Berlin had a rare clear sky the next day. Cool wind blew over the Spree River, sweeping away the summer"s dry heat.
However, Qi Mu wasn"t comfortable for long. By noon, the hot sun brought someone unexpected along with the scorching heat——
Akkad.
When he received the call, Qi Mu was sitting in the Bai Ai"s rehearsal hall, listening to the third movement of 《Symphony No. 6》.
Fortunately, his phone was on silent, so he stepped out. He barely opened his mouth to speak when he heard Akkad"s cold hum, "Little Seven, I"m at Tegel Airport. Where are you?"
Qi Mu, doubting his hearing for the first time: "…"
Qi Mu asked, "Professor… Where did you say you were?"
Akkad gnashed his teeth. "Tegel Airport. d.a.m.n it; I heard Tchaikovsky"s 《No. 6》. It sounds like Bai Ai"s… You"re still there?!"
Qi Mu"s head spun at the anger in his voice. The old man hung up, leaving Qi Mu at a loss. He listened to the beeping on the line then his light-colored eyes widened. "… Professor"s in Berlin?!"
The answer came twenty minutes later.
In the blink of an eye, the old man was at Qi Mu"s side.
Neither his appearance nor his awkward temper had changed in their two months apart. He still raised his eyebrows the same way when he got angry.
"Little Seven! You actually agreed to date that horrible Auston?!" Qi Mu didn"t have the chance to speak before his professor went on, "You haven"t even been together for that long, and you"re already living together?! d.a.m.n it, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d must have deceived you. He kidnapped you!"
Qi Mu: "…"
Qi Mu coughed and said, "Professor, we"re not living together. It"s tourist season in Berlin right now, so it"s hard to find a hotel room. I didn"t book any when I came, so I spent the night at Min Chen"s yesterday…"
In the guest room.
"What?! You stayed in his house?!!!" Without waiting for Qi Mu to finish, Akkad"s rationality collapsed entirely. He stared at Qi Mu and said, "What tourist season, what no hotel?! It"s possible not to get a hotel in Germany, but if it"s Auston Bertram, I don"t believe it!"
Qi Mu looked at Akkad. Doubt in his tone, he asked, "Professor, what do you mean… ?"
Akkad shook his head bitterly and sighed, "Little Seven, you"re too simple. Do you remember… What "Bertram" means?"
Qi Mu pondered, then replied, "It"s one of Germany"s last few families of Dukes and Min Chen"s father"s family… ah…"
"Do you really think he couldn"t book one little hotel room in his own base?!"
Looking at his student"s lovable face, Akkad was so worried, his heart almost broke. He sighed, "Little Seven, oh, Little Seven, Professor told you before. That Auston guy is full of bad water! He can"t be trusted!"
Qi Mu: "…"
Even if he wanted to refute, Qi Mu swallowed his words and listened to Akkad, until he remembered the "piano episode" the former night.
The sound insulation in the rehearsal hall was amazing. Standing outside the gla.s.s corridor, Qi Mu could hardly hear anything, despite being separated by only one wall.
After a round of preaching, Akkad heaved a long sigh and said, "Little Seven, Teacher has only been gone for two months, and you really got together with that devil?"
The word "Devil" was too familiar. Qi Mu couldn"t help but think of Daniel"s words.
He didn"t answer.
When the old man repeated the question, Qi Mu looked up at his professor and sighed.
Gently, he said, "Professor… Min Chen isn"t as bad as you think. I know he"s not perfect, but I like him."
Akkad was in such a rage, he had to press one hand to the corridor wall to hold himself up. Supporting him, Qi Mu whispered, "Professor, no one"s perfect. I know his shortcomings, but I like him very much. And… isn"t that enough?"
Akkad deflated under his student"s gentle persuasion and nodded, letting Qi Mu support him as they walked along the corridor.
The Spree River flowed, reflecting sunlight not far away. Though the temperature was boiling, people inside were comfortable. Qi Mu led Akkad to the window with the gorgeous view and stopped. He felt pleasant, gazing over it all.
Still, Akkad couldn"t stop himself. "Little Seven… You see, this Auston is so bad. He deceived you once; he can do it again and again."
