“System, can I put you in here? Some places don’t allow pets, and I’m afraid if I carry you, I might get stopped and not allowed in.”
“Master, it’s fine, I can manage,” it thought—if only it could change shape.
As soon as the thought appeared, its limbs began to shrink. With a few clicking sounds, it transformed into a small robot.
Yun Shu was stunned, frozen in place. Th-this…
“System, are you… okay?” she asked stiffly, holding her backpack, too afraid to move. Such a magical scene appeared right before her eyes—after living two lifetimes, this was the first time she had ever seen something like this.
“Master, I’m fine. I’ve just transformed,” a robotic voice came out. After speaking, it turned back into a cat.
“Wow, System, that’s amazing! You can actually transform! I’ve only seen Transformers in movies before—I thought that was just fiction. I never expected to see you transform with my own eyes.”
“Master, I used to be a large mech. Right now my energy is insufficient. I must have gathered a bit of energy recently, so I can only transform into a small robot.”
“So amazing,” Yun Shu couldn’t help but marvel again.
But this was actually good—if she went to places that didn’t allow pets, it could just turn into a small robot, and she could bring it along.
“Alright, let’s head out now.” Yun Shu slung the backpack in front of her chest, walked out of the bedroom, and went to the kitchen.
“Miss, are you heading out?” Hua Jie asked when she saw Yun Shu dressed to go out.
Yun Shu smiled. “Yes, Hua Jie. I might not come back for lunch, so you can just prepare your own meal.”
“Alright, miss. Be careful when you’re out,” Hua Jie reminded her.
“Okay.”
After leaving the residential area, she hailed a taxi by the roadside, gave the address, and sat quietly.
More than ten minutes later, the car stopped near the music shop. Since it was hard to park ahead, the driver asked her to get off there.
Yun Shu got out and walked about 100 meters forward to reach the entrance of the shop.
Looking up at the place, it seemed to have been open for quite some time—the signboard was a bit worn.
She walked over, gently pushed the door open, and went inside. The sound of a piano being played drifted out.
She looked around—the walls were filled with musical instruments of different sizes and shapes.
There were also many pianos placed on the floor. It was quite a large music shop.
While she was observing, a young man walked over and asked, “Hello, miss. Are you here to buy an instrument?”
Yun Shu looked at him. He had fair skin, was quite tall—about 1.8 meters—and rather handsome.
She shook her head. “I’m not here to buy an instrument. I’m here to apply for a job.”
After hearing that, the young man led her into a room nearby.
The walls of the room were also filled with various instruments, and there was a bookshelf stocked with books and sheet music.
The young man brought her a glass of water and asked her to sit and wait for a while. The boss was busy and would come to interview her after finishing with a customer.
Yun Shu indicated it was fine and told him to go ahead. He left, and she was alone in the room.
She picked up the glass and took a sip, her gaze casually sweeping over the instruments.
After waiting for about half an hour, the boss finally came in.
The young man who had received her walked in front, seemingly explaining something to the boss, who nodded repeatedly.
The boss looked like an elegant and intellectual woman in her thirties, with a loose fishtail braid draped over one shoulder.
Her skin was fair, her features delicate, and she had a small oval face.
Yun Shu quickly stood up, but the boss waved her hand, signaling her to sit.
She pulled out a chair across from her and sat down.
“Hello, boss. My name is Yun Shu. I graduated from Huaqing Conservatory in the capital. I saw online that you’re recruiting a violin performer, so I came to apply.”
“Hehe, just call me Sister Hui. Everyone in the shop calls me that.”
“Sister Hui, I didn’t expect you to be so young and already running a music shop,” Yun Shu said admiringly.
“Young? I’m already forty-eight, almost fifty,” Sister Hui said happily, clearly pleased by the compliment.
“Ah?” No way! She didn’t look it at all—she even seemed only a few years older.
“You look so young. Did you just graduate?” Sister Hui asked with a smile.
“Yes, Sister Hui. I just graduated not long ago. I’ve just come here and haven’t worked yet. I saw your recruitment notice, so I came to try.”
“That’s right, we are hiring. The shop also takes on gigs like theaters or other performance venues. We currently lack a violin performer. Have you studied it before?”
Yun Shu nodded. “My major in university was violin. I’ve reached Level 10.” She took out her certificate from her bag and handed it over.
Sister Hui’s eyes lit up when she heard that. She quickly took the certificate—Level 10 was the highest domestic performance level.
“Can you play a piece for me?” she asked excitedly.
“Of course.”
Sister Hui led her out of the room to another area, opened a small door, and inside were many violins.
She took one from the wall and handed it to Yun Shu. “How about this one?”
“That’s fine, Sister Hui.” Although it wasn’t a top-quality violin, it felt good in her hands. She tested the tuning—it was accurate.
“Will you play here?” Yun Shu asked.
“Come with me. Can you perform in the main hall?” Sister Hui led her there.
“Sure.” During university, her mentor had taken her to many performances of different scales. This kind of setting didn’t make her nervous.
By then, there were already quite a few people in the shop.
Yun Shu gently placed the violin on her shoulder, positioned the bow on the strings, and adjusted her posture.
As she softly closed her eyes, the bow moved gracefully across the strings, and a melodious tune instantly filled the hall.
The beautiful notes seemed alive, dancing and swirling in the air, drawing everyone’s attention. People stopped what they were doing and watched her intently.
When the piece ended, the hall fell silent. After a moment, thunderous applause erupted.
Yun Shu shyly lowered the violin and bowed to everyone.
Sister Hui walked over, her face full of delight. “Yun Shu, you’re amazing! Congratulations—you’re hired.”
Yun Shu smiled and thanked her, and Sister Hui took her back to the room.
“Yun Shu, let me explain the pay. Each performance pays 200 yuan per session. Each session lasts about an hour and a half, sometimes up to two hours. We only perform when we get bookings. If there are no bookings, there’s generally no work. It depends on your decision, but I really hope you’ll join us.”
“Sister Hui, can I go back and think about it first?”
“Of course.”
Yun Shu and Sister Hui exchanged contact information.