The moon shone brightly that summer night in Dresden. Like reflecting through water, it cast shadows over the small street behind the Semperoper Opera House. Dim, hazy lights shone from a few street lamps. Except for a handful of cars, no one pa.s.sed by.
The moment he saw the other man, Qi Mu wanted to turn around and walk away.
He entertained this childish idea. He knew the man had probably waited for a long time, so Qi Mu sighed heavily and accepted his fate.
Qi Mu waved his hand and smiled, "Long time no see. What a coincidence, right?" His voice was calm, as if nothing happened.
Min Chen"s eyebrows climbed high at seeing the youth so calm. The touch of a smile appeared in his gaze. He shook his head. "Yes, quite the coincidence. I just waited for three minutes."
Qi Mu: ". . ."
Three minutes? That meant. . . If he had left four minutes earlier, he wouldn"t have met this guy?
Guessing the younger man"s thoughts, Min Chen"s smile deepened. He added another blow, "I also wanted to visit Mr. Farrell and Mrs. Audrey this evening. Let"s go together?"
Qi Mu: ". . ."
Cold moonlight shone un.o.bstructed through the sky, and the cool night breeze dispelled the summer heat.
Qi Mu had thoroughly accepted the reality of his situation. He no longer acted dumb, nor did he avoid Min Chen. He held his violin case in front and leaned against the brick wall next to the other man.
Neither spoke. Everything Min Chen had to say was already said.
Min Chen had never been good at expressing himself. That simple "I like you" already exhausted the restrained, introverted man.
Qi Mu tilted his head upward, looking at the moon.
The bright moonlight overpowered the stars. It was a rare sight, because the city"s neon lights usually dimmed the moonlight.
Neither spoke, but the atmosphere was beautifully tranquil. The breeze pa.s.sed by, ruffling leaves on both sides of the road.
Just when Min Chen thought the young man who had avoided him for a month wasn"t going to speak, his pleasant voice rang out——
"Your record. . . I heard it." His tone was helpless. "I listened to the very last piece. It was the most perfect recording of Min Chen or Auston Bertram I"ve ever heard."
Pondering for a while, Min Chen finally nodded. "En."
The white moonlight shone on the young man"s face. His smile softened, and he said, "Actually. . . I"m not a person who tends to run away. I just. . . don"t know what to say."
Min Chen looked at the younger man then asked, "What is it?"
Instead of directly answering him, Qi Mu began to recall. "When I first heard the name "Min Chen," it was over a decade ago, close to twenty years, probably. I was surprised, thinking a Chinese won Xiao Sai with full marks?"
Qi Mu shook his head helplessly. "Since then, I began to pay attention to him. The first piece I listened to was Bach"s 《St Matthew Pa.s.sion》, then his Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert and finally. . . Liszt."
After a pause, Qi Mu looked up at Min Chen. With a teasing nod, he asked, "Oh yes. I discovered long ago. . . You seldom play Mendelssohn. Why?"
In such a quiet and deserted street, they spoke softly, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
Min Chen stared at the young man, feeling as if the light of the moon was drawn into his pale eyes. He smiled and asked in return, "I graduated from Leipzig Conservatory, you know that, right?"
Qi Mu nodded. "Yes."
“Do you know who founded the conservatory?"
Qi Mu immediately answered, "Mendelssohn." Smiling, he added, "To be precise, this was Germany"s first conservatory of music."
Black trench coat blending into the night"s shadows, Min Chen nodded. "When I first came to Leipzig, I was invited to perform at the school festival. The festival was the school"s anniversary, and all the performances were related to the conservatory"s celebrities or pieces by the founder; Mr. Mendelssohn was the most popular. But there"s a tradition. . ."
He paused for a moment then continued, "Mendelssohn"s style is cla.s.sical romantic. Once you"ve decided to play something by him, you need to find someone else to perform with you. At the time, the concertmaster of the Spanish National Orchestra was head of the violin department. That person was, um. . ." Musing on his choice of words, Min Chen finally found suitable ones: "That person liked my music very much. . . and was a girl."
Unable to keep from laughing out loud, Qi Mu finally understood what happened.
Min Chen didn"t seem to have heard the youth"s laughter and continued with a blank expression, "I didn"t want to play with her, and many of the notable pianists and violinists at the time were like her. . .They were bad news. But I couldn"t exactly tell the truth either, so I could only say: I haven"t practiced Mendelssohn much and I didn"t think I could play it to its utmost potential."
