Recaps

After Grandpa Fang urged Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu to go to Beijing, Lin Tian found a brighter outlook and wrote “Yankee Doodle” as their cheerful farewell piece. Three days later, the pair prepared to leave for Beijing, where the Dragon Qin Cup awaited them.

• Grandpa Fang told Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu that they would understand Grandpa Gan’s dreams once they reached Beijing, and the two left the hospital feeling newly energized.
• Lin Tian invited Gan Yan Yu to practice a new piece, then recorded “Yankee Doodle” with her at Yueyun headquarters as their farewell song.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu performed the playful piece with enthusiasm, surprising He Zhichen and Xiao Cui while restoring their confidence for the competition.
• Three days later, Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu met downstairs with their luggage, and Lin Tian noticed Gan Yan Yu was carrying the humanoid doll he had given her.

As Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu left Qingzhou for Beijing to compete in the Dragon Qin Cup, their new song “Yankee Doodle” reassured fans who had been waiting for news. On the plane, Lin Tian teased Gan Yan Yu with private love songs, and He Zhichen told him that Yao Han wanted to meet for a meal in Beijing.

• Fans learned that Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu were heading to Beijing for the Dragon Qin Cup and praised their commitment to professional music competitions.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu flew out of Qingzhou with He Zhichen, and Lin Tian reflected on leaving the city where he had grown up.
• Lin Tian hummed private love songs for Gan Yan Yu and promised to sing them for her when they got married.
• Moonlight and Cat released “Yankee Doodle,” whose cheerful mood reassured fans as they wished the pair luck in the competition.
• He Zhichen told Lin Tian that Yao Han wanted to treat him to a meal after they arrived in Beijing.

After arriving in Beijing, Lin Tian settled into an apartment with Gan Yan Yu and met Yao Han for dinner. Yao Han revealed that the Dragon Qin Cup would take place at Beijing International Concert Hall and warned that classical music might face discrimination, then asked whether Lin Tian would use the same kind of competition piece as before.

• Lin Tian accepted Yao Han's invitation to dinner, while Gan Yan Yu stayed behind to settle into their new apartment.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu were welcomed by crowds of fans at the airport and escorted to an apartment arranged by Yueyun's Beijing branch.
• Gan Yan Yu cleaned her apartment and offered to provide free housekeeping for Lin Tian, who agreed and left her breakfast the next morning.
• Yao Han took Lin Tian to a secluded private room at an upscale restaurant, where Lin Tian saw Beijing International Concert Hall from the windows.
• Yao Han told Lin Tian that the Dragon Qin Cup would be held at Beijing International Concert Hall and that classical music could face discrimination in the competition.
• Yao Han asked Lin Tian whether he planned to use the same kind of competition piece as before.

Yao Han warned Lin Tian that classical music had been pushed aside by modern competition standards and revealed that Gan Hua and Tuoba Jianhui had once fought that trend through their orchestra. Lin Tian decided he needed to speak with Gan Yan Yu about her future, then learned that a legendary Pop Music composer and longtime cellist was entering the Dragon Qin Cup.

• Yao Han explained how the International Musicians Association’s scoring standards shifted competitions toward modern Pop Music and urged Lin Tian to change his piece.
• Yao Han revealed that Gan Hua had been among the classical musicians who resisted the changes twenty years earlier, and Lin Tian connected their efforts to Tuoba Jianhui’s orchestra and Yao Xing’s disastrous concert.
• Lin Tian realized Tuoba Jianhui’s A+ score for him and Gan Yan Yu had revived the old conductor’s hope, while Tuoba had later secretly helped them, including recommending Lin Tian for the Sakibo International Piano Competition.
• Worried Gan Yan Yu might be used to fulfill the older generation’s failed ambitions, Lin Tian thanked Yao Han and decided to talk with her.
• Yao Han stopped Lin Tian and revealed that a legendary Pop Music composer, who had played cello for years, was entering the Dragon Qin Cup as a professional cellist.

