Chapter Summaries

At a mountainside lookout, Lin Tian shared his difficult childhood and told Gan Yan Yu about cellist Jacqueline du Pré, hoping to inspire her to keep performing despite her illness. Gan Yan Yu resolved to live on and wait for her grandfather to wake from a coma, while Lin Tian learned that her grandfather was still alive but had become vegetative after a car accident.

• Gan Yan Yu asked Lin Tian what he meant by calling his childhood “half good,” and Lin Tian explained that both his parents had left him to live alone.
• When Gan Yan Yu asked whether he had ever wanted to give up on life, Lin Tian told her about Jacqueline du Pré, who continued performing despite a serious illness.
• Gan Yan Yu said she could not leave without honoring her grandfather, and Lin Tian encouraged her to keep performing and wait for him to wake.
• Lin Tian learned that Gan Yan Yu’s grandfather had been in a car accident three days earlier and had become vegetative.
• Gan Yan Yu turned away in tears and lamented that her grandfather had promised to wait for her to return from the United Kingdom after asthma treatment.

Lin Tian learned that Gan Yan Yu had asthma rather than a terminal illness and discovered that her parents had destroyed her cello career, driving her to despair. As dawn broke, he vowed to help her pursue her grandfather’s dream of winning the Kohl Cup.

• Lin Tian confirmed that Gan Yan Yu had asthma and felt relieved that she was not terminally ill.
• Lin Tian scolded Gan Yan Yu for considering suicide while her grandfather remained hospitalized and she had not achieved her dream.
• Gan Yan Yu explained that her parents had returned, destroyed her cello belongings, and caused her agency to terminate her contract.
• Lin Tian encouraged Gan Yan Yu to compete as an independent musician and asked about her grandfather’s dream of winning the Kohl Cup.
• Gan Yan Yu described the difficult path to the Kohl Cup, and Lin Tian declared that he would help her.

Lin Tian asked Gan Yan Yu to partner with him on short videos, offering to compose music while she performed on the cello. After sleeping through class, he learned that a passerby's video of his piano performance had received 120,000 likes.

• Lin Tian offered to compose music for Gan Yan Yu and accompany her while she performed, and proposed they make short videos together.
• Gan Yan Yu agreed to become Lin Tian's partner, trusting him and feeling secure by his side.
• Lin Tian hurried to school and fell asleep through his math classes after saying he would write a piece for Gan Yan Yu.
• Xu Yong woke Lin Tian at lunch and showed him a passerby's Douyin video of his piano performance, which had reached 120,000 likes.

A viral Douyin video of Lin Tian playing piano at the SWING Restaurant brought him attention at school and exposed details about his reputation. After school, a girl asked him whether he had a girlfriend, leaving the watching students waiting for his answer.

• Lin Tian saw that a video of him playing "Wedding in My Dream" had gone viral and that commenters had nicknamed him Piano Brother.
• Commenters identified Lin Tian as a top student at Qingzhou Seventh High School and spread rumors that he had a pretty girlfriend outside school.
• Lin Tian asked Xu Yong whether he usually looked sour, and Xu Yong described his expression as a deadpan face.
• Lin Tian decided to consider making short videos and discuss it with Gan Yan Yu the next day.
• After school, two girls approached Lin Tian, and one gathered her courage to ask whether he had a girlfriend.

Lin Tian avoided answering classmates’ questions about whether he had a girlfriend, then returned home and found Gan Yan Yu had cleaned the house before leaving. After checking her improved mental health but poor physical condition, he planned a rehabilitation program for their next practice and was surprised when she arrived early the following morning, looking lively.

• Lin Tian deflected his classmates’ questions about his relationship, prompting the girls to speculate that he had a soulmate.
• Lin Tian found Gan Yan Yu’s note and realized she had cleaned his home before leaving the night before.
• Lin Tian claimed the system rewards of a master-level Massage Skill and automatic copyright registration.
• Lin Tian checked Gan Yan Yu’s status, saw that her mental health had improved but her physical health remained very poor, and planned rehabilitation for her.
• Gan Yan Yu arrived at Lin Tian’s home early Saturday with her cello and asked him to take care of her during practice.

Gan Yan Yu visited Lin Tian, asked when he had realized she was suicidal, and became embarrassed when he recalled their awkward encounter. Lin Tian showed her the completed cello piece “Salut d'Amour” and asked her to play it.

