"Can you cook?"
Lin Tian was skeptical.
The last time Gan Yan Yu had been at Lin Tian's home, she had nearly made him a full Manchu-Han Imperial Feast.
Nearly, because Gan Yan Yu did not know how to turn on the gas stove.
So that plan had been sentenced to death on the spot and replaced with mung bean cakes.
"Of course. I cooked for myself when I was in the United Kingdom."
Gan Yan Yu said it with a perfectly serious expression.
Then she added somewhat guiltily:
"Although it might not taste that great. It'll definitely fill your stomach."
They had not even started cooking, and they were already at the "as long as it fills you up, it counts as a win" stage?!
"Fine. Tell me what ingredients you need tomorrow night, and I'll bring them back after school."
Lin Tian still agreed to Gan Yan Yu's request.
After all, he would not refuse an opportunity to take a break from cooking.
Besides, given Gan Yan Yu's personality, if he did not let her do something for him, she might soon feel that she had taken advantage of him again and start trying to make it up to him elsewhere.
She was like a little NPC. Too adorable.
"Mm-hmm, let me think. Buy a rack of ribs and two carrots."
Gan Yan Yu began counting seriously on her fingers.
"Just make a list and send it to me on WeChat tomorrow."
Lin Tian interrupted Gan Yan Yu. "Let's start practicing first."
There were still two weeks until the concert. According to Teacher Gao Zhenyang, two people who had never performed together before had to put real effort into building rapport if they wanted to achieve a good result.
Gan Yan Yu sat on the sofa, opened her cello case, and took out her instrument.
Lin Tian sat down before the piano as well.
"Let's start with 'Salut d'Amour.'"
This piece was relatively simple to perform together. After all, "Salut d'Amour" was originally a piece that sounded even better with a single dominant tone color.
Lin Tian's piano only needed to serve as background accompaniment. Even if he did not play particularly well, it would not have much impact on Gan Yan Yu's main part.
Before they began, Lin Tian mounted his phone on a stand and placed it on the balcony.
"What's that for? Are you going to post it?"
Seeing the camera aimed at them, Gan Yan Yu became a little nervous.
"I'm recording it so we can check how it sounds later," Lin Tian explained.
"Okay."
The girl lowered her head to look at her little dress, feeling somewhat conflicted.
It was not that the dress was revealing. She simply was not used to facing a camera while dressed so casually.
"It's only practice. I probably won't post it."
"Probably?"
Gan Yan Yu tilted her head, but Lin Tian had already returned to his seat.
After they each tested their sound and confirmed there were no issues,
Lin Tian glanced at Gan Yan Yu on the sofa beside him.
Their eyes met.
Then they began to play—
The melodious cello and delicate piano echoed through the room.
But only two seconds in—
"Too fast!"
Gan Yan Yu's sharp cry startled Lin Tian into quickly pulling back his hands.
Wait, they had only just started!
Was it really that exaggerated?!
With his skill card, Lin Tian was highly sensitive to music, yet even he had not noticed anything wrong.
Gan Yan Yu raised her index finger and said seriously:
"The cello and piano have different timbres and playing techniques. We need to stay consistent in rhythm, tempo, and expression. Even the slightest discrepancy can affect the overall result."
"Remember, not even the tiniest error is acceptable!"
Gan Yan Yu sounded like a master teacher, her tone leaving no room for doubt.
The moment music was involved, she seemed like a completely different person.
Gan Yan Yu was terrifying when she entered performance mode!
But Lin Tian knew that when it came to technical knowledge about instruments and performance, he really had to obediently listen to Gan Yan Yu.
"Okay."
Lin Tian made an "OJBK" gesture with his fingers.
They began again.
With Lin Tian focusing fully on keeping up, the ensemble continued without another interruption.
The result seemed pretty good.
Compared to a solo cello performance, "Salut d'Amour" had more depth when the two played it together.
Sure enough, they should have added piano accompaniment from the start.
"Play a little softer. Don't drown out my cello."
"Okay."
"In this measure, try slowing down a little."
"Mm."
And so,
the two kept repeating "Salut d'Amour," practicing nonstop for half an hour.
When it finally felt as though there were basically no more problems, they stopped.
Lin Tian wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned around.
Gan Yan Yu was lying on the sofa, holding her cello with her head resting against its neck, seemingly lost in thought.
"What is it?"
"Something doesn't feel right."
"What doesn't? I think it was pretty good."
Lin Tian felt quite satisfied with himself. After all, it was their first time playing together.
And by the end, they had basically achieved over 98% synchronization.
The girl pursed her lips, looking a little embarrassed, as though she worried Lin Tian would think she was being fussy.
But she still spoke up:
"It's like this. I think, Lin Tian, your piano playing is very good, and my cello is at least listenable."
"Your cello is better," Lin Tian added.
Gan Yan Yu was always giving him so much credit that Lin Tian was starting to feel embarrassed.
It was like a kindergarten teacher coaxing a child.
She was leading Lin Tian through the performance while constantly praising him—wow, you're amazing, you play even better than me~
With her praising him like that, it was as if Lin Tian had no sense of musical judgment at all.
"But our ensemble wasn't as good as I imagined. It's like our duet should be one plus one equals two, but after playing for so long, we only reached 1.2—maybe not even much better than a solo."
That was true.
Gan Yan Yu was actually being tactful.
The main reason was that Lin Tian had failed to keep up.
Over the hour-long session, Lin Tian had gradually felt it very clearly.
The pressure was growing greater and greater.
When he had listened to Gan Yan Yu play before, he had only thought it was incredible, beautiful, absolutely god-tier!
But when he had to play himself—when he had to accompany Gan Yan Yu's performance—
he finally experienced the terrifying pressure of Gan Yan Yu's cello, something unlike that of any other musician.
It was a powerful musical presence, an absolute and unquestionable core that reigned supreme within the music.
Lin Tian's piano had to keep its eyes on that center at all times and revolve around her.
To explain it with a rather cliché but easy-to-understand example—
as a MOBA player, you were now supporting one of the world's best AD carries.
Your inability to "keep up" was definitely not as simple as "you can't run as fast as he can."
Your understanding of lane waves, vision control, skill coordination, anti-gank awareness, the enemy's skill cooldowns, and your own AD's skill cooldowns—could you keep up with someone who demanded to be the absolute core?
The turning point of victory or defeat often came within one or two seconds. If everything had to be discussed and communicated, it would already be too late.
This AD had a bad temper, tilted easily, and might go AFK to take a shower if he thought you were too bad.
Yes, he was strong, so you had to guess and explore his intentions.
Did you have the confidence to form flawless coordination with him?
Gan Yan Yu had a wonderful personality, but that did not change the fact that her musical style was also that of an "absolute core."
If Gan Yan Yu in daily life was a kind girl who was cautious about everything and always considered others,
then in music, she was the true Demon King.
And in a musical ensemble, Lin Tian and this Demon King could not communicate with words.
That meant they needed to achieve understanding through music alone.
Why did the story of Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi still move people so deeply after thousands of years?
It was because achieving resonance through music—understanding each other's hearts without "conversation"—was incredibly difficult.
"Wait a second."
After thinking it over, Gan Yan Yu stood up from the sofa.
Then, holding her cello, she took a stool from nearby and sat down beside Lin Tian's piano.
She stared straight at Lin Tian.
"I'll sit beside you. Let's try it again."
Before you continue