In the car heading to their destination.
Gan Yan Yu clenched one small fist while using her other hand to scribble on her thigh, then pinched her thigh.
The sight left Lin Tian staring blankly.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah?"
Caught in the act, Gan Yan Yu's pretty face reddened slightly, and she awkwardly ducked her head.
"When I'm nervous, I draw stars on my leg."
"Then why pinch yourself?"
"To refresh the canvas."
"Nice."
Apparently, Gan Yan Yu's setup came with a strict operating system.
Though who knew whether it would still function properly if someone else operated it.
At noon today, in order to accompany Gan Yan Yu to meet the Music Association chairman, Lin Tian had even given up his precious lunch break and specifically hailed a cab to go with her.
"Are you really that nervous?" Lin Tian asked.
"I'm nervous for you!"
"Nervous for me?"
"Old Mr. Wan is a conductor who has performed at Royal Albert Hall."
"What hall?"
"Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom!"
Gan Yan Yu raised one finger and said earnestly,
"Only world-class musicians are qualified to perform at Royal Albert Hall in London!"
"Oh."
Though Lin Tian did not know much about the music world or its famous names, he could understand the general idea.
It was like the idol anime he used to watch from Japan, where idols often treated holding a concert at Tokyo Dome as their ultimate goal.
Of course, the entertainment industry could not possibly be compared with the world of classical music. What they pursued was not on the same level.
"Besides Royal Albert Hall, places like Vienna Music Association Hall in Vienna, Berlin Philharmonic Hall in Germany, and Carnegie Hall in New York, America, are all considered the highest temples of art in every musician's eyes. Anyone who can perform in those halls is an incredibly, incredibly accomplished musician!"
When Gan Yan Yu spoke of those places, her eyes were filled with longing.
Presumably, that was also Gan Yan Yu's dream as a cellist.
"What about Grandpa Gan? Has he been to any of those places?"
"No."
At that, Gan Yan Yu's gaze dimmed.
"Grandpa originally had the chance, but after he was eliminated from the Kohl Cup, he never performed again."
"That hit him that hard?"
Lin Tian found it a little difficult to understand.
Though he knew nothing about the cello, he knew there were plenty of music competitions around the world. Even for cellists, the Kohl Cup was not the only one—though it had the most prestige.
Besides, once someone had reached the level of a musician, competitions were not everything to people pursuing art, were they?
"No."
Gan Yan Yu said softly, "That year, Grandpa shouldn't have lost."
"Why do you say that?"
"Someone slipped him something."
Gan Yan Yu grew slightly emotional as she said in a low voice,
"Throughout the competition, Grandpa had been perfectly healthy. But on the morning of the match, just after he finished rehearsing and returned to the lounge, he started vomiting nonstop. He held on until the competition was over before going to the hospital to have his stomach pumped."
"The China Cello Association filed an appeal with the competition committee, and an expert panel from Vienna got involved in the investigation, but there was no result."
Lin Tian had not expected that.
All he had ever known was that Grandpa Gan had been eliminated in the Kohl Cup quarterfinals. He had not known something like this had happened.
Yet when he searched for related news, he had not seen any reports about it.
Apparently, the matter had been suppressed. After all, an investigation with no conclusion would do the public no good if it spread.
No wonder Grandpa Gan had never played the cello again and had instead opened a coffee shop to retire in.
His conviction had been shattered.
If it were me, I'd give up too.
In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed. The truth from sixteen years ago could no longer be uncovered.
But that had also become the reason Gan Yan Yu had to go to the Kohl Cup.
The girl turned her face and looked out the car window.
Word by word, she said softly,
"If that day comes, I'll definitely go to Vienna myself. I want to know what Grandpa went through back then."
Perhaps the river of time had already washed everything away. The former competitors, committee members, and audience members might no longer remember the matter.
But for the person who had personally suffered that harm, time had forever stopped on that day sixteen years ago.
Looking at her grandfather, now reduced to a vegetative state and unable to move again, Gan Yan Yu could not let go of her obsession with the Kohl Cup, no matter what.
Lin Tian understood a little better now.
The obsession those musicians had with music.
At the same time, he became somewhat curious about this old artist named Wan Qi.
The car stopped at an old residential complex.
When they knocked on the door, a young man answered.
"Hello."
Gan Yan Yu greeted him politely. "We're looking for Old Mr. Wan."
"You must be Gan Yan Yu and Lin Tian. The old man has been waiting for you for a long time."
The young man smiled, made a welcoming gesture, and ushered them inside.
The house had a distinct turn-of-the-millennium feel, with gray-blue decor and a worn calendar hanging on the wall. It easily brought dreamcore imagery to mind.
As soon as he entered the inner room, Lin Tian saw a white-haired old man tidying things up.
"Oh! Yan Yu's here." The old man turned around, and the moment he saw Gan Yan Yu, he broke into a smile.
"Mr. Wan."
Gan Yan Yu bowed respectfully.
"Come on, how many times have I told you? Stop doing this, stop doing this. Your grandfather and I have known each other for so many years! I watched you grow up!"
Wan Qi seemed extremely annoyed by Gan Yan Yu's formality and waved his hands vigorously.
He seemed like a very spirited old man, just like Grandpa Gan.
On the subject of Gan Yan Yu, he and Lin Tian were quite like-minded.
"How is your grandfather doing?"
"Still the same." A trace of bitterness surfaced at Gan Yan Yu's lips.
Hearing that, the old man set down the book he had been sorting and sat in a wooden rocking chair.
He let out a heavy sigh.
"Ah! That old fool. I kept telling him, cooping himself up in that coffee shop every day, he was going to suffocate all his luck away! Well, look at him now, bedridden, isn't he?!"
"..."
As the atmosphere gradually turned heavy, Wan Qi put a large cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
"Let's not talk about that for now—Yan Yu, this is..."
His gaze shifted to Lin Tian.
"He's Lin Tian."
"Hello, sir."
Perhaps because Gan Yan Yu had rubbed off on him, Lin Tian also bowed respectfully.
"Yes, yes, yes! You're the one who wrote Salut d'Amour, right?!"
Wan Qi sprang up from his chair and excitedly looked Lin Tian up and down.
He could not help clicking his tongue in admiration.
"You've got a bright future, a bright future!"
"Come with me first!"
With that, the old man led them into a room.
He turned on the light.
A piano rested quietly in the center of the room.
"Young man, come take a look!"
Wan Qi called Lin Tian over and guided him to feel the piano's keys with his own hands.
"What do you think? If you don't mind it, take it with you!"
"Take it... with me?"
Lin Tian was flattered beyond words.
"This piano is my old companion. It's been with me for nearly thirty years. I'm quite reluctant to part with it, but Yan Yu begged me for a long time, haha. In all these years, this is the only time she's ever actively asked me for something. I couldn't possibly let her down!" Wan Qi laughed heartily.
Lin Tian turned around in surprise and looked at Gan Yan Yu.
The girl quickly turned her face away. Her tone was not loud, but it was exceptionally serious.
"Weren't you always worried about the piano before? I thought that since we're partners, it can't always be you giving everything, right?"
Before you continue