Chapter 324: Online Buzz, Moonlight and Cat’s Ultimate Showdown on Exam Day!
After finishing up with Gan Yan Yu, Lin Tian returned to the desks where everyone was studying.
Lin Tian wasn’t one to waste time; as soon as he sat down, he pulled out a test paper from his bag and, after a mere few minutes of preparation, he started writing away.
Math formulas and diagrams began to cover the draft paper like confetti at a parade.
Su Ran couldn’t help but glance over at Gan Yan Yu, who was also deep in concentration.
The young woman was holding a cello, demonstrating for Amuro Chika with a calm and gentle expression, patiently explaining as she went.
“Lin Tian.”
Su Ran couldn’t resist speaking up.
Lin Tian paused, his pen stopping mid-air.
“Does Xiao Gan know that person?”
“Not really,” he replied.
“Does she know what you’re talking about?”
“Nope, but Chika will probably fill her in,” he said matter-of-factly.
“So she just took over like that?!”
“Mhm, she just wants me to take a break.”
Lin Tian wore an expression that said this was as natural as breathing.
Su Ran was left astounded again.
She had sensed it earlier, but confirming it with Lin Tian left her utterly shocked.
Well, the answer was pretty obvious.
These two had reached such a level of mutual understanding that it was as if they’d turned “your business” into “my business” without even breaking a sweat.
How could they possibly get jealous over something trivial?
This kind of unconditional and unreserved trust wasn’t something that could be shattered by a fleeting moment or a random new arrival.
“Sure enough.”
Su Ran murmured.
Lin Tian lifted his head in confusion, surprised to find the girl in front of him with sparkling tears in her eyes. They were tears of emotion and excitement that were hard to put into words.
“It’s just so great to like both of you!”
Don’t just get all emotional out of the blue!
Lin Tian was horrified.
This was the very reason he felt it was hard to communicate with Su Ran.
This girl would often jump to odd conclusions without warning.
Imagine this: you simply did something mundane, looked up, and there’s a doting smile staring back at you like you’re being smothered by a mother hen.
“Smack—”
At this moment, Su Ran slapped Xu Yong on the shoulder.
Xu Yong, who had his head buried in a pile of classical poetry, suddenly looked around in confusion.
“Oh, Brother Tian, you’re back?”
“Xu Yong.”
Su Ran stared intently into his eyes, very serious, “I might not be able to study with you tomorrow. I have a new study partner, it’s someone from the next class.”
“What?!!”
Xu Yong’s eyes widened in disbelief, “What did you say?”
“I said, I found a new study buddy, Wu Xiaofan from the next class.”
“No way! What can he possibly help you with?!”
Xu Yong glared at Su Ran. “I know him well enough. He’s a good-for-nothing, what could he teach you?!”
“He’s been begging me for tutoring since freshman year. I can’t just ignore that,”
Su Ran crossed her arms, gazing ahead, only occasionally glancing at Xu Hui, a hint of glee breaking through her serious facade.
“Hey, actually, if someone else were to ask me, I wouldn’t mind…”
Just as Su Ran finished speaking and turned around—
A huge middle finger shot up in her face.
Xu Yong chuckled, “That’s like, dude, long time no see.”
“Y-you!!”
Su Ran’s face turned beet red in an instant, quickly swinging her fist at Xu Yong.
Xu Yong, having never expected this kind of reaction, bolted up from his chair in fright.
A rapid fire of blows sent Xu Yong ducking for cover.
He was completely stupefied.
“Is she always this fiery? I thought she had better control over her temper!”
When Xu Yong saw that he had merely made a joke, it felt like waking a slumbering dragon.
“Brother Tian, save me!!”
“You’re over a meter eighty getting chased by a meter fifty little shrimp, what do you want me to do?”
Lin Tian sipped from his thermos, unfazed by the chaos unfolding in front of him.
He turned his attention back to Gan Yan Yu.
“…”
Even though she’d just been pulled into the chaos, Gan Yan Yu looked absolutely serious.
Her expression was focused as she corrected Amuro Chika’s technique and proactively took notes, marking up the sheet music for her.
