### Chapter 183: Love — Materialized
Next up.
The two continued their repeated practice of “Ode to Love.”
Since Lin Tian’s latest performance matched his style so perfectly, he selfishly decided that the piece Gan Yan Yu would report for the semifinals was going to be this one.
When Gan Yan Yu learned about Lin Tian’s choice, she was surprisingly taken aback.
Because,
In that piece Lin Tian had written for her,
“Ode to Love” was one that neither of them had ever managed to perfect together, even to this day.
With other music, after playing a few more times and finding the right feel, they could generally hone in on the right vibe.
But not with this piece; even though they played it well, Lin Tian always felt it was merely “acceptable” and that the emotions simply weren’t there.
The reason was simple.
This was a piece composed by the famous musician Edward Elgar for his fiancée, Alice.
That year was 1888.
Elgar had just gotten engaged to Alice, who was quite the literary lady, and she wrote him a poem called “Love’s Greeting” to send off to her traveling fiancé.
At that time, Elgar was traveling to visit his friend, Dr. Charles Buck, and you can only imagine the sweet feelings he had when he read the poem on the train.
So, to respond to Alice, Elgar composed “Ode to Love.”
This “love letter” Elgar wrote for his fiancée made its grand debut a year and three months later at the Crystal Palace in England.
It fed the world a hearty slice of relationship envy!
Over a hundred years have passed, yet through this music,
One can still vaguely sense
A 31-year-old Elgar, newly engaged, sitting excitedly on a train to visit his friend.
At that moment, Elgar was bursting with youthful spirit and emotions.
The carriage swayed, the scenery rushed by outside the window, and after reading his fiancée’s letter, Elgar took a deep breath, pressed the letter to his chest, felt his heartbeat, and in that moment, love seemed to materialize into something real within him.
Over a century has passed.
The hilly terrain has changed and time has moved on.
The people who once experienced this are long gone.
But Elgar’s love, forever preserved in the form of music, remains.
Now, how was Gan Yan Yu supposed to experience this?
No idea, seriously no idea.
She had tried many different approaches, but each time the performance felt like it was missing something.
To empathize, one must be able to understand the emotion.
Without understanding, there’s no way to convey it.
On the other hand,
There was Lin Tian.
He was just jamming it out!
Like, seriously jamming it out!!
Lin Tian stretched lazily, feeling incredibly relaxed inside.
How could he have only recently discovered that sneaking his own emotions into the piano was such an exhilarating experience?
No, scratch that—without the piece, it was all personal freedom!!
He had been smiling while playing the piano.
Ever since learning how to channel his own emotions into the piano, Lin Tian felt like he had discovered a new world.
Because before, he was always following Gan Yan Yu, studying her, syncing with her.
Now, for the first time, Lin Tian was genuinely savoring the joy of music on his own.
The pieces he previously played suddenly became engaging and entertaining.
It dawned on him more and more that music truly is the greatest art in the universe.
“….”
Noticing Lin Tian’s growing skill, Gan Yan Yu felt a little unsatisfied—not in a bitter way, but more like jealousy.
“Lin Tian, how do you do it?”
“You mean finding the right emotion for this piece?” he replied.
“Yeah.”
In Gan Yan Yu’s eyes,
Lin Tian, who was basically the same age as her, just another high school student, probably also hadn’t had his first date yet—
So why could he grasp it so precisely?
“Did you find some alternative emotion to use?” Gan Yan Yu asked.
Like when he played the “Adagio in G minor,” where, although he didn’t get it perfectly right, he found a new angle to interpret the piece, which yielded great results.
That’s a pretty common technique in performances.
“Alternative, you could say that, but not necessarily.”
Lin Tian thought for a moment and didn’t commit too heavily to any particular explanation.
In reality, his ideal way to open up “Ode to Love” was quite different.
It was to have Gan Yan Yu think of herself as the object of his affection while playing.
That was the real answer!
But given Gan Yan Yu’s unique playing style, that option was pretty much off the table when it came to real-world interaction.
“….”
The two continued their deep discussion about “Ode to Love.”
One was seeking knowledge while the other was contemplating deeply.
Meanwhile,
Nanaly sat at the counter, resting her chin on her hands. Today, she had opted not to tie her hair, sporting a red Lolita hair accessory, with her golden locks cascading over the table.
The young woman stared blankly at them, lost in thought.
“Lily!”
Suddenly, Lin Tian turned around and called out to her.
“Call me Nanaly!”
Nanaly grimaced, clearly annoyed, but decided not to dig into that topic any further. Instead, she asked,
“What’s up?”
“What do you think?”
“What do you mean, what do I think?”
“Are you seriously not even listening? Didn’t you come here to help us practice?”
Lin Tian smiled helplessly.
He switched topics and asked,
“Do you think this piece is suitable for us to play in the semifinals?”
“Are you seriously asking a competitor that?”
Nanaly narrowed her eyes. “What if I say ‘suitable’? Might I be luring you into a trap, intentionally making you perform an unsuitable piece. Conversely, if I say ‘unsuitable,’ I might just fear you win with this piece against me.”
“I know,” Lin Tian replied. “So I’m planning to listen to the opposite.”
“….”
Nanaly mentally cursed a storm.
She then glanced at Gan Yan Yu, recalling how they had just been excitedly discussing.
Suddenly, she lowered her head,
“Gan Yan Yu, do you really love music?”
“Ah?”
“I said, do you really love music?”
“What kind of question is that?”
Gan Yan Yu’s eyes widened slightly.
“If I didn’t, how could I have gotten this far?”
“True.”
To play a piece to perfection, to study its emotions, to immerse in its story, continuously refining their performance techniques—it wasn’t easy.
In Nanaly’s eyes,
This was the embodiment of passion.
If one didn’t have an extraordinary love for music, how could they achieve this level of dedication?
That feeling was just so wonderful.
Nanaly softly murmured,
“If you didn’t love it, you’d never get this far.”
A hint of unnoticeable bitterness flitted across the corner of Nanaly’s mouth.
Becoming a professional cellist, stepping onto the stage of the Parrot Zither Cup semifinals—
Getting to this point had already been quite the challenge.
Talking about whether one liked or loved it,
At this stage, what’s the point of pondering that again?
“Alright—”
Nanaly stood up, raised her hand, and tossed her golden hair over her shoulder.
“Today’s practice session ends here; the esteemed Christine Nanaly has important matters and must take her leave.”
Before Gan Yan Yu could even politely attempt to keep her there,
Nanaly walked to the door, turned around, pointed dramatically at the young woman, and declared loudly,
“Gan Yan Yu, this is a battle to the d*ath!”
“In the semifinals the day after tomorrow, I will definitely beat you, no questions asked!”
“This is for your ‘passion,’ and also for my—’passion’!!”
(End of Chapter)
