King of Classical Music 206

Berlin’s June sky was clear and cloudless. The scorching summer sun shone unobstructed from the sky, warming the city below. Fortunately, the humid breeze off the North and Baltic Seas gently blew the dry heat away. 

The end of June was one of Berlin’s busiest times every year. Music enthusiasts from all over the world gathered there to attend a grand concert.

A vast, dense forest overtook the western suburbs of Berlin, where towering trees covered the landscape like a green roof. Under their shade, the heat of the city wasn’t as unrepentant and a cool atmosphere pervaded the whole forest. It housed the famous Waldney Forest Theater. 

In the spacious, flat basin, a huge white double-towered roof spread its wings like a white dove at its center. More and more classical lovers entered the basin with their tickets, slowly filling the available 22,000 seats to celebrate the music carnival. 

That’s right, this was the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra’s Forest Concert. 

Since 1982, the world’s top orchestra had performed an open-air performance in the forest theater at the end of each June. 

Min Chen had asked Qi Mu whether the lectures at the Geneva College were often conducted outdoors and how that affected the sound quality. But, Qi Mu replied, “I haven’t noticed a loss of sound quality in Bai Ai’s Forest Concert?” 

Yes, with modern high-tech audio equipment, even in such a vast, open basin, the beauty of music could be transmitted to every ear in the audience. 

The forest was a treasure of nature to the people of Berlin and a sacred place for classical music lovers all over the world. 

Since over 20,000 music fans attended every year, the Bai Ai staff specially blocked the theater’s entrance to prevent accidents due to overcrowding. 

Though the concert began at 7:00 pm, many tourists began entering around 2 in the afternoon. In the long queue of spectators, some carried large and small bags of food, some carried all types of picnic items, and some even carried a tent, all waiting to listen to the music. 

Yes, the Bai Ai Forest Concert transcended the orthodox solemnity of the usual classical music concert. Here, the audience could take off their suits and gowns and enjoy this musical feast in the most casual way. 

Perhaps because the accompanying audience all wore exaggerated clothes, a tall, black-haired young man didn’t appear too abrupt in the crowd. Wearing a hat and sunglasses, Qi Mu walked amongst the audience moving step by step as he was able. 

No one noticed such a thin, beautiful, young man. After all, among more than 20,000 people, how would one notice a particular Asian man? Oh god, there were so many people, it was hard to see through the crowd!

When Qi Mu came to the entrance, facing Bai Ai’s dozens of security staff, he reluctantly took off his sunglasses so they could see his face. For the safety of the concert, careful security inspection was still very necessary. 

Once a female staff member saw the young man’s face, she was shocked and almost shouted out, “Little Angel!” But she hurriedly covered her mouth and whispered, “Little Angel, why did you enter with the audience? You can enter with Mr. Bertram, from Bai Ai’s exclusive entrance.” 

Qi Mu and Min Chen’s relationship had been spread among the members of Bai Ai early, due to Daniel’s “careless” big mouth. Although it didn’t spread amongst the staff, unfortunately, the husband of this staff member happened to work as a trumpet player in the orchestra. She also knew their relationship. 

Qi Mu raised his hand and pulled on the brim of his hat. He put his finger against his lips with a slight smile and said softly, “Shh, I came secretly. I hope… you can keep this a secret for me.” 

When such a delicate young man makes this request of you with such a sincere smile, no one could refuse, okay?!!!

The staff member blushed and nodded heavily. Even when the staff behind her planned to carry out a full body safety check for Qi Mu, she directly sent him to the opposite side of the security check door. She said, “Little Angel, you go. I… I wish you and Mr. Bertram the best!” 

Under Qi Mu’s surprised gaze, she returned to her pose, her head high and proud. She looked at her surprised colleague, waved her hand, and said, “That was… Cough, it was my friend just now. He’s completely fine.” 

Qi Mu left the entrance before anyone else noticed him, unsure whether to laugh or cry. As soon as he entered the theater, it was like a drop of water entering the sea, and he was nowhere to be seen in an instant. This effect made him very satisfied. He began to look for his seat and move through the excited crowd. 