That’s some responsible tutoring there!
Lin Tian smiled.
For a while now, he’d been focused on helping Gan Yan Yu with her studies, taking care of her needs in life.
But suddenly seeing her teaching someone else made his heart swell with an indescribable warmth.
It felt like a dad watching his little girl grow up and suddenly realize, “Wow, she’s all grown up now!”
Meanwhile, on the piano side…
Unaware that Lin Tian was watching her, Gan Yan Yu was entirely focused on Amuro Chika’s sheet music.
At times, her expression shifted from surprise to delight.
“You wrote this beautifully.”
“It was Lin Tian-sensei who helped me edit it,” Amuro Chika replied with a shy smile.
Gan Yan Yu looked up with curiosity, “You’re called… Amuro Chika?”
“Yup.”
“Your music gives off a really resilient vibe, but I didn’t expect such a small girl would produce that!”
“Teacher Gan, I’m a boy.”
“Eh?!”
Gan Yan Yu blinked, a bit flustered.
She took another look at Amuro Chika and then quickly turned beet red.
“I-I’m so sorry!!”
The girl quickly covered her face, “I didn’t mean to!”
“It’s fine, Gan Yan Yu-sensei!”
Amuro Chika’s expression changed to look nervous, “I’m used to it!”
“Really sorry! Mistaking someone’s gender is just rude…”
Gan Yan Yu softly said.
She slowly lowered her hands to reveal a narrow opening in front of her face.
Again, examining Amuro Chika in detail, she quietly remarked,
“I remembered, you didn’t wear a skirt on stage, right?”
“Why are you in a skirt this time?”
“…”
Upon hearing this, Amuro Chika’s expression shifted from subtle to softer, as he slowly bowed his head.
He didn’t answer directly.
“On stage, clothes are my tools; music is my skeleton. I want the audience to focus on my essence, not what I wear.”
“…”
Gan Yan Yu was momentarily stunned.
Then Amuro Chika looked up and asked, “Sensei Lin Tian spent so much time teaching me today, will it affect you, Gan Yan Yu-sensei?”
“No, not at all.”
“Well, maybe a little…”
Gan Yan Yu’s voice trailed off.
To be honest, initially, she had felt a flicker of resentment about Lin Tian teaching Amuro Chika today.
According to the schedule, it was supposed to be a math review day.
If Lin Tian was busy with someone else, that would leave no time for Gan Yan Yu.
And that had made her math questions a real headache today.
But as Gan Yan Yu looked up and saw Lin Tian earnestly teaching Amuro Chika, her grievances quickly faded.
She soon realized.
She couldn’t keep relying on Lin Tian forever.
All this time, it had always been like this. Without Lin Tian, she seemed to struggle during exam reviews.
That simply wouldn’t do!
Watching Lin Tian and reflecting on their time together during exam prep…
Gan Yan Yu understood.
She should stand on the same battlefield as Lin Tian.
She wouldn’t be just the “one being taken care of.”
As comrades in this fight, she should actively help share the load!
…
Perhaps sensing that the young man before her wasn’t a threat,
Without even realizing it, Gan Yan Yu unconsciously began to share her thoughts with Amuro Chika.
Then she added,
“So I’m here now, working hard to teach you!”
Gan Yan Yu smiled sweetly.
“…”
Amuro Chika was momentarily taken aback.
He looked at the young woman in front of him, and his exquisite, beautiful eyes quivered with emotion.
In that fleeting moment, they sparkled like stars.
After a moment of silence, he said, “Gan Yan Yu-sensei, you can go back now.”
“Eh?”
Gan Yan Yu’s expression turned tense.
“Is my teaching not good enough?”
“You’re great, Gan Yan Yu-sensei! Your use of harmony impresses me greatly!”
“Then why switch to Lin Tian? I haven’t finished teaching yet.”
“No, I mean, you and Lin Tian-sensei should study together. You’ve already taught me so much… I can digest this for now.”
Amuro Chika said with a smile.
For reasons unknown,
The shy, reserved “little girl” suddenly radiated an unexplainable confidence and sunshine.
