On the sixth day of his enrollment, Qi Mu finally entered\nthe music room marked \u201cReed Akkad\u201d for regular classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first time he saw it, the room was bare. At the time, he\neven made a mental note of the sole violin he recognized. Now, it had only been\na few days, but the room was drastically different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Italy was rich with artists. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,\nRaphael. . . Countless famous artists were born and risen out of the country,\nbecoming some of the brightest shining stars in human history. The renaissance\nera alone birthed numerous outstanding paintings and symphonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Qi Mu entered the piano room, it was impossible to\nplace Professor Akkad amongst the ranks alongside these artists with profound aesthetic.\n. . this was, Qi Mu felt apologetic toward da Vinci.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fifty square meter room was decorated in tones of red\nand white. Displeased with the soundproofing, Akkad also had them put up another\nlayer of insulating wallpaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That wasn\u2019t all. Qi Mu looked around and saw a Huaxian knot\nto one side and a red lantern on the other. It was enough that he couldn\u2019t look\ndirectly at any of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to say it. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Painting a tiger didn\u2019t\nmean you could also paint a dog.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n There was also the common sense. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Huaxian restaurants in Europe and America tarnished the name\nof Huaxian cuisine!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad touched his chin with a smile, \u201cI know that Small\nSeven is Chinese, and it\u2019s hard to study in Paris. Teacher specifically prepared\na room for you! Are you happy?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu nodded, unable to do anything else. \u201cHappy, very\nhappy.\u201d . . . If you dare pick the four red\nlanterns.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad laughed, \u201cThis surprise is good. Such a beautiful\nmusic room, you\u2019ll be able to practice with all your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c. . .\u201d Believe me,\nthat\u2019s impossible.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He spent the morning talking to his professor about authentic\nHuaxian style. When he finally convinced Akkad to remove the. . . room full of\nlanterns, knots, and paper flowers, his professor sighed, \u201cPity. They were\nmeticulously designed by me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu: \u201c. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To deform aesthetic like this, by an Italian no less, Akkad\nreally was something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That afternoon, in the clean, tidy music room, Qi Mu sat\nwith Akkad and poured out cups of rich coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad scented the white mist that rose off the coffee and\nsaid, \u201cSmall Seven. When Farrell personally handed your album to me, I didn\u2019t\nreally think I would become your teacher. But Farrell says your music has\nemotion, and it touched him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu shook his head and said, humble, \u201cI didn\u2019t know Master\nFarrell thought so. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know. Farrell\u2019s a good guy, but he rarely gives out\nsuch high reviews to an unfamiliar violinist. I thought since you\u2019ve managed\nthis already, why do you need me as a teacher? Farrell should be introducing\nyou to Dresden, not recommending you to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut, after I listened to your sound, I understood. . . I\nunderstand why Farrell and Min decided to recommend you to me instead of directly\ndrafting you into an orchestra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad\u2019s critique stunned Qi Mu, and he straightened in his\nseat, staring at the gray-haired old man in seriousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The world-famous violinist solemnly stared back at him. \u201cSmall\nSeven, how far are you from Auston Bertram. . . ?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu blinked, owlish in surprise, then dithered for some\ntime. \u201cTeacher, I. . . Min Chen and I are. . . far apart. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad shook his head. \u201cYou don\u2019t walk the same path since\nyou have no desire to compose. Of course, I\u2019m not saying to compare yourself\nwith Auston, I meant your violin. How far is it from his piano?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad broke in a pause then continued. \u201cIn the end, music is\ninteroperable. Auston\u2019s violin is just noise, his skill on the violin is trash,\nso don\u2019t bother comparing yourself to it. But, his piano, his piano is better\nthan you. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu sucked in a breath and waited in perturbed silence for\nAkkad\u2019s final declaration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad held out his right hand, thumb and forefinger pinched\ntogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy only this much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu\u2019s eyes burst wide open, and he stared, disbelievingly,\n\u201cTeacher, this. . . are you joking?