"Isn’t our Gan always kind?" Lin Tian smiled and said, "I didn’t let her come. I was afraid if there’s something sad here, she’d hear it and feel sad with you, and then we’d be going home hand in hand during the semifinals." She played with the little bear ornament on her Lolita dress, her gaze dim. —— Truth be told, this little toy looks quite nice. If this bear could ease tension, Lin Tian considered buying one for Gan Yanyu too, so she wouldn’t have to keep pinching her thighs. They watched the air hang quietly for about 20 seconds. "Don’t just stay silent." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, Lin Tian raised his voice. Those who don’t know Lin Tian might misunderstand him. They might think Lin Tian is the kind of super nice guy who’s empathetic, communicates patiently, knows how to open a girl’s heart, saving an introverted girl from distress — after all, there’s no more authoritative case than that of Gan Yanyu. In fact, that’s completely wrong. Because all these superior qualities of his are limited to one person. Lin Tian is patient, but not much. He’s basically the kind of person who doesn’t speak human language very well. He stands by one principle: only scolding men, but gender doesn’t matter. What Lin Tian can’t tolerate is when he offers free emotional value to someone, and the other person stays silent. Why, do you want me to guess? In this world, the only one he’d guess for is Gan Yanyu. If other women stay silent, Lin Tian’s patience tends to be judged by the other person’s looks. If they’re ugly, at this point Lin Tian would have slapped them. Lin Tian doesn’t hate Western girls. With Nannali’s appearance, Lin Tian could still allow her to stay introverted for another two minutes. At this moment, on the big screen, the competition had already started. Two commentators began their passionate commentary. Since Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu’s performance sequence was relatively late, Lin Tian was not in a hurry. Since Nannali wasn’t speaking, he might as well watch the competition here. He sat down on the sofa, and Nannali next to him gave him a startled glance, but Lin Tian didn’t mind her, just focused on the big screen. Nannali bit her lip, hesitating to speak, but still raised her head to look at the screen. The two of them didn’t say a word, just watched the live broadcast. In the room, only the broadcast’s performance sound was left. After watching for half an hour or so. "Alright, since you don’t want to say anything, I’ll head back." Lin Tian was about to head toward the door. "W-why do you care about me?" Nannali’s voice came from behind. Lin Tian turned his head, "Come on, it’s not me who cares about you, it’s Gan Yanyu, she begged me to come." Nannali bit her lip again, showing a struggling look on her face, "I just feel... saying things to you guys would... be very embarrassing....." "Seriously, you’re actually worried about being embarrassed." Lin Tian said in surprise, "I thought you’d lost face in front of Mr. Gan a long time ago after losing so many times and still insisted on being a tagalong....." "Do you really have to say it so harshly?" Nannali suddenly became agitated, covering her face, not knowing if she was trying hard to suppress the urge to brawl with Lin Tian, or not wanting Lin Tian to see her cry. "This... might be my last performance in the Tian Chao." "That’s great, isn’t it?" Lin Tian said, "I remember you vaguely said before that your dream was to go home, right?" "This going home is different from that going home....." Nannali took a deep breath. After a pause, she still said, "I want to go back to Europe, to study at an art academy." "But, if I lose to Gan Yanyu here, I have to go home to accept my family’s arrangement..... that’s my agreement with my mom." "I see." Lin Tian suddenly understood. No wonder Nannali stuck to Gan Yanyu like a ghost. Now that I see it, it seems understandable. From Nannali’s perspective, it’s possible to hate Gan Yanyu to the core. In this light, this girl doesn’t seem as annoying as she appears on the surface. "Because you want to learn art — so you have to keep performing?" "You feel the same way, don’t you?" Upon hearing this sentence, Nannali suddenly felt like she’d found a kindred spirit, forced a smile, and said, "So you haven’t lost yet, have you?" This was the part Lin Tian couldn’t understand. If the agreement was to defeat Gan Yanyu here, the competition hasn’t even started yet, so why look so defeated? After all, even if it’s a losing battle in Gan Yanyu’s eyes, she would still strive to adjust her state and perform the piece perfectly..... Lin Tian thought again. That is Gan Yanyu’s passion. Maybe Nannali couldn’t be so poised? Faced with Lin Tian’s self-questioning, Gan Yanyu hadn’t said a word yet. At this moment, a voice sounded on the big screen: "Let’s welcome the next contestant, Bai Junze!" With that familiar figure appearing, Lin Tian and Nannali sat up straight, focusing their eyes on the big screen. After counting down silently in his heart, Bai Junze’s performance began! another rather frantic and exciting piece——"Leopard Terminator." It was actually rock music. Isn’t this a cello competition?! Lin Tian marveled at Bai Junze’s creativity. Even Bai Xi, who was so innovative in modern music, wouldn’t dare to make such a change. Yet, this kid really got the crowd going on stage. With the accompaniment, Bai Junze’s cello, filled with LED lights, turned into a cyber weapon once again, shining brightly on stage. Lin Tian genuinely admired him, though he couldn’t quite understand, he always greatly respected this guy. After all, Lin Tian had seen plenty of "cellist lunatics," but Bai Junze was something else. Lin Tian turned his head, just about to share with Nannali. But the girl in front of him was completely in a daze. Nannali was just like that, staring up at the performance, mesmerized. Her face full of longing. After a while, as the music’s climax passed, soaking in the interlude. She lowered her head and reconnected with the previous topic. "I thought I could face all of this calmly and proudly. In fact, I had already prepared for today’s performance. No matter the outcome, I would accept it." Nannali looked at the cello beside her, her eyes softened, "But maybe I’m not as strong as I imagined....." Lin Tian watched her, equally stunned. "Because your mom is coming to watch your competition, so you found out that all your mental preparation was gone — can I understand it that way?" "Then you’re quite afraid of your mom, unlike me, I’m not afraid of ghosts — especially not those who died tragically." "It’s not so much being afraid of my mother, as being afraid of the memories, everything related to the cello." Nannali looked at Lin Tian, "I really envy you all." "Being able to happily do what you love on stage, if I had such a position, maybe the me sitting here now would be even more splendid!" "Actually, I was really tempted to ridicule just now....." Lin Tian said with a wry smile, "Nannali, how exactly do you know you hate music?" Hearing this, Nannali was taken aback. "How did you determine that? Maybe I don’t understand you Brits, but we Tians typically wouldn’t perform to this extent if we really hated it." "I...I just have talent..." but her voice grew quieter. Then, the girl murmured, "I... I never once wanted to continue playing....." "Was there ever a moment when you found performing actually enjoyable?" "I think you’re just overthinking it, what’s it got to do with whether you like it or not? Just finish this performance and then talk about it!" "I..." Googlᴇ search novel•fire.net "Next contestant, Nannali!" With the voice on the big screen, the girl flinched, her whole body shivering. Lin Tian gave her a thumbs up, "Go for it, Teacher Nannali!"