Chapter 402: Which is More Important?
Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios
Despite living for so many years and seeing so many things, Fang Zhao had never experienced such a mental battering ever since he had woken up in the new Era.
Fang Zhao at least understood what it was like to be scared by his own dog in the middle of the night.
Curly Hair was still absorbed in his game and didnât notice Fang Zhao. His tiny eyes were moving to the option to proceed to the next stage. Fang Zhao walked over and used his foot to kick Curly Hairâs butt lightly.
Curly Hair, who had been focused on challenging the next stage, jumped and his helmet fell to the side. Seeing that it was Fang Zhao, Curly Hair got up and wagged his tail, gazing at Fang Zhao with his innocent and pitiful dog eyes.
Fang Zhao studied Curly Hair silently.
Noticing Fang Zhaoâs stare, Curly Hair slanted his head and came to a rest at Fang Zhaoâs feet. He seemed to be in a good mood from defeating the previous stage boss.
Fang Zhao mused in silence for a bit before telling Curly Hair, âYou are capable now, huh. When did you learn to hum songs?â
Curly Hair stared at Fang Zhao in bewilderment and his tail wagging became less enthusiastic.
âYou really donât understand?â
Fang Zhao played a segment of his recorded video of Curly Hair wagging his tail and humming a tune.
When he saw the video, Curly Hair was so startled his ears became erect. He pulled his head back and even the curls in his fur nearly became straight. He backed away a few steps as though he had seen an especially frightening monster.
âScared yourself?â Fang Zhao made a come here gesture. âCome, hum it again. Do that same tune in the game that plays when you clear a stage.â
Curly Hair looked at Fang Zhao some more before turning towards the screen. Then, he began to âhumâ. However, it was entirely different from his humming earlier and wasnât that much different from an ordinary dogâs groans.
After hearing Curly Hairâs âhummingâ for a bit, Fang Zhao then said grudgingly, âAlright alright, letâs stop here today. Pay attention to it and donât let anyone else discover this.â
Fang Zhao could tell that Curly Hair had unconsciously hummed that tune because he had been too engrossed in the game and in good spirits. He simply hadnât known what he had done himself and wasnât able to do it when he tried to hum intentionally.
Fang Zhao discovered that Curly Hair learned things very quickly. His IQ was always increasing, and the Muzhou sheep-herding competition had been proof of his impressive adaptability. His sense of smell and hearing also far surpassed other dogs, including the worldâs most elite dogs at Muzhouâs famed police dog academy. Fang Zhao didnât think it had anything to do with how he treated Curly Hair; rather, it was probably because of Curly Hairâs peculiar genes. However, Fang Zhao hadnât been able to discover anything when he did examinations of Curly Hair in the past.
Curly Hairâs scar from the bullet on Planet Wai that heâd defecated could no longer be seen eitherâŚ
âExtraterrestrial? Or a native mutant?â
Fang Zhao had first seen Curly Hair in the black streets. Although he had found some records of Curly Hair in the black street, but what about even before that? Where had he come from? What sort of secrets did he carry on his body?
On the other hand, Fang Zhao had a good understanding of his own body. He too was always changing, but the changes were neither as evident nor as exaggerated as Curly Hairâs. Compared to other people, he was much stronger. Even his peak body condition during the Period of Destruction couldnât achieve this standard. His sight, hearing, perceptivity and physical constitution actually surpassed the ordinary range. But other than his hearing, Fang Zhao very rarely displayed his other quirks. Other than his ears, people mainly knew him for his music.
Fang Zhao once again recalled the supernatural circumstances regarding his rebirth on that night in the black streets. Maybe Curly Hairâs peculiarity and his own bodyâs changes were linked? Despite all his research, he still had no answer. The universe was vast. There were surely many things that people couldnât imagine but actually existed.
Originally, Fang Zhao had only thought that Curly Hair had an above average IQ and slightly thicker fur. But based on his developmental trend, Fang Zhao really couldnât tell if Curly Hair would one day learn to talk.
He thought about it again. Why not practice it if you have the ability?
Where does all that energy and nutrition go from eating so much everyday?
No, it should probably the the nth one. Who knew exactly how much Curly Hair had developed? From the time Fang Zhao had picked him up, Curly Hairâs physiology had never stopped changing.
His IQ had increased and he had developed a tremendous ability to learn. Now, he had also started to develop in this new aspect. Fang Zhao decided to let Curly Hair practice making sounds.
He guided Curly Hair to some educational videos on how to hum and produce sounds other than dog sounds. He wanted him to practice making sounds that humans made. After all, with Curly Hairâs current IQ, he probably could understand easily what was being said in those educational videos.
At the start, Curly Hair was rather unwilling to learn and and would start whimpering after a bit. Fang Zhao saw that the traditional educational videos werenât effective, so he downloaded some games meant for young children to learn songs. These games featured simple vocal exercises where higher points would be given for more accurate pitch and tone.
Under the attraction of a new game, Curly Hair finally took more initiative towards learning to make human sounds. After all, a gamer dog was still a gamer dog. As he played, he quickly became addicted. He didnât dare mess around during the day, but at night, he would practice making sounds while gaming. Fang Zhao didnât need to watch him.