The handsome young man wore a calm smile. Silently, he thought, "In fact, he lied to me twice yesterday." On the surface, he said, "But professor, I believe he will be good to me. And, I will be good to him. Even if he lied to me… It must be for a reason. He won"t harm me."
Akkad was at a loss for words.
Seeing the old man"s bewilderment, Qi Mu recalled the first time he met the professor. Akkad had just picked up a chocolate and gazed at it, the words "I"m just going to taste it for you" plastered across his face.
His heart warm, Qi Mu said, "Professor, I hope… Can you bless us, please?"
No one could bear rejecting such a sensible and clever child, especially with eyes full of expectation. Even Akkad couldn"t deny him.
When Min Chen got the news from Daniel and ran to find Qi Mu, he saw Akkad already standing beside him. Hesitating, he went over to them.
"Long time no see, Reed." The man"s voice resounded in the quiet corridor.
When Qi Mu turned to him, he saw the striking man walk towards him, calm and composed.
Immediately, Qi Mu had a bad premonition. Heart lurching, he turned to look at his mentor——
"Auston, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You still dare appear in front of me after leading my student astray?!!!"
Qi Mu covered his face, powerless. "…"
Raising his eyebrows, Min Chen asked, "Then, Qi Mu and I will go first?"
Akkad: "…"
Qi Mu didn"t see his mentor or Min Chen again for the rest of the afternoon. They went to talk somewhere Qi Mu didn"t know and couldn"t find. So, he stopped trying and minded his own business like he did at Farrell"s house.
Min Chen let the orchestra practice by themselves. Under Christole"s arrangement, they formed an ensemble and practiced separately with their group chiefs.
Since Qi Mu planned to just watch Bai Ai rehearsing, he had left his violin at Min Chen"s house. But, Christole was enthusiastic about letting Qi Mu play his spare violin for the first violin group.
Christole had long known since Qi Mu was Akkad"s student, and he had received a 9.5 from Min Chen, his violin was bound to be exceptional. But, when he heard Qi Mu"s third movement of 《Symphony No. 6》, a glimmer of surprise still colored his gaze. He applauded him wholeheartedly.
The afternoon ended with Qi Mu and Christole"s mutual consultation. The members of the first violin group could only watch as their concertmaster, and the little angel spoke to each other without giving them a chance to join in.
When the two began to talk about Caprice 24, someone finally couldn"t help but interject, "Stop! Christole… We"re supposed to practice 《No. 6》 today…"
Once one began, the others followed——
"Yeah, I"ve practically never touched Paganini since I left college. Those are nightmares!"
"Can you not mention 《Devil"s Laughter》? That was my graduation track!"
"Oh please, can that even compare to me?! I"ve practiced all 24 caprices in my four years of college!!!"
…
Listening to them, Qi Mu kept his head down and covered his smile.
Frustrated that they hadn"t learned their lesson, Christole said, "You guys, what are you saying in front of Little Angel? If the conductor knew you acted like this and ruined our Bai Ai"s reputation… What do you think he"d do?"
"If you and Angel don"t say anything, how will he know?"
"That"s right, Mr. Bertram trained me, and I would rather go to heaven than touch 《Infinity》 ever again."
"Don"t even mention that piece! I almost sc.r.a.pped my fingers trying to play it in under 3 minutes and 55 seconds!"
…
Christole sighed helplessly while Qi Mu shook his head.
Once night fell, and the members of Bai Ai had packed up and gone, Qi Mu lingered. He stayed behind to laugh and speak with Christole. They were discussing how to improve and play 《Infinity》 at the fastest speed when he heard a low, mellow voice in his ear.
"Qi Mu."
Qi Mu turned.
The sunset acting as his backdrop, a tall man stood at the door of the rehearsal hall, looking at him. He looked like he"d been waiting for a long time. Qi Mu couldn"t help but return the tenderness in his smile.
Before he could meet Min Chen, his professor appeared behind him. Looking at him, his professor shouted, "Little Seven, hurry and pack your stuff…"
"We’re going back to Paris."