The gorgeous sound of a violin continued to ringclearly in the simple music room. Qi Muwas a contemplative person. Over the years, he seldom thought he was the best,or most skilled, at any of the songs he played. However, when it came to 《Bell》, he could confidentlysay, "I am good at it."

The bow jumped rapidly across the strings, buteach movement was controlled by this skilled violinist. Paganini, called theKing of the Violin, was often praised for his dazzling skill with theinstrument.

This 《Bell》 was a nightmare for an inexperienced violinist. But that was nottrue for Qi Mu, who was already entirely immersed in the song. At the end, Qi Mu was still engrossed in thefamiliar sound and was unable to shake himself free of it.

He returned to his senses at the low chime of adistant bell.

Today was Christmas Eve and the many bells in BCity"s tower rant at the stroke of midnight. The bell reverberated so strongly, its echoes could be felt even in theinsulated music room.

Qi Mu laid his violin in its case and said witha smile, "I didn"t notice it was already midnight." Buckling the case shut, heturned to the man sitting opposite him and added, "Merry Christmas."

Min Chen had already gathered his thoughts andlooked indifferent and calm as usual. He nodded, "Merry Christmas."

The sound of the violin"s notes still lingeredin the room. Min Chen"s eyes narrowed in a squint, and he commented, "You have a good grasp on 《Bell》. I"ve heard the ViennaPhilharmonic"s concertmaster, Lyon Zayev, play it in a duet once. Your skill iscomparable, and you"ve handled the details in some parts very well."

Facing this praise, Qi Mu was not shy butinstead nodded politely, "Thank you."

Min Chen looked at him and asked, seeminglycasual, "Whose 《Bell》 do you usually listen to?"

For any musician, it was important to listen to the works of different maestros. Even MinChen had a wall of shelves dedicated to various masters. Dating back to theprevious century, from the oldest record to the current Blu-ray and CDs, theylined his huge music room back in Berlin.

Qi Mu took a moment to recall then answered,"I"ve bought Mr. Accardi"s alb.u.m and listened to his 《Bell》 frequently. I preferhis version in comparison to others"."

Min Chen"s eyebrow raised higher when he heardthis, and he stared at Qi Mu solemnly. He asked again, "You listen to Accardi’s《Bell》?"

Qi Mu nodded without thinking too much about it. He laughed and said, "I"ve listened toothers, but Mr. Accardi"s version is my favorite. Why? Do you like his too?"

Min Chen shook his head, "I prefer. . . yours."

Qi Mu was stunned. He smiled helplessly, "Thathat is far too large. I dare not wear it."

Being praised so much as to be called Min Chen"sfavorite version, Qi Mu was a little afraid that he was joking, so he pulledaway from it. While actually, Min Chen felt he had said too much, so after theyspoke a while longer, it was not too late, but the two separated for the night.

Qi Mu hadn"t prepared a full-table meal in along time. After such a busy day, he felt exhausted. He took a quick shower andwent to bed. Separated by the wall, in the s.p.a.cious but simple living room thatwas still dark, its owner did not turn on the lights. Only the citystreetlights that entered through the floor-to-ceiling windows illuminated theroom.

The tall man leaned against the black Steinwaypiano that Qi Mu had just praised, and he frowned down at the moonlightsplashed across the floor. He didn"t say a word, but his profound gaze seemed complicated.

No one knew how long he stood there, leaningagainst the grand piano, without a word. But when the distant eastern horizongained a hint of gray, he took action: dialing a number.

After a short beep, the phone was picked up. Itsounded like a family dinner on the other side, and the laughter of a childcame through the speaker.

"Hey, Min, Merry Christmas Eve. It"s pastmidnight for you over there, right? It"s too early for you to be calling me. Istill have an hour until midnight, alright? I"m going to the New Year concertsoon. d.a.m.n it, Min, when will you come back?"

Min Chen"s foot pressed against the floor, andhe straightened from the piano. He walked over to the windows and said in a lowvoice, "Daniel. Merry Christmas Eve. Help me book a ticket. Have a wonderfulChristmas night."

"Haha, Min. You"ll only speak so well atChristmas. Alright, what do you want me to look for? My sweetheart can wait forme to cut the turkey. This year, it"s very good,roasted and tender right out of the oven. Oh. . ."

Min Chen went straight to the point, "Help meresearch someone."

There seemed to be someone talking to Daniel.After saying a few words in reply, Daniel turned to answer Min Chen. "Are youstill talking about that Luo Yu Sen? Hey, Min, I"ve already found out hisbackground. You can look at the research on him and Jacques later. I don"treally know how Luo provoked that Jacques, but he"s being choked out."

Daniel had begun the investigation when he hadleft a few days ago. Luo Yu Sen was being isolated in the Vienna SymphonyOrchestra, and it seemed to be thedeliberate work of the concertmaster, Jacques himself. Daniel didn"t know whyJacques was doing it, but he was very confident that it was his handiwork.

Listening to Daniel, he didn"t want to askanother thing about Luo Yu Sen. Swaying, Min Chen said, "Not him. I want you tocheck out. . . Qi Mu."