After Yao Han warned Lin Tian about Bai Junze, Lin Tian learned that Gan Yan Yu understood the history behind her grandfather’s hopes and chose classical music for herself. Reassured by her, Lin Tian decided to give the competition everything he had, then discovered Bai Junze might threaten his popularity because he was extremely handsome.

• Yao Han told Lin Tian about producer and cellist Mao Zi, then warned that Bai Junze would be his greatest obstacle to winning the Dragon Qin Cup.
• Lin Tian returned to find Gan Yan Yu had cleaned his room, and he asked her about what Yao Han had revealed concerning her grandfather.
• Gan Yan Yu explained that she loved classical music by choice and saw its works as unfinished letters she wanted to continue.
• Lin Tian embraced Gan Yan Yu, accepted her resolve, and decided to face the competition without holding back.
• Lin Tian called He Zhichen to investigate Bai Junze, and He Zhichen said Bai Junze’s exceptional handsomeness threatened Lin Tian’s share of attention.

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu explored Beijing before the Dragon Qin Cup and encountered a ragged cellist performing for his meal. His strange but astonishing playing revealed advanced Sanxian technique, and Lin Tian began to suspect the musician was far more remarkable than he appeared.

• He Zhichen told Lin Tian that a contestant from Hanjiang Province had advanced to the Dragon Qin Cup despite having only a middle-school education, no job history, and little competition experience.
• Gan Yan Yu arrived dressed for a graduation-trip roleplay, and she and Lin Tian went shopping together through Nanluoguxiang.
• Gan Yan Yu bought Lin Tian a blue cloisonné hairpin, and the pair sampled Beijing street foods and sights.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu entered Yao Ji Fried Liver, where a disheveled cellist offered to play in exchange for his meal.
• The cellist played a bizarre version of “Spring Overture” and combined his cello with a Jinghu, pigeon whistles, and bird calls.
• Gan Yan Yu recognized the cellist’s rapid playing as the Sanxian technique “Sa Zhima,” while Lin Tian noticed that the man looked handsome beneath the grime.

Lin Tian met the eccentric cellist Bai Junze in a Beijing restaurant and paid his meal bill after recognizing his remarkable musical skill. A video of Bai Junze’s performance went viral, revealing his identity and drawing attention to Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu as they prepared for the Dragon Qin Cup.

• Bai Junze played a radical arrangement of "What a Beautiful Violet" with cello and Jinghu, and Lin Tian recognized the performance as unusually accomplished.
• Lin Tian paid Bai Junze’s sixty-eight-yuan bill, and Bai Junze introduced himself before leaving the alley.
• Lin Tian realized Bai Junze was likely a Dragon Qin Cup contestant and decided to return to practice with Gan Yan Yu.
• Lin Tian found a viral Douyin video of Bai Junze’s performance, and commenters identified him as Hanjiang’s top cellist and a competition contestant.
• Netizens spotted Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu in the video’s background and learned they had paid Bai Junze’s bill, prompting widespread attention and speculation about the competition.

Lin Tian struggled to choose a piece for the Dragon Qin Cup preliminaries until Gan Yan Yu described her dream of performing in the competition’s finals at Beijing International Concert Hall. Her words inspired him to choose “The Blue Danube.”

• Lin Tian worried about choosing a classical piece that would suit Gan Yan Yu and appeal to young listeners at the Dragon Qin Cup.
• Gan Yan Yu visited Lin Tian with cherry tomatoes and offered to help him think through his composing block.
• Lin Tian asked Gan Yan Yu how she felt about competing, and she said her greatest happiness was reaching Beijing International Concert Hall.
• Gan Yan Yu explained that she dreamed of performing in the Dragon Qin Cup finals, even if she eventually lost.
• Lin Tian found inspiration in Gan Yan Yu’s dream and wrote “The Blue Danube” in his notebook.

