Hearing Gan Yanyu’s words, Lin Tian’s first reaction was to shrink back.
So she was conscious!
Lin Tian had always thought that Gan Yanyu, when performing, would be so immersed in the music that her perception of the real world would be no different from being asleep.
Turns out, not only was Gan Yanyu conscious, but her awareness was also quite clear.
She had discovered that Lin Tian was "smuggling some personal stuff" into his music.
During that performance, Lin Tian had overpowered Gan Yanyu with his music.
It was like being punched.
You might not remember how you were hit.
But being pressed down probably wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Even if it wasn’t painful, it felt exhilarating.
You wouldn’t wake up without any recollection, right?
Thus, Lin Tian began playing dumb.
He tentatively asked:
"Mr. Gan, the emotions you mentioned—what are they?"
Gan Yanyu tilted her head, showing a puzzled expression,
"Don’t you know the music you played?"
"That’s not exactly true."
Lin Tian didn’t dare to play too dumb, as overdoing it would seem fake.
So, he took an approach that was somewhat ambiguous, yet didn’t give Gan Yanyu any leads to catch him out:
"Just, there were many emotions in that performance, I’m not sure which one you’re referring to...."
"The 3rd section, the 1st part, starting at the 9th second."
No, who could remember that so clearly!?
Lin Tian had forgotten where he had started his variation!
"Actually, this matter, it’s quite complicated."
As though planning to extend the battle line, Lin Tian didn’t hurry to speak. Instead, he stood up and took a couple of steps forward.
The Moonlight hung high, casting its light on the concrete road.
"Let’s not take a taxi today, how about we take the subway?"
The current time was 11:16 PM, with the last subway at 11:30 PM, walking there would get them there just in time for the last train.
Gan Yanyu followed Lin Tian’s pace.
The two walked together on the streets showered in the silver glow, heading forward.
"Before I answer your question, Mr. Gan, could you tell me, when you heard that emotion... what was your first feeling?"
Since Gan Yanyu had questions, Lin Tian decided to go all out. Some things needed to be opened up for discussion.
"The first feeling....."
Gan Yanyu thought seriously, pinching her chin,
"It was very warm, completely different from what we felt in the preliminary round."
"Just warm—that’s it?"
"Um... Rather than ’warm’, it’s more like a sense of security, very comfortable, like the climax of the French ’Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto in A minor,’ like a winding brook, a heartwarming feeling....."
Whatever Saint-Saëns, concerto, those things Lin Tian didn’t understand.
But hearing this answer, Lin Tian was very happy.
It meant that, at least, when Lin Tian conveyed such an intention, Mr. Gan wasn’t resistant.
Rounded up, it’s like Lin Tian confessed, and Gan Yanyu found Lin Tian’s love words "very comforting," "very comfortable"...
Almost made Lin Tian want to chuckle.
Gan Yanyu’s tone shifted,
"This ’emotion,’ it’s different from the ’emotions’ I usually imagine, it seems like it’s not very related to the piece ’One Step Away,’ it’s like it came from a clever combination, not from the piece itself, but from an external force..."
Gan Yanyu pondered seriously, with her gears turning.
That was only natural.
For someone like her, a Performer who dedicates herself entirely to the music, always immersing her whole being into the world of the piece.
When suddenly encountering an emotion from outside the realm of music, it’s understandable that her brain would crash.
It’s like Gan Yanyu playing a Fighting arcade game against someone.
She’s very impressive, because she can immerse herself into the game world, achieve a Human and Machine Integration, and execute moves that a normal person couldn’t, knocking out the opponent swiftly.
But then someone comes along and unplugs her arcade machine, turning the screen black all at once.
Because of the Human and Machine Integration, Gan Yanyu is still pondering what kind of Super Forbidden Skills the opponent used that she didn’t even know of, making her whole vision go dark.
Then she came to Lin Tian, pestering for answers.
For this, Lin Tian could only lightly say—
"I don’t take disciples."
However, after thinking it over, Gan Yanyu also arrived at an answer:
"I can figure out how you did it, it’s just that I can’t imagine where the source of those emotions is from....."
It’s not Lin Tian’s technique that she was curious about.
But why such a technique was "unheard of" before...
She felt that the more reliable possibility might be some kind of emotional value between partners...
Because she had also experienced these emotions several times with Lin Tian.
She really liked them and thought that these were the happiest moments as partners.
Do other partners often feel such emotions too?
Partnerships are great.
I like having a partner.
Seeing Gan Yanyu’s serious face, sometimes deep in thought, sometimes gazing at the sky.
Lin Tian felt a bit sorry for her.
It was nothing but a piano performance filled with love, a form of an indirect confession.
In Gan Yanyu’s case, it seemed like she could shoot a few hundred episodes of a suspenseful detective thriller series...
But Gan Yanyu couldn’t be blamed either.
The thought of how partners should interact without crossing the line was strenuous for her, let alone understanding the emotions of liking someone. That was really asking too much.