After all, there were more than 20,000 people in the venue, and they were all fans of classical music. Even if Qi Mu pretended to be good (and he wouldn’t), no one would find such a familiar looking young man. But when they saw him amongst everyone else, they all laughed to dispel their unrealistic speculation. 

“How could Qi Mu, Wei Ai’s concertmaster, sneak into the forest concert?” 

“That’s right, even if my Little Seven comes, it’s impossible for him just to wear that t-shirt, haha!”

“Hahahaha, that is, my Little Seven, Jenny. You’re crazy about Mr. Bertram all day long. You even wore a t-shirt with his name on it to the concert!” 

“Hey, Ellie, believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death! Look around, lots of people are wearing  Mr. Bertram’s t-shirts! Damn it, there are vendors selling fake t-shirts in the theater. I’m so angry! I bought an authentic shirt from the official website! 

……

All kinds of noisy voices echoed around the theater. Qi Mu calmly lowered the brim of his hat. After looking for about five minutes, he finally found his place. 

With 22,000 seats and 88 rows of seats, it took a lot of effort to find his place, especially on his first time attending the concert. But, he finally understood why so many people lined up five or six hours early: there really were too many people!

Bai Ai’s Forest Concert was well-known. It was clear that the concert at the end of June would be sold out in March or April due to the crazy music lover’s rush for tickets. Even Qi Mu couldn’t win over this group of terrifying fans, and finally went through the back door——asking Dorenza to get ahold of a ticket. 

Although Dorenza personally took action, it was around May when Qi Mu made the request, so he only managed to get a ticket for Qi Mu in the ninth row. Although he couldn’t see everyone onstage clearly, he could definitely see the front row. 

Qi Mu finally reached his seat after a lot of hardships. He just sat down when a gentle, warm voice called from behind him, “Hey, hello!” 

Qi Mu saw a beautiful little girl with red hair smiling up at him. She could only be regarded as beautiful, with several freckles on her cheeks and a smile that made others feel happy. 

Qi Mu stretched out his hand to shake hers and nodded, “Hello.” 

“Do you also like Bai Ai’s concerts? Haha, I came here from Switzerland. You must’ve been waiting for a long time on Bai Ai’s official website to get tickets for the 9th row. By the way, do you want some banana rolls?” 

The girl enthusiastically handed over some Swiss banana rolls as she talked. Qi Mu came in a hurry without preparing any food for a picnic like many audience members. At the moment he had integrated himself into the lively atmosphere and didn’t intend to refuse her kindness. 

Taking the banana roll, he smiled and said, “Yes, I also like Bai Ai’s music.” He deliberately avoided the topic of obtaining tickets and said, “This banana roll is delicious. Did you make it yourself?” 

The girl laughed. “Yes, I made them yesterday. I made a lot more, do you want to try them? Oh, by the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Cecilia Poltsche, and you can call me Ceci. I studied piano for 15 years and now I’m a student in the Piano Department of the Geneva Conservatory of Music.”  

Hearing the college’s name, Qi Mu froze from where he was about to grab another cake. “…” 

After a while, he pulled the brim of his hat down and said, “Hello Ceci, my name is…” Qi Mu was stunned for a moment, and the name “Little Seven” halted at his lips. 

If he said his name, the possibility of exposure was too great!

Behind him, Ceci couldn’t wait any longer. “Huh? What’s your name? Haha, actually, when I saw you just now, I thought you looked familiar. Your German was so good I almost thought you were this famous Chinese violinist. Oh yeah, by the way, what was your name….” 

“Angel!” 

Ceci was stunned by the extreme speed of his answer, then she said, “Angel… that’s the first time I’ve heard of a boy named Angel…” 

Under the cover of his hat and sunglasses, Qi Mu’s mouth twitched, unable to express the grief and anger in his heart. 

Why did he blurt out that name!

Master Farrell was really harmful!!!

Master Farrell, who was far away in Dresden, “Achoo… Eh, is the weather getting colder? I thought it was 30 degrees today…”