Afterward, they asked a few more questions about the concert. Once they had talked enough, they added each other on WeChat.
Finally, Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu gave Mr. Wan Qi, who was about to depart on a long journey, their final farewell.
As he was leaving, Wan Qi specifically called Lin Tian over.
He took Lin Tian's hand and led him aside.
This time, there were no jokes or teasing, only a serious yet kindly tone:
"Lin, Qingzhou City is too small, while the world of music is vast. You shouldn't confine yourself to such a tiny place, nor should you set your sights on the immediate profits before you. The charm of music cannot be measured by any amount of wealth."
"I've taught for decades and seen far too many exceptionally gifted composers fail because of this. But I believe you're different from them."
"Go with Yan Yu and challenge the big stage."
After saying that, Wan Qi patted Lin Tian on the shoulder, then laughed loudly at both Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu.
"I'll be waiting for you in Vienna—"
"Thank you for the piano."
Lin Tian bowed again in gratitude.
Then, the two of them left and closed the door behind them.
Watching their departing figures, Gao Zhenyang could not help asking,
"Teacher, what did you say to Lin Tian just now?"
Wan Qi did not answer Gao Zhenyang's question. He merely smiled and turned back to the tea table.
Gao Zhenyang hurried after him and began making tea again.
"You've heard Lin's two pieces as well. What did you think?" Wan Qi asked.
"To be honest—world-class. Especially that piece, 'Salut d'Amour.'"
"At that level, even in our association, there might not be anyone capable of composing it."
As Gao Zhenyang said this, there was a hint of jealousy and unwillingness in his voice.
"It was only because you kept me in check just now, Teacher, that I didn't say those things."
With talent like that, any young composer with even a little pride would probably feel only two words after hearing it—
Despair.
You had been called a genius since childhood. At ten, you had begun making a name for yourself in the performance world. After more than a decade of relentless effort, you had finally achieved something, earned a place in the music industry in your early twenties, and felt proud of it.
But after encountering a true genius,
you finally understood that before one chosen by heaven, your own talent amounted to nothing at all.
The feeling of having all your pride crushed in an instant, of having the meaning of your life erased by such a terrifying gap...
That was exactly how Gao Zhenyang had felt just now.
It was only because his teacher had been present that he had not shown it.
"I didn't let you voice your true assessment because I was afraid Lin would become carried away. There have been no shortage of such examples."
In truth, Wan Qi had been quite restrained in his praise for Lin Tian just now. Rather than praise, it had been more encouragement.
As if to soothe his student, Wan Qi personally poured Gao Zhenyang a cup of tea, which Gao Zhenyang hurriedly accepted with both hands.
"But did you notice? Even after writing such excellent pieces, that young man was neither arrogant nor impatient. He sat there steadily the entire time and listened to me speak. That kind of composure is something even some so-called famous musicians today may not possess."
Wan Qi let out a soft sigh, then looked at his student.
He smiled again.
"Little Gao, you've been stuck at this bottleneck for quite a while now, haven't you?"
"Actually, if you go guide them, perhaps you might learn something from them as well."
Because he had spent too much time delayed at noon, Lin Tian successfully skipped the first class of the afternoon too.
The excuse he used was an exceptionally lousy one—"I overslept in the library."
Since even idiots knew that more than one person had seen Lin Tian leave with a young girl at noon, all sorts of speculation followed after they saw that he had missed the first afternoon class.
Lin Tian did not care.
The rumors had already gotten out of hand anyway, so he might as well stop caring.
As long as Gan Yan Yu had not returned to school yet, things would not get too out of control.
That evening, Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu agreed to officially begin training after they had showered, and he went home by himself.
Meanwhile,
the truck he had ordered online also delivered the piano to Lin Tian's home.
Gao Zhenyang had even thoughtfully arranged for a tuner, who only left after tuning the instrument.
Looking at the bulky piano, then at the cramped living room,
Lin Tian genuinely could not figure out where he should put it for a while.
Lin Tian's home was laid out like this:
It was sixty-eight square meters in total. Upon entering, the kitchen was through a glass door on the left, with the bathroom beside it.
Directly across from the bathroom was Lin Tian's room.
On the right was the living room, furnished in order with a dining table, sofa, small round table, and TV cabinet.
Farther to the right was a small balcony.
For one person, this arrangement was actually very comfortable.
Whenever he had nothing to do, Lin Tian would lie on the sofa in the living room and place his computer on the round table.
He would drink a small beer, browse Bilibili, and do some hand exercises.
That feeling of being undisturbed in an enclosed, safe space
was unbelievably pleasant.
No one knew how many high school students envied such a solitary life.
Yet now, ever since he had started making music, not only did Lin Tian's sofa have a permanent special guest, but the little remaining space had also been turned into a simple filming studio.
Once he had more money, he would rent a bigger place.
With that thought, Lin Tian had the delivery driver move the TV cabinet onto the balcony. At last, he managed to place the piano beside the filming studio.
There was still some time before Gan Yan Yu finished showering and came over.
With a little time left, perhaps he could watch an episode of "Hardcore Ruthless Person" first.
Just as Lin Tian was thinking that, the system interface appeared before him.
Producer Task, Issued— Task Objective: Compose a piece of music, release a video by performing it together with a partner, obtain 100,000 likes, and gain the "joy" emotion from viewers [100000] Task Deadline: 7 days Task Reward: Profit Doubling Card ×1 Profit Doubling Card: The producer may choose a recently released work to use it on. Any revenue earned by that work through legitimate channels will be transferred to the producer's account in an equal amount.
Double the profits?
Lin Tian thought it over carefully.
At present, he had no way to turn his musical works into an album for sale, so his only revenue came from Douyin.
That meant that if he wanted to make money, the best option would be to take an advertisement.
Speaking of advertisements,
an advertising slogan had already appeared in Lin Tian's mind.
If you want to play music as incredible as mine, you absolutely need a good piano!
Thanks to the secondhand piano I bought on ZZ, an officially verified secondhand platform.
No matter what, if he wanted to land an ad in his next video, he had to make this video blow up!
And when it came to pieces that could make listeners feel "happy,"
a piece appeared in Lin Tian's mind—
"Can-Can."
Its Chinese name was "Can-Can," also known as "Infernal Galop."
Before you continue