Although he received Professor\nAkkad\u2019s invitation, Qi Mu did not leave for Paris immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, because the National Conservatory\nof Music was still organizing formalities. After all, Professor Akkad suddenly wanted\nto accept an outside student. Even if it was a symbolic exam, it still took time to prepare. And the other\nreason, was because B City Symphony Orchestra\u2019s first performance had not begun\nyet and it was impossible for him to leave as concertmaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Qi Mu announced that he would\nleave after the concert, none of the orchestra members were sad. Instead, they were\nthrilled to hold a celebratory dinner for him to congratulate him on being able\nto study in Paris, and for gaining an excellent teacher in Reed Akkad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afterward,\nTan Lao confirmed the specifics for the orchestra\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the first time Qi Mu\nwould be leading their concert as concertmaster. He was no longer a guest\nviolinist, nor an ordinary member of the violin group. He was now the lead violinist that would lead\nnot only the violin group but the entire orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the last two weeks of\nrehearsal, he didn\u2019t know if it was because of his impending departure, but the orchestra members practiced even more seriously\nthan usual. They wanted to give their mascot one last grand performance before\nhe left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone was excited and\nharmonious, but the day before the concert, someone couldn\u2019t help but wipe\ntheir tears as they choked out, \u201cXiao Qi, you have to practice well in Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Generally, the female members were\ntoo emotional. Several women had given Qi Mu homemade\ncookies and biscuits as farewell gifts. Several of the older men and women, the\nuncles and aunties amongst the orchestra members, had taken to Qi Mu as if he was\ntheir own child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qi Mu was the youngest in the\norchestra, and while he had always been\nmature, they had not forgotten that he was just a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the final practice, everyone\ngathered together again. When the party ended, the others laughed and patted his shoulders to cheer him on. It wasn\u2019t until only Du Sheng\u2019s car was left that Qi Mu\nwiped away the tears in his eyes as if it\nwere sand blown into his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the last half a year,\neveryone had become accustomed to this polite, humble young man. Not only was\nthis beautiful child talented, but he was obedient and hardworking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were sad because they would rarely get to see him in\nthe future, but they were also worried. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That this child would go to a distant foreign country, where he did not have\na single relative, and he wouldn\u2019t even know if he was being bullied!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho dares bully our Xiao Qi!\nLet them try it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, I have several old friends\nin Paris. If they want to bully Xiao Qi, let them try us first!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qi Mu did not hear those words,\nbut when he looked at the rearview mirror, he found that some of the members\nthat had been laughing were now shedding tears. His eyebrows pinched a little,\nand he heaved a long sigh, but there was nothing to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Du Sheng smiled and said, \u201cXiao\nQi, those guys really think of you as a mascot. When you come back to Huaxia\nduring the summer, you have to come to\nsee us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qi Mu looked at Du Sheng and\nlaughed, \u201cDu-ge, you can rest assured. I will definitely come to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Du Sheng didn\u2019t want to bring up\na separate topic, so he quipped, \u201cWhat is\nParis\u2019s specialty? I bet there\u2019s nothing good. Xiao Qi, are you going to cook\nyourself? Don\u2019t hurt yourself, eat more pig hoof stew, and fix up your face. Leaving\nour sandy city, ah, you might not be able to adapt right away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qi Mu was dumbfounded, ready to\nboth laugh and cry, \u201cYes, I\u2019ll try my best to cook more. . . cough<\/em>, pig hoofs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They smiled and exchanged a few\nmore words. Qi Mu\u2019s apartment building was quite close to the orchestra, and\nthere was no traffic. Soon the car arrived at the entrance, and QI Mu took his\ncase from the backseat. He walked in the direction of the hall for a few steps,\nthen heard a sound behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His footsteps stilled, and he turned to see Du Sheng waving him over.\nHe said, \u201cDu-ge, you can just go back. It\u2019s not early, don\u2019t let your family\nworry. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Du Sheng just stared at him calmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a while, Du Sheng looked at\nhim with a solemn gaze. Finally, he said, \u201cXiao Qi. . . you have to take care of yourself in Paris. Listen to what Tan Lao\nand I said. Don\u2019t hurt yourself. Our entire orchestra will back you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was honestly too warm. Qi\nMu felt his fingers clench tightly. There was a lot he wanted to say, but even\nwith all the words on his tongue, he didn\u2019t know where to begin. In the end, he\ncould only show a bright smile as a thank you to this big brother that was taking\ncare of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being able to be part of such an\norchestra was a privilege and a wonderful\nmemory that he would remember for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps only in a group of\npeople who truly loved music could there be such open-mindedness. Everyone\nthere got along, and no one wanted to try climbing up using despicable means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the classical music world, how\nmany people were like Luo Yu Sen, who only wanted to go further but hadn\u2019t\nthought of improving themselves first?