Lin Tian composed “The Blue Danube” for Gan Yan Yu to perform in the Dragon Qin Cup finals, hoping the piece would help her dream of playing in Vienna’s Golden Hall. Gan Yan Yu tried the music and felt transported to the hall, and Lin Tian encouraged her to embrace that ambition.

• Lin Tian warned Gan Yan Yu not to settle for reaching the finals and urged her to aim for the Vienna Golden Hall.
• Gan Yan Yu watched Lin Tian compose a score and hummed along as he wrote.
• Gan Yan Yu fetched her cello and played the unfinished piece, imagining herself performing in the Golden Hall.
• Lin Tian named the finished piece “The Blue Danube” and explained its connection to Vienna and to Gan Yan Yu’s dream.
• Gan Yan Yu worried that she and Lin Tian had never visited the Danube, but Lin Tian said that did not matter and joked they would become Vienna’s tourism ambassadors.

Nana Li learned that her mother, Kellyan Nana Li, would attend the semifinals and struggled with the memories of her family's pressure and her own wager. She decided to keep competing, while Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu arrived at the concert hall as the 2025 Dragon Qin Cup began.

• Kellyan Nana Li told Nana Li to return to the United Kingdom after the competition unless she won, and said she would attend the semifinals if Nana Li reached them.
• After the call ended, Nana Li recalled her mother's pressure and looked at a photograph of herself with Bai Xi, Yun Qiuqiu, Lin Tian, and Gan Yan Yu.
• Nana Li apologized to Gan Yan Yu in her thoughts, turned the photograph face down, and left with her cello case.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu waited backstage at the Beijing International Concert Hall as the competition opening began.
• The host welcomed the audience to the 2025 Dragon Qin Cup National Cello Competition.

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu attended the Dragon Qin Cup preliminaries, where Lin Tian steadied the nervous eighteen-year-old and explained the competition’s format and goals. The livestream commentators introduced the field, and the first contestant, Christina Nana Li, was called to the stage.

• Lin Tian admired the Dragon Qin Cup’s elaborate entrance ceremony while Gan Yan Yu nervously scribbled in a corner.
• Lin Tian reassured Gan Yan Yu that the preliminaries were manageable and urged her to play steadily and confidently.
• Lin Tian reviewed the 101-contestant format and planned to use the preliminaries to study opponents and judges’ repertoire preferences.
• Lin Tian discovered the competition had commentators on its official livestream and opened the broadcast on his phone.
• Bamboo Leaf and Maple Leaf discussed the field, including Teacher Zang Jingyu and Teacher Mao Zi, before the host introduced Christina Nana Li as the first contestant.

The Dragon Qin Cup preliminary round began under a massive livestream audience, and Nana Li surprised viewers by appearing in a refined, aristocratic outfit. After commentators revealed her prestigious family background and modest provincial ranking, they decided to focus on music history rather than risk criticizing her performance.

• The Dragon Qin Cup livestream drew over 100,000 viewers as the first contestants were announced.
• Nana Li walked onstage in a formal Victorian-style outfit, impressing Lin Tian and the livestream audience with her appearance.
• Bamboo Leaf introduced Nana Li as a British cellist and a direct descendant of the renowned Greta Critten Nana Li.
• Bamboo Leaf and Maple Leaf explained that Nana Li had placed third among Qingjiang Province's three contestants, prompting viewers to suspect her family connections helped secure her selection.
• As Nana Li raised her bow, Bamboo Leaf and Maple Leaf agreed to discuss her family's musical history instead of evaluating her performance.

Nana Li performed Saint-Saëns’s “The Swan” at the Dragon Qin Cup, revealing both her technical skill and the pain beneath her obedient performance. Afterward, the commentators learned that Qingjiang’s top two contestants were Bai Xi and Gan Yan Yu.

