The recruitment for Vienna Symphony Orchestra"s deputy concertmaster came to an end. The audition set up a small wave in Vienna"s cla.s.sical music circle, and the orchestra ended up hiring a Russian violinist who wasn"t a member of their new deputy concertmaster.
Even the members of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra didn"t expect their conductor would hire a new member, and as the deputy concertmaster at that!
Many members expressed their dissatisfaction, but all of them fell silent after Evra rebuked them, "Work to surpa.s.s the new guy first, then you can strive for the deputy concertmaster"s seat!"
This contradiction made a small splash, hitting the sh.o.r.e making no waves.
Some members were still vexed. Naturally, Luo Yu Sen was one of the most resentful among them.
Two days after the audition, he went to Evra"s lounge three times. On the third visit, the man didn"t let him enter——
Because the guy was too annoying.
Later, it was even more difficult for Luo Yu Sen to see Evra. Not because the man was too tired to bother dealing with him, but because of a letter Evra received.
The seemingly ordinary letter was delivered from the post office to the small mailbox at the orchestra"s headquarters on the third day after the recruitment audition.
"To Mr. Evra" was printed on the front of the envelope. Other than that and the postmark, it was completely blank.
When the staff in charge got the letter, they were quite surprised. After all, there were very few people who sent letters to communicate anymore. Even if they did, it would be by express delivery. But the staff was still responsible, and they put the letter on Evra"s desk so he could read it once he started his day.
When Evra arrived at nine o"clock that morning, he caught a glimpse of the bulging letter as he hung up his suit jacket.
The letter was really fat, at least a centimeter thick. Taking a moment to weigh it in his hand, Evra carefully opened the letter after confirming only papers resided inside the envelope.
Reading it…
Evra sat frozen in shock. He stayed in his lounge, never leaving for the entire morning.
The sender was really careful. The envelope was made of common yellow kraft paper and the letter itself was printed on ordinary A4 printer paper. The letter wasn"t written but printed. Even if Evra attempted to check the paper, he would find… No trace of others except for the fingerprints of the postman, the staff, and himself.
There were probably over ten thousand words on the letter. One-third of it was a penance to G.o.d and the rest… left Evra shivering in cold sweats.
The sender claimed that they had the honor to work at the Golden Hall the former year and had always been proud of it. But then, they quit their job and wouldn"t step inside the Musikverein"s building, for fear of being exposed.
But they felt uncomfortable, keeping such big secrets in their hearts. After months of self-reproaching, they visited a church and confessed to a priest.
But when they saw that the evil-doer was still at large, they decided to let the truth come to light at the risk of their life.
The sender narrated in very simple words what happened on a certain night.
The sender said they didn"t witness Lu Zi Wen"s death with their own eyes, but when they pa.s.sed the main preparation room, the door wasn"t closed. And as a result…
He heard a quarrel.
The quarrel escalated into a fistfight. They wanted to step in and stop the fight, but when they heard the word "drugged", they thought it was too dangerous. They left quickly, without doing anything.
Within two hours of the incident, they heard of Lu Zi Wen"s death.
They didn"t know how Lu Zin Wen died or whether it had something to do with that man. But he knew…The man drugged Lu Zi Wen just before he went on stage.
They told Evra the truth of the matter, hoping that the upright and earnest maestro would make his own judgment on how to deal with it. As someone whose name wasn"t worth anything, they didn"t want to be involved in such a dangerous matter.
After writing the letter, they felt free, without self-blame. Maybe they would have a good dream that night, for the first time in ages.
The sender might have had a good dream, but Evra was absentminded all day long. He even handed over the rehearsal to Jacques.
It was evening by the time Evra finally calmed down. After spending the day hesitating, he finally made up his mind.
Once he decided, Evra clung to it. He immediately used the contacts he acc.u.mulated over his years to find out who sent the letter.
Unbelievably, the answer he got was "Sorry, we really couldn"t find the person".
The other party was too cautious. This wasn"t the behavior of a person as insignificant as they claimed to be. The investigator said, "Mr. Evra, according to my observation, this person is very likely an experienced professional. For example… a private detective, maybe?"
