Chapter 6: Is This Person a Master of Pitch?
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It seemed this man wasn’t entirely useless after all.
However, before she could fully relax, the image on the screen made her heart leap up once again.
Chen Yu did not, as the audience and the noble ladies had expected, smugly leave after pointing out the problem.
Instead, he bent down and spoke to his daughter in an unusually gentle tone, “Nian Nian, come here. Let Daddy tell you, this part shouldn’t sound angry. It should be... hmm, it should feel like missing someone very, very much.”
Nian Nian tilted her little face, looking at him with a mix of understanding and confusion, her big eyes full of bewilderment. “Missing?”
“Yes, just like you sometimes miss Mom,” Chen Yu softened his voice even more. “That kind of missing isn’t shouting ‘Mom, I miss you’ loudly, but quietly sitting by the window, watching the moon, thinking to yourself, ‘What is Mom doing right now?’ Your heart feels a little sour but also a little sweet. Do you understand?”
As he spoke, he gently traced his finger across the back of her tiny hand.
“Your fingers need to express that feeling. It should be light, soft, like a feather falling on the water, not like a stone dropping in.”
Nian Nian blinked, seemingly captivated by her father’s novel metaphor.
She looked down at her fingers, then at the piano keys, her little face deep in thought.
After a brief silence, the chat room exploded again.
But this time, the comments were no longer pure ridicule.
“...I feel like he might actually have a point?”
“A feather falling on water... that metaphor is so beautiful!”
“I don’t quite get it, but it sounds impressive... Could he really know what he’s talking about?”
“Show-off! All talk and no skill. If you’re so good, play it! Talk is cheap!”
“Exactly! Anyone can spout theories. I can do it too! Let him play!”
Jiang Zhiyun tensed all over.
Others might not know, but how could she not?
Chen Yu came from an orphanage; where would he have the time or money to learn such an expensive art?
Where was he getting all this secondhand knowledge from?
This is bad... he’s about to be exposed!
Hearing her father’s words, Nian Nian furrowed her brow and stopped playing.
Tilting her head, her clear eyes filled with confusion, she said, “Isn’t it wrong? But... my piano teacher taught me this way.”
The piece she was playing, titled “Promise Under the Starlight,” was the hit single of the hottest boy band, “Sweetheart Family.”
Because of its simple and catchy melody, it was revered as a divine song by countless fans and became a favorite beginner’s piece for many young pianists.
The chat room was filled with some confusion.
“What nonsense is this dad spouting now?”
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“Nian Nian is playing beautifully, flowing like water—way better than my son’s ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’!”
“Pretending to know something? The little girl has a professional teacher, you know.”
“Hilarious, a stay-at-home dad trying to give piano lessons to a noble lady? Did Liang Jingru give you the courage?”
Chen Yu lazily stretched out a finger and softly tapped the chord Nian Nian had just played incorrectly.
“Here,” he pointed to the keys, “your left hand chord, when shifting from G to C, the root note is handled too rigidly.”
“You should use a passing tone to transition smoothly. Otherwise, it just sounds... unpleasant.”
He spoke as he naturally sat down beside Nian Nian.
Then, he played the small segment of the melody she had messed up, demonstrating it fully.
The same melody, the same notes, but flowing from his fingertips, it was like magic.
What had been awkward and abrupt became silkily smooth; the once plain harmony instantly gained layers of richness.
The entire piano room fell silent for a moment.
Nian Nian’s mouth slightly parted, her eyes wide like two shiny black grapes.
Though young, she had been immersed in music since childhood and had a musical sensibility far beyond ordinary.
She could clearly tell that her father’s playing was... a hundred times better than her teacher’s, even better than the original version she’d heard!
After a brief silence, the chat room exploded again.
“Holy sh*t!!!!”
“Are my ears broken or my eyes deaf? This... this was played by that ‘couch potato’ dad?”
“I’m from a music academy’s piano department, and I swear professionally, this man is a master! That passing tone was textbook level! No, even better than the textbook!”
“Stop bragging earlier, I got goosebumps! It sounds amazing!”
“Adorable contrast! I declare, from today I’m a fan of ‘couch potato’ dad’s looks and his skills!”
“Those who said he’s faking it, does your face hurt? Come out and get beaten!”
In the VIP lounge, the noble ladies who had been watching the show with smug smiles were now frozen.
Jiang Qianyun’s pupils trembled.
Is this really Chen Yu?
Wasn’t he just handsome but without much talent?
Where did all these surprises suddenly come from?
If Chen Yu were here in front of her, she almost wanted to say:
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No matter who you are, get off Chen Yu right now!
In the piano room, Nian Nian was the first to react. Her little face blossomed with admiration, and she nearly clung to Chen Yu.
“Daddy! You’re amazing!”
Her tone was filled with excitement and delight.
“I get it now! So that’s how it should be played to sound good!”
She looked at Chen Yu eagerly, her big eyes sparkling with expectation.
“Daddy, can you sing this song? You sing, and I’ll accompany you! Let’s play it together, okay?”
This was the first time she had so sincerely invited her new father to collaborate.
Viewers in the chat room instantly reached peak anticipation.
“Duet! Duet! Want to hear a father-daughter duet!”
“A divine daughter with a mysterious dad—this combo is perfect!”
“Please say yes! I beg you!”
However, beneath the eager anticipation, Chen Yu’s mouth twitched awkwardly.
He looked at his daughter’s face full of admiration and expectation, but instead of smiling warmly, he rejected her with a look of disdain.
“No singing,” he said firmly. “This song is awful. It doesn’t suit my voice.”
“...”
“...”
The air froze again.
Nian Nian’s smile stiffened.
The chat room paused for half a second before exploding even more wildly.
“?????????”
“Did I hear that right? He said ‘Promise Under the Starlight’ is awful???”
“Are you crazy? That’s the masterpiece of our Sweetheart Family! Over ten million sales and countless awards! And he dares say it’s bad?”
“Sweetheart Family fans, where are you? Attack him! Who is this guy with such nerve?”
“Sisters, protect our brothers! This man is just seeking attention! Boycott vulgar internet celebrities!”
“What qualifications does he have to judge our brothers’ songs? A freeloading leech knows nothing about music!”