• Nana Li began her Dragon Qin Cup performance with “The Swan,” impressing Maple Leaf with her cello technique and musical control.
• Gan Yan Yu sensed that Nana Li’s performance was strange and recognized that Nana Li was in pain as she followed her mother’s instructions to try to defeat Gan Yan Yu.
• At measure forty-seven, Nana Li abruptly inserted rebellious musical passages into the piece, startling the judges, commentators, and audience.
• Nana Li finished without the expected outburst, bowed, and picked up her fallen hairpin as the audience applauded.
• Maple Leaf and Bamboo Leaf reconsidered Nana Li’s ranking, and Maple Leaf found that Bai Xi and Gan Yan Yu were Qingjiang Province’s top two contestants.

Nana Li’s restrained performance worried Gan Yan Yu and puzzled Lin Tian, while a disheveled cellist encouraged Nana Li before revealing himself as contestant Bai Junze. Bai Junze’s shabby appearance stunned the audience and commentators as he took the stage.

• The commentators praised Nana Li’s opening performance and noted that she had competed against Qingjiang Province’s leading musicians, Bai Xi and Gan Yan Yu.
• Lin Tian judged that Nana Li’s controlled playing suppressed her technique, and Gan Yan Yu compared it to her own machine-like performances during her dark period in the United Kingdom.
• Gan Yan Yu worried that Nana Li’s strict family might be connected to her troubled state, while Lin Tian wondered whether she had chosen this performance style deliberately.
• Backstage, a scruffy man praised Nana Li, teased her about the shackles she seemed to bear, and walked toward the stage with a cello on his back.
• The host introduced the man as Bai Junze, Hanjiang Province’s top seed, and his disheveled appearance shocked the audience and commentators.
• The commentators tried to excuse Bai Junze’s appearance as personal taste or poverty, and Nana Li laughed at their awkward defense.

Bai Junze stunned the Dragon Qin Cup with a bizarre, technically brilliant performance of “Blue Rhapsody,” leaving the judges and audience divided between shock and admiration. Nana Li envied his freedom, while He Zhichen revealed that Bai Junze was the estranged son of Hanjiang’s richest man who chose to live as a wandering musician.

• Bai Junze took the stage in shabby clothes with a battered cello modified with bicycle spokes and LED wires, prompting the judges and commentators to doubt him.
• Bai Junze transformed “Blue Rhapsody” into an eerie performance using unusual techniques that Gan Yan Yu and the commentators recognized as skillful.
• Bai Junze tore at his cello strings and struck its body with his forehead, making the LEDs light up as the sounds blended into the music and won over the audience.
• Nana Li watched Bai Junze and envied his ability to express himself freely, then Yao Han entered the lounge and greeted her.
• He Zhichen told Lin Tian that Bai Junze was Bai Jie’s son, had cut ties with his wealthy family ten years earlier, and had spent years wandering after earning money through performances.

Bai Junze's unconventional, high-level cello performance captivated the audience and helped Nana Li rethink how she could pursue freedom within her constraints. As the Dragon Qin Cup continued, Gan Yan Yu worried that no contestants had played classical music, and Mao Wei'ang was announced as the next performer.

• He Zhichen and Yao Han explained that Bai Junze lived as a wanderer to preserve his musical inspiration, and Yao Han described him as truly free.
• Bai Junze finished his explosive cello performance to thunderous applause, while Bamboo Leaf praised his arrangement and musical understanding as top-tier.
• Nana Li realized she needed to follow her mother's route and defeat Gan Yan Yu to gain the freedom to choose her own life, then questioned why Yao Han was helping her.
• Yao Han told Nana Li he did not want to see a highly talented musician squander her ability, then privately called her the perfect opponent for Lin Tian.
• Lin Tian discussed the competition's difficulty with Gan Yan Yu, who worried that no contestant had performed traditional classical music; the host then announced Mao Wei'ang.

Mao Zi performed his cello composition “Sonnet of Electric Current and Sheep Gut Strings,” impressing the audience and judges with its catchy pop style and strong technique. The next contestant was Gan Yan Yu, who was set to perform The Blue Danube.

