Grandpa once said,
"People, sometimes, are better off living a bit befuddled."
Lin Tian is a very interesting person.
Thanks to this young man, Gan Yanyu spent two pleasant evenings.
For the first time, she got drunk on beer and stayed over at a boy's house.
She had her favorite dessert; turns out there's a shop that can make mango pudding so well!
She experienced a foot massage she never had before; the masseuse was beautiful and the massage was so relaxing.
These wonderful experiences, with Lin Tian's company, became interesting.
At least, as the last two days of her life.
This is where it ends.
Gan Yanyu felt that this ending wasn't too bad.
However,
Ever since the rooftop cat-catching game ended,
Both seemed to have an unspoken agreement not to mention "suicide."
Gan Yanyu didn't know if Lin Tian was aware, and it didn't matter if he knew; as long as he didn't bring it up, they could continue getting along well until she repaid her debt of gratitude and left alone.
But now,
Standing outside the foot massage parlor, bathed in the clear moonlight, the street nearly devoid of pedestrians, all was quiet.
Lin Tian's question, "Are you going to heaven?"
left Gan Yanyu frozen in place.
Like a candy wrapper forcibly torn open, revealing the dark, bitter chocolate inside.
Can't even end it in a dignified manner...
"Kidding."
"Eh?"
Before Gan Yanyu could respond,
Lin Tian, like a Sichuan opera face-changer, briskly walked ahead,
"Come on, I'll take you to see something fun."
"Ah... something fun?"
Gan Yanyu was somewhat dazed. It was already very late.
And she had achieved her goal; she should leave now.
"It has to be this late for there to be something to see!"
Lin Tian waved his hand and smiled at her, "If you're not coming, I'll go by myself."
Watching Lin Tian's retreating figure walk farther away,
Gan Yanyu couldn't help herself and hurried after him.
...
"Brothers, send some flowers, tap some likes, and I'll perform opening twenty bottles of beer with bare hands!"
Just getting out of the taxi, a loud shout startled Gan Yanyu.
She saw a middle-aged man standing by the bridge, yelling into his phone's live stream, and with a "pop!" knocked off a beer bottle cap with his palm.
Soon after, a "doom-da-da" music rhythm sounded.
The girl turned around to see a banana seller at a fruit stand, singing in front of the phone camera.
"Once upon a time there was a mountain♫~ on the mountain there was a temple♫~ in the temple there's me selling bananas and smiling at you♫~"
"Family, tap that like button, we switch to the next dance at five thousand likes."
A flamboyantly dressed woman, next to the fruit stand, uttered a coquettish voice.
Coming back to reality.
This whole street, buzzing with people, was incredibly lively, and half of them were live streaming!
"What is all this..."
Gan Yanyu was kind of scared and subconsciously hid behind Lin Tian.
"This is the internet celebrity street of Qingzhou, it's hot online recently. Many people come here to live stream, it's my first time here too."
Lin Tian thought this place might be bizarre, but it turned out to be even more eccentric than he imagined!
Douyin celebrities were indeed a peculiar species.
At a glance, there were all sorts of attires.
Maid costumes, nurse outfits, delivery guys, some even painted their bodies and lay on the ground pretending to be invisible in performance art...
What a star-studded spectacle.
Compared to them, Gan Yanyu was in a much better mental state!
"Have they all gone mad?"
Gan Yanyu had never seen such a scene before.
Unable to hold back, she covered her mouth and couldn't help but start laughing.
"Makin' money, no shame in that," Lin Tian said.
Seeing Gan Yanyu laugh, he laughed along.
Unexpectedly, Gan Yanyu and he shared a common interest in watching clowns.
Seeing the girl happy, Lin Tian felt the trip was worthwhile.
"Come on, let's go further and see!"
The two continued along the internet celebrity street.
Along the way, there weren't just live streamers, but also many stalls selling late-night snacks and lemon tea. There were lots of young people coming and going, and it seemed that an entire industry had developed here.
Gan Yanyu looked full of curiosity, glancing here for a moment, looking there the next.
Even the price list for lemonade required her to stare at it for half a minute.
