Only Music Is Most Important

Instrumental solos aren't very popular on short video platforms.

And for niche instruments like the cello, it's even less popular.

Of course, those who dress provocatively and stream live requests are a different story.

Anyone who's filmed for Douyin knows this.

Don't be fooled by the videos you usually see getting tens of thousands or even millions of likes.

If you actually film one yourself and the first one breaks 10,000 likes, that's considered exceptional talent, someone born to work in the internet industry.

For Lin Tian to achieve 23,000 likes under all these unfavorable conditions is truly an outstanding result!

None of this was accidental.

It was all within Lin Tian's calculations!

Although Lin Tian doesn't use Douyin much and isn't entirely sure how to make attention-grabbing videos, he's not entirely confident himself.

But the good thing was, Lin Tian had already learned from a mistake a few days prior.

That video of Lin Tian playing in a restaurant.

With over 100,000 likes, Lin Tian had thought his "Wedding in My Dream" would truly be the star.

But in reality, the comment section was more focused on "a handsome high school boy working part-time playing the piano in a restaurant" than the music itself.

This realization made Lin Tian understand.

Playing music well is a bonus, but it's definitely not a requirement.

The true requirement is the gimmick the video can showcase.

Understanding this principle, Lin Tian immediately avoided many detours.

From the start, he had Gan Yan Yu change into a high school uniform to perform, and used lighting and appropriate camera angles, finding the most flattering perspective for her.

This was also to create the "schoolgirl playing" gimmick.

When you have both a gimmick and sufficiently strong musical skill.

It's hard for a video not to go viral!

Some comments in the comment section also confirmed this.

[Damn! Doesn't anyone else notice? The tags this author used are insane!]

[Hand fetish, lady, uniform, long legs bonus. The author didn't lie to me!! Is that last part about the stick going in and out a bit too much?]

[Just tell me if the bow went in and out of the strings!]

[This author is alright! He really doesn't lie with his tags!]

A high school girl playing the cello, who could resist that!

Especially when everyone saw the performer's name in the description was "Mao," it triggered their automatic imagination.

[Cat-chan... hehe, Cat-chan, hehehe...]

Already this good in high school, Cat-chan must be a very elegant goddess sister!

[A sister who plays the cello so beautifully must be a beautiful girl!]

Of course, some netizens held different opinions.

For example, a netizen named "He's drunk, she knows, who knows if I'm drunk" launched an attack in the comment section:

[No, you all have quite the imagination for the sake of... Wearing a school uniform makes you a high schooler? This is Douyin, it's all just traffic!

I'm in a band, and this cello playing is almost professional level. You're telling me this is a high schooler?

It's not bad if it's a mom in her late thirties or early forties! At best, it's someone in her late twenties. And she's probably not good-looking, otherwise why not show her face?

If this is a real high school girl, I'll eat the cello in the video on the spot!!]

Regardless of how passionately the netizens debated in the comment section.

There was one thing Lin Tian could be sure of.

Their first filming session was a success!

As soon as he got home that night, Lin Tian immediately called Gan Yan Yu and asked her to come over.

He was sure Gan Yan Yu would be very happy to see such good news.

Lin Tian really wanted to show off: See? I told you wearing the school uniform was the right choice, didn't I?

After all, this was over 100,000 views, meaning over 100,000 people had listened to the girl's cello!

Isn't this exactly what she had always pursued, letting more people hear her music?

Lin Tian couldn't even imagine what kind of expression Gan Yan Yu would have...

"Mmm..."

As Gan Yan Yu sat on Lin Tian's sofa, looking at the comments on his phone.

The girl, however, wasn't as excited as Lin Tian had imagined.

"It's quite good."

Gan Yan Yu pursed her lips and said softly, then handed the phone back to Lin Tian.

Lin Tian froze.

"That's it?"

"Huh?"

"No other comments?"

"What other comments do you want?"

As if to humor Lin Tian, Gan Yan Yu twirled a strand of her hair with her finger and pretended to ponder for a moment.

Then, she said with a serious expression:

"Over a hundred thousand views, over twenty thousand likes, that's excellent. We can definitely achieve even greater success next time!"

Lin Tian frowned, looking at Gan Yan Yu.

Something was wrong. This felt very wrong.

Although Gan Yan Yu's emotions had always been very stable, when she was happy, the micro-expressions on her face and her eyes were very obvious.

"Is there something you're not satisfied with?"

Lin Tian asked.

After Lin Tian voiced his question, Gan Yan Yu's pupils noticeably contracted.

"It's not that I'm unsatisfied, it just feels a bit strange..."

"What feels strange?"

"Lin Tian, the piece you wrote, 'Salut d'Amour,' is really, really good, right?"

"Yes."

"Even if my performance wasn't the best, I still played it pretty much completely, didn't I?"

"Your performance was absolutely perfect."

"Then isn't it too strange? No one is discussing the music at all. It's like they liked our video, but not for the music."

Gan Yan Yu said in a low voice, "Your composition is so good, yet they don't appreciate it."

Lin Tian fell silent.

He understood.

Gan Yan Yu had taken the filming so seriously, and cooperated with Lin Tian's performance so earnestly, not for the "video data," but simply because she wanted more people to hear their music.

But now, despite having over a hundred thousand views, it was hard to say if anyone truly fell in love with their music.

It was more likely they fell in love with her.

"But, it's okay. As long as people watch the video, it means our efforts weren't in vain,"

Gan Yan Yu said.

The girl's heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions.

To be honest, when she scrolled through the comments and saw people praising, flattering, and even worshipping her appearance, her heart remained unmoved.

She didn't care about any of that.

Appearance was the least important quality a person could possess, yet it was always the most mentioned.

Gan Yan Yu disliked this feeling immensely.

It was as if the only thing people could praise about her was her beautiful shell.

For her, the only thing that truly mattered was the music.

"It's alright, we'll just work harder next time!"

Lin Tian stood up, patted Gan Yan Yu's shoulder, and comforted her.

Then, he changed the subject:

"Actually, there are people who understand our music. For example, look at this—"

Lin Tian handed her the phone.

In the private messages section of the backend, someone named [Yan Yan Who Loves Playing in Water] had sent a message:

[I didn't have much education growing up and don't understand music, but this piece truly made me feel the most beautiful aspect of love!

Moonlight and Cat, thank you. Although I've never met you, you've truly changed my life.

Starting tomorrow, my new life begins!]

Gan Yan Yu froze upon seeing the message.

Her beautiful pupils trembled slightly.

All the gloom seemed to vanish at that moment.

"Right?"

Lin Tian put away his phone, a triumphant smile on his face.