Min Chen"s words embarra.s.sed QiMu.
Although it was March, a cold windhowled through B City. Qi Mu stood out on the balcony for a while then went backinside. The call had already dialed out, so he didn"t dare hang up.
Even he did not know why he madethe call. Maybe it was because he noticed the empty, dark apartment next doorand suddenly remembered that he hadn"t seen his neighbor in over a month. Ormaybe, he realized. . . Berlin and Paris weren"t that far apart.
After thinking about it for awhile, QI Mu smiled, "I was on the balcony just now. I looked over and rememberedI hadn"t contacted you in a while. Bai Ai is already preparing for this year"sglobal tour, right?"
Since Qi Mu had changed thetopic, Min Chen"s brow furrowed a little but he didn"t bring it up again. Hewalked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows next to the rehearsal hall and glanceddown at the pa.s.sers-by coming and going on the street below. "Well, the firstperformance is next week." After a pause, he asked, "Do you want to listen? Ican reserve a seat for you."
Though a little surprised atfirst, Qi Mu stopped to think a little. If he recalled. . . Bai Ai"s firstperformance was going to be at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, England.
Although England and France wereonly separated by the English Channel, there was bound to be a lot of work todo when he got to the college. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Iprobably won"t have the time to go. But thank you for your kindness."
Min Chen frowned.
When he was in S City, Farrellhad said he wanted to recommend Qi Mu to Paris for further studies. The first thingone would think of when they hear "Paris" is the National Conservatory. With alittle recollection, he remembered Reed Akkad had gone there two months ago.
Only a few people knew about it,and it wasn"t widely publicized.
But listening to Qi Mu now, hedidn"t sound as if going to Europe was going to be a short-term thing. Min Chencouldn"t help but feel a bit surprised——
It turns out Farrell recommendedQi Mu to Reed?
Min Chen did not ask for an explanation,and after exchanging a few more words with Qi Mu, he hung up.
This short conversation may havejust been casual on the other side, but Min Chen"s narrow eyes sharpened,sniffing out a disturbing scent.
Bai Ai was so busy that hecouldn"t return to Huaxia and the investigation into Qi Mu. . . had already fallento the wayside. Min Chen wasn"t a curious person but this identical 《Bell》 gave him bizarre ideas.
In this world, there can neverbe identical music.
If this person came to Europe. .. there would be more opportunities for contact.
Qi Mu didn"t know that thisphone call had helped a certain someone make rapid connections. Aftereverything was packed, he climbed into bed and slept.
This was his second to lastnight in B City and he slept well though the moon"s light was cold.
The first performance of B CitySymphony Orchestra"s season was usually held in the National Theatre.
It had a large hall with 2019seats. The crystal chandeliers lit up the concert hall, and the n.o.ble whitebackground gave the hall a solemn atmosphere.
However, by seven o"clock, nearlytwo thousand seats were filled with people.
B City"s Symphony Orchestra wasat the country"s highest music level, and this time, their opening concert waseven more carefully prepared with a grand finale. Last year"s was played by the Huaxianviolinist, Master Li Chengde, who came all the way from Canada to play Mozart"s《Amajor》.
This year, they might invite awell-known conductor, or perhaps a famous musician from abroad. But, regardlessof who, the audience was looking forward to it, and even whispering before theconcert began.
"I don"t know who will lead thefinale this year? Master Li Chengde"s song last year was magnificent!"
"Wll, yeah, but this year, they"rea little different. The concertmaster isn"t Du Sheng, but that newcomer. . . Whowas it, something like Qi Mu?"
"You don"t know him? He wasinvited to S City"s Symphony Orchestra last month to perform the closing attheir 100th anniversary! The music section of the Times reported onit. Even Farrell Louis was very appreciative of him!"
"Who?! Farrell Louis? Really? Headmired this Qi Mu?"
"Yes. I heard that he"s going tostudy in Paris, though I don"t know who"s going to teach him."
. . .
This whispered exchange was happeningthroughout the concert hall. Amidst these discussants, a young woman sat,seemingly out of place. Tonight, she wore light makeup, a beautiful skirt, andshe wasn"t afraid of the cold, sitting with a performance program in hand.
This was the first time Li YueYue had come to the National Theatre. It was still cold in March, but she onlywore a coat over her short dress and entered the hall.
Over the past six months, shehad listened to over a dozen performances. Except for the one in Hong Kong, theothers were B City Symphony Orchestra"s concerts.