• Mao Zi’s appearance excited the audience, while the commentators discussed his many popular songs and his reputation as the King of Pop Music.
• Lin Tian told Gan Yan Yu about Mao Zi’s fame, and she said she had never heard his songs because she had only had access to classical music.
• Mao Zi performed “Sonnet of Electric Current and Sheep Gut Strings,” captivating the audience with its energetic melody and cello playing.
• The commentators praised Mao Zi’s performance and cello fundamentals as the judges nodded in approval.
• Bamboo Leaf checked the upcoming contestant list and saw that Gan Yan Yu would perform The Blue Danube.

Mao Wei'ang's crowd-pleasing cello piece became a major online sensation, but Gan Yan Yu could hear only its emptiness and worried she could not compete. Lin Tian encouraged her to trust her unusual musical perception, and the chapter ended as Moonlight and Cat took the stage to perform "The Blue Danube."

• Mao Wei'ang performed "Sonnet of Electric Current and Sheep Gut Strings," earning a standing wave of applause and praise from the commentators and judges.
• The Dragon Qin Cup livestream surpassed five hundred thousand viewers, while Mao Wei'ang's piece topped Weibo's trending searches and spread across video platforms.
• Gan Yan Yu told Lin Tian that Mao Wei'ang's music felt empty and admitted she feared she could not understand why it had succeeded.
• Lin Tian reassured Gan Yan Yu that her ability to perceive music's essence was an advantage and urged her to let the audience hear real music.
• The host announced Gan Yan Yu as the next contestant, and Moonlight and Cat's fans flooded the livestream with comments.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu walked onstage as the commentators saw that their selected piece was "The Blue Danube."

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu chose classical music for their Dragon Qin Cup performance, prompting doubts from viewers and commentators. Their gentle duet suddenly turned into “Tango Before the Storm,” leaving Maple Leaf stunned as he recognized the piece.

• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu announced a classical piece, alarming contestants, judges, and fans who expected modern music.
• Maple Leaf and Bamboo Leaf cautiously defended their choice while the backstage lounge watched anxiously.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu began a gentle piano-and-cello duet that sounded like a familiar waltz.
• Gan Yan Yu introduced an unscripted tremolo, and Lin Tian answered with low diminished seventh chords.
• Maple Leaf realized the performance was not a waltz but “Tango Before the Storm.”

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu performed their reworked “The Blue Danube,” turning its third section into a passionate vision of Gan Yan Yu’s dream of playing in Vienna. The performance moved many listeners but divided the livestream audience, and Bamboo Leaf and Maple Leaf realized the contrasting reactions were the result of a deliberate musical “curse” on those who had not listened closely to the classical opening.

• Gan Yan Yu asked Lin Tian to revise the third section of “The Blue Danube” so it would express her dream of performing with him in Vienna, and Lin Tian agreed.
• During the performance, Gan Yan Yu transformed the third section with a passionate cello variation while Lin Tian shifted his piano style to match.
• Bai Xi and the musicians backstage were swept up in the imagined Vienna and Golden Hall, while viewers and contestants voiced their excitement about pursuing their dreams.
• Other livestream viewers said they could not connect with the piece, sparking an argument that Bamboo Leaf and Maple Leaf struggled to calm.
• Maple Leaf and Bamboo Leaf realized the variation rewarded listeners who had appreciated the classical opening, while those who had not paid attention could not feel the same emotional release.

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu’s performance of their adapted “The Blue Danube” moved the audience and stirred controversy, while the judges entered their scores. As debate over classical music and Pop Music intensified, Mao Wei'ang left to prepare for the coming confrontation.

• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu transformed “The Blue Danube” with Gan Yan Yu’s arrangement, winning cheers from the audience and moving commentator Maple Leaf.
• The judges entered their scores after weighing the performance and the audience’s response.
• Yao Han and He Shumo discussed Gan Yan Yu’s advancement, the association’s hopes for the Kohl Cup, and the pressure Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu would face in the semifinals.
• Mao Wei'ang watched the performance, then left with his cello, saying it was nearly time to prepare for the next battle.
• Mao Wei'ang reflected that Lin Tian’s piece would fuel a wider confrontation between classical music and Pop Music.