• Gan Yan Yu arrived at Lin Tian’s home and nervously treated herself as a guest despite their new relationship.
• Gan Yan Yu asked when Lin Tian had realized she wanted to kill herself, and Lin Tian said he had become certain when she asked what he wanted to do.
• Gan Yan Yu covered Lin Tian’s mouth to stop him from recounting the embarrassing moment, and he accidentally bit her finger before blowing on it.
• Lin Tian brought out the completed sheet music for “Salut d'Amour” and explained that it was a Romantic-style piece.
• Lin Tian asked Gan Yan Yu to try playing “Salut d'Amour” on her cello.

Gan Yan Yu performed Lin Tian’s “Salut d'Amour” on the cello, moving him with her interpretation. After he praised her and suggested they record the piece for her grandfather in the hospital, Lin Tian considered asking Zhong Wei'an for help getting recording equipment and a piano.

• Gan Yan Yu asked Lin Tian whether anyone had performed “Salut d'Amour” in full, then prepared her cello to play it.
• Gan Yan Yu performed the piece privately for Lin Tian, who was deeply moved by her playing.
• Gan Yan Yu confessed that her grandfather thought she played without emotion, and Lin Tian reassured her that her performance was outstanding.
• Lin Tian suggested recording the piece to play for Gan Yan Yu’s grandfather when they visited him in the hospital, and she happily agreed.
• Lin Tian realized they needed recording equipment and a piano, then took out Zhong Wei'an’s SYC Music Agency business card.

Lin Tian contacted SYC about recording equipment and accepted Zhong Wei'an’s offer to provide it for free in exchange for mentioning the company in his videos. When he discovered the large assortment of medicine Gan Yan Yu carried, he confronted her about her health and decided to help her improve it.

• Gan Yan Yu explained that SYC was a well-known music agency, and Lin Tian called Zhong Wei'an to ask about using the company’s recording studio for music and short videos.
• Zhong Wei'an offered to send Lin Tian recording equipment for free in exchange for a mention in his video descriptions, and Lin Tian agreed.
• Gan Yan Yu coughed and spilled numerous medicines from her cello case while trying to retrieve some.
• Lin Tian saw that Gan Yan Yu carried antidepressants, asthma treatments, and many other medicines, and asked her about them.
• Gan Yan Yu told Lin Tian that she needed a hospital physical examination report before she could return to school.
• Lin Tian ordered Gan Yan Yu to join him for nutritious meals and exercise starting the next day.

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu agreed to exercise together so she could recover enough to return to school, and they planned to attend college in the same city, ideally at the same university. After an intense first day of training left Gan Yan Yu sore all over, Lin Tian offered to use his massage skill to help her.

• Lin Tian explained that Gan Yan Yu’s depression had caused serious physical symptoms and urged her to exercise so she could return to school.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu agreed to take the college entrance exam together and hoped to attend the same university, while Gan Yan Yu proposed recovering within half a month.
• Gan Yan Yu asked Lin Tian to cook for her regularly, and they began their rehabilitation plan over the weekend with morning runs, nutritious meals, and evening training.
• After the first day of strenuous exercise, Gan Yan Yu was too sore to move and complained that her legs, back, arms, and butt hurt.
• Lin Tian remembered his master-level massage skill and told Gan Yan Yu to take off her pants.

Lin Tian massaged Gan Yan Yu’s sore thigh, but she abruptly left after a quiet, awkward pause. With little money left, Lin Tian decided to focus on his mission, then set up to record a short video with Gan Yan Yu and told her to change into her school uniform.

• Lin Tian gave Gan Yan Yu a professional thigh massage, and she asked whether he had practiced on anyone else.
• After about ten minutes, Gan Yan Yu ended the massage, hurried home, and left Lin Tian puzzled by her sudden departure.
• Lin Tian checked that Gan Yan Yu was mentally well, then realized he had only seventy-three yuan left and regretted turning down Manager Wang’s offer to return to work.
• Lin Tian set up recording equipment on his balcony for a short video with Gan Yan Yu.
• Lin Tian rejected Gan Yan Yu’s white performance dress and told her to change into her school uniform because he preferred that outfit.

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu recorded a cello performance and created an account called “Moonlight and Cat” to upload it. The video was published with Lin Tian credited as Moonlight and Gan Yan Yu as Cat.

