CHAPTER 631: CHAPTER 406: GO COMPLETE "ODE TO LOVE"!

"Keller Cup??"

Upon hearing this, Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu were both a bit dumbfounded.

"Did you say Keller Cup?"

Lin Tian couldn’t help but repeat.

"Yes."

Gan Hua nodded and said,

"If my judgment is correct, there’s still a good chance you might be invited."

Upon hearing this, Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu gasped simultaneously.

Having almost completely given up, prepared to fight again in two years, hearing this news had their hearts racing with excitement beyond words.

The nostalgia of reuniting with Sir Gan was temporarily set aside, replaced by wonder and confusion.

"Why??"

Lin Tian didn’t understand it.

Isn’t it only the Dragon Violin Cup Champion recommended by the association who can participate in the Keller Cup?

Recollect the scene at that time.

Gan Yanyu stood on stage and announced his withdrawal from the match in front of so many people.

Not a word of explanation, quite a few people didn’t even know why Lin Tian collapsed.

Suddenly, it caused such chaos among the live audience and tens of thousands watching the livestream.

The commentators were shocked stupid, and the old men on the judging panel were almost driven mad by Gan Yanyu.

In the end, Gan Yanyu just ran off, leaving nothing behind.

To this day, quite a lot of netizens continue to criticize Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu.

Under such circumstances,

being recommended by the association, even this last path seems impossible.

No Dragon Violin Cup Champion.

No recommendation from the association.

Lin Tian couldn’t imagine any way to participate in the Dragon Violin Cup.

Could it be...

Lin Tian glanced at Sir Gan.

Could it be Sir Gan’s network of connections??

Even after stopping playing for 16 years, Sir Gan still has enormous prestige and influence within the association, enough to send both him and Gan Yanyu to the Dragon Violin Cup?

"...."

Meeting Lin Tian’s curious gaze, Gan Hua seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, cleared his throat twice, and seriously said:

"What are you thinking, if I still had that capability, would I have only been picked up by Gao Zhenyang upon arriving in Baijing?"

"That makes some sense."

Lin Tian replied earnestly.

"You guys...."

Gan Yanyu was surprised by the exchange between Lin Tian and his grandpa.

Seeing the two people closest to her now communicating so harmoniously, Gan Yanyu felt a peculiar sensation inside.

"Back to business."

Gan Hua said seriously,

"It’s because of Nannali."

"Nannali?"

Lin Tian didn’t understand how this could be related to Nannali.

"Because Nannali is British."

Gan Hua explained,

"You should know, the Keller Cup is essentially an invitational competition similar to the Dragon Violin Cup, in theory, each country’s participation is limited to one competitor per Keller Cup. Historically, almost every Keller Cup from Tian Chao has only invited one competitor—except for one instance."

"Which one is that?"

"Approximately 8 years ago, the Dragon Violin Cup winner was a German cellist."

"While Keller Cup officially allows individuals to compete on their behalf, throughout its century-long history, due to the event’s popularity and audience needs, slowly, it implicitly became a nation-representative competition. Many national divisions have musicians holding the nation’s nationality, so, to ensure fairness won’t be compromised due to Keller Cup quotas, the International Music Association discreetly invites another cellist from the country whenever an international artist wins the national championship."

"For example, during that instance, the association invited the third-ranked cellist in the finals."

Gan Hua finished speaking.

Lin Tian took some time to process.

He understood.

Essentially, it boils down to one statement.

Since the Dragon Violin Cup Champion is British Nannali.

The Keller Cup committee is highly likely to invite one more cellist from Tian Chao’s Dragon Violin Cup, a tacit rule in past competitions.

"....."

No kidding, truly no kidding.

Lin Tian had some impressions of what Sir Gan said.

He seemed to have heard it mentioned before.

However,

there’s still a serious problem here.

"How can it be certain that the invited Tian Chao cellist will be Yanyu?"

Lin Tian asked.

In the Dragon Violin Cup finals, so many people.

Bai Junze, Mao Weiang, Bai Xi, and other such powerful cellists.

No matter how the ranking goes.

It wouldn’t include those who withdrew from the finals, right?

You know,

Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu’s reputations online are already in a tarnished state.

Just how bad it is, Lin Tian doesn’t know.

Could be twenty percent, could be half, or it might be completely ruined.

The news of their withdrawal even caused quite a storm in the overseas music circles.

Honestly speaking,

they really "lost face internationally."

Though Lin Tian hadn’t seen overseas reports himself, for something like this in the finals where a cellist declared a withdrawal without any physical discomfort or irresistible force, overseas feedback wouldn’t be too kind either.

No matter how you spin it, "withdrawing due to accompaniment issues" is very hard to forgive.

Thinking of this, Lin Tian sighed.

Ultimately, it’s all his fault.

Had he not been preoccupied with his phone that day... perhaps he and Gan Yanyu would already be receiving interviews as Dragon Violin Cup Champions...

As Lin Tian pondered, a hint of unwillingness appeared on his face.

A hand, just at this moment, touched the back of Lin Tian’s hand.