Otaku Translation: My Girlfriend Is a Cello Player C107

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Chapter 107: Qingzhou Seventh High’s Fastest Legend

After uploading the video, Lin Tian edited a TikTok version. The only difference was the removal of the one-minute introductory segment meant for Bilibili; the rest of the content remained identical. Ironically, the comments they read aloud in the video were originally from TikTok, yet they were now using it to debut on Bilibili—a reversal that felt almost subversive.

Once the videos were out, it would take a day or two for them to gain traction. Given their zero-follower status on Bilibili, there was no point worrying about it immediately. With today’s recording session concluded, Lin Tian shut down his laptop and prepared to pack up and head home.

Gan Yanyu sat at one of the café tables, gazing absentmindedly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Tian asked as he approached, laptop tucked under his arm.

Normally by this time, Gan Yanyu would have already left on her own. Her lingering presence suggested she had something weighing on her mind.

“Mr. Gao just messaged me,” she said softly. “The registration deadline for the Starlight Cup is in a few days.”

"..."

Lin Tian fell silent. This was the same dilemma they’d been grappling with before.

The Starlight Cup, a local amateur competition, wasn’t particularly prestigious—it wasn’t hosted by any official association, and most participants were younger performers. However, skipping it meant forfeiting an additional layer of insurance. For Gan Yanyu, who was determined to compete in the Dragon Cello Competition, this safety net might matter more than either of them realized.

"..."

“Do you want to participate?” Lin Tian finally asked.

“I don’t know.”

If Gan Yanyu had clarity on the matter, she wouldn’t be sitting here brooding.

“But art exams are important too,” Lin Tian murmured thoughtfully. He desperately wanted to give her a decisive answer—something like, Who needs insurance? Without this trophy, we’ll still dominate the Parrot Cello Contest. Just like fighting demons without relying on magical artifacts.

But Lin Tian couldn’t take that gamble. Neither he nor Gan Yanyu had much room for error. A single misstep could cost them a year—time neither of them could afford to waste. By next year, who knew where they’d be or what universities they’d attend? Things could change irrevocably.

At the same time, Lin Tian couldn’t bring himself to say casually, Sign up, then. We’ll handle both the art exams and the Starlight Cup. To make such an irresponsible promise without considering the consequences went against his principles.

“When is the registration deadline?” Lin Tian asked instead.

“Wednesday.”

“My mock exam results will come out on Wednesday,” Lin Tian replied.

This second mock exam was crucial—it directly impacted whether Lin Tian could secure leave from school. Success here paved the way for everything else.

“By Wednesday, I’ll give you my answer,” he promised.

Back home, Lin Tian settled at his desk and opened his phone. Their newly uploaded Bilibili video hadn’t passed moderation yet, so he turned his attention back to Spanish Bullfighting March. As expected of an addictive earworm, the video’s likes had surged to 1.3 million within hours. Still, based on Lin Tian’s experience, collecting 200,000 “Passionate” emotional responses usually lagged behind view counts by a day or two.

Passionate Emotional Responses: 232,948 / 200,000

Mission Complete: Compose a duet piece with your partner. Post the video and receive 2 million likes along with 200,000 ‘Passionate’ emotional responses.

Reward Unlocked: Skill – “Efficient Learning”

Huh?

Lin Tian was startled by the sudden system notification. Something didn’t add up. Even if views skyrocketed, emotional responses typically trailed behind due to their subjective nature. The only explanation was external influence.

He quickly searched for Spanish Bullfighting March on TikTok. Scrolling through countless videos, he eventually stumbled upon a clip with 460,000 likes titled, “2024’s Hottest Korean Drama: Huang’s Lead Actor Stars in NIS vs. African Drug Cartel Action Thriller.”

A drama review? Confused, Lin Tian fast-forwarded through the video until he reached a climactic fight scene between the protagonist and an elite henchman. Sure enough, Spanish Bullfighting March blared in the background.

Ah, so that was it. Someone had paired his music with a dramatic TV sequence. When viewers reacted emotionally to those intense scenes, their feelings counted toward Lin Tian’s mission progress. For instance, during the heated battle scene, the audience’s excitement registered as Lin Tian’s achievement.

Talk about capitalizing on BGM royalties—it was even simpler than Apple’s notorious tax cuts. Suddenly, Lin Tian saw endless possibilities. If future missions required emotions like excitement or fear, he and Gan Yanyu could film short skits after recording sessions. He already had ideas—for example, reenacting Kana Momonogi’s reunion scene but casting himself as the lead. Emotions guaranteed.

For now, completing this task so effortlessly was a pleasant surprise. Next step: testing the new skill.

Though it was already 10 PM, Lin Tian retrieved his textbooks and set up at his desk. Flipping open a math workbook, he switched on his lamp. Late-night study sessions always sharpened his focus compared to daytime efforts, though fatigue often crept in faster. That’s where Efficient Learning came in handy.