The picture immediately played out in his mind, and Qi Mu smiled helplessly, "You could play Liszt"s well at the time, giving such a reason. . . did they believe it?"
"Yes." Min Chen solemnly said, "Because I"m the one who said it."
Qi Mu: ". . ."
"Having skills doesn"t equate being able to play well. I said I couldn"t perform Mendelssohn"s romance, and it was the truth. I am an honest and sincere man."
Such a funny sentence made Qi Mu laugh, and he turned to the person beside him, but when he did so, he froze.
The man"s profound face was serious, and his deep dark eyes stared right at him as he said in a solemn tone, "I couldn"t play a romantic piece with her because. . ."
"Qi Mu, I didn"t like her."
The topic suddenly came full circle, and Qi Mu"s eyes widened a little. After a while, he sighed. "Min Chen. . . we are both very busy. I can"t develop my career in Berlin, and you cannot give up Berlin. Europe is small, but in some cases, it can be quite vast too. As people separated all day and night, do you think. . . it"s possible for us?"
"Do you like me?"
The words stunned Qi Mu, and before he could respond, a shadow fell over him.
The taller man completely blocked the moonlight. Hands on either side of Qi Mu, he looked down at him. This posture was quite aggressive and, more importantly, it made Qi Mu feel like he had no escape.
It was at this moment Qi Mu found out——
He was half a head shorter than his opponent.
This was the first time Qi Mu viewed the man from such a close distance. From the moment he first heard the name "Min Chen," to the moment they met officially last year, this was the first time they were close enough they could feel each other"s breath.
Cheeks flushed, Qi Mu coughed a little and carefully looked away, "Now isn"t the time to think about this. . . Min Chen, I can"t go to Berlin, and you can"t leave it for another decade. We won"t have time for each other, we. . ."
"Do you like me?"
Min Chen repeated the question, halting Qi Mu in his words. After some thought, Qi Mu understood the man"s meaning and could only laugh weakly in his mind. He lifted his head to look into Min Chen"s attentive eyes and said:
"I like you."
Of course, the answer was "yes".
Otherwise, he wouldn"t blush at his confession. Nor would he avoid the man for half a month. Qi Mu wasn"t a hesitant person. If he didn"t like it, he would say so frankly. It"s precisely because he likes him. . .
That he didn"t dare to answer.
Speaking those three short little words immediately made Qi Mi feel lighter, but he didn"t notice the man, who was usually calm, had held himself stiffly up until then and let out a relieved sigh. Min Chen looked down at the delicate face of the younger man and saw the helplessness and hesitation in his expression.
Min Chen said confidently, "As long as you like me. . . there will be no problems."
Shocked, Qi Mu automatically said, "But I can"t develop in Berlin, and Min Chen, I don"t want to be a solo violinist. I want to be in an orchestra, I want to. . ."
"I can leave."
Qi Mu stopped abruptly, eyes wide in surprise, "How can you? You"ve been conductor for ten years, and you"re only 31 this year. Bai Ai has the principle of "no change until death" so you can easily stay for another three or four decades!"
"It doesn"t matter," Min Chen calmly replied.
Qi Mu, on the other hand, was anxious, "But that"s Bai Ai!"
Warmth flooded Min Chen"s heart at the young man"s anxiety for him. His lips curled upward, and he softly asked, "What do you think. . . of Karl Thomas?"
Qi Mu answered, "Mr. Karl? He"s very good. Though he"s not in an orchestra, he"s excellent. He receives invitations from world-famous orchestras to conduct every year and performs globally. Why do you suddenly. . ." Qi Mu had an epiphany. "You want to be like him?"
Right now, the world"s top four conductors were Min Chen of Bai Ai, Albert Dorenza of Wei Ai, Farrell Lewis of the Dresden Symphony, and Karl Thomas who wasn"t affiliated with any orchestra.
Min Chen"s eyebrows raised gracefully. "Can"t I? Karl"s doing well so far."
Though he knew Karl had a great reputation was respected and worshiped by the ma.s.ses, he didn"t know why but the thought of this man leaving Bai Ai for him filled Qi Mu"s heart with pain and guilt.
Now that this man was willing to do this. . .
