A spring breeze blew in from the Atlantic at the end of\nMarch, waking Paris from the slumber of winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The French were born with romance in their bones. Couples\nwalked the street hand-in-hand and would sometimes kiss intimately without care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qi Mu had long since learned to ignore them and could now ignore\nthese sweet lovers as he walked by them. He grew up in Austria, and though\npeople were open there, it was not so open\nas to kiss publicly in the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His apartment was a couple blocks\nfrom the college. The handsome, sophisticated Chinese carrying a violin case\nthrough the streets was still eye-catching. Less than ten days after his\narrival, Qi Mu\u2019s popularity continued to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he passed the bakery, the chubby owner would smile and gift\nhim bread, wish him a good morning. The blonde woman cutting flowers at the flower\nshop around the corner would send out a flowering branch to send him on his\nway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A polite, good-looking child was the most liked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course. . . this favoritism\ndid not include Professor Akkad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akkad was fond of his lovely student, but once it came to\nmusic, Qi Mu\u2019s master would become serious\nand would not tolerate even a defect the size of a sesame seed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the eve of Qi Mu\u2019s third day of practicing the 24th<\/sup>\nCapriccio, Akkad had him play his adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result was disappointing. Akkad said, \u201cSmall Seven, you\u2019ve\ntried to adapt some of the music, but what I want isn\u2019t to completely change\nthe song. Rather. . . in your performance, there needs to be some chemical changes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With an evaluation like that, Qi Mu got serious. Aside from practicing and adjusting to\ncollege life, he spent most of his time outside, hoping to gain some spark of\ninspiration from the spring season in this romantic capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the strait, in London, England, the first performance\nof the Vienna Symphony Orchestra\u2019s European tour officially began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They held the grand concert in the Royal Albert Hall, London\u2019s\nmost prestigious concert hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this centuries-old hall, the Vienna musicians underwent\ntheir final commissioning, and the\naudience waited in anticipation for the start of the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, this concert almost conflicted with the Berlin\nPhilharmonic Orchestra\u2019s concert. To avoid the problem, Daniel had them\nperforming four nights later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Evra learned the \u201cGolden Retriever\u201d Agent had made a point of splitting their performances by three days, he snorted with disdain. \u201cDaniel, you know how Min Chen and Evra still had a good relationship. When Min\nChen was studying at the Leipzig Academy,\nthe master once directed the academy\u2019s orchestra, and Min Chen was the pianist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, Evra had invited Min Chen and Daniel backstage before\nthe show, and they walked together toward the exclusive second-floor box to\nenjoy the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past, whenever Evra invited him, Min Chen would politely\nrefuse. The man never enjoyed being treated as one of the privileged class, and\nhe would sit in the audience. But this time, even Evra did not understand why his\ninvitation was accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daniel thought about it and whispered, \u201cDo you want to see\nfor yourself. . . what happened to Luo Yu Sen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a moment of silence, Min Chen lowered his gaze, \u201cYou think too much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, when Evra did a\nlast check on all the members of the orchestra, Min Chen did not enter\nthe box. Instead, he stood behind the curtain and watched the handsome but haggard\nChinese violinist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That, Luo Yu Sen. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luo Yu Sen who was busy testing his violin, felt a chill in\nhis chest. He glanced around for a while but saw nothing strange. He shook his\nhead and fixed his violin\u2019s pitch, then snuck a glance at the fat, black man\nstanding at the front of the orchestra, eyes. . . dark and fierce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon after, just as the percussion group was about to go onstage,\nthere was a scream, \u201cOh my god! Pieces of my score are missing?