Activating the skill, Lin Tian picked up his pen. The sound of scratching filled the dimly lit room. When he checked his phone again, it read 12:02 AM.

Incredible.

While Lin Tian felt as though he’d spent six uninterrupted hours solving problems, only two real-world hours had passed. More impressively, he experienced zero physical or mental exhaustion throughout those six hours.

This was terrifying—and exhilarating. Writing itself required minimal physical effort, but processing complex information for extended periods drained anyone’s brain. Yet with Efficient Learning, Lin Tian processed knowledge three times faster while feeling only a third of the usual fatigue.

For someone obsessed with learning, this was pure bliss. Instead of merely pausing time, the skill accelerated reality: Lin Tian solved three problems in the span it normally took to solve one. Each solution brought immense satisfaction, amplifying the joy of mathematical discovery. It was as if his brain had evolved into a supercomputer, devouring challenges and reveling in the feedback loop.

There was one downside: the skill only worked for studying. Midway through, Lin Tian tested its limits by attempting unrelated tasks. No luck—it strictly adhered to academic activities.

Still, the implications were intriguing. Did exams count as studying? Would activating the skill during a test grant him extra hours of effective work time? His hand speed alone would triple, giving him a massive advantage over others.

With Efficient Learning refreshing daily at midnight, Lin Tian decided to experiment further. Grabbing a fresh math test paper, he activated the skill and began solving problems. Forty minutes later, he set down his pen, staring proudly at the fully completed exam that usually took two hours.

A surge of adrenaline coursed through him. One thought dominated his mind:

I might become unstoppable.

---

Monday Morning

The Zhonghua language exam posed little challenge for Lin Tian—it relied on accumulated knowledge, so slacking off for a month or two wouldn’t drastically impact his score.

The real test came in the afternoon: the math exam. As soon as Lin Tian received his paper, he activated Efficient Learning. While other students were still filling out their names and ID numbers, Lin Tian’s pen was already flying across the page.

In the eerily quiet math exam hall, the sound of his writing drew sharp glances from nearby classmates. Xu Yong, seated just two desks away, nearly popped his eyes out upon seeing Lin Tian’s scribbled calculations covering half the scratch paper and progressing rapidly through the multiple-choice section.

“Seriously?” Xu Yong muttered under his breath. “Does he have to be this intense?”

Spurred by Lin Tian’s pace, everyone else scrambled to catch up. Despite the silence typical of math exams, the persistent scratching of Lin Tian’s pen echoed conspicuously through the room.

The incessant scratching of Lin Tian's pen echoed through the exam hall, unrelenting and sharp. Without a cushion under his paper, the sound reverberated even louder against the hard desk surface, grating on the nerves of nearby students. Their toes curled in frustration as they struggled to focus amidst the relentless noise.

They knew Lin Tian was good at math—everyone did—but this level of speed was absurd. The rustling of pages turning only added insult to injury. While most students were still working through multiple-choice questions, Lin Tian had already flipped to the back of the test booklet. Each page turn felt like a death knell for those around him, their own progress painfully slow by comparison.

What should have been an ordinary, mundane exam transformed into something tense and surreal, thanks entirely to Lin Tian's relentless pace. By the time half an hour remained, many students who had long given up stood to submit their papers early. Among them, one figure stood out conspicuously.

“Lin Tian??” Xu Yong nearly fell off his chair when he saw Lin Tian rise alongside a group of underachievers. He knew how much mathematics meant to Lin Tian; usually, Lin Tian spent every last minute double-checking his work. What was going on today? Was Lin Tian throwing in the towel because he’d failed? Did he plan to drop out without even asking Teacher Zhang Juan for leave?

Even the proctor, Mrs. Wang—the math teacher for Class A—was stunned speechless when Lin Tian handed in his paper first. Something about it didn’t sit right with her. Lin Tian was always diligent and hardworking. Why would he give up so easily now?

But then she glanced at the submitted test sheet—and her eyes widened in disbelief.

It was filled with answers, meticulously written across every available space. For the last two major problems, Lin Tian hadn’t just provided one solution—he’d written three completely different methods, all correct. One method even ventured into territory unfamiliar to Mrs. Wang herself.

Why would anyone write multiple solutions if no extra points were awarded? There was only one explanation: Lin Tian had so much time left that he amused himself by solving the same problem in various ways.

Mrs. Wang stared at Lin Tian, dumbfounded. She recalled his excellent past performance in math but couldn’t reconcile it with what she was seeing now. Only one thought crossed her mind:

This… this is what they call enlightenment.

Like the great mathematicians of history, Lin Tian exhibited behavior so extraordinary that it bordered on mythical. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way—not after over a decade of mediocrity followed by sudden brilliance during a high school competition.

