Chapter Summaries

At the Sakibo International Piano Competition welcome banquet, several Asian pianists recognized Lin Tian as Teacher Moonlight, and online curiosity about him surged. The banquet ended with He Zhichen telling Lin Tian that he had become a trending topic on Twitter.

• Several Asian pianists crowded around Lin Tian and greeted him as Teacher Moonlight.
• Viewers’ curiosity grew, and “Who is Lin Tian” climbed into YouTube’s top ten trending searches.
• Daigo Kuroki gave a welcome speech, which Gan Yan Yu listened to while practicing her English.
• The banquet began with food, conversation, and a dance performance, while Gan Yan Yu focused on eating dorayaki.
• After the banquet, He Zhichen showed Lin Tian his phone and told him he was trending on Twitter.

Lin Tian’s sudden appearance at the Sakibo International Piano Competition drew international attention, and YouTube creator Sarah accused him of being a manufactured fraud who had bought his way into the event. As Lin Tian prepared for rehearsal, an attacker tried to stop him from competing, leaving He Zhichen to warn that the controversy had become impossible to ignore.

• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu saw that his appearance at the competition had become a trending topic in Tokyo.
• International netizens questioned Lin Tian’s background, while Sarah released videos accusing him of being a fraud and challenging him to prove his piano skills.
• Lin Tian accepted the backlash and decided that a great performance would settle the dispute.
• On the way to rehearsal, an attacker charged at Lin Tian with an iron rod, but Lin Tian dodged, disarmed him, and threw him to the ground.
• The attacker said he had tried to stop Lin Tian from tarnishing Mr. Sakibo Sato, and He Zhichen warned Lin Tian that the competition had become too serious to ignore.

After a dangerous attack in Tokyo, Lin Tian apologized to Gan Yan Yu and learned that her determination to perform came from wanting everyone to hear music. As the Sakibo International Piano Competition began, Lin Tian watched Nishikawa Yuuhaku perform and turned his attention to the little-known Watanabe Satoru, whose first notes startled the lounge.

• Lin Tian scolded Gan Yan Yu for stepping between him and an attacker, then the Tokyo police arrested the man and took statements from them.
• After rehearsal, Lin Tian apologized to Gan Yan Yu for yelling, and she told him she had acted to protect him.
• Lin Tian asked how Gan Yan Yu had endured the abuse she faced during her early competitions, and she said she wanted everyone to hear the music.
• At the competition, Nishikawa Yuuhaku performed his rhapsody "Nightfall Elegy," while Lin Tian recognized his remarkable piano skill.
• A curly-haired man criticized Nishikawa's composition and performance, then introduced himself through the announcement as the next contestant, Watanabe Satoru.
• Watanabe Satoru began playing, and the unusually pure piano sound drew everyone's attention to the screen.

Watanabe Satoru stunned the audience with a pure, meticulously controlled piano performance, drawing praise from fellow pianists and surprising them with his talent. Yao Han revealed he had chosen Watanabe as a potential opponent for Lin Tian, who was then called to perform and startled the other pianists with his piece selection.

• Watanabe Satoru's clean, serene performance impressed the audience and fellow pianists, including Lin Tian.
• The lounge learned that Watanabe was a self-taught, second-tier Japanese pianist who had entered Sakubang with little recognition.
• Yao Han recalled selecting Watanabe as a possible opponent who could bring out Lin Tian's potential.
• Lin Tian applauded Watanabe's performance, felt the pressure of the competition, and reflected on how its purity had moved him.
• Lin Tian was called to the stage, where Gan Yan Yu watched eagerly and the other pianists froze when they heard his choice of piece.

Lin Tian performed his original piano piece “Croatian Rhapsody” at the Tokyo competition, confronting the doubts surrounding his reputation as a composer. He left the audience stunned as the music surged into a furious climax.

• The contestants compared Lin Tian’s “Croatian Rhapsody” with Nishikawa Yuuhaku’s “Nightfall Elegy,” and Nishikawa watched Lin Tian’s performance with a frown.
• Lin Tian reflected on his past habit of copying music for fame and money, then looked toward Gan Yan Yu and resolved to share the charm of music from another world.
• Lin Tian began playing a lyrical, mysterious prelude that convinced the other pianists he had professional-level skill.
• The piece grew heavier and more intense, turning melancholy into anger before erupting into a powerful, furious climax.
• Yao Han slapped the table and shouted that the performance was awesome.