Daniel sneaked aside and said subconsciously, "Ididn"t check his information before. But, his father was the conductor of theHuaxia S City Symphony Orchestra. His mother was the concertmaster. He"sstudied the violin since he was four. He won the Menuhin Junior Championship atthirteen and worked the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at fourteen. . ."

"Daniel."

The man"s magnetic voice suddenly interruptedDaniel"s tirade, and Daniel noticed there was something wrong. He frowned andopened the door to his lively living room. Stepping out onto the balcony, heasked, "Min, what happened for you to want me to look into things?"

"I want you to look into. . ."

"The relationship between him and Lu Zi Wen."

Near the New Year, the major orchestras inEurope would hold a grand concert. The most striking of which would be theVienna New Year Concert and the Berlin Philharmonic New Year Concert.

The latter was held in the Philharmonic Hall inBerlin, where a musical feast would be played on New Year"s Eve. The former wasusually held in the Golden Hall on January 1st of each year. There would belive broadcasts in dozens of countries across the world so this annual event could be played in every corner of theworld.

In the music capital of Vienna, the protagonistof the New Year was naturally the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Every year,music lovers from all over the world would gather to listen to Wei Ai"sperformance.

As for the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. . .Although they were also a world-cla.s.s Symphony, they could not compete with WeiAi. They often did world tours in previous years, after all, there were only asmall number of people that could come to Vienna to listen to their concerts.Pa.s.sing the beauty of cla.s.sical music to fans around the world was theirmission.

But, this year, probably because there wastrouble on the inside, Evra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra"s conductor didn"thold a global tour. Instead, he made the entire orchestra make adjustments thiswinter, waiting for the next year to have a public performance.

In winter, Vienna was still warm, and there wasrarely any rainfall. Even near the end of the year, the sun was warm, and people didn"t want to move.

3 o"clock in the afternoon, Viena SymphonyOrchestra Headquarters.

Although they said "adjustments," dailyrehearsals were still essential. Around afternoon tea time, the concertmasterJacques, serving as interim conductor, announced a break. The man sitting atthe deputy chief position at the second violin group stood.

The fat, black man standing in at the podiumsneered at the black-haired Chinese man that rushed out to the lounge. Hedidn"t have any words to say, so he went with the other members to have theafternoon tea.

At the other side, Luo Yu Sen stood in thedoorway of the lounge with trepidation. After gaining permission, he entered.

Stravinsky"s 《Petrsuka》echoed in the room andthe elegant piano sounded with each turn of the alb.u.m. Since someone hadentered the room, Evra turned down the volume and turned. He watched Luo Yu Senwith a blank expression and asked, "Luo? You"ve come looking for me, is there aproblem?"

Luo Yu Sen stared at the floor and struggled inhis heart for a long time. "Mr. Evra. There are a lot of songs in the nextquarter that requires a deputy chief. I don"t think the position can continueto be empty."

Luo Yu Sen said "deputy chief," but it was not abouthis position in the second violin group. Rather,it was the deputy chief position in the first violin group. Four months ago,that was Lu Zi Wen"s position, but ever since the accident, Evra had left theposition vacant without adjusting the seats or recruiting externally.

In the face of Luo Yu Sen"s sudden discussion,Evra wasn"t too surprised. This serious old man still had face, sohe said nothing. Instead, he seemed to be waiting.

The Chinese man hesitated for a while and said,"Mr. Evra. I"ve thought a lot. Lu Zi Wen"s death makes me sad, and I oftendream of him every night, but I don"t think he"d want to see the orchestramissing a deputy chief." He seemed to have gained confidence, and he looked up at Evra, "Mr. Evra, I want torecommend myself to you. Please, test me."

Luo Yu Sen finished, but there was no response.

This strange silence made Luo Yu Sen feelawkward. After a long time, Evra sighed and said, "Luo, you have to train.Deputy chief. . . I have this position in my heart. I am also very saddened byLu"s death. He was very promising, and anoutstanding violinist. As your lover, you must work hard to share hisburden, ah."

Luo Yu Sen was anxious. "Mr. Evra, I"m willingto accept your challenge, I. . ."

"Luo." Evra looked indifferently upon thisanxious man. He said plainly, "Your current level is not enough to serve asdeputy chief. Practice well. The orchestra has been making progress, and I hopeyou can keep up with everyone"s rhythm. For Lu"s sake, the things I mentionedbefore have been considered, but. . . your strength isn"t enough to guaranteethe renewal of your contract."

Under Evra"s harshrefusal, Luo Yu Sen left the lounge.

《Petrsuka》"ssound had been floating about the lounge for a long time, and eventually, itcalmed. Evra removed the disk and calmly placed it back in the alb.u.m case.Apparently, andropause was already affecting a man so young. As he stood, Evramuttered, "Want to be deputy chief with that skill? Well, it"s a pity thetalented ones like Lu leave first. . ."

Translator(s): Kuro, Bet

Editor(s): Bet