Only a few days after Qi Mu\u2019s return to B City,\nhe sent off the most solemn, western Christmas celebration ever and ushered in\nthe new year. On the night of December 30th, a New Year\u2019s concert was to be\nheld at the Great Hall of the People, and the performer was Huaxia\u2019s National\nSymphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The B City Symphony Orchestra was in a similar\nsituation to the Vienna Symphony. Moreso, Tan Zheng Hui didn\u2019t actually want to\nperform a national concert this year. So,\non the evening of the 30th, Qi Mu arrived early at the Great Hall of the\nPeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, Huaxia invited the world-class\nmaster, Ivan Kocher from the US National Symphony Orchestra. This maestro\u2019s\nstyle was delicate and gentle, and he had conducted the Huaxia National\nSymphony before. Qi Mu looked forward to tonight\u2019s performance very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the nearly three-hour-long\nperformance, Ivan and the Huaxia Orchestra received a lot of praise and\napplause. Once it had ended, a large part of the audience was still immersed\nand would not forget the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qi Mu had attended the concert alone this\nevening. The Zheng couple went to their hometown to visit family for the\nholidays. When Qi Mu had gone next door with the two tickets he received from\nthe B City Orchestra, he knocked for quite some time without a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just as Qi Mu thought it was strange, he\nremembered\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huaxia was holding a New Year\u2019s concert, wasn\u2019t\nBerlin the same?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Min Chen must have returned to rehearse with the\norchestra a few days ago. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra\u2019s New Year concert\non the 31st was also a must-see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, Qi Mu sat alone under the magnificent\ndome of the Great Hall while the seat beside him remained empty. But, as he was\nabout to leave, he hadn\u2019t taken even a few steps when he suddenly heard someone\nwhisper his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turning back, Qi Mu saw Tan Lao<\/strong> walking\ntoward him with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Du Sheng looked Qi Mu up and down and smiled, \u201cXiao<\/strong>\nQi, ah, why did you come alone? Didn\u2019t the orchestra give two tickets per\nperson? You don\u2019t have a girlfriend?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu\u2019s smile shrank, and he said helplessly, \u201cDu-ge<\/strong>, you\u2019re making fun of me\nagain. I don\u2019t have a girlfriend, ah.\u201d I don\u2019t even have a boyfriend!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Du Sheng just laughed and stopped teasing him.\nInstead, a graceful man in a suit beside\nhim, who had been smiling at Qi Mu all the while, said, \u201cXiao<\/strong> Qi, I\nhaven\u2019t seen you for a long time. Why didn\u2019t you come visit? Did you forget your Uncle Zhu?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a matter-of-fact, Qi Mu had noticed Zhu Wen\nJun standing beside Tan Lao<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The handsome middle-aged man was the current\nconductor of S City\u2019s Symphony Orchestra. Beside him, holding his hand and\nsmiling, was the orchestra\u2019s music director and also his wife, Cheng Ting Wen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu nodded and politely greeted them with a\nsoft smile, \u201cUncle Zhu, Auntie Cheng, long time no see. I received that S City\ndelicacy you sent last month. Thank you for the gift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although Cheng Ting Wen was over forty, her body\nwas well maintained, and she looked like\nshe was in her thirties. She covered her mouth to hide her laugh and said, \u201cXiao<\/strong>\nQi is really sweet. Oh right, we received that album you sent us from Hong Kong\nthe other day. Your skill is getting better and better. Your Uncle Zhu and I\nlistened to the Sibelius\u2019 \u300aFirst\nSymphony\u300b you performed with New Ai, and we\u2019ve decided to\ntalk to you about something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu asked, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d Henpecked as always, Zhu Wen Jun would never\noppose his wife. He only looked at her helplessly then said to Qi Mu, \u201cThis\nmatter is still a secret. We intended to talk to Tan Lao<\/strong> first, then\ninvite you. But since Ting Wen\u2019s already mentioned it, I\u2019ll tell you directly. Xiao<\/strong>\nQi, do you know how many years ago our S City Orchestra was founded?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This question was indeed a test. No matter how hard Qi\nMu studied, it was impossible to remember the details of every single\norchestra clearly. Even for the S City Orchestra, which was one of the most famous\nin all of Huaxia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the original?<\/p>\n\n\n\n His head was full of car racing and playing\ngames. There was no time to think of when an orchestra was established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After thinking for a long time, Qi Mu gave a\nprobable answer, \u201cIf I remember correctly, S City\u2019s Symphony Orchestra was\nfounded in or around 1920?