### Chapter 186: Christine Nanaly, No Choice (Bonus Update, Please Vote Monthly)
“From Greta Clyden Nanaly to Christine Nanaly, it should be the eighth generation now.”
Just then, during the match, the ever-silent Tuoba Jianhui decided to break his silence.
He raised his intimidating gaze towards Christine on stage. “If we count from the first great cellist of the Nanaly family, Elias Reyes Nanaly, to Christine here, it’s actually the 14th generation. Truly one of the oldest cello dynasties in British history.”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Yao Han, nearby, held his head as if realizing some heavy intel. “So, you mean to say Christine Nanaly is the direct descendant of that legendary cellist Greta Clyden Nanaly?!”
“Yep,” Tuoba Jianhui nodded.
“That’s just incredible!” Yao Han exclaimed in disbelief.
Greta Clyden Nanaly—born August 22, 1801, and gone March 25, 1864—was one of the greatest cellists and musicians in British history, creating numerous famous concertos and symphonic pieces, and had a profound impact on the music of various European nations.
A person who truly deserved to be in the cello textbook.
And in the history of the Nanaly family, nearly every generation produced a cellist, with seven of them being recognized as hall-of-fame musicians, including Greta herself.
Thus, the Nanaly family was famously known as one of England’s greatest cello dynasties.
Who would’ve guessed?
The Christine Nanaly before them was actually a descendant of that illustrious family.
At first, when Yao Han spotted this contestant on the list, he didn’t even link the dots.
“Well, judging from that, Christine’s performance is definitely something to look forward to,” Yao Han said.
“Not necessarily,” He Shu Mo interjected ruthlessly. “Her aura is all out of whack.”
In the rest room, Lin Tian noted the subtle change in Nanaly’s expression.
She looked calm, walking onto the stage with a serene demeanor, taking her seat placidly.
But that “calmness” was, for Nanaly, totally abnormal.
She was not the type to be like that.
Her inherent pride should’ve made her more confident in such situations.
Had she truly been shaken?
And not to mention Gan Yan Yu, in this state, how could you possibly beat that anime overlord?
Lin Tian sighed.
The mindset is always a fundamental lesson for cellists.
[Christine, with all due respect, about the significance of the cello to the Nanaly family, I believe I need not elaborate further, right?]
Nanaly took several deep breaths.
Looking out into the sea of eyes below, the 19-year-old felt a bit dizzy.
She struggled to steady her emotions and positioned her cello properly.
[Christine, you are a bona fide musical genius! Do you know who the last person was to play a cello this well at age 12?!]
As she drew out her bow, images of Yun Qiu Qiu’s performance earlier flashed in her mind.
That pure, wonderful passion for music and anime, beautifully combined, displayed an incredible emotional impact, making her truly envious just like Gan Yan Yu and Lin Tian.
[Stop with the drawings already! What’s the use of doodling all those dresses every day?! Christine, you’re still young, in your rebellious phase, having those feelings is normal. There are many examples of people like you in our family history, but they all ended up becoming great cellists!]
Is passion useless?
Nanaly was taken aback.
For some reason, it was at this moment that her mother’s words echoed repeatedly in her ears.
Yes.
Just like some classic stories about a young heir from a wealthy family, Nanaly herself harbored the thought of “not wanting to inherit the family business” deep down.
But there was a twist—she hadn’t always felt this way.
As a child, Nanaly didn’t resist music at all. In fact, she often felt proud of her dazzling family background.
Kids and their vanity, right?
In school, she was frequently pointed at, as classmates exclaimed excitedly:
“It’s her! The Nanaly—Greta Clyden Nanaly’s very own!”
Even the teachers eagerly discussed her in private.
It felt like they were teaching a future great cellist.
In those moments, Nanaly experienced immense satisfaction.
Kids are like that after all.
But as she grew older, she slowly started to grasp the weight of the family name.
The price for enjoying the satisfaction of vanity was—
Daily practice.
Countless children’s music competitions.
Awkward social gatherings with the young aristocrats of the music world.
All of it left Nanaly feeling exhausted.
But what truly broke her was the day her passion was shattered to pieces.
At the tender age of 12, she accidentally fell in love with Lolita fashion.
To her, it was the cutest, most amazing clothing style in the world. She bought heaps of Lolita outfits, some Gothic, some retro, some classical, stuffing her closet full. Wherever she went, she’d wear her little dresses.