Unable to discover the sender"s ident.i.ty, Evra couldn"t help but doubt the letter"s content. He thought: Maybe… The letter was just a baseless accusation, a rumor? Maybe Luo Yu Sen didn"t drug Lu Zi Wen?
Luo Yu Sen said that he left before Lu Zi Wen fell sick, and you actually believed him?!
Jacques" words flashed in Evra"s mind. After hesitating for a long time, he finally decided to talk to Luo Yu Sen in his lounge.
Luo Yu Sen was very surprised when he heard that Evra invited him to his lounge after several days of being turned away.
With Evra"s permission, Luo Yu Sen entered the lounge full of expectations.
As soon as he entered, the old man"s att.i.tude flattered Luo Yu Sen. The once cold conductor asked him about his recent violin practice with great concern and gave him encouragement, involuntarily relaxing him involuntarily.
From Luo Yu Sen"s perspective, they talked happily for more than an hour. Luo Yu Sen thought that maybe, Evra had recognized his strength and might want to promote him in the near future.
Thinking of this, Luo Yu Sen couldn"t stop himself from smiling triumphantly. Before he could think further, Evra sighed. Emotionally, he said, "Oh, Luo. Seeing you young kids, I can"t help but think of a genius I met when I was young."
Surprised, Luo Yu Sen asked, "Mr. Evra, I wonder who you"re talking about…?"
"Well, he was a genius that went astray. He was the deputy concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, he was only in his early 30"s. It wasn"t easy for him to get to where he was, but he wasn"t satisfied with it, and began to crave for the concertmaster"s position."
It confused Luo Yu Sen.
Evra continued, "So, he orchestrated a dirty trick on the concertmaster in their next performance, but was found out. From then on… he could no longer go anywhere in the cla.s.sical music world."
Suddenly froze in his seat, Luo Yu Sen smiled stiffly. "This man is despicable, Mr. Evra."
With a heavy sigh, Evra said, "That"s right. See, he had a bright future, yet he sacrificed the efforts he made for more than a decade for just a few moments of glory. It was a big mistake!" After a pause, Evra harped on, "How do you think he administered the drug?!"
Evra emphasized the word "drug", watching Luo Yu Sen"s face.
After exchanging a few more words, Luo Yu Sen left the lounge dispiritedly, leaving the maestro alone in the quiet room.
In the voiceless silence, the ticking of the clock filled the room. When the hour bell rang, the gray-haired conductor slowly calmed. His face turned dark.
Having lived for over 60 years, the fleeting panic in Luo Yu Sen"s eyes couldn"t escape Evra.
Clenching his fist, a bad feeling bloomed in Evra"s mind. Finally, he sighed. A single sentence reverberated in the quiet lounge——
"Maybe… Jacques was right?"
Qi Mu had just finished rehearsing at the Palisade Theatre Orchestra.
He had only joined the orchestra two days earlier but was already influenced by the warm, united atmosphere.
Maybe the Palisade Theatre Orchestra wasn"t as famous as Wei Ai or the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, but they didn"t lack any excellent musicians.
As Lance said, Qi Mu would be able to train himself there, so he can transform from a good violinist to an excellent concertmaster.
The Palisade Theatre Orchestra was in a lull period, lacking a skilled concertmaster. The orchestra to improve in a short time, and Qi Mu also needed to hone his skills in half a year.
Both of their objectives were in tandem, so under Lance"s recommendation, Qi Mu joined the orchestra as their concertmaster.
Although the contract he signed with the orchestra was only for half a year, Qi Mu regarded the orchestra as a place where he would remain for a long time. After two days of practice, he became familiar with his post and already felt his growth.
It would take a while to enter Wei Ai, but Qi Mu wasn"t in a hurry.
Qi Mu received a text message shortly after he left the theatre. Reading the densely packed screen, the corner of his lips curled up. He then sent a short text message: 【It"s fine, as long as it"s been sent. Now… Let"s just wait.】
The recipient replied with a short, "Yes, sir."
Translator(s): Kuro
Editor(s): Empress
Proofer(s): Dark