Lin Tian performed “Croatian Rhapsody,” moving the audience with its forceful emotion and history of war. The piece ended to thunderous applause, and Nishikawa Yuuhaku admitted Lin Tian had outperformed him in skill.

• Lin Tian poured himself into “Croatian Rhapsody,” a piece rooted in Croatia’s wartime suffering, as the audience became absorbed in the music.
• Gan Yan Yu cried as the music conveyed its anger and sorrow, while Watanabe Satoru praised Lin Tian’s performance from the lounge.
• Nishikawa Yuuhaku stopped his friend from dismissing Lin Tian and admitted that Lin Tian had surpassed him in skill.
• Lin Tian finished with a powerful chord, bowed to the audience, and received a standing ovation as Gan Yan Yu applauded especially enthusiastically.

After performing at the Sakibo International Piano Competition, Lin Tian explained the background and musical ideas of “Croatian Rhapsody” to the pianists gathered around him. He reunited with Gan Yan Yu, said he wanted to perform with her even more, and was named among the eight contestants advancing to the finals.

• Lin Tian answered the young pianists’ questions about “Croatian Rhapsody” and described its imagined story of war in Croatia.
• The pianists praised the piece, and Lin Tian hoped they would perform it and carry it on.
• Lin Tian met Gan Yan Yu outside the venue and told her that his strongest feeling after performing was wanting to perform with her.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu returned to Tokyo International Music Hall, where the host announced that Lin Tian and seven others had advanced to the finals.

After advancing to the Sakibo International Piano Competition finals, Lin Tian questioned Yao Han’s motives for making him the center of attention and asked He Zhichen to investigate him. At the hotel, Lin Tian found fresh enjoyment in performing, then received an excited call from Xu Yong, who reminded him that his success could make his estranged father regret abandoning him.

• Yao Han congratulated Lin Tian on reaching the finals and warned that other pianists might see him as an opponent willing to use any means to win.
• Lin Tian noticed Watanabe Satoru’s cold stare and suspected that Yao Han had deliberately helped turn him into a focus of the competition.
• Lin Tian asked He Zhichen about Yao Han, and He Zhichen said he would look into the pianist’s background.
• Lin Tian reflected on how performing had become enjoyable after he gained insight into a long-standing mental block.
• Xu Yong called to celebrate Lin Tian’s competition performance and said his success might make his estranged father regret his choices.

Lin Tian watched public opinion shift in his favor after Chinese fans flooded YouTube and foreign viewers discovered Moonlight and Cat’s music. He then learned from He Zhichen that pianist Yao Han had a history of mental illness and an equally troubled older brother, leaving Lin Tian with a warning to keep his distance.

• Lin Tian teased Xu Yong about his relationship with Su Ran, then hung up and lamented that Xu Yong might start dating before him.
• Lin Tian saw that Sarah’s livestream and comments had turned against her after he performed “Croatian Rhapsody” and advanced to the Sakibo finals.
• Chinese fans attacked Sarah and other YouTube critics, while reposting Moonlight and Cat’s videos for foreign audiences.
• Lin Tian woke to find foreign viewers praising Moonlight and Cat, and reflected that he could let his music speak for itself.
• He Zhichen visited Lin Tian and reported that Yao Han was an unconventional pianist with a history of mental illness, as did his older brother.
• He Zhichen warned Lin Tian to keep his distance from Yao Han.

Lin Tian learned more about Yao Han’s older brother, Yao Xing, a once-prominent flutist who disappeared after a performance in Tuoba Jianhui’s orchestra. On the finals day of the Sakibo International Piano Competition, Lin Tian prepared backstage as fans argued online about his performance and Nishikawa Yuuhaku’s.

• He Zhichen told Lin Tian that Yao Han’s older brother, Yao Xing, had been a celebrated flutist in Tuoba Jianhui’s orchestra before disappearing after a performance mistake.
• Lin Tian considered whether Yao Xing had left music or died, while He Zhichen again warned him to stay away from Yao Han.
• Lin Tian received makeup backstage at the Tokyo International Music Hall before the Sakibo finals began.
• Lin Tian checked Twitter and saw fans debating whether Nishikawa Yuuhaku’s “Nightfall Elegy” or Lin Tian’s “Croatian Rhapsody” was better.
• The online debate boosted Lin Tian’s popularity, with netizens beginning to treat him as a rival on Nishikawa’s level.

