On the plane to Vienna, Qi Mu couldn’t be bothered to even throw a glance at the man beside him, rubbing the slight soreness at his waist. He was already kind enough not to elbow him, but to ask him to care?

The blue sky and white clouds outside the window bore witness to the handsome man thoughtfully serving hot coffee to the young man beside him. In return, the young man snorted softly and took the provided air meal, then sat it on the small table. Despite the exchange, the young man still refused to look at him.

Min Chen: “……”

After a while, he leaned over, “You’re not angry, you’re not angry, you’re not angry.”

Qi Mu: “……”

A moment later, Min Chen repeated, “You’re not angry, you’re not angry, you’re not angry.”

Qi Mu was thoroughly amused, “I’m angry!”

There was a smile in Min Chen’s eyes. “You’re not angry anymore.”

No matter how firm the idea was in Qi Mu’s head, when he saw this man’s “you can’t bear to be angry with me” expression, it completely vanished. He chuckled, “If your fans saw you like this… what would they say?”

Min Chen raised his eyes and asked rhetorically, “Don’t you appreciate me more?”

Qi Mu: “……”

After a few seconds, Qi Mu said blankly, “There’s a bug on your shoulder.”

Immediately, the man straightened, his eyes solemnly wide. He didn’t dare breathe too loudly. Min Chen kept a calm look on his face, but demanded, word by word, “Where. Is. It….”

Qi Mu laughed loudly, “How are there bugs on a plane? You’re thinking too much… eh…”

Then, Qi Mu leaned in, “Angry?”

Expressionless, Min Chen said, “No.”

“… Really angry, ah?”

“… No.”

Qi Mu’s mouth twitched a little, and he helplessly sighed, “Actually really angry.”

Min Chen: “……”

The long voyage was spent exchanging the two sentences, “You’re angry” and “No.” It was evening by the time they arrived in Vienna. Gorgeous rays of sunlight dyed the sky in magnificent shades of purple, while the air’s floral fragrance made the city feel lively as if it had yet to enter winter.

Min Chen claimed he was angry, but when Qi Mu secretly took his hand between the seats, he just leaned over and playfully rubbed his cheek against Qi Mu’s hair like a large dog.

The two gathered their luggage and took the shuttle to their apartment. As they walked, Qi Mu remembered, “Is it okay if you don’t go back and deal with Bai Ai’s affairs? Though the members took a holiday two weeks ago, I remember Daniel, Christole, and you didn’t have one.”

Min Chen shook his head, “It’s been mostly dealt with. Daniel will email me the important information.”

Qi Mu didn’t ask any further questions, and, together, the two got off the shuttle at three streets away from Min Chen’s apartment. They had to walk the rest of the way.

In a city so filled with cla.s.sical music, Min Chen raised the collar of his coat and donned his sungla.s.ses, covering his face.

Even so, they’d just taken two steps when they heard a cry from behind, “Good… good heavens! It’s you!!!”

Surprised, Qi Mu turned around to see a middle-aged woman carrying a vegetable basket, staring at them in shock. In the next second, she rushed over.

Qi Mu reluctantly took two steps aside, intending to let the fan get closer to her idol, but when he took a step aside, so did the woman.

Qi Mu: “……?”

“Are you Little Seven?! I’ve heard your 《The Marriage of Figaro》 at the Palisade Theatre before. It was great! The best 《Figaro》 I’ve ever heard! G.o.d, I didn’t expect to see you on the street! What to do, what to do… I didn’t bring pen and paper…”

Qi Mu took the pen Min Chen silently handed over, still surprised. He wrote his name on a piece of paper and smiled, “Thank you for your affections. I’m honored to bring you wonderful music. Thank you for your support.”

The woman became even more excited, “I didn’t expect you to be even more lovely up close, ah! Child, work hard! I like you, I will always support you!”

After a few more words of thanks, Qi Mu couldn’t help but ask, “Err… You really came for me, not for him?” He still found it a little challenging to look at the man beside him.

The middle-aged woman glanced at Min Chen and asked, “Who is this man, ah?”

Qi Mu: “……”

When the two men took up their suitcases and continued home, Qi Mu’s handsome face was helpless. He shook his head. “I didn’t expect my performance at the Palisade Theatre to attract any fans…”

When an orchestra performed with an opera, they played in the shadows under the stage like heroes behind the scenes.

“Your performance was excellent,” the other man’s melodious voice said from beside him, “She really likes your music.”

That startled Qi Mu, but he laughed and said, “You think too much. If that person recognized who you were just now, I doubt they would have asked for my signature at all.”

Along the narrow street, the man paused. Realizing he’d stopped walking, Qi Mu turned back.

Under the glory of the setting sun, Min Chen’s profound face seemed a little more defined than usual. He shook his head. “No. Your music is no less than mine.”

The young man’s light eyes widened. Then, after a long while, he smiled. “Yes, yes, yes. Not inferior to yours.” Qi Mu changed the topic, “Well, what should we eat tonight? There’s nothing prepared, so we could eat hot pot? En, let’s eat hot pot…”

The dim light lengthened their shadows, making the dark silhouettes meet ambiguously on the flat road. Min Chen stared at the youth beside him, and his lips curled into a quick smile.

He just… really wasn’t lying.

The young man’s violin had unknowingly reached his level and wasn’t inferior to him at all. In the near future, he would stand under the brightness of a thousand lights and let the entire world look up at him.

Palisade Theatre, after a month-long Christmas vacation, finally ushered in another training period.

Qi Mu had been a part of the theatre for almost four months, and those four months had made him very popular in the orchestra.

Even Wallace joked, “Little Seven, you’re the youngest of our orchestra, or… could you be our mascot?”

That day, Little Seven finally remembered the “disgrace” that was being called “the mascot & Little Angel.” He shook his head righteously and said, “Mr. Wallace, I think that name is unsuitable for me. I’m 22 years old this year.”

Wallace regretted not getting to call him that again, but a few members that overheard would often call him so in private. Even if Qi Mu tried to stop it, they would already retort with——

“Little Seven, don’t be so humble!”

“That’s Little Seven. How cute is our mascot, cute as my baby!”

“Hey John, your son’s only three this year!”

……

In such a lively atmosphere, the sense of laziness slowly dissipated. Within an hour, they were invested in their regular daily rehearsal.

They had an early Christmas vacation because the PalisadeTheatre sent out invitations on Christmas Eve every year for a grand symphony concert. They treated it as a review of care for the past year.

Ordinary theater orchestras provided music for operas, but that didn’t mean the orchestra couldn’t also hold symphonic concerts. Although they are unable to compete with Wei Ai, the world’s top Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, the PalisadeTheatre orchestra was also first-rate and had a good reputation.

Every year, the Palisade Christmas Eve concert attracted a large audience. The event was majestic and was sure to be a grand show. The repertoire that year was roughly the same as previous years, with songs such as 《Ave Maria》, 《Emperor Waltz》, and 《The Blue Danube》.

Though the songs were the same, the performers had changed dramatically!

Most of the audience who received the invitations were surprised to find out that the year’s symphony concert was using the new concertmaster, and not the old concertmaster that just retired!

The influence of a concertmaster on a concert was second only to the conductor. He led the entire first violin group and all the string instruments and could affect the performance of the whole orchestra.

Many of the audience looked forward to this performance, but what they didn’t know was, the Palisade Theatre at this time…

Was arguing…