### Chapter 136: Gan Yanyu Didn’t Lose
“Okay.”
Lin Tian was a bit stupefied, but ultimately, he put away the letter.
Seeing that Lin Tian had taken the note, Gan Yanyu grinned, finally revealing her smile.
“Oh yeah, I have something to tell you too,” she said.
Recalling this, Lin Tian led Gan Yanyu into the house.
Once Gan Yanyu sat down on the sofa, Lin Tian stood before her.
“It’s about the match the day before yesterday,” he began.
“I think… I also bear some responsibility for our loss. We should share this together. But for you to take all of this on alone—it’s my fault!”
Lin Tian said seriously.
He was way too thick-skinned for his own good.
No matter how you looked at it,
Gan Yanyu must have been incredibly upset after losing that match, and as a teammate, Lin Tian felt obligated to share in the burden with her.
A loss is never just hers; it’s shared by both of them.
He seemed like an onlooker, observing everything from the sidelines.
He didn’t even know what Gan Yanyu was thinking.
In fact, he should have guessed long ago.
A person like Gan Yanyu, if she had any worries, would surely tell him about them.
When she chose to avoid confronting them, that in itself was significant.
As a partner, shouldn’t he be more aware of her feelings?
Surely it wasn’t just: Gan Yanyu just needs to play the cello well, and he, the one behind the scenes, has plenty else to worry about—right?
“.”
Gan Yanyu’s pupils dilated slightly as she gazed blankly at Lin Tian.
“You don’t need to apologize for this.”
“But you just called me a ‘runaway’ earlier. What’s up with that?”
Lin Tian furrowed his brows, “Do I look like someone who abandons their teammate and runs off?”
“No—”
Gan Yanyu hastily waved her hands.
She didn’t know how to explain this.
The word “teammate”… was hard to say.
It sounded way too harsh to say out loud.
And bringing up “Bai Xi” now felt too contrived.
“Just consider it me talking nonsense.”
“Hold up? How is that nonsense?”
Lin Tian was extremely sensitive about the term “runaway.”
He had experienced such situations twice personally!
It was like PTSD; he would react every time someone mentioned running away.
“Instead of that, just don’t run off yourself!”
Lin Tian pointed at Gan Yanyu, his face serious.
With people leaving one after another, and having gone through it himself, Lin Tian found it hard to trust anyone now.
Maybe after losing the match and being emotionally crushed, Gan Yanyu might disappear tomorrow morning, leaving only a letter filled with regrets behind, like a melodramatic movie scene…
Sure enough, this sounded like something Gan Yanyu could do.
No idea why,
Even though he felt closer to her than ever,
This girl always gave him a sense of “half-in, half-out”, as if he had never truly grasped her.
“I won’t run,” said Gan Yanyu.
“Then let’s not talk nonsense anymore.”
Lin Tian said.
That topic was over!
“It’s just a Star Cup; we lost so what—that’s it. Let’s move forward.”
“Mm-hm!”
After this heartfelt exchange, Lin Tian’s mood lifted considerably. The rest of the school day was much easier to get through.
—
During lunchtime, Lin Tian got a message.
Heiser He had invited them all out for afternoon tea.
This new agent, it seemed, had important business to discuss with them.
Lin Tian agreed, and coincidentally, Gan Yanyu needed to go home and change her clothes.
As soon as Gan Yanyu left,
Lin Tian immediately pulled out the envelope he had been carrying in his pocket the whole time.
He placed it on the table, staring at it relentlessly!
What on earth did Gan Yanyu’s letter contain that he couldn’t open now??
Ever since he had received the letter and put it in his pocket, he had been thinking about this question, but was afraid to look at it while she was around.
How could he possibly resist curiosity?
What “Gan Yanyu’s Secret”… sounds less intriguing now.
Why not call it “Gan Yanyu’s Victoria’s Secret”?
In that case, Lin Tian wouldn’t hold back tonight and would go ahead and tear it open for a peek.
If he could finally express his dreams through something like that—
Well, that kind of secret would certainly be top-notch.
Lin Tian couldn’t imagine what else she was hiding from him.
He had always thought Gan Yanyu was quite straightforward.
Seemed like all she ever thought about were the cello and food.
Truthfully, people like her can’t keep secrets very well. When she does start paying attention to other stuff, it spells trouble.
Like yesterday, Gan Yanyu had been clearly worried; it was impossible to hide it from Lin Tian.
Why write a letter instead?
Usually, if there was something too difficult to say out loud, people wrote letters.
And it was still something she currently couldn’t say out loud—
Wait, why can’t she just say it all after realizing her dream?
Isn’t saying it face-to-face the same thing? Even handing him the letter later?
Why write a letter just to tease him?
Lin Tian simply couldn’t figure it out.
Looking at the letter on the table, his eyes were so hot they could almost see through it.
He had a strong urge to open it right there, d*mn it. Even if he had to buy another pink wax seal afterward—Gan Yanyu probably wouldn’t notice.
Picking up the letter and then setting it back down again,
He thought of how Gan Yanyu had looked up at him a moment ago, asking for something.
To hell with it.
Lin Tian went back to his bedroom, opened the drawer beside his bed, and tucked the letter inside.
Just to prevent himself from succumbing to temptation.
Starting today, he would try to forget it existed.
Starbucks.
A calm afternoon, a relaxed atmosphere.
After sipping down a mouthful of coffee that was so bitter it almost made him spit it out but he swallowed it, trying not to seem uncool,
Heisi He slid a tablet over to the two of them.
On it was a list of names.
Professors from various music conservatories, experts from the provincial music association, prominent performers from renowned orchestras…
“What’s this?”
“The judges for the current Star Cup.”
Heisi He explained,
“The Star Cup judging panel comprises twelve judges this year.”
“Twelve people in total, including one former orchestra conductor, one art consultant from the event company, a chief editor from a local music media, two famous composers from Qingshui, two well-known music critics, two special international guests, and three professors from music conservatories.”
“So? What’s the point of talking about this now?” Lin Tian didn’t understand.
The match had already been lost. Wasn’t it a bit late to be analyzing the panel of judges?
Plus, knowing their identities, what could they do about it?
“Teacher Lin Tian, allow me to finish.”
Heisi He continued earnestly,
“This year, due to general political correctness in the music industry, moving towards the international standards set by the International Music Association, the trend expanded to local competitions. Many professionals now align themselves with the international aesthetics, which is most visibly seen in official media reports.”
“So?”
“So, let’s re-evaluate the judging panel for this competition.”
Heisi He pointed to the list.
“With the international guest judges leading, plus the media editors and critics, they’re all supporters of the International Music Association’s evaluation criteria. In the judging panel of twelve, they make up about 41.67%!”
“That 41.67% of the judges have a pessimistic attitude toward classical music. They would obviously favor Bai Xi’s pop music!”
Hazi put away the tablet and said gravely,
“So, Teacher Gan Yanyu didn’t lose because of her skill! It can even be said that looking at the scores, in terms of playing, Teacher Gan Yanyu didn’t lose at all!”
(End of Chapter)