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone looked at Jasper in shook, the man in question staring,\nhorrified, at his score. \u201cThe pages I\u2019m least familiar with! I don\u2019t know if I can\nfinish it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some people didn\u2019t have a good\nmemory, and Jasper. . . was one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it was Qi Mu, he could recite a ten-sheet music score in an\nhour. If it was Min Chen, he only had to listen to it once, and he could play\nit perfectly. While Jasper\u2019s skill was\nhigh, his memory. . . was not so good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evra, noticing the situation, turned a with a severe\nexpression, \u201cJasper, where did your score go? Prepare to go on stage, take\nsomeone else\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jasper shook his head, an anxious sweat pooling on his\nforehead, \u201cNo, no, no, Evra! It\u2019s the part that\u2019s different from everyone else\u2019s.\nThe background score is already difficult, but this section was harder. I. . . I have it memorized, but I can\u2019t guarantee\nI\u2019ll play it perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evra was so angry he could barely speak, \u201cJasper! How can\nyou be so careless with your score? You can\u2019t even keep the score safe, and you still want to perform?!!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The relationship between Jasper and Evra was inherently good,\nbut it was only natural for Evra to be furious that something like this\nhappened when he was about to go on stage\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, he was the runner-up winner of the world\u2019s worst-tempered\nconductor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The backstage became a mess, but even Daniel frowned. \u201cJasper\u2019s\nnot usually so bad? How did he lose only a piece of his score, and it\u2019s a piece\nof resplendence? That\u2019s weird. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By his side, the elegant man narrowed his gaze to a squint,\nwatching the Chinese in the back, not saying a word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although Luo Yu Sen chattered anxiously with the others, the\ncorners of his mouth were tilted upward. . . looking\nrather pleased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His heart ached with realization, and Min Chen pursed his lips. He walked over to Evra\u2019s side and\nwhispered, \u201cWhich song?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Min Chen\u2019s sudden appearance dazed the orchestra members:\nthey didn\u2019t expect the man to be backstage!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among them, most appalled was Luo Yu Sen against the back wall!\nHis eyes widened and the rising corners of his mouth sunk, because. . . He recalled what someone said about Min Chen when\nhe was at school: \u201cMr. Bertram? The score\nmachine! Whatever the song, one look is all it takes for him to recreate it,\nah!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure enough, when Evra heard his question, he froze for a\nminute then said, \u201cMy god, Min! I forgot you were here! It\u2019s Farrell\u2019s \u300aSonata\nin F major\u300b,\ndamn. . . have you ever heard it? It\u2019s the song he wrote a few years ago, I\nhaven\u2019t performed it in public often.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Min Chen\u2019s eyebrow raised then he whispered, \u201cIt\u2019s one of\nFarrell\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question made Evra despair, \u201cOh god, you haven\u2019t?! Oh my\ngod! This is a nightmare! Jasper, don\u2019t make me. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA difficult piece. . . should be at the end of the third\nmovement.\u201d Min Chen\u2019s voice silenced Evra, and Evra turned to see him face the nervous\nviolinist. \u201cIs there any lines you can\u2019t understand?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jasper nodded, \u201cNo, I can understand them! I\u2019m just not sure\nif I can remember it all. The score\u2019s just a hint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Min Chen nodded and took the pen and paper Daniel offered. His\nfingers scrawled five neat lines over the\npaper. With just a few additional notes, he marked the places for the fade away\nand reinsertion!<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one dared to make a sound. When the scratch of pen on\npaper finished, it was time for the first violin group to go on stage. Jasper\ndidn\u2019t even glance at it before he took the handwritten score and filed on\nstage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evra also breathed a sigh of relief, \u201cAh. . . Min, I\u2019m glad\nyou remember this song. That\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Min Chen looked at him, tone even, \u201cI listened to Farrell perform\nit, hm. . . a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evra: \u201c. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daniel: \u201c. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a belly full of anger, Evra stalked to the other side of\nthe stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind him, Daniel wept. \u201cEvra will hate you, Min! His\ntemper is no better than yours. He\u2019s commanded the song many times, and there\u2019s\nno way he could write it out in so little time. You can\u2019t hurt him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Min Chen hummed but did not take it to heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, his gaze fell on the brunette in the second violin\ngroup, his eyes narrowed dangerously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is. . . Luo Yu Sen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n