• Lin Tian persuaded Gan Yan Yu to wear her school uniform for the recording while keeping her face hidden.
• Gan Yan Yu changed into her blue-and-white uniform, and Lin Tian directed her into a pose before they began filming.
• Gan Yan Yu played the piece nearly in one take, and both of them liked the recording, though she suggested adding piano accompaniment.
• Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu chose “Moonlight and Cat” as their account name and registered the account.
• Lin Tian uploaded the cello performance of “Salut d'Amour,” added credits and tags, and published the video.

Zhang Yan, worn down by her work at a foot-washing parlor and her father's gambling debts, heard Cat's cello performance of "Salut d'Amour" and decided to quit and stop supporting him. The next morning, Lin Tian discovered that the video he had posted had gone viral.

• Zhang Yan came home from work and endured her father's insults before breaking down alone in her room.
• While scrolling Douyin, Zhang Yan watched Cat perform "Salut d'Amour" and reflected on her lost hopes for love and her unhappy life.
• Moved by the music, Zhang Yan told her father she would quit after the month and stop paying his gambling debts.
• Zhang Yan replayed the video and learned the song was called "Salut d'Amour" and the performer was named Cat.
• Lin Tian woke to find his Douyin inbox flooded and saw that his cello video had received over 110,000 views, 23,000 likes, and more than 6,000 comments.

Lin Tian’s video of Gan Yan Yu performing “Salut d’Amour” in a school uniform gained over a hundred thousand views, but the comments focused more on her appearance than the music. Gan Yan Yu worried that viewers had not appreciated their performance until a private message showed their music had deeply affected someone.

• Lin Tian explained that the video’s success came from pairing Gan Yan Yu’s cello performance with the school-uniform gimmick.
• Lin Tian showed Gan Yan Yu the video’s views and comments, but she reacted without much excitement.
• Gan Yan Yu told Lin Tian she felt strange because commenters praised her appearance instead of discussing the music.
• Lin Tian showed Gan Yan Yu a message from Yan Yan Who Loves Playing in Water, who said the piece had inspired a new beginning in her life.
• Gan Yan Yu’s gloom lifted after she read the message, and Lin Tian smiled at her reaction.

After Gan Yan Yu secured permission to live in her grandfather’s house, she pulled away from Lin Tian, who focused on improving their cello video and received a 10,000-yuan reward. With most of his overdue rent paid, he considered asking his friend to help him buy a piano.

• Gan Yan Yu told Lin Tian her parents had agreed to let her live in her grandfather’s house and send her money, after she used his words to stand up to them.
• Gan Yan Yu declined Lin Tian’s invitation to celebrate, left his home, and offered to split the grocery costs.
• Lin Tian wondered why Gan Yan Yu had recently been limiting their time together, then turned his attention to improving their video by adding piano accompaniment.
• Lin Tian collected the system’s 10,000-yuan reward for their video surpassing 10,000 genuine likes.
• Lin Tian paid two months of overdue rent to Auntie Li and considered asking his friend, who was saving for a computer, to contribute money toward a piano.

Lin Tian tried to borrow 8,000 yuan from Xu Yong to buy a piano for his Douyin videos, but Xu Yong’s mother would lend only 3,000. Lin Tian returned to class wondering if he should proceed without a piano, then learned Gan Yan Yu had come looking for him.

• Lin Tian offered Xu Yong breakfast before admitting he needed money to buy a piano for his video-making business.
• Xu Yong watched Lin Tian’s video and, trusting his piano skills and early success, agreed to ask his mother for 8,000 yuan.
• Xu Yong returned from calling his mother with permission to lend Lin Tian only 3,000 yuan.
• Lin Tian decided the money would not buy a suitable piano and wondered whether his next video could succeed without accompaniment.
• A classmate told Lin Tian that a pretty, long-haired girl had come looking for him, and he found a message from Sunshine After Rain.

Gan Yan Yu secretly returned to school to speak with Lin Tian, drawing classmates’ attention and sparking rumors that they were a couple. She asked him to meet the chairman of the Qingzhou City Music Association at noon, explaining that he was leaving the country that afternoon.