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer was, after all, very few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That evening, Qi Mu started\npacking up his apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he first rented this apartment,\nhe only paid half a year\u2019s rent. He hadn\u2019t thought much of it at the time and signed\naccording to the landlord\u2019s proposal, but he did not expect that he would only live there for half a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because he would fly to Paris\nthe day after tomorrow, and tomorrow was dedicated to the concert, Qi Mu had to\ncover the furniture in white sheets to prevent dust from collecting. There weren\u2019t\nmany things that he needed to take with him, and a large box would suffice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most important thing was his\nviolin, and it needed to be protected well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once all the furniture was\ncovered, Qi Mu glanced around at this familiar yet unfamiliar house and felt a\nlittle sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had lived here for half a\nyear. He practiced in the music room every day, cooked in the kitchen every\nday. He didn\u2019t have many feelings towards\nthis place, but now that he was about to leave, he felt like clinging to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu stepped out onto the\nbalcony. The winter night was cold, but he looked at the dark building next\ndoor. After a long time, Qi Mu shifted moods and opened his phone. He scrolled\ndown his contacts for his neighbor\u2019s number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, halfway across the\nworld in Berlin, it was afternoon. In the rehearsal hall of the Berlin\nPhilharmonic Orchestra, everyone was coordinating with the members of their\nrespective instrument groups guided by the concertmaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For larger orchestras, there was\noften more of a command hierarchy, divided under the principal conductor, guest\nconductors, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, even if there were more than one conductor, these masters would\nnot be able to participate in every rehearsal. Therefore, whenever the time\ncame, the concertmaster, assistant concertmaster, or deputy chief would replace\nthe conductor in leading the orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Admittedly, aside from just time\nconstraints, there were also some like Min Chen. . . who would not personally lead the rehearsals outside necessity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Daniel, that was\nbecause the guy was too lazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officially, however, Min Chen\nbelieved every member of the orchestra had a different style. Although they\nwould eventually come together, he thought\nit was best for them to develop freely in the early stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, whatever the reason was,\nfor Bertram to not personally lead the rehearsal all the time\u2014\u2014That was good news\u2014\u2014for\nevery member of Bai Ai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Could you imagine this man with\nperfect hearing stopping the whole orchestra in an instant and walking over to\nstand in front of you, saying with a blank expression: \u201cThis is such a simple\nsound. Have you left your IQ at home?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or, even if you couldn\u2019t figure\nout the mistake, this great conductor would toss his baton at the score and\nlook straight at you to calmly ask, \u201cWon\u2019t you run home to drink your mother\u2019s little\nlamb soup?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Min Chen picked up the baton,\nMr. Bertram had the elegant demeanor of a gentleman, but when he picked up the\nsymbol of highest authority in the orchestra, God. He. Was. A. Demon!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014\u2014Cried out the hearts of all\nthe members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, although Min Chen\nwouldn\u2019t lead the rehearsal every time, he would often sit under the stage and\nwatch the members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It made even the most seasoned\nof musicians fear that they would accidentally\nlet this demon general hear a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But today, they only rehearsed\ntwice when the sharp-eyed members saw\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Bertram took out his phone!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh my god!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who was this angel to call the\ndevil out?!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Min Chen pushed out of the rehearsal room, he connected to the call from the other side of the world, \u201cQi Mu?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu\u2019s young, pleasant voice\nrang out over the line, \u201cMin Chen, long time no see. It should still be\nafternoon there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Min Chen walked down the hallway\nand gently nodded, \u201cWell, it\u2019s three o\u2019clock.\u201d He paused and thought of\nsomething, then asked, \u201cIt\u2019s already ten there, you\u2019re calling so late. . .\nwhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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