These words from Guo Xiu clearly indicated she recognized her.
Praising her compositions suggested she had followed up on the matter of r before and knew she was r. Glancing at the "Deng Family" carved on the zither's head, a smile flickered in her eyes.
She shook her head with amusement, thinking it unnecessary to explain her understanding of the guzheng to a stranger.
Guo Xiu, seeing Huo Rou’s smile, felt as if she were being mocked like a clown.
This feeling ignited her anger.
"What are you laughing at? Do you know the origin of this zither? Do you even know about guzheng fingerings?"
Guo Xiu, brimming with indignation, continued, "Do you know how to use the hook, pluck, tremolo, strike, chop, pick, flick, and lift? What are the characteristics of the flower finger, rocking finger, arpeggio, and overtone? When to use the large pluck and when to use the small pluck, and what's the difference between them, can you tell me?"
As if to flaunt her theoretical knowledge, Guo Xiu spoke incessantly, finally addressing the hand posture Huo Rou had mentioned earlier.
"Hand posture is the most basic. If you don't even have the right hand posture, then what are you playing the guzheng for?"
Saying this, she struck the back of the girl's hand with a ruler, "Maintain it properly. Don't listen to others' nonsense; hand posture must be fixed and unchanging like this!"
Huo Rou watched as the girl's hand, under Guo Xiu's command, became stiff and contorted like a chicken's claw.
What kind of hand posture was this?
An An also found it shocking. Was playing the guzheng in the big city this terrifying?
He took out his small hand, compared it to the girl's hand shape, and tried hard to bend it into that stiff, claw-like pose...
It was so difficult!
His eyes, still filled with lingering fear, shifted to Qin Ningyi. "Daddy..."
An An hesitantly asked, "When An An plays the guzheng for Great-Grandma, does he also have to play in this chicken-claw pose?"
After speaking, he seemed to doubt Qin Ningyi's expertise in this area and looked at the staff member. His tone was innocent yet laced with apprehension, "Uncle, is this chicken-claw style popular in your city?"
His clear gaze made the staff member feel awkward.
Guo Xiu had indeed mentored a former rising star, but her methods were too extreme, and many did not approve.
The staff member wanted to say it wasn't a chicken's claw, but as his eyes unconsciously glanced at the hand posture Guo Xiu was demonstrating, he couldn't unsee it.
It truly looked like a twitching chicken's claw the more he looked at it...
"This..."
For the first time, he felt doubt about his knowledge of the guzheng.
Huo Rou paid no mind to Guo Xiu and was unconcerned by the questioning. Her skill was her own; what was the point of arguing?
However, Qin Ningyi couldn't stand Guo Xiu's demeanor. Arrogance was one thing.
But to be arrogant while using his belongings and confronting his woman?
"I want to take the guzheng away now," Qin Ningyi said to the staff member. "Please clear out these irrelevant individuals."
He used the word "please," but the displeasure in his tone made the staff member break out in a cold sweat.
He looked at Guo Xiu and said, "Aren't there other zithers nearby?"
"I made an exception to let you use them. Hurry up and give up this Dragon and Phoenix Zither!"
He had already made many concessions. The guzheng that could be placed alongside the Dragon and Phoenix Zither were not likely to be inferior.
"No, we want to use this one!" Guo Xiu was stubborn. She had finally managed to get in today; how could she back down? "Master You's favorite is the Deng Family's guzheng. It's no longer available on the market. The research institute finally has one, so why can't people use it?"
"Such a good zither, and you want to sell it? You're all driven by greed and don't deserve to play the guzheng!"
Guo Xiu grumbled, refusing to back down, and even lay down on the zither.
Only someone like her, obsessed with the zither, could bring out the full potential of such a renowned instrument!
As long as Master You saw this zither and heard her 'Nannan' play a piece on it, he would surely take 'Nannan' as his disciple. Her daughter was so talented; she was bound to replace her at the pinnacle of the guzheng world!
Seeing her start to act unruly, the staff member quickly ran outside to call for help. "Some people, pack it up."
Guo Xiu, protecting the zither, screamed, "No, no! Master You is coming; you can't take the zither away!"
She frantically drove away those who stepped forward to move the zither. The girl stood by, not knowing what to do, wanting to pull Guo Xiu away but afraid of being scolded or hit.
"Are you an idiot?!" Guo Xiu yelled. "Go protect the zither!"