This girl, does she rarely go out normally?
Lin Tian felt a bit helpless, but he also calmed his heart down.
As they walked, he suddenly saw a large crowd gathered not far away.
A pleasant sound of a piano flowed from within.
It wasn't until they approached that they realized it was street performers.
It was a young man and woman.
The woman was playing the violin, the man the cello.
Together they played, with the cello leading and the violin accompanying.
They were performing a very cheerful piece.
The cello's passion, paired with the violin's liveliness and lightness, surprisingly produced a very good effect.
The pleasant music, like a gushing stream, flowing through a forest full of birds and flowers, brought this coolness to everyone present.
Street-side singing is common, but it's rare to see street-side musical performances.
But because of this, it attracted a lot of onlookers.
Many people marveled, pulling out their phones to record.
Subconsciously, Lin Tian felt that such a performance might trigger unpleasant memories for Gan Yanyu.
He was about to leave, but found his clothes were being tugged on.
Gan Yanyu stared blankly at the two performers, her little hand clutching the corner of Lin Tian's clothes.
Lin Tian "..."
Indeed, as a cellist, Gan Yanyu should resonate with the beautiful sound of the cello.
"Boccherini's Nocturne, second movement. The accompaniment on violin is okay, but the male cellist is not good, he rushed the fourth beat variation in the second segment, and the transition in the third segment was nearly 30% off-pitch," Gan Yanyu seriously explained.
Your focus is actually on this?!
No, did you come here to check their homework?!
Ashamed to say, although Lin Tian has learned a lot of musical knowledge through his "Piano Skills," he really hadn't noticed these things.
Looking at it this way, Gan Yanyu's level of musical proficiency might be much higher than his current silver-level skill.
Soon, the piece came to an end.
The male cellist put down his bow, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stood up holding his payment QR code.
"Thank you all for listening! We are college students chasing our dreams in the south, all striving for our music dream, and we hope for your support!!"
However, the crowd that was just recording on their phones suddenly put them away as if the batteries had died, pretending to chat with friends nearby.
Even, one by one, a large group of people left.
The male with the QR code sign suddenly looked embarrassed, awkwardly standing in place.
The female behind him holding the violin also showed a disappointed expression.
"Can I scan with WeChat?"
Just at that moment, a female voice rang out.
Gan Yanyu picked up her phone and walked up to the front.
"Of... of course, you can!"
Seeing someone patronizing, the male student quickly showed a joyful expression.
"Mhm."
Gan Yanyu looked at her WeChat balance of 38 yuan and scanned over 30 yuan.
She needed to keep 8 yuan for the subway.
"The variation part needs more practice; this Nocturne suits the cello very well, but if you don't practice diligently, performing on the street with this quality, it's hard to say you are truly chasing your dream."
Hearing this, the male student's expression suddenly became serious.
He quickly asked:
"Teacher, are you also a cellist?"
"I used to be."
"Wait a minute... Teacher, you look a bit familiar."
The male student squinted his eyes, seemingly uncertain, and said,
"Are... are you surnamed Gan?"
Hearing this, Gan Yanyu was startled.
Seeing the girl's reaction, the male student immediately confirmed his own thoughts, excitedly saying,
"Gan Yanyu, you're Mr. Gan Gan Yanyu, right!!"
"This is Mr. Gan Yanyu!!"
The male student turned his head and shouted excitedly to his girlfriend in the distance.
Then he turned back:
"Mr. Gan! I grew up watching your grandpa's videos! I've also been listening to your cello performances all the time! I've watched every contest video!"
"I think compared to Senior Gan Hua, your cello playing has more vitality that our new generation likes, I have really liked you for a long time, I've always felt that the future of the great cellists Zhonghua belongs to you, Mr. Gan..... I never imagined that I would meet you here...."
The male student was excited, his voice trembling.
It was the madness of meeting one's idol in the flesh.
But at this time, Gan Yanyu was stunned.
The girl's eyes gradually lost their sparkle.
"No... sorry....."
"I have something....."
She said softly, slowly turning around.
Ignoring the male student's confusion.
She ran off.