“…”
Seeing Amuro Chika, Gan Yan Yu didn’t insist anymore. She tilted her head and said, “Okay~”
Before long, she returned to her seat.
In Lin Tian’s puzzled gaze, Gan Yan Yu leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
Lin Tian glanced at Amuro Chika with concern, but after Gan Yan Yu wrapped her arm around him, he finally shifted his gaze back.
“Alright, let’s start with that paper you were working on.”
“Uh-huh!”
Gan Yan Yu rested her chin on her hands, propped up on the table.
Lin Tian took out his pen and began scribbling on the blank paper.
“This question should…”
“This formula goes like this…”
“You can establish a coordinate system with notes for better understanding…”
Lin Tian earnestly explained.
Gan Yan Yu rested her chin on her hands, lifting her head, her expression oscillating between serious and enlightened, occasionally breaking into goofy smiles as she stared at Lin Tian.
“…”
From afar, watching this scene,
Amuro Chika nodded slightly and smiled.
Picking up his bass, he gently began to play and sing.
“…”
As inspirations flowed out like a fountain,
Amuro Chika continuously improvised and altered melodies.
Writing new lyrics that flashed through his mind into a notebook.
“…”
Finally,
A full page of lyrics and arrangements was complete.
A complete song appeared in front of Amuro Chika.
Holding the notebook, his face beamed with joy and satisfaction.
“Lin Tian-sensei!”
“I did it!”
“…”
By the time Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu finally finished the entire test paper, they looked over to the piano.
At that moment, it was completely empty.
Only an old notebook remained.
Its cover clearly marked with:
【ありがとう (Thank you)】
June 7th, Exam Day.
After waiting for so long,
The Judgment Day for all exam candidates finally arrived!
That morning, Lin Tian woke up before six, preparing breakfast for himself and Gan Yan Yu.
It had been a long time since he felt that kind of jittery anticipation just from eating breakfast!
While Lin Tian munched on youtiao with some porridge,
Next door, Xiao Gan was gnawing on bread, her eyes glued intensely to her phone screen.
On the screen was a compact version of organized study materials.
While reading, the girl’s legs shook vigorously with anticipation.
Lin Tian stretched his leg into her path, halting her incessant fidgeting.
“Exams are coming up! What good is it to stare at that now?”
“I have to look! What if I forget everything during the test?”
“…”
Having experienced the panic of a competition, Lin Tian knew better than to argue.
It was classic Gan Yan Yu thinking!
Trying to reason with her was an exercise in futility.
“Don’t be nervous! You’ve made great progress this month. Just play it straight, and you’ll be fine!”
The last time Gan Yan Yu was this tense was the morning of the Star Cup.
She was returning to the competition for the first time, and her little body was shaking like a leaf.
But didn’t she do just fine in the end?
Lin Tian wasn’t just blowing smoke.
He had observed Gan Yan Yu’s progress closely.
She really was tapping into her innate talent!
In the short span of a month, she had gone from the basics of math in freshman year to tackling the curriculum for senior year.
While she might not be as adept as Lin Tian, she had mastered most example problems quite well.
Math can be seen as a mysterious language to those struggling with the basics.
But once you reach a certain level, you don’t need to be the very best. If you can tackle most of the key problems, breaking the 100-point mark should be easy.
Previously ground zero, Gan Yan Yu had achieved this level under Lin Tian’s guidance.
Such monstrous learning ability made Lin Tian, who had endured two high school lifetimes, feel a bit sheepish.
No wonder she was called a musical genius!
Gan Yan Yu’s exceptional “imagination” was her greatest weapon in the sciences.
“Just keep calm and steady, Tiansound will surely pull through!”
To keep Gan Yan Yu focused, Lin Tian didn’t reveal to her his estimated score for her.
He wanted her to take the exam with a clear mind.
“Okay!”
Gan Yan Yu nodded, biting into her bread, glancing up at Lin Tian.
“Y-you’ve got to do well too!”
Lin Tian was taken aback.
This was the first time Gan Yan Yu had actively encouraged him during the past month.
Lin Tian smiled, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine.”
