Nan Yu suddenly raised her face and met his calm gaze.
In that instant, she understood everything.
He said he just came to stroll around on a whim, but in fact, he had long set up this chess game and invited her to watch.
And this game was specially prepared for her, just to make her happy.
When it came to the scoring session, Tan Linyuan tilted his head slightly. Immediately, a staff member stepped forward and asked in a low voice what he needed.
Nan Yu stared intently at this scene, her heart pounding in anticipation of what was about to happen. She couldn't help swallowing nervously.
Soon, the staff member ran to the host beside the stage.
Before the scores were announced, the host suddenly stepped onto the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're very sorry. One of the contestants in this competition is suspected of plagiarism and cheating. We will cancel all her results."
As soon as these words were spoken, the audience below the stage erupted in an uproar.
Nan Yu clearly saw that the proud look on Jia Yinyue's face cracked for a moment. Her eyes darted uneasily towards the audience.
Once a person feels guilty, their expression can't hide it.
Nan Yu followed her nervous gaze and saw none other than Wu Xiaxian sitting there.
At this moment, Wu Xiaxian's face was also extremely ugly. His face was dark, and the muscles on his side face were tense, as if he was gritting his teeth.
In his plan, it was a sure thing for Jia Yinyue to become an instant sensation. But this sudden change was completely out of his plan.
He had already greased the wheels with General Manager Tang. Who on earth was this meddling fool?
When it was announced that the contestant suspected of plagiarism and cheating was Jia Yinyue, her face changed. Her first reaction was to shout, "This is slander! On what grounds do you say I plagiarized?"
The host gently advised, "Miss Jia, please respect the competition rules."
"Without evidence, do you believe I'll sue you for slander?"
The host was a bit embarrassed. She never expected such a sudden change. For a moment, she looked around for help with her eyes.
Nan Yu turned to look at Tan Linyuan. "Can I handle this myself?"
Tan Linyuan's gaze became solemn. He stared deeply at her for a while and then said indifferently, "Do as you like."
After getting the reply, Nan Yu stood up.
Just as she stood up, Wu Xiaxian also turned his head. The moment he saw Nan Yu, he couldn't sit still.
What's going on?
He had done a background check on Nan Yu in advance and was sure that she was just a promising newcomer introduced by Zhou Yu. She shouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.
But why was she sitting in the judge's seat?
"Miss Jia, since this piece of music was created by you," her voice was neither overbearing nor humble, "could you please tell us the inspiration behind this composition?"
"Of course." Jia Yinyue lifted her chin proudly. "This is a love song that depicts the lingering affection between a man and a woman. I also wanted to convey the constancy of love through this piece and encourage everyone to pursue their true love..."
Nan Yu couldn't listen anymore and interrupted her directly. "This piece was written to eulogize family affection. It has nothing to do with love."
She couldn't accept her creation being labeled as meaningless whining.
She continued to ask, "In the album you released online, there are the sounds of birds chirping and the steam whistle of a ship. What's the intention behind this?"
"This..." Jia Yinyue couldn't come up with a reason because Wu Xiaxian was in charge of the post - production.
"The tired birds return to the forest, and the fishing boats return to the harbor," Nan Yu continued. "Among the millions of travelers in the world, every departure is meaningful because they have a place to return to."
This was the emotion she wanted to convey.
Some people in the audience nodded in agreement, while others whispered to ask about the origin of this speaker.
Jia Yinyue was a bit angry. "What do you know?"
"Of course I know." Nan Yu lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. "Because I'm the one who created this piece."
Emotions and creations couldn't tolerate any falsification.
She could finally say this.
"You..." Jia Yinyue never expected that Nan Yu was the creator of this piece. After a moment of stiffness, she quickly reacted. "You're the plagiarist!"
She said triumphantly, "Not scolded enough on the Internet? Come here to be scolded in person, huh?"
"I didn't plagiarize." Nan Yu said firmly. "The one who plagiarized is you."
"Do you have any evidence?" Jia Yinyue didn't care at all. She looked down at Nan Yu from the stage. "You're just making groundless accusations. Aren't you just here to gain some popularity?"
Nan Yu was speechless.
Everything had returned to the starting point.
She had no evidence at all.
Some people had already raised their phones and started recording this confrontation between the so - called truth and falsehood.
Amid the discussions, Nan Yu's face turned red with anger. She clenched her fists tightly. She felt her cheeks burning hot, but she couldn't say a single word.
She was speechless and couldn't defend herself.
At this moment, the theater was filled with discussions. The noisy voices rushed into her ears.
Amid the chaos, she heard Tan Linyuan's half - smiling words, "What did I say before? It's better to rely on yourself than to rely on others."
Nan Yu closed her eyes, knowing what his next words would be.
His tone was a bit casual, as if everything was under his control. "Relying on yourself is not as good as relying on me."
Tan Linyuan nodded slightly, and someone handed him a mobile phone.
There was a recording in the phone. It was the piece Nan Yu had improvised for Niannian at home that day, including their conversation.
She said it was a new piece she had created.
Niannian had happily replied that it was very nice.
The melody, from the initial stiffness to the later smoothness, was all clearly recorded.
The recording file was marked with the date.
The moment the recording was finished playing, Jia Yinyue's face on the stage suddenly turned deathly pale.
After the competition ended, Nan Yu still felt her heart trembling.
She sat on the chair for a long time, unable to come back to her senses. Tan Linyuan quietly accompanied her.
Everyone had left.
"Why do you have this recording?" Nan Yu's voice was very soft. "I don't mean anything else. I'm just very surprised."
Inspiration came suddenly, and she didn't even have the habit of recording it.
But he had recorded it for her without her knowing.
Tan Linyuan smiled faintly and said indifferently, "If I didn't record it, how could I help you? I could also use my status, but that's not necessary."
"I didn't mean that." Nan Yu lowered her head, and her throat tightened.
She hadn't complained to him, but he had prepared all the ways out for her.
At this moment, Nan Yu's heart was beating very fast. Besides the relief that the truth had finally come to light, there was another reason.
Nan Yu just wanted to know why he had recorded it at that time.
People couldn't predict the future.
He wasn't a god. He couldn't have known in advance that she would encounter the theft of her musical score.
So at that time, what was his motivation for recording this?
"Actually, I'm also to blame for this whole thing," Nan Yu wanted to hide her emotions and kept her head down. "I was too naive and let others take advantage of me. I deserve all this. I'm so stupid..."
"Unhappy?" Tan Linyuan interrupted her and asked directly.
He had done all this not to listen to her self - reproach and self - reflection.
He wanted her to be happy.
Nan Yu was stopped by his question. The words she hadn't finished were stuck in her throat.
She tightly pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and nodded after a moment.
With someone standing up for her, how could she not be happy?
...
In the end, Jia Yinyue's results were directly canceled.
Wu Xiaxian was also fined an astronomical amount of compensation for his poor management of the artist. He begged everyone he could, but it was all in vain.
General Manager Tang couldn't protect him at all. He even abandoned Jia Yinyue, cutting off all ties in a hurry.
In his own words, in the whole Jiangcheng, you could offend anyone, but you must never offend that man surnamed Tan.