Min Chen\u2019s words embarrassed Qi\nMu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although it was March, a cold wind\nhowled through B City. Qi Mu stood out on the balcony for a while then went back\ninside. The call had already dialed out, so he didn\u2019t dare hang up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even he did not know why he made\nthe call. Maybe it was because he noticed the empty, dark apartment next door\nand suddenly remembered that he hadn\u2019t seen his neighbor in over a month. Or\nmaybe, he realized. . . Berlin and Paris weren\u2019t that far apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thinking about it for a\nwhile, QI Mu smiled, \u201cI was on the balcony just now. I looked over and remembered\nI hadn\u2019t contacted you in a while. Bai Ai is already preparing for this year\u2019s\nglobal tour, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Qi Mu had changed the\ntopic, Min Chen\u2019s brow furrowed a little but he didn\u2019t bring it up again. He\nwalked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows next to the rehearsal hall and glanced\ndown at the passers-by coming and going on the street below. \u201cWell, the first\nperformance is next week.\u201d After a pause, he asked, \u201cDo you want to listen? I\ncan reserve a seat for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though a little surprised at\nfirst, Qi Mu stopped to think a little. If he recalled. . . Bai Ai\u2019s first\nperformance was going to be at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although England and France were\nonly separated by the English Channel, there was bound to be a lot of work to\ndo when he got to the college. He shook his head helplessly and said, \u201cI\nprobably won\u2019t have the time to go. But thank you for your kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Min Chen frowned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he was in S City, Farrell\nhad said he wanted to recommend Qi Mu to Paris for further studies. The first thing\none would think of when they hear \u201cParis\u201d is the National Conservatory. With a\nlittle recollection, he remembered Reed Akkad had gone there two months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only a few people knew about it,\nand it wasn\u2019t widely publicized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But listening to Qi Mu now, he\ndidn\u2019t sound as if going to Europe was going to be a short-term thing. Min Chen\ncouldn\u2019t help but feel a bit surprised\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It turns out Farrell recommended\nQi Mu to Reed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Min Chen did not ask for an explanation,\nand after exchanging a few more words with Qi Mu, he hung up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This short conversation may have\njust been casual on the other side, but Min Chen\u2019s narrow eyes sharpened,\nsniffing out a disturbing scent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bai Ai was so busy that he\ncouldn\u2019t return to Huaxia and the investigation into Qi Mu. . . had already fallen\nto the wayside. Min Chen wasn\u2019t a curious person but this identical \u300aBell\u300b gave him bizarre ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this world, there can never\nbe identical music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this person came to Europe. .\n. there would be more opportunities for contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qi Mu didn\u2019t know that this\nphone call had helped a certain someone make rapid connections. After\neverything was packed, he climbed into bed and slept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was his second to last\nnight in B City and he slept well though the moon\u2019s light was cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first performance of B City\nSymphony Orchestra\u2019s season was usually held in the National Theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It had a large hall with 2019\nseats. The crystal chandeliers lit up the concert hall, and the noble white\nbackground gave the hall a solemn atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, by seven o\u2019clock, nearly\ntwo thousand seats were filled with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
B City\u2019s Symphony Orchestra was\nat the country\u2019s highest music level, and this time, their opening concert was\neven more carefully prepared with a grand finale. Last year\u2019s was played by the Huaxian\nviolinist, Master Li Chengde, who came all the way from Canada to play Mozart\u2019s\n\u300aA\nmajor\u300b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, they might invite a\nwell-known conductor, or perhaps a famous musician from abroad. But, regardless\nof who, the audience was looking forward to it, and even whispering before the\nconcert began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know who will lead the\nfinale this year? Master Li Chengde\u2019s song last year was magnificent!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, yeah, but this year, they\u2019re a little different. The concertmaster isn\u2019t Du Sheng, but that newcomer. . . Who was it, something like Qi Mu?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know him? He was\ninvited to S City\u2019s Symphony Orchestra last month to perform the closing at\ntheir 100th<\/sup> anniversary! The music section of the Times reported on\nit. Even Farrell Louis was very appreciative of him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho?! Farrell Louis? Really? He\nadmired this Qi Mu?