"Mm-hmm." Lin Tian nodded.
After saying that, Gao Zhenyang smiled again,
"Of course, Elder Gan is back now, and I hear you are still taking classes with Senior Tuoba. With these two great figures supporting you, you shouldn’t need me at all."
"But, after all, we’re all young people, and there are some topics you can’t really discuss clearly with those seniors."
"What do you mean by that?" Lin Tian asked.
"How do I put it...."
Gao Zhenyang paused, seemingly struggling with how to phrase it more accurately without sounding like he’s bad-mouthing the seniors,
"That group led by Senior Tuoba... they can no longer view competitions with a purely innocent mindset."
Lin Tian didn’t quite understand.
If it’s about purity, no one should be more dedicated than Tuoba Jianhui and his group.
"They carry too much," he said.
Gao Zhenyang sighed gently,
"In their eyes, competitions are no longer just simple competitions."
Gao Zhenyang looked into Lin Tian’s eyes,
"Carrying it for too long, some things become obsessions."
Lin Tian thought of Tuoba Jianhui and the words Sir Gan had said.
— The weight of music.
Lin Tian remained silent.
About their story, although Lin Tian had never heard a complete and detailed version,
he more or less understood the gist of it.
In short, it was a story of a group of old men who gave everything they had but couldn’t save the music they loved and then faded into obscurity.
Lin Tian understood quite a bit about this matter.
He could also roughly comprehend what they meant by "inheritance."
But what he couldn’t understand,
was the feeling of "weight" that Sir Gan and Tuoba Jianhui, regardless of anything, wanted him to understand.
that made these two men in their fifties have such an obsession?
That no matter what, they wanted to relay this weight to Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu, so they could experience the mindset within.
After a moment of silence, Lin Tian seemed to have sensed something.
He looked up and asked Gao Zhenyang,
"What exactly happened with Gan Hua being drugged at the Keller Cup 16 years ago?"
This was an old story Lin Tian had known since he embarked on his musical journey. Content orıginally comes from novel·fıre·net
It’s always been the reason Gan Yanyu insisted on going to Vienna no matter what.
Uncovering the truth of that year and doing right by his grandfather was Gan Yanyu’s wish.
as they were getting closer and closer to Vienna,
the thoughts in Lin Tian’s mind also grew more and more.
"If Sir Gan had not been drugged back then, could he have won the Keller Cup?"
"If not for this incident, could Sir Gan have proven to the world that classical music still has a place on the world stage, and would people have regained confidence in classical music, preventing the world from becoming what it is 16 years later?"
when you really think about it.
Was that drugged drink a medicine that truly changed the course of history?
If it weren’t for that drink,
there wouldn’t have been 16 years of Tian Chao’s first cellist living in obscurity, no complete popularization of the music industry today, no internal division of the Tian Chao Music Association, no Tuoba Jianhui living with a burden of guilt.
Nor would there be a 16-year-old Gan Yanyu, rising against the current, wounded all over, and finally falling completely into darkness, standing on the rooftop.
Everything was because of that drugged drink.
It was that drink that caused Gan Hua to lose the competition and destroyed everything.
Lin Tian’s consecutive questions.
Sitting opposite was Gao Zhenyang, who fell into a long silence.
After a while, Gao Zhenyang, as if exhaling a long-held breath, said.
The air suddenly became still.
"I don’t know much about what happened back then. Maybe Mr. Wan would know... but I didn’t personally experience that era....."
Lin Tian showed a relieved expression.
However, in the next second, Gao Zhenyang spoke again.
"But I did hear some things about it from Mr. Wan....."
"It was said, based on Gan Hua Senior’s performance in Vienna at the time,"
Gao Zhenyang said calmly,
"even without the drugging incident, Gan Hua Senior wouldn’t have won."
After dinner, Lin Tian walked home with his hands in his pockets.
The night view in Baijing was beautiful, and he deliberately took a slightly longer route to stroll along the riverside.
Looking at the colorful skyscrapers across the river, reflecting a spectacular image on the water.
Just seeing it made even someone like Lin Tian, who isn’t fond of taking photos, feel the urge to take out his phone for a picture.
As Lin Tian picked up his phone to capture the river view, a voice suddenly sounded beside him:
"Whoa... is that Mr. Moonlight?!"
Lin Tian turned his head and saw a young man with a violin on his back and a selfie stick in his hand looking at him excitedly.
This reminded Lin Tian of Zhang Dong.
The young man looked very excited,
"I’m a huge fan of yours.... Can I take a photo with you?!"
Running into fans on the street was something that happened from time to time for Lin Tian, so he wasn’t too surprised.
The larger the city, especially near places like music halls or around the Music Academy, the higher the chance of being recognized.
Usually, signing an autograph or taking a photo is enough to handle it.
It’s just that, when encountering particularly pretty female fans, Lin Tian often keeps a distance during photos.
After signing on the other’s violin and taking the picture, the young man looked at his phone excitedly, exclaiming,
"So cool... Mr. Moonlight.... I never thought I’d run into you here!!"
Lin Tian smiled and nodded in response, and was about to walk away.
However, the young man mumbled again at this moment:
"When you guys quit the competition, I almost gave up on the violin..."
Hearing this, Lin Tian was slightly stunned and stopped in his tracks.
"I’m so glad... really, I never expected you could go to the Keller Cup again. I was truly afraid you guys would retire....."
So who on earth spread the rumor about retiring?
Lin Tian wondered to himself.
However, looking at the young man again, he was holding the violin signed by Lin Tian, eyes welling up with tears in his joy.
Unlike ordinary fans, after signing, the young man didn’t leave respectfully for fear of bothering Lin Tian. Instead, he looked up at Lin Tian,
"You’ve got to win, Mr. Moonlight! With your classical music..."
"And also... for our sake."
After the young man spoke,
Lin Tian’s pupils slightly widened.
He suddenly felt an invisible pressure.
It’s hard to describe.
Lin Tian didn’t know how to express this feeling.
Soon, the young man left happily with his violin.
Leaving Lin Tian, he turned around and stared blankly at the night view by the river.
After a long while, Lin Tian picked up his phone and dialed a number.
Gan Yanyu’s sweet voice came through, and even though Lin Tian knew it was intentional, he couldn’t help but feel a ripple in his heart.
"Yes, tonight I made corn rib soup, codfish patties, sweet and sour ribs....."
"Did you cook so many dishes by yourself?"
"Since you’re not here, I took the opportunity to practice more."
Gan Yanyu stuck out her tongue with a bright smile, even though Lin Tian couldn’t see it,
"So I can make them for you next time."
Lin Tian nodded repeatedly, feeling a wave of happiness in his heart.
"Are you eating well?" he asked.
"Of course, I made my own corn and rib soup tonight."
"Did you finish cooking?"
"Since you’re not here, I took the chance to practice more."
Gan Yanyu stuck out her tongue playfully.
Lin Tian kept nodding, a sense of happiness swelling in his heart.
However, the next moment, Gao Zhenyang spoke again.
"There are still too many things this guy has hidden from us."
"The song you’ve been practicing, are you confident with it?"
"Shall we go to your grandpa’s place?"
"This guy has been keeping too much from us."