What else was he worrying about?
The youth"s expression suddenly became a calm smile. He looked up at the man in front of him and said, imposingly, "You are not allowed to leave Bai Ai." After a slight pause, he amended, "You are not allowed to leave Bai Ai for me."
Confronted with such a fierce tone, Min Chen was flabbergasted. ". . . What?"
"I don"t want my lover to give up his career he"s been working on for ten years because of my circ.u.mstances."
Min Chen frowned. "I"m not giving it up. I"ll be as free as Karl. . ."
This time, it was his turn to stop abruptly as he realized what he"d just heard. Eyes wide, he asked, a tremble in his voice, "You. . . what did you just say?"
Qi Mu raised an eyebrow at his rare uncertain expression and, with eyes full of laughter, he repeated, "I said, I don"t want my lover to abandon his career for me. . ."
Suddenly, he was wrapped in the man"s arms. Min Chen"s powerful arms wound tightly around his waist, and his vigorous heart rate seemed contagious, making his own beat wildly too.
The man whispered gently in his ear, "Qi Mu. . . I like you."
Knowing how childish this man was, Qi Mu patted his back and nodded then whispered, "Well. . . I like you too."
But the man didn"t stop and, instead, repeated, "I like you."
Qi Mu was quite dumbfounded. "Yes, yes, yes, I know you like me."
"I like you."
". . ."
"I like you."
". . ."
"I like you."
". . . Stop playing around!"
"Come to Berlin with me."
". . ."
After a pause, Qi Mu pushed the overbearing man away and said, "I just said I cannot develop in Berlin."
Min Chen"s face serious as he said earnestly, "One mont, just one month. . . wait until I"m done with Bai Ai"s schedule this month, then I will accompany you to Paris or wherever you want."
Qi Mu: ". . ."
He sighed gently. "Teacher will be back next week. I have to go back to Paris, Min Chen."
"Ignore him."
Qi Mu: ". . .Can you not be so childish?"
"I can teach you the violin." Min Chen"s black eyes were solemn and sincere. He said firmly, "I will teach you in Berlin. I have a lot of time, and I"m more patient than Reed."
Qi Mu: ". . . When you can play Paganini"s 《La Campanella》 to my satisfaction, I will think about it." After a moment, he hastened to add, "On the violin!"
The hope that was kindled in the man"s eyes vanished in an instant. ". . ."
Under the moonlight, Qi Mu stared at the man"s unhappy face with slight amus.e.m.e.nt and helplessness. The man"s facial features appeared all the more handsome under the moon. He appeared softer, somehow, and his pair of slightly drooping eyes were just as he remembered them, unfathomable.
The young man unconsciously reached out and touched the other man"s face. The movement froze them both. Qi Mu instantly wanted to retract his hand, but it was suddenly grasped by the older man.
Qi Mu raised his head in surprise and, in turn, met Min Chen"s dark gaze. As if knowing what came next, Qi Mu tried to break free but found he couldn"t escape the man"s hold.
In the end, QI Mu listened to his rapidly rising heartbeat and gave up the struggle, closing his eyes.
An a dark, quiet street, a tall gentleman pulled a younger man"s wrist and leaned forward. The latter didn"t resist at all, almost as if waiting for it.
People in love needed only to look into each other"s eyes in moments like these, and their reason would be overtaken by love.
Qi Mu could almost hear the man"s heartbeat, could even feel the breath from Min Chen"s nose. His throat felt a bit dry, and he was a little nervous. Then——
"Bang——"
"You pervert! Who are you! How dare you touch our Little Seven!!!"
The angry roar broke off Qi Mu"s thoughts. He immediately opened his eyes and found Min Chen staring right back with a blank expression, numerous lily petals littered atop his head.
"No. . . we need to speak in German here. . . anyway, pervert! Who let you touch my Little Seven, let go of your dirty hands!" The person changed to English, "I"m going to call the police, don"t you run, you pervert!"
The person smashed the bouquet of lilies over Min Chen, but when they saw Min Chen refused to loosen his grip on Qi Mu, they grew even angier.
"Even Europe has this kind of pervert! You. . . Ah?! Mr. Min?!!!"
Qi Mu, who had long been dumbfounded into speechlessness: ". . ."
Min Chen, who was covered in lilies and wearing a blank face: ". . ."