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Chapter 116: This Damn Charisma
"Why?" Gan Yanyu asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
Just moments ago, her parents had spoken so approvingly of Lin Tian.
But now, their tone had shifted sharply.
"..."
"You need to think about your position," said Gan Sheng, fingers tapping rhythmically on the table.
Perhaps it was habit—he spoke with the kind of firm but restrained authority used on trusted subordinates: serious, but not harsh.
"You're eighteen. Still in high school. Spending your days at a boy’s house, making videos together, and now rumors are swirling all over the internet... Yanyu, do you think that’s appropriate?"
He had tried to keep his emotions in check. He had always felt he owed Yanyu something, so he chose his words carefully.
But even so, the image of his only daughter staying over at a boy’s place, getting caught in such ambiguous circumstances—it gnawed at him.
And if... if they’d already crossed a line...
Gan Sheng pushed the thought away. He didn’t want to imagine it.
Still, the more he tried not to think about it, the more it clawed at his mind.
What would people say? What would happen to the Gan family’s reputation?
"There’s nothing going on between us," Yanyu replied, each word precise, her voice steady.
"How can you prove that?" Gan Sheng's fingers tightened into a fist as he knocked on the table again. "Do you even know what people are saying online? They think you and that boy—"
"That’s enough," He Xin interrupted, placing a hand on her husband’s arm.
"Do you really need to talk to Yanyu like that?"
She turned to her daughter, her expression softening. "Yanyu, please try to understand where your father is coming from. Lin Tian may be talented—we won’t deny that."
"But he has no parents, no background. You must keep a certain distance. We let you live on your own, yes, but that doesn’t mean we can stay silent when it looks like you're involved in something inappropriate."
"We’re just partners."
Gan Yanyu stood up. Her voice trembled—not from weakness, but from the effort of holding something back.
The usually quiet, composed girl was biting her lip now, eyes burning with restrained fury.
"What do you even understand?"
"I'm trying so hard—every day—to keep up with him. Every piece Lin Tian composes for me, I give it my all. I practice until my fingers are sore. My greatest fear is dragging him down. So I push myself harder and harder..."
Just last night, she had stayed up late with her cello, poring over the score of the E Minor Cello Concerto, dissecting every note.
All so she could stand beside him on the stage of the Starlight Cup and perform flawlessly.
Since parting ways with Lin Tian, the more she practiced alone, the more anxious she became—what if she couldn’t keep up? What if she failed?
He would pass the art school entrance exam with ease. But her?
What if she let him down?
"I haven’t dared to slack off for a single day. And now, in your eyes, I'm just someone tangled in something indecent with Lin Tian?"
What hurt her most wasn’t being misunderstood.
It was watching their shared dream—her and Lin Tian’s dedication to music—be reduced to something sordid under the weight of propriety.
Internet gossip was one thing. She could ignore that.
But hearing it from her own parents?
She paused.
Then, calmly but coldly, she said, “If that’s how you see it, I have nothing more to say. I won’t prove anything.”
Prove what? That she and Lin Tian were innocent?
She didn’t need to.
Let them think what they want. Some people would never understand what she and Lin Tian shared.
"…"
Her parents stared at her in silence.
It almost sounded like a tacit confession.
They had never seen her this angry. This resolute.
Gan Sheng sighed heavily.
So… Lin Tian really meant that much to her?
He didn’t understand music. But once, in his own youth, he’d had someone like that too.
Someone who pushed him to be better.
"I'm sorry," he said finally. "We were too hasty."
The fault, ultimately, lay with them.
If they had spent more time with her, gotten to know their own daughter better, they wouldn’t have jumped to such conclusions.
But what could he do?
He only had one daughter.
And the entire Gan family business would eventually rest on her shoulders.
Naturally, they were cautious about her relationships. A boy with no background, no connections—it was only natural to worry.
"Alright, alright," He Xin cut in quickly. She stood up and walked over to her daughter, reaching out gently.
But Yanyu stepped back, dodging the gesture.
He Xin’s hand hovered awkwardly in midair before she let it fall, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Gan Yanyu sat back down, her expression frosty.
He Xin studied her daughter’s face—relieved and helpless all at once.
If it really was a misunderstanding… perhaps they had gone too far.
She actually liked Lin Tian.
Especially after that dinner they’d shared. The boy had charm, no doubt about it.
But she hadn’t expected it would be this kind of charm.
The kind that made Yanyu look at no one else.
“But—”
Even now, Gan Sheng had one lingering fear.
"What if that boy has feelings for you? What if he tries something?”
It was a buzzkill to bring it up now—but he was still a father.
He could understand Yanyu’s dreams, yes.
But what if Lin Tian wasn’t as pure as he seemed?
Even good intentions could change.
“He…” Yanyu’s eyes flickered. She didn’t have an answer.
Just then, the door to the private room creaked open.
Lin Tian stepped inside.
He paused, taking in the stiff posture, the awkward air. “Uh… should I step outside for a moment?”