Given that both of them were scoring well on their school assessments, as long as Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu could hit the college line, they were both set for Tianyin.
That might be tough for Gan Yan Yu.
But for Lin Tian, who had always aimed at top-tier 985 schools, even stepping on one of those answer sheets should be child’s play.
“I know.”
“But you won’t be satisfied with that, right? After all, I know you.”
Gan Yan Yu smiled slightly.
“…” Hearing this, Lin Tian was initially stunned.
Then he smiled back, “Not bad, Gan-sensei. You really can’t keep anything from you.”
Even though Lin Tian had never put it into words,
Gan Yan Yu was well aware that he cared about the fact that his music had gotten in the way of his studies.
He had always been serious about his studies and cared a lot about his ranking, never slipping out of the top three.
Now that he was taking the college entrance exam, he absolutely wouldn’t accept settling for mediocre scores.
That was why he had been tutoring Gan Yan Yu while simultaneously keeping up with his studies—he was burning the midnight oil in preparation.
“…”
“Let’s work hard together,” Lin Tian declared.
As all the memories of this past month flooded his mind,
From the very beginning of using music to explain math to a completely clueless Gan Yan Yu,
To the two of them reviewing in the bedroom, tackling problems in cafés, and poring over textbooks in the library—
It all rushed by in the blink of an eye, like a fleeting dream.
Everything was leading up to this exam, wrapping up their high school journey!
“Yeah!!”
Meanwhile, online, discussions about the college entrance exams were simmering with excitement.
It’s no secret that during this time of year, all kinds of topics and news always pop up.
Like the ones about students being late and missing the exam, or a student forgetting their ID and needing a police escort back to retrieve it just in time, those “heartwarming moments.”
Every year they were timeless hotspots.
And this year, alongside the usual topics, there was an additional sensation.
【#Moonlight and Cat, Exam Day】
This topic quietly made its way into the top ten trending searches that morning.
After a month of silence, Moonlight and Cat finally found themselves trending!
【Moonlight Brother and Cat-chan, good luck on the exams!】
【Finally, I’ve waited way too long! Do you have any idea how lonely it’s been watching you guys prep for a month?!】
【A whole month without any news from Moonlight Bro and Cat-chan is just awful!】
【After the exams, will there be new releases?】
【Hurry, hurry! You must do your best!】
【.】
In places where Moonlight and Cat wouldn’t see,
The comments and videos supporting them flooded all over Weibo, Bilibili, and Douyin.
Even many influencers appeared on camera, respectfully voicing their encouragement for their idols during the exams.
In the local group chat of Qingzhou City, fans began organizing to gather at the exam site to “meet Moonlight and Cat.”
They planned to present flowers and cheers the moment the two stepped out of the school doors.
Everything was born from the fact that everyone missed seeing the two of them in public!
Fans were practically withering away from longing!
In fact, rather than the ongoing exams,
Many were even more curious about what Moonlight and Cat experienced during their month of study.
Where did they study? How did they review? Did anything happen?
With the two of them completely shutting themselves off, nobody could find out any of that inside information—even the paparazzi came up short.
Therefore, people could only rely on their imagination to conjure scenarios.
And on the very day of the exam,
As onlookers engaged in wild gossip,
The famous Tokyo band, Cosmic Flying Pig, who were on good terms with Moonlight and Cat, dropped their latest single.
To everyone’s surprise,
This single claimed to have received exclusive authorization from Moonlight and Cat. It was a reimagining of a classical music piece, sung by the band’s bassist, Amuro Chika.
The title was—
“Love on the Strings.”
Alongside the single release was a music video on Bilibili.
When countless netizens flocked to Bilibili to click on the MV,
In the video stood the entire Cosmic Flying Pig band on stage.
Dressed in performance attire, Amuro Chika was at the forefront, and with a somewhat awkward but incredibly resolute voice, he stated:
“This next song is dedicated to my two teachers, Moonlight and Cat.”
“With this song, I commemorate the study days of Teacher Lin Tian and Teacher Gan Yan Yu during their exam prep!”
(End of this chapter)
