Not long after Yanfei and the others went inside, more customers entered the shop.
With the second wave of guests arriving, the manga shop quickly became lively again.
But before long—
Barbara came running over with red eyes.
Tears still clung to her lashes.
Combined with her delicate face, she looked heartbreakingly pitiful.
"Lumine, you're terrible! You said this manga was very healing when you recommended it!"
Barbara held the manga in one hand, her other hand clenched in a small fist, staring at Lumine with obvious grievance.
She had trusted Lumine's words and read Your Lie in April with an optimistic heart.
But the more she read—
the more wrong it felt.
In the early chapters, the male lead was tormented by his mother.
In the later chapters, the heroine was plagued by illness, tormenting the readers instead.
And in the end—
she was simply gone.
On top of that, the entire manga was filled with various "lies."
It dealt a heavy blow to Barbara's pure heart.
She had trusted Lumine so much.
She thought the Honorary Knight wouldn't deceive her.
And yet—
she had been tricked first.
She really was too naive.
"Hehe… well…"
Seeing Barbara's tearful expression, Lumine scratched her head awkwardly.
Maybe she had gone a bit too far…
But she couldn't shoulder all the blame herself!
"It was Boss Han who told me it was healing! And I thought since it was about music, you'd definitely like it!"
"So you decided to trick me instead?"
Barbara said with mild irritation.
Still—
Lumine wasn't entirely wrong.
Though heartbreaking, the manga was indeed beautiful.
What Barbara found most regrettable was that many scenes involved musical performances—
yet she could only see them drawn.
She couldn't actually hear the music.
That felt like such a pity.
At that moment, Han Feng glanced at the system.
The notification refreshed:
[Customer Barbara has finished reading "Your Lie in April."]
Reward obtained — Arima Kousei's piano skills.
"As expected."
Han Feng smiled inwardly.
For a music-themed manga, rewards related to instruments were perfectly reasonable.
Just like how Paimon had received a violin earlier.
Though Lumine's poker cards had been rather out of place.
Arima Kousei's piano skills were no joke.
Early on, his playing was like a flawless machine—precise and technically perfect.
Later, though he abandoned mechanical precision, his music gained emotion—
a soul.
And for music, that mattered immensely.
"If Paimon's violin skills improved too, maybe we could hear a duet someday."
Han Feng mused.
A radiant light descended, enveloping Barbara.
Feeling new knowledge flooded her mind, she closed her eyes instinctively.
Moments later, the light faded.
"What reward did you get?"
Lumine asked curiously.
She got poker cards.
Paimon got a violin.
What about Barbara?
"Arima Kousei's piano skills."
Barbara opened her eyes and smiled.
"That's a great reward! But… you don't have a piano?"
Lumine felt it was a shame.
Paimon had a violin but couldn't play it.
Barbara had piano skills but no piano.
If only they could complement each other.
"I actually received a piano here before, so this works perfectly."
Barbara smiled brightly.
She had placed the piano in her bedroom.
Before, she struggled to use it.
But now—her fingers felt incredibly nimble.
With sheet music, she could probably play flawlessly.
Thinking of sheet music—
Barbara suddenly remembered something Boss Han had promised her.
But she felt shy bringing it up.
She hesitated at the counter.
"Whatever you want to ask, just say it. No need to be polite with me."
Han Feng said gently.
Encouraged, Barbara clasped her hands together and looked up at him.
"Boss Han… didn't you say you'd write a song for me?"
Han Feng remembered.
He had promised to write her a song in exchange for helping promote the shop.
Lately, with the shop so busy, he had almost forgotten.
He thought for a moment.
"When is your concert?"
"We're still choosing a venue. Probably in three or four days."
"In that case, I'll organize the song within the next couple of days and give it to you."
There were too many songs from his past life—he needed to choose carefully.
Then he added:
"Diluc previously obtained a full set of instruments, and also Tom Cat's dance steps. If you need a guest performer, you could invite him."
"Mr. Diluc can do Tom Cat's dance?"
Barbara's eyes lit up.
In Tom and Jerry, Tom could play instruments and dance brilliantly.
If so—she could invite Diluc for a solo performance.
Performing alone the whole time would be exhausting.
"If you need another guest, I can recommend Paimon too."
Lumine chimed in with a grin.
"Eh? Paimon can dance too?"
Barbara looked astonished.
"That little one is so multi-talented?"
"Not dance—instrument. She got Kaori's violin."
Lumine explained.
"It just… sounds a tiny bit unpleasant."
"How unpleasant?"
Barbara asked curiously.
At that moment, both Han Feng and Noelle's expressions turned strange.
"You'll know if you hear it."
Han Feng waved his hand.
Immediately—
an eerie sound filled the counter area.
Creeeeak—
Creeeeak—
Like a rusty saw scraping wood.
It was Paimon's violin performance.
As long as they were in the manga shop, Han Feng could reproduce it anytime.
After only a few seconds—
Barbara couldn't take it anymore.
"Boss Han, please turn it off!"
She quickly covered her ears.
Lumine coughed awkwardly.
"…See?"
Barbara blinked, still shaken.
"I… I think we need more practice before inviting Paimon."
Han Feng smiled faintly.
"Talent requires refinement."
And somewhere in the shop—
poor Paimon, unaware—was about to become the concert's most dangerous wildcard.
—------------------------------
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