After learning that classical music supporters inside the association were backing them, Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu resolved to win despite the association’s resentment over past international failures. He Zhichen then showed them that their performances had sparked a fierce online feud between Pop Music and classical music fans.

• He Zhichen told Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu that people inside the association supported them and explained that resentment over a major cello defeat sixteen years earlier had shaped the association’s stance.
• He Zhichen revealed that the country’s Dragon Qin Cup champions had achieved very poor results at the international Kohl Cup, helping Lin Tian understand the association’s hostility.
• Lin Tian vowed that he and Gan Yan Yu would give their best performances and force the association to acknowledge them.
• He Zhichen showed Lin Tian that four Dragon Qin Cup performances had attracted millions of views online.
• Pop Music fans and Moonlight and Cat’s classical music fans traded insults over Mao Wei’ang’s and Gan Yan Yu’s performances, turning the rivalry into a trending internet flame war.

A dispute between Moonlight and Cat’s fans and Mao Wei'ang’s supporters escalated into a nationwide argument about Pop Music and classical music, with many Chinese Music Scene stars taking sides. After Wei Xiaoxiao defended Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu, the online fight began to subside, and the chapter ended with Xu Yong asking Lin Tian about his college entrance exam score.

• Moon Cat Fans attacked Mao Wei'ang’s supporters, whose counterattacks and media coverage turned the fandom feud into a broad dispute over Pop Music and classical music.
• The argument spread across the Celestial Empire, and central media planned a feature promoting folk music as prominent singers joined the debate in support of Mao Zi.
• Teacher Cai, Chen Xun, and Hua Ming argued for Pop Music, while Wei Xiaoxiao defended Moonlight and Cat and criticized Hua Ming and the Chinese Music Scene.
• Wei Xiaoxiao’s post drew attacks from netizens but gained her followers and discouraged more singers from speaking out, bringing the first stage of the argument to a temporary close.
• Lin Tian reflected on the online backlash and Wei Xiaoxiao’s support, then answered Xu Yong’s call and learned that college entrance exam scores had been released.

On college entrance exam score-release day, Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu checked their results while preparing for the Dragon Qin Cup. Lin Tian scored 662, one point above Su Ran, and Gan Yan Yu scored 521, leaving them both with a chance to attend China Music University together.

• Xu Yong told Lin Tian he had scored 534 and reflected on how watching Lin Tian pursue music had helped him face his own goals.
• Lin Tian learned that Su Ran had scored 661 and hurried to check his own result with Gan Yan Yu.
• Gan Yan Yu checked Lin Tian's score first, revealing that he had scored 662.
• Gan Yan Yu apologized for thinking she had held Lin Tian back, so Lin Tian asked her to repay him by checking her own score.
• Gan Yan Yu scored 521, and Lin Tian celebrated her achievement and told her they would go to college together.

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu celebrated their admission to China Music University while discussing the pressure of the Dragon Qin Cup semifinals. He Zhichen then brought them to the university to meet Tuoba Jianhui, who had something to tell them that might help Lin Tian compose his next piece.

• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu celebrated Gan Yan Yu's admission to China Music University, and Xu Yong congratulated them over the phone.
• Lin Tian asked Xu Yong about Su Ran, but Xu Yong dismissed the possibility of a relationship and said he expected people to forget him after graduation.
• Gan Yan Yu thanked Xu Yong for his advice during their exam preparation, leaving him speechless after the call ended.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu shared a celebratory seafood dinner and discussed the pressure of composing for the Dragon Qin Cup semifinals.
• He Zhichen invited Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu to meet Tuoba Jianhui at China Music University, saying the meeting might help with Lin Tian's next piece.