“Sit down, Lin Tian.”
“Come here,” Gan Sheng gestured.
Lin Tian blinked. That was unexpected. Still, he obeyed, moving to sit beside the older man.
To his surprise, Gan Sheng clapped him on the shoulder with a sigh.
“Good kid… Yanyu’s performance is in your hands now.”
For all his earlier bluster, one thing was clear to Gan Sheng now: Lin Tian hadn’t done anything wrong. And Yanyu had made her choice. There was no keeping them apart.
“At least,” Gan Sheng thought, “I can treat this boy as a friend to my daughter.”
“Uncle, you’re too kind,” Lin Tian replied, unsure how to interpret the sudden shift in mood.
Gan Sheng reached for the teapot. “Seeing Yanyu with a fine young man like you puts us at ease.”
He Xin finally relaxed and smiled warmly.
Lin Tian, however, was still catching up.
He glanced at Yanyu—her face flushed slightly as she silently picked at her food, her eyes soft despite the stern expression.
Something had definitely happened before he came in.
“Here, Lin Tian,” Gan Sheng said, pouring tea.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
As the tea filled his cup, Gan Sheng eyed him curiously.
Lin Tian’s grip on the teacup was confident—too confident.
“You drink often?”
“Just a little,” Lin Tian said modestly.
Gan Sheng narrowed his eyes.
“You’re not taking my daughter out drinking, are you?”
Lin Tian laughed, unsure if it was a joke.
“Haha… No, of course not—just a little.”
Gan Sheng chuckled too.
“Right, right. Just a little, huh?”
But then his eyes sharpened.
“You haven’t, right?”
“…Just a little…”
“You took her drinking?!”
“She likes it!” Lin Tian glanced helplessly at Yanyu.
But she just stared out the window, expression unreadable.
Not helping, huh?
“Lin Tian, listen carefully,” Gan Sheng leaned in, eyes glinting, “Taking a highschool girls drinking—is that how a man behaves?”
“….”
She drinks more than me, Lin Tian thought. I didn’t get her drunk. If anything, your old man taught me how to drink.
Three generations of this family, all the same.
Obsessed with drinking, aren’t you?
“Alright, alright,” He Xin said with a laugh, waving a hand. “You’re all adults. A little alcohol won’t hurt. Xiao Lin’s not that kind of boy.”
She turned to Lin Tian.
“If you like, I know a few good craft breweries in Qingzhou. I’ll bring you something next time.”
“Thank you, Auntie. We’re still students, so we don’t drink much.”
“Oh, you’re too polite.”
The tension broke, replaced by easy conversation and laughter.
Gan Sheng sipped his tea in silence, thoughts churning.
After the meal, He Xin took out her phone.
“Xiao Lin, since you live with Yanyu, let’s add each other on WeChat. I’d like to stay updated.”
Lin Tian looked at Yanyu.
She didn’t object.
“Sure,” he said.
Gan Sheng opened his mouth to protest, but He Xin already scanned the code.
She grinned.
“Xiao Lin, I bet a lot of girls have asked for your WeChat. Be good to Yanyu, okay?”
“He Xin,” Gan Sheng gritted his teeth.
It sounded like she was planning their wedding.
“All right, all right,” she said, tucking her phone away.
Gan Sheng glanced at Lin Tian again.
Still composed, clean-cut—even after a full meal.
“Be good to her,” he said. “Partners are partners. Don’t cross the line.”
“Haha, since when were you such a nag?” He Xin teased.
“I’m her father.” Gan Sheng felt torn.
He admired Lin Tian’s grit, his talent. But the more impressive the boy was, the more worried he became.
Would someone like Lin Tian toy with his daughter’s heart? The thought haunted him.
Meanwhile, He Xin seemed already sold.
They left Fulai Restaurant and stood together by the car.
“Yanyu,” He Xin said, taking her daughter’s hand. “We know you might not be ready to forgive us. But if anything happens, come to us. We’re still your parents.”
She hesitated, then added, “We didn’t understand enough. We said things we shouldn’t have. Don’t hold it against us.”
Lin Tian blinked. What things?
“Mm-hmm.” Yanyu nodded and gave a formal bow. “Thank you.”
"…"
Thanking her own parents?
Gan Sheng and He Xin exchanged a pained look.
But they accepted it.
Before getting into the car, Gan Sheng turned and asked,
“Yanyu, do you have enough money?”
She blinked, startled.
She thought of the promise she made to Lin Tian.
This time, she hesitated.
Not a flat rejection, just silence.
Gan Sheng brightened immediately.
“How much do you need? Making videos and such must be expensive.”
He rubbed his chin.
“Senior year… eight thousand a month? No, forget it. I’ll send it all at once—thirty thousand? Fifty?”
“You're growing, after all. Don’t be shy asking for living expenses.”
“Actually—I'll just send you a hundred thousand.”
Before she could respond, he was already dialing the bank.
After they got into the car, he lowered the window and waved, “Check your messages later!”
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