But before long, she became dissatisfied.
She began to learn to draw.
Creating her own patterns and designing personalized Lolita dresses, and she couldn’t stop.
She dreamt of getting into Vienna’s art academy, studying fashion design, and opening her own Lolita shop.
Until, one day her mother ruthlessly tore those drawings before her eyes.
And told her:
“Those are meaningless.”
“.”
Nanaly didn’t understand.
If you’re not doing what you love, what in this world is meaningful?
She began to detest the cello, to hate music.
But she had no choice; she still had to learn, so she became lazy and skipped classes. Even so, she still outperformed most.
Her mother was right.
She was indeed a genius.
Even if she didn’t like the cello one bit.
By eavesdropping on a conversation between her parents one day, she learned—
Her grandfather, Freddy Vasquez Nanaly, almost became the world’s greatest cellist.
The reason it was ‘almost’ was that, many years ago at a cello competition, he encountered a cellist from Tsinghua named Gan Hua.
This person was like a destined nemesis to her grandfather.
They met at various international competitions, and each time, they were placed in the same group.
Every single time, Grandpa just happened to lose!
Never won once!
At the pivotal Ke’er Cup, Freddy Vasquez Nanaly was again defeated by Gan Hua in the semifinals!
Her grandfather totally lost it.
He locked himself away, frantically practicing, training, just to someday defeat this “destined nemesis.” He couldn’t believe it—what made him capable of beating everyone but this one person?
But when he diligently studied the cello for three years and finally emerged, filled with confidence and ready to step onto the stage to exact his revenge, he learned that the cellist named Gan Hua had retired.
Now he was experimenting with mixed coffee in a café.
From that day forward, Grandpa never touched a cello again.
His life, it seemed, lost its target.
Even on the day he passed away, he still muttered that legendary Tsinghua cellist’s name.
This incident was a massive blow to the Nanaly family.
It represented a trauma spanning three generations of the Nanaly family.
Now, seeing Christine with such amazing talent, it felt akin to that legendary cellist from a century ago.
A chance had seemingly arrived!
Everyone wanted to see Christine become a world-class cellist, fulfilling her grandfather Freddy Vasquez Nanaly’s long-held wish.
Yet fate has a wicked sense of humor.
Nanaly’s mother discovered that the granddaughter of that legendary Tsinghua cellist, whom she had mentored, had become an excellent cellist herself.
And was shining in Tsinghua.
This was exhilarating news!
Nanaly’s mother became even more desperate and impatient; she swore to nurture Christine into a talented individual, cleansing her grandfather’s humiliation through this girl.
To achieve this, her mother didn’t hesitate to shred Nanaly’s drawings and lock her up, trying to entirely stifle her aspirations.
Hearing all this, Nanaly could no longer hold back and flung open the door.
Facing her parents’ stunned gazes, she spoke each word carefully:
“If I beat that cellist named ‘Gan Yan Yu,’ can I choose for myself?”
As her mother opened her mouth to respond, her father stopped her.
He looked at Nanaly and said, “Yes.”
“As long as you can win, whether you want to draw or open your own clothing store, even if you never touch the cello again, we’ll support you!”
“Okay!” Nanaly responded eagerly.
From that day forward, Nanaly began her run.
For her passion.
She had to work even harder at practicing!
Competing, moving from the children’s group to teenagers, then onto the professional group, snatching up awards as she went.
Utilizing her talent, she became the youngest professional group competitor at 18.
And upon learning that Gan Yan Yu had come to Manchester, Nanaly didn’t hesitate, picking up her cello and heading out.
The wheel of fate turned at this moment.
To avoid the cello, she was throwing herself into learning it with all her might.
And isn’t that ridiculous?
Nanaly looked at the stage beneath her feet and chuckled self-deprecatingly.
But, there was no helping it.
She really envied musicians like Lin Tian, Gan Yan Yu, and Yun Qiu Qiu, who genuinely loved music, enjoyed performing, and fought for it.
For herself, music and the cello were merely tools.
Who could blame her? After all, she was Christine Nanaly.
Nanaly lifted her bow, her gaze slowly becoming resolute.
Gan Yan Yu, I will definitely beat you.
This is not just for your passion, but also for mine—my passion!!
(The End of This Chapter)
