"h.e.l.lo, Teacher Akkad." Qi Mu bowed and said politely, his tonewarm.

Before he could straighten, the eccentric man heaved a sighout his nose and said in response, "I still haven"t taken you as a student,Angel. Why do you call me teacher already?"

". . ."

Farrell has pa.s.sed on this unspeakable name, ah!!!

He was so aghast at the name that he didn"t notice theinstructors in the room exchange words with Professor Akkad. They left the room and. . . closed the door.

When the old man strode across the room to the desk in frontof him, Qi Mu was surprised to watch this world-famous violinist sit directly onthe table. Akkad looked up at him and said, "You"re 《Gypsy》 just nowwas alright. Can you manage Tchaikovsky"s 《D Major》?"

Qi Mu tore his stare away and slowly nodded. "I"ve practicedit some. The third movement is still unfamiliar, but the first is doable. . ."

"Then play, the first movement is fine."

Qi Mu: ". . ."

He started to play. When he reached the third section of thethird movement, the music continued smoothly, but Professor Akkad shook hishead in disgust and said, "Enough, enough. Your third movement is indeed notgood. Let"s advance to the interview section."

Qi Mu: ". . ."

As if he didn"t notice the confused stare at all, Akkad said,"You know, this is the first time I"m accepting a student. I cannot guaranteehow I will teach you. So I wanted to ask first, Angel, you. . ."

"Professor. . ." Qi Mu could resist no longer. He raised hishand and said, "You. . . can you stop calling me "Angel"? I haven"t taken the name.Master Farrell is messing with me. This kind of joke, you don"t have to take soseriously."

Akkad raised an eyebrow but said nothing in response.

In fact, when Farrell recommended a student called "Angel,"Akkad thought it was a cute little girl. When he found out it was a young man, hecouldn"t help but worry about his friend"s vision.

What kind of child can you praise as an Angel?

When Qi Mu was writing his exam, Akkad had looked in throughthe back door. When he saw this beautiful young man, even he had to admit theboy was a delicate porcelain doll.

But, this name Angel is a bit. . .

Akkad asked with a smile, "If not Angel, then what is yourname?"

Qi Mu replied, "Professor Akkad, my name is Qi Mu."

Akkad"s face wrinkled in difficulty, and he said, "I heardyour name seems to mean "Seven" in Chinese. I will call you Severin."

Severin Little Seven*: ". . ."

*Severin Xiao Qi

No longer entangled with this issue, Akkad switched topics, "XiaoQi, I don"t have experience in teaching a student. Of course, you can rest a.s.sured.I will help you improve. There is no doubt in that."

Qi Mu had never doubted Akkad, so he replied, "Professor, Ihaven"t questioned your ability. I am honored to be your student and have yourguidance."

Qi Mu was modest, but it displeased Akkad.

As Farrell had said, this little old man had such a highlevel of skill with the violin that his temper was strange. He looked Qi Mu upand down, appreciative, then asked, "But, Xiao Qi, why should I accept you as astudent?"

"Because you want to."

Qi Mu didn"t hesitate, and the words made Akkad swallow hisnext words. He looked at Qi Mu for a long time, and felt. . .

Am I a child to beconvinced like this?

After a while, Akkad asked again, "Then, what do you want todo?"

"Over eighty percent of violin graduates from the Conservatorywill go into various orchestras. Most will only be a regular member theirentire lives and won"t even climb to deputy chief."

"Ten percent will become soloists. And less than ten percentwill not go into cla.s.sical music at all. I am afraid they don"t go into anymusic-related industry at all."

After spiting these statistics, Akkad looked at him solemnly."So, I want to ask you. Xiao Qi, what do you. . . want to do in the future?"

For most, this was a difficult question to answer. But,after only just asking, Akkad"s eyes widened, and he remained silent for a longtime.

Akkad asked no further questions. He looked at this smilingyouth with a complex gaze then smiled briefly. He adopted a serious expressionand nodded, "Tomorrow, report to the college at eight. You"re not allowed to belate."

Qi Mu was a little surprised at the sudden approval, but notlong after, he smiled and packed his violin into its dark green case.

He picked up the small bag next to the case and walked overto Akkad. He handed it over. "Teacher, this is chocolate from Veffdebruge. Ididn"t know your preference, so I bought a little of everything."

The dignified little black gift bag contained a box ofpackaged chocolates. Veffdebruge was one of the most famous chocolatiers inParis. It took almost two hours to wait and buy a box.

Even he didn"t know why, but when he pa.s.sed the store thatmorning, he remembered Zheng Wei Qiao"s joke. He stood at the door for a whilewhen a Chinese woman walked over and asked in surprise, "Excuse me, are you. .. from Huaxia?"

When he nodded, this young woman——an intern at Veffdebruge,pulled him into the store and let him buy the chocolates without waiting inline.

Akkad looked at the bag and light flashed in his eyes. Helooked at him and asked furiously, "You think because I"m from Turin, I likechocolate?"

Qi Mu: " . . ."

"I"m an adult, Severin,I don"t have a preference for sweets children like to eat."

Qi Mu apologized, "I"m sorry, Teacher, I didn"t know. . ."

"Eating a little occasionally doesn"t matter."

Qi Mu: " . . ."

Akkad looked at the bag with disdain but s.n.a.t.c.hed it up andhid it behind his back, not even letting him see it again——like he thought Qi Muwould take it back.

Dumbfounded, Qi Mu stared.

What was it Farrell said?

Eccentric temper?

No, this couldn"t be considered a quirk. There was a popularword floating about lately. . .

Tsundere?!*

*Translates to "Proud but tender."

Under the splendid sunshine, the European buildings indowntown Paris looked as though covered in a layer of spun gold.

After being told to go to the college the next day, Qi Mu droppedhis violin off at the apartment, took his wallet and keys, and found thenearest supermarket.

While furnished, the apartment"s refrigerator and cabinetswere empty. He had a lot to buy.

His new apartment was in a good location. It was one streetaway from the university, and there was a small convenience store nearby. Itonly had one floor, but it had quite a selection. Qi Mu was rather satisfied.

Under the high-wattage lighting, Qi Mu held a small fryingpan, studying it. There were already a lot of items in the cart beside him,fresh fruits and vegetables, and the basic seasonings.

After deciding on the pan, he put it in his cart. He hadn"tstood up entirely yet when he saw a familiar figure. After a moment, Qi Mustood up and looked around.

There was a narrow alley outside the gla.s.s window, and thereweren"t many pedestrians on the sidewalk. Everyone came and went, but they wereall blond. Where was that figure he had just seen?

After looking for a long time, he didn"t find them andsighed, laughing a little at himself. "I really want to see Min Chen. . . how couldhe be here? I won"t see him every time I move. . ."

The young man"s voice didn"t attract anyone"s attention inthe store, but what he didn"t know that halfway down the street——before the magnificentdoors of the Paris National Conservatory of Music, a handsome man lifted hishead to look up at the quiet, beautiful college, then. . .

Stepped inside.

In the man"s right hand, he held a small black bag. The word"Veffdebruge" was written in silver on the side, and it shone like diamonds inthe sunlight.

Chocolate and Min Chen? Don"t you think. . . it"s a bit disharmonious?!!!

Translator(s): Bet

Bet:

Do I spot a tsundere? Or do I spot a tsundere? Roflmao. These chapters are just getting better and better.