“Such a beautiful violin! It looks like art!”

“I remember this violin. Tutu has used it several times before, all at very important concerts.”

“It’s not a mediocre violin. This violin is an antique! It needs to be treated carefully, of course.”

“We, true fans, all know that not only is Tutu is violinist, he’s also a violin collector. He has collected up to 27 violins, and this one costs the most.”

“Let me give new Tutu fans some background knowledge. This violin was made in Italy back in the 1800s, and it’s the last violin the famous violin producer, Byron, had ever made before he died. This violin’s market price is now four million dollars!”

Tang Tu’s new fans and other onlookers felt strange. Tang Tu had only been in two movies before. In one, he was an extra, and in the most recent one, he was only the second male lead. Other than these movies, nobody had ever seen him participate in real-life shows or business social occasions. He mostly appeared as a young violinist in front of the public eyes, and could he earn this much money just by performing his violin playing in some high-tiered concerts?

Liu Man had just finished posting on Wei Bo. She took out her nail clippers, sat down in the living room, and started to cut her nails short to prepare for Tang Tu’s concert tomorrow.

“You have another performance tomorrow?” Zhang Pei, seeing this scene, asked her.

Liu Man nodded, “I have to participate in another senior’s graduation concert.”

Zhang Pei was interested in her matters, “How was your performance today?”

“Hopefully, I didn’t drag senior Mozhen behind.”

Zhang Pei laughed, “You are so outstanding, so how would you drag her behind?”

Liu Man, who was still cutting her nails, paused her movements.

In this body’s memories, her parents would sometimes compliment her, but they had never used the word “outstanding” on her. Parents always knew how good their daughter was.

In the past, Liu Man, excluding her outstanding appearance, could never get related to the word “outstanding” on her other aspects.

Therefore, when she heard Zhang Pei praising her for being outstanding, Liu Man suddenly felt nervous.

The video in which she played “Butterfly Lovers” could be seen everywhere on the internet, but Zhang Pei usually didn’t like to browse the web. She mostly used her phone to go on WeChat, or she would watch some real-life TV shows. Besides, the work at the storage space was so much that she wouldn’t have the time to look at her phone.

Most importantly, Zhang Pei’s attitude towards herself never changed during this period. Liu Man mistook it and thought Zhang Pei had never seen those videos.

At this moment, Liu Man carefully considered for a moment and realized something was wrong. Zhang Pei must’ve seen her videos already, and she must’ve seen them on the day of the performance, for she did not wonder about what happened to Liu Man’s fingers.

Liu Man felt very regretful. She was too proud of herself, and she ignored such a big mistake she had made.

But why didn’t Zhang Pei mind, after knowing she knew how to play the Guqin? It was as if Zhang Pei thought Liu Man naturally knew how to play such an unpopular instrument.

The past Liu Man’s piano techniques were all piled up by Zhang Pei’s energy and money. How could she have suddenly known how to play another instrument in just one night under Zhang Pie’s watch?

Zhang Pei didn’t even have a single question to ask her.

Unless she already knew Liu Man wasn’t her daughter!

Liu Man abruptly lifted her head and watched Zhang Pei, who was also looking at her. As if seeing her confusion, Zhang Pei nodded lightly.

Her nails clipper dropped onto the floor, but Liu Man didn’t notice it at all. Her face was full of astonishment.

Zhang Pei’s eyes were telling her that she had already learned everything.

Liu Man stood up, “Mom…” She didn’t know if she should continue her sentence.

She knew that one day, her identity would get exposed. She had a way more different personality than the original Liu Man, and even if her cover was good enough, there would be one day when she gets exposed.

Liu Man had even imagined Zhang Pei’s reactions when she learned the truth. She would be angry or even upset. However, Zhang Pei seemed much calmer than Liu Man.

Zhang Pei said, “Child, don’t worry and don’t be afraid. Man Man has already told me everything in a dream. She said you’re a princess from the Han dynasty, and under God’s arrangements, you exchanged bodies with her.”

Zhang Pei’s words contained lots of information. Liu Man felt as if her mind got messed up. She had always assumed she froze to death on that night, and she always believed the past Liu Man had died, too.

So, they were both surviving, but it was just that they exchanged their identities.

“Don’t you mind?” Liu Man asked Zhang Pei in a soft voice, but she didn’t dare to look straight into her eyes. She had been a daughter to Zhang Pei for almost half a year, and Liu Man had already started feeling like Zhang Pei was her mother. She was worried Zhang Pei would consider her a monster to take her daughter’s body. She was afraid to see the disgusted look in Zhang Pei’s eyes.

Zhang Pei knew about Liu Man’s worries. She walked up to Liu Man, wanting to hug her shoulders to comfort her; however, in the end, she could only put her hand on Liu Man’s shoulders.

After knowing she wasn’t her daughter, Zhang Pei hadn’t had any physical contact with her for a long time, “Man Man, you are still my Man Man. You are still my daughter. None of this has changed.”

Liu Man, stunned, raised her head. She could see that the emotions in Zhang Pei’s eyes hadn’t changed at all. She was still fond and loved Liu Man.

“I’ve long doubted that you are my daughter. You are completely different from her. How could I, as a mother, not see that? It’s just that I was never willing to look on the bad side, so I lied to myself. I didn’t want to admit that my daughter is no longer in this world.”

Liu Man had just realized how sucky her cover was.

“You… You don’t blame me?”

“I want to thank you. My daughter has been living a good life there. The messed up world made her mature and forced her to grow up into a meeting-expectations nations Empress. I’m very happy,” Zhang Pei’s tone was very gracious, full of doting and pride.

Nations empress!?

Liu Man was surprised. Did the past owner of this body transform her identity from a princess into an empress?

“If Man Man had continued to live under her father and my doting, I can almost predict she will not be able to achieve anything in her life. God couldn’t bear to see that happen, so he gave her and you both another opportunity at life,” Zhang Pei was very sane and felt fortunate.

Zhang Pei had watched Liu Man play the “Butterfly Lovers” at Owner Wang’s, and she watched it again on her phone.

The girl who caressed the Guqin had brilliant talents, and there wasn’t another girl like her in this world, not to mention in the modern era. Only with the ancient royal family’s education could any girl be like this.

Her talents shouldn’t be buried and wasted away inside the cold palace. Maybe this was why God chose her to exchange bodies with Liu Man.

Liu Man’s hanging heart gradually calmed down. She looked at Zhang Pei and said sincerely, “I will take care of you for your daughter, and I will give you a wonderful, blissful life.”

Zhang Pei’s eyes felt sour. Should she thank God for making such a good child her daughter?

She reached out her hand to touch the girl’s hair, “Then, I will wait for the day when you make us feel fortunate and wonderful.”

TL’s Note: I do play the violin, and I just want to mention to anyone who cares to know how very annoying and expensive it would be to collect 27 violins and keep them on display… For such expensive violins, Tang Tu probably had to hire professionals to check over and care for them every day. It gets very annoying in the winter because the wood tends to react to the cold temperature, and the strings will easily get out of tune. If Tang Tu doesn’t use all 27 of them often, it’s definitely… annoying. Luckily, he’s rich, so he doesn’t really care. 😂 It’s also many violinists’ dreams of getting their hands on a Stradivarius violin that costs 4 million, but it’s also hard to play good notes on a Stradivarius violin. If you are a beginner, your notes will sound absolutely horrifying, but if you are an advanced player, your notes will sound a hundred percent better than usual. Tang Tu’s rich and talented. Thanks for coming to my babble/ted talk.🙃

Translated by: Sydney