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zhu Wen Jun and Cheng Ting Wen looked at each\nother and smiled. The former nodded and said, \u201cNot too far off. It was\nofficially established on January 8, 1916. The Yulin West Daily issued a statement\non it that year. This year will be the 100th anniversary of the orchestra’s\nfounding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu was startled, but he continued to listen as Cheng Tin Wen said, \u201cThere were some\naccidents, and our preparations were\nhurried. We won\u2019t make it for January 8th this year, but the grand celebration\nwill be held in February. When your parents were alive ten years ago, we\nregretted that we invited famous violinists and conductors to perform for our\n90th anniversary. This year, we plan to invite Chinese musicians and showcase a\nfestival that belongs just to Huaxia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu was beginning to guess what was coming,\nfrom Zhu Wen Jun and his wife\u2019s words, but he didn\u2019t dare speak it aloud as he\nfelt it was unlikely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeing his bewildered face, Tan Lao<\/strong>\nsmiled, \u201cFor the S City Orchestra\u2019s Centennial Celebration, other orchestras,\nincluding ours, will be lending a hand. For the piano, Wang Zheng, the second\nplace winner of the Xiao Competition last year, has been invited to perform\nProkofiev\u2019s \u300aPiano Concerto No. 2\u300b.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Du Sheng also smiled and nodded, \u201cFor this celebration, many Chinese young talents are being invited. Besides Min Chen, several famous Chinese musicians under the age of thirty were invited, and many of them have already agreed to give a special performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After Du Sheng mentioned Min Chen\u2019s name, Zhu\nWen Jun looked at Qi Mu and said, \u201cBai Ai seems to be busy at the beginning of\nthe year. Otherwise, I would have liked\nto cede this baton to Min Chen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zhu Wen Jun\u2019s self-depreciation made everyone\nlaugh. He looked at the confused Qi Mu and said, \u201cXiao<\/strong> Qi. At the end of\nlast year, we had a lot of plans and issued some invitations. For the\nviolinists, we considered many young talents like Sheng Yan Hui and Li Zhang,\nbut now. . . I think there\u2019s an even better candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu was no longer confused. He understood what\nZhu Wen Jun meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he was still a little shocked. After a\nwhile, he frowned and asked tentatively, \u201cUncle Zhu, you want to. . . invite\nme?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zhu Wen Jun laughed and said, \u201cYes, Xiao<\/strong> Qi.\nS City\u2019s Symphony Orchestra will send you an official invitation tomorrow. I\nhope you can take part in the celebration. Some people have some doubts and are\na bit prejudiced against you, but your cooperation with New Ai was great, and it\u2019s dispelled their concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He paused and his expression slowly changed. \u201cQi\nMu, I sincerely hope you will accept this invitation. The past eight years. . .\nwe\u2019ve both made mistakes. We didn\u2019t take\ngood care of you for Qi Jun and Ru Yue. We left you alone on the wrong path.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time, the death of Qi Mu\u2019s parents was so\nsudden it jarred all of their friends. Qi Jun and Ru Yue left only Qi Mu, this\none seedling. Several of the seniors had the idea to nurture Qi Mu until he had\ngrown, but who would expect this to be counterproductive and make this stubborn\nkid even more rebellious?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a matter-of-fact, every time they got\ntogether these past eight years, they would lament over this. If Qi Mu really\ndidn\u2019t want to stay on this path, then what they did was indeed selfish. So in\nprivate, they contacted Zheng Wei Qiao and sent money for Qi Mu, but also helped\narrange jobs for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if Zheng Wei Qiao had a wide net of\nconnections, it was impossible for him to find a new job for Qi Mu every week.\nIt was also impossible for him to aid Qi Mu so frequently when he needed to\nprovide for his own family. These thin-skinned elders were too embarrassed to\napologize to the younger generation, and if the original had seen them, he\nwould have gotten angry anyway. So they had no choice but to use this\nroundabout way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, when he proposed the idea this time, it was\nthe first time he was actually serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zhu Wen Jun sighed, \u201cIt\u2019s been several months\nalready, and I think. . . you really do\nwant to get back into classical music. If that\u2019s the case, Xiao<\/strong> Qi, this\nis also your parents\u2019 unfulfilled desire. We hope you will accept this\ninvitation and make the celebration a success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A chilling wind blew through the square. Even at\nthe end of the year, Chang\u2019an Street was still packed. The city\u2019s neon lights\nshone down on the fair and the handsome youth\u2019s face, making it appear silky\nand hazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a long time, Qi Mu slowly nodded and\nshowed a sincere smile: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlright, Uncle Zhu. I accept your invitation. I\nwill try my best. . . not to let you down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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