Lin Tian faced online attacks after netizens claimed he had advanced only because Sakibo International could not risk rejecting “Croatian Rhapsody.” Nishikawa Yuuhaku approached him in the lounge, praised his composition, and left pleased after Lin Tian promised their pieces would not overlap in the finals.

• Netizens argued that Lin Tian advanced to avoid making Nishikawa Yuuhaku’s “Croatian Rhapsody” look inferior, while Japanese fans attacked Lin Tian online.
• Lin Tian worried that Nishikawa’s extremist fans might target him in person.
• Nishikawa Yuuhaku introduced himself to Lin Tian and sincerely praised “Croatian Rhapsody.”
• Lin Tian apologized for any offense and said his finals piece belonged to a niche genre that would not overlap with Nishikawa’s.
• Nishikawa Yuuhaku expressed happiness at sharing the finals with Lin Tian, and they shook hands.

Lin Tian watched the Sakibo International Piano Competition finals begin and considered his rivalry with Watanabe Satoru. Watanabe chose an exceptionally difficult etude to showcase his technique and expose Lin Tian’s weaker performance ability, leaving Lin Tian wary of the challenge.

• Nishikawa Yuuhaku left after approaching Lin Tian, and the competition began with Camilo Williams performing to an enthusiastic audience.
• Yao Han joined Lin Tian in the lounge and warned him that strong composition could not make up for stagnant performance ability.
• Watanabe Satoru began performing Elvin’s highly difficult "Etude No. 43," surprising the pianists watching from the lounge.
• Lin Tian realized Watanabe had chosen the etude to emphasize his own technical skill and magnify Lin Tian’s weakness in performance.

Yao Han urged Watanabe Satoru to target Lin Tian’s weaker piano technique with Elvin’s difficult “Etude No. 43,” while secretly hoping to draw out Lin Tian’s potential. Watanabe Satoru accepted the gamble and finished his performance flawlessly, determined to defeat Lin Tian and make his name.

• A few days earlier, Yao Han told Watanabe Satoru that Lin Tian would be his main rival for Best Newcomer and advised him to showcase his technique with Elvin’s “Etude No. 43.”
• Watanabe Satoru realized Yao Han was using him to provoke Lin Tian, but decided to use Yao Han’s advice to pursue his own ambition.
• During the performance round, Watanabe Satoru played the demanding piece with intense focus, determined to defeat Lin Tian.
• The pianists in the lounge marveled as Watanabe Satoru completed the rapid scales and arpeggios without a mistake.

Watanabe Satoru dazzled the audience with his technical performance, leaving the other pianists convinced that Lin Tian would struggle to match him. Lin Tian decided to rely on emotional expression rather than confront Watanabe’s technical advantage, but Nishikawa Yuuhaku’s next performance left him startled.

• Watanabe Satoru performed “Etude No. 43” with remarkable speed and accuracy, earning thunderous applause.
• Williams, Lloyd, and the other pianists judged Watanabe’s etude to be a direct challenge to Lin Tian’s weak technical fundamentals.
• Nishikawa Yuuhaku encouraged Lin Tian before leaving the lounge to perform.
• Yao Han warned Lin Tian that he could either wait for defeat or take a desperate gamble.
• Lin Tian concluded that he should play to his strength in emotional expression while showing enough piano technique.
• The announcer introduced Nishikawa Yuuhaku’s original serenade, “Silent Gate,” and Lin Tian stiffened when he saw him take the stage.

Nishikawa Yuuhaku performed his original nocturne, “Silent Gate,” to widespread acclaim, and Lin Tian prepared to follow with a piece from his previous life. The chapter ended as Lin Tian was announced to perform Chopin’s “Nocturne in E-flat Major.”

• Nishikawa Yuuhaku performed “Silent Gate,” impressing the pianists in the lounge with its lyrical melody and nocturne style.
• Williams, Alvis Burke, and the other pianists praised the piece, with Burke calling it a textbook example of a nocturne.
• Lin Tian felt awkward about Nishikawa’s kindness, then grew less guilty after hearing the acclaim for “Silent Gate.”
• Nishikawa Yuuhaku asked Lin Tian what he thought of the piece and wished him luck before Lin Tian headed to the stage.
• Lin Tian recalled Chopin’s role in popularizing nocturnes and was announced to perform “Nocturne in E-flat Major.”

