Chapter 400: What’s the Meaning of the Recording?
“What does this mean?”
Lin Tian was stunned.
The voice coming from the doll sounded so familiar.
Isn’t that Gan Yan Yu’s voice?
Is it a recording?
And what about this “not quite a line”?
Lin Tian’s brain was fried like a pig in a sauna.
“Smack!”
Right at that moment,
The newly arrived Gan Yan Yu, who had been pouring some Seaweed Jelly, spilled it on the floor.
Her eyes lost their gleam.
“Gan Gan teacher?”
Lin Tian tried cautiously.
In the next second—
“Ahhh!!!”
Gan Yan Yu’s face turned as red as a baboon’s buttocks, she covered her cheeks and lunged at Lin Tian.
Lin Tian jumped back onto the sofa in shock.
“Young Lady Gan, what are you doing?!”
“Give it back, give it back!!”
At that moment, Gan Yan Yu was utterly dizzy, feeling like her head was spinning in a loop. She desperately tried to snatch the doll from Lin Tian.
But because Lin Tian stood so high, no matter how much Gan Yan Yu jumped, she couldn’t reach.
“Explain what this means first!!”
Lin Tian shouted loudly.
He was sweating buckets!
Seeing Gan Yan Yu’s intense reaction, Lin Tian had a hunch.
The voice in the doll was most likely Gan Yan Yu’s.
It might even have been recorded without her knowing, otherwise, why would she just place the doll on the sofa?
“What’s ‘not quite a line’? To whom is it said?”
Lin Tian asked.
Could the “line” be that same one he imagined?
Then what did Gan Yan Yu mean by that?
Lin Tian stared intently at the young woman.
However, Gan Yan Yu seemed completely robotic, losing all conversational capacity, with eyes devoid of any gleam.
Lin Tian swallowed, looking at himself in the Q version of his own image.
He hesitantly asked:
“Doesn’t this refer to me?”
As soon as he spoke—
Gan Yan Yu’s face deflated instantly, like an air-filled ball going flat.
“Lin Tian, are you serious?”
Lin Tian was puzzled.
Suddenly—
Gan Yan Yu leaped and snatched the doll away from Lin Tian’s hand.
Caught off guard, Lin Tian fell off the couch.
When Lin Tian clutched his head and stood up,
She pushed him towards the door.
“I’m sorry!”
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, I’m so sorry! Sorry sorry!!”
Gan Yan Yu shoved Lin Tian towards the door, shouting frantically.
Still groggy,
Lin Tian was pushed out of the apartment,
“What?”
Lin Tian twisted around in surprise.
“Clack!”
The door closed.
Lin Tian was dumbfounded.
He stared at the shut door, his head buzzing.
What the heck is happening here?!
What’s going on with the doll?
What does Gan Yan Yu’s phrase mean?
Why is she so upset by recordings?
Lin Tian felt like he’d just been on a rollercoaster.
Originally, everything was going smoothly, eating well at Gan Yan Yu’s place, finally resolving past conflicts, and preparing for tomorrow’s competition.
But suddenly—
He touched a doll.
Suddenly—
Something weird happened.
Suddenly—
Red-faced Gan Yan Yu pushed him out.
With no explanation.
Lin Tian couldn’t take it; he raised his hand to knock on the door again.
But just then,
The door opened again.
Gan Yan Yu reappeared.
She put a new cup in his hands.
“Finish your seaweed jelly. You better drink every last drop.”
The girl looked down, speaking with a mix of sulkiness and a bit of arrogance,
“Don’t be late for the competition tomorrow!”
She didn’t wait for a reaction.
“Clack!”
The door slammed shut.
There was three seconds of silence.
Wait, is this really it?
What?!
Lin Tian got anxious.
He admitted that he was truly anxious.
Never in his 19 years had he felt this bewildered.
He knocked furiously on the door.
“Ding-dong, ding-dong!”
“Open the door!”
This ditsy girl!
Seeing no response after knocking for a while, Lin Tian gave up hope, putting his hand down.
Looks like—
Now, they won’t be able to communicate properly.
Lin Tian returned home.
At home, Lin Tian sat on the couch, still stewing over the events.
What the hell happened there?
Lin Tian calmed down and recalled.
That doll was a gift from him to Gan Yan Yu on New Year’s Eve.
Back then, he didn’t give it much thought, simply ordering one from a shop with good sales on Taotao.
He never examined it in detail and just handed it to Gan Yan Yu because it looked decent on the outside.
Now he wondered if something wasn’t quite right with it.
Lin Tian pulled out his phone and opened the Taotao app.
He found his order history and clicked on the details to find a small line in one of the pictures—
“Included voice recording feature.”
What?!
Who puts a feature like that in such a hidden spot?
Did they intend this for mischief?
Here,
Lin Tian calmed down, reviewing the situation carefully.
Perhaps,
Without Lin Tian knowing it, Gan Yan Yu’s voice was recorded inside the doll.
And she probably didn’t know it had such a function,
Which is why she could leave it on the sofa carelessly.
Lin Tian must’ve accidentally triggered something when he leaned on the doll, which started playing the audio.
Unprepared for this, Gan Yan Yu became flustered and momentarily lost her composure.
This made sense.
However, Lin Tian remained puzzled.
How could Gan Yan Yu carry the doll for so long and never discover its voice recording feature?
What did she use the doll for?
To speak her heart?
If she knew about it and left the doll there, wouldn’t that be careless?
Why leave it on the sofa in the first place?