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. I heard that he\u2019s going to\nstudy in Paris, though I don\u2019t know who\u2019s going to teach him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n This whispered exchange was happening\nthroughout the concert hall. Amidst these discussants, a young woman sat,\nseemingly out of place. Tonight, she wore light makeup, a beautiful skirt, and\nshe wasn\u2019t afraid of the cold, sitting with a performance program in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was the first time Li Yue\nYue had come to the National Theatre. It was still cold in March, but she only\nwore a coat over her short dress and entered the hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the past six months, she\nhad listened to over a dozen performances. Except for the one in Hong Kong, the\nothers were B City Symphony Orchestra\u2019s concerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, Qi Mu would play as\nconcertmaster for a few songs, and other times, he didn\u2019t get the chance. Most\noften, he sat at the head position of the first violin group and gave his own performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Li Yue Yue was an ordinary\namateur violin enthusiast. Unless the concertmaster performed a colorfoul cadenza,\nshe could not hear Qi Mu\u2019s violin. However, as long as it was B City Symphony\nOrchestra\u2019s concert, she was never absent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start, she may have been fascinated by just Qi Mu\u2019s beautiful face, but after she bought a few albums and listened to him play as concertmaster, she was immersed in the name of this \u201cQi Mu.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if she couldn\u2019t understand,\nit still made her feel good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sound of this young man\u2019s\nviolin was particularly gentle. Even when playing a high-spirited piece of\nmusic, it had a delicate softness to it and it rubbed at her heart like a feather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Li Yue Yue had bought a lot of B\nCity Symphony Orchestra\u2019s albums, and even if there was no way to listen to the\ncentennial celebration\u2019s \u201cHuaxia\u2019s Perfect Song\u201d in S City, she had watched the\nlive broadcast on TV and later bought the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She would love to listen to him\nplay all the time. She was present at all of his concerts, but. . . a few days ago,\n\u300aThe\nSound of Music\u300b\ninterviewed Tan Zheng Hui and announced that \u201cQi Mu was going to Paris to study.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This hit the industry huge, not\nonly because it was Paris\u2019 National Conservatory of Music but also because Tan\nLao refused to reveal the instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone knew the Conservatory\nhad already been in session for two months. It was difficult to transfer now.\nMoreover, the enrollment quota for all the teachers had already been met. If\nthey were allowed to take on another student, it would be a burden for both the\nteacher and the student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This set the industry on a wave\nof \u201cguessing the mentor\u201d but the B City Symphony Orchestra maintained tight\nlips, claiming that it wouldn\u2019t be publicized until it was approved by the professor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Li Yue Yue didn\u2019t pay much\nattention to the matter. She naturally knew it was one of the top music schools\nin the world. She also believed that her idol should be taught by only the\nbest. However, what caught her attention more than anything else was. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu was leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one knew when it happened.\nBut the orchestra\u2019s nickname of \u201cXiao Qi\u201d had long passed outside the circle.\nMany fans of his had formed a fan group called \u201c7:47*\u201d and Li Yue Yue was one\nof them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Qi Mu\u2019s nickname isn\u2019t actually\n\u201cLittle Qi\u201d as in his last name. It\u2019s actually \u201cLittle Seven\u201d so this name 7:47\nis playing on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they learned Qi Mu was\nabout to leave Huaxia, many fans were saddened at this \u201cpowder removal*.\u201d There\nwere also fans like Li Yue Yue who sincerely wished Qi Mu received better\nguidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Remember powder fans? The ones\nthat follow a celebrity because they like his\/her face. These ones are said\ntheir \u201cpretty face\u201d is leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blessings were blessings, but\nwhen this last concert really came, Li Yue Yue felt her eyes heat up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if she looked at the empty\nstage, she felt sad. Paris was too far away. It would take her twenty hours to\ngo back and forth, and she didn\u2019t have the energy for such a huge journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This evening was very likely the\nlast time she would get to hear Qi Mu in the flesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Li Yue Yue was one of the most expectant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Huaxia\u2019s National Grand Theatre,\nconcert hall backstage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After Tan Zheng Hui gave one\nlast sentence to the members, the percussion group and the others entered from both\nsides of the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu held the neck of his\nviolin and watched the members enter one by one in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it was almost his turn, he\ntook a step forward but Du Sheng stood in front of him. He smiled, \u201cXiao Qi, go\non!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu dipped his head in a nod\nand stepped onto the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With more than 2000 of its seats\nfilled, this magnificent stage was one of the most prestigious concert halls in\nHuaxia. Here, there was the largest organ in Huaxia, and all the seats surrounded\nthe stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu confidently but calmly\nwalked to just left of center stage and stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the members of the orchestra\nwere in their seats, the audience\u2019s applause had yet to stop. When this handsome\nyoung man appeared on stage, it became even more thunderous as if to lift the\nstage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the stage, Li Yue Yue and\nmany of his fans applauded with all their strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On stage, Qi Mu looked out over\nthis large audience. There were so many people and the stage was huge. A\nspecial kind of joy and excitement burst in his chest, filling his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a long time, Qi Mu bent\nand bowed deeply. It was finally time for Qi Mu\u2019s concert to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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