Qi Mu had never signed so many signatures.
Carrying all the specialty gifts in his right hand, he took the girls" pens with great difficulty and signed their books, papers, and even clothes. Just after signing one, another book came. Although there were only five or six girls in the group, Qi Mu signed his name more than ten times.
When he finished the last signature, Qi Mu smiled and nodded, handing the pen back to a girl with short hair. He whispered, "Thank you."
Just that simple "thank you" had her round face blush bright red, just like an apple. She said, "Little Seven, you should keep working hard in the future! I"ve seen your videos on YouTube. They"re amazing!"
Others opened their mouths but hesitated, while few still spoke naturally.
"It"s just, Little Seven, your violin is so beautiful! I used to dislike cla.s.sical music the most, but now I have so many alb.u.ms."
"We will continue to support you! We all like your violin very much!"
"Little Seven, you must keep on playing, we"re all backing you!"
….
Just as Qi Mu smiled to send away the girls from the B City Symphony Orchestra, Du Sheng walked out of the building. As soon as he saw Qi Mu, he called out in shock, "Little Seven!" Hurriedly running over, he said, "Ha ha, I didn"t expect to meet you here. Come in with your brother Du."
With that, Du Sheng grabbed hold of some of the packages in Qi Mu"s hands. When they entered the building together, the heating made it feel just like spring, so Qi Mu couldn"t help but loosen his scarf a little.
Seeing Qi Mu coming, the resting members of the orchestra gathered excitedly around him. "Little Seven, let me show you brother Li! He grew tall, really tall!"
"Lao Li, don"t talk nonsense. Xiao Qiming is thin now. Is he not eating well in Europe?"
"I heard that Little Seven graduated. Now, he"s the Chief of the Palisade Theatre Orchestra in Vienna! Little Seven, you are really promising, but don"t forget to take good care of yourself. Look at your cheeks, they"re all sunken!"
……
The familiar members smiled and talked with Qi Mu, who politely reminisced with them. Even after nearly a year"s separation, there was no strangeness between them. After they spent a long time talking and laughing together, Qi Mu shared the gifts he brought. And after a while, Tan Lao heard the news and walked out of the command lounge.
When Qi Mu met this conductor again after a long time, the members of the orchestra were a little more serious. But, when Tan Lao asked Qi Mu some gentle questions, everyone continued to laugh, and the atmosphere grew very harmonious.
That night, Qi Mu, Tan Lao and Du Sheng got together and had a simple meal. After drinking some wine, Du Sheng didn"t have the aura of the orchestra leader at all. Instead, he hooked his arms around Qi Mu"s neck and kept asking, "Does Little Seven have a girlfriend?" and "Our Little Seven is so handsome, surely many girls must like him and chase after him!"…
Qi Mu couldn"t help laughing and crying about these questions.
That afternoon, he learned from Du Sheng and members of the orchestra that the girls who had cornered him in front of the orchestra were all his fans. Qi Mu had been away from China for so long, but his fanbase was still growing.
People all over the world knew there was a wall in China. Inside the wall were a vast number of netizens waiting to feed, and outside it were Facebook and Youtube…
Even if there was an invisible, towering wall, it couldn"t resist Chinese Internet users in pursuit of "freedom". Many netizens who could scale the wall often downloaded videos from foreign websites and reuploaded them on the Chinese network to feed the hungry netizens.
There were only a few videos with over a million hits on Youtube, so the video of Qi Mu"s open-air performance in Vienna was naturally uploaded on the Chinese video website. Once it started circulating… It was unstoppable.
《The Dance of the Goblins》was a piece of music whose beauty could be seen with the naked eye. It was the skill of dazzling beauty and the superb imitative tone. Even a cla.s.sical music layman can explore its beauty beyond the boundary of music.
What was more, in Du Sheng"s words, "Little Seven, you are growing more and more handsome!"
Many people who originally came for the snapshot of the young musician on the thumbnail were impressed by the violinist"s exquisite performance. Many audiences who knew his background were filled with emotion for the handsome young man"s performance.
Before leaving China, Qi Mu had a big fan club. After he left, though, the size increased, rather than decreased. In just half a year, it had grown to a large scale.
If Qi Mu had a special agent or studio, this power was his starting capital in the future. However, in the face of the banter from all the members of the orchestra, Qi Mu replied, "Thank you very much for your love, but I think I may not be a solo violinist for decades."
In that regard, the members of the orchestra could only feel a moment of regret. You know, if Qi Mu left the orchestra and planned to work alone, those fans were all his own backup team! Of course, people had their own aspirations, but Qi Mu didn"t feel any pity.
By the end of the dinner party, Du Sheng was already drunk. Qi Mu took him to a taxi, and when he turned around, he saw Tan Lao, stereotypically serious as always. He looked him up and down carefully.
The eyes seemed to see straight through him, so Qi Mu couldn"t help standing upright..
After a long time, Tan Lao sighed and said, "You have a girlfriend."
It wasn"t a question at all, but a firm affirmation. Qu Mu was shocked, then he smiled and shook his head. "Tan Lao, I don"t have a girlfriend."
Tan Lao frowned. "I"ve lived for more than 60 years, and you think you can hide it from my gaze?"
In the dim glow of the street light, the young man wore a thick coat, standing straight. He wore a beige wool scarf around his neck to block the cold wind. If you looked carefully, you could see a small "7" was embroidered on the bottom of the scarf.
Qi Mu gently smiled. "Tan Lao, I have a lover, but… he"s not a girl."
The answer shocked Lao Tan. He didn"t come back to his senses for five minutes. In a hurry, he wanted to ask "What is not a girl?". Suddenly, though, he saw the young man"s lips curl up into a happy, content smile. "Mr. Tan, I love him very much and he loves me very much. Life is short. We don"t want to be bound by secular ideas, and I don"t want to lose him. I hope you can understand…"
The words "life is short" engraved themselves in Tan Lao"s heart, as if they were deeply branded.
He was silent for a long time, but finally nodded. "You should take good care of yourself, Little Seven… and live a good life, understand!"
"Yes," Qi Mu said, a smile still on his face. When Tan Lao drove him down to his apartment, he looked at the high-rise building with brilliant lights. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration and asked, "By the way, Little Seven, didn"t you stop renting the house here? When will you rent it again?"
Under the bright moonlight, the young man"s delicate eyes shone like fairies. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, "Isn"t it… I didn’t tell you this before, right Mr. Tan? I live in my lover"s house. His room is right next to my old house." After a pause, he seemed to think of something more. The smile on his face only grew more brilliant. "By the way, my lover is Min Chen."
Tan Lao: "………………………"