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Min Chen\u2019s piano was the best in the world. The man started\nat seven years old, and Min Chen had shown amazing talent since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was the youngest Xiaosai champion at twelve and had performed\non the same stage as Wei Ai. When people mentioned Min Chen, regardless of his achievements\nas a conductor and composition since, he was still called a pianist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu was confident in his skill but not to that high of a\ndegree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Min Chen\u2019s piano was on the same level as Akkad\u2019s violin. If\nwhat Akkad just said was true. . . the gap between Qi Mu and Akkad himself was\nonly that much?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad nodded seriously. \u201cYes, Small Seven, you\u2019re not wrong.\nIf God gave classical music a benchmark, Auston\u2019s come very close, and you. . .\nyou are also very close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSmall Seven, I didn\u2019t believe I should be your teacher\nbecause. . . I always thought my student would be like me, a child with\nordinary origin. Someone that worked hard, was diligent; someone I would mold into\na brilliant violinist under my own fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad had never said such to Qi Mu before, but when he\nlooked at the old man across from him, Qi Mu\u2019s heart trembled with the essence\nof destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I heard your sound, I was surprised. . . Everything Farrell\ntold me was nonsense! He said when you were fourteen, you performed with the\nVienna Symphony, that you were a well-known music prodigy. Your parents were\nwell-known musicians in China. You\u2019re not short on money. You even have that beautiful\npiece in a Swiss bank somewhere!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad cursed eccentrically then added, \u201cI thought you were\nan arrogant brat, but after listening to you. . . Small Seven, you and I made\nthe same mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Mu set down his coffee cup and asked, \u201cTeacher, I don\u2019t\nunderstand. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are not arrogant enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer was clearly beyond Qi Mu\u2019s expectation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI started learning to play the violin at six. After sixty\nyears, I thought I was talented enough, hardworking enough. I became\nconcertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra when I was thirty. At the\ntime, I still couldn\u2019t get rid of it. . . that one thing in my music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know, Small Seven. My family was bad. I had to borrow a\nstate loan to attend a music university. I believe that my poor upbringing gave\nme the motivation to go up in life. I had to prove to everyone that I could do\nit better than them. But, when I was forty-five, I heard Farrell\u2019s music, and I\nfinally understood. . . the distance between him and I.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Farrell was also an excellent violinist, and though he and Akkad\nwere both to be revered, Qi Mu believed Akkad was higher than Farrell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad\u2019s judgment now surprised Qi Mu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFarrell is really the darling of God. Back then, I guarantee\nthat if my violin counted 99 points, that abominable man could only get 90 and\nno more. But I knew that I was missing that one point, and Farrell. . . Farrell\nalready had it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad laughed a little, rare and profound, then he looked at\nthe stunned young man in front of him and said gently, \u201cSmall Seven, my point\nis, in music, we are confident. But, Farrell, Auston, they have never doubted\nthemselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSmall Seven, you are not confident enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The professor\u2019s words were few, but they were poignant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re not confident enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Never had anyone ever said that to Qi Mu, in this life or\nthe last. Perhaps Min Chen and Farrell picked out that something was missing in\nhis music, but they couldn\u2019t find it intuitively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only Akkad, who had the same life experiences as Qi Mu, could\nunderstand the core of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A poor family, the motivation to work diligently, but, at\nthe same time, the lack of freedom to what they wanted in their childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn music, Qi Mu never knew what it was like to play as\na child. When he was young, he delivered milk and newspapers and so on. Even when\nhe was older, he played the violin at a caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This accumulation of life experiences gave Qi Mu a unique\nsentiment toward music, but from another perspective, it also. . . shackled him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven, you and Auston are only this one point apart, but. .\n. it\u2019s not so easy to get. Are you ready to surpass him in a year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akkad\u2019s serious tone dragged Qi Mu from his thoughts of the past.\nThe word \u201csurpass\u201d shook his heart. He looked up at Akkad and smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The handsome young man wore a beautiful smile, but after a\nwhile, a low, pleasant voice echoed in the quiet music room\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA year is long, Teacher. . . can we shorten it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n