• Lin Tian entered class and overheard classmates gossiping about Gan Yan Yu and their supposed relationship.
• Su Ran asked Lin Tian who Gan Yan Yu was, and he insisted she was only a friend.
• Lin Tian and Xu Yong joked about ways to earn money for a piano.
• Lin Tian found Gan Yan Yu peeking into the classroom and pulled her away to talk.
• Gan Yan Yu urged Lin Tian to correct the classmates’ misunderstanding that they were partners romantically.
• Gan Yan Yu asked Lin Tian to meet the chairman of the Qingzhou City Music Association, who wanted to see him before leaving the country.

Gan Yan Yu took Lin Tian to meet the Music Association chairman, Wan Qi, and explained why she was determined to compete in the Kohl Cup: she wanted to learn what had happened when her grandfather was allegedly poisoned before the competition sixteen years earlier. Wan Qi welcomed them and offered Lin Tian his treasured piano after Gan Yan Yu asked him for it, leaving Lin Tian surprised by her thoughtfulness.

• In the car, Gan Yan Yu told Lin Tian about the prestigious halls musicians dreamed of performing in and her grandfather’s unexplained illness during the Kohl Cup.
• Gan Yan Yu said she planned to go to Vienna and uncover what happened to her grandfather, who had been poisoned before his competition performance.
• Gan Yan Yu and Lin Tian arrived at Wan Qi’s home, where the old conductor welcomed them and asked about her grandfather.
• Wan Qi recognized Lin Tian as the composer of Salut d'Amour and showed him the piano he had owned for nearly thirty years.
• Wan Qi offered Lin Tian the piano, explaining that Gan Yan Yu had asked him for it because she wanted to share the burden of helping her partner.

Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu visited Wan Qi, who gave them a piano and introduced Gao Zhenyang to help with their musical careers. Gao arranged for Gan Yan Yu to perform at a major concert in two weeks, with Lin Tian accompanying her, leaving them little time to practice together.

• Lin Tian tested Wan Qi's thirty-year-old piano by playing his composition, "Wedding in My Dream," and Wan Qi recognized him from a video of the performance.
• Wan Qi praised Lin Tian's promise as a composer and asked Gan Yan Yu about her goal of earning the highest honor in cello; she reaffirmed her commitment to competing for herself and her grandfather.
• Wan Qi introduced his student Gao Zhenyang, who offered to advise Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu as they pursued the Kohl Cup.
• Gao said Gan Yan Yu needed a performance résumé and offered her a spot at a concert at Qingtian Concert Hall in two weeks.
• Gan Yan Yu hesitated about returning to a domestic stage, but agreed after Lin Tian promised to accompany her.
• Gao learned that Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu had never performed together and urged them to practice before the concert.

Wan Qi encouraged Lin Tian to pursue music on a bigger stage and suggested Gao Zhenyang learn from him. At home, Lin Tian received a system task to make a happy-making music video, and chose “Can-Can” for the performance.

• Wan Qi urged Lin Tian to leave Qingzhou City’s small stage behind and pursue music with Gan Yan Yu, while Gao Zhenyang admitted Lin Tian’s compositions overwhelmed him.
• Wan Qi praised Lin Tian’s composure and suggested Gao Zhenyang guide the pair to learn from them.
• Lin Tian skipped another afternoon class, then went home as the piano was delivered and set up in his cramped living room.
• The system assigned Lin Tian a seven-day task to release a partner performance video that earned 100,000 likes and viewers’ joy, rewarding him with a Profit Doubling Card.
• Lin Tian considered seeking an advertisement for the video and chose “Can-Can,” also known as “Infernal Galop,” as the piece.

Lin Tian prepared the score for “Can-Can” and talked with Gan Yan Yu about her recovery and their shared expenses. Gan Yan Yu insisted on repaying him by cooking dinner the next day.

• Lin Tian wrote out “Can-Can” and found that one piano could not capture its energetic sound, so the piece needed an ensemble.
• Gan Yan Yu arrived for practice, and Lin Tian learned that she weighed 42.5 kilograms after four days of his rehabilitation meal plan.
• Gan Yan Yu offered to pay her share of the meal costs, but Lin Tian refused and said their work and money were shared.
• Lin Tian showed Gan Yan Yu his WeChat balance and claimed a fan had sponsored them with ten thousand yuan.
• Gan Yan Yu agreed not to press the expense issue but said she would cook Lin Tian a whole table of dinner the next day.