---

Two Days Later

For Zhang Juan, the homeroom teacher of Class A, these two days were nothing short of surreal. After each exam ended, her office became a revolving door of subject teachers eager to share their astonishment over Lin Tian’s performance.

“Your student Lin Tian is behaving strangely,” said the math teacher. “He wrote three different solutions for each of the final big questions—and still submitted his paper thirty minutes early!”

“That Lin Tian kid must be up to something,” chimed in another teacher. “During the humanities test, he filled out the entire paper—every single blank space—with answers before submitting it ahead of time. Even copying from an answer key wouldn’t be that fast.”

“It’s insane! Before the listening section even started, he’d already finished two reading comprehension sections.”

Lin Tian was already somewhat famous among the top students in the grade. Since mock exams didn’t seal the papers, the invigilators paid close attention to his submissions. As reports poured in from teachers across subjects, Zhang Juan found herself questioning reality.

She had personally supervised the Zhonghua language exam and witnessed Lin Tian hand in his paper early yet again. His essay earned a near-perfect score of 48 points. Now, Zhang Juan began doubting her own judgment. Could the task she assigned him last time have triggered some latent genius within him?

Her original request was simple: don’t make things difficult for her when reporting to the school administration. But clearly, Lin Tian exceeded everyone’s expectations—including hers.

“No, no,” Zhang Juan muttered, trying to calm herself. “Don’t celebrate prematurely. We need to wait for the official results.”

---

Morning Classroom Scene

When the second mock exam rankings were posted on the bulletin board, the classroom buzzed with excitement. Students crowded around, scanning the list until they spotted Lin Tian’s name at the very top. Gasps erupted almost immediately.

“I remember Lin Tian ranking first last semester—but not since then!”

“What?! I saw him submit every single test early. How is this possible?”

“Oh my god, I sat behind him during the math exam. The speed and rhythm of his writing nearly gave me goosebumps.”

“He jumped from sixth place to first? This is insane!”

One voice piped up skeptically: “Do you think he’s been holding back?”

The suggestion sparked murmurs of agreement. Suddenly, Lin Tian’s sudden leap made sense. If someone consistently ranked lower despite showing signs of decline, only to suddenly ace everything while submitting early, there were only two explanations:

Either he cheated—or he had been deliberately suppressing his scores all along.

The realization hit hard for many ambitious students. For the first time, they truly grasped the gap between themselves and genuine prodigies.

Xu Yong reacted differently. Instead of sulking alone, he marched straight up to Lin Tian and grabbed him by the collar.

“You’ve been faking it this whole time, haven’t you? How could you possibly do this well? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS WELL?!”

Ranking 31st in the class and outside the top 100 in the grade devastated Xu Yong. Remembering his earlier concern for Lin Tian’s academic future, he felt utterly humiliated. Had Lin Tian intentionally performed poorly in the first mock exam, only to crush the second one and render Zhang Juan’s threats meaningless?

“I’ll kill you! You can’t hog all the glory! Share some of your brains with us!” Xu Yong shouted dramatically.

Lin Tian gently pried his hands away. “Calm down, okay? Calm down.”

With a mischievous grin, he added, “In a couple of days, I won’t even come to school anymore. I’ve gotten permission to stay home for a month to spend quality time with Gan Yanyu. I’ll send you daily updates—you’ll be begging me to stop.”

“Damn you…” Xu Yong cursed half-heartedly.

Though annoyed, deep down, he was genuinely happy for Lin Tian. Back in the office, Xu Yong had believed in Lin Tian enough to stand by his side unconditionally.

“I’m heading to Teacher Zhang’s office right now,” Lin Tian announced confidently.

When he emerged later, he held a signed leave slip approved by both his homeroom teacher and the principal. For the next month, he was free to focus entirely on preparing for competitions with Gan Yanyu.

Despite offers of help from Zhang Juan, Lin Tian declined additional tutoring. To him, the best teacher he could ask for was already by his side.

Staring at the sky, Lin Tian reflected on the past few days. Between exams and late-night study sessions, he had pushed himself harder than ever before. The satisfaction of reaping rewards from such effort was indescribable.

Yet, one unresolved question lingered in his mind: Gan Yanyu’s dilemma about the Starlight Cup.

As Lin Tian pondered, a painful truth dawned on him. Both he and Gan Yanyu harbored misguided assumptions. Gan Yanyu believed she needed Lin Tian to succeed in the Starlight Cup, while Lin Tian thought he couldn’t handle entrance exams without Gan Yanyu’s support. In reality, neither goal relied heavily on the other.

Gan Yanyu could pass her art exams effortlessly without review, and the Starlight Cup wasn’t crucial for Lin Tian’s future. Somehow, they had become overly dependent on each other, fostering the dangerous belief that neither could succeed alone.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Tian resolved to address the issue head-on. Picking up his phone, he sent Gan Yanyu a message:

“Maybe… we should separate for a month?”

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