The sound proofing in the campus dormitories was very good as long as the doors and windows were shut. After all, this was an institute of art. Singing, dancing and music playing were common occurrences. If the soundproofing werenât good, the whole place would be drowning in noise everyday.
Fang Zhaoâs hearing ability was very good. Although there was soundproofing, he could still hear neighboring sounds. After getting accustomed to the environment, Fang Zhao could filter out the sounds from outside the apartment. Just thatâŚ
How did hearing his own dog make weird sounds in the night while he was sleeping feel?
At first, Fang Zhao thought that Curly Hairâs vocal practice wouldnât affect his sleeping at night. However, he had really underestimated this gamer dog.
If it were any other ordinary dog blindly barking, Fang Zhao could filter it out. Life during the Period of Destruction had been chaotic, and he wouldnât have been unable to sleep just because of a little noise. Maintaining vigilance was a given, but bodies also required rest. Anyone that didnât have this ability wouldnât live long.
However, when Curly Hair played those vocal practice games, his devilish sorts of sounds had some destructive power that would strike straight at Fang Zhaoâs mind. Fang Zhao had just fallen asleep as a serenade played in his mind when Curly Hairâs freakish tunes came shooting in.
I better let him play monster killing games instead.
For the sake of his own sleep, Fang Zhao set up time constraints for games on the console. Different games could only be played at certain times. It wasnât possible in the short term for Curly Hair to speak. The vocal training exercises werenât ideal, but there was no need to be impatient. It would still be fine if Curly Hair couldnât learn to speak in the end. After all, he was still a dog, not a human.
After that, Fang Zhao busied himself with his thesis and graduation works.
Days passed by and the year drew to a close. Celebrities were busy traveling all over for various activities. Every large company competed to invite high-profile celebrities for their internal events. This year, Fang Zhao had been invited to perform at the Star Cup victory ceremony, so many people eyed him as a potential candidate. Celebrities invited to the Star Cup were cooler.
However, Fang Zhao was completely focused on his own work and rejected all invitations. Because Fang Zhao couldnât be reached, people looked for others to help contact Fang Zhao. Thus, as Fang Zhaoâs assistant, Nanfeng became very busy.
One day, Nanfeng had just stepped out of HuangArt campus when he received a call. He answered, and it was yet another invitation for Fang Zhao. Nanfeng frowned and rubbed his forehead.
â⌠I already said, itâs impossible. It canât be helped. Iâm just a little assistant and not his manager. I just listen to what my boss says⌠Hey, this isnât about the money!! My boss isnât accepting any performances or activities currently. Even if he was willing to, he wouldnât be able to accept any right now⌠Why? You all should have already heard. Venerable Mo is making him write his thesis⌠You should probably know Venerable Mo right? Mo Lang, a treasured artist. That old man has already wedged chair under the door handle and guards it. If you dare, you can go look for him personally⌠I donât have the guts! Nor the time! Really, I just came back from dog walkâassignment given by the bossâŚâ
After ending the call, Nanfeng complained to Zuo Yu and Yan Biao. In the past, before he had become Fang Zhaoâs assistant, Nanfeng had always dreamed of this sort of life. Being busy was good! It was proof of his bossâ reputation, and there were loads of money to be had! Now⌠he felt too annoyed to be happy.
So many people inviting Fang Zhao to participate in activities was a good thing and he should be happy! But just as Fang Zhao himself had said, he was currently undergoing advanced studies, and that was his main priority. Other activities were dropped.
As a proper assistant, Nanfeng absolutely followed his bossâ instructions to handle affairs. Those that were trying to pull strings to get Fang Zhao to promote something were all rejected. If Nanfeng dared to bother Fang Zhao with these sorts of things, perhaps he would be sent packing even before the day ended.
Nanfeng really wasnât exaggerating. Old Master Mo was really guarding the house and letting Fang Zhao write his thesis in the study. To smoothly graduate from HuangArtâs Twelve Tones Advance Course, the thesis needed both quality and quantity.
Is a thesis or performing more important?
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It wasnât that Mo Lang wanted to meddle with all of Fang Zhaoâs affairs. The old master had experienced many things. Naturally, he wouldnât really force Fang Zhao to reject all other activities. There were quite a number of his students who had gone all over for year-end performances. Even Fang Zhaoâs âofficialâ mentor Prof. Carter was also busy with non-academic activities. Many other teachers and students of HuangArt were the same.
However, Mo Lang believed that it was best not to dabble in too many things before graduating during the advanced studies period. He hoped that Fang Zhao would place more efforts on the art of music. Such a promising seedling shouldnât fall to the wayside.
Fang Zhao himself also approved of Mo Langâs view. He had cooperated during the last two days and had stayed at Mo Langâs place to write his thesis. Curly Hair was handled by Nanfeng and the other two. They brought him out for walks every day.
In the first floor hall of the Mo residence, Mo Lang held a cup of tea as he looked at the thesis draft that Fang Zhao had given him today. He let out a satisfied sigh.
He believed that there wouldnât be anyone daring enough to steal Fang Zhao away now that he was personally standing guard!