King of Classical Music 133

The poll on the Danube forum was mostly a joke. Although Evra was honored with the second place of “the conductor with the worst temper” category, when people spoke about the maestro in private, they said——

“Mr. Evra is a very honest and upright conductor. Unlike his free and unrestrained music style, he is a very serious person.”

Once he began to have suspicions, regardless of probability, he took the investigation seriously. And from this investigation… A lot of things came to light.

Before starting the investigation, Evra didn’t realize that so many members of the orchestra disliked Luo Yu Sen. Very few of them communicated with him, some going so far as to purposefully exclude him, right under Evra’s nose. 

When the maestro asked Jacques about it, the man sneered and said, “Mr. Evra, none of us think Luo Yu Sen is a man of virtue. Personally, I didn’t like Lu Zi Wen much, but I was sad when he died. As I said before, are there so many coincidences in this world? The police might believe it, but we all couldn’t quite convince ourselves that it had nothing to do with Luo Yu Sen.”

Although Evra also had his doubts on Lu Zi Wen’s death, what puzzled him was that no matter how he tried, he still couldn’t figure out——

Who in the world bailed Luo Yu Sen out when he was in custody.

At first, he thought Luo Yu Sen was only called in for questioning. But when he heard that the man was taken into custody as a suspect, he knew one thing for sure. With Luo Yu Sen’s ability, it wouldn’t be that easy for him to clear the suspicion.

However, not even Evra could figure out who stood behind Luo Yu Sen.

When the Vienna Symphony Orchestra was about to start their tour, Evra called Luo Yu Sen to his lounge and gave him a thick contract.

At first, Luo Yu Sen was happy when he saw the neatly bound document, wondering if he would get a promotion.

However… When he saw the contents, Luo Yu Sen’s handsome face grew pale. In disbelief, he shouted, “No! Mr. Evra, what have I done wrong? Why do you want to dismiss me?!!!”

Evra answered coldly, “Luo, there are some things that I won’t spell it out. But on the reason for your dismissal. I wrote that your skills aren’t keeping up with those of our orchestra. Your contract with the orchestra should last for another year, so I’ll pay for the liquidated damages with my own money. You don’t have to come tomorrow.”

Luo Yu Sen couldn’t accept such a simple reason. “Mr. Evra! Even if I’m not suited for my current position, that doesn’t mean I should be dismissed like this! I did nothing wrong, why should you dismiss me?! I don’t agree, I’ll file a complaint at the orchestra’s members meeting!!!” 

Evra sneered at this, he didn’t want to spare any effort for the hypocrite. “Luo Yu Sen, you’ve been in the orchestra for six years, so I won’t humiliate you. I’ll tell you something, you’d better not dream of doing anything in Vienna again… No, as long as I’m here in the world of classical music, there will be no place for someone as dirty as you!”

Evra’s tone was flat, but his words turned Luo Yu Sen pale. A bad premonition rose in his mind but he put it aside.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Lou Yu Sen stammered.

Smiling mercilessly, the maestro said, “Luo Yu Sen, if not for the fact that there’s no evidence… Do you still think I’ll let you stand here freely? I’m afraid you don’t know what kind of ending that deputy concertmaster of New York Philharmonic had thirty years ago, but I can tell you his current situation…”

“Separated from his family, he’s a scorned man!”

Luo Yu Sen stood frozen, unable to say a word.

He already figured out that Evra knew something. When he wanted to explain himself, Evra’s casual threat beat him down.

At the beginning of the day’s rehearsal, the orchestra members were surprised to see Luo Yu Sen packing up his belongings. He left the headquarters in a daze.

All the members pointed at the man’s bleak figure. They didn’t know what happened, but when they saw him leaving with his belongings in his arms, they all had a feeling… 

This man… was fired?!

Their concertmaster, Jacques, asked Evra about it.

The answer he got was that Evra was adamant about firing Luo Yu Sen. He was even paying the liquidated damages with his own money after discussing with Caroline, their music director.

Caroline was helpless, she had to agree with his decision, while the stubborn conductor kept the real reason for the dismissal to himself.

Although Jacques didn’t know what had stimulated Evra, he was thrilled with Luo Yu Sen’s dismissal.

To celebrate the departure of an eyesore, he treated a few of the members to dinner that night.

When they arrived at the door of the Palisade Theatre, wanting to listen to an opera, one cellist of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra said, “You don’t know, right? The Palisade Theatre has been full for the past two weeks!” 

As soon as Jacques heard this, he was curious. “Their attendance was good before, but it wasn’t full, right? What are they playing? Is it 《Romeo and Juliet》? Haha.”

Another cellist said rather mysteriously, “Haha. Jacques, you really don’t know, huh? They changed their concertmaster recently. Their style’s shifted completely, their sense of music seems to be much stronger than before.”

As soon as the man finished talking, the first one quickly added, “He didn’t tell you enough. I know… the new concertmaster is very good. Before entering the Palisade, he had quite a reputation in Europe’s classical music circle. He was even known outside it.”

Jacques had his own suspicions. The pudgy black man gulped and asked in a whisper, “…You’re not telling me that… I actually know the concertmaster, right?”

The two members looked at each other, urging the other to answer. Finally, one of them said, “Yes! Jacques, do you know that he took part in our recruitment for the deputy concertmaster?!”

Jacques: “…”

Well, let me tell you what Evra said to your concertmaster——

Jacques, can you play 《Chaconne》 better than Qi Mu did? Can you play 《Dance of the Goblins》 as wonderfully and excellently as he did?

Looking up at the word 【Concertmaster: Qi Mu】on the left side of the poster, Jacques stepped back in silence. Awkwardly, he said, “How about… We don’t watch the opera?”

Shaking their heads, the group dragged the portly man inside. “We’re already here, so of course we have to go in!”

Jacques: “…”