Lin Tian began playing Chopin’s “Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2” in the final, once again coincidentally choosing the same genre as Nishikawa Yuuhaku. His delicate performance captivated the audience, though Yao Han sensed it had yet to reach its full potential.

• The broadcast announced Lin Tian’s nocturne, and the audience realized he and Nishikawa Yuuhaku had once again chosen pieces in the same genre.
• Nishikawa Yuuhaku lamented the coincidence, while Lin Tian prepared to perform Chopin’s “Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2.”
• Williams, Lloyd, and the other listeners doubted Lin Tian could surpass Nishikawa’s “Silent Gate” in the nocturne genre.
• Lin Tian began playing, and his gentle, expressive melody quickly drew the audience in.
• Williams and the others praised the music’s melody and flowing triplet accompaniment as Yao Han listened with satisfaction.
• Yao Han thought Lin Tian’s performance was beautiful but felt it still needed to go further.

Lin Tian performed Chopin’s “Nocturne in E-flat Major” with an emotional precision that astonished the audience and Watanabe Satoru, but the effort was pushing his body toward collapse. As the piece reached its final quarter, a Focus Potion from the Producer’s Backpack automatically activated.

• Lin Tian imagined Gan Yan Yu playing the cello and shaped the Nocturne into a vivid, dreamlike performance.
• Gan Yan Yu silently mimed playing along, and the audience and Williams praised Lin Tian’s control and expressiveness.
• Watanabe Satoru recognized Lin Tian’s extraordinary skill, while Burke and Yao Han noticed that Lin Tian was overexerting himself.
• Lin Tian struggled through the remaining section as exhaustion threatened to make him collapse.
• The Producer’s Backpack automatically retrieved and used a Focus Potion.

Lin Tian regained his strength during his performance and delivered a moving interpretation of his original “Nocturne in E-flat Major,” winning over the audience and fellow pianists. After he left the stage, Nishikawa Yuuhaku and Watanabe Satoru reflected on the defeat, and Gan Yan Yu hurried to greet Lin Tian.

• Lin Tian suddenly felt his focus, mental strength, endurance, and thinking speed surge as he continued playing.
• Lin Tian pushed the nocturne to new heights, drawing praise from Yao Han and holding the audience in captivated silence until the final note.
• The audience erupted in applause, and musicians backstage praised Lin Tian’s composition and performance as a historic achievement.
• Nishikawa Yuuhaku withdrew to the hallway to smoke, where Watanabe Satoru joined him and calmly accepted the result.
• Gan Yan Yu hurried over to Lin Tian after his performance, and he reached out to catch her before she dodged away and congratulated him.

After his final performance, Lin Tian discussed his stamina and musical growth with Gan Yan Yu while the contestants waited nervously for the judges to decide the awards. With Lin Tian’s performances disrupting expectations and stirring debate among the judges, the award ceremony was announced as Nishikawa Yuuhaku accepted the results he would receive.

• Lin Tian told Gan Yan Yu that he had hoped for a hug, and she reminded him that he had already used his monthly allowance for one.
• Gan Yan Yu asked about Lin Tian’s condition after his performance, and he reflected on how much effort she must have put into becoming a great performer.
• The contestants waited anxiously as the judges deliberated, with Lin Tian and Watanabe Satoru having thrown the competition’s expected rankings into doubt.
• He Zhichen told Lin Tian that rumors said the judges were arguing and that Lin Tian’s name was being discussed most often.
• Lin Tian apologized to Nishikawa Yuuhaku for overshadowing him, but Nishikawa accepted his own shortcomings and said he would accept the result.
• The broadcast announced that the 2025 Sakibo International Piano Competition award ceremony was about to begin.

At the 2025 Sakibo International Piano Competition awards ceremony, Nishikawa Yuuhaku won gold, Burke silver, and Williams bronze. The ceremony then began announcing the special awards, with Lin Tian receiving Best Newcomer.

• The host announced that the gold, silver, and bronze medals would be presented before the special awards, surprising the contestants and audience.
• The host named Williams the bronze medalist, Alvis Burke the silver medalist, and Nishikawa Yuuhaku the gold medalist and competition champion.
• Burke congratulated Nishikawa, who said the trophy should have been Burke's because the competition was on his home ground.
• Nishikawa, Burke, and Williams accepted their medals and delivered speeches.
• The host announced Lin Tian of China as the Best Newcomer, drawing cheers from the venue and Chinese viewers in the livestream.