Feng casually strummed a few chords. Pleasant, resonant tones immediately filled the room.
"Oh?! That sounds quite nice!" Zheng Kai's interest was instantly piqued. "How do you play it? You said this could win Tingting over?"
"That depends on talent," Lin Feng replied, striking a deliberately 'cool' pose. He then cradled the guitar and launched into an impromptu rendition of the Earth song Can't Take My Eyes Off You.
Zheng Kai listened, slightly dazed. When Lin Feng finished singing and playing, he became animated. "Lin Feng, you're amazing! Not just this guitar… what was that you sang? It was so catchy!"
While this world had folk entertainments somewhat akin to Earth's 'opera', it had nothing resembling pop music. Lin Feng's song felt utterly fresh and exciting to Zheng Kai.
"Just a little song I made up," Lin Feng stated matter-of-factly, or perhaps shamelessly. "But that one's just for fun, not really suitable for creating a romantic atmosphere to win a girl."
He thought for a moment, then began playing another tune, singing Over the Rainbow. Finishing, he said, "This is one I like better. Should work well for a confession."
Zheng Kai's eyes practically glowed with excitement. "Lin Feng… Brother… Master! Teach me!! I want to learn this!"
"Heh, teaching you is no problem. It's not that hard to learn," Lin Feng chuckled. "So… you're planning to use this for your confession?"
"Yeah! Why not? I think it'll work!" Zheng Kai nodded eagerly. "And that other stuff you mentioned, the moonlit fireworks, the heart-shaped candles… tell me more about those too!"
Lin Feng had been feeling a bit bored after days of relentless cultivation. Seeing Zheng Kai so enthusiastic sparked his own interest. Most of what he'd described, he'd only ever seen on TV. The chance to actually 'direct' such a scene… well, it sounded kind of fun, didn't it?
"Alright! What are friends for? I'll help you go all out! Listen carefully now. What you need to do is…"