Moreover,
In Gan Yan Yu’s eyes, if she didn’t know about it,
Seeing the recent scene, might she think Lin Tian was being sneaky, leaving a voice recorder for her as a prank?
A myriad of speculations swirled through Lin Tian’s head as he struggled with the sheer amount of information.
This was too much for his brain to handle!
But wait—
None of this was the real issue, was it?
Like whether a recording had been made or if Gan Yan Yu misunderstood,
These weren’t the real questions.
Not nearly as important as figuring out—
Why the line “’Not quite a line’”?
Memories flooded his mind.
From the old house to the Japanese trip, and now to recent events in Baijing,
A bold hypothesis emerged in Lin Tian’s mind.
So bold that Lin Tian was afraid to confirm it.
—What if,
From the beginning,
Gan Yan Yu had wanted Lin Tian to break that line?
She wanted intimacy.
But Lin Tian, overly respectful of her feelings, was cautious about how their relationship might be affected.
The line she established was sincere.
Her words of wanting nothing intimate until her dreams were fulfilled were also genuine.
But women, they can be contradictory.
Even though deep down she desired intimacy,
Gradually,
All the clues aligned in Lin Tian’s mind.
Initially, it was just speculation, but connecting it to memories,
Lin Tian felt closer than ever to the truth.
Suddenly—
“Argh! Argh! Argh!”
Lin Tian started kicking the sofa viciously.
What was he thinking?!
Why couldn’t he see it sooner!?
Feels like these past six months were in vain!
Gan Yan Yu probably wanted to get close to him,
But maybe he didn’t understand women’s indirect expressions…
After all,
He had never dated before!
Not understanding women’s indirectness was understandable!
But now—
He felt stupid and disappointed.
Surely,
Some forceful action would’ve solved this!
Anyway,
He needed to clear things up with Gan Yan Yu tomorrow,
No matter what.
Practice showed,
Nothing was unsolvable between them,
Even if it meant discussing their feelings via music.
They’ve waited too long.
So,
Raising some hope, he messaged He Zhichen:
“Teacher He, asleep?”
Reminding him earlier that He Zhichen should inform him of any updates.
After a moment’s thought,
Lin Tian decided to discuss things with He Zhichen,
Especially since he knew best about emotional issues.
No reply.
Lin Tian supposed he was already asleep.
So, he summarized today’s encounter to He Zhichen and asked,
“What do you think Gan Laoshi is thinking?”
Throwing his phone aside,
Lin Tian flopped back on the bed.
Closing his eyes with a mix of emotions.
Morning.
Alarm went off,
Lin Tian switched it off.
Getting up groggily,
Eyes barely open.
Today,
Was the biennial “Dragon Zither Cup” finale for violoncello nationwide.
Important day for all cellists and music fans alike.
Just breathing in that morning air filled him with nervous energy.
Lin Tian checked his phone,
First message was from Gan Yan Yu 30 minutes ago:
“Get ready early, I head to the venue first, you can rest a bit more. Come later.”
Reading that,
All the previous night’s memories surged forth.
Oh, that girl…
Lin Tian smiled wryly.
Clearly,
She’s not ready for serious conversation yet.
Well, perhaps she hadn’t slept well either.
Quickly,
Lin Tian got dressed.
He was the accompanist;
Preparations were minimal,
Typically waiting on Gan Yan Yu.
Since Gan Yan Yu was already there,
Lin Tian called for breakfast delivery.
Eating and checking the time, he realized it was perfect timing.
Leaving with food in hand,
Walking out,
Lin Tian hailed a ride-sharing service as usual.
Shortly,
A taxi rolled up across the street.
Lin Tian moved forward; simultaneously,
His phone rang.
From He Zhichen.
“This isn’t typical behavior for Teacher Gan.”
“Did you confront her?”
Lin Tian replied,
“No.”
Of course not,
Gan Yan Yu—
What was she thinking?
Again,
More pondering.
Though conclusions had been reached yesterday,
Wasn’t it unusual for her to show such typical feminine whimsicality?
Dreams meant too much for her.
Overstepping lines would hinder their progress toward dreams.
Looking at his phone,
Lin Tian’s brow furrowed deeper.
Suddenly,
A speeding car flashed past,
Its light blurring Lin Tian’s vision briefly.
He turned sharply, eyes wide.
“Ai!”
Bam—
Baijing International Concert Hall.
Behind-the-scenes,
A shared lounge doubling as a dressing room,
Gan Yan Yu checked herself out in the mirror after being styled by her makeup artist.
“So pretty, Teacher Gan Yan Yu.”
The makeup artist flashed a radiant smile,
“Among all cellists I’ve met, you’re the prettiest.”
“Thank you.”
Gan Yan Yu politely nodded.
“Beauty invites admirers; anyone courting you?”
The makeup artist continued excited,
“Got yourself a boyfriend?”
“Guess it’s not… not really,”
Despite online rumors, the question felt unexpected for her.
Deception didn’t sit well.
Then,
She got reflective.
The events of that night were unforgettable.
—Back then, what did Lin Tian make of it?
Had he understood her meaning?
“Guess, it means Gan Yan Yu has someone in mind?”
The makeup artist persisted,
“That pianist maybe? Rumors say you two are already secretly together.”
“We’re not.”
Abruptly,
Gan Yan Yu pivoted.
The makeup artist, startled, saw seriousness in her face,
“You’ll definitely get married.”
“Together,”
This match was the start.
(End of Chapter 400)