Sometimes, Qi Mu would play asconcertmaster for a few songs, and other times, he didn"t get the chance. Mostoften, he sat at the head position of the first violin group and gave his own performance.
Li Yue Yue was an ordinaryamateur violin enthusiast. Unless the concertmaster performed a colorfoul cadenza,she could not hear Qi Mu"s violin. However, as long as it was B City SymphonyOrchestra"s concert, she was never absent.
At the start, she may have beenfascinated by just QI Mu"s beautiful face, but after she bought a few alb.u.msand listened to him play as concertmaster, she was immersed in the name of this"Qi Mu."
Even if she couldn"t understand,it still made her feel good.
The sound of this young man"sviolin was particularly gentle. Even when playing a high-spirited piece ofmusic, it had a delicate softness to it and it rubbed at her heart like a feather.
Li Yue Yue had bought a lot of BCity Symphony Orchestra"s alb.u.ms, and even if there was no way to listen to thecentennial celebration"s "Huaxia"s Perfect Song" in S City, she had watched thelive broadcast on TV and later bought the alb.u.m.
She would love to listen to himplay all the time. She was present at all of his concerts, but. . . a few days ago,《TheSound of Music》interviewed Tan Zheng Hui and announced that "Qi Mu was going to Paris to study."
This. .h.i.t the industry huge, notonly because it was Paris" National Conservatory of Music but also because TanLao refused to reveal the instructor.
Everyone knew the Conservatoryhad already been in session for two months. It was difficult to transfer now.Moreover, the enrollment quota for all the teachers had already been met. Ifthey were allowed to take on another student, it would be a burden for both theteacher and the student.
This set the industry on a waveof "guessing the mentor" but the B City Symphony Orchestra maintained tightlips, claiming that it wouldn"t be publicized until it was approved by the professor.
Li Yue Yue didn"t pay muchattention to the matter. She naturally knew it was one of the top music schoolsin the world. She also believed that her idol should be taught by only thebest. However, what caught her attention more than anything else was. . .
Qi Mu was leaving.
No one knew when it happened.But the orchestra"s nickname of "Xiao Qi" had long pa.s.sed outside the circle.Many fans of his had formed a fan group called "7:47*" and Li Yue Yue was oneof them.
*Qi Mu"s nickname isn"t actually"Little Qi" as in his last name. It"s actually "Little Seven" so this name 7:47is playing on that.
When they learned Qi Mu wasabout to leave Huaxia, many fans were saddened at this "powder removal*." Therewere also fans like Li Yue Yue who sincerely wished Qi Mu received betterguidance.
*Remember powder fans? The onesthat follow a celebrity because they like his/her face. These ones are saidtheir "pretty face" is leaving.
Blessings were blessings, butwhen this last concert really came, Li Yue Yue felt her eyes heat up.
Even if she looked at the emptystage, she felt sad. Paris was too far away. It would take her twenty hours togo back and forth, and she didn"t have the energy for such a huge journey.
This evening was very likely thelast time she would get to hear Qi Mu in the flesh.
Li Yue Yue was one of the most expectant.
. . .
Huaxia"s National Grand Theatre,concert hall backstage.
After Tan Zheng Hui gave onelast sentence to the members, the percussion group and the others entered from bothsides of the stage.
Qi Mu held the neck of hisviolin and watched the members enter one by one in order.
When it was almost his turn, hetook a step forward but Du Sheng stood in front of him. He smiled, "Xiao Qi, goon!"
Qi Mu dipped his head in a nodand stepped onto the stage.
With more than 2000 of its seatsfilled, this magnificent stage was one of the most prestigious concert halls inHuaxia. Here, there was the largest organ in Huaxia, and all the seats surroundedthe stage.
Qi Mu confidently but calmlywalked to just left of center stage and stopped.
Since the members of the orchestrawere in their seats, the audience"s applause had yet to stop. When this handsomeyoung man appeared on stage, it became even more thunderous as if to lift thestage.
Under the stage, Li Yue Yue andmany of his fans applauded with all their strength.
On stage, Qi Mu looked out overthis large audience. There were so many people and the stage was huge. Aspecial kind of joy and excitement burst in his chest, filling his heart.
After a long time, Qi Mu bentand bowed deeply. It was finally time for Qi Mu"s concert to begin.